DotP 2014: Potential Community Wad

[Xander9009]

UPDATE (14-02-15):

• The sync utility has been updated and is not combined. The same utility will now sync both loose files and packed files. The reason it was updated is because the art wad's format has been updated. It now resides in a collection of folder packed into a collection of wads as opposed to a single file. I chose to pack them based on blocks, though this may change. There are currently 38, but their average size is only 48 MB, where it was previously a single 2 GB file. Now, users should be able to download the files more easily even on slower connections that tend to time-out. I've done my best to ensure all files remained intact, but the overall size has somehow decreased to by roughly 300MB. This might be due to some higher quality images being replaced with lower quality ones (planeswalkers being a notable one). However, upgrading these again will now be much easier since I can update one small file and have users get that file rather that being forced to redownload the massive one from before. Due to space limitations on GD, the single-file-version of the art wad has been removed. If you'd like to use it, you'll need to email me so I can send them to you.

• Please read through this file if you are adding cards.

For those who are new, the Community Wad project is a project I started awhile back with the goal of eventually having one single file with all the available cards. Well, two files: Core and Art. Along with this minimum number of files, there is a ready to use implementation of automatic updating using Google Drive. Setting it up is very simple (unless you're a novice with computers, in which case, feel free to ask for help). As a user, there are two basic ways you can use this mod. You can either download it and use it like any other mod: here, or you can read the section for making it automatically update. As a modder, there is a single, easy to use method of adding cards, functions, or other assets to the project.

Make this automatically update | Open

I've written a small tool so you don't have to bother making sure you're up to date. To make this automatic, you'll need do a couple of things. They're not terribly complicated, and they're a one-time deal. If you have any trouble, feel free to post here and I'll do my best to help. Before you go any further, decide if you want the packed wad version or the loose files version. The packed wad version should work better if you plan to use this for multi-player purposes, but my computer only packs it once a day. The loose file version doesn't depend on my computer at all, and as such, if I disappear, this method will still work (although, someone may need to reupload the files to Google Drive and share that with everyone). Faster updates that don't require that I am up and running vs a single file usable in multi-player.

1. Open the packed wad folder folder/webpage or the loose files folder/webpage.
2. In the top right, you'll see "Add to Drive". It'll put this folder into your root Google Drive folder. From there, you can drag it into whatever Google Drive sub-folder you want. This will only affect where the files are downloaded to. Note, if you do NOT want the art file(s) to be automatically downloaded by Google Drive to your local Google Drive folder, go here (packed) or here (loose) instead.
3. Next, go here. Download the sync utility and place it where you want it to reside long-term (Community Wad Sync.exe).
4. Create a shortcut to the exe and place that shortcut in your startup folder (or just put the exe directly in it).
5. The startup folder, in case you don't know, is generally found by pasting this after your user folder's address, "\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup". Mine reads, "C:\Users\Xander\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup" in total (except that Xander is a pseudonym). Put the shortcut (or exe) here and it will make this file run automatically every time you log in.
6. Run the exe (or shortcut, of course), and you should be presented with a box asking you for some options. Once these are set, you should be good to go. Note that when it asks whether it will be syncing loose files or packed files, it will not give you an error if you tell it packed but point it to the loose files directory. It simply won't work. Same goes for the reverse. Please point it to the folder containing the type of files you tell it to sync.

Whenever the file (or files, for the loose version) is updated, those changes will automatically be downloaded through your Google Drive application. This utility runs however often you tell it to and detects changes. When it finds those changes, it overrides your game folder's files with the ones in your Google Drive folder.

Add cards as a modder | Open

Adding cards as a modder, once it's set up, is easier than making a wad yourself. Once you have everything set up, you simply drop the finished files into a folder which is set up exactly like the setup for making a wad (because that's 100% exactly how it's used). That folder is here (it's the same link as the loose-file-core-only link above). You can view and save those files all you like, but to change them or add your own, you'll need to email me or message me with your email so I can give you access. Only those with access have write privileges. Basically, open that folder up after getting access and upload the file there when it's in a finished, working state.

If you email me at Xander9009@gmail.com (which is where you should, if you go the email route), please make the subject read "Community Wad" without quotes. My email notifier has some trouble remembering this email address, but if that's the subject line, it'll be forwarded to my main email, which I check (almost) every day.

