TES4Gecko 15.0 [Public read-only thread]

[SACarrow]

Explanatory note: this is a copy of the dev thread from our internal boards, stripped of WiPs and extraneous commentary. As of 15 Sep 2008, TES4Gecko v15.0 has not been released, but will be very soon. Please stay tuned to this thread. - SACarrow
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Here is a modified TES4Gecko that implements the ability to clone quests with dialogue pretty quickly to allow for easier editing within the CS. I've enclosed a new JAR file; I'd recommend copying whatever shortcut you use for TES4Gecko and then editing the properties to use the name of this JAR. The JRE required is version 1.5, I think. I'm sure sandor knows what those last few lines meant ; for anyone without TES4Gecko experience, please check out the latest thread on BSF.

<p>To briefly explain the changes, I've also enclosed a couple of screens, after "Display/Copy" is hit and your file selected. The only change to the appearance is a new checkbox labeled "Select dialogue associated with quests". When checked, selecting a quest in the plugin window will search and highlight all the INFO topics with a QSTI entry that matches the quest. This can be a lengthy process: on my machine, it takes 40 seconds to select StGeneric and all INFOs, and loading OB.ESM and then selecting Generic takes around 5 minutes! :eek: Deselecting a quest deselects all INFOs with that checkbox checked.

<p>This does not copy to the clipboard, but merely selects for copying. Once copied to the clipboard, then right-clicking on the quest in the clipboard window pops up the horrible-looking popup seen in screen #2. This renumbers the desired IDs to form IDs above any currently in use in that plugin. A very brief explanation of the options:

<p>- Quest only - Only here for completeness; don't see a use for it right now.
<br>- Include INFOs - Intended for dialogue quests; DIALS like "GREETING" are assumed to be shared and are not renumbered.
<br>- INFOs & Unshared DIALs - I try to figure out which DIALs are unique to the quest and renumber those. Sometimes the guesses aren't so good, like when I cloned Generic from OB.ESM. Definitely not a recommended option for sprawling quests like Generic or Crime.

<p>A couple of notes:

<p>- All renumbered items with editor IDs have "GECKO" appended to the old ID,
<br>- The renaming only holds for the items themselves; the old names and IDs are still used in places like result scripts.
<br>- Please back up any files that you use for testing!! This is still very experimental!

<p>A cloned quest will still need careful editing in the CS, but at least now it's possible to edit the new one wiithout either messing up the old one or spending an hour copying topics.

<p>Let me know what you think,
<br>Steve


<p>
SACarrow has attached these images (downsized versions):<br>
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[sandor]

Great, I'll test the new version.

If this version works as planned, it will be a major improvement. :yes:

[sandor]

I noticed that you used version 14.5 of the TES4Gecko.

Version 14.6 is the final release from ScripterRon.

[SACarrow]

Yep, the version of the TES4Gecko code that I have, I received on 19 November. I have a request in to dev_akm for the latest version, but I think that this version is still worthy of testing in the areas that I changed.

Steve

[SACarrow]

There is one more subtle change in Gecko that I made that I need to run by you, sandor. I slightly altered ESM dependencies for the clipboard ESP. If the clipboard is copied from an ESP, the dependencies are as before: the list of ESMs that that ESP depended upon. If the clipboard is copied from an ESM, however, in my version that ESM is added to the list.

To give an example, in previous versions a clipboard copied from ST.ESM only had OB.ESM as a master. In my version, it has both OB.ESM & ST.ESM as masters.

Your thoughts (and those of others) welcome,
Steve

[sandor]

Originally posted by SACarrow
If the clipboard is copied from an ESM, however, in my version that ESM is added to the list.

To give an example, in previous versions a clipboard copied from ST.ESM only had OB.ESM as a master. In my version, it has both OB.ESM & ST.ESM as masters.

Your thoughts (and those of others) welcome,
Steve

That's fine (very handy).

I used it to duplicate the StSrTheaterQ.

It will be merged to the esm, after that I'll adapt the scripts so that the player can enjoy the play for a second time.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[SACarrow]

ScripterRon has sent me the latest code he has done. I'll make sure mine is derived from his.

A couple of things I'll do 'cause I need them: the ability via right-click on the plugin side and dump voice lines for a given NPC (GetIsId == 1) or a given quest.

Steve

[SACarrow]

This version of TES4Gecko adds the ability to dump dialogue files for NPCs (at least one condition where GetIsId<that NPC> == 1) and entire quests. For the curious, sample dialogue dumps are pointed at TWV. This code is built on version 14.6,

One change in the UI: all of my functionality is now accessible via right-click context-sensitive menus. So on the plugin side, right-clicking a quest brings up a menu that allows you to select the quest and all associated INFOs or to dump the quest dialogue. Right-clicking an NPC on that side also allows dialogue dumping. As with the previous version, right-clicking the quest on the clipboard side allows for renumbering but now via a menu rather than a multiple-button popup.

There may be more that we want to do with the Gecko, but these features and the bulk renamer I found should let us do what we need with new dialogue quests.

Please tell me what you think,
Steve

[SACarrow]

Not quite through testing, but I have added the ability to load the dialogue dump files back into the ESP/ESM. What this adds is the ability to dump some dialogue, edit that dialogue outside of Gecko or the CS, and theh reload the changes back into the plugin. I consider that a big win, considering how tedious the CD response-editing procedure is.

Note that this doesn't create new infos or responses; it just allows for the changing of those that already exist.

Uploading soon,
Steve

[SACarrow]

<p>This is the version that allows for dialogue dump files to be read into plugins. To access this ability, right-click over the node Group: Dialog. A dump file in the proper format has to already exist before reading can take place. Here's a clip from my header about the file format:

<p>

Takes an INFO and extracts the included dialogue and information about that dialogue as a readable string. An INFO may have multiple lines, based on TRDT-NAM1-NAM2 triplets, but each line will be separated by a newline and will be in the tab-delimited format:
<br> * <base_voice_file_name> <emo type:emo level> "<line of dialogue>" PRODNOTE: "<notes for voice actor>"
<br> * "PRODNOTE:" and beyond are optional; no notes means no appearance. The voice file name format is
<br> * <QUST EDID>_<DIAL EDID>_<INFO formid with mod index zeroed out>_< response #>
<br> * Any occurrences of \t, \r, \" and \n in either the line or the notes is replaced by "[TAB]", "[CR]", "[DQ]"and "[NL]" respectively.

<p>The dump files generated can be edited before re-reading (the whole point, actually), but attention has to be paid to the format:

• Entire dialogue lines can be removed, but leave the first header line intact.
  
• If you change the type of emotion, stick to the ones listed here or you'll get Neutral.
  
• Edit lines of dialogue and production notes entirely within the quotation marks.
  
• If you want to remove a production note, remove everything from the start of PRODNOTE: to the end of the line.
  
• The file is tab-delimited. If your editor turns tabs to spaces, this is bad.
  
• To insert tabs, returns, or quotes in dialogue or production notes, use the bracket sequences listed above. They get converted back upon the read.
  

<p>Tired now,
<br>Steve