RAPTOR List Designer

[+CyranoJ]

OK, so this doesn't exist yet, but it seems to me that both RAPTOR API and RAPTOR Basic could use one, as the most difficult part to get your head around is probably asset importing (Correct me if I'm wrong!)

 

What I'm proposing is a simple editor that will let you define the parameters for each object (as found in _rapinit.s) and then let you group and sort the objects.

 

I'm thinking it would then save the _RAPINIT.S file along with a stub file that goes at the bottom of _RAPAPP.S to handle the asset importing?

 

I guess it could also let you define the particles and audio files, and create the files for those as well?

 

Does anyone think something like this would be useful?

[Chilly Willy]

Yes, that would definitely be easier for many folks. That's pretty much how Genesis projects are handled as well - you have a bunch of BMPs and WAVs and a "resource" file that tells the tools how to convert them into sprites for the SDK and sounds for the sound driver.

[omf]

OK so i have done some more work on my interpretation of what this should be, this is far from a release as yet and it is still lacking many features that i would like to add. some of which probably wont be possible to add due to programming language deficiencies

 

but what it will have is the ability to re order your object list and recreate the object list (copied to the windows clipboard) and a sprite definition list (also copied to the windows clipboard)

 

so having to retype all your assignment numbers in the list will be a thing of the past:

 

dim player as integer : player = 0

dim background as integer : background = 1

 

will be able to be exported easily.

 

obviously the above is no good because the background would cover the player object which wouldn't be much good but this will be easily changeable in just a few clicks

 

 

i have already proven this to work in the access version, but what im talking about here is the visual basic 6 version (standalone) executable version

 

 

 

 

[+CyranoJ]

Is now a good time to tell you that the list structure is getting changed for the next version? (added a few fields)

[omf]

it wont matter it is written in a way it can be changed without too much effort

[omf]

I have decided to release what I have now and see what people think

I need to do some more work on this, but it is in a working condition and can be used

 

the two files contained in the rar file need to be in the same folder

tests have shown that it will just work in most circumstances, however if you experience any errors, you might first try installing the Microsoft MDAC components as this uses a database to store your objects

 

any issues / usefull critacism can be posted to this thread and will be read and taken on board for future releases

 

useless or unhelpful comments / criticism will be ignored, i made this in my free time, if you have a problem with it that's your fault !

Roptor Basic + Object List Editor 011115.rar

Edited November 1, 2015 by omf

[Sporadic]

I have decided to release what I have now and see what people think

I need to do some more work on this, but it is in a working condition and can be used

 

the two files contained in the rar file need to be in the same folder

tests have shown that it will just work in most circumstances, however if you experience any errors, you might first try installing the Microsoft MDAC components as this uses a database to store your objects

 

any issues / usefull critacism can be posted to this thread and will be read and taken on board for future releases

 

useless or unhelpful comments / criticism will be ignored, i made this in my free time, if you have a problem with it that's your fault !

That looks cool. Thank you for sharing. Runs fine on my machine

 

I'll add this to my workflow and try it out in my next project!

 

[omf]

there is an update for this as a few issues were found, i will upload it later

[omf]

time for a new version

 

this new version has some database changes, if you have already started using the other one, you can either start over or if you don't have access to Microsoft access you can send me your database and i will transfer your data over and send an updated database to you

 

new editor and database attached

 

development continues

 

change log since last publicly accessible build:

 

'bug fixed where if you cancel the image selection the program generates a debug error and closes
'bug fixed where the data validation query for the graphics bits was querying as if it was a string, this field is numeric so generated an error and closed
'bug fixed where after changing the value for graphics bits, the other calculations would not update to reflect the new bits setting
'added message informing user that the use of a numeric value for the first character of R_sprite_gfxbase will cause build errors
'added code to count colours of preview picture more accurately and select the gfxbits field with the correct setting
'bug fixed where the delete command was incorrect during the delete object operation, i had to change database connectivity methods and it was looking at the old type of connection)
'added r_sprite_gfxbits to equal 1 upon adding a new object to a project
'changed all combo boxes to point to their names rather than activecontrol.name in the limit to list code
'changed load image button code so if there is a path name already assigned as the image, the containing folder opens if it exists, if not or it is blank the app folder is opened
'added fields to place memory track information application / file name per project
'on addition of new projects the relevant records will be added to the memory track table to store the memory track application name and file name
'added code to data populate and save code to check if the memory track record exists, if not it is added
'deleting a project will delete the memory track record as well
'export object now exports a complete RAPINIT.s file to the windows clipboard which you can paste overwriting all the content of your RAPINIT.s
'message changed on export object completed so it resembles exporting the whole objust list file
'main entry form reduced in height by about an inch
'removed 16 - 255 selectable objects from the CLUT combo box, it should really be only 0 - 15
'fixed bug where R_sprite_backtype combo box was populated with data twice

 

Raptor Basic + Object List Editor 051115.rar

Edited November 6, 2015 by omf

[+CyranoJ]

Can you change the name from 'roptor' for the next one

[omf]

Can you change the name from 'roptor' for the next one

ooops, yes sorry, i take full responsibility for that one

[omf]

Can you change the name from 'roptor' for the next one

 

 

ooops, yes sorry, i take full responsibility for that one

fixed

[omf]

I have been hard at work working on this using it as I work on my kaboom project which is coming along slowly, and fixing issues in this when i come across them.

