ifmapper 0.9.7 → 0.9.8
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- data/HISTORY.txt +32 -0
- data/bin/IFMapper +31 -0
- data/docs/images/IFMapper_main.gif +0 -0
- data/docs/images/automap.gif +0 -0
- data/docs/images/complex_connection.gif +0 -0
- data/docs/images/connection.gif +0 -0
- data/docs/images/connection_menu.gif +0 -0
- data/docs/images/room_description.gif +0 -0
- data/docs/images/room_small.gif +0 -0
- data/docs/index.html +24 -0
- data/docs/start.html +516 -0
- data/docs/start.html~ +516 -0
- data/lib/IFMapper/FXMap.rb +35 -0
- data/lib/IFMapper/FXMapperWindow.rb +25 -6
- data/lib/IFMapper/Map.rb +4 -0
- data/lib/IFMapper/PDFMapExporter.rb +20 -15
- data/lib/IFMapper/Section.rb +9 -2
- data/lib/IFMapper/TADSWriter.rb +1 -1
- data/lib/IFMapper/TranscriptDialogBox.rb +175 -175
- data/lib/IFMapper/TranscriptReader.rb +58 -22
- data/maps/anchor.map +0 -0
- data/maps/building.map +0 -0
- data/maps/distress.map +0 -0
- data/maps/gamlet.map +0 -0
- data/maps/guilty_bastards.map +0 -0
- data/maps/splashdown.map +0 -0
- data/maps/squarecircle.map +0 -0
- data/maps/vespers.map +0 -0
- data/maps/xtcontest.map +0 -0
- metadata +41 -13
- data/IFMapper.gemspec +0 -21
data/HISTORY.txt
CHANGED
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@@ -1,3 +1,35 @@
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v0.9.8 Bug fixes:
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- TADS Exporter was incorrectly recognizing locations with "room" in
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them as keywords and adding numbers to their tags. Fixed.
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[Bug Report: Greg Boetcherr]
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- When replacing dark rooms with lit rooms, the transcript
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automapper was discarding all other connections. So, if two dark
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rooms were connected, once one of the dark rooms became lit, the
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connection to the other dark room was removed. Fixed.
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- Typo: 'interative' for 'interactive' fixed in TranscriptReader.rb
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[Bug Report: unknown]
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- Fixed PDF Exporter which had broken in v0.9.7.
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Improvements:
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- Automapper now recognizes two new ways of describing exits as
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being blocked.
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- Automapper was not dealing with Undo properly when mapping
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interactively, leading to the creation of wrong exits if user
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moved right after an undo.
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- Automapper now tries to use the path map to determine if a location
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in map is blocked. This should have the benefit of having the
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automapper avoid placing rooms in the middle of complex connections.
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- Automapper now capitalizes the name of the game/room a tad more
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correctly, by always having the first word capitalized.
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- Added HTML documentation and upload it to rubyforge. These HTML
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docs are now also distributed with IFMapper.
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- Gem will now add a copy of 'IFMapper.rbw' to the ruby bin directory.
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[Suggestion: Lyle Johnson]
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- Added north-west, north-east, south-west, south-east as alternative
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move directions.
