Need the Torque Lighting System documentation outside of wiki
by David Dougher · in Torque Game Engine Advanced · 09/12/2006 (6:44 am) · 8 replies
I love the wiki. It is really, really cool. I like that people can contribute to it.
However, I need my art people, who are not TSE licensees and do not have access to the TDN TSE wiki, to be able to read HOW the lighting system works so that they can do their jobs. They make the textures, they do the scripting and they need to understand what all the new parameters are for.
Have you considered pulling the contents of the wiki that is not code related and push it into a pdf file that I could give to the artists on the team as a reference?
However, I need my art people, who are not TSE licensees and do not have access to the TDN TSE wiki, to be able to read HOW the lighting system works so that they can do their jobs. They make the textures, they do the scripting and they need to understand what all the new parameters are for.
Have you considered pulling the contents of the wiki that is not code related and push it into a pdf file that I could give to the artists on the team as a reference?
About the author
Owner - Pariah Games, Adjunct Professor - Bristol Community College, Mentor - Game Design - Met School Newport, Mentor - Game Design - Met School Providence
#2
The idea of a 'wiki-lite' that non licensees could access for info(like, say artists trying to get at TLK info) comes to mind, but feasiblity of such an approach is up for debate.
09/13/2006 (12:04 am)
The problem is, alot of the wiki pages contain source code, which is a license nono for people that don't own the respective license to look at.The idea of a 'wiki-lite' that non licensees could access for info(like, say artists trying to get at TLK info) comes to mind, but feasiblity of such an approach is up for debate.
#3
09/13/2006 (3:14 am)
Well, if i remember correctly, the old documentation had such permissions, that things to do with the code was only readable when logged in, and some sections were readable as guest which i think is a good idea
#4
There are no plans (at this time) to create downloadable copies of the docs.
09/13/2006 (4:13 am)
As far as I know all of TDN is restricted to licensed users, the lighting system docs are just following that security model. The restrictions are there for a reason - removing them limits what TDN articles can contain, making the articles less useful to licensees.There are no plans (at this time) to create downloadable copies of the docs.
#5
Currently (and yes, I know it's been forever), TDN is in beta, and during the beta stage all content is limited to licensed owners.
Once TDN is out of beta, the plan is to "unlock" the sections that are not code related (art, scripting, etc) to the public, leaving access locks on the sections specifically restricted by the EULA.
This is one of the reasons why it took the TDN login module so long to get working--it's a lot more complex than a simple account checj, since it actually does checks of content vs purchased product.
09/13/2006 (7:06 am)
An FYI:Currently (and yes, I know it's been forever), TDN is in beta, and during the beta stage all content is limited to licensed owners.
Once TDN is out of beta, the plan is to "unlock" the sections that are not code related (art, scripting, etc) to the public, leaving access locks on the sections specifically restricted by the EULA.
This is one of the reasons why it took the TDN login module so long to get working--it's a lot more complex than a simple account checj, since it actually does checks of content vs purchased product.
#6
And that is a great plan. But right now my boss is paying people to make TSE content and they are bombarding the programmers with countless questions interrupting their progress because the Art material that should have been available for them is locked away in an inaccessible place.
We have people redoing hundreds of DIF files because the exporter has changed and the lighting has changed.
That is an acceptible cost of working with beta software. What is not acceptible is when the information is written up but not available to the very people who need it most. It was GG who said that the artists don't need licenses because they will have access to the scripts and all the info they needed.
I am looking for a simple workaround. If there is a heavily referenced document (and I think there is) concerning the lighting for M4 I'm asking if it, and it alone, can be made available to the artists. I don't think that is unreasonable. If there are any other pieces that are essential to know that could be added.
09/13/2006 (7:23 am)
@Stephen,And that is a great plan. But right now my boss is paying people to make TSE content and they are bombarding the programmers with countless questions interrupting their progress because the Art material that should have been available for them is locked away in an inaccessible place.
We have people redoing hundreds of DIF files because the exporter has changed and the lighting has changed.
That is an acceptible cost of working with beta software. What is not acceptible is when the information is written up but not available to the very people who need it most. It was GG who said that the artists don't need licenses because they will have access to the scripts and all the info they needed.
I am looking for a simple workaround. If there is a heavily referenced document (and I think there is) concerning the lighting for M4 I'm asking if it, and it alone, can be made available to the artists. I don't think that is unreasonable. If there are any other pieces that are essential to know that could be added.
#7
I'm not sure about that, but we do that here. We have an internal wiki, and we use it as a repository of docs used mostly by our artists and scripters, featuring art tutorials and information that isn't easy to find out outside the source (like a huge list of all keybind values, or an explanation of all guiMLtextCtrl text formatting tags, or Atlas tutorials - unavaliable outside TDN).
09/13/2006 (7:58 am)
Why not ask GG if you're allowed to copy parts of the documentations which don't violate the license (or remove those parts) and create a private artists-only documentation yourself, which you can supply to your artists?I'm not sure about that, but we do that here. We have an internal wiki, and we use it as a repository of docs used mostly by our artists and scripters, featuring art tutorials and information that isn't easy to find out outside the source (like a huge list of all keybind values, or an explanation of all guiMLtextCtrl text formatting tags, or Atlas tutorials - unavaliable outside TDN).
#8
09/13/2006 (12:37 pm)
I'll bump this up the managment chain David as I do understand (and agree with) your concerns :) 
Torque Owner Lee Latham
Default Studio Name
Perfectly reasonable to restrict write access.
Again, just IMHO.