Please note these things:

1. Art files are almost entirely unnecessary. If you do add art files in the illustrations folder, they will be removed. The entire folder will automatically be moved to the Art wad. They will not remain in the core folder, but they'll still be available to anyone using the mod. This only affects the illustrations folder, not the other folders in the ART_ASSETS folder. Anything in the textures folder will remain right where you put it. If this becomes too large, I'll move the entire Art_Assets folder. This transfer will happen when the core wad is repacked (happens once per day if I have internet access).
2. Do not delete non-game related files (except desktop.ini/similar) unless it's something you personally added (or that you know you can delete).
3. Please don't upload cards which require external files. If you need external files, first, make sure you have permission to add assetts created by the maker of the file, and then simply add the file to the CW.
4. All ArtIDs should link to the community wad art file. Link to art with CW[MultiverseID] as found in the URL of the card's page on Gatherer.Wizards.com (e.g. CW249 is the ArtID for Disenchant from Alpha and CW201162 is the ArtID for Disenchant from Master's Edition III). Let me know if it's missing something and I'll stick in the file. Note: you can convert the image yourself and drop it into the correct folder if you wish, but this will cause the nearly 2 GB art wad to be repacked and synced to everyone. Because of this, all I ask is that you make it worthwhile: don't just drop in a single image. Add a few that are higher quality than the ones present.
5. Cards should have as few approximations as possible. If you upload a file with an approximation, please add it here.
6. All cards except tokens (because I made every token in a batch creation) should have three tags. These tags are:

   Code: Select all

   <AUTHOR><![CDATA[Creator]]></AUTHOR>
<EDITORS><![CDATA[Creator, first editor, second editor, ...]]></EDITORS>
<DATE><![CDATA[DD-MM-YY created, DD-MM-YY edited first, DD-MM-YY edited second, ...]]></DATE>

   So, when you modify a card, add your name to the Editors list (even if you were the last one to edit it), and add the date in Day-Month-Year two-digit format. Never change the Author tag.
7. Within the Loose Files directory, you'll find a Requirements and Naming.txt. Please give this a quick read (this is the same as the first link at the top of this post). It'll explain how all files should be named, how to use all of the tokens, and it has a couple more examples for the new tags.

Any cards (and of course other accompanying files in the other wad folders such as FUNCTIONS) added to this folder will be automatically packed and made available in the packed wad from the section above and will be immediately available in the loose file version.

Alternatively, if you want a card, request it in the formal requests thread. If you have a mod and you would like for me to incorporate it, I would love to grow this project and I'd be more than willing to do the work to make that happen.

Future | Open

• I've got a working Multiplayer Syncing utility working for my friend and I. It wouldn't work for playing with strangers, but it works quite well for keeping your game and a group of others (or just one) in sync so you can easily play multiplayer games even if you've been adding mods. It also works through Google Drive. It had some problems, but they should be fixed now. This is available in the tools folder along with the other syncing tools (Community Mod Sync).
• Incorporate Neo's new frames for planeswalkers.
• Find a way to compile a list of localized text variables missing from the TEXT_PERMANENTS files.
• Reduce the number of TEXT_PERMANENTS files. This is already done, but I don't know if it's working.
• Consolidate function files and rename all functions (excluding Riiak's functions, which he will make sure can override these if he updates them).

If there are any requests, I would be more than happy to consider them. As long as they're within my ability, don't detriment the project, and are within the scope of this project, then I'll probably put it on my nonexistent to-do list. Feel free to ask.

Tools | Open

I've put all of the tools I've made while working on this project into a publicly available folder. That folder can be found here. These tools aren't really meant for general use, but they're there. You can open them using any text editor. If you change the directories to refer to directories of your own, you could easily recompile the entire project yourself. The sync utilities are located there in the Public folder. The one in the "Working" folder may change even before I've tested it. These tools may all change without notice. Plus, the only read-me explaining what any of them do is not likely to be updated often (if at all) and it only covers a few of them. If there's a question about them, I'd be more than happy to try to answer it.