 

so I have a new version to share with a load of updates / fixes:

 

as before i will continue to work on this and add new features and fixes etc

 

change log:

'bug fixed where md5 check of form information didn't return the same value as md5 check used in save object date, this resulted in object always reporting that it has changed and needs saving
'box validation now occurs when moving into a different box and not just when pressing enter
'added error trap code to image preview loading, I attempted to load a corrupt bmp file and it caused a debug error!
'moved the calculation field code down under the new image colour count code which returns the image bits
'Added code so only bmp files can be opened
'Bug fixed where R_sprite_bytewid was not showing help for itself when that field has obtained focus
'Bug fixed where R_sprite_gwidth was not showing help for itself when that field has obtained focus
'Help information added into database for the memory track app name
'Help information added into database for the memory track file name
'Added code to display the help for memory track app / file name when the relevant boxes have obtained the focus
'Changed R_sprite_gfxbase field to automatically convert entry to upper case, this field is case sensitive in the object list (that took a while to figure out)
'Field validation occurs on every field when leaving field now
'Changed main entry form back to resizable so that various windows features work such as edge snap and minimize
'Code added to blank all the fields when object is deleted from the project
'Code added to select the correct object when it is moved up and down the object list
'added error trapping to database access code, in some cases the database could not be accessed due to timing issues, and error 3050 would be generated
'Added uppercase conversion of object name so all references to objects appears in capitals

Raptor Basic + Object List Editor 131115.rar

[omf]

ok, i have held onto this latest version for too long now

 

there seems to be an issue still with the md5 check that determines of a object has been saved or not, maybe ill look at this maybe i wont...... maybe ill just take the whole feature out and it will be up to the user to save their objects

 

 

remember the first and last object in the object list must be active (this is a raptor requirement) if you want to disable object 1, cheat, (move ot off the screen)

the last object is by default in this program the text / particle layer and is added when the object list is exported for use so you don thave to worry about that

 

i cant be arsed to keep deleting my kaboom object list each time i release this so you can have it as an example from now on along with any other object lists that is now lingering that i have used

 

biggest improvement i would say is object list import from rapinit.s file.

 

 

 

 

'changelog
'object move up / down arrows reduced in size with new smaller button images
'increased width of object list selection box as i had some objects with long names that wouldn't fit in the current size box
'moved some field name boxes to the right where the object list would overlap
'added error trap code for 3021 no current record (this is do do with the md5 object record check)
'object dimension list changed to auto format to lower case, this allows gfxbse and object dimension list to be the same as caps and lower case ae different
'renamed database table from memorytrack to projectsettings
'added database field to store rapinit.s filename (upto 255 characters) (so if you use old database you will probably cause an error on saving) i can move accross your object list if needed
'added field / description / button to select rapinit.s
'added rapinit location save and retreive functionality
'changed rapinit file location box to multi line mode so you can see more of the path
'changed file select dialog code to something that works better (what i was using wouldnt do certain things)
'change project specific settings to be retreived when selecting the project and not having to click an object
'save will now work when project data is edited when an object has not been selected
'user can now choose to either copy tho object list to the windows clipboard or save it directly into the rapinit.s file specified in the 'Project's RAPINIT.S file' field
'added a better question box when exporting the object list, a standard yes no message box seemed a bit gay looking
'added 'dim textparticlelayer As Integer : textparticlelayer = <object number>' to the bottom of the object dimension list extract as it was not added before
'added an extra level of verification to deleting the whole projects object list (i deleted my object list without thinking so others will do the same)
'changed object creation code to have the gfxbase in caps, the object dimension name in lower case and the object name (used as a comment in rapinit.s ) in proper case formatting
'added code capable of importing a rapinit.s file into the object list editor (no md5 verification is done on this records as some data (the bad field data) is not present in the rapinit.s file
'refresh project combo box after rapinit.s file has been imported
'added file location box for object dimension list lile so it can be exported without the user doing any coping and pasting into his or her code, if used with $include the process is seamless
'user can now choose to either copy the object dimension list to the windows clipboard or save it directly into a text file specified in the 'Object Dimension List file' field which can be included in their program with '$include "<path of file>"'
'added code to save and retrieve object dimension list file location if filled in
'object dimension list save question changed to work, forgot to change the form naming internally so it didn't work

Raptor Basic + Object List Editor 241115.rar

Edited November 24, 2015 by omf

[Sporadic]

Thanks for this! That's a tasty change list.

