General 2.6 Discussion

LaFayette

they are sometimes based on having one file per game (like in the new 2.6 notes files

The game notes before 2.6 were stored in the game XML file. Extracting to a peer file is really not a change in this relationship (right?) - it is still one-to-one.

Cernel

@lafayette I would rather say that stuff should be organized per folder whenever you have multiple files for the same object. For example, you would have one subfolder per game within the "games" folder, so you would put the tooltips.properties or the notes file inside the "games" folder if they are to be used by each of the games of the map, or you would put them inside the specific game subfolder in the "games" folder if they are for that game only. In this case, instead of having something like
the_pact_of_steel/map/games/pact_of_steel.xml
the_pact_of_steel/map/games/pact_of_steel.notes.html
you would have something like
the_pact_of_steel/map/games/pact_of_steel/rules.xml
the_pact_of_steel/map/games/pact_of_steel/notes.html.

If all games of the "the_pact_of_steel" map are supposed to use the same tooltips, then you would have
the_pact_of_steel/map/games/tooltips.properties
or else you would have
the_pact_of_steel/map/games/pact_of_steel/tooltips.properties
and
the_pact_of_steel/map/games/pact_of_steel_2/tooltips.properties.

In the case of the "the_pact_of_steel" map, the two games sub-folders would be
the_pact_of_steel/map/games/pact_of_steel
and
the_pact_of_steel/map/games/pact_of_steel_2.

(I'm not sure if "rules" is the best name for it.)

Cernel

@cernel As far as the "objectives.properties" goes, instead of having a single
the_pact_of_steel/map/objectives.properties
file with the

Objectives.Panel.Name=Objectives

Pact_of_Steel_2.TABLEGROUP.01;Italians=objectiveAttachmentItalians1_TheMed;triggerAttachmentItalians2_NorthAfrica
Pact_of_Steel_2.TABLEGROUP.02;Russians=objectiveAttachmentRussians1_EasternEurope;objectiveAttachmentRussians2_LendLease;objectiveAttachmentRussians3_HardAdvance;triggerAttachmentRussians4a_LeningradAndStalingrad;triggerAttachmentRussians5_FarEastReserves
Pact_of_Steel_2.TABLEGROUP.03;Germans=objectiveAttachmentGermans1_EasternEurope;objectiveAttachmentGermans2_BalticSea;triggerAttachmentGermans3_SuperSubs;triggerAttachmentGermans4_MechanizedInfantry;triggerAttachmentGermans5_Rockets
Pact_of_Steel_2.TABLEGROUP.04;British=objectiveAttachmentBritish1_PacificCounterAttack;objectiveAttachmentBritish2_Africa;objectiveAttachmentBritish3_SeatOfEmpire;triggerAttachmentAmericans5_British4_Paratroopers;triggerAttachmentBritish5_CentersOfPower
Pact_of_Steel_2.TABLEGROUP.05;Japanese=objectiveAttachmentJapanese1_ControlOfAsia;objectiveAttachmentJapanese2_ControlOfPacific;triggerAttachmentJapanese3_TokyoExpress;triggerAttachmentJapanese4_ArmyControlOfNavy;triggerAttachmentJapanese5_ForTheEmperor;triggerAttachmentJapanese6_MidgetSubCanProduce;triggerAttachmentJapanese7_KamikazeAttack
Pact_of_Steel_2.TABLEGROUP.06;Americans=conditionAttachmentAmericans1_WarPhase;objectiveAttachmentAmericans2_TheAtlantic;objectiveAttachmentAmericans3_ThePacific;triggerAttachmentAmericans4_JapaneseCapitalShipsSunk;triggerAttachmentAmericans5_British4_Paratroopers;triggerAttachmentAmericans6_TheTurningPointInThePacific;triggerAttachmentAmericans7_WarBonds;triggerAttachmentAmericans8_TacticalAirUse
Pact_of_Steel_2.TABLEGROUP.07;Chinese=objectiveAttachmentChinese2_BurmaRoad;triggerAttachmentChinese3_MilitiaRisingUp;triggerAttachmentChinese4_ChineseOverrunTheirBorders