Links | Open

• Packed wads
• Loose files
• Packed core
• Packed art
• Loose core
• Loose art
• Public Tools (sync utility exe's)
• All tools (source code to sync files and other tools I use)
• Archives
• Main folder (everything above is a subfolder of this)

Also, I need some feedback. I have no idea how any of this is being received or if anyone wants it. If I make it work for 2015 (if it works relatively the same way, it'll already work for it with some absurdly simple fixes), would anyone use it?

Original post | Open

What is this?
So, I was thinking about some things that have been posted in a couple of other threads and I wanted to get started on making some kind of community wad file that we could all work on. The purpose of this thread is to initiate a test of the system I made. As it stands, you need Google Drive access to contribute, but anyone can use the final file.

I have set up an invitation-only directory on Google Drive with the necessary file structure of a DotP 2014 wad. Any cards or other assets placed in the folder by someone with access will, using the normal Google Drive system, be synced to everyone else with access, and importantly, to me. My computer is running a file that monitors the folder for any changes. If there are any changes, it will pack the folder into a new wad, which is available to anyone with the link.

Files wouldn't normally be added to the folder until they've been tested by whoever makes it, but for testing, I changed one of the files (simply added a subtype to a creature) and the final file was replaced from the public's point of view in under 10 seconds. So, it does work. Of course, this is only with a couple of files in the folder, but it should generally work with any number. I may have to increase the delays, thus slowing the final file's availability, but it would still be available quickly and easily.

The end user wouldn't be required to have any extra utilities or anything, but I do have a small utility which could be run to monitor your Google Drive folder for the wad to change, and if it does, it'll automatically move it to your game's folder. This allows your used file to always be up-to-date without any extra effort beyond having a small file running all the time. It only runs once every 5 seconds, and it's incredibly small and simple, so its resource usage is negligible on any system that can run the game. I changed a card on one computer, and the other computer's wad in the game folder updated in under 15 seconds. So, bug fixes and the like could be nearly instantly distributed.

The near-instantaneous times I listed won't be the final result. Those were a test to see the capabilities. It is currently set to check for new/changed files every 6 hours. If you put in a card, it'll be in a usable wad in under 6 hours.

What isn't this?
The art assets are available. They're in a single wad and each pictures name is the MultiverseID for that version of the card. A few cadrds are still missing, but most are included. It will be updated as new sets are of cards are released by the CCGHQ team. This means BNG cards aren't included, yet, because they're still missing 4 of them. This is currently not included in the automatic transfer performed by the provided utility. This will need to be downloaded and managed manually, but you shouldn't need to do it often. Tokens are not yet included.

Does anyone want this?
This is useless if no one wants to use it, of course. So, let me know if you want to take part in it. Once it's set up, all that you should have to do is drop your files into the Community Wad folder so the directories match, and everything else should be automatic and available for download.

So, anyone interested? Any suggestions or advice? Should I make it so anyone with the link can edit the files, instead of only viewing them? Then you wouldn't need to be invited, but it's possible others will corrupt it. I could go that route, though. Google Drive has a revision system that should allow me to undo any changes if there are problems (not that I think there will be).

How do I use this?
What you need to add cards to the community wad: send me your email on here, via pm, or email me at Xander9009@gmail.com and I'll add you as an editor. You'll be given access to the folder on Google Drive so you can add cards and other files to it like it was a directory in your Magic 2014 folder. Drop in the cards you're ready to release, and they'll appear in the community wad. That's it. Use the MultiverseID without any prefix for the ArtID and it should automatically have art as long as the user has the Community Art wad as well, so you shouldn't need to worry about part.

What you need to use the community wad: you can find the file here (it's a subfolder of the links above). In that folder, you'll see two subfolders. Community Wad Core contains the small file for the cards themselves. Community Wad Art contains the very large Art wad. Grab both if you want both. The only reason they're in different folders is so the next section (automatic updating) can be done without having the art file saved in multiple locations. Just save the wad files in those subfolders to your Magic 2014 folder and you'll have the current community wad. Take the Community Wad Version.txt file as well so you will know what version you have without having to unpack the wad.

