Overview of the toolset - Revision history

Arcane Warrior Revan: /* User Interface */

2012-07-04T23:47:54Z

‎User Interface

Sunjammer: /* Changing the layout */

2011-09-03T21:32:08Z

‎Changing the layout

Sunjammer: /* Changing the layout */

2011-09-03T21:29:54Z

‎Changing the layout

Sunjammer: Added an actual overview

2011-09-03T21:26:56Z

Added an actual overview

Kelamor: Add languages bar

2011-02-16T07:34:52Z

Add languages bar

Juhopr at 21:31, 8 July 2010

2010-07-08T21:31:45Z

Proleric1: /* Sharing designer resources */

2010-03-05T13:55:05Z

‎Sharing designer resources

Proleric1 at 08:48, 5 March 2010

2010-03-05T08:48:31Z

Autumn Bard: Corrected typos, grammar, etc.

2010-02-04T00:38:32Z

Corrected typos, grammar, etc.

Eshme at 15:21, 27 January 2010

2010-01-27T15:21:57Z

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 * '''Menu bar''' with the default File, Edit, View, Tools, Window and Help menus.
 * '''Toolbar''' with displays the Standard toobar by default. There are many other toolbars which are only displayed as required. The user can also create custom toolbars.
-* '''Staus bar''' which displays various satus information including the current Toolset database.
+* '''Status bar''' which displays various status information including the current Toolset database.
 * '''Main window''' where the various resource editors will be displayed.

@@ Line 45: / Line 45: @@
 === Changing the layout ===
-To undock a docked panel double-click on the panel's title bar. To dock a floating panel double click on its title bar. To change where a panel is docked and/or the grouped click on its title bar or tab and drag it into desired locations. While dragging a panel docking controls, blue diamonds and blue arrows, will appear to indicate where the panel can be dropped. The inner docking controls indicate which other panels or groups it can dock in, above or below, while hte outer docking controls will dock the panel on to and edge.
+To undock a docked panel double-click on the panel's title bar. To dock a floating panel double click on its title bar. To change where a panel is docked and/or the grouped click on its title bar or tab and drag it into desired locations. While dragging a panel docking controls, blue diamonds and blue arrows, will appear to indicate where the panel can be dropped. The inner docking controls indicate which other panels or groups it can dock in, above or below, while the outer docking controls will dock the panel on to and edge.
 [[File:Toolset arranging panels.png|border|200px|Moving a panel]]

@@ Line 45: / Line 45: @@
 === Changing the layout ===
-To undock a docked panel double-click on the panel's title bar. To dock a floating panel double click on its title bar. To change where a panel is docked and/or the grouped click on its title bar or tab and drag it into desired locations. While dragging a panel valid locations will be indicated docking controls, blue diamonds and blue arrows, will appear to indicate where the panel can be dropped. The inner docking controls indicate which other panels or groups it can dock in, above or below, while hte outer docking controls will dock the panel on to and edge.
+To undock a docked panel double-click on the panel's title bar. To dock a floating panel double click on its title bar. To change where a panel is docked and/or the grouped click on its title bar or tab and drag it into desired locations. While dragging a panel docking controls, blue diamonds and blue arrows, will appear to indicate where the panel can be dropped. The inner docking controls indicate which other panels or groups it can dock in, above or below, while hte outer docking controls will dock the panel on to and edge.
 [[File:Toolset arranging panels.png|border|200px|Moving a panel]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The Dragon Age toolset is, with just a few omissions and changes, the same set of tools that was used internally at BioWare to develop the main Dragon Age: Origins campaign. It's a very powerful toolset, and therefore very complicated in many ways.(source?) This page is intended as a general overview to help put the complexity into a simpler context.
+The Dragon Age Toolset is, with just a few omissions and changes, the same set of tools that was used internally at BioWare to develop the main Dragon Age: Origins campaign. It is a very powerful professional game development toolset and therefore some elements can take some time to master.
-== Layout ==
+This [[overview of the toolset]] is intended as a general introduction to help put the later complexity into a simpler context.
-What follows is a brief pictorial overview of some of the more important areas of the toolset's graphical user interface.
+== The Toolset ==
-{| <!-- border="3" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" align"left" -->
-| valign="top" rowspan="6" width="300" |[[File:New_resource.png|300px|New Resources Menu]]
-| valign="top" rowspan="2" |[[File:Export_menu.png|350px|Export Menu]]
-| width="25" height="10" |
-| valign="top" |{{Resource palette}}
-| width="25" |
-|-
-| colspan="3" align="center" height="10" |Browses designer resources.
-|-
-| height="20" align="center" |Menu to export resources.
-| valign="top" colspan="3" rowspan="6" |[[File:T1 root obj inspector.jpg|250px|Object Inspector]]
-|-
-| width="200" valign="top" height="10" |[[File:Area toolbar.png|350px|Toolbar]]
-|-
-| align="center" height="10" |Toolbar (resource-specific).
-|-
-−
-|-
-| align="center" |New Resources (all those utilized by the toolset).<br>Those with icons can be found in the Resource Palette.<br>Those without icons are stored as ordinary files.
-−
-|-
-| height="30" |
-−
-|-
-−
-−
-| colspan="3" align="center" |Properties of a selected object.
-|}
-=== Layout Customization ===
+The Dragon Age Toolset application provides a framework or host for the editor plug-ins used to create and edit the different types of [[Art Resources|art resources]] and [[Designer Resources|designer resources]]; for various utilities used to compile and export these resources, for creating [[builder to builder]] or [[builder to player]] packages and for many other tasks; and for the editors used to open and edit some of the custom [[:Category:File types|file types]] used by the Toolset and/or the Dragon Age:Origins game.
-Multiple sections of the Toolset can be rearranged by clicking and dragging the titlebar into desired locations. A window will undock from its place, and can be snapped onto new positions marked with blue arrows while dragging. The central arrows will show which other object it can dock on when hovering the mouse over it, either below or above etc. While one each side are arrows to snap it onto a corner.
+=== User Interface ===
 == Toolset resources ==
-There are three basic sorts of source resource.
+There are three basic sorts of source resource:
 *Art resources - things like creature models, visual effects, sounds, and levels. These are stored as ordinary files in your file system.
-*Database resources - in general, the instructions to the game on how to ''use'' art resources. This includes scripts, dialogue, cinematics, plots, placing objects in area layouts, and so forth.
+* Art resources - things like creature models, visual effects, sounds, and levels. These are stored as ordinary files in your file system.
-*2DAs - "two-dimensional arrays", tables of data that are referred to by scripts or by the game engine. These are defined by ordinary Excel spreadsheets.
+* Database resources - in general, the instructions to the game on how to ''use'' art resources. This includes scripts, dialogue, cinematics, plots, placing objects in area layouts, and so forth.
 The following diagram illustrates the general outline of how each of these types of resource is edited, processed, and used by the game:
-[[Image:Overview.png]]
+[[Image:Overview.png|border|200px|The toolset resources]]
 The designer toolset exports playable resources to the override directory. To use a programming metaphor, the toolset is a compiler and the objects that go into the override directory are the compiled executables. The "source code" for these finished products is stored elsewhere in a wide variety of formats.
@@ Line 84: / Line 97: @@
 [[Compatibility]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:34, 16 February 2011
Line 84:		Line 84:

	[[Compatibility]]		[[Compatibility]]
		+
		+	{{languages}}

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:31, 8 July 2010
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	The Dragon Age toolset is, with just a few omissions and changes, the same set of tools that was used internally at BioWare to develop the main Dragon Age: Origins campaign. It's a very powerful toolset, and therefore very complicated in many ways. This page is intended as a general overview to help put the complexity into a simpler context.	+	The Dragon Age toolset is, with just a few omissions and changes, the same set of tools that was used internally at BioWare to develop the main Dragon Age: Origins campaign. It's a very powerful toolset, and therefore very complicated in many ways.(source?) This page is intended as a general overview to help put the complexity into a simpler context.

	== Layout ==		== Layout ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:55, 5 March 2010
Line 81:		Line 81:
	*Shared access to a single database. The toolset supports simultaneous access to a single database by many different toolsets, but setting this up can be somewhat tricky and depends on the availability of the database server.		*Shared access to a single database. The toolset supports simultaneous access to a single database by many different toolsets, but setting this up can be somewhat tricky and depends on the availability of the database server.

−	See ~~also:~~ [[Compatibility]]	+	== See Also ==
		+
		+	[[Compatibility]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:48, 5 March 2010
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	*"[[Builder to builder]]" export, which exports selected source resources from the database in a non-playable XML format suitable for importing by another builder's toolset.		*"[[Builder to builder]]" export, which exports selected source resources from the database in a non-playable XML format suitable for importing by another builder's toolset.
	*Shared access to a single database. The toolset supports simultaneous access to a single database by many different toolsets, but setting this up can be somewhat tricky and depends on the availability of the database server.		*Shared access to a single database. The toolset supports simultaneous access to a single database by many different toolsets, but setting this up can be somewhat tricky and depends on the availability of the database server.
		+
		+	See also: [[Compatibility]]

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 | colspan="3" align="center" |Properties of selected Object
 |}
 == Toolset resources ==
@@ Line 46: / Line 50: @@
 The designer toolset exports playable resources to the override directory. To use a programming metaphor, the toolset is a compiler and the objects that go into the override directory are the compiled executables. The "source code" for these finished products is stored elsewhere in a wide variety of formats.
-At the time of writing, the End User Toolset contains the Excel processor for creating 2DAs and the Designer Toolset, but does not contain most of the Art Toolset. Most notably, it doesn't contain a level editor, which means that only pre-existing levels can be used in the Designer Toolset at this time. We intend to release more art tools to the end user as soon as we're able but cannot commit to a schedule at this time.
+=== Where the game looks for resources ===
-−
 == Where the game looks for resources ==
 When the Dragon Age executable is run and a new game starts up, the game loads a set of resources that define every aspect of the campaign world and the story that the player will experience within it.
@@ Line 71: / Line 73: @@
 While you're developing the module in the toolset, exported resources will be placed in the Dwarven Madness override directory.
-== Sharing designer resources ==
+=== Sharing designer resources ===
 If you're collaborating with other builders, you'll want to share the "source code" for your game resources instead of just the "compiled" finished product from the override directory.