Pact_of_Steel_2.Italians;objectiveAttachmentItalians1_TheMed=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Axis control 8 out of 11 of Western Europe, Sardinia, Sicily, West Balkans, Greece, Algeria, Libya, Anglo Egypt, Trans-Jordan, Italian East Africa, Gibraltar AND no enemy surface ships in sea zones 13, 14, 15, and 15B
Pact_of_Steel_2.Italians;triggerAttachmentItalians2_NorthAfrica=* Italy gains, only once, a free purchase of a cruiser If at the beginning of their 3rd or 4th turn the Axis control 4 out of 4 of Algeria, Libya, Anglo Egypt, Trans-Jordan


Pact_of_Steel_2.Russians;objectiveAttachmentRussians1_EasternEurope=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Soviets control 3 out of 5 of Norway, Eastern Europe, East Balkans, Ukraine S.S.R., Belorussia
Pact_of_Steel_2.Russians;objectiveAttachmentRussians2_LendLease=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Soviets control Archangel and no allied forces in Soviet controlled land territories
Pact_of_Steel_2.Russians;objectiveAttachmentRussians3_HardAdvance=<b>+2 PUs AND +2 Tech Tokens</b>, only once, if Soviets control Norway or East Balkans
Pact_of_Steel_2.Russians;triggerAttachmentRussians4a_LeningradAndStalingrad=* Soviet's artillery gain the ability to support 2 infantry on attack If at the end of their 3rd or 4th turn, the Soviets control Karelia S.S.R. and Caucus (this effect can be doubled to 4 infantry supported if Russia gets Improved Artillery technology)
Pact_of_Steel_2.Russians;triggerAttachmentRussians5_FarEastReserves=* Soviets gain, only once, an additional 3 infantry in Yakut S.S.R. if at the beginning of their turn, Japan controls any original Russian territory


Pact_of_Steel_2.Germans;objectiveAttachmentGermans1_EasternEurope=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Axis control 7 out of 9 of East Balkans, Eastern Europe, Ukraine S.S.R., Belorussia, West Russia, Norway, Karelia S.S.R., Archangel, Caucus
Pact_of_Steel_2.Germans;objectiveAttachmentGermans2_BalticSea=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Axis control Western Europe, AND there are NO enemy surface ships in 3 out of 3 of sea zones 5, 6, and 7
Pact_of_Steel_2.Germans;triggerAttachmentGermans3_SuperSubs=* Germany gains Super Subs if at the end of their 4th or 5th turn, there are NO enemy surface ships in 3 out of 3 of sea zones 5, 6, and 7
Pact_of_Steel_2.Germans;triggerAttachmentGermans4_MechanizedInfantry=* Germany gains Mechanized Infantry if at the end of their 3rd or 4th turn, the Axis control 6 out of 7 of East Balkans, Eastern Europe, Ukraine S.S.R., Belorussia, Karelia S.S.R., Archangel, Caucus
Pact_of_Steel_2.Germans;triggerAttachmentGermans5_Rockets=* Germany gains Rockets if at the end of their 3rd or 4th turn, the Axis do NOT control Western Europe, but DO control Norway


Pact_of_Steel_2.British;objectiveAttachmentBritish1_PacificCounterAttack=<b>+4 PUs</b> if the UK controls 1 out of 6 of East Indies, Borneo, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Caroline Islands, Okinawa
Pact_of_Steel_2.British;objectiveAttachmentBritish2_Africa=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Allies control 9 out of 11 of Gibraltar, Algeria, Libya, Anglo Egypt, Trans-Jordan, Persia, French West Africa, French Equatorial Africa, Italian East Africa, Belgian Congo, Kenya
Pact_of_Steel_2.British;objectiveAttachmentBritish3_SeatOfEmpire=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Allies control 3 out of 3 of Union of South Africa, India, Australia
Pact_of_Steel_2.British;triggerAttachmentAmericans5_British4_Paratroopers=* UK gains Paratroopers if at the end of Germany's 3rd, 4th or 5th turns, the Allies control Western Europe
Pact_of_Steel_2.British;triggerAttachmentBritish5_CentersOfPower=* UK gains AA Radar if at the end their 3rd or 4th turn, the Allies control 4 out of 5 of Union of South Africa, Gibraltar, Anglo Egypt, India, Australia