[omf]

Thanks for this! That's a tasty change list.

i am unsure if anyone is actually using it, there have been very few comments about it, I don't really care however, it was for my benefit really

[Sporadic]

Plus anyone else coming along and picking up Raptor/rb+ will have 1 less thing to learn. Just point and click with your editor

 

I want to use it for sure. It should make editing the object list much quicker and less error prone.

[omf]

Plus anyone else coming along and picking up Raptor/rb+ will have 1 less thing to learn. Just point and click with your editor

 

I want to use it for sure. It should make editing the object list much quicker and less error prone.

just use the import option and import the list for your game,

 

it only supports 1 list at the moment, maybe this will change but 1 list enough for the moment

[omf]

ok i found a bug that i left in this, you couldn't create a new object in your project

 

here is a fixed version

 

 

'changelog
'modified the object dimension list name, object name, gfxbase name to the correct case formatting)
'added a replace for the object dimension list name to replace any spaces with underscores, variables must by one word

 

 

as you can tell i haven't worked on this much lately lol!

Raptor Basic + Object List Editor 031215.rar

[omf]

I was going to sit on this some more and work on it, however i figured its features would benefit the community more than sat on my hard drive

 

new version:

 

'changelog
'added md5 check after all data has been populated on the form from the database record so data verification works
'changed database field length for R_sprite_gfxbase from 30 characters to 50 characters (this was due to my project variables being long)
'added code to replace spaces in object dimension name with _ for add new object to project
'added code to replace spaces in R_sprite_gfxbase name
'removed the Sort and ReSort which are the object id numbers from the md5 check calculation because if objects were we organised the md5 check would fail on all objects below the one you have moved because there numbers had increased by 1
'user can now see an integer value that represents the binary value (if used) for sprite scale x and y
'added memory space option to be used in the asset line creation for ROM and ABS
'added memory space field to MD5 check for unsaved data
'added code to make best guess on asset file entry
'added asset line generation to object clicking (when loading the object into the form)
'added condition in the asset line creation code as if required fields were blank an error was generated
'asset line is not regenerated when R_sprite_CLUT is changed
'the asset line population code now checks to see if the required fields are populated, if not the asset line is not populated if left a debug error occurs during the population of the other fields because after update events are called which call the asset box population and all the fields are not populated
'object name field now replaces "_" with " " before converting into proper case
'fixed bug in sprite_scale_x/y fields when changing back to numeric an error occurred as null cannot be put into a text field, this has now been changed
'added an error message that is displayed to the user when the user attempts to delete an object from the list without first selecting it
'added code for my personal use that hides the 'image preview' box when run from my work computer so this can be easily worked on at work and prying eyes don't know what i'm doing
'move object up / down buttons are disabled while their code is running to prevent an error occurring where there is nothing selected
'added copy object functionality so if your objects almost the same you don't have to fill in everything
'created a database table for general help that will hold issues and fixes i have had and what the issue was, a viewing screen will be added later when i have a few issues in the table
'error trapping added if user attempts to load an image then cancels
'added error trap to detect if the loaded image is compatible with the raptor engine (width is divisible by 16) if not a suggested with is given
'added a button that saved the object dimension list and the object list in one click

 

 

ok found a couple of issues that made the last version unusable, these are fixed now, re download the file again and should all be good

 

'changelog
'fix bug in image compatibility code so that if the image width is divisible by 16 it would not error
'if an invalid image is selected and there was already a file name in the box previously, after the error is displayed the old file name will be replaced back in the file location field
'fixed spelling mistake in the help stored in the database for the 'Object Dimension Name' field

 

Raptor Basic + Object List Editor 19012016.rar

Edited January 19, 2016 by omf

[omf]

ok, this will be the last update for this for a while:

 

new phone to mess with

xenon 2 production

life shite

 

will be taking up my time for a couple of months now, if there is a major issue i will attempt to fix it but no enhancements for the time being, i willo be coming back to this later however so fear not

 

 

