Tool: Subscript: The next step for scripting

[Le pug]

Besides being open source what's so good about this? Maybe i'm missing it but it doesn't seem to be any easier or shorter than xse scripts.

given = Flag(0x828) why this instead of checkflag 0x828? It actually takes me longer to type that out that checkflag ... just trying to understand what will make it easier on the user over xse or are you trying to give something to the users that is more advanced than xse in terms of more experienced scripters? If someone could give the short sweet answer with some examples of how it's shorter and easier than in xse that'd be great

 

[Touched]

Besides being open source what's so good about this? Maybe i'm missing it but it doesn't seem to be any easier or shorter than xse scripts.

given = Flag(0x828) why this instead of checkflag 0x828? It actually takes me longer to type that out that checkflag ... just trying to understand what will make it easier on the user over xse or are you trying to give something to the users that is more advanced than xse in terms of more experienced scripters? If someone could give the short sweet answer with some examples of how it's shorter and easier than in xse that'd be great

It's not meant to be easier as in easier to learn, it's meant to be more logical. You don't have to be experienced to enjoy its features though. You don't have to type that out if you don't want to. It accepts numbers too. It's just better if you forget what you used flag 0x828 for. In the same way we use variable names in programming languages, you can now assign names to flags and the like. Yes, you could write this down. Yes, you could define the name, but that's an extra step that is actually unnecessary.

This also has default parameters, it loads names from the ROM, custom functions, etc. It's also more readable, in my opinion. Additionally, the tool will have many more features than XSE ever had, including some (really basic) things it should have had, such as syntax highlighting, cross-platform support, etc.

As for your example, I've made a really simple one:

Here is the XSE script:

Spoiler:

#dynamic 0x800000

#include stdpoke.rbh
#include stditems.rbh

#org @start
countpokemon
compare 0x800D 0x1
if 0x1 goto @one
compare 0x800D 0x2
if 0x1 goto @two
compare 0x800D 0x3
if 0x1 goto @three
compare 0x800D 0x4
if 0x1 goto @four
compare 0x800D 0x5
if 0x1 goto @five
compare 0x800D 0x6
if 0x1 goto @six
goto @else

#org @one
msgbox @onemsg 0x6
givepokemon PKMN_BULBASAUR 0x5 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0
end

#org @onemsg
=You have one Pokemon.\nHave another!

#org @two
msgbox @twomsg 0x6
giveitem ITEM_POKEBALL 0x5 0x0
end

#org @twomsg
=You only have two Pokemon.\nGo catch some more!

#org @three
msgbox @threemsg 0x6
giveegg PKMN_TOGEPI
end

#org @threemsg
=You have three Pokemon.\nYou should try hatching one!

#org @four
msgbox @fourmsg 0x6
givepokemon PKMN_CHARMANDER 0x5 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0
end

#org @fourmsg
=You still don't have enough. Have another.

#org @five
msgbox @fivemsg 0x6
givepokemon PKMN_SQUIRTLE 0x5 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0
end

#org @fivemsg
=One last gift.

#org @six
msgbox @sixmsg 0x6
end

#org @sixmsg
=I think you have enough now.

#org @else
msgbox @elsemsg
end

#org @elsemsg
=You're not even a trainer!

Here is the Subscript code:

Spoiler:

countparty()

if LASTRESULT == 1:
    message("You have one Pokemon.\nHave another!")
    givepokemon(Pokemon('bulbasaur'))
elif LASTRESULT == 2:
    message("You only have two Pokemon.\nGo catch some more!")
    giveitem(Item("poké ball"), 5)
elif LASTRESULT == 3:
    message("You have three Pokemon.\nYou should try hatching one!")
    giveegg(Pokemon("togepi"))
elif LASTRESULT == 4:
    message("You still don't have enough. Have another.")
    givepokemon(Pokemon('CHARMANDER'))
elif LASTRESULT == 5:
    message("One last gift.")
    givepokemon(Pokemon('Squirtle'))
elif LASTRESULT == 6:
    message("I think you have enough now.")
else:
    message("You're not even a trainer!")

