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User guide for Ark, short for Ryzom Arkitect.

For historical reasons, those manuals refers very often, almost always, to A.R.C.C.. This is due to the fact that the full documentation has been started with the initial name, ARCC, meaning Advanced Ryzom Content Creator.

Ready for the v4 documentation (to write):

• Volume I : Quick Start Guide
• Volume II : User guide
• Volume III: Advanced user guide

Backup:

• Volume I : Quick Start Guide - Volume II : quick Archives
• Volume II : User guide - Volume II : User guide Archives
• Volume III: Advanced user guide - Volume II : expert Archives

Ark

This guide aims at explaining how to use Ark, the Ryzom Arkitect tool that allows the creation of scripts interpreted by a web server and interacting with Ryzom's server.

Access

ARCC Login window

In the top left corner, flags allow you to choose the language of the interface (current screenshots show French view - to be changed whenever someone has time to do it). This login window is the same everywhere in Ryzom. You'll have to fill in the first field with your Character (PC) name. Beware, for the animation team, it should be the name of their animation toon, and not the one of the private characters they could have created in the game (they are allowed 5 PC in game, as any player).

Folders and events

Open

((~This is going to have to be changed because of the selection panel that Ulukyn has made which is divided into different areas of the basic tree structure~)) As soon as login on, the user finds a page offering access to various areas of the ARK.

1st page window

The ARK is laid out as an ensemble of events gathered in folders.

Each folder may contain either events or other folders, which can produce a tree that is more or less complex.

• Zone 1 and Zone 3 allow you to navigate in this tree view.

	The root directory appears as a small «house» icon. The «house» is the first folder, the one that contains all other elements, events and folders.
	Generally, folders are represented with classical icons for folders (the last two ones in the example shown here above). Some important folders are given a specific icon.
	Events are represented with the icon shown on the left.

• Zone 2 allows you to create a new folder or a new event in the displayed portion of Zone 1.
  • The first field will contain the name of the object, preferably in English for common data, and preferably without accented or specific characters (â, ñ, ß...)
  • The second field is a pulldown selection of options:
    • Default value is Folder.
    • Second choice, when reading down the list, is Event.
  • The third and last field, add, is actually a button. Click on it to start the creation of the object. Notice that hitting the <Enter> key is equivalent to clicking the add button.

• Zone 3 contains the objects, folders or events, which have already been created in a particular level in Zone 1 (here «house»). By selecting one of these you will see the contents of that folder or event. You can back up in the directory tree by selection of a level in Zone 1.

Navigation

Navigation successive windows

The Zone 3 area allows one to navigate through the directory and event tree. In the example shown, the «TESTS» folder contains the «bepock» folder which, in turn, contains the «test» folder. This one contains one event («Event0») which consists of several scripts. The event is a «sheet» of the tree view browsed during the navigation. (NOTE: For illustration the windows of the browser have been overlapped to show the progress; your browser will only show one pane at a time.) If you need to back up one or several levels you can click on the level you want to go to in Zone 1.

Event

Event window

The event window is a specialized folder with a separate window. The event window allows you to manage the scripts and databases of the event. It is divided into five zones.

Navigation bar (Zone 1)

Zone 1 shows the place of the event in the folders tree. Each clickable link allows you to go to the specified folder (but remember to save your progress first).

Creation field (Zone 2)

Zone 2 allows you to create a new script or a new database.

• The first field will contain the name of the object, preferably in English for common data, and preferably without accented or special characters (â, ñ, ß...).
• The second field is a pulldown list of values:
  • Default value is Script.
  • Second choice is Database.
• The third and last field, add, is actually a button. Click on it to start the creation of the object. Notice that hitting the <Enter> key is equivalent to clicking the add button.

Tools (Zone 3)

Zone 3 contains two tools:

Parameters of the event

((This link does not yet point to anything substantial - Ceru 25 Sept 2014.))

Set-up

Automated translations

How to do automated translations

Scripts (Zone 4)

Zone 4 contains the scripts created in the event shown in zone 1 (here «New Event»).

