Backport tool?

[Spannerbag]

Hi,
Are there any tools to help authors backport campaigns to older versions of BfW?
I understand that android users are restricted to 1.14 and would like to explore the possibility of backporting campaigns for these players if:

1. Sufficient demand exists and
2. There is some level of automation available.

I understand that lua code will need changing, units/sprites will change and significant rebalancing will be required plus some WML features may be lost.
I won't be even seriously considering this for some time yet but it would be good to know my options (if any).
So if anyone has done this (ideally a backport from 1.18 -> 1.14) I'd be interested to hear their experiences.

Thanks in advance for your time and trouble.

Cheers!
-- Spannerbag

[Lord-Knightmare]

Well, the only multi-version support add-on I have seen so far is probably Lea's Alter Era add-on which supports from 1.10 to 1.18. I think you can do this with #ifver defines to split code blocks.

[Ravana]

Usually you start this from the opposite side, having 1.14 code with minimal adjustments to have it valid in higher version.

[Spannerbag]

Usually you start this from the opposite side, having 1.14 code with minimal adjustments to have it valid in higher version.

Understood, however in this case I started development on 1.16 (now 1.18 for LSB, plus another campaign still way off publication) with no intention to backport.
However I didn't realise some players were forced to stay on 1.14 hence my post.
If it's too difficult fair enough but I'd be interested in scoping out the hurdles and tools available.

Cheers,
-- Spannerbag

[Ravana]

No tools.

[Spannerbag]

No tools.

Ah. Oh well, thanks for the clarification, much appreciated.
(I'd hoped it might be possible to use the migration tools "in reverse".)

Cheers!
-- Spannerbag

[gnombat]

I understand that android users are restricted to 1.14 and would like to explore the possibility of backporting campaigns for these players

I'm not entirely sure this is a good idea, as the add-on server administrators might perhaps be planning to shut down the 1.14 add-on server at some point?

Normally old versions of the add-on server are shut down routinely - they usually have the add-on server running for the current stable version of Wesnoth and the previous stable version, and that's all. It looks like they have made an exception for the 1.14 add-on server because Android/iOS users are stuck with that version, but I don't know if they plan to keep 1.14 running forever.

I'm just thinking that it would be unfortunate if you were to spend a lot of time working on porting your campaigns to 1.14, and then after, say, a couple of months of hard work, you are ready to upload to the server - only to find out that they already shut down the server in February or something

[Pentarctagon]

With 1.20 the plan is to get back to how things were done previously - only the add-on and multiplayer servers for the current and previous stable release will be available. So a bit after 1.20 is released, the 1.14 and 1.16 add-on and multiplayer servers will be turned off. That is over a year away as of right now though.

[Atreides]

I'm keeping up to 4 versions of the addons I maintain up to date with all the latest bug fixes. For example the Extended Armies Era (EAE) I have 1.12/14/16/18 versions.

Alas they were not backported but what happened was that I ported them forward in stages. 1 version at a time. It sounds like it might be a lot of work but really it sort of helps to only have to make minor changes at each step.

As mentioned #ifver is a useful bit of WML to help keep the versions similar. A tool I use to make it easier is called Kompare which is a KDE Linux diff GUI. It finds and highlights differences betwen two files (.cfg, .lua, .pbl files) or even entire addons. I can copy any changes backwards or forwards between the versions as needed.

P.S. I'm glad to hear that my 1.14 versions might still be useful to some players.

[Spannerbag]

Thanks gnombat and Pentarctagon for your advice and clarification, much appreciated.
Sounds like by the time I actually get round to doing anything there won't be an add-on server to publish on!
Oh well, at least I understand the situation now.
Thanks again.
Cheers!
-- Spannerbag

[Spannerbag]

...P.S. I'm glad to hear that my 1.14 versions might still be useful to some players.

Not for too much longer I fear, unless you host your own add-on server...?
I suppose that add-ons might still be available via http://campaigns.wesnoth.org/?
Cheers!
-- Spannerbag

[Pentarctagon]

You should probably use https://addons.wesnoth.org/, but yes that will stay available as usual.

[gnombat]

...P.S. I'm glad to hear that my 1.14 versions might still be useful to some players.

Not for too much longer I fear, unless you host your own add-on server...?
I suppose that add-ons might still be available via http://campaigns.wesnoth.org/?

It is still possible to download add-ons for old Wesnoth versions using the web interface. However:

1. It is not possible to upload anything using the web interface - for uploading, you need to use the real add-on server.
2. It is difficult or impossible to actually install add-ons using the web interface on mobile devices. On Android I think it might be possible but tricky to do; on iOS I think it actually is impossible unless your device is jailbroken.

Hosting your own add-on server does seem like a viable possibility, since you can enter the domain name of a different server from within Wesnoth (so in theory this should work even on mobile devices). But as far as I know no one actually does this...

[Spannerbag]

You should probably use https://addons.wesnoth.org/, but yes that will stay available as usual.

Thanks!

It is still possible to download add-ons for old Wesnoth versions using the web interface. However:

1. It is not possible to upload anything using the web interface - for uploading, you need to use the real add-on server.
2. It is difficult or impossible to actually install add-ons using the web interface on mobile devices...

Hosting your own add-on server does seem like a viable possibility, since you can enter the domain name of a different server from within Wesnoth (so in theory this should work even on mobile devices). But as far as I know no one actually does this...

Mmm... will file "Backporting to 1.14" under SWOT (Supreme Waste Of Time) and not bother.

Thanks to everyone who replied, very helpful and much appreciated.

Cheers!
-- Spannerbag