Byond 4.0 Wishlist!

Jul 27 2004, 7:56 am

In response to Crispy

Crispy wrote:

Would you expect Microsoft Visual C++ to include a comprehensively full-featured image editor?

No more than I'd expect a coherent argument. BYOND is primarily for making graphical games, and we're not talking about a full-featured image editor. BYOND supports those file formats, so it would be convenient to have a built-in editor for them. Imagine how annoying it would be if BYOND didn't have a built-in code editor. You could use a third party program for typing up the code, then switch back to DM to compile it, but I'd bet it would get quite annoying. I realize its the features like this that tack on kilobyte after kilobyte to BYOND's download size, but it just might be worth it.

Jul 27 2004, 7:58 am

Lummox JR

InsayneWrapper wrote:

I know we all have a few suggestions for 4.0; here's mine:

• Better general interface, without those ugly blue window panes in existance right now

4.0 is almost entirely an interface upgrade, so this will definitely be there.

• Coolbar Toolbars in Dream Maker

Not sure what you mean there, but it sounds cool.

• I've noticed on games like Seika II that there is a glitch that causes blocks to appear around your char for a split second thats very annoying.

No idea. Sounds more like a bug to me, but fixable at some point.

• Maybe a new icon set for dm files and such

Ter13 has done some impressive icons for the programs themselves, and a little work toward new file icons. I'm looking forward to see what he comes up with.

• DS skins and definable in DM code (or just skins in general)

This is the heart of 4.0.

Lummox JR

Jul 27 2004, 8:12 am

In response to Aaiko

Lummox JR

Aaiko wrote:

-More than 255 colors in a dmi.

Tom wants to go to a 25-bit format by 4.0. (I.e., 24 bits + 1-bit transparency.) It should be doable, but it'll be one of the few changes that touches the internal guts.

-Fullscreen capabilities.

I'm not sure if this will be possible. If it is, it'll have to be by revaming the drawing code anyway.

-Ability to compile a project into a .exe that can be ran from CDs or elsewhere without having BYOND installed.

I think this is highly unlikely. Anyway as oft-requested as it is, it still remains a bad idea.

-Ability to make overlays and underlays have properties such as density.

Overlays and underlays are strictly graphical.

-Ability to change overlays properties as well.

That'd be nice, but I think the way overlays are used will eventually be phased out in favor of something more elegant.

-Ability to put turfs into tilesets that can be placed down at once like a bmp and png and still have their own individual properties.

I don't think I follow.

-Ability to copy/cut objects/turfs/mobs only. Without copy or cutting everything in the area.

That's an interesting idea that should be doable in the current editor. It'll have to go on the List.

-Advanced Find/Replace in Selection system for the DMs.

Would be nice, but I'd hate to be the guy to implement regular expressions in Dream Maker.

-Ability to highlight multiple states in a DMI and copy/cut paste them.

I'd like that too. Hopefully it's doable in this editor, though Tom does have plans to replace it.

-Ability to copy/cut paste animations from one project to another, not just pixmaps. (Might be a bug...)

Probably this is just a function of how DM copies and pastes. I think the only feasible way to do this across projects is to make a new .dmi file, paste into it, then move it into your new project.

-Ability to have more than 10 windows open in Dream Maker and have a bar at the bottom letting you minimize, open, and close the windows. Even let you change the size of the windows with multiple windows open in one Dream Maker.

I'm not sure how useful this'd be. Typically one window filling the whole screen is ideal because nobody has a 50" monitor.

-Remove manual .configure delay and have a better automative system for it. (It can be used to exploit many bugs in poorly coded games, which would be 90% of BYOND games. And don't say that it is the programmers fault, correct me if I am wrong, but you want a user friendly program. It is not a newbies problem if they do not know about .configure delay)

This bug has already been fixed in version 340, which was released before you posted this. Any host running 340 is immune to the bug. The manual configure I don't see much reason to take out.

-Make pop ups go away for the host on reboots, not just the players. (Might be a bug as well...) Games with pop up logins freeze the host if they do not login after a reboot and it reboots again.

Hrm... I hadn't heard of this. Can you provide some example code in the BYOND Bugs forum?

