[Mod] Minetest Game item help [0.11.0] [doc_minetest_game]

[Nathan.S]

As the devs always say, write a good mod, support it, get people to use and like it, and it just might end up getting merged. :)

[Wuzzy]

This mod will probably not get merged in this form and I would not recommend to do so as it overwrites pretty much all items. I doubt the developers are keen to have such code in their game (and rightfully so!). If these help texts would be added, my recommendation is that Minetest Game needs to add the help texts directly in the mods themselves, rather than adding one mod on top of it. This is because of how my Help modpack works, I intentionally made it that way to add the help texts straight in the item definition, where it is hard to overlook them and mistakes are spotted earlier.
But the bigger problem is that Minetest Game would also almost certainly need to include the Help modpack, and I am quite sure the chances are very low as my proposal to add the craftguide mod by jp (aka kilbith), or *any* crafting guide at all, did still not succeed.

I don't have the nerves to endure the weeks of discussion a formal PR would possibly trigger. Feel free to try to convince the developers yourself. xD

The only reason why this mod exists at all is because of Minetest Game. I have no plans of doing such a mod for any other subgame and instead may just try to convince the subgame author to adopt the Help modpack.

[Wuzzy]

Okay, I'm quite happy with version 0.11.0 and found no problems with it, so I decided to “release” version 0.11.0.

Nothing changed from the previous version (as I found no problems), I just want to emphasize it's not a test anymore. :-)

The latest version of this mod (0.11.0) has full support for Minetest Game 0.4.16. Enjoy! If you still find bugs, typos or factual mistakes, feel free to report them.

Download version 0.11.0 (for Minetest Game 0.4.16): http://repo.or.cz/minetest_doc_minetest ... 31155c.zip

The new version of Minetest Game has not only added lots of blocks, it also changed some existing ones. The biggest gotchas are: Cactus and papyrus need light to grow, Light level of torch is nerfed.

[Hamlet]

I want to hear feedback on how well I wrote the help entries. In this thread, please focus on the fields “Description” and “Usage help” of each entry, as those are the main texts which are provided by this mod.

Entries are written clearly, allowing to learn either basic or advanced use of the inspected block.
While doing the Italian localization I have learned quite a bit of things that I didn't knew.

Using Intllib's xgettext.sh I've generated the template.pot file, then I've (manually) converted it to .txt; then I did the Italian localization.

Here is the updated version for Minetest Game v0.4.16:
https://rocketgit.com/user/Hamlet/doc_m ... ranch/l10n

Once again, thanks for this outstanding mod; in-game help (a.k.a. knowledge) is paramount for this kind of game.

[Wuzzy]

Using Intllib's xgettext.sh I've generated the template.pot file, then I've (manually) converted it to .txt; then I did the Italian localization.

WHYYYY? Sorry to break it to you, but this is completely wrong!
The .txt format is a legacy format. The PO format is the format to use as it supports tools such as Poedit. Much better. Also, when client-side mod translations come in MT 0.5.0, we must use PO anyway.
I just forgot in this mod to update the intllib boilerplate as I didn't add any translations so far.
Can you please send me a PO file instead?

Entries are written clearly, allowing to learn either basic or advanced use of the inspected block.
While doing the Italian localization I have learned quite a bit of things that I didn't knew.

Thank you. This is good to know.

[Hamlet]

The .txt format is a legacy format. The PO format is the format to use as it supports tools such as Poedit. Much better. Also, when client-side mod translations come in MT 0.5.0, we must use PO anyway.

Well, now I am confused.
According to Nore's post PO files will be outdated, for they will be replaced by the other method (e.g.: string1=translation1).
Linuxdirk has even made a script to convert PO files in the new .tr format.

I just forgot in this mod to update the intllib boilerplate as I didn't add any translations so far.
Can you please send me a PO file instead?

I wish I had made one. I could make it if it is sure that it will not be outdated on MT v0.5.

[Wuzzy]

Damn, you're right. Sigh, I totally forgot that the Minetest devs chose to use a non-standard format for their translation files for some reason.
IMO the “new” format is worse than PO, but I guess we have to live with that for now. :-(

OK, you don't need to do anything, I can actually use your file for now.

[Starbeamrainbowlabs]

Hey! The doc mod is really cool.

I'm having an issue though with this doc_minetest_game though: Why does it depend on "binoculars" and "map" though? I don't have them installed, apparently - and I'm using the standard minetest game (with some extra mods in the "worldmods" folder of course).

[Wuzzy]

Because those mods are part of MTG.

[Starbeamrainbowlabs]

Because those mods are part of MTG.

Ummmmm where can I get them from then? I'm apparently not using this "MTG" you speak of?

[texmex]

MTG = Minetest Game. Both mod’s been in there since 10 months: https://github.com/minetest/minetest_ga ... aster/mods

[Wuzzy]

Oh, sorry, I forgot that binaculars and maps are in the bleeding edge version only. If you have version 0.4.16 or 0.4.17 of Minetest Game, you need to download version 0.11.0 of this mod, NOT the developer version.

[Starbeamrainbowlabs]

Oh, sorry, I forgot that binaculars and maps are in the bleeding edge version only. If you have version 0.4.16 or 0.4.17 of Minetest Game, you need to download version 0.11.0 of this mod, NOT the developer version.

Ahhh, I see. Thanks!

I don't see any git tags though? What's the commit hash for that version?

[Wuzzy]

a0273062941238107ab62a334fca8fdc5831155c

[Starbeamrainbowlabs]

a0273062941238107ab62a334fca8fdc5831155c

Thanks :D

[Wuzzy]

Alright. I think it's about time to pull the plug.

I no longer want to maintain this mod. It's just too tedious and not even my own game. The chance of it ever getting official support is close to zero, let alone support of ANY resemblence of a help system in MTG. As of 5.0.0, MTG still has not even a freaking crafting guide. MTG devs should just document their own game, if they even care enough about MTG. I have no idea why I was even doing this to myself all these years, I don't even like MTG. It really does not deserve my attention, I have wasted far too much time with it instead of developing real games.

But enough ranting.

If someone is willing to pick up on this, I will gladly hand over the repository password to you and will answer any questions you might have. Or you can just copy the repository and post it to some other hoster and try it on your own. I really don't care. Please post a new thread if you do so, so you have ownership of The First Post and can edit it at will.

IMPORTANT: From now on, I will hereby auto-accept any request from any user that this mod be moved into Old Mods, should new maintainer for this mod exist.

Note the mod STILL WORKS under 0.4.17, 0.4.16, 0.4.15, 0.4.14 (see the relevant downloads in the first post). It's just that for 5.0.0, the help is not up to date and my motivation hit rock bottom to continue dragging it along.

If you want the help for the latest 5.0.0 goodies, you can use current Git master, but it's incomplete at the moment. You're on your own.