74 lines for XSE, v.s. the 21 lines of Subscript. That's more than three times as short. Bear in mind that this example probably won't compile; I haven't added giveegg to Subscript yet. Also notice that the final "end" is implied - you only need it to prematurely terminate a script.

Also notice that XSE requires those useless 0s after givepokemon. Subscript automatically assumes you want to give away Pokemon at level 5 without an item. If you want to change that, then only will you need the extra parameters. Also, notice how Subscript automatically looks up the Pokemon and item (and more) names from the tables in the ROM. If you change what your Pokemon are called, you can use that name within Subscript. If you have an ambiguous case, you can always use a number instead (givepokemon(1)).

Subscript significantly lowers the amount of time it takes to create a script with many sections, gotos and jumps. Bear in mind that I left out flag checking (to ensure the event only happens once), etc. The more checks you do, the more time you save by using Subscript: it keeps track of all the sections for you.

Here is the compiled subscript script. It looks almost identical to the XSE one. I had to comment out the giveegg function, but the rest worked.

Spoiler:

@Section0:
	countpokemon
	compare 0x800d 0x01
	if1 0x01 @Section1
	compare 0x800d 0x02
	if1 0x01 @Section2
	compare 0x800d 0x03
	if1 0x01 @Section3
	compare 0x800d 0x04
	if1 0x01 @Section4
	compare 0x800d 0x05
	if1 0x01 @Section5
	compare 0x800d 0x06
	if1 0x01 @Section6
	goto @Section7
	end
@Section1:
	loadpointer 0x00 @SectionRaw6
	callstd 0x06
	givepokemon 0x01 0x05 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
	goto @Section0+3
@Section2:
	loadpointer 0x00 @SectionRaw5
	callstd 0x06
	copyvarifnotzero 0x8000 0x04
	copyvarifnotzero 0x8001 0x05
	callstd 0x00
	goto @Section0+5
@Section3:
	loadpointer 0x00 @SectionRaw4
	callstd 0x06
	goto @Section0+7
@Section4:
	loadpointer 0x00 @SectionRaw3
	callstd 0x06
	givepokemon 0x04 0x05 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
	goto @Section0+9
@Section5:
	loadpointer 0x00 @SectionRaw2
	callstd 0x06
	givepokemon 0x07 0x05 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
	goto @Section0+11
@Section6:
	loadpointer 0x00 @SectionRaw1
	callstd 0x06
	goto @Section0+13
@Section7:
	loadpointer 0x00 @SectionRaw0
	callstd 0x06
	goto @Section0+13
@SectionRaw0:
	"You're not even a trainer!"
@SectionRaw1:
	'I think you have enough now.'
@SectionRaw2:
	'One last gift.'
@SectionRaw3:
	"You still don't have enough. Have another."
@SectionRaw4:
	'You have three Pokemon.\nYou should try hatching one!'
@SectionRaw5:
	'You only have two Pokemon.\nGo catch some more!'
@SectionRaw6:
	'You have one Pokemon.\nHave another!'

 

[Le pug]

Spoiler:

It's not meant to be easier as in easier to learn, it's meant to be more logical. You don't have to be experienced to enjoy its features though. You don't have to type that out if you don't want to. It accepts numbers too. It's just better if you forget what you used flag 0x828 for. In the same way we use variable names in programming languages, you can now assign names to flags and the like. Yes, you could write this down. Yes, you could define the name, but that's an extra step that is actually unnecessary.

This also has default parameters, it loads names from the ROM, custom functions, etc. It's also more readable, in my opinion. Additionally, the tool will have many more features than XSE ever had, including some (really basic) things it should have had, such as syntax highlighting, cross-platform support, etc.

