Creating new unit statuses and getting them to show

[silene]

It has been mentioned in the Lua changes for 1.9.4, but it might be worth advertising, especially since it doesn't really require any Lua knowledge.

Let's suppose you want to define an "entangled" status (that is, an "entangled=yes" line inside the [status] tag of unit). How do you get it to show up in the sidebar next to the invisible, slowed, poisoned statuses? By copy-pasting the code below in a scenario and modifying its literal strings.

Code: Select all

[event]
    name=preload
    first_time_only=no
    [lua]
        code=<<
            local _ = wesnoth.textdomain "mydomain"
            local old_unit_status = wesnoth.theme_items.unit_status
            function wesnoth.theme_items.unit_status()
                local u = wesnoth.get_displayed_unit()
                if not u then return {} end
                local s = old_unit_status()
                if u.status.entangled then
                    table.insert(s, { "element", {
                        image = "entangled.png",
                        tooltip = _"entangled: This unit is entangled. It cannot move but it can still attack."
                    } })
                end
                return s
            end
        >>
    [/lua]
[/event]

The things to modify above are:

• the domain of your addon ("mydomain"), assuming that you are using translations. Otherwise just remove the underscore in the tooltip line.
• the name of the status (u.status.entangled). Note that if the attribute happens to be inside [variables], so be it: u.variables.whatever.
• the path to the image ("entangled.png").
• the tooltip of the status ("entangled: This unit ...").

Unit statuses are not the only part of the user interface you can change. Every item tag that appears in data/themes/default.cfg can be modified. And if you are using a custom theme for your addon, you can add whatever theme item you wish and get it to display custom content.

Ever wanted to display the equipment carried by units in the sidebar for a Wesnoth RPG? In 1.9.4, you can.[/advertisement]

[StDrake]

that's nice, will save some writing in wml to make special images to show a unit status..but can this be used also to simplify defining what that status affects and pershaps a default way of getting rid of it?
That would really cut a few lines off the macro files, when the whole thing left would be to just write the event for applying a status, without tediously repeating all its effects and undoing them one by one in another

[zookeeper]

Cool. Something I've always wanted.

[bigkahuna]

Unit statuses are not the only part of the user interface you can change. Every item tag that appears in data/themes/default.cfg can be modified. And if you are using a custom theme for your addon, you can add whatever theme item you wish and get it to display custom content.

Wow This is a really neat feature. One thing I don't understand though -

In the above example of Lua, you've given us the needed attributes (fill-in-the-blanks if you will). But if we want to add/alter other themes, how would we find the needed attributes? For example -

When I look in the themes/default.cfg , all I see is this -

Code: Select all

            [unit_status]
                id=unit-status
                font_size={DEFAULT_FONT_SMALL}
                ref=unit-xp
                rect="=+1,+3,=,+16"
                xanchor=right
                yanchor=fixed
            [/unit_status]

and nothing about the image path, tooltips, or name of status. Where are all the other attributes/aspects of the different themes defined? I cannot find it in any of the files.

[StDrake]

the status name gets bashed in as a varible..or rather container variable name, and from what i see the image and tooltip somehows are qualities of "element"..just where does this "element" come from?

[silene]

but can this be used also to simplify defining what that status affects and pershaps a default way of getting rid of it?

That's orthogonal. The only thing that was missing for custom statuses was to display them the same way hardcoded ones are; so that's what I added. Everything else could already be done in WML and doesn't require any specific engine support.

When I look in the themes/default.cfg , all I see is this and nothing about the image path, tooltips, or name of status. Where are all the other attributes/aspects of the different themes defined? I cannot find it in any of the files.

The .cfg theme files only define which boxes are displayed, what their name is, and where they are displayed. They sometimes also contain static parts of the interface, e.g. the village icon. But they do not define the dynamic content. That was up to the C++ engine, and now to the LuaWML engine too. For instance, display of unit statuses is done by reports.cpp/generate_reports.cpp and its code is similar to the code I posted (except it is C++ instead of Lua).

the status name gets bashed in as a varible..or rather container variable name, and from what i see the image and tooltip somehows are qualities of "element"..just where does this "element" come from?