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[Suggestion: unknown]
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v0.9.7 What's new:
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- IFM exporting was incorrectly exporting
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35
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map "";
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data/bin/IFMapper
ADDED
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@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
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#!/usr/bin/env ruby
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# cd to install path, so modules are found locally
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install_loc = $0.sub(/\/?[^\/]*$/, '')
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install_loc = '.' if install_loc == ''
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Dir.chdir(install_loc)
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$LOAD_PATH << './lib'
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require 'IFMapper/FXMapperWindow'
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if __FILE__ == $0
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# Make application
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application = FXApp.new("IFMapper", "gga")
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# Make window
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m = FXMapperWindow.new(application)
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# Create the application windows
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application.create
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# Run the application
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begin
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application.run
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rescue => e
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m.autosave
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$stderr.puts e
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$stderr.flush
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raise e
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end
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end
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Binary file
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Binary file
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Binary file
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Binary file
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Binary file
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Binary file
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Binary file
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data/docs/index.html
ADDED
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@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
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<html>
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<head>
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<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-us">
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<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 5.0">
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<meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document">
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<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
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<title>Interactive Fiction Mapper</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<p align="center"><u><b><font size="5"><a href="start.html"><span lang="en-us">
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Interactive</span> Fiction Mapper</a></font></b></u></p>
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<p align="center"><font size="4"><b><a href="start.html">by Gonzalo Garramuno</a></b></font></p>
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<p align="center"><a href="images/IFMapper_main.gif">
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<img border="0" src="images/IFMapper_main.gif" width="595" height="447"></a></p>
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<p align="center">
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<a href="file:///C:/MyProjects/rubyforge/html/ifmapper/start.html">A Tool for
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Mapping Interactive Fiction</a></p>
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</body>
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</html>
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data/docs/start.html
ADDED
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@@ -0,0 +1,516 @@
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<html>
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<head>
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<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="es">
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<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 5.0">
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<meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document">
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<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
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<title>Interactive Fiction Mapper</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<p align="center"><b><font color="#000080"><u><font size="5">Interactive</font><font size="5">
|
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Fiction Mapper (IFMapper)<br>
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</font></u><font size="5">by Gonzalo Garramu�o</font></font></b></p>
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<p align="center"><b><u><font size="4" color="#000080">User's</font><font size="4" color="#000080">
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Manual</font></u></b></p>
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<ol>
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<li><a href="#Introduction">Introduction </a>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#What are Interactive Fiction Games">What are Interactive
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Fiction Games?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#What is IFMapper">What is IFMapper?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Features of IFMapper">Features of IFMapper</a><br>
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</li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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<li><a href="#Installation">Installation</a><ul>
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<li><a href="#What youll need">What you'll need</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Where to get the stuff">Where to get the stuff</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Installing from a zip file">Installing from a zip file</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Installing or Upgrading using rubygems">Installing or
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Upgrading using rubygems</a><br>
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</li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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<li><a href="#Starting IFMapper">Starting IFMapper</a><br>
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</li>
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<li><a href="#Using IFMapper">Using IFMapper</a><ul>
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<li><a href="#The Interface">The Interface</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Navigation">Navigation</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Creating Locations">Creating Locations</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Creating Connections">Creating Connections</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Deleting Rooms or Connections">Deleting Rooms and Connections</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Complex Connections">Creating Complex Connections</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Moving Rooms in Map">Moving Rooms Around</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Dealing with Multiple Sections">Dealing with Multiple Sections</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Searching">Searching </a></li>
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<li><a href="#Preferences">Preferences </a></li>
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<li><a href="#Saving and Loading Maps">Saving and Loading Maps</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Saving and Loading Maps">Locking Maps</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Mapping Games from Transcripts (Automapping)">Automatically
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Creating Maps from Transcripts (Automapping)</a><ul>
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<li><a href="#How does the automapper distinguish locations">How does
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Automapping work</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Limitations on Automapping">Limitations on Automapping</a><br>
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</li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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<li><a href="#Creating a new Inform/TADS3 game">Creating a new game for TADS3
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or Inform</a><br>
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</li>
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<li><a href="#Appendix">Appendix</a><ul>
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<li>
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<a href="#I am new to Interactive Fiction. What games would you recommend">I
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am new to Interactive Fiction. What games would you recommend?</a></li>
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<li><a href="#Contacting the Author">Contacting the Author</a></li>
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</ul>
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</li>
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</ol>
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<p> </p>
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<p><b><font size="5" color="#000080"><a name="Introduction">Introduction</a></font></b></p>
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<p><b><a name="What are Interactive Fiction Games"></a>What are Interactive
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Fiction Games?</b></p>
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<p>These are adventure games, which usually contain little or no graphics but
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use prose to describe locations, events and, hopefully, a good story. The
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first interactive fiction game was created in the late 1970s and was known as
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Adventure (or. Colossal Cave), albeit the genre became widely popular and
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developed most of its conventions with the creation of Infocom in the 1980s.<br>
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If you have never played an interactive fiction game, perhaps the best
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comparison is that they are a grown-up version of "Dungeons and Dragons" or the
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"Choose Your Own Adventure" series of children's books. <br>
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Still, just like any good novel, interactive fiction has evolved into all sorts
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of different styles, genres, and level of interactivity. And you can find
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adventures being developed today in a lot of languages like English, Spanish,
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Italian, German, etc. See the section: "I am new to Interactive
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Fiction. What games would you recommend?"</p>
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<p><b><a name="What is IFMapper"></a>What is IFMapper?</b><br>
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<br>
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IFMapper is a tool for easily mapping these interactive fiction games. As
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these games rely mainly on text descriptions and often use compass directions
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for navigation around the game world, it is relatively easy to get lost.