-Ability to change one area tile in an area. Maybe have it set an index for each area tile so that you can change its propeties alone. It might defeat the purpose of the area, but would be great for weather effects and other area wide effects.

Yep, this defeats the purpose of an area.

-Ability to change website colors for your hub without having to override previous HTML coding.

Hub entry, you mean? Might be a nice feature, but there's got to be a few good ways to do it already.

-An 'Update' button the DMIs that fixes all the icons states for when you change a color in on the palette. Or auto update all the states when you change a color on the palette.

Save, close, and reopen should work.

-Have a message telling you that you have run out of colors when you import something, so it does not change the colors for other states unless you want it to.

Well, when BYOND goes to 25-bit color, this is moot anyway.

-An image editor that lets you edit bmps and pngs in Dream Maker when you open them.

It'd be nice, but the icon editor is sort of specific and editing .png files gets into the realm of image software. Why make BYOND do all the work?

-A sound player that opens up the wavs and midis in your project inside Dream Maker.

Not really feasible, nor a good idea. There's no meaningful editing you could do on them, and if you could, it'd mean Dream Maker was bloated far past its original purpose.

-Better undo/redo system for the DMI editor and DMP editor. One that keeps track of undos and redos more than once.

I'd like that too.

-Ability to use HTML in statpanels (if that is even possible).

This should be semi-possible. Tom tried it at one point, but had trouble getting it to work the way he wanted. If it was done it would be very similar in implementation to the text output window.

Lummox JR

Jul 27 2004, 8:16 am In response to Lummox JR
Hazman	-Ability to put turfs into tilesets that can be placed down >at once like a bmp and png and still have their own >individual properties. I don't think I follow. Aaiko means a system whereby you'd be able to place down (for example) a multitile building in 'one' click.

Jul 27 2004, 1:43 pm

In response to Lummox JR

XzDoG

Lummox JR wrote:

• I've noticed on games like Seika II that there is a glitch that causes blocks to appear around your char for a split second thats very annoying.

No idea. Sounds more like a bug to me, but fixable at some point.

Lummox remember when i posted about eye perspective bug and i didnt know what i was talking about =p ? This is the same problem seika has only we *dont* know how to reproduce it yet.

Jul 27 2004, 2:33 pm

In response to OneFishDown

Crispy

OneFishDown wrote:

No more than I'd expect a coherent argument.

And the same to you, sir! =P

BYOND is primarily for making graphical games, and we're not talking about a full-featured image editor.

News to me. (In any case, for it to be of any real practical use, we are. See below.)

BYOND supports those file formats, so it would be convenient to have a built-in editor for them.

Imagine how annoying it would be if BYOND didn't have a built-in code editor.

No other program has BYOND-specific features like code editing. (I count code editing as specific because it has features like DM code colouring that no other program has, and sensible indentation handling that only some editors support; like the evil editors that turn tabs into spaces, shudder.)

In any case, my analogy here stands anyway. Imagine how annoying it would be if Microsoft Visual C++ didn't have a code editor! The same applies to any IDE. Dream Maker is an IDE, and IDEs have built-in code editors. However, IDEs do not usually have image editors. DM's existing image editor is a rarity, but justified because of the DMI format. It's not a PNG editor.

it just might be worth it.

You're entitled to your opinion. In fact, you can keep it for all for yourself. ;-D

Having said all that, I can see the argument for saving 32x32 PNGs and BMPs, but the icon editor isn't made for any other size. You can't change the zoom, for one thing, making it completely impractical for editing larger images, so proper PNG/BMP support would require more comprehensive image editing features, which would take time to implement; time which could be better spent on other features, and bug fixes. And anyway, I'd rather use 32x32 DMIs than 32x32 PNGs/BMPs, because you can do so much more with DMIs - like icon states and animation.

Which is not to say I'd hate it if it was implemented, but I really don't see the point. Other programs do it already, and do it better.

Jul 27 2004, 4:59 pm In response to OneFishDown
Mastergamerx	i got some stop making the god damn thing so stupid it be complaining about a stupid spacing error and then when i space it wrong the stupid thing be saying something completely diffrent is wrong went it was never wrong please make the thing less picky it hard enough jeez

Jul 27 2004, 5:29 pm In response to XzDoG
Jotdaniel	Those aren't even related to a new version of BYOND. They don't belong here.