Pact_of_Steel_2.Japanese;objectiveAttachmentJapanese1_ControlOfAsia=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Axis control 7 out of 7 of India, French Indochina, Kwangtung, Manchuria, China, Central China, Sinkiang
Pact_of_Steel_2.Japanese;objectiveAttachmentJapanese2_ControlOfPacific=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Axis control 10 out of 13 of Alaska, East Indies, Borneo, Philipine Islands, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Caroline Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Okinawa, Wake Island, Hawaiian Islands, Midway
Pact_of_Steel_2.Japanese;triggerAttachmentJapanese3_TokyoExpress=* Japan's destroyers gain the ability to transport a single infantry If on the 3rd or 4th turn, the Axis do NOT control ANY of Sinkiang, India, Burytia S.S.R.
Pact_of_Steel_2.Japanese;triggerAttachmentJapanese4_ArmyControlOfNavy=* Japan's transports gain an additional capacity of 1 (allowing 3 infantry or 2 tanks/artillery per transport) If at the end of their 3rd, 4th, or 5th turns, Japan controls 3 out of 3 of Australia, India, Sinkiang
Pact_of_Steel_2.Japanese;triggerAttachmentJapanese5_ForTheEmperor=* Japan gains, only once, a single additional midget_submarine in sz61 If it loses control over any of its original territories
Pact_of_Steel_2.Japanese;triggerAttachmentJapanese6_MidgetSubCanProduce=* Japan gains the ability to produce midget_submarines If it loses control over 2 of its islands: Okinawa, Philipine Islands, East Indies, Borneo, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Caroline Islands, Wake Island
Pact_of_Steel_2.Japanese;triggerAttachmentJapanese7_KamikazeAttack=* Japan gains the ability to produce kamikaze fighters, and all their current fighters turn into kamikaze fighters If it loses control over 2 of its islands, one of which being Philipine Islands (note that this objective may or may not be wanted, depending on the situation)


Pact_of_Steel_2.Americans;conditionAttachmentAmericans1_WarPhase=<b>+2-10 PUs</b>, starting on turn 2 America will begin making +2 income as America's war-time economy ramps up. This will increase by +2 more every 2 turns, so that turn 4 will begin making +4, turn 6 will make +6, and so on until +10 is reached
Pact_of_Steel_2.Americans;objectiveAttachmentAmericans2_TheAtlantic=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Allies control 3 out of 8 of Western Europe, Sardinia, Sicily, Italy, Greece, West Balkans, Algeria, Libya AND no enemy surface ships in sea zones 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14
Pact_of_Steel_2.Americans;objectiveAttachmentAmericans3_ThePacific=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Allies controls 6 out of 13 of Alaska, East Indies, Borneo, Philipine Islands, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Caroline Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Okinawa, Wake Island, Hawaiian Islands, Midway
Pact_of_Steel_2.Americans;triggerAttachmentAmericans4_JapaneseCapitalShipsSunk=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Japan has no Battleships OR no Carriers at the end of USA's turn
Pact_of_Steel_2.Americans;triggerAttachmentAmericans5_British4_Paratroopers=* USA gains Paratroopers if at the end of Germany's 3rd, 4th or 5th turns, the Allies control Western Europe
Pact_of_Steel_2.Americans;triggerAttachmentAmericans6_TheTurningPointInThePacific=* USA gains Improved Shipyards if at the end of their 3rd, 4th or 5th turns, USA controls 4 out of 4 of Alaska, Wake Island, Hawaiian Islands, Midway
Pact_of_Steel_2.Americans;triggerAttachmentAmericans7_WarBonds=* USA gains War Bonds if at any time before the end of the 8th turn, the above 2 conditions are met at the end of Germany's turn
Pact_of_Steel_2.Americans;triggerAttachmentAmericans8_TacticalAirUse=* USA's fighter's gain the ability to support infantry, stackable with artillery, IF at any time the USA has 2 out of 2 of War Bonds and Jet Power technologies