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In the old days, players would use grid paper to draw their maps, using boxes
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and lines to show each location and its exits. IFMapper is basically, the
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21st century version of that old practice.<br>
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Albeit IFMapper is mainly a mapping tool, it can also be used as a design tool
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in the early stages of development of new games (for either Inform6 or TADS3).</p>
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<p><b><a name="Features of IFMapper">Features of IFMapper</a></b></p>
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<ul>
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<li>Multiplatform</li>
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<li>Very simple click interface</li>
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<li>Complex paths supported (paths that loop on themselves or connect two
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remote nodes)</li>
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<li>Automatic connection of rooms thru complex paths using an A* algorithm</li>
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<li>Mousewheel support for zooming in/out</li>
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<li>Middle mouse scrolling</li>
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<li>Rooms can have objects and tasks listed</li>
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<li>Automatic numbering of rooms</li>
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<li>Multiple map editing</li>
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<li>Ability to easily move rooms in map with arrow keys</li>
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<li>Written in a simple and great scripting language (Ruby)</li>
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<li>Acrobat PDF output</li>
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<li>Can read and save IFM files</li>
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<li>Can read and save Inform/TADS3 source code files</li>
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<li>Locking of maps</li>
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<li>Search for keywords in room names, objects or tasks</li>
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<li>Can automap games from Infocom-like transcripts, even while you play them</li>
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<li>Free<br>
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p><b><font size="5" color="#000080"><a name="Installation">Installation</a></font></b></p>
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<p><b><a name="What youll need">What you'll need</a></b></p>
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<p>In order to use IFMapper, you need to have the Ruby scripting language
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installed and FXRuby. IFMapper was originally developed to run under
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ruby1.8 and FXRuby1.2, but it will probably be compatible with later versions,
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too.<br>
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To print PDF documents, you will also need Austin Ziegler's PDF::Writer module.</p>
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<p><b><a name="Where to get the stuff">Where to get the stuff</a></b></p>
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<p>If your platform is Windows, your best bet is to download the One-Click Ruby
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Installer from:<br>
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<a href="http://rubyforge.org/projects/rubyinstaller/">
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http://rubyforge.org/projects/rubyinstaller/</a></p>
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<p>This installer comes with the latest stable ruby version and also with the
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latest fxruby. It also comes with rubygems (see rubygems later).</p>
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<p>If your platform is Linux or OSX, you may need to compile ruby from source
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(note that OSX currently comes with ruby pre-installed, but a pretty old version),
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albeit you might want to surf the web or do a search for some binaries first, so
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you save yourself the hassle. For details on compiling ruby, see:</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.rubygarden.org/ruby?RubyOnMacintosh">
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http://www.rubygarden.org/ruby?RubyOnMacintosh</a><br>
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<a href="http://www.rubygarden.org/ruby?RubyOnLinux">
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http://www.rubygarden.org/ruby?RubyOnLinux</a></p>
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<p>After you have ruby up and running, you should then proceed to install fxruby.
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You can do this by first installing rubygems (what I'd recomment) or by not
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using it. If you want to use rubygems, proceed to the "Using Rubygems"
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section.</p>
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<p>FXRuby can be found at:<br>
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<a href="http://www.fxruby.org">http://www.fxruby.org</a></p>
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<p>After you have fxruby installed, you should then be able to install ifmapper.</p>
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<p> </p>
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<p><b><a name="Installing from a zip file">Installing from a zip file</a></b></p>
|
|
154
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+
<p>After you have ruby and fxruby properly installed, download the ifmapper zip
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file from:</p>
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<p><a href="http://rubyforge.org/projects/ifmapper">
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http://rubyforge.org/projects/ifmapper</a></p>
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<p>Use unzip, winzip or some other zip decompression tool to open the archive.
