Stringer: Advanced Language for Managing Tooltips

[Xienoph]

Stringer is an improved Warcraft 3 Editor's tooltip editor. It is aimed to improve text managements in WE. This includes tooltips, unit names, unit descriptions, and any texts that can be imported through text files. Some of its features:

• Defines new formatting macros. WE's tooltip only has colouring and decimal for formatting. Stringer adds several more (percentage, hotkey) and allows you to define your own macros.
• Allows you to use other fields. WE's tooltip only allows you to use numerical ability values. Stringer can use any numbers or strings.
• Can be used anywhere. WE's tooltip can only be used in a few places. Though the colour formatting can be used anywhere, the value macro only works in abilities and upgrades. Stringer works at anywhere you have text.

Some known issues:

• Error messages you get, especially when you have syntax error, can be very cryptic
• Stringer runs very slowly when the call stack is very deep
• The code block for custom macros returns syntax error if there is a carriage return

If you want to see it in action, check out The Big Game. The skill upgrade and ability tooltips can be easily updated thanks to Stringer.

If anyone wants to help improving this, feel free to do so! Just tell me in advance so I know what's going on.

I've also attached a tutorial package for you to get oriented with the system. I hope you find it useful. The tutorial does not cover the more advanced features (custom macros) but feel free to ask me if you have any questions.

 

[Lyerae]

Okay, so after looking at the tutorial, I think I get the basics (at least of the language), and it actually looks pretty damn cool.

Few things though:
1, Make an .exe package (py2exe works) for Windows users. Some people don't have Python (and py2exe packages Python with the exe, I believe), and some don't know how to run scripts.
2, Make some sort of 'formal' tutorial covering all aspects of the language.
3, Find some way to make this run within the World Editor (possible through JASS. That would be cool).

Aside from that, it's pretty good from what I can tell. +rep.

 

[tooltiperror]

Add in //! external command?

 

[Xienoph]

2, Make some sort of 'formal' tutorial covering all aspects of the language.

I believe the only part left uncovered is understanding the custom macros more deeply. (What are the underlying Macro types? When are macros invoked?) I left them out since 95% of the time, I never have to worry about them (the builtin.str is enough for me). Do you have other features in mind?

3, Find some way to make this run within the World Editor (possible through JASS. That would be cool).

I think I'll need some help on that. Any ideas where I should start from? I'm not sure if it'll worth spending the time given that you can use text editors to edit them (which reminds me, I forgot to upload Notepad++'s syntax highlighting for Stringer) and SC2Editor is already out (though it's a pain to use ...)

Add in //! external command?

What do you mean?

 

[tooltiperror]

You can make it so you could do //! stringer somewhere in the trigger editor and it would run Stringer every time you save.

 

[Vestras]

If you make a version for SC2, and you want to make a Moonlite extension, I can help you.

 

[Xienoph]

You can make it so you could do //! stringer somewhere in the trigger editor and it would run Stringer every time you save.

Ah I see. I'll go back to that once I've improved Stringer's performance. Right now, it's not meant to be run every time you save the map. You should only run it when you are ready to release the map.

 

[Xienoph]

I've added a syntax highlighting for Notepad++. It's in the release.zip. Let me know if you have any problems!