What you need to have the wad automatically used in your game:

• Add the Core folder from the above section (not the main folder, thought you can do that) from the above link to your own google drive. Do this by opening the link, opening the Core folder, and choosing Open in Drive in the top right. Click the arrow next to the folder name at the top (Community Wad Public Folder, the doesn't appear until you put your mouse over the name) and choose "Move to...". Place the folder anywhere you want inside your own Google Drive. This will mean that as long as your Google Drive is running on your computer, you'll have the updated wad on your PC.
• Extract this file: It can go anywhere you want, though I have mine inside my game folder.
• Open Community Wad Directories.txt. The top two lines need changed to your corresponding directories. The top line must point to the "Community Wad Core" folder in the "Community Wad Public Folder" in your Google Drive (if you named it something else, use the name you gave it). In other words, the folder this points to has to have the actual core wad, NOT another subfolder with the core wad inside that subfolder. The second line should be your Magic 2014 folder like it currently is (mine is in C:\Games, yours probably isn't). The third line is how often it will check for the COMMUNITY_WAD.wad to have changed. It is currently set to 60 seconds. It can easily be made however many seconds you want (including thousands if you want it to update once a day), but you should know this script really doesn't use much of your system's resources.
• Save and exit. Double click the .exe so it runs, and wait until it updates. That's all. If you want to run automatically after restarting/logging off, create a shortcut to it, and place that shortcut in your startup folder.

[/list]
As long as both directories are correct and the file is running, Data_DLC_Community_Wad.wad and its version file from the Google Drive directory you set will replace the same wad in your game folder any time they're not identical. If your game folder is in your Program Files folders (Steam defaults there, so the normal game by default will be if you didn't change it), this might not work. I don't know. You can try running it as an admin.

I would love for at least one person to help me verify it's working at all.

[RiiakShiNal]

As for suggestions I would suggest:

• Only doing WAD updates once a day (at a specific time) as even a 37 MB upload can cause connection degradation if someone or multiple people are putting in several updates over the course of an hour or two and the WAD updates are happening every 2 minutes. Not to mention that formatting changes, adding/removing comments, and other cosmetic changes would also trigger an auto-update regardless of how minor it is. By reducing the frequency of updates you would also reduce the probability that an end-user will encounter an auto-sync error.
• Auto-syncing the WAD in the game directory can cause errors if the user tries to start the game while the new WAD is downloading either they will get the old file and the game will work or they will get a partial file and the game will error out depending on how Google Drive does it's syncing.
• You will need to identify each new version of the WAD by some kind of version number (could be a date/time stamp or an incrementing number) or there will be confusion when reporting errors (someone reports an error with a card that was already fixed by the time they reported it, but no one knows for certain without a version number for which version the error is being reported).
• You need to come up with a good way for users to report errors and for the appropriate developers to see those errors otherwise you will end up with a broken useless WAD (it could simply be a designated forum thread, but modders would need to also sign up to monitor that thread and that thread would need to be easily linked to so that users can find it very easily otherwise they will post everywhere and modders can't and won't monitor everywhere).
• If you want to eliminate duplicates you need to get someone to sign on to look for them (on a periodic basis) and set up rules for how duplicates will be dealt with. For example duplicates can be allowed if they function very differently (like auto-tap versus manual-tap mana sources) as long as the file names are different and indicate which version it is, if that is not the case then both versions would need to be tested and the one with fewer bugs would be the one selected. This person would also be in charge of making sure cards are named consistently as changing versions from one with one name to another with a different name will cause crashes for people with decks using the old one if the old one is removed because it had more bugs than the new one.

Issues you will likely have with participation:

• Without the art most end users will probably not subscribe to this. They don't want to look at a bunch of cards with static (snow for those of us who are older) as the picture.
• Some modders will likely not sign on due to the extra work they will have to do (often people try to take steps out of a procedure rather than add them).
• Some modders will likely not sign on because they believe that self-contained mods (those that contain the deck(s) and all the resources required for them in a single wad) are still the way to go.
• Some modders will likely not sign on because they are no longer active (or have completely left the community).

Feel free to correct me if I have made an incorrect assumption or if something really isn't an issue. I feel that some of the above things need to be addressed if this is going to have any chance of success. So anyone volunteering to address something or to perform some the work required should speak up.

[Xander9009]

As for suggestions I would suggest:
Only doing WAD updates once a day (at a specific time) as even a 37 MB upload can cause connection degradation if someone or multiple people are putting in several updates over the course of an hour or two and the WAD updates are happening every 2 minutes.