Pact_of_Steel_2.Chinese;objectiveAttachmentChinese2_BurmaRoad=<b>+4 PUs</b> and the ability to produce extra units, if Allies control Sinkiang, Central China, India. May use this money to produce a limited selection of units. May purchase tanks and fighters if these territories are controlled.
Pact_of_Steel_2.Chinese;triggerAttachmentChinese3_MilitiaRisingUp=* China gains 1 infantry in Sinkiang if at the beginning of their turn, there are no enemy units in 3 out of 6 of Sinkiang, Central China, China, Manchuria, Kwangtung, French Indochina. This unit is given at the beginning of combat move step, and can not be moved until next turn.
Pact_of_Steel_2.Chinese;triggerAttachmentChinese4_ChineseOverrunTheirBorders=* Japan has fallen and Chinese units are no longer confined to the borders of China.

code, you would have a
the_pact_of_steel/map/games/pact_of_steel_2/objectives.properties
file with the

Objectives.Panel.Name=Objectives

TABLEGROUP.01;Italians=objectiveAttachmentItalians1_TheMed;triggerAttachmentItalians2_NorthAfrica
TABLEGROUP.02;Russians=objectiveAttachmentRussians1_EasternEurope;objectiveAttachmentRussians2_LendLease;objectiveAttachmentRussians3_HardAdvance;triggerAttachmentRussians4a_LeningradAndStalingrad;triggerAttachmentRussians5_FarEastReserves
TABLEGROUP.03;Germans=objectiveAttachmentGermans1_EasternEurope;objectiveAttachmentGermans2_BalticSea;triggerAttachmentGermans3_SuperSubs;triggerAttachmentGermans4_MechanizedInfantry;triggerAttachmentGermans5_Rockets
TABLEGROUP.04;British=objectiveAttachmentBritish1_PacificCounterAttack;objectiveAttachmentBritish2_Africa;objectiveAttachmentBritish3_SeatOfEmpire;triggerAttachmentAmericans5_British4_Paratroopers;triggerAttachmentBritish5_CentersOfPower
TABLEGROUP.05;Japanese=objectiveAttachmentJapanese1_ControlOfAsia;objectiveAttachmentJapanese2_ControlOfPacific;triggerAttachmentJapanese3_TokyoExpress;triggerAttachmentJapanese4_ArmyControlOfNavy;triggerAttachmentJapanese5_ForTheEmperor;triggerAttachmentJapanese6_MidgetSubCanProduce;triggerAttachmentJapanese7_KamikazeAttack
TABLEGROUP.06;Americans=conditionAttachmentAmericans1_WarPhase;objectiveAttachmentAmericans2_TheAtlantic;objectiveAttachmentAmericans3_ThePacific;triggerAttachmentAmericans4_JapaneseCapitalShipsSunk;triggerAttachmentAmericans5_British4_Paratroopers;triggerAttachmentAmericans6_TheTurningPointInThePacific;triggerAttachmentAmericans7_WarBonds;triggerAttachmentAmericans8_TacticalAirUse
TABLEGROUP.07;Chinese=objectiveAttachmentChinese2_BurmaRoad;triggerAttachmentChinese3_MilitiaRisingUp;triggerAttachmentChinese4_ChineseOverrunTheirBorders


Italians;objectiveAttachmentItalians1_TheMed=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Axis control 8 out of 11 of Western Europe, Sardinia, Sicily, West Balkans, Greece, Algeria, Libya, Anglo Egypt, Trans-Jordan, Italian East Africa, Gibraltar AND no enemy surface ships in sea zones 13, 14, 15, and 15B
Italians;triggerAttachmentItalians2_NorthAfrica=* Italy gains, only once, a free purchase of a cruiser If at the beginning of their 3rd or 4th turn the Axis control 4 out of 4 of Algeria, Libya, Anglo Egypt, Trans-Jordan