As for your example, I've made a really simple one:

Here is the XSE script:

Spoiler:

#dynamic 0x800000

#include stdpoke.rbh
#include stditems.rbh

#org @start
countpokemon
compare 0x800D 0x1
if 0x1 goto @one
compare 0x800D 0x2
if 0x1 goto @two
compare 0x800D 0x3
if 0x1 goto @three
compare 0x800D 0x4
if 0x1 goto @four
compare 0x800D 0x5
if 0x1 goto @five
compare 0x800D 0x6
if 0x1 goto @six
goto @else

#org @one
msgbox @onemsg 0x6
givepokemon PKMN_BULBASAUR 0x5 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0
end

#org @onemsg
=You have one Pokemon.\nHave another!

#org @two
msgbox @twomsg 0x6
giveitem ITEM_POKEBALL 0x5 0x0
end

#org @twomsg
=You only have two Pokemon.\nGo catch some more!

#org @three
msgbox @threemsg 0x6
giveegg PKMN_TOGEPI
end

#org @threemsg
=You have three Pokemon.\nYou should try hatching one!

#org @four
msgbox @fourmsg 0x6
givepokemon PKMN_CHARMANDER 0x5 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0
end

#org @fourmsg
=You still don't have enough. Have another.

#org @five
msgbox @fivemsg 0x6
givepokemon PKMN_SQUIRTLE 0x5 0x0 0x0 0x0 0x0
end

#org @fivemsg
=One last gift.

#org @six
msgbox @sixmsg 0x6
end

#org @sixmsg
=I think you have enough now.

#org @else
msgbox @elsemsg
end

#org @elsemsg
=You're not even a trainer!

Here is the Subscript code:

Spoiler:

countparty()

if LASTRESULT == 1:
    message("You have one Pokemon.\nHave another!")
    givepokemon(Pokemon('bulbasaur'))
elif LASTRESULT == 2:
    message("You only have two Pokemon.\nGo catch some more!")
    giveitem(Item("poké ball"), 5)
elif LASTRESULT == 3:
    message("You have three Pokemon.\nYou should try hatching one!")
    giveegg(Pokemon("togepi"))
elif LASTRESULT == 4:
    message("You still don't have enough. Have another.")
    givepokemon(Pokemon('CHARMANDER'))
elif LASTRESULT == 5:
    message("One last gift.")
    givepokemon(Pokemon('Squirtle'))
elif LASTRESULT == 6:
    message("I think you have enough now.")
else:
    message("You're not even a trainer!")

74 lines for XSE, v.s. the 21 lines of Subscript. That's more than three times as short. Bear in mind that this example probably won't compile; I haven't added giveegg to Subscript yet. Also notice that the final "end" is implied - you only need it to prematurely terminate a script.

Also notice that XSE requires those useless 0s after givepokemon. Subscript automatically assumes you want to give away Pokemon at level 5 without an item. If you want to change that, then only will you need the extra parameters. Also, notice how Subscript automatically looks up the Pokemon and item (and more) names from the tables in the ROM. If you change what your Pokemon are called, you can use that name within Subscript. If you have an ambiguous case, you can always use a number instead (givepokemon(1)).

Subscript significantly lowers the amount of time it takes to create a script with many sections, gotos and jumps. Bear in mind that I left out flag checking (to ensure the event only happens once), etc. The more checks you do, the more time you save by using Subscript: it keeps track of all the sections for you.

Here is the compiled subscript script. It looks almost identical to the XSE one. I had to comment out the giveegg function, but the rest worked.