The uploading will only affect me. Even so, I went ahead and slowed it down to once every 6 hours. It's currently only a couple hundred KB. If I or anyone else has trouble UL/DL 250 KB every 6 hours, we've got bigger issues lol. I'll change it as needed in the future.

Not to mention that formatting changes, adding/removing comments, and other cosmetic changes would also trigger an auto-update regardless of how minor it is. By reducing the frequency of updates you would also reduce the probability that an end-user will encounter an auto-sync error.

That's a good point. I'll make it so it updates once a day. Although, I can't limit how quickly Google Drive itself syncs. We'll have potential issues with multiple people modifying the same file, but that shouldn't happen often enough to really cause issues.

Auto-syncing the WAD in the game directory can cause errors if the user tries to start the game while the new WAD is downloading either they will get the old file and the game will work or they will get a partial file and the game will error out depending on how Google Drive does it's syncing.

Imade it so it moves the file to the game directory and then renames it once it's there. This way, there would only be a very small chance of an error because it takes virtually no time to delete and rename a file. That's a good point.

You will need to identify each new version of the WAD by some kind of version number (could be a date/time stamp or an incrementing number) or there will be confusion when reporting errors (someone reports an error with a card that was already fixed by the time they reported it, but no one knows for certain without a version number for which version the error is being reported).

I was thinking about this and decided that each time the wad is auto-updated, it'll increment a counter in a separate file which is also auto-synced to the game folder. I ended up putting the version.txt file inside the wad. This way they can't become mismatched as easily. It didn't seem to cause issues. That'll give a version number so we can see if they're up to date.

You need to come up with a good way for users to report errors and for the appropriate developers to see those errors otherwise you will end up with a broken useless WAD (it could simply be a designated forum thread, but modders would need to also sign up to monitor that thread and that thread would need to be easily linked to so that users can find it very easily otherwise they will post everywhere and modders can't and won't monitor everywhere).

If there's any interest in it, I'll post a new topic for it with a link here. I won't clutter the forum with a useless topic if no one uses it, though.

If you want to eliminate duplicates you need to get someone to sign on to look for them (on a periodic basis) and set up rules for how duplicates will be dealt with. For example duplicates can be allowed if they function very differently (like auto-tap versus manual-tap mana sources) as long as the file names are different and indicate which version it is, if that is not the case then both versions would need to be tested and the one with fewer bugs would be the one selected. This person would also be in charge of making sure cards are named consistently as changing versions from one with one name to another with a different name will cause crashes for people with decks using the old one if the old one is removed because it had more bugs than the new one.

I figured for the most part, it would start empty and anyone who wants their cards included could do so. The duplicates that I mentioned in the other thread aren't actually in this because I didn't want to include cards without permission. But yeah, I can't see anything wrong with allowing multiple versions of the same card, as long as there are multiple versions for a reason. That would be up to those creating those duplicates to decide.

Without the art most end users will probably not subscribe to this. They don't want to look at a bunch of cards with static (snow for those of us who are older) as the picture.

I'm just waiting to see if anyone has a better idea for the art before I set up a system for it. As of now, it's going to be the same system, but the pictures would be posted into one of a number of folders. I was thinking 5 folders, and thus 5 wads, to allow them to be a bit smaller. The cards I have in my folder come out to about 1.3 GB. Split up into 5 files, that's ~265 MB chunks. I figured I'd update those once every couple of days. You might play for a day or two without the pictures of a few cards, but then they'd show up. Alternatively, I might redo the scripts so that you can drop in new pictures to a small art assets file that updates at the same rate as everything else, and then consolidate them once a week or something. Opinion?

Some modders will likely not sign on due to the extra work they will have to do (often people try to take steps out of a procedure rather than add them).

Well, once it's set up, you don't need to pack the wad or upload anything manually. Just drop it into the google drive folder and have it be available to everyone. And for adding cards, the only extra work is having me add you as an editor. As for installing AHK, that's no longer necessary. It's now a self contained exe. There are two files, now, though. The extra file is for the directories. Should still make it a bit easier since you don't need AHK for it to work. Just download and run.

• Some modders will likely not sign on because they believe that self-contained mods (those that contain the deck(s) and all the resources required for them in a single wad) are still the way to go.
• Some modders will likely not sign on because they are no longer active (or have completely left the community).