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All files will be placed inside an IFmapper directory. You should be
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ready to start IFMapper.</p>
|
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<p>If you want to output PDF files from IFMapper, you will also need to install
|
|
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the PDF::Writer library. You can do so using rubygems or by downloading
|
|
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|
+
the PDF::Writer library from:</p>
|
|
164
|
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<p><a href="http://rubyforge.org/projects/ruby-pdf/">
|
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http://rubyforge.org/projects/ruby-pdf/</a></p>
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<p> </p>
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<p><b><a name="Installing or Upgrading using rubygems">Installing or Upgrading
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using rubygems</a></b></p>
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<p>Rubygems is a manager of ruby libraries that should help with automatically
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installing any library dependencies that ifmapper may need. Rubygems comes
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pre-installed with the One-Click Installer for Windows. For other
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platforms, you can obtain it from:</p>
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<p><a href="http://rubyforge.org/projects/rubygems/">
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http://rubyforge.org/projects/rubygems/</a></p>
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<p>Once rubygems is installed, you can then open a windows console or a shell
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window and do:</p>
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<p><font face="Courier New">> gem install -r ifmapper</font></p>
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<p>This will download the latest version of ifmapper, as well as all the
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libraries needed for ifmapper to run (in case they are not installed on your
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system). If you don't have fxruby installed, it will get installed for you.
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On Unix systems, you will probably still need to compile it yourself.</p>
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<p>IFmapper (and other libraries) will then be placed inside your ruby install
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directory, like:<br>
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<font face="Courier New">C:/ruby/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/ifmapper-{VERSION}</font></p>
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<p> </p>
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<p><b><font size="5" color="#000080"><a name="Starting IFMapper">Starting
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IFMapper</a></font></b></p>
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<p>Once installed, you can then run IFMapper by either clicking on the
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IFMapper.rbw file inside the ifmapper directory or, invoking IFMapper.rbw from
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any shell or console.</p>
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<p>Assuming everything is installed properly, you should then see the IFMapper
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window popup with an empty map.</p>
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<p> </p>
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<p><b><font size="5" color="#000080"><a name="Using IFMapper">Using IFMapper</a></font></b></p>
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<p><font size="4"><a name="The Interface">The Interface</a></font></p>
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<p><img border="0" src="images/IFMapper_main.gif" width="800" height="600"></p>
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<p>The IFMapper interface consists of a menu that allows you to access common
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operations (open/save maps, change settings, etc), a toolbar with a similar
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functionality, and one or more windows displaying a map canvas.</p>
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<p>IFMapper allows you to edit multiple maps simultaneously.<br>
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Each map can have multiple "sections", so as to keep different parts of the
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games organized. Note that these sections have nothing to do with how printing
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is done and two or more sections could end up being printed <br>
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together in a page or a single section may end up getting split into a multiple
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page document once printed.</p>
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<p>When you start IFMapper for the first time, you should be placed in an empty
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map that shows a grid of where rooms and straight connections can be placed.<br>
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</p>
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<p><font size="4"><b><a name="Navigation">Navigation</a></b></font></p>
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<p>Use your mouse for navigation. If your mouse supports a mousewheel, this can
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be used for zooming in or out of the map easily.<br>
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To pan around the map, use the <b>Middle Mouse Button</b> or, alternatively, <b>
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ALT + Left Mouse Button</b> (These hotkeys mimic the behavior of Maya and 3dmax,
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both popular 3d packages). You can also scroll the map using the
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scrollbars around the canvas.<b><font size="4"><br>
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</font></b></p>
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<p><b><font size="4"><br>
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<a name="Creating Locations">Creating Locations</a><br>
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</font></b>
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<img border="0" src="images/room_small.gif" align="right" width="342" height="377"><b><font size="4"><br>
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</font></b>You create new Locations or Rooms in the map by just clicking on any
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of those template boxes. The new location will then be given a default name and
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settings ('New Location').<br>
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Each room added will automatically receive a number, based on creation order.<br>
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To modify the name and settings of a location, you can then double click on it
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and a requester will pop up allowing you to do so.<br>
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If you want the requester to pop up as soon as a new room is created, you can
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turn on <b>Map->Options->Edit on Creation.</b><br>
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This requester also has options to allow you to mark the room as in darkness and
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to add a list of objects present in the room.<br>
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As you play the game, you can also choose to list the tasks that you need to do
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in the room to progress further (providing you some with a rudimentary walkthru/hint
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functionality).<br>
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This requester can be left open so as to quickly change from room to room.</p>
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<p>Besides using the mouse, you can also use the numeric keypad with Num Lock on
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and use the numbers from <b>1 to 9</b> to create a new room in the appropiate
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direction.<br>
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</p>
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<p> </p>
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<p> </p>
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<p> </p>
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<p><b><font size="4"><br>
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<a name="Creating Connections">Creating Connections</a></font></b></p>
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<p>You can then create connections among rooms by clicking on the non-boxed
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areas of the map. Depending on where exactly you click, a simple connection will
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be made between two rooms.<br>
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<br>
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In its default configuration, you can also click to create a connection on an
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area where no rooms yet exist. IFMapper will then create the missing rooms
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automatically for you, in addition to the connection.<br>
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<br>
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Note that you can change the behavior of how nodes and connections are created
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from the <b>Map->Options</b> menu:<br>
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<b>Automatic Connection - </b>will create a connection to the previous room for
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each new room you create.<b><br>
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Create on Connection - </b>will allow you to add both the connection and the
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missing rooms when you click on some connection area in the map.<br>
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<img border="0" src="images/connection.gif" align="right" width="332" height="118"><br>
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Connections can also be modified similarly to rooms, by clicking twice on them.
