ifmapper 1.0.8 → 1.0.9
This diff represents the content of publicly available package versions that have been released to one of the supported registries. The information contained in this diff is provided for informational purposes only and reflects changes between package versions as they appear in their respective public registries.
- data/HISTORY.txt +4 -0
- data/IFMapper.gemspec +1 -1
- data/TODO.txt +0 -2
- data/docs/en/index.html +1 -1
- data/lib/IFMapper/FXMap.rb +35 -23
- data/lib/IFMapper/FXMapperWindow.rb +2 -1
- data/lib/IFMapper/PDFMapExporter_pdfwriter.rb +526 -0
- data/lib/IFMapper/PDFMapExporter_prawn.rb +528 -0
- data/lib/IFMapper/Room.rb +1 -0
- data/lib/IFMapper/TranscriptReader.rb +61 -0
- data/lib/IFMapper/locales/en/Messages.rb +13 -1
- data/lib/IFMapper/locales/es/Messages.rb +13 -2
- data/maps/Bronze.map +0 -0
- data/maps/Bureaucracy.map +0 -0
- data/maps/Byzantine.map +0 -0
- data/maps/CityOfSecrets.map +0 -0
- data/maps/Condemned.map +0 -0
- data/maps/Duel_in_the_Snow.map +0 -0
- data/maps/Eruption.map +0 -0
- data/maps/Gatoron.map +0 -0
- data/maps/Spelunker's_Quest.map +0 -0
- metadata +66 -61
- data/docs/en/start.html~ +0 -516
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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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<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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</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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</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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<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>
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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>
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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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- .gmp file (GUEmap's maps, a commercial mapping tool for Windows)<br>
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- .inf files (Inform6 source code files)<br>
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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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<br>
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Once you finish an adventure game, you can then lock the map for distribution.<br>
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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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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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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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|
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to modify them, just untick the Read-Only switch in the Map Information box
|
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|
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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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|
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Transcripts (Automapping)</a><br>
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</font></b><br>
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|
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New to v0.8, the feature of automapping was added. The way automapping works is
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|
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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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|
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to generate rooms and connections (even while you are playing it!).<br>
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|
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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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|
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by doing:</p>
|
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|
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<p><b>> verbose<br>
|
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|
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> script</b></p>
|
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|
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<p>and then specifying the name of the file.<br>
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|
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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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|
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<b>Map->Automap->Start</b>. This will pop up a file requester for you to feed
|
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|
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IFMapper the name of the transcript.<br>
|
|
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|
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Then, you will be asked thru a requester to select some options.<br>
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|
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The options include how will the automapper identify locations as being unique.
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|
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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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|
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Games that have rooms with the same short names (usually, mazes) will benefit
|
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|
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from being identified by the room description while games that often change the
|
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|
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room description on several visits to it might be mapped better using just short
|
|
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|
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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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|
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Another option allows you to specify what type of transcript you are dealing
|
|
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|
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with. Most games use the "Classic" format, albeit some old Infocom games (mainly
|
|
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|
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Witness and Moonmist) used a tad different format.<br>
|
|
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|
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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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|
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If you continue playing your game and the 'script' command is still in operation,
|
|
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|
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IFMapper will try to interactively map your game. This works very well for games
|
|
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|
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running under WinFrotz, for example, albeit some other interpreters might not
|
|
407
|
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append text to transcripts as soon as you run a command, leading to a less
|
|
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|
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interactive automapping (you'll probably have to type several commands before
|
|
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|
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the interpreter will update the transcript file).<br>
|
|
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|
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Besides trying to parse for locations and movements, automapper will also try to
|
|
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|
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parse for objects in the room, by monitoring your 'get' or 'take' commands and
|
|
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|
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remembering where each object was first found, so as to add it to the appropiate
|
|
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|
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room.<br>
|
|
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|
-
Note that, at any point during your mapping, you can pop up the automapper
|
|
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|
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properties again to switch from automapping using descriptions to using short
|
|
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|
-
names.<br>
|
|
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|
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<br>
|
|
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|
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<br>
|
|
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|
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<b><font size="4"><a name="How does the automapper distinguish locations">How
|
|
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|