That's just the way it is called, it doesn't come from anywhere in particular. For instance, assume you have an invisible slowed unit. Then the generator for unit statuses will create the following WML container on-the-fly and the engine will display it:

Code: Select all

#textdomain wesnoth
[element]
  image="misc/invisible.png"
  tooltip=_"invisible: "+_"This unit is invisible. It cannot be seen or attacked by enemy units."
[/element]
[element]
  image="misc/slowed.png"
  tooltip=_"slowed: "+_"This unit has been slowed. It will only deal half its normal damage when attacking and its movement cost is doubled."
[/element]

(Note that text can be displayed by using text= instead of image= inside [element]; it just happens that statuses only use icons.)

In the case of the Lua code I posted, the generator just calls the old generator that handles the default status and gets its result (which is a WML container like the one above) then it adds a new [element] tag to it if the unit has the given status. This new result is then returned to the engine, which displays all the elements one after the other in the box defined by the theme.

[Reepurr]

Awesome! But...

I already know you can implement your own statuses with their own names from my experiments with A New Land. What I don't understand is how you say what they do.

While I'm on the subject, where do you find the LUA hardcode for specials tags, so you would be able to modify them?

[pauxlo]

It has been mentioned in the Lua changes for 1.9.4, but it might be worth advertising, especially since it doesn't really require any Lua knowledge.

Let's suppose you want to define an "entangled" status (that is, an "entangled=yes" line inside the [status] tag of unit). How do you get it to show up in the sidebar next to the invisible, slowed, poisoned statuses? By copy-pasting the code below in a scenario and modifying its literal strings.

Code: Select all

[event]
    name=preload
    first_time_only=no
    [lua]
        code=<< ... >>
    [/lua]
[/event]

The things to modify above are:

• the domain of your addon ("mydomain"), assuming that you are using translations. Otherwise just remove the underscore in the tooltip line.
• the name of the status (u.status.entangled). Note that if the attribute happens to be inside [variables], so be it: u.variables.whatever.
• the path to the image ("entangled.png").
• the tooltip of the status ("entangled: This unit ...").

Wouldn't it be better to define a WML tag which does this?
Maybe usable like this:

Code: Select all

[event]
    name=preload
    first_time_only=no
    [add_status_gui]
       variable="u.status.entangled"
       image="entangled.png"
       tooltip=_ "entangled: This unit is entangled. It cannot move but it can still attack."
    [/add_status_gui]
[/event]

(or with a text=... key for text statuses.) IIRC then we even don't need a special textdomain parameter, since the #textdomain setting from the WML preprocessor applies.

[Astoria]

*appear from the shadows*

Code: Select all

    [lua]
        code=<<
            local old_unit_status = wesnoth.theme_items.unit_status
            function wesnoth.theme_items.unit_status()
                local u = wesnoth.get_displayed_unit()
                if not u then return {} end
                local s = old_unit_status()
                if u.status.cfg.status then
                    table.insert(s, { "element", {
                        image = "cfg.image",
                        tooltip = _"cfg.tooltip"
                    } })
                end
                return s
            end
            wesnoth.register_wml_action("add_status_gui", cfg)
        >>
    [/lua]

*disappear into the shadows*

[Brilliand]

*appear from the shadows*

Code: Select all

    [lua]
        code=<<
            local old_unit_status = wesnoth.theme_items.unit_status
            function wesnoth.theme_items.unit_status()
                local u = wesnoth.get_displayed_unit()
                if not u then return {} end
                local s = old_unit_status()
                if u.status.cfg.status then
                    table.insert(s, { "element", {
                        image = "cfg.image",
                        tooltip = _"cfg.tooltip"
                    } })
                end
                return s
            end
            wesnoth.register_wml_action("add_status_gui", cfg)
        >>
    [/lua]

*disappear into the shadows*

Wouldn't that need to be...

Code: Select all

                        image = cfg.image,
                        tooltip = cfg.tooltip

[bigkahuna]

Wouldn't that need to be [...]

Well, the tooltip is supposed to be translateable. And the quotes around them are supposed to be there.

[Anonymissimus]

"cfg.image" is considered a string by lua in any case so it looks for a file named "cfg.image". Brilliand is right.

[Astoria]

"cfg.image" is considered a string by lua in any case so it looks for a file named "cfg.image". Brilliand is right.

*facepalm* how could I forget...

[bigkahuna]

1.9.4 is out! Excited, I looked through the changelog expecting to find this.

Ever wanted to display the equipment carried by units in the sidebar for a Wesnoth RPG? In 1.9.4, you can.

I didn't. Is there something I missed, is it a hidden update, or was it forgotten?

[silene]

Is there something I missed, is it a hidden update, or was it forgotten?

It is in 1.9.4 and mentioned here: http://forums.wesnoth.org/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=31022.