Registering Nexus station

[Egon]

When I made my entry for DLC I though to my self:
To bad we can only do pedestals for Nexus Linking book like in Kirel (aka Guild Neighborhood), and not full feature version like on Ag'uera island.
I mean: yes we can model full Nexus station, and prompt communicate
"Nexus link has been added"
but we can not actually make Ages which would registered them selfs in Nexus interface.
Adlest that what I though, after analyzing Python code, because it looked to me that list of names of stations potentially registered by function(found in islmRegisterNexusLink.py):
vault.registerMTStation(stationName.value, linkpointName.value)
is rather hard coded somewhere in the game client.

But after checking today, with new avatar, Bevin I see that now we actually have a Bevin with registering Nexus stations wich registers itself in Nexus interfase.

So I ask:
I was wrong?

Does it mean that I can just execute:
vault.registerMTStation("AGEName","LinkInPointName")

and that would actually register any Age in the Nexus?

[Aloys]

I wish I could reply something constructive to this thread other that: "it would be a really cool feature to have".

[GPNMilano]

To answer your question. No. It's not as simple as that. The nexus is controlled by a python script called 'nxusBookMachine.py". Everything is categorized via that script, and it's very VERY complex and dirty. Your best bet would be to contact Diafero bout adding a regular nexus station's link to the Nexus.

OF Note: There are plans to create a Writer's Nexus that will allow us to register fan created age links. But it's only in the planning stages as of yet.

[Egon]

O yeah. It is a little bit messy.

So apart from figuring out what
vault.registerMTStation(stationName.value, linkpointName.value)
actually do, and what arguments does it expect (which I think is beyond me since "registerMTStation" is expose directly by Plasma)
I see that in order to do that I propose, changes to nxusBookMachine.py would be also required.

I didn't study it long but at first glance I see that some things are hardcoded.
There is a method "IUpdateLinks" which updates buttons visible in Nexus terminal, and it executes methods like:
self.IUpdateCityLinks()
self.IUpdateGZLinks()
self.IUpdateHoodLinks()

Inside those methods the key fragments are that on AgeDataNode extracted from vault a "getSpawnPoints()" method is being use. It looks like it returns array of strings, which are looking like names of Link in points (which are translated to text seeing in Nexus interface by hardcoded "ifs". Egh).
Hopefully it is a list of LinkInPoints on which "registerMTStation" was used.
Neverless: if I did execute "vault.registerMTStation("AgeMapsGallery","LinkInPointDefault")", and did work as I expected, then my Age still would not be visible in Nexus interface, simply because code is checking "are there any registiered lonikinpoint" only in specific ages: city, Neighborhood, Neighborhood02, GreatZero.
We could add something like:
self.IUpdateFanCreatedLinks()
to the end of IUpdateLinks method, but then we would have to came up with our own way to determine in which ages we should look for registered spawnpoints.

Ufff....

[diafero]

Indeed, it's a crazy mess, I am happy it's working

It's not at all necessary to use the registerMTStation function. There are several ways to add a Nexus link, because in the end it boils down to a per-user setting saving whether the link is registered or not. The "normal" way is a special spawn point being added when registering the link, and Nexus looking for that spawn point (I think that's what the vault function does). However, for MOUL, Cyan saved one of the links in a Chronicle, if I remember correctly. Plus more weirdness to make the Guild Pub depend on the shirt in your closet.
No matter what, in the end Nexus needs to know where to fetch registered stations. And if a spawn point is used, the link to the age has to be registered in the vault, which is not usually done for fan ages. So, for a fan nexus, I would suggest some chronicle to be used where ages add themselves to. It could just be a list of comma-separated age filenames which are translated to display names using the same mechanism as the KI and Nexus (at least in Offline KI, they share a common age name database which in the ends is read from AvailableLinks.inf). Maybe spawn point information should be added. So, putting the hand into the Nexus station would create that chronicle and add the current age filename to the list, and the fan-age Nexus would read them. But, well, all fan ages will be listed in that Nexus anyway, so we have to find a good reason to register a link there^^

[GPNMilano]

Indeed, it's a crazy mess, I am happy it's working

It's not at all necessary to use the registerMTStation function. There are several ways to add a Nexus link, because in the end it boils down to a per-user setting saving whether the link is registered or not. The "normal" way is a special spawn point being added when registering the link, and Nexus looking for that spawn point (I think that's what the vault function does). However, for MOUL, Cyan saved one of the links in a Chronicle, if I remember correctly. Plus more weirdness to make the Guild Pub depend on the shirt in your closet.
No matter what, in the end Nexus needs to know where to fetch registered stations. And if a spawn point is used, the link to the age has to be registered in the vault, which is not usually done for fan ages. So, for a fan nexus, I would suggest some chronicle to be used where ages add themselves to. It could just be a list of comma-separated age filenames which are translated to display names using the same mechanism as the KI and Nexus (at least in Offline KI, they share a common age name database which in the ends is read from AvailableLinks.inf). Maybe spawn point information should be added. So, putting the hand into the Nexus station would create that chronicle and add the current age filename to the list, and the fan-age Nexus would read them. But, well, all fan ages will be listed in that Nexus anyway, so we have to find a good reason to register a link there^^

The reason to register a link there is two fold: A. Multiple Spawnpoints within the same age. With Cyan ages it was all done with the relto bookshelf and the bahro/yeesha save cloths. However since we can't have that with fan ages, another system for saving progress should be utilized. Controling spawnpoints via the writer's nexus seems to be the easiest way. So, in essence, when you select an age from the fan age list in the Writer's Nexus, it'll bring up a list of spawnpoints. Another reason is for Cavern locations. With new cavern locaitons popping up now, like with the DLC, it'd be nice to have a seperate list of fan ages, and cavern locations, to keep things IC as much as possible for those who prefer their canon not to be messy. So the Writer's Nexus should have a list similar to our regular nexus. Cavern Locations, an Inviation list to other's ages, and the fan created age list. The Cavern Location list would contain any and all areas, both cyan and fan created, that fall into places with the cavern. Each with it's own stored spawnpoints in order to keep things simple and neat.

However all of this is all subject to discussion and change down the line. Eventually I'll have to get with Hoikas about setting up a subforum for "the project" when I'm ready to actually announce it to everyone. But that's a bit down the line once it's ready for more people then just those discussing it now to work on it.

[Aloys]

There are plans to create a Writer's Nexus that will allow us to register fan created age links. But it's only in the planning stages as of yet.

Ohhh, that's interesting.
Until an actual subforum is set up it probably wouldn't hurt to create a simple thread; many people would certainly be interested in participating in this project or even just discussing it. I know I would. It's something that has been discussed many times in the past. (I exposed some of my ideas recently here).
There are certainly many technical obstacles to overcome, but there are design issues as well, and such an Age could be very iconic of the GoW so it might be a good idea to get many people involved, even if it's still early.. If only to gather ideas and opinions.

[/off topic]