Area of Expertise: Scripting: ES+ Vol II
Interviewer: LibertineKindly Edited By Justinian......but he isnt important
Libertine:
First up, Myrddraal thanks for taking the time to let me interview you!
Myrddraal:
No problem.
Libertine:
I think the first thing that I personally want to know is: what actually got you into scripting RTW?
Myrddraal:
Just looking through the files when RTW was hot off the press I saw the prologue script, and it got me thinking about trying to include this kind of script in other campaigns.
Libertine:
Ok, now I understand that the scripting language in RTW is not very...complete, or at least it was more of a last minute inclusion than anything else. Does this hinder the scripting process?
Myrddraal:
Oh yes, a lot. If there was as much flexibility in the RTW script as there was in most programming languages, there would be no end to what we could do.
Libertine:
So, if there was a RTW version of C++ then we would be rolling in it so to speak?
Myrddraal:
Completely reprogramming the AI would be the first thing I think.
Libertine:
A modder's dream!
Myrddraal:
It would certainly help a bit!
Libertine:
I can imagine! Now, I think the thing that intrigues everyone at TWC is your multiplayer
campaign script. What sort of problems arose from the lack of knowledge in RTW scripting
within the modding community?
Myrddraal:
If you open up the files of the multiplayer campaign, you'll see that the script itself is short and relatively simple. The only thing that stopped me releasing it ages ago was that I didn't know the syntax and function of some of the commands. If you look back at the hot seat mod, you can see the basic framework for the MP campaign there, but its riddled with bugs and can't actually be used for MP. The final product is actually a workaround of all the stumbling blocks I came across once I started on a relatively simple idea.
Libertine:
The hotseat mod brings me onto my next question, How much of a step was it from the
framework the hotseat mod provided to the full MP Campaign?
Myrddraal:
Well not a great one in terms of concept. Just a lot of trial and error to see what worked and what didn't.
Libertine:
So scripting in RTW is more of a trial and error process than one of precision?
Myrddraal:
Well that depends. CA (Jerome Grasdyke in particular) released a couple of text files after the release of BI which included a list of scripting commands and their syntax. There were some
similar files distributed with the RTW demo, but they weren't there in the final release, and these demo files contained mistakes. It's not really trial and error, its more like normal programming. You have an aim, and you have an idea as to how to make it work. The trial and error comes in when you come across a problem that no one else has solved yet.
Libertine:
I'm assuming that you have prior knowledge of programming?
Myrddraal:
That's not really too much of a problem. You have to think logically I guess, and understand the basic concept of how a program works. Obviously its easier to pick up if you know some basic programming, but there are some very good scripting guides out there now, and its easy enough to gain understanding from those.
Libertine:
Thank you for the interview!
Originally Posted by Justinian