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The connection requester allows you to specify the connection as a free, door,
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locked or special connection. It also allows you to make the connection
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travel in a single direction or in both directions. Finally, you can also
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add text to the connections to indicate that connection takes you Up/Down or In/Out.</p>
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<p>Changing the connection to<img border="5" src="images/connection_menu.gif" align="right" width="342" height="241">
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be one way can also be done by just <br>
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clicking on them several times, without opening the requester.<br>
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<br>
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Finally, selecting a connection and using the right mouse button gives you
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access to a context-sensitive menu that allows you to flip the direction of a
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connection or to shift the connection to some other exit in the room.</p>
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<p> </p>
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<p> </p>
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<p> </p>
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<p> </p>
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<p><b><font size="4"><br>
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<a name="Deleting Rooms or Connections">Deleting Rooms or Connections</a></font></b><br>
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<br>
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To remove a room or connection, just select it by clicking on it with<br>
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the left mouse button. Then, press the Delete or Backspace key.<br>
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Note that there is currently no Undo, so deleted nodes or connections<br>
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cannot be restored.<br>
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<br>
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<font size="4"><br>
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<b><a name="Complex Connections">Complex Connections<img border="5" src="images/complex_connection.gif" align="right" width="338" height="308"></a></b></font><br>
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<br>
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A lot of text adventures have mazes with exits that lead nowhere and exits that
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change direction from one room to the next. We refer to these as complex
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connections.<br>
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To create a complex connection, type the letter <b>'x'</b> or use the <b>Edit->Add
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Complex Connection </b>menu option. Afterwards, click on the exit next to the
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first room you want to connect and then click on<br>
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the exit of the second room.<br>
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If you want to get out of the add complex connection mode, just hit Esc at any
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time.<br>
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IFMapper will then try to calculate a path along the map to take you from your
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first room to the second one. <br>
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For a complex connection to happen, the path between those nodes has to be
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'free' of other rooms. IFMapper will also try to avoid inter-crossing
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connections as much as it can, but will still allow them.<br>
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To create exits that just loop onto themselves, you can do a complex connection
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by clicking twice on the same exit or, you can just use<b> CTRL + Left Mouse
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Button </b>without needing to go into the Complex Connection mode.<br>
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<br>
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<b><font size="4"><br>
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<a name="Moving Rooms in Map">Moving Rooms in Map</a></font></b><br>
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<br>
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When building large maps on complex games, you will probably run into the need
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to shift nodes around. To do so, select on the nodes you want to move by <b>CTRL-LMB
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</b>on them, and then use the arrow keys to shift the nodes one grid unit at a
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time.<br>
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You can also use <b>SHIFT-LMB</b> to drag a box around the rooms to select. <br>
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If there are any simple or complex connections, IFMapper will keep recalculating
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those connections on the fly as you move the nodes.<br>
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Note that complex connections can sometimes 'fail'. In those cases, you will see
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the complex connection become taut and tinted red.<br>
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</p>
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<p><b><font size="4"><a name="Dealing with Multiple Sections">Dealing with
|
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Multiple Sections</a></font></b></p>
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<p>Some adventure games can be rather large and might be split into chapters.