The bottom part contains the meaning of the colored bullets appended to the scripts.

The middle part contains the list of the scripts associated to the event.

To each script is associated a set of indicators and actions, listed here bellow as they appear from left to right. (to be checked with the English version of the screenshots)

• Script type:

	A simple script
	A linked script, meaning assigned to a NPC

• Script status, shown as a colored bullet, which meaning appears in the bottom part of the window.

• Name of the script. Clicking on the name of the script allows one to see and edit the content, depending on the user's rights.
• Name of the author who created the script.
• Possible actions on the scripts.

Databases (Zone 5)

Zone 5 shows the list of the databases of the event.

Script

Script window

To create a script, it is only required to give an name in the text field of Zone 2 of the Event page, and to hit <enter> or to click on the «add» button. Creating the script will open the following window, made op five zones.

• Zone 1 shows the place of the event in the folders tree view down to the event which contains the current scripts.

Eack clickable link allows to go to the intended folder.

• Zone 2 allows to test the script.
• Zone 3 allows to manage the source code and the history of updates.
• Zone 4 shows additional information about the running of the script.
• Zone 5 manages the actual creation of the script.

The quickest and least wearying method to create a script is to copy it from another one ressembling to what we want to produce. This method is very useful to create quickly a script that looks like another one, but you'll have to learn how to modify it sooner or later... otherwise, of which use would it be to have two script identical except for their names? That will be explaned in part II of the this user guide for ARK.

Event window

Start with creating a new script with the default values.

• 1) Write the name of the new script («script1» in this example);
• 2) Check that it is indeed a script (default value);
• 3) Click on «add» or hit <enter>.

Event window

• 4) and 5) The new script has been added to the list.
• 6) As an example, let's imagine that we want to copy «Script2» into «Script1».

Open the script you want to copy.

It is only needed to click on the «Script2» link, in the example, which opens the script window.

Script window

What appears isn't best fitted for a copy/paste.

• 7) Click on «View Source Code» to show the source code.

Script window

It's better but...

• 8) Click on «Base64» to get a compact display of the generated code.

Script window

The display is the one of a file that can easily been copied (ASCII printables characters). To copy, just save it in the clipboard by any method, for example: click on the text (to place the focus), then hit <Ctrl>+A, <Ctrl>+C on Windows and most of the Unices (Unix, Linux, BSD, Androïd...). Beware! If you don't click on the text, you're at risk of saving the whole window with its icons... wich isn't much useful. Replace <Ctrl> with <Apple'>' on Mac.

• 9) Once the copy done, click on the path to find the script newly created («Script1» stored in «Event0» in our example)

Fill the new script.

Replay sequences 6 to 8 with «Script1»

• 6) open the script
• 7) show the source
• 8) show the source in Base64

Then, click in the already existing text (to place the focus) and select it all (for example: by hitting <Ctrl>+A on Windows and Unices) to replace it with the text saved in the clipboard (for example, by hitting <Ctrl>+V). Once the text has been replaced, save it:

Script window

• 10) Save your work by clickin the Submit button.

«Script1» is now a copy of «Script2».

Databases

Event window

ARK databases are used to store information such as the number of mats of a given type gathered by a given player. They're much lick simple tables and don't hold any function nore complex relationships such as the ones that can be found in spreadsheets or relational databases.

DB window

If no name is given at the DB creation, this one will nonetheless be prepared (DB icon without any name on the left). it is always possible to rename a DB. Beware! This rename won't be passed on the scripts which call this base.

DB window

Initialy, creation of a database shows as follow:

• 1) Name: Name of the database - can be modified.
• 2) Use View: Context of the database. This context can be:

• • Player
  • Global
  • Civ
  • Cult
  • Organization (Faction)
  • Other
• 3) Number of Rows
• 4) Content (emply when creating it)

DB window

Current example will give the following DB, where:

• 1) Given name here is TestDB.
• 2) Vue to be used, here Global.
• 3) The number of rows, here 10.
• 4) This value have the corresponding number of fields (10) to appear.

