Consolidating topics...
(Since no one else is tackling these)
Tweek wrote:Wavesets - I'd like to see this fleshed out more, perhaps with some examples of different wavesets to help people tweak what they need in their Ages (perhaps alcscript settings for big ocean wavesets, small ponds, choppy seas, calm lakes..etc)
Sirius wrote:Wavesets: a list of presets taken from Cyan's Ages would be a great idea. But as for a description of each parameters: I don't think anyone knows what they stand for.
We've actually have this really well-documented by a Cyantist thanks to an article in
GPU Gems (and have the
code for the plugin, too -- but that thing's a mess). It should be doable to write up a nice, user-friendly description of the known pieces and how to use them. The current page is very cursory and AlcScript-focused. I'll try to put something together to improve/replace the existing page. I can't say I understand the internals perfectly, but I think I can manage what's necessary for an artist's tutorial.
Tweek wrote:Alcscript - I'd like to see more indepth guides on alcscript. A lot of tutorials go "if you want to do X then this is your code" which doesn't help me at all. I need to learn what the code means how it interacts with each other how I can add to it myself.
Sirius wrote:Alcscript: problem is, it's too close to the inner workings of PRPs, resulting in messy scripts. There is no real documentation either - the only way to understand AlcScript is to have a look at the code in PyPRP.
Before writing simple tutorials to using AlcScript, a good idea would be to provide more quickscripts. These quickscripts can hide really long code in just a few lines, meaning it would be more simple to use them.
It would be hard to write anything general on AlcScript without going in-depth on
every single element (which, obviously, is kinda necessary for it to be useful). That's why there's been a constant push to move away from it entirely. As Sirius says, it's basically just a recipe given to the exporter on all of the non-geometry parts that go into creating the Plasma objects. Quite literally everything in PyPRP is ad-hoc, including the AlcScript definitions for each thing. The interface that libHSPlasma provides is a lot more consistent, but PyPRP2/Korman which both use it are unfinished.
The only way to document AlcScript is to list out all the possible options on every possible object type, which might be great as a reference (except when it becomes out of sync with the code -- less of an issue currently as the project lies mostly dormant), but not great for learning either. The rest of AlcScript and how things interact comes down to understanding a lot of how Plasma works internally and which objects are needed where and why. Only a few people truly understand that stuff (my knowledge of that is, I think, somewhere in the middle). The 3DSMax plugin hides a lot of this, PyPRP hides almost none and requires the artist to do the work which would ideally be handled either by a task-focused interface or the exporter logic.
If you make specific requests though, it might be possible to address them individually, and as Sirius says, QuickScripts can be written (and
documented) that makes the common cases dead simple.
Tweek wrote:Puzzle tutorials - I'd actually like to see some 'stock' tutorials for creating basic puzzle elements ("how to create an Age with journey cloths" kind of thing) I think this would help with having more people introducing interactive elements to their fan content.
Sirius wrote:Puzzle tutorials: same problem as with AlcScript in general. Although quickscripts might be able to help with it as well. The issue is that puzzles very often require Python scripts and SDLs. These usually need to be written by hand.
So it would be limited to a few pre-made scripts like xAgeSDLBoolRespond, xAgeSDLIntResp, (or whatever they are called)
That's a good idea. Can you provide a list of stock elements you'd like to have priority? "Age with Journey Cloths", etc. I've been working (slowly, intermittently) on a more ambitious tutorial series, but doing some piecemeal mini-tutorials on these specific things might be a good exercise. I think the basic structure of how and where to find the necessary information can be done, even if a lot will need to be left to the Age writer.
Tweek wrote:Tutorial for setting up notes and maps would also be nice
I think those can be done with the current PyPRP, and tutorials shouldn't be hard to create for them. I assume by maps you mean like the Ae'gura one in the courtyard (as it's like the single-page notes)?
So, in summary:- Click-to-inspect single-image Notes and Maps.
- Puzzle Tutorial: "Age with Journey Cloths", others pending.
- Wavesets: (Including such classics as "What Are These Settings?", "How Do I Accomplish Specific Bodies of Water?", and "Who is this Mark Finch Person Anyway?").
- All of AlcScript.
Let me know what else should go on the Puzzle list and which aspects of AlcScript should get focus first.