Trying to export FuncChk

[Topher]

Sorry to repost this, but I thought I might get more traffic in this forum.

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OK, so I'm following the instructions on the wiki tutorial for exporting FuncChk http://guildofwriters.com/wiki/Exporting_FuncChk. All is fine up until the actual exporting. The tutorial says "When you're ready to export the Age, click 'File' at the top, then mouse over 'Export.' Click 'PyPRP.' " However, when I go to File > Export > there is no "PyPRP" to click. There are lots of options, all with a python icon, but nothing is a ".age" extension (I'm assuming this is what I need since that's what the next section of the tutorial talks about. I have followed all the instructions on the page "Installing PyPRP" (downloaded and installed all the required and recommended software and the latest PyPRP itself) and am using Blender 2.45.

Any suggestions?

[andylegate]

It sounds like Blender is not seeing the Python files of the Plugin.

Do this:

Open up Blender. Change one of your windows to the Fat little "i", which is User Preference. Your window should look like this:



Click on the button that says File Paths. Your window should change to this:



Find the box that says Python. Click on the little button in it that look like hands praying. A directory tree will pop up. Take it to where you pasted the Plugin files. Should be something like:
C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender\.blender\scripts

If that's NOT where you pasted the files, then you NEED to go do that now.

Once you've done that, look at the Python box again. There's a little button with what looks like a note. Click on it once. This tells Blender to Evaluate the script files. Close Blender down, and then open it back up. Check and see if you have the export option of PyPRP now.

[Topher]

OK, that did give me the export > PyPRP option, however now when I select it I get an error message: "Python script error: Check console."

The console says:
"Compiled with Python version 2.5.
Checking for installed Python... got it!
Traceback <most recent call last>:
File "<string>", line 55, in <module>
ImportError: No module named alcconfig"

Thanks for your help so far.

[Owehn]

I had that problem too. Take the http://guildofwriters.com/pyprp/latest.zip you downloaded, and copy all the files from "latest/src/" to ".blender/scripts". While you're at it, put all the PIL python files in there too, and put the PyYAML files in a subdirectory "scripts/yaml".

[D'Lanor]

While you're at it, put all the PIL python files in there too, and put the PyYAML files in a subdirectory "scripts/yaml".

See if it works without this last part. This is an ugly workaround which should not be necessary if Python is properly installed.

Edit: And I agree about the first part. Leaving that src folder inside the scripts folder is the most common user error. Could PyPRP please be distributed without the src folder?

[Topher]

That did it! Without the last bit that is, like D'Lanor suggested.

Should there be a link to this thread from that page of the tutorial, at least until the tutorials are updated for the new plugin? Maybe it's just me, but I'd like to think that lots of new users might have the same problems I did.

[Topher]

So now I'm working on the "First Age" tutorial ... Pretty early it says to add a script to the cylinder to hide it later when exporting. I have done most of the Noob to Pro modelling tutorials but haven't seen anything about scripting; are there later tutorials that deal with adding scripts to objects? I'm also wondering if I shouldn't just download and install the previous version of PyPRP so it matches the current tutorials ... There were a few things it said to do that seemed to already be done or needed to be done in a different way. Are there updated tutorials coming down the pipeline? I realize it takes a lot of work, so I'm not complaining or anything, just wondering if I chose the wrong time to start trying to learn all of this. In the meantime I can go back and work through the rest of the Noob to Pro tutorials.

[andylegate]

The plugin is constantly being changed and worked on. Many times a new version will come out and some things will change. However, the tutorials on the GoW Wiki assume that you have the GoW Plugin, ver 1.2.x

If you are using a much earlier version of the plugin (like something before version 1.0.0) then the GoW Wiki is going to seem wrong for you.

There are two different types of scripting to look at: ALCscript and Python. ALCscript is done in Blender. Many things that you'll want to do (IE climbable ladders, swim regions, Background sound, or sound SFX) with your Age will require ALCscript, and these things are covered by the Tutorials in the GoW Wiki right now.

Python scripting right now is used for things like, Journals, Linking books or stones, making objects move around, etc. Some Python scripting will work in part with the ALCscripting, depending upon what you're doing.

Unfortunately, no, you will not find any Python Scripting covered on the GoW Wiki right now. There are several reasons for this: sometimes a way to do something with Python, get's changed to something you can do with ALCscript in an easier way, or someone comes up with a much easier Python Script than there was before, Some people don't have time to write a tutorial on the Wiki, so they've simply posted their stuff here on the forum (do a Search for it), some did not like that the GoW forked from the original Alcugs plugin and refuse to post their Python creations in the Wiki. Again, the reason's vary.

IMO, I firmly believe that Many of the different things that Python can offer, should be documented on the GoW Wiki. If it becomes obsolete, it can always be removed or updated. I also firmly believe that, especially now, we should set aside our differences and work together (in the infamous words of Dr. Watson's speech in MOUL: "Explorers need to stop their bickering....etc, etc").
However, the one thing you pointed out is that it DOES take some time to hammer out a tutorial that explains not only what to do, but how it's done so that everyone understands.

Again, do a search for Python if you need to do something and you find out it requires Python.

[Nadnerb]

The Blender Noob to Pro tutorials will not mention anything about AlcScript because it is entirely the creation of the PyPRP plugin. The wiki article about AlcScript and the "First Age" tutorials should explain how to create one. All the tutorials on the GoW wiki should be relevant to the latest version of the plugin. If not, they will likely be updated soon. There is considerably more benefit in using the latest plugin version than in using an older, less stable versions to avoid slight inconsistencies in the tutorials which were written at different times with varying minor versions anyway.

[Trylon]

Actually, what he is referring to is a logic script, variable.
Try looking at the image I provided, it shows where the panel is located that you need to add a logic property (well, it's the leftmost button in a "buttons" window).

Then Just press "Add property", and click with your mouse on the various fields of the new property to modify them.