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In those cases, you may want to take advantage of using multiple sections in
|
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your map. This will keep your map organized and may help you with printing
|
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them also later on.</p>
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<p>You can create and delete sections from the menu, in <b>Map->Sections->Create
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Section</b> and <b>Map->Sections->Delete Section.</b></p>
|
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<p>To move from one section to another, you can use the Arrows located in the
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right section of the toolbar or <b>Map->Sections->Next/Previous Section.</b></p>
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<p><br>
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<br>
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<b><font size="4"><a name="Searching">Searching</a></font></b><br>
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<br>
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You can search for words in locations, objects, tasks or descriptions in the
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current section or in the whole map, using regular expressions.<br>
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The search is interactive, a la Emacs, meaning that as you type, the rooms that
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match the search get hilited.<br>
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The number of matches for the map and the section is display in the status bar.<br>
|
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You can use the Next/Previous button to keep centering your view on each match (and
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automatically moving thru sections if you are matching stuff in the whole map)<br>
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<br>
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<br>
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<b><font size="4"><a name="Preferences">Preferences</a></font></b><br>
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<br>
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IFMapper allows you to change and set preferences on a per map basis (colors,
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editing options, etc). You can also save your preferences so that IFMapper will
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boot with those settings in place for creating new maps.<br>
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<br>
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<br>
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<font size="4"><b><a name="Saving and Loading Maps">Saving and Loading Maps</a></b></font></p>
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<p>To save a map you are editing, you can go to <b>File->Save</b> or <b>File->Save
|
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As</b>. The internal format of IFMapper's maps is the .map format, which
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is binary format. This format saves all your map preferences as well as
|
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all the connections and descriptions.<br>
|
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To load a map, you can then use <b>File->Open</b>. Besides IFMapper's own
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.map format, IFMapper also supports other popular formats within the IF
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community. IFMapper can read:<br>
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- .ifm files (Dave Chapeski's IFM, a popular free Unix mapping/walkthru tool)<br>
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|
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- .gmp file (GUEmap's maps, a commercial mapping tool for Windows)<br>
|
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|
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- .inf files (Inform6 source code files)<br>
|
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|
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- .t3m or .t files ( TADS3 makefiles or source code files )</p>
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<p><br>
|
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<b><font size="4"><a name="Locking Maps">Locking Maps</a></font></b><br>
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|
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<br>
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|
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Once you finish an adventure game, you can then lock the map for distribution.<br>
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|
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You can do so by going into <b>Map->Map Information</b> and click on the Read-Only
|
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|
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switch and making sure you save the map as .map file (IFMapper's native format).<br>
|
|
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|
+
Making the map read-only will not allow you to modify the map anymore (and thus
|
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|
+
will prevent accidentally moving or changing room descriptions by<br>
|
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|
+
mistake).<br>
|
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|
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When reading any IFM file, Read-Only mode is entered automatically, as it is
|
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|
+
assumed these maps were created and finished elsewhere. If you need<br>
|
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|
+
to modify them, just untick the Read-Only switch in the Map Information box
|
|
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|
+
again.<br>
|
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|
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<br>
|
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|
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<b><font size="4"><br>
|
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|
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<a name="Mapping Games from Transcripts (Automapping)">Mapping Games from
|
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|
+
Transcripts (Automapping)</a><br>
|
|
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|
+
</font></b><br>
|
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|
+
New to v0.8, the feature of automapping was added. The way automapping works is
|
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|
+
that it will read a transcript or log of your game, and will attempt to parse it
|
|
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|
+
to generate rooms and connections (even while you are playing it!).<br>
|
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|
+
<br>
|
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|
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To use automapping, go to your game and start a transcript. Usually this is done
|
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|
+
by doing:</p>
|
|
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|
+
<p><b>> verbose<br>
|
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|
+
> script</b></p>
|
|
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|
+
<p>and then specifying the name of the file.<br>
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|
+
<br>
|
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|
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Then, go to IFMapper and go to a map (usually an empty one) and do:<img border="0" src="images/automap.gif" align="right" width="413" height="428"><br>
|
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|
+
<b>Map->Automap->Start</b>. This will pop up a file requester for you to feed
|
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|
+
IFMapper the name of the transcript.<br>
|
|
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|
+
Then, you will be asked thru a requester to select some options.<br>
|
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|
+
The options include how will the automapper identify locations as being unique.