Russians;objectiveAttachmentRussians1_EasternEurope=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Soviets control 3 out of 5 of Norway, Eastern Europe, East Balkans, Ukraine S.S.R., Belorussia
Russians;objectiveAttachmentRussians2_LendLease=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Soviets control Archangel and no allied forces in Soviet controlled land territories
Russians;objectiveAttachmentRussians3_HardAdvance=<b>+2 PUs AND +2 Tech Tokens</b>, only once, if Soviets control Norway or East Balkans
Russians;triggerAttachmentRussians4a_LeningradAndStalingrad=* Soviet's artillery gain the ability to support 2 infantry on attack If at the end of their 3rd or 4th turn, the Soviets control Karelia S.S.R. and Caucus (this effect can be doubled to 4 infantry supported if Russia gets Improved Artillery technology)
Russians;triggerAttachmentRussians5_FarEastReserves=* Soviets gain, only once, an additional 3 infantry in Yakut S.S.R. if at the beginning of their turn, Japan controls any original Russian territory


Germans;objectiveAttachmentGermans1_EasternEurope=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Axis control 7 out of 9 of East Balkans, Eastern Europe, Ukraine S.S.R., Belorussia, West Russia, Norway, Karelia S.S.R., Archangel, Caucus
Germans;objectiveAttachmentGermans2_BalticSea=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Axis control Western Europe, AND there are NO enemy surface ships in 3 out of 3 of sea zones 5, 6, and 7
Germans;triggerAttachmentGermans3_SuperSubs=* Germany gains Super Subs if at the end of their 4th or 5th turn, there are NO enemy surface ships in 3 out of 3 of sea zones 5, 6, and 7
Germans;triggerAttachmentGermans4_MechanizedInfantry=* Germany gains Mechanized Infantry if at the end of their 3rd or 4th turn, the Axis control 6 out of 7 of East Balkans, Eastern Europe, Ukraine S.S.R., Belorussia, Karelia S.S.R., Archangel, Caucus
Germans;triggerAttachmentGermans5_Rockets=* Germany gains Rockets if at the end of their 3rd or 4th turn, the Axis do NOT control Western Europe, but DO control Norway


British;objectiveAttachmentBritish1_PacificCounterAttack=<b>+4 PUs</b> if the UK controls 1 out of 6 of East Indies, Borneo, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Caroline Islands, Okinawa
British;objectiveAttachmentBritish2_Africa=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Allies control 9 out of 11 of Gibraltar, Algeria, Libya, Anglo Egypt, Trans-Jordan, Persia, French West Africa, French Equatorial Africa, Italian East Africa, Belgian Congo, Kenya
British;objectiveAttachmentBritish3_SeatOfEmpire=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Allies control 3 out of 3 of Union of South Africa, India, Australia
British;triggerAttachmentAmericans5_British4_Paratroopers=* UK gains Paratroopers if at the end of Germany's 3rd, 4th or 5th turns, the Allies control Western Europe
British;triggerAttachmentBritish5_CentersOfPower=* UK gains AA Radar if at the end their 3rd or 4th turn, the Allies control 4 out of 5 of Union of South Africa, Gibraltar, Anglo Egypt, India, Australia


Japanese;objectiveAttachmentJapanese1_ControlOfAsia=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Axis control 7 out of 7 of India, French Indochina, Kwangtung, Manchuria, China, Central China, Sinkiang
Japanese;objectiveAttachmentJapanese2_ControlOfPacific=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Axis control 10 out of 13 of Alaska, East Indies, Borneo, Philipine Islands, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Caroline Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Okinawa, Wake Island, Hawaiian Islands, Midway
Japanese;triggerAttachmentJapanese3_TokyoExpress=* Japan's destroyers gain the ability to transport a single infantry If on the 3rd or 4th turn, the Axis do NOT control ANY of Sinkiang, India, Burytia S.S.R.
Japanese;triggerAttachmentJapanese4_ArmyControlOfNavy=* Japan's transports gain an additional capacity of 1 (allowing 3 infantry or 2 tanks/artillery per transport) If at the end of their 3rd, 4th, or 5th turns, Japan controls 3 out of 3 of Australia, India, Sinkiang
Japanese;triggerAttachmentJapanese5_ForTheEmperor=* Japan gains, only once, a single additional midget_submarine in sz61 If it loses control over any of its original territories
Japanese;triggerAttachmentJapanese6_MidgetSubCanProduce=* Japan gains the ability to produce midget_submarines If it loses control over 2 of its islands: Okinawa, Philipine Islands, East Indies, Borneo, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Caroline Islands, Wake Island
Japanese;triggerAttachmentJapanese7_KamikazeAttack=* Japan gains the ability to produce kamikaze fighters, and all their current fighters turn into kamikaze fighters If it loses control over 2 of its islands, one of which being Philipine Islands (note that this objective may or may not be wanted, depending on the situation)


