Artwork maintainer needed
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Artwork maintainer needed
by Korath » 23 Jul 2016, 03:28
Our long-time artwork maintainer Sonic has moved on to other things, leaving us with a gaping hole in our release process. This isn't difficult to do reasonably well, just time-consuming and error-prone. (It's probably difficult to do quite well, depending on your artistic ability. I have none of the latter, so can't judge the former.) There are instructions for creating individual images here and instructions for naming the files in the next section down.
Those are sufficient for an individual to add a handful of images to his own installation. There's some further steps needed for the release maintainer. Off the top of my head:
Those are sufficient for an individual to add a handful of images to his own installation. There's some further steps needed for the release maintainer. Off the top of my head:
- You need to maintain either a separate directory of all the artwork included in the canonical packages, or an accurate list of the files. The canonical packages are listed in the latest patch release (currently BFZv2); they are currently CardArtManalink_2012.zip, CardArtUpdates_2012_2014.zip, CardArtUpdate_March2015.zip, and CardArtUpdate_Dec2015.zip (installed in that order).
- It would be a really good idea to keep local copies of those four zips, in case Sonic's mediafire account goes dead. They can be reconstructed in the case of disaster, and no doubt plenty of people have them sitting around on their hard drives, but you won't want to have to go around asking for them if you need them.
- With each new release of Manalink or Shandalar, collate the new imagery into a new install package. Shandalar packages just need images added since the latest Manalink or Shandalar release; Manalink packages need every image since the last Manalink release, including any Shandalar releases in between.
- Zip up the new images, upload the package to your hosting provider of choice (I've found Mediafire to be least objectionable among the free offerings), and give me a download link.
- Pet peeve: ideally, zip them up so they extract to either the current directory or at worst ./CardArtManalink/, not some other subdirectory like "./Aug2016images/".
- Five packages - 2012, 2012_2014, March2015, Dec2015, and Aug2016 - are a lot to expect people to install all at once, especially with them all irritatingly extracting into differently-named directories. It would be better to merge at least some of them. The upcoming Manalink release and all future ones will need a minimum of BFZv2 already installed, so combining the first four would be a good cutoff.
- For entirely new sets, it's extremely helpful to proactively create the art for all the cards. Between Manalink and Shandalar, we program well over 95% of the cards anyway. And especially if we're running a set or two behind, having to test cards with just white boxes for art is depressing and demotivating.
- WOTC releases a fairly steady stream of alternate art, between promos and reprint sets like the recent Eternal Masters. Sonic used to keep fairly well abreast of these, but fell further and further behind as (I assume) his free time and/or interest waned; we're now quite far behind. I'm not even sure how far. Gargaroz and I don't keep track of these; the folks over in the Pictures forum do. Extra points if you do too, and include them in the release packages. Getting surprised with new art makes programmers happy and more likely to release Manalink more often. Especially for cards that turn up in a lot of decks hanging around in our PlayDeck/ folders, like, oh, commonly-seen tokens and the versions of the original dual lands from Vintage Masters. Hint, hint.
- The next Manalink and Shandalar releases should happen within a day or so of each other, so you'll only need one package for the both of them. There's been one Shandalar release since the last Manalink one; the artwork package for it is split between this post and this post, with one card needing a rename (to "To Arms_.jpg") as described here.
- Cards added to Manalink and/or Shandalar since the Shandalar Dragon's Lair release | Open
- Keeping track of tokens and double-faced cards is especially difficult, so if you notice in passing that there's a new token in one of the newly-covered sets that's not in the list, or the front or back of a dfc without the other side listed, let us know. You're more likely to be right than we are.
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Korath - DEVELOPER
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Re: Artwork maintainer needed
by drool66 » 24 Jul 2016, 00:27
Hi, Korath,
I'm trying to wrap my head around the process to see if it's something I might want to do. So far it seems pretty straightforward. I've attached the OGW images (no tokens yet) for review. [Edit: needs to be scrubbed yet for reprints, but the images are processed] If I'm correct on what needs to be included, I should be able to finish the rest of the images needed for the release by this Thursday.
By far the hardest part so far has been acquiring the relevant images.For some reason the SOI images aren't downloading from Mega, and I'm not getting any seeders on the torrent. EMN may be difficult for right now since CCGHQ hasn't released them yet - I will try to find an alternate (probably LQ) source.
I've also come across a few dozen (hundred?) alternate art images in the CCGHQ release, many of which I don't see included in Manalink. I could add them over time.
I will try to be as meticulous as possible, but god knows I can't even get my bug reports right half the time. But if there is any way I can help with the Manalink project, I am happy to.
I'm trying to wrap my head around the process to see if it's something I might want to do. So far it seems pretty straightforward. I've attached the OGW images (no tokens yet) for review. [Edit: needs to be scrubbed yet for reprints, but the images are processed] If I'm correct on what needs to be included, I should be able to finish the rest of the images needed for the release by this Thursday.
By far the hardest part so far has been acquiring the relevant images.
I've also come across a few dozen (hundred?) alternate art images in the CCGHQ release, many of which I don't see included in Manalink. I could add them over time.
I will try to be as meticulous as possible, but god knows I can't even get my bug reports right half the time. But if there is any way I can help with the Manalink project, I am happy to.
- Attachments
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OGW.zip- (5.13 MiB) Downloaded 379 times
Last edited by drool66 on 24 Jul 2016, 03:50, edited 1 time in total.
The latest images for Manalink will be here.
The latest Manalink installation directory will be here. Well, not quite, anymore. Check the latest patches.
The latest Manalink installation directory will be here. Well, not quite, anymore. Check the latest patches.
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drool66 - Programmer
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Re: Artwork maintainer needed
by Korath » 24 Jul 2016, 02:38
There's a link to low-quality Eldritch Moon images from Gatherer here. I haven't downloaded that package myself. CCGHQ tends to release HQ roughly a month after the set's release, so there won't be HQ ones in time for the Manalink release; I knew that going in.
I'm on my way to bed, so I'll check out your OGW images in the morning. And yes, it really is pretty straightforward, much more so than I made it out to be in the opening post. Conciseness is not one of my virtues.
I'm on my way to bed, so I'll check out your OGW images in the morning. And yes, it really is pretty straightforward, much more so than I made it out to be in the opening post. Conciseness is not one of my virtues.
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Korath - DEVELOPER
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