WML Guide: feedback requested

[beetlenaut]

Thanks! The image does seem to have moved since I wrote the campaign. I've updated it on the server.

[dwarftough]

Sorry for some bizarre feedback but I can't find out how to complete the first scenario on the highest difficulty. There's no much trouble on Easy and Medium, but on Hard the enemy outnumbers me completely and just breaks defense line at night. Tried both Heavy Infantry and Spearmen line. Could you give a hint on this?

[beetlenaut]

Get both kinds of magic users and some soldiers. Set up a line between two of the villages with soldiers holding the ends. Use the mages (including the leader) to destroy the enemy units, then use the other soldiers to fill in the gaps. Don't attack with your spearmen or infantrymen at night unless the retaliation would be very small or none. They just need to hold the line. You can also bank for the first two turns to get one more unit. In the .gz replay, I got a little lucky with one DA I do admit, so I did it again. The second time, I didn't finish up in as good a condition, but I still won.

[dwarftough]

Yeah, I've completed it, thank you very much!

[dwarftough]

Btw when I've searched for a demo campaign, I couldn't find renowned "A Simple Campaign" on the add-on server, only yours

[EarthCake]

Btw when I've searched for a demo campaign, I couldn't find renowned "A Simple Campaign" on the add-on server, only yours

"A Simple Campaign" is 1.12 only, while "WML Guide" is 1.14 only.

[beetlenaut]

WML Guide has been updated for 1.16. There are some improvements like more web links and a readme file showing the directory structure. The WML is also updated to be more modern.

[vghetto]

I have so many copies of WML_Guide on my computer. Thanks for writing it.

On to my feedback!
In _main.cfg:

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# You should use "wesnoth-" plus the abbreviation of the campaign in lower case.
#textdomain wesnoth-wmlg

What happens if the textdomain was name=wesnoth-WML_Guide? Is this a convention or a must?
I find the textdomain abbreviations annoying. The worst is Liberty with wesnoth-l

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    [units]
        {~add-ons/WML_Guide/units}
    [/units]

Should this have a plus sign or not? It would be nice if the + was explained in this context.

In 01_Darth_Syntax:
It would be tidier if [leader] was used inside of [side] to differentiate unit attributes from side attributes.
And maybe include a save_id or comment about it?

In scenario 02_Bad_Bug:
Maybe emphasis that type=Red Mage is still needed in the definition even if harry has advanced in the previous scenario. I've seen many leave this out.

It would be nice if you added a helper to harry by including a [unit] inside of [side] to show that it can be done either from side or later on in prestart.

Maybe say something about [object] [filter]? It can be omitted in this case.

In units/Watcher.cfg:
Maybe comment about advances_to=null and add an {AMLA_DEFAULT} to it

In the comment about the [event] at the end, maybe mention that an id= and first_time_only=no might be needed here for the events.

[beetlenaut]

Thank you so much for all your feedback! I finally had some time to address it.

What happens if the textdomain was name=wesnoth-WML_Guide? Is this a convention or a must?

This is just a convention as far as I know, so I added that to the note.

Should this have a plus sign or not?

This was necessary a long time ago, but the mainline campaigns haven't used the + here for years. I am following their example, assuming that they are using WML best practices and conventions.

For that same reason, I decided not to add [leader] or save_id. None of the mainline campaigns use them unless they need to. (Adding [leader] might be a nice convention to adopt, but it's not currently the style.)

Maybe emphasis that type=Red Mage is still needed in the definition

That was simply a mistake on my part. I have always included a type anyway, so I didn't even realize that a scenario would break without it. I added that to the note. In the case of [object] [filter], I included that intentionally, but I did add a note about it.

It would be nice if you added a helper to harry

I thought about this, but decided against it as well. My goal was never to show all the ways a tag could be used, but to give people enough to get going. I did add a link to the SideWML page though to make it easier to find.

I did forget {AMLA_DEFAULT}, and I added a note about advances_to=null. I also added the tip about first_time_only=no, but id= isn't necessary (going by the mainline campaigns again.)

I have so many copies of WML_Guide on my computer. Thanks for writing it.

You're welcome! I'm glad it has helped.

[octalot]

What happens if the textdomain was name=wesnoth-WML_Guide? Is this a convention or a must?

This is just a convention as far as I know, so I added that to the note.

This convention is one where UMC has already been splitting from mainline, and I support having the full name for UMC, as there's less chance of a clash between add-ons. Examples already using this are wesnoth-Ageless_Era, wesnoth-After_the_Storm and wesnoth-To_Lands_Unknown.

In _main.cfg:

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# This is a note to translators. The "po" makes sure they see it.
# po: The WML_Guide campaign should not be translated in the normal way. It should be copied and reposted with a new name because the most important strings to translate are actually the WML comments. Call it something like: "WML_Guide (español)" or "Modelo_de_WML".

This # po: won't be shown to the translators, because it isn't immediately followed by a translatable string. In the translation tools these comments are shown as hints about that specific line (multiline comments work, but only if each line of the block starts with # po:). Wiki docs: GettextForWesnothDevelopers#Notes_to_the_translators

[beetlenaut]

OK, I'll change the note about the text domain, but I don't know what I should do with the translator note in this case.

[vghetto]

I also added the tip about first_time_only=no, but id= isn't necessary (going by the mainline campaigns again.)

This is unclear to me. If the [event] is given in the unit definition, does that event get injected for each unit that is recruited/spawned or is it only done once after the first one is spawned/recruited? I really don't know.
If it is once, then yeah, the id= won't be necessary. But if it's injected per unit, then we might have a bug in mainline in all those that don't have an id

[beetlenaut]

does that event get injected for each unit that is recruited/spawned or is it only done once after the first one is spawned/recruited?

It's injected one time only. The game must check to see if the event is already present before adding it.

[leko8731]

Hi beetlenaut,
I looked up WML Guide,
Usefull tool,

A question : is it possible to force in main.cfg the use of the addon units with the same id as the standard ones.
This for saving time while testing. Or, can I even put a mirror in the core units folder f.i. SpearmanX instead of Spearman.
I am looking at a possibility to test my custom units freely in all campaigns to have a huge testing area.
I can put my units temporary in the core but I prefer not touching the core, just adding to it.
Maybe a Modification?

greetings, Leo

[beetlenaut]

is it possible to force in main.cfg the use of the addon units with the same id as the standard ones.

The standard units are always loaded, so this will cause errors. I'm pretty sure that the only way around this would be to delete the core units.

Or, can I even put a mirror in the core units folder f.i. SpearmanX instead of Spearman.

This works and is easy to set up quickly. You could add a folder to data/core/units with all your custom units in it. However, you would still need to modify the campaigns to use the units or use debug commands to insert them manually.

Maybe a Modification?

This would keep everything self-contained and out of the core, and could be made to modify the campaigns' recruit lists automatically. It's probably the best option. (I could be missing something about modifications because I've never made one before, but I think this is right.)