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does the automapper distinguish locations?</a></font></b><br>
|
|
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|
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<br>
|
|
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|
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As we said before, the automapper will parse all the game text, looking for room
|
|
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|
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descriptions. Not just the replies to moving commands.<br>
|
|
424
|
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This is done so that teleporting commands (such as magical words) or special
|
|
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|
-
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
|
|
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|
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follows the format specified, in case of Witness/Moonmist format). <br>
|
|
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|
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The paragraph following that is assumed to be a room description.<br>
|
|
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|
-
Depending on your automapper settings, the automapper will give preference to
|
|
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|
-
the room description or to the room's short name to determine whether a certain
|
|
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|
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room has already been visited.<br>
|
|
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|
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<br>
|
|
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|
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<br>
|
|
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|
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<b><font size="4"><a name="Limitations on Automapping">Limitations on
|
|
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|
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Automapping</a></font></b><br>
|
|
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|
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<br>
|
|
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|
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Albeit automapping is very cool and powerful, there are some limitations on it
|
|
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|
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you should be aware of.<br>
|
|
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|
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First, it only works with games written in English.<br>
|
|
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|
-
Second, you should try to use automapping with verbose mode. Automapping will
|
|
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|
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try to rely on the room description to distinguish one room from the next,
|
|
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|
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instead of just the room's short name.<br>
|
|
444
|
-
If your game is in brief or normal mode, automapping could end up getting
|
|
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|
-
confused about interpreting a previously visited location as a new location, as
|
|
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|
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it could interpret an object or a character description as part of the<br>
|
|
447
|
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room description.<br>
|
|
448
|
-
Even with full verbose mode, automapping may get confused if the
|
|
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|
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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
|
|
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|
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automapped.<br>
|
|
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|
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Finally, the layout algorithm used in the automapper is not exceptional and it
|
|
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|
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can lead to maps with intercrossings or with rooms placed too far apart.<br>
|
|
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|
-
Remember, thou, that you can still help the automapper by manually moving or
|
|
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|
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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
|
|
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|
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also at any time create that room yourself and from then on, the automapper will
|
|
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|
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be aware of it.<br>
|
|
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|
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<br>
|
|
465
|
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<b><br>
|
|
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|
-
<font size="4"><a name="Creating a new Inform/TADS3 game">Creating a new
|
|
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|
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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
|
|
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|
-
new game from scratch. <br>
|
|
472
|
-
With IFMapper, you can place your objects, your NPCs and locations with their
|
|
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|
-
doors/exits in your game. You can also type in your descriptions for each
|
|
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|
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location.<br>
|
|
475
|
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To do this, make sure to activate the display of room descriptions:</p>
|
|
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|
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<p><b>Map->Display->Location Description</b></p>
|
|
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|
-
<p>You can then type in all your room descriptions and objects manually and then,
|
|
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|
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once your map is finished, use:<b><br>
|
|
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|
-
<br>
|
|
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|
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File->Export->Export to Inform<br>
|
|
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|
-
File->Export->Export to TADS3<br>
|
|
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|
-
</b><br>
|
|
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|
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These option will create a set of Inform or TADS3 source files (one per map
|
|
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|
-
section), which you can then immediately compile and play with.<br>
|
|
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|
-
Obviously, for a real game, the .inf or .t files you get out of IFMapper are
|
|
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|
-
just a skeleton, as you will still have to code manually all the logic in your<br>
|
|
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|
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game.</p>
|
|
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|
-
<p> </p>
|
|
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|
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<p><b><font size="5" color="#000080"><a name="Appendix">Appendix</a></font></b></p>
|
|
490
|
-
<p><b><font size="4">
|
|
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|
-
<a name="I am new to Interactive Fiction. What games would you recommend">I am
|
|
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|
-
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
|
|
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|
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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
|
|
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|
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the game's puzzles are anything but easy. <br>
|
|
505
|
-
<font size="5"><br>
|
|
506
|
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</font><b><font size="4"><a name="Contacting the Author">Contacting the Author</a></font><br>
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507
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</b><br>
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508
|
-
Currently, I can be reached at:</p>
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509
|
-
<p>ggarra AT domain</p>
|
|
510
|
-
<p>(Where "domain" is advancedsl.com.ar )<br>
|
|
511
|
-
<br>
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|
512
|
-
</p>
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513
|
-
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514
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</body>
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515
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516
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</html>
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