Not much I can do about these. But for those that simply aren't around anymore, we could redo those cards if necessary. The vast majority of coded cards seem to come from those still around.

Anything I missed?

[RiiakShiNal]

The uploading will only affect me. Even so, I went ahead and slowed it down to once every 6 hours. It's currently only a couple hundred KB. If I or anyone else has trouble UL/DL 250 KB every 6 hours, we've got bigger issues lol. I'll change it as needed in the future.

I understand that the uploading of the combined WAD would only affect you, but at the time you were talking about potentially packing and uploading it every 2 minutes.

That's a good point. I'll make it so it updates once a day. Although, I can't limit how quickly Google Drive itself syncs. We'll have potential issues with multiple people modifying the same file, but that shouldn't happen often enough to really cause issues.

I wasn't as concerned with people potentially modifying the same file as that is quite unlikely (most modders keep to their own cards). So I wasn't considering trying to limit repository uploads, just the act of packing and uploading the combined WAD to limit issues for end-users (and the strain on your system and connection).

Syncing the repository for modders should probably remain set as ASAP to try and ensure that modders are always working with the latest loose files.

I was thinking about this and decided that each time the wad is auto-updated, it'll increment a counter in a separate file which is also auto-synced to the game folder. I ended up putting the version.txt file inside the wad. This way they can't become mismatched as easily. It didn't seem to cause issues. That'll give a version number so we can see if they're up to date.

There is a potential issue here, if you include the version in the WAD some users may not know how to access it (not all users know how, or make the effort, to use Gibbed tools). So putting it in a separate file may be better.

If there's any interest in it, I'll post a new topic for it with a link here. I won't clutter the forum with a useless topic if no one uses it, though.

Agreed, don't need to clutter the forum uselessly.

I'm just waiting to see if anyone has a better idea for the art before I set up a system for it. As of now, it's going to be the same system, but the pictures would be posted into one of a number of folders. I was thinking 5 folders, and thus 5 wads, to allow them to be a bit smaller. The cards I have in my folder come out to about 1.3 GB. Split up into 5 files, that's ~265 MB chunks. I figured I'd update those once every couple of days. You might play for a day or two without the pictures of a few cards, but then they'd show up. Alternatively, I might redo the scripts so that you can drop in new pictures to a small art assets file that updates at the same rate as everything else, and then consolidate them once a week or something. Opinion?

Is this size compressed or uncompressed? If both the TDX files are properly compressed (since this is designed to be a Card repository these should all be card images and compressed in DXT1) and the WAD is compressed it seems like it should not be nearly that large. If you are wondering, yes, compression or even re-compression can be automated.

Well, once it's set up, you don't need to pack the wad or upload anything manually. Just drop it into the google drive folder and have it be available to everyone. And for adding cards, the only extra work is having me add you as an editor. As for installing AHK, that's no longer necessary. It's now a self contained exe. There are two files, now, though. The extra file is for the directories. Should still make it a bit easier since you don't need AHK for it to work. Just download and run.

This also depends on how it is set up. Depending on how modders develop cards (everyone has their own method) there may still be extra steps involved (it is impossible to account for every scenario).

Anything I missed?

Just for people to step up and volunteer. I'm a bit of a slow adopter so once this project really gets going then I'll probably join in. Until then though I'm still working on something from a very different perspective.

[Xander9009]

I understand that the uploading of the combined WAD would only affect you, but at the time you were talking about potentially packing and uploading it every 2 minutes.

I knew what you meant, and I changed it because I agreed. Sorry for the confusion.

There is a potential issue here, if you include the version in the WAD some users may not know how to access it (not all users know how, or make the effort, to use Gibbed tools). So putting it in a separate file may be better.

That's a good point. When I first made the file, it was outside the wad, but I liked the idea of having it inside for reassurance. I'll stil it outside like I originally had it.

Is this size compressed or uncompressed? If both the TDX files are properly compressed (since this is designed to be a Card repository these should all be card images and compressed in DXT1) and the WAD is compressed it seems like it should not be nearly that large. If you are wondering, yes, compression or even re-compression can be automated.

Well, the 1.3 GB isn't just my cards, if that was causing confusion. It's all of the cards that I've got except for those in the vanilla files. That means the core wads from you, Sumomole, TheFireMind, and a host of others. I don't know if they're all compressed like they should be.

