Rule Set Overview

by Dale M.A. Johnson

 

created 4/27/06

 

Rule Sets are a collection of data which include specifics on class stats, weapons, and graphics, among other things. They are discussed in more detail here. This page will lay out a few basics about how one would go about creating a new ruleset.

 

Timeline

In the early stages of development, the project will only contain one rule set, the default rule set, which will be the only rule set that the engine will edit. After the first playable builds, however, the rule set editor will be revisited, and the ability to create new rule sets will be added.

 

In the future, the default rule set will not be editable by the end player (which would cause problems for the engine, especially if the user tried to distribute their own maps).

 

Creating a New Rule Set

On the title screen, there will be an option called "Open the Editor." Clicking this will bring up a large window with three tabs at the top. The three tabs are marked "Multiplayer Maps," "Rule Sets," and "Campaigns." To edit rule sets, we'll need to click the "Rule Set" tab, which will change the display of the window to a list of Rule Sets that are installed. The user can select a Rule Set that already exists from the list, however, to create a new one, the user will click "Create a New Rule Set" near the bottom of the screen.

 

This will bring up a prompt to enter a name for the Rule Set, as well as a name for the folder it will be in. After entering these, and clicking "Okay," the engine will create a new folder in the "rulesets" directory with that name, and will copy the default graphics and data into it. (Alternativley, in the future, the user can also select to copy another non-default rule set to base the new one on, or they can just copy the other rule set's folder and give it a different name.)

 

Welcome to the Rule Set Editor!

The main window for the Rule Set Editor will come up once a rule set has been chosen. This consists of a long menu of buttons that, in turn, lead to more menus, that finally lead to individual component editors. The rule set editor and campaign editor both use the code, so some options (like anything related to characters) will be unavalible.

 

The rule set editor should present a lot of interesting and powerful choices for creative users, but not everyone will need them all. Most people new to creating and balancing games should click the "Simple Menu" option, which reduces the editor menu to the most basic options that the designer will need. The first versions of the editor will only have the simple meny enabled--The more complex menu structure can be added later.