NightKev:
Apparently there's no checksum or encryption, as shown by AliceMargatroid's editing of the Laser M to be larger than the Laser L.
Right now there's not much point, as Mon has been updating Fraxy every 2 weeks or so. It's still awesome, though.
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Void:
If anyone out there wants to direct me to a group of people who can a) code and b) love fraxy, go ahead. I'd love to work with someone on a parts factory type thing, I can even think of a couple of good ways to avoid update problems ;P
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Screature:
If I were you Alice, I'd still be reserved in what I hack/edit/change.
I know its freeware, and I can't find any specific copyright, but it's still editing something that shouldn't be edited.
Hell, I'm sounding like a moose, I know! Hack away, just be careful what you change
Personally, I like my Fraxy install to be clean and unchanged.
(That doesn't stop me being intrigued as to what you manage to do!
)
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Zeta:
mon holds the copyright to the game and (I believe) the data files.
I'm sure creating a general purpose 'all-weapons' part would be a useful application of this. that would allow us to change out the weapons of a part at any given time. the only possible issue with that is the 'vulcan-cross' weapon pair.
(cont.)
I don't think he'll mind it as much so long as we are not abusing it to the point where we are creating another game using the data files. (although a DirectX-powered 'port' might be appreciated, since that would be able to address some of the shortcomings that mon himself has acknowledged [mainly lag-related - too many bullets = lots of lag])
if you want me to go ahead and ask him about this, go ahead and let me know.
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Screature:
I've always been very eager of the opportunity for this community to work side by side with Mon in the fullest sense. If we can help Fraxy along in ways he agrees with, and ways that would help, I'm ALL for it.
I'm not just talking coding and stuff.....
I'm talking features, bug testing, collaborative coding, sprite buidling, EVERYTHING!
Yeah Zeta, please do ask him about this. Could you make sure he makes it clear what our boundaries are too
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Zeta:
here's the email I'm sending mon, in its entirety.
This is an unusual question. A few members of the FRAXY Compendium has started to look at the FRAXY Part Data (the files in the PARTS\ and PARTS_ENG\ folders) and modifying it to determine how the data in it is stored. In other words, they are actually creating new enemy parts by trial and error while documenting the format of the files. The people who are doing this would like to have your permission to fully document the file format in the hopes that some people can create their own parts using the documentation.
As of now, they have successfully made what was a Medium-Laser fire a laser larger than that of the Large-Laser, and changed the projectiles used on some projectile weapons (vulcan instead of ripple, for instance).
If you will permit the modifcation of the fraxy part data, I would like to suggest a 'custom part folder' for these modified parts (so that the original part data can stay unmodified).
The discussion that came out of this can be located at http://genericboard.com/forums/thread.php?id=270 (an image showing one of these modified parts in action is attatched to the first post in the thread)
Thanks in advance,
-Zeta
(cont.)
okay, we've got a reply!
mon said ...If it isn't abuse (in this case, it make an error etc intentionally by modified data), it's no problem as it is also written on readme.
But I don't recommend that, because there is a problem of the specification of part data.
When it's explained easily, modified part influences all enemies with the original part data (of part index).
Even if a custom folder is made, this problem can't be evaded by convenience of the specification of the part data.
And when even knowing the format of the part data, you can add new part, but an overlap of part index will be a problem.
Whether modifying will be an abuse, that depends on the user.
So please judge wisely.
Sincerely,
mon
basically, that amounts to the following (assuming I'm reading this correctly):
A) the act of modifying the part data and/or documenting the part data for research is permitted, but not recommended (errors can - and probably will - result, mainly from index overlap)
B) the main issue with modified parts is that it would affect all enemies that use the original parts (assuming the modified parts use the same partID). granted, if the only thing modified is the name, there is no issue here.
C) mon will not provide technical support of any kind for people using modified parts. if you find a bug and you are using modified parts, make sure it is reproducible with the original parts before reporting it.
and on a relevant note, I will not include any actual specifications beyond how the default part name is declared as far as part data is concerned in my documentation. the only reason the default part name will be included is for the sake of translation into additional languages.
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Salitrynski:
Maybe this should be investigated and tutorialized...
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