Spoiler:

@Section0:
	countpokemon
	compare 0x800d 0x01
	if1 0x01 @Section1
	compare 0x800d 0x02
	if1 0x01 @Section2
	compare 0x800d 0x03
	if1 0x01 @Section3
	compare 0x800d 0x04
	if1 0x01 @Section4
	compare 0x800d 0x05
	if1 0x01 @Section5
	compare 0x800d 0x06
	if1 0x01 @Section6
	goto @Section7
	end
@Section1:
	loadpointer 0x00 @SectionRaw6
	callstd 0x06
	givepokemon 0x01 0x05 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
	goto @Section0+3
@Section2:
	loadpointer 0x00 @SectionRaw5
	callstd 0x06
	copyvarifnotzero 0x8000 0x04
	copyvarifnotzero 0x8001 0x05
	callstd 0x00
	goto @Section0+5
@Section3:
	loadpointer 0x00 @SectionRaw4
	callstd 0x06
	goto @Section0+7
@Section4:
	loadpointer 0x00 @SectionRaw3
	callstd 0x06
	givepokemon 0x04 0x05 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
	goto @Section0+9
@Section5:
	loadpointer 0x00 @SectionRaw2
	callstd 0x06
	givepokemon 0x07 0x05 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
	goto @Section0+11
@Section6:
	loadpointer 0x00 @SectionRaw1
	callstd 0x06
	goto @Section0+13
@Section7:
	loadpointer 0x00 @SectionRaw0
	callstd 0x06
	goto @Section0+13
@SectionRaw0:
	"You're not even a trainer!"
@SectionRaw1:
	'I think you have enough now.'
@SectionRaw2:
	'One last gift.'
@SectionRaw3:
	"You still don't have enough. Have another."
@SectionRaw4:
	'You have three Pokemon.\nYou should try hatching one!'
@SectionRaw5:
	'You only have two Pokemon.\nGo catch some more!'
@SectionRaw6:
	'You have one Pokemon.\nHave another!'

It looks interesting and I appreciate you showing me some of the stuff. I can see it's a little bit easier. I think this explanation will help others understand it better too. Thanks!

 

[AHMYLEGS]

Ello again! That bug I was talking about persists, most likely still due to me screwing up the script again somehow. But I'm more confident I did it right this time.

Code I was trying to compile:

lock()
message("Ello!", True)
closeonkeypress()
release()

Error I received:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/ahmylegs/subscript/interface/xse.py", line 96, in compile
    self.window.compile()
  File "gui.py", line 64, in compile
    script = subscript.compile.Compile(text, 0xDEADBEEF, self.rom)
TypeError: __init__() takes 3 positional arguments but 4 were given

Oh, and seem to be unable to save scripts. The bar labeled name seems to just look for folders and files, leaving me without any place to actually type the name. Image in the attachment, the window was cropped to remove personal info but you really are just missing the boarder around it.

Thanks for your help in advance and hope I actually caught a problem this time.

 

[Touched]

Ello again! That bug I was talking about persists, most likely still due to me screwing up the script again somehow. But I'm more confident I did it right this time.

Code I was trying to compile:

lock()
message("Ello!", True)
closeonkeypress()
release()

Error I received:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/ahmylegs/subscript/interface/xse.py", line 96, in compile
    self.window.compile()
  File "gui.py", line 64, in compile
    script = subscript.compile.Compile(text, 0xDEADBEEF, self.rom)
TypeError: __init__() takes 3 positional arguments but 4 were given

Oh, and seem to be unable to save scripts. The bar labeled name seems to just look for folders and files, leaving me without any place to actually type the name. Image in the attachment, the window was cropped to remove personal info but you really are just missing the boarder around it.

Thanks for your help in advance and hope I actually caught a problem this time.

Yeah, that is an issue. Thanks for reporting it. You can go ahead and remove that positional parameter as it's not needed any more. I haven't merged the branch I'm currently working with the master branch, so it might take a while for me to actually push this change. I removed that parameter because languages are now automatically detected by game code.

UPDATE: I'm currently working on features that allow subscript to automatically load language subsets: battlescripts, regular scripts, etc. Also, it will allow subsets of those languages, called "gem" (RSE) and "element" (FRLG). Additional languages and things will be available as plugins.