Americans;conditionAttachmentAmericans1_WarPhase=<b>+2-10 PUs</b>, starting on turn 2 America will begin making +2 income as America's war-time economy ramps up. This will increase by +2 more every 2 turns, so that turn 4 will begin making +4, turn 6 will make +6, and so on until +10 is reached
Americans;objectiveAttachmentAmericans2_TheAtlantic=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Allies control 3 out of 8 of Western Europe, Sardinia, Sicily, Italy, Greece, West Balkans, Algeria, Libya AND no enemy surface ships in sea zones 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14
Americans;objectiveAttachmentAmericans3_ThePacific=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Allies controls 6 out of 13 of Alaska, East Indies, Borneo, Philipine Islands, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Caroline Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Okinawa, Wake Island, Hawaiian Islands, Midway
Americans;triggerAttachmentAmericans4_JapaneseCapitalShipsSunk=<b>+4 PUs</b> if Japan has no Battleships OR no Carriers at the end of USA's turn
Americans;triggerAttachmentAmericans5_British4_Paratroopers=* USA gains Paratroopers if at the end of Germany's 3rd, 4th or 5th turns, the Allies control Western Europe
Americans;triggerAttachmentAmericans6_TheTurningPointInThePacific=* USA gains Improved Shipyards if at the end of their 3rd, 4th or 5th turns, USA controls 4 out of 4 of Alaska, Wake Island, Hawaiian Islands, Midway
Americans;triggerAttachmentAmericans7_WarBonds=* USA gains War Bonds if at any time before the end of the 8th turn, the above 2 conditions are met at the end of Germany's turn
Americans;triggerAttachmentAmericans8_TacticalAirUse=* USA's fighter's gain the ability to support infantry, stackable with artillery, IF at any time the USA has 2 out of 2 of War Bonds and Jet Power technologies


Chinese;objectiveAttachmentChinese2_BurmaRoad=<b>+4 PUs</b> and the ability to produce extra units, if Allies control Sinkiang, Central China, India. May use this money to produce a limited selection of units. May purchase tanks and fighters if these territories are controlled.
Chinese;triggerAttachmentChinese3_MilitiaRisingUp=* China gains 1 infantry in Sinkiang if at the beginning of their turn, there are no enemy units in 3 out of 6 of Sinkiang, Central China, China, Manchuria, Kwangtung, French Indochina. This unit is given at the beginning of combat move step, and can not be moved until next turn.
Chinese;triggerAttachmentChinese4_ChineseOverrunTheirBorders=* Japan has fallen and Chinese units are no longer confined to the borders of China.

code (and no such file inside the
the_pact_of_steel/map/games/pact_of_steel
folder because that game has no objectives).

The same would apply to anything else, like the notifications, politics, actions, and so on (main "games" folder if used by all games or else each of the "games" subfolders each of which is a subfolder for the games using it).

LaFayette

@cernel The sub-folder within games is possible in 2.6. Having other files be loaded per-game scenario is too much to take on right now.

Cernel

@lafayette I agree the release of 2.6 is better not being delayed. I hope it will happen before April, so I can release my new version of 270BC Wars with a solid reference at hand (and especially knowing whether or not the offloaded casualties selection split is a feature for 2.6 or not).

TheDog

@lafayette said in General 2.6 Discussion:

@thedog It's just the location of where the game notes are stored that has changed. Using an image makes updating game notes far more difficult (arguably impossible without the original doc file), I do not recommend it, but it's your prerogative.

