Move Game notes to its own file?
-
The game notes are a bit awkward to have in the game XML in a massive CDATA block. Having them be in their own file perhaps could make it a lot easier. Particularly since one could open the file in a web browser and be able to see how the HTML would render.
Any thoughts about this?
I think the only challenge would be solving how we can associate a game-notes file with the corresponding XML.
-
@LaFayette I theory, you should have a "Game Notes" and a "Skin Notes", or you could have a "Map Notes", where all games and the original skin are covered. However the notes are mostly or only about the game, so I think the current system is good enough.
To clarify, for example, the part of the notes of World At War that tell that a blue dot is a canal would be part of the "Skin Notes" (as I can make a mapskin or change the map without the game to show canals in a different way) while the rest would be part of the "Game Notes", but taking skin elements if needed (for example the unit images shown in the tables, that can be different across mapskins or anyway dependent only on the skin (for example, if I change the Germans "Battleship" image, I would change the "Battleship.png" image in doc, that displays in "Game Notes", without changing the notes themselves)).
However, since I tested that this problem:
https://github.com/triplea-game/triplea/issues/6157
is not present in "html" files, if outsourcing the notes would fix it, it may be a good thing to do, since it seems that the notes are currently insanably badly handled. -
It is really good idea.
-
@Cernel What would the purpose of a 'skin notes' be? The notes in XML files is viewable in a game, that is where it's intended use is, and if you change the skin that still does not change the notes that you would see. Similar to 'map notes', are you suggesting it should be a new feature to have a 'map notes?' If so, I don't know if that is a good move as it adds more complexity to understanding maps, and to users there is no distinction between a map and game, it's a detail that is hidden from them and is only really important to those dealing with the map & game files.
RE: HTML, no, extracting the game notes to a new file is not going to fix any rendering issues, it will let you preview if more easily though. The source of the data would be the thing that changes, not the way it is presented.
-
@Cernel thinking about this, skin notes makes sense. Though there is the download description which should basically already be the skin notes. We could perhaps have the game show that same description. I would not want it duplicated. Map notes is hard to mix into the fold though, I think that makes a bit less sense.
-
@LaFayette agree
-
What are you refering to when you say "skin notes"?
-
"skin notes" is kinda non-existent right now and something Cernel suggested. There is a description on the downloads of map-skins, likely that could be considered the "skin notes". IMO being able to see that when you download a map skin is maybe enough, but having an in-game way to be able to see those details could be a good thing.
-
@LaFayette said in Move Game notes to its own file?:
"skin notes" is kinda non-existent right now and something Cernel suggested.
Actually, I didn't suggest it, in the meaning of something that should be added. Also, I was not referring to mapskins only, or even mainly. The "Skin Notes" would be available for whatever skin you are using, comprising the original map (or only that one, if the map has no mapskins). However, as I said, "the notes are mostly or only about the game, so I think the current system is good enough" (meaning that, while I believe that, in theory, skin information should be set apart from game information, that is hardly needed in practice (so I'm not sure whether or not it would be good to have "Skin Notes", in practice)).
In theory, made up "Notes" would be unnecessary if the program would be able perfectly to support everything and to give full information on everything, based on the map's settings (which would also allow the mapmaker easily to check everything works as intended). Of course, this is not going to happen, so the Game Notes are very important.
-
@Cernel I am confused when reading the below, could you explain why it is even in theory?
" I theory, you should have a "Game Notes" and a "Skin Notes", or you could have a "Map Notes", where all games and the original skin are covered"
-
@LaFayette said in Move Game notes to its own file?:
@Cernel I am confused when reading the below, could you explain why it is even in theory?
" I theory, you should have a "Game Notes" and a "Skin Notes", or you could have a "Map Notes", where all games and the original skin are covered"
Because, in practice, I believe it is rare that you need to explain skin elements (an example are the notes of "World At War", that explain that a single blue dot is a canal between connected territories and a double blue dot is a canal between unconnected territories). Therefore, splitting the notes between a game and a skin level may be not advisable. Of course, the sum of the game or the games and the original skin is the map. Map level notes are probably not advisable, even though they might be good for maps with strongly related games, like "Age of Tribes" (in which it may be good having a single notes thing for them all, if @Frostion thinks so).
Side note, some games put the notes in the "game board" itself (for example, "270BC" and "Civil War"). One may argue that all skin notes should be displayed that way, but I'm personally not a fan of using the map view to give information.
-
One challenge is having a mechanism to associate a game notes file with the game file. Having the two files with matching names and the notes file being suffixed with '-notes.html' might be easy enough. For example:
world_at_war.xml world_at_war-notes.html
