Map Plugin Tutorial

[Cory Kilger]

There's a new page on the wiki called PluginCreation. If you want to
start writing code, a map plugin is a good place to start. Eventually
we'll make a map editor, but for now this is what we've got.

Cory

[Jay Carr]

hmm...you know, maybe a map editor isn't such a great idea. I mean,
if it's a fairly simple task to write a map in Cocoa...and the point
of this club is to get people writing in cocoa... Yeah, maybe my map
editor idea isn't so great?

Yours,
Jay Douglas Carr

[Dave DeLong]

The editor is for helping to define the shapes to draw on the screen,
perhaps more.

Dvae

[Cory Kilger]

If we want to force people to hard code stuff, there are other apps
that can be used to create the paths, and then copy and paste. Any
app that can create paths in SVG like Illustrator or Inkscape can
work. Or you can use an app that creates HTML image maps and get the
points from there.

But then on the other hand, plenty of Cocoa is going to be used
creating the map editor itself. So I don't think there will be any
loss in Cocoa coding opportunities.

[Jay Carr]

In some ways sure. But the fact is that if people are always required
to use some Cocoa when making maps then we will always have that
possibility. Whereas, if we make an editor, that opportunity is gone.

That being said, I think Dave has a point. It's a bit harder to make
a map without a visual reference. Maybe the "rules" can be the place
where you have to use Cocoa?

Yours,
Jay Douglas Carr

[Dave DeLong]

The thing is that a map really doesn't have much code with it because
it's *just* a map. It has no logic, no data. Just shapes. The only
code that our maps will need to have is the code that creates the
country objects, the continent objects, the card objects, etc.
However, if we build the editor right, it won't even have to do that,
because that is pretty simple logic itself. Take a look at the
ViciRiskMap.m file, then compare that with the ViciUSAMap.m file, and
you'll see that the structure of the two is almost identical. That
identical structure is something that could easily be abstracted into
a generic structure to use with the map builder.

Game plugins, on the other hand, will be nothing *but* code.

Dave

[Cory Kilger]

Good point, Dave. There really isn't much code that goes into a map.
I'm for the map editor.

For the game plugins, I think there's still a possibility for a rule
editor. It would only be capable of creating the basic rules. Though
it may not even be worth the effort to create.

Now AI's. That's where all the coding is. I love coding AI.

Cory