In my case I always put the original doc in the same folder as the png.

Cernel

Doubtlessly, the "map.yml" file should be inside the "map" folder. Otherwise, how is a game on a directory like
downloadedMaps/the_pact_of_steel/games going to be supported any longer? Is compatibility with such old configuration being broken in favour of only
downloadedMaps/the_pact_of_steel/map/games or can you have the "map.yml" inside either of the folders named as "the_pact_of_steel" (even though the one of old is actually the same folder now called "map" instead)?

RogerCooper

Can map.yml have comments? This might be a good place to stick authorship information or information about the update. For example, if I change the version number, I should say who I am and what I did.

TheDog

I too was thinking could the map.yml hold the Star rating and the Era?

LaFayette

map.yml would be the place for storing any additional map indexing information, specifically 'tag' data such as star rating and era.

@Cernel the map.yml file should be at the top level. The engine will only look for XML files specified in map.yml. This will actually break maps that do not have one, though, there is the code to auto-generate a map.yml file in place if a map is missing the file. At some point it would be great if we could re-aggregate all maps such that we can upload the map.yml and then won't have any problems when the map.yml auto-generation code is removed.

LaFayette

@rogercooper The map.yml can have comments. It'll be odd though to put those comments for version changes as it's unclear which game.xml file, if any was changed. The map description file is likely a much better place for comments intended for users, otherwise the 'git commit' comment is exactly the right place for such change comments, that is 100%what that is for (and it stores the author, the exact diff of what was changed, and timestamp automatically without cluttering up any data files).

RogerCooper

@lafayette I would soon be ready with my hoard of collected scenarios. The majority of these scenarios use the map information from some existing mod. It makes sense to collect the xml's in something like World War II Global Variants. If I add new xml to a mod, it would be good to have a place where I can show that explicitly, not just change the version number.

Cernel

@lafayette said in General 2.6 Discussion:

@Cernel the map.yml file should be at the top level. The engine will only look for XML files specified in map.yml. This will actually break maps that do not have one, though, there is the code to auto-generate a map.yml file in place if a map is missing the file. At some point it would be great if we could re-aggregate all maps such that we can upload the map.yml and then won't have any problems when the map.yml auto-generation code is removed.

Top level? You mean that a map in the format of
downloadedMaps/the_pact_of_steel/games
will have the
map.yml
file together with the
map.properties
file, wherease a map in the format of
downloadedMaps/the_pact_of_steel/map/games
will have the
map.yml
file a folder behind the
map.properties?
If so, that is highly inconsistent, especially with the fact that, currently, all files that stay in a directory like
downloadedMaps/the_pact_of_steel
if there is no
map
folder inside the directory,
are meant otherwise to stay in
downloadedMaps/the_pact_of_steel/map.

I think it is rather obvious that something called map.yml should stay in the same folder as something called map.properties, that is both should stay immediately within the map folder if the map.properties is reputed to be in the right place. How is it not going to be confusing having two "map" files (one yml and the other one properties) in different places?

This links up with the fact that, as I said, instead of having
270bc_wars/map/games/270BC_Wars.xml
you should have
270bc_wars/map/games/270bc_wars/rules.xml.

About the version number, it should never be called as just version (to avoid confusion with the game version, which (you want it or not) will remain something defined by at least some map-makers, no matter if you remove it, because every time you change a map's game without changing the game's name you have a new version of the same-named game, and this is a fact no matter if the program misses to inform the users about any difference before starting the game) and should be at least a two digit one: the first digit for non-backward compatible changes (meaning that your saved games may be not anymore playable if you update the map) and the second digit for backward compatible changes (meaning you should be safe to update the map with no fear of being then unable to continue your saved games).

LaFayette

@rogercooper Who is the target audience for seeing the info that a new XML was added? AFAIK it's most interesting when downloading the map, making a note in the download description seems to be a good place. Are you thinking of somewhere else?

LaFayette

@cernel said in General 2.6 Discussion:

downloadedMaps/the_pact_of_steel

In this example, the map.yml file goes right under the map folder, downloadedMaps/the_pact_of_steel/map.yml. That is true no matter which current or legacy folder structure that is used.

