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From: plugh@subdimension.com (Plugh!)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
Subject: Re: [Inform] Map creation utility
Date: 10 Dec 2001 05:09:27 -0800
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Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu rec.arts.int-fiction:87792

Good luck to you Byan, you'll need it (and time, patience &
perseverance).

Many, many, many have set off down the road upon which you are about
to take your first step. Very, very, very few have reached their
destination.

I will at this point disclose an interest and say that I am invloved
in developing a tool with a little more scope for TADS - see
http://plugh.cjb.net

You might first want to see what is already available in the way of
mapping tools at http://www.ifarchive.org/indexes/if-archiveXmapping-tools.html

As a professional sowftware developer, I can assure you that the #1
most important aspect of any software development project is
specifying it. Believe me, you will make your life a *lot* easier if
you first decide exacly what you want to implement, rather than
beginning coding and deciding 1/2 way through that you'd like  to
handle the rooms contents too (item, actors & scenery).

So, do yourself a big favo(u)r and ask your potential users what sort
of a tool they would like to see. My biggest nightmare is that I go
away & hack code for a year, announce the result to r.a.i.f and
discover that everyone wants it to work differently. Canvas users up
front, write a design specification, then (finally) start coding.

Are you going to have a fixed grid? Will North always go up the screen
& south downwards? How would that handle Colossal Cave, where you can
go North from A to B and return by going North?

Someone else in this thread rightly mentioned directions like in/out.
What about ssw, etc? or magic words which move you from one room to
the next?

I decided that I would have to offer totally flexibility otherwise
there would be bound to be some unsatisfied customers. D/L my current
work in progress & see how I handled it. But you *must* have this sort
of thing decided *before* you write your first line of code.
Otherwsise, it will all end in tears.A good idea would be to post the
design here for critique & feedback.

If you decide to do more than just the map, there was a promising
project called Visual Inform, which I think may no longer be in
development - see http://www.iflibrary.org/VInform/ - perhaps you
could take over the reins of that?

Now, as to programming langauge ... you want something with gui GUI
capabilities and preferably something cross platform (although a
windoze solution, used with Wine would help Linux users, but not Mac
users). Java sounds the obvious solution, if you don't think that it
would run too slowly. I believe that Borland do a good free Java IDE.

Personally, I use Borland's C++ Builder. If you don't like C++, but
feel that you could handle Pascal, then Borland's Delphi for Windows
would be perfect and they give away a free version, named Kylix, for
Linux. Code written for one should pretty much run unchanged on the
other (I'm awaiting the release of the Linux C++ IDE).

Although my project is for TADS, I would be more than happy to point
out potential pitfalls, share design tips, etc

But, first, ask your self if you really have the time & energy to
devote to such a thankless project.