|
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|
+
The automapper can determine whether you are in a new location by comparing the
|
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|
+
room description (the default) or by comparing just the short name of the room.
|
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|
+
Games that have rooms with the same short names (usually, mazes) will benefit
|
|
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|
+
from being identified by the room description while games that often change the
|
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|
+
room description on several visits to it might be mapped better using just short
|
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|
+
names. Note that you can also switch from one method to another at any
|
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|
+
time later on.<br>
|
|
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|
+
Another option allows you to specify what type of transcript you are dealing
|
|
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|
+
with. Most games use the "Classic" format, albeit some old Infocom games (mainly
|
|
401
|
+
Witness and Moonmist) used a tad different format.<br>
|
|
402
|
+
And voila. Immediately, you should see IFMapper get to work and start creating
|
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|
+
locations and connections. <br>
|
|
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|
+
If you continue playing your game and the 'script' command is still in operation,
|
|
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|
+
IFMapper will try to interactively map your game. This works very well for games
|
|
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|
+
running under WinFrotz, for example, albeit some other interpreters might not
|
|
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|
+
append text to transcripts as soon as you run a command, leading to a less
|
|
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|
+
interactive automapping (you'll probably have to type several commands before
|
|
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|
+
the interpreter will update the transcript file).<br>
|
|
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|
+
Besides trying to parse for locations and movements, automapper will also try to
|
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|
+
parse for objects in the room, by monitoring your 'get' or 'take' commands and
|
|
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|
+
remembering where each object was first found, so as to add it to the appropiate
|
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|
+
room.<br>
|
|
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|
+
Note that, at any point during your mapping, you can pop up the automapper
|
|
415
|
+
properties again to switch from automapping using descriptions to using short
|
|
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|
+
names.<br>
|
|
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|
+
<br>
|
|
418
|
+
<br>
|
|
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|
+
<b><font size="4"><a name="How does the automapper distinguish locations">How
|
|
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|
+
does the automapper distinguish locations?</a></font></b><br>
|
|
421
|
+
<br>
|
|
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|
+
As we said before, the automapper will parse all the game text, looking for room
|
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423
|
+
descriptions. Not just the replies to moving commands.<br>
|
|
424
|
+
This is done so that teleporting commands (such as magical words) or special
|
|
425
|
+
events that take you other places will work.<br>
|
|
426
|
+
Room locations are determined by finding the room's short name: a string of text
|
|
427
|
+
where all of its words of 4 or more letters are capitalized (or where the string
|
|
428
|
+
follows the format specified, in case of Witness/Moonmist format). <br>
|
|
429
|
+
The paragraph following that is assumed to be a room description.<br>
|
|
430
|
+
Depending on your automapper settings, the automapper will give preference to
|
|
431
|
+
the room description or to the room's short name to determine whether a certain
|
|
432
|
+
room has already been visited.<br>
|
|
433
|
+
<br>
|
|
434
|
+
<br>
|
|
435
|
+
<b><font size="4"><a name="Limitations on Automapping">Limitations on
|
|
436
|
+
Automapping</a></font></b><br>
|
|
437
|
+
<br>
|
|
438
|
+
Albeit automapping is very cool and powerful, there are some limitations on it
|
|
439
|
+
you should be aware of.<br>
|
|
440
|
+
First, it only works with games written in English.<br>
|
|
441
|
+
Second, you should try to use automapping with verbose mode. Automapping will