These fields can be named to make it easier to read and use the scripts which call these data.

• 5) Update have to be submitted to be saved.

Script window

Filling the base is down by the script, as shown in the left image. Writing such a script will be explained in the «Part II: User Guide».

Once this function has been activated, the database shows a content like this one.

DB window

• 6) A dataline (n°1) has been created.
• 7) A value (64) has been given to a column (Psi).
• 8)

An icone at the bottom indicates that the data can be modified manually.

Here you have a filling of databases with different context.

DB window

• Omega DB in "Global" mode
• C3PO_R2D2 DB in "Player" mode

All mode coexists.

Running

Script window

First, the parameters which affect the running of the script (from 7 to 16) will be described.

Running set-up

Event window

• 7) Name of the script as it appears in the event (here: «ResidentMaduck»).

IG window

• 8) {WindowTitle} Title of the WebIG window (here: «Unit test: May the Force be with you.»)

• 9) Hide during launch (Yes/no)

• 10) Require validation (Yes/No)

• 11) {singleInstance} (Yes/No)

• 12) {resetAtStart} (Yes/No)

• 13) {updateStagesInDb} (Yes/No)

• 14) {missionTimeout} (Units)

• 15) {replayTimer} (Units)

In Game

• 16) Name of action of NPC

Testing in browser

Top Left Creation Window

You can start by testing the script in the browser by clicking on (1) in the browser.

It allows to test most or the script proceedings, especially the part about algorithms and displays. Be aware nonetheless to the display which doesn't necessarily appear exactly the same way in the Web and in the WebIG. Indeed some html tags doesn't pass through the last one. For example the <hr/> tag (horizontal rule) doesn't appear in the WebIg, and neither does <br/> (line break). That's why it's better to use bbcode.

To conclude, launching a script in a browser shouldn't be used to check the appearance of a display.

Step by step

If a problem appears during the execution, it may be useful to test the proceedings. In this case, click on (2). The following image shows the result for the current example:

Web

• 17) From an execution launched on the Web, it is possible

	either to edit the script,
	or to relaunch it.

• 18) Each step is moved forward manually

	either simply by clicking on the progess icon,
	or by selecting the proposed choice when there is a multiple connection.

• 19) Columns on the right side show the status of each function in the script.

Yubo

To test the script life-size, it has to be lauchned on the test server known under the name of «Yubo». For this, connect on the «Yubo» with an authorized account, choose preferabily a static NPC (so that you don't have to run behind him for the tests) and, of course, a free one (don't re-use a mission NPC so that you don't get unexpected complications).

Top Right Creation Window

In Game

Here, a posted guard has been selected. It shows its interaction mode in a cartouche: ((«ATTACK» in French).

It is assigned the current script (here, Unit_Test) by a click on the icon (3).

The result of this assignment can't be seen instantaneously, even if it's already active. To make it visible quickly, just click on another NPC and come back on this one. Now, the cartouche should have changed (here: « Live long and prosper »). The script can now be run by the NPC.

Update and removal

Top Right Create window

	Using the source code has been seen (5) in chapter 4, when copying/pasting the content of a script into another one.
	When update fails, it is always possible to come back to a former version by clicking on (6).

Script window

The most standard way to edit a script is by clicking on its title (here: « jumping »),

	then by adding,
	removing,
	moving functions,
	and of course, by modifiant the content of the functions themselves (here: « weVMessage_v3_True ») which will be seen in Part II.

Function part of script window

Nota: the erasure icon for a function is at its right. Erasure is immediate, without any alerte or confirmation window. But feel reassured! The history allows you to rollback.

Other tools for the Event

Status

	Being edited.
	Undergoing testing
	Active on Atys and Yubo
	Working and locked
	Deactivated (to be removed)

Related rights and shortcuts

	Run the script.
	See and edit the script both in human and machine language.
	See and edit the access and running rights.
	Show who is using the script.
	Ask for the script deletion.
	Deletion of the script.

There are currently 34 elements in the category ARK.

Portal of the Forge of Ryzom