This also depends on how it is set up. Depending on how modders develop cards (everyone has their own method) there may still be extra steps involved (it is impossible to account for every scenario).

I can't think of what those scenarios might be off-hand, but I'm not dumb enough to say they won't exist. But they can be dealt with as they're encountered (hopefully).

Until then though I'm still working on something from a very different perspective.

If that something is related to this issue, then maybe we'll have a better system up before long. This one doesn't seem particularly bad, but it's still kind of just cobbled together programs not made for this.

So, I'll get the version file set up outside the wad now and re-upload the files. I'm just hoping at least one or two others that make cards decide to give it a try. I put in my allies and I'm planning to go back to the cards I coded in the requests thread and add those. I'm also planning to work on the art issue today. And finally, since you confirmed my cards in the other thread are working, I'm hoping I can get the balancing mechanisms into those. Looks like I've got a full day. Good thing I'm free all day haha.

[RiiakShiNal]

That's a good point. When I first made the file, it was outside the wad, but I liked the idea of having it inside for reassurance. I'll stil it outside like I originally had it.

I'm not saying you can't put it in the WAD as well, but it should also be outside for easy access by end-users who may or may not have or know how to use Gibbed Tools.

Well, the 1.3 GB isn't just my cards, if that was causing confusion. It's all of the cards that I've got except for those in the vanilla files. That means the core wads from you, Sumomole, TheFireMind, and a host of others. I don't know if they're all compressed like they should be.

Then maybe you should add re-compression of TDXs to any automated packing task (which then additionally compresses the WAD) to ensure the smallest possible file size (smaller sizes = faster uploading and downloading).

If that something is related to this issue, then maybe we'll have a better system up before long. This one doesn't seem particularly bad, but it's still kind of just cobbled together programs not made for this.

In some ways it's related in other ways it isn't (I don't expect too much clash with this project if it gets off the ground). It's still got a long ways to go before it is anywhere near ready (even as a pre-alpha prototype) as it is considerably more complex than my Deck Builder (Though when done it should be a good tool for future modding even though it will require maintenance throughout it's entire useful life).

[Xander9009]

I'm not saying you can't put it in the WAD as well, but it should also be outside for easy access by end-users who may or may not have or know how to use Gibbed Tools.

Okay, makes sense. Put it both, have a definitely correct version file in the wad, and a backup that's still almost definitely correct outside it.

Then maybe you should add re-compression of TDXs to any automated packing task (which then additionally compresses the WAD) to ensure the smallest possible file size (smaller sizes = faster uploading and downloading).

I'm not sure how to compress a wad. I know how to compress a picture when I convert it using your bat file and modified gibbed tools. Can I compress a tdx, or do I need to convert it back from tdx, and then compress it while reconverting it to tdx?

In some ways it's related in other ways it isn't (I don't expect too much clash with this project if it gets off the ground). It's still got a long ways to go before it is anywhere near ready (even as a pre-alpha prototype) as it is considerably more complex than my Deck Builder (Though when done it should be a good tool for future modding even though it will require maintenance throughout it's entire useful life).

Cool, can't wait to see it.

[RiiakShiNal]

I'm not sure how to compress a wad. I know how to compress a picture when I convert it using your bat file and modified gibbed tools. Can I compress a tdx, or do I need to convert it back from tdx, and then compress it while reconverting it to tdx?

You can compress a wad by using the "--compress" command line parameter when packing using Gibbed.Duels.Pack.exe.

You can't compress a TDX directly it has to be converted to PNG first (Using the Gibbed.Duels.TdxConvert.exe) then compressed when converting back to TDX.

Cool, can't wait to see it.

You're going to be waiting a while just like everyone else.

[Xander9009]

You can compress a wad by using the "--compress" command line parameter when packing using Gibbed.Duels.Pack.exe.

Okay, I didn't know that. I'll get that implemented.

You can't compress a TDX directly it has to be converted to PNG first (Using the Gibbed.Duels.TdxConvert.exe) then compressed when converting back to TDX.

I was afraid of that. Not a big deal, though.