|
|
442
|
+
try to rely on the room description to distinguish one room from the next,
|
|
443
|
+
instead of just the room's short name.<br>
|
|
444
|
+
If your game is in brief or normal mode, automapping could end up getting
|
|
445
|
+
confused about interpreting a previously visited location as a new location, as
|
|
446
|
+
it could interpret an object or a character description as part of the<br>
|
|
447
|
+
room description.<br>
|
|
448
|
+
Even with full verbose mode, automapping may get confused if the
|
|
449
|
+
description changes dramatically (like the demolished house in Hitchhiker's
|
|
450
|
+
Guide to the Galaxy).<br>
|
|
451
|
+
Automapping also may not help much when it comes to mazes, where all their
|
|
452
|
+
descriptions are identical or in cases where exits are chosen at random (Adventure/Colossal
|
|
453
|
+
Cave).<br>
|
|
454
|
+
Some games don't follow the Infocom standard of labelling locations using a
|
|
455
|
+
short capitalized description (for example, FailSafe). These games cannot be
|
|
456
|
+
automapped.<br>
|
|
457
|
+
Finally, the layout algorithm used in the automapper is not exceptional and it
|
|
458
|
+
can lead to maps with intercrossings or with rooms placed too far apart.<br>
|
|
459
|
+
Remember, thou, that you can still help the automapper by manually moving or
|
|
460
|
+
removing rooms at any time if you are interactively automapping a transcript.<br>
|
|
461
|
+
If for some reason the automapper does not detect a room automatically, you can
|
|
462
|
+
also at any time create that room yourself and from then on, the automapper will
|
|
463
|
+
be aware of it.<br>
|
|
464
|
+
<br>
|
|
465
|
+
<b><br>
|
|
466
|
+
<font size="4"><a name="Creating a new Inform/TADS3 game">Creating a new
|
|
467
|
+
Inform/TADS3 game</a></font></b><br>
|
|
468
|
+
<br>
|
|
469
|
+
IFMapper now allows you to also spit out Inform or TADS3 source code for a map.<br>
|
|
470
|
+
This means you can now use IFMapper to easily create the basic skeleton for a
|
|
471
|
+
new game from scratch. <br>
|
|
472
|
+
With IFMapper, you can place your objects, your NPCs and locations with their
|
|
473
|
+
doors/exits in your game. You can also type in your descriptions for each
|
|
474
|
+
location.<br>
|
|
475
|
+
To do this, make sure to activate the display of room descriptions:</p>
|
|
476
|
+
<p><b>Map->Display->Location Description</b></p>
|
|
477
|
+
<p>You can then type in all your room descriptions and objects manually and then,
|
|
478
|
+
once your map is finished, use:<b><br>
|
|
479
|
+
<br>
|
|
480
|
+
File->Export->Export to Inform<br>
|
|
481
|
+
File->Export->Export to TADS3<br>
|
|
482
|
+
</b><br>
|
|
483
|
+
These option will create a set of Inform or TADS3 source files (one per map
|
|
484
|
+
section), which you can then immediately compile and play with.<br>
|
|
485
|
+
Obviously, for a real game, the .inf or .t files you get out of IFMapper are
|
|
486
|
+
just a skeleton, as you will still have to code manually all the logic in your<br>
|
|
487
|
+
game.</p>
|
|
488
|
+
<p> </p>
|
|
489
|
+
<p><b><font size="5" color="#000080"><a name="Appendix">Appendix</a></font></b></p>
|
|
490
|
+
<p><b><font size="4">
|
|
491
|
+
<a name="I am new to Interactive Fiction. What games would you recommend">I am
|
|
492
|
+
new to Interactive Fiction. What games would you recommend?</a></font></b><br>
|
|
493
|
+
<br>
|
|
494
|
+
If you can get a copy of it (Lost Treasures of Infocom or similar), I think
|
|
495
|
+
Wishbringer from Infocom is probably one of the nicest introductory games. <br>
|
|
496
|
+
Its puzzles are not that tricky and are also pretty logical.<br>
|
|
497
|
+
Once you master it, you could then try Planetfall, which has one of the most
|
|
498
|
+
lovable characters in any adventure game.<br>
|
|
499
|
+
Assuming you cannot get hold of those Infocom games, Emily Short's City of
|
|
500
|
+
Secrets is a very nice introductory game and probably one of the most polished
|
|
501
|
+
adventures I have seen.<br>
|
|
502
|
+
Andrew Plotkin's Dreamholder is also somewhat a nice introductory game as the
|
|
503
|
+
game will help you with your commands a little as you begin. Note, however, that
|
|
504
|
+
the game's puzzles are anything but easy. <br>
|
|
505
|
+
<font size="5"><br>
|
|
506
|
+
</font><b><font size="4"><a name="Contacting the Author">Contacting the Author</a></font><br>
|
|
507
|
+
</b><br>
|
|
508
|
+
Currently, I can be reached at:</p>
|
|
509
|
+
<p>ggarra AT domain</p>
|
|
510
|
+
<p>(Where "domain" is advancedsl.com.ar )<br>
|
|
511
|
+
<br>
|
|
512
|
+
</p>
|
|
513
|
+
|
|
514
|
+
</body>
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+
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+
</html>
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