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New Botlink features on beta site
http://www.classictw.com/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=32810
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Author:  John Pritchett [ Thu Jan 26, 2012 9:15 pm ]
Post subject:  New Botlink features on beta site

While I wait for feedback from those who are running the pre-release beta of v2.17, I've activated Botlink on the beta server again. Here is a list of the new features that have been added since I last posted about it.

1) A new function for the game object,

game.plotCourse(Source: Number; Target: Number)

So enter a command like >exec game.plotcourse( 100,200 ) and here's what you'll get:

100 > 844 > 941 > 1530 > 2485 > 1854 > 200

Pretty basic stuff.

2) Another new function for game object,

game.showWarps(ReportType: WarpReportType = All; RaceIndex: Number = 0)

WarpReportType = {All, MSL, Federation, Rogue, Ferrengi, GoldRace}

This provides a lot of info. The first report type is "all", and it just shows you the warp report for all sectors in the game. Perfect if you want to share your maps with players.

The other reports provide sub-sets of the full map report. MSL will show all sectors on the Major Space Lanes (Terra and StarDock are Federation, so they're not included here). Federation shows sectors 1-10, StarDock, and any sectors you've assigned as Federation. Rogue shows any sectors marked as Rogue Space (you'll need to set those yourself). Ferrengi shows the internal Ferrengi homespace sector if they're active in the game. You could expand their space if you want. GoldRace will require you to provide an index for the race you're interested in. If that race maintains a homespace, this will show you all of the sectors under their control.

These reports are keying off of a new property TW maintains called Domain. Any sector can be flagged as controlled by any of the factions in the game, including corporations and players. This will be useful in implementing truce modes and such, as well as other special game rules, victory conditions, etc. There will be methods to change Domain settings for sectors in Botlink, but it's not in yet. Some sectors are flagged as locked Domains, so for example you can't change control over FedSpace 1-10 and StarDock (though you could move StarDock). This is because TW expects certain sectors to be where they are and assume they're controlled by the Federation.

3) Support for word substitution. That's right, the most subversive and dangerous new feature since last month is finally available for testing. I know it's the beginning of the end, but we'll press on.

In Botlink, type >GET TRANS to list all words in the translation table. You can also type >GET TRANS TEXT to show the text these words are used in.

The GET TRANS command has a few variations to help you explore the translation table. GET TRANS FOR "Some Word" will show the translation for that particular word. So, for example, GET TRANS FOR "the Federation" might show

the Federation=the Alliance

GET TRANS LIKE "Some Word" is a less strict comparison and will show any words similar to the provided word. So GET TRANS LIKE "Fed", for example, shows this output:

a Fed=
a Federal[09]=
a Federal[12]=
a Federal=
a Federation[12]=
a Federation[20]=
a Federation=
a FedShip=
a FedSpace[21]=
a FedSpace=
Fed.[07]=
Fed=
FedComm=
Federal[13]=
Federal=
Federation[10]=
Federation[14]=
Federation[18]=
Federation=
FEDERATION=
FedLaw=
FedPolice[28]=
FedPolice=
FedShip=
FEDSHIP=
Fedspace=
FedSpace=
the Federation's=
the Federation[14]=
The Federation[14]=
the Federation[15]=
the Federation[16]=
the Federation[19]=
The Federation[19]=
The Federation[23]=
the Federation=
The Federation=
the Feds=
The Feds=

So it's a good way to make sure you're substituting all of the variations you need for a particular word.

You can also use TEXT to show the text the words are used in, so GET TRANS TEXT FOR "Some Word" would show not only the translation assignment, but also the examples of where it's used.

To actually do a translation assignment, use the command SET TRANS "Word"="AnotherWord". Any change is immediately propagated to any active games.

When this is installed on your own system, it will be easy to just open the text file located in the [GAME]\TWTRANS directory. It'll contain all of the "word=anotherword" entries. You can just edit them by hand and save the file. So there are many ways to work with the translation table. As with everything in Botlink, I don't anticipate people working directly with it. It's designed for programs to interface with it and provide a more human-friendly interface to the game data.

4) Boss object. I'm not sure if I had that in before, but there are currently 4 bosses, the Feds (Zyrain, Clausewitz, Nelson, and the new Fed, Wilson). There isn't currently a way to create new bosses, but there will be soon. And you can currently move the Feds manually, but I haven't provided a setting to disable TW control yet. Soon.

Ok, that's it for now. I'll keep extending this as I have time, and when I feel it's to a point of being useful, I'll go ahead and release it. Until then, please explore it here and continue to give me feedback. And have fun!

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