ID:138492
 
I thought I'd go ahead and start one.

BYOND - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) v.0.1

This is a living document.

How do I compile my code?

Ensure that you have an environment open. If you have never created an environment:

1. Open DreamMaker(DM)
2. Click File/New Environment... from the menu.
3. Choose the location where your code file(s) exist.
4. In the browse pane on the left click on the check box next to your code file.
5. Click Build/Compile from the menu.



<H2>BYOND - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) v.0.1</H2><H5>This is a living document.</H5><H4>How do I compile my code?</H4>

Ensure that you have an environment open. If you have never created an environment:

1. Open DreamMaker(DM)
2. Click File/New Environment... from the menu.
3. Choose the location where your code file(s) exist.
4. In the browse pane on the left click on the check box next to your code file.
5. Click Build/Compile from the menu.

If you have an existing environment, simply open the environment and ensure that:
a. The code files are there and checked in the browse window.
b. Check the bottom window for error messages during compile.


This document is unable to address all the error messages you may receive during compile. If you believe there is a bug with the software, visit BYOND Homepage and register a bug report. Attempt to reproduce the problem with minimal code and include any relevant information. Also check to see if there are any updates that address your issue. You might also check the Forum to see if it's a known issue.



In response to Gabriel
Good work! Various people have brought up the idea of an FAQ now and then, but you're the first who's actually done anything about it.

You could probably get people to help submit material, if you're so inclined... one way might be for people to volunteer to comb through a single month of forum history, working backwards from the present. This would break the work into manageable chunks. (Presumably, if they're truly Frequently Asked Questions, they've been asked in the forum before!)

On the other hand, if you have a different plan--or if you'd prefer to do it all on your lonesome--that's fine too! :)
In response to Guy T.
On 7/18/00 6:51 pm Guy T. wrote:
I'm hoping that, as questions get put up on the board, that folks will point it out and I'll just add it. I've never done a FAQ before but I don't mind maintaining one at least for the nuance.

I was trying to remember any "frequently" asked questions, but that was the only one I could think of.

Just point them out and I'll add them on!

- -
<H2>BYOND - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) v.0.1</H2><H5>This is a living document. The purpose of this document is to help answer many of the common questions that are asked by those new to BYOND which the website, forum, manual and other sources either did not mention, or are not utilized. This is not a replacement for the resources that are currently in existance. The help, tutorial and manual files can answer most any question that is frequently asked with much more detail than this document.</H5><BODY>
<H4>How do I compile my code?</H4>

Ensure that you have an environment open. If you have never created an environment:

1. Open DreamMaker(DM)
2. Click File/New Environment... from the menu.
3. Choose the location where your code file(s) exist.
4. In the browse pane on the left click on the check box next to your code file.
5. Click Build/Compile from the menu.

If you have an existing environment, simply open the environment and ensure that:
a. The code files are there and checked in the browse window.
b. Check the bottom window for error messages during compile.

This document is unable to address all the error messages you may receive during compile. If you believe there is a bug with the software, visit BYOND Homepage and register a bug report. Attempt to reproduce the problem with minimal code and include any relevant information. Also check to see if there are any updates that address your issue. You might also check the Forum to see if it's a known issue.


<H4>Does BYOND support Isometric views?</H4>

The BYOND mapper is a 2-D display. Isometric graphics are 2-D graphics drawn to represent a 3-D image. BYOND can easily show these images. To get an angle view, it's just a matter of designing the graphics to get that effect.

</BODY>

</HTML>
In response to Gabriel
I like this idea. I'll try to set something up to allow posting to a separate FAQ page.


The BYOND mapper is a 2-D display. Isometric graphics are 2-D graphics drawn to represent a 3-D image. BYOND can easily show these images. To get an angle view, it's just a matter of designing the graphics to get that effect.

It's not quite that simple, unfortunately. BYOND can "fake" isometric views with the approach outlined by Guy T (and done excellently in the destiny online demo by jmurphy). However, because isometric views use skewed tiles (depending on the angle) the grid-approach will have some limitations, mainly in collison detection. For instance, you may have a wall tile that appears to be offset some angle, but when you run into it you'll stop at the square boundary. Someday we can probably put some code in to do other viewports; for now, the fake appraoch actually looks pretty good.
In response to Tom H.
It's not quite that simple, unfortunately.

