D-Mod Dink.ini Editing
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- Author(s): Dan Walma
- Categories: Development, Tutorial
- Downloads: 38
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This is one of the oldest tutorial about Dink.ini editing. Unless Gary Hertel's Dink.ini index, this one did provide more detailed explanations on how-to, but on the other hand this file did not really explain the meaning of all the numbers. Again, the title of this file, "Advanced Dink.ini Editing", does not really hold up well at least in today's view. What you can learn from this file is only the basic Dink.ini editing.
There are 3 sections in this short file.
The first part told you how to initiate a new sprite using used number of sequence or replacing the existing one. It does give you some intro about the no-animated items and the animated sequence. But not much was said here. And you do not need to use load_sequence_now unless you want this new graphics loaded at the beginning of the game. Most of the time, load_sequence is good enough.
The second part explains how you edit the hardbox and depth dot for the new sequence. It explain very well in this perspective. However, it does not tell you what those numbers mean, though Gary Hertel's Dink.ini Index does explain them without real examples. It would be nice to explain those numbers so that you do not need to use DinkEdit to do this job. The example is not a very good one, either. Unless you defined the sequence with other parameters like BLACK, NOANIM, or LEFTALIGN in load_sequence_now, you do not need SET_SPRITE_INFO for separate frames if they have exactly the same hardbox and depth dots. So load_sequence_now graphicscmcm- 98 36 25 -24 -15 21 8 should be good enough for this example. Also you do not NEED to delete the old lines of information, although it is a good action to do. Dink engine knows where to see. So it would be much better to choose a sequence that needs different hardbox and depth dot for different frames.
The third part of this file explains how to do a series of sequence for a sprite character with base_walk setup. In principle it explains some of the concept, but for a newbie (like I used to be), it did not say clear enough to be easily understood. You might get the feeling that you need to use the same tens of the numbers to form a correlated series from the example, but to me it would be much better if it is explicitly said. Also, this part indicated that you don't need to care about the hardbox of the sprite. It is not true if you ask me. Although the sprite character usually does not have any hardness, the hardbox define the range of the sprite's touch-damage and the body size that other can hurt. Most of the time it is true, but sometimes it is NOT necessary to use base_walk series to define a sprite if that sprite has sort of spherical symmetry and does not need different animation for different directions. One of the good exapmles can be found in SimonK's SOB -- the swat.
And in this file, there is no information about attack sequence, and many special settings for frames, i.e. set_frame_frame, set_frame_special, and set_frame_delay. Those parts are indeed the advanced parts of Dink.ini editing.
So if you want to know how to do Dink.ini editing, this file could be only your beginning. At this time, there are at least a few much better, more organized, and detailed tutorial files for this purpose.
Since there is no major mistake in this file, a score of 6.0 should be fair enough mainly for the recognition of its historical contribution.
There are 3 sections in this short file.
The first part told you how to initiate a new sprite using used number of sequence or replacing the existing one. It does give you some intro about the no-animated items and the animated sequence. But not much was said here. And you do not need to use load_sequence_now unless you want this new graphics loaded at the beginning of the game. Most of the time, load_sequence is good enough.
The second part explains how you edit the hardbox and depth dot for the new sequence. It explain very well in this perspective. However, it does not tell you what those numbers mean, though Gary Hertel's Dink.ini Index does explain them without real examples. It would be nice to explain those numbers so that you do not need to use DinkEdit to do this job. The example is not a very good one, either. Unless you defined the sequence with other parameters like BLACK, NOANIM, or LEFTALIGN in load_sequence_now, you do not need SET_SPRITE_INFO for separate frames if they have exactly the same hardbox and depth dots. So load_sequence_now graphicscmcm- 98 36 25 -24 -15 21 8 should be good enough for this example. Also you do not NEED to delete the old lines of information, although it is a good action to do. Dink engine knows where to see. So it would be much better to choose a sequence that needs different hardbox and depth dot for different frames.
The third part of this file explains how to do a series of sequence for a sprite character with base_walk setup. In principle it explains some of the concept, but for a newbie (like I used to be), it did not say clear enough to be easily understood. You might get the feeling that you need to use the same tens of the numbers to form a correlated series from the example, but to me it would be much better if it is explicitly said. Also, this part indicated that you don't need to care about the hardbox of the sprite. It is not true if you ask me. Although the sprite character usually does not have any hardness, the hardbox define the range of the sprite's touch-damage and the body size that other can hurt. Most of the time it is true, but sometimes it is NOT necessary to use base_walk series to define a sprite if that sprite has sort of spherical symmetry and does not need different animation for different directions. One of the good exapmles can be found in SimonK's SOB -- the swat.
And in this file, there is no information about attack sequence, and many special settings for frames, i.e. set_frame_frame, set_frame_special, and set_frame_delay. Those parts are indeed the advanced parts of Dink.ini editing.
So if you want to know how to do Dink.ini editing, this file could be only your beginning. At this time, there are at least a few much better, more organized, and detailed tutorial files for this purpose.
Since there is no major mistake in this file, a score of 6.0 should be fair enough mainly for the recognition of its historical contribution.
This file explains what the dink.ini file is about, and how to use it.
It explains step by step what to do if you want to add a new graphic to the dink.ini, how to set hardboxes and depth dots for non character sprites in the editor, what the results of those changes are in the dink.ini and where to find them, how to replace character sprites and give those depth dot.
This file is really very useful if you are new to adding new graphics and need to edit the dink.ini file.
It explains step by step what to do if you want to add a new graphic to the dink.ini, how to set hardboxes and depth dots for non character sprites in the editor, what the results of those changes are in the dink.ini and where to find them, how to replace character sprites and give those depth dot.
This file is really very useful if you are new to adding new graphics and need to edit the dink.ini file.
This a good document. Short and sweet. Describes what sequences are, how to go about loading your own graphics and changing depth dot etc. All the fundamentals, which is probably what it should be called - The Fundamentals of Dink.ini editing.
Useful to all DMOD authors out there wanting to add their own graphics.
Useful to all DMOD authors out there wanting to add their own graphics.
This tutorial covers three topics of Dink.ini editing. It does NOT explain every aspect of Dink.ini, nor does it come close; however, it is an excellent source of information for beginning d-mod authors.
Here are the three types of Dink.ini editing this tutorial will help you learn...
1. Editing non-character sprites: gives step by step instructions on how to import new, non-animated graphics into a d-mod.
2. Hardbox and depth-dot editing: Shows how to use DinkEdit to adjust the hardbox and centering of a non-character sprite.
3. Character sprites: Gives instructions on how to replace existing animated sprites with new animated sprites.
Dan explains these three types of Dink.ini editing in easy to understand, step by step instructions. This tutorial should be very helpful to new d-mod authors who'd like to use new or modified graphics. For those who are already familiar with the basics of Dink.ini editing and are trying to comprehend the really in-depth stuff, look else-where.
Here are the three types of Dink.ini editing this tutorial will help you learn...
1. Editing non-character sprites: gives step by step instructions on how to import new, non-animated graphics into a d-mod.
2. Hardbox and depth-dot editing: Shows how to use DinkEdit to adjust the hardbox and centering of a non-character sprite.
3. Character sprites: Gives instructions on how to replace existing animated sprites with new animated sprites.
Dan explains these three types of Dink.ini editing in easy to understand, step by step instructions. This tutorial should be very helpful to new d-mod authors who'd like to use new or modified graphics. For those who are already familiar with the basics of Dink.ini editing and are trying to comprehend the really in-depth stuff, look else-where.