About the version number, it should never be called as just version (to avoid confusion with the game version, which (you want it or not) will remain something defined by at least some map-makers, no matter if you remove it, because every time you change a map's game without changing the game's name you have a new version of the same-named game, and this is a fact no matter if the program misses to inform the users about any difference before starting the game) and should be at least a two digit one: the first digit for non-backward compatible changes (meaning that your saved games may be not anymore playable if you update the map) and the second digit for backward compatible changes (meaning you should be safe to update the map with no fear of being then unable to continue your saved games).

This is nothing new at all with 2.6. Be what it may:

I don't know if the game engine ever used the version value found in map XML for anything beyond a label.
Each map maker having their own versioning system is not sustainable for maintaining maps. If they all need to be updated, nobody is capable of divining all the different version number strategies
It's not important to define a version number'ing strategy and teaching everyone it when it is not enforced by the engine
Maps should never be made non-compatible. TripleA has NEVER supported this, (it is a major design flaw present since day 1) - it is a very bad move for a map maker to do this. Whenever we have made incompatible changes, it's always been incredibly painful. Instead a person needs to create an entirely new map copy and note that it is an updated version in the map title.

LaFayette

A heads up, getting pretty ready to turn on the maps server. We're removing 'version' from the map.yml file and the out-of-date check will be based on timestamps of the maps folder and the last commit date in the repo. After we merge that update, anyone with an older version of 2.6 that downloads a map could see issues reading 'version' from newly downloaded maps.

Next, will be working on a toolbox console to be able to manage maps. I'm thinking to keep it simpler that we perhaps just merge the map admin and mod team together. Map management would be in the same toolbox window that moderators access. The map toolbox window will allow moderators (map admins) to update map category and to disable maps from download. I'm leaning to enable this toolbox window to be able to create map tags and we'll be able to use that to assign era's to maps as well. To support this there will need to be a bit of a pivot in how downloaded information is displayed in TripleA clients so that it is tag based.

Once that is done there are some additional minor features that we can try and squeeze in but it'll be properly time to try and polish everything up, find as many issues as we can and then launch 2.6

LaFayette

FYI to all, I just generated a map.yml file for all maps and have uploaded it to the map repositories.

I'm reminded that notes can be extracted to their own file, that is another item for mass upload.

beelee

@lafayette right on
so are yaml PRs different as of now ? Or does it not take effect until 2.6 is the stable ?

LaFayette

@beelee The YAML file is read by 2.5 and below, so long as we are supporting those versions a person will need to update the YAML. My thinking is once 2.6 is launched we'll simply stop updating the YAML file.

Cernel

For the record, I still think that grouping all game-specific items into a single folder per game would be much advisable.

The current system means that, if you have a map with 6 games, you will have 12 files and the need specifically to recognize which is for what game. It would be cleaner to have 6 sub-folders to the game folder, each of them having inside two files (which would be generically named).

Then this could be expanded to any skin item, like the mentioned "objectives.properties", that is currently kind of a code nightmare, with lines like
World_War_II_Global_1940_Alpha_3.TABLEGROUP.01;Germans=objectiveAttachment_Germans_1_Trade_with_Russia;objectiveAttachment_Germans_2_Control_Novgorod_Or_Volgograd_Or_Russia;objectiveAttachment_Germans_3_Control_Caucasus;triggerAttachment_Germans_4_Presence_In_Egypt;triggerAttachment_Germans_5_Swedish_Iron_Ore;objectiveAttachment_Germans_6_Control_Iraq_Or_Persia_Or_Northwest_Persia
(and it is also using the arguably bad hack to have underscores to refer both to underscores and spaces, as the referred "World_War_II_Global_1940_Alpha_3" game is actually called "World War II Global 1940 Alpha 3")

Alternatively, for consistency, since currently we have files, like the "objectives.properties", which are in the main "map" folder and each contains the codes for every game needing some, then there should rather be one single notes file in the main "map" (not one or more in the "games") folder and this file should contain the notes of every game, much in the same way as the "objectives.properties" work (I think this would be worse.).