Will fix!
<H2>BYOND - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) v.0.2</H2><H5>This is a living document. The purpose of this document is to help answer many of the common questions that are asked by those new to BYOND which the website, forum, manual and other sources either did not mention, or are not utilized. This is not a replacement for the resources that are currently in existance. The help, tutorial and manual files can answer most any question that is frequently asked with much more detail than this document.</H5><BODY>
<H4>How do I compile my code?</H4>

Ensure that you have an environment open. If you have never created an environment:

1. Open DreamMaker(DM)
2. Click File/New Environment... from the menu.
3. Choose the location where your code file(s) exist.
4. In the browse pane on the left click on the check box next to your code file.
5. Click Build/Compile from the menu.

If you have an existing environment, simply open the environment and ensure that:
a. The code files are there and checked in the browse window.
b. Check the bottom window for error messages during compile.

This document is unable to address all the error messages you may receive during compile. If you believe there is a bug with the software, visit BYOND Homepage and register a bug report. Attempt to reproduce the problem with minimal code and include any relevant information. Also check to see if there are any updates that address your issue. You might also check the Forum to see if it's a known issue.


<H4>Does BYOND support Isometric views?</H4>

The BYOND mapper is a 2-D display using a coordinate grid map. Isometric graphics are 2-D graphics drawn to represent a 3-D image, usually shown at a 30 degree angle. BYOND can easily show these images, but does run into some issues when coordinating movement due to the grid. As an example: A wall that cuts at an angle and only uses a portion of a grid-square will still stop movement at the edges of that grid and not at the edges of the wall. This can normally be overcome by designing the graphics to the edge of the grid, but not always possible in order to keep the image the way that you'd like.

</BODY>
<H5>This document is covered under the Intellectual Property and Copyright laws of the United States by it's authors. Permission is granted to reproduce in it's entirety or in parts, so long as credit is not claimed and it's used for non-profit purposes. To submit changes or additions, please contact Gabriel (by e-mail).</H5></HTML>
In response to Gabriel
On 7/18/00 7:05 pm Gabriel wrote:
I'm hoping that, as questions get put up on the board, that folks will point it out and I'll just add it. I've never done a FAQ before but I don't mind maintaining one at least for the nuance.

Just point them out and I'll add them on!

Hey! The old forum archive is gone! I was just about to comb through that when I got a 404 error...
In response to Tom H.
It's not quite that simple, unfortunately. BYOND can "fake" isometric views with the approach outlined by Guy T (and done excellently in the destiny online demo by jmurphy). However, because isometric views use skewed tiles (depending on the angle) the grid-approach will have some limitations, mainly in collison detection. For instance, you may have a wall tile that appears to be offset some angle, but when you run into it you'll stop at the square boundary. Someday we can probably put some code in to do other viewports; for now, the fake appraoch actually looks pretty good.

I know, because I went through the some 15 pages of plans to come up with my isometric view. I have all of the isometric stuff figured out in my head and on paper, but I haven't transferred it into actual computer terms (some people might remember I said something about isometric views coming soon on my webpage).

Basically, I just make the tiles that have more of the first terrain than the other belong to the first. So if there's a solid wall with a small bit of grass at the bottom portion, it'll be dense, but if its a bunch of grass with a wall cutting across the top corner, it'll be non-dense. It works in all my tests =)


In response to Spuzzum
On 7/19/00 3:45 am Spuzzum wrote:

Hey! The old forum archive is gone! I was just about to comb through that when I got a 404 error...

Yah, we tarred it up a while ago because our server was running out of space. I can put it back up.

Does anyone want to take on the rather ambitious project of going through the archive and porting it to a format that can be read by the current search engine? If so, I can provide some code that will do the conversion.

Alternatively, perhaps some interested party can just filter through the archive for relevant posts. A lot of it is quite outdated and could actually prove confusing if made available.
In response to Tom H.
Alternatively, perhaps some interested party can just filter through the archive for relevant posts. A lot of it is quite outdated and could actually prove confusing if made available.

I agree that the stuff left like it was would probably make things worse if it wasn't sorted through, and possibly edited. So...

I volunteer for that one... I liked reading it (outdated as it was) whenever I had my spare time. Now its kind of like a job, but without the payment and WCB and union crapola *grin*. Heck, I was even about to go read it when I asked that, after all.

On another note, I can convert 1.0 to 2.0 code, though I arrived after the switch. My main reason was that I found Deamon's Test 3 world, and wanted to see what it was. Turns out, it was in 1.0 code... well, in a couple minutes, I had it all ported over to 2.0, which wasn't all that hard. I did use the conversion guide from the old website, though (well, everyone needs a little help sometimes =).