[Xander9009]

Okay, I've compiled a wad (a very large wad, 1.2 GB) of art. It should have all art except the newest set, BNG. I'll update it when the CCGHQ team upload the crops for it (they're still missing 4 pictures). Aside from that set, everything else should be covered. Each picture is named using its Multiverse ID. Each set has its own ID on the Oracle, so different pictures for different sets have different IDs that you can find and use in cards. This means cards can be made, and as long as the correct ID is used (from whichever expansion you want the picture for), the picture should be there without any extra work from you. If an expansion has multiple versions of one card (basic lands, Abbey Matron...), then they may or may not be included so far. They should have been, but many seem to have been missed. I have the list of those missing and just need to do those ones manually. At least there aren't 20000 (the original number) to do. Tokens are not included yet, but should be eventually. The issue with those is that they don't have multiverse IDs so I need to find a different way to consistently refer to them. Check the original post for updated information on it.

[RiiakShiNal]

There is a big problem with just using the Multiverse ID and that is that it may conflict with the IDs used for art from WotC/Stainless. They use a different numbering system for their art IDs and it can (and if I remember correctly does) overlap with the Multiverse IDs. The recommended solution is to add a prefix (some modders use the mod content pack ID, others use "A" for "Art", others prefix with some letters that are meaningful to them, I use "RSN" for my prefix for example) so that there will be no conflict. If you use a numeric prefix then you should always pad the Multiverse ID to 6 digits otherwise you can run into conflicts.

[Xander9009]

Okay, I didn't know they overlapped. In fact, I thought they used the multiverse id. I'll have to rename the pics, repack teh pack, and reupload, but that shouldn't take long. Thanks. I'm going with CW for Community Wad. Honestly, I don't think this'll get any traction for 2014, but I'm still going to get it all set up so it's in place if/when they create another. If so, it'll probably get a lot more support then.

[AngelLestat]

Hi xander, one thing that I dont understand from your first post.

What is the main objective from this?

That we all share the same files to be able to play in multiplayer with anyone else in the comunity?

Or just to have a place where we can have all new added cards updated?

Or maybe also to add our own decks so this could be played against other personal decks from the comunity?

[Xander9009]

Hi xander, one thing that I dont understand from your first post.

What is the main objective from this?

That we all share the same files to be able to play in multiplayer with anyone else in the comunity?

Or just to have a place where we can have all new added cards updated?

Or maybe also to add our own decks so this could be played against other personal decks from the comunity?

MTG is a trading card game made up of a limited number of actual cards. The community codes those cards one at a time. That means every time someone codes a card that's already been done, we've lost the card they might have made instead. Overlapping cards like that is a waste from the community's perspective, and as someone who's coded cards, it's a waste from mine as well. We'd be better off not overlapping if it can be avoided.

Also, when on modder makes a card, then another one does, and then another, we're never sure which one we should be using. Sure, I'll probably go with one of the prominent modders over someone I haven't heard of, but we'd be better off with a single copy, and having that copy be fixed when needed by those that actually understand what went wrong rather than just tinkering until it works. When I started coding, my cards had bugs that I fixed, but I happened to post the code on the forums, and someone pointed out that while I did fix that bug, I might've introduced another.

Regarding online play, if everyone uses an up-to-date community wad for the cards themselves, then only wads they'll need to worry about others not matching are the deck wads. And no, decks will never be included in this because MTG: DotP doesn't support an unlimited number of decks and some people (myself included) wouldn't want a bunch of decks they never intend to use clogging up their deck list.

Finally, if everyone was working on a single community wad instead of many individual ones, staying up to date with that one wad will be a lot easier (especially if you're using the utility I provided) than trying to make sure all 15 of your card-providing wads are up-to-date. That means you're less likely to encounter bugs that might have already been fixed because you didn't notice you needed to update.

All in all, there are many benefits using a single community wad.

[darist]

Hey, thanks for doing this!

Sorry in advance for my newbness. I just found out you could add decks to DotP 2014 this week, so I'm a bit behind. I'm looking to add two cards, Expedition Map and Wing Splicer. I was hoping that the art for those cards would be in this big community art WAD - but I'm not sure how to even open the art wad to look around.

I realize I may be derailing this thread, so if there's a better place to find this information I'd appreciate being pointed in the right direction. I just figured that the art for those cards was somewhere in this community pack.