EQInterface Forums - View Single Post - How to make UI's never break.

Using animations and graphics per window that needs it, is ok in theory, but there will always be a need for a global animation file.

It is just more code efficient to define a graphic that will be used numerous times, only once. And of course you have to do this in a file that gets loaded as one of the first files in the includes in order for it to be truly global and work in ANY window that you want to use it in.

I can see SOE getting sloppier and sloppier with their coding habits in the ui files, until eventually modders will either be locked out of the ui changes, or they make it truly custom.

An example of truly custom would be:

1) Force the game to load a custom ui folder, and use that same folder name to pick up a custom include file. For exaple say I have a ui called Banderwyr, the game would look in the Banderwyr folder for a file called Banderwyr.xml and load any includes.

2) If EQUI_BuffWindow.xml exists in my Banderwyr folder, load it INSTEAD of the one defined in EQUI.xml in the default folder. (This is already done)

3) If I define A_BtnNormal anywhere in my files in the Banderwyr folder, the game should know that it is to use THAT definition INSTEAD of the one in the default files.

The 3 things listead above enables us to include whatever files we want, without breaking our ui whenever they need to patch in something to the default ui. It also makes all of the files that could possibly be customized TRULY modular without excluding new and updated content that the game wants to throw at us via a patch. And lastly, it makes that modular feature work right down to the CODE, so that we can replace Animations, Templates, or whatever we want, and still allowing the default animations, and templates to load if we didn't already define that specific one. Again making it possible for new content to come in without forcing us to update our uifiles to get them to work.

*** I am just speculating with the above, and it is an example. Feel free to add whatever you want as more examples or ideas.***

01-14-2004, 06:57 PM	#48
Banderwyr A Fire Beetle Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 3	Using animations and graphics per window that needs it, is ok in theory, but there will always be a need for a global animation file. It is just more code efficient to define a graphic that will be used numerous times, only once. And of course you have to do this in a file that gets loaded as one of the first files in the includes in order for it to be truly global and work in ANY window that you want to use it in. I can see SOE getting sloppier and sloppier with their coding habits in the ui files, until eventually modders will either be locked out of the ui changes, or they make it truly custom. An example of truly custom would be: 1) Force the game to load a custom ui folder, and use that same folder name to pick up a custom include file. For exaple say I have a ui called Banderwyr, the game would look in the Banderwyr folder for a file called Banderwyr.xml and load any includes. 2) If EQUI_BuffWindow.xml exists in my Banderwyr folder, load it INSTEAD of the one defined in EQUI.xml in the default folder. (This is already done) 3) If I define A_BtnNormal anywhere in my files in the Banderwyr folder, the game should know that it is to use THAT definition INSTEAD of the one in the default files. The 3 things listead above enables us to include whatever files we want, without breaking our ui whenever they need to patch in something to the default ui. It also makes all of the files that could possibly be customized TRULY modular without excluding new and updated content that the game wants to throw at us via a patch. And lastly, it makes that modular feature work right down to the CODE, so that we can replace Animations, Templates, or whatever we want, and still allowing the default animations, and templates to load if we didn't already define that specific one. Again making it possible for new content to come in without forcing us to update our uifiles to get them to work. * I am just speculating with the above, and it is an example. Feel free to add whatever you want as more examples or ideas.*