Editing compiled RTC files

Post by **Lunever** » Thu Dec 18, 2003 8:12 pm

George: Hmm, so there will be soon V0.27 out you said? I suppose it's editor will be able then to save properly?
Can you maybe make it being able to edit not only dungeon.txt but also savegames?!? That would be a really great addition. Although then maybe there should be some notification in the savegame that it was edited thus disabling it for Hall-Of-Fame purposes.
Ah, and I think Halk Gonzo Barbarian should be in the CSB dungeon now that it is edible I mean editable.

PicturesInTheDark · Post by **PicturesInTheDark** » Fri Dec 19, 2003 2:41 pm

Just imagining what an edible dungeon would taste like *g* probably still not recovered from the companies' X-Mas party yesterday... don't mind me... ;o)

Regards, PitD

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sat Dec 20, 2003 3:23 am

you either? *zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz hic*

i say cherry flaoured...mmmm

George Gilbert · Post by **George Gilbert** » Sat Dec 20, 2003 12:57 pm

Hmmm - I'm definitely against this one I'm afraid.

If you can convince me otherwise them I'm more than willing to listen, but why would you want to edit a savegame unless it was to cheat?

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sat Dec 20, 2003 1:31 pm

i think there are too many times when a dungeon that is released isn't able to fully playtested, and a mistake can knock an entire game - an area with no food, or a trigger that doesn't work
people play the dungeons quite alot and train, only to find all their hard work in playing is spoiled by one defect - that usually stops them playing again in alot of cases - if you can edit a saved game, then all their efforts and the developer's don't go in vain : )

if its possible, and the format is similar to the initial .rtc file, you could have it that you need the original dungeon.txt to edit a saved game too, so that's a buld in check
or perhaps a password is built in the .txt file, that gets encoded to all saved games - if you leave this blank, saved games can always be edited, if you include it then the game is not editable and so you need to reply on the developer to edit it or tell you the password

PicturesInTheDark · Post by **PicturesInTheDark** » Sun Dec 21, 2003 10:50 am

I'd also see it like Beo. If any dungeon contains not-planned dead ends it can be quite frustrating and even if somebody wants to cheat, let them as long as you can find out with a mechanism thus disabling the Hall-of-Fame option or using one of the proposals above (needing the original dungeon file, password etc.). Anyway, I think the easiest option would be to release additional dungeons for RTC games only without the text file if there is a competition and I'm sure you can build in something for DM and CSB to make sure a competition game is not forfeit ...

Regards, PitD

Post by **cowsmanaut** » Sun Dec 21, 2003 12:32 pm

it really is up to the person if they wish to spoil things for themselves and cheat.. I mean restricting them does little but force them to play fair. If this were team dungeons and such where people were playing collectively I can see restricting them however it's individual play not net play so.. Doesn't seem (to me) a legitimate reason for preventing it when the above stated benefits are to gain.

It's your baby George, but I just don't see why we should be worried about people cheating.. they would be the only ones to lose from it..

(shrug)

moo

Post by **Lunever** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 3:37 pm

The main reason I was initially asking is that I think it would be a great help for the designer of a new dungeon himself and maybe for his/her playtesters to be able to edit a savegame for more easy debugging.

andyboy_uk · Post by **andyboy_uk** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 2:19 am

You could have a debug mode that saves in a slightly different format if you are developing a dungeon. Making a save game useless for the players but not for the developers. The idea needs work I know, but someone might be able to add to it.

Other wise I would say a dungeon designer would have chars that have full stats to test things in anyway (I know I do)

Cheers

Post by **Lunever** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 1:55 pm

Andy: Speaking of high powered test characters: I want Halk Gonzo Barbarian in the CSB dungeon, exactly like in the original CSB-dungeon.

Post by **Lunever** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 1:57 pm

One more thing: Does the current RTC version (0.28 ) notice at all for Hall-of-Fame purposes whether a dungeon has been modified before starting a game? If not, this should be changed now that RTC has it's own editor.

George Gilbert · Post by **George Gilbert** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 2:52 pm

Yes, RTC can tell the difference between the DM (both versions) and CSB dungeons that ship with the exe and any that have been modified...

PicturesInTheDark · Post by **PicturesInTheDark** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 11:45 am

That was to be expected since George was against allowing to edit rtc files for cheating reasons - there sure will be some clever mechanism hidden in the code ;o)

Regards, PitD