'changelog
'fix bug in image compatibility code so that if the image width is divisible by 16 it would not error
'if an invalid image is selected and there was already a filename in the box previously, after the error is displayed the old filename will be replaced back in the file location field
'fixed spelling mistake in the help stored in the database for the 'Object Dimension Name' field
'added edge_ignore to database (not currently working in existing Raptor API, needs new Raptor API to be released)
'added 'Output help comments with RAPINIT.s data' tick box which allows the user to disable the help / comments being output with the rapinit data
'changed scaling allowances to be maximum of 254, it was set to a max of 255 which is incorrect, if a greater number than 254 is specified in either numeric or binary it is automatically overwritten to 254
'added check for R_sprite_scale_x to see if it contained any data during start up which caused an error (was a result of other improvements)
'fixed spelling mistake in object database naming, RB+ObjwctListEditorDatabase.mdb > RB+ObjectListEditorDatabase.mdb
'added additional help to the database for the maxframe variable
'added functionality to calculate division, multiplication, addition and subtraction on sprite_width object list import '32/2' '32*2' '32+2' '32-2' would error before, it now does the calculation to make 16 64 34 30
'added functionality to calculate division, multiplication, addition and subtraction on sprite_height object list import '32/2' '32*2' '32+2' '32-2' would error before, it now does the calculation to make 16 64 34 30
'replace any spaces in Object Dimension Name with '_' spaces cause brokenness
'replace any spaces in R_sprite_gfxbase with '_' spaces cause brokenness
'fixed a bug in the project settings retrieval where is the memory track file names were left blank
'fixed bug in delete object code that could cause a runtime error
'added general help / notes screen
'changing the object name updates the object list name on the left of the main screen
'if an old object gets loaded if the text / particle layer is not in the object associated with that project, one is automatically added
'add text particle layer to the object list as a moveable object, sometimes it was inconvenient to have the text / particle layer at the very end
'added field disable / enable on object selection (there is no need to edit the text object)
'change field types and size in the database to store the text / particle layer in the object list
'added code to calculation fields to ignore the text / particle layer (it was calculating fields for this object that didn't need calculating
'added a minimal help option to export with the rapinit.s file because the other help option exported a lot of data that 99% of the time isn't needed (especially with the use of this editor

Raptor Basic + Object List Editor 080316.rar

Edited March 8, 2016 by omf

[omf]

ok small update, due to some issues and requests from Sporadic

'changelog
'sometimes users want to change the text / particle layer, so with this request I have taken away the text / particle layer disabling call for certain fields
'added ability to import and use multiple text / particle layers
'added 'add text / particle layer button
'beautified the add text / particle layer button with a particle image
'code added to determine if the gfxbase is a text / particle layer, if it is it needs to remain 'RAPTOR_particle_gfx' instead of convert to upper case as the other objects do

Raptor Basic + Object List Editor 140316.rar

[omf]

I haven't had time to work on this much during the ast few months with xenon 2 manufacture, and what i have managed to do i have done while at work

 

i have however incorporated some nice new features that will make this program much easier for everyone that uses it to use what with the third batch of xenon 2 boards needing to be started shortly when parts arrive i wot be able to work on this much for some time longer so this is the latest what i have got, enjoy.

 

the most useful addition is highlighted below.

 

'changelog
'sometimes users want to change the text / particle layer, so with this request I have taken away the text / particle layer disabling call for certain fields
'added ability to import and use multiple text / particle layers
'added 'add text / particle layer button
'beautified the add text / particle layer button with a particle image
'code added to determine if the gfxbase is a text / particle layer, if it is it needs to remain 'RAPTOR_particle_gfx'
'raptor variables text box content selection on box get focus added so data can be overtyped without the need for deletion
'replaced 'me.' with 'MainForm.' for fully qualified object name in code
'fixed issue where if the last object was set to inactive the object dimension list was still being exported. all that is received now is the error message.
'change object retrieval code so that if te h/v box values are not calculations they are actually retrieved and left rather than being retrieved and overwritten with a calculation later on when gfxbits was processed
'added a calculation button to recalculate the h/v box and bytewid gwidth back to their default values based on the image selected
'program detects if there are no values for the following variables in any of the objects associated with the loaded project and cancels the object list export: R_sprite_width, R_sprite_height, R_sprite_hbox, R_sprite_vbox
'object list move up / down arrows are now obsolete, replace with drag / drop functionality
'fixed issue with drag / drop code where if single click occurred the previous object to what was clicked was selected
'changed resorting code to allow for 512 maximum objects (the raptor total) it was coded to allow 500 before an error could possibly occur
'fixed long standing issue where on selecting the first object when selecting the project 'data has changed' would be displayed
'added better processing for sprite_repeat / sprite_active allowed values

Raptor Basic + Object List Editor 030716.rar

[ggn]

Trying to run the latest rar gave me the message "3464 Data type mismatch in criteria expression" and then "stop statement encountered". Then the program dialog disappeared.

[omf]

so it does i will look into that now