Difference between revisions of "Talk:TXMT/Introduction-Analogy"

Revision as of 14:59, 14 December 2006

[under construction/ work in progress/ still underdevelopped]

As we found out that there are several methods and concepts with advantages/disadvantages I post in here several trials - Pixelhate, your input needed, others are welcome =) I enlarged the text-font-size a bit, hopefully nicer to read...

To fulfill the needs/ offer analogies/explanations fitting the skills of the one or other creator (level: beginner, average, advanced - experts shouldn't need a prepared analogy anymore) I think offering the result with these 3 types would be easier to follow/understand - so grouping the suggestions correctly is important, too =)

Definition trial - other opinions are welcome - and example of what I mean:

Beginner: *a fitting clear headline like 'Beginner start reading here' LOL* (just started modding, is doing first tutorials and is still quite confused/ overwhelmed)

Average: *a headline which guids the average one to read this text* (already did some things, can prepare packages of average difficulty and wants to find out more possibilities/ starts to edit even more of the package structure)

Advanced: *headline which makes it clear that the advanced modder has to start reading here* (already started to edit the package structure itself, first experiences in complicated things like e.g. anims, slots so this one has already a feeling and understanding for this topic though an overview about the whole possibilities and knowledge how to work with certain parameters etc.is missing/ wanted)

Khaibit

Remarks

First I think you should stick to Wiki-formatting and not use styles to format. That way we can get this wiki to a consistent look.

Second for my personal opinion this approach is far too prosaic and should be far more technical without overwhelming the users with lower technical knowledge. I see this Wiki as a technical handbook and not as a paint-it-yourself-picturebook for the technically challenged (to use this term again... ;o). But - as I already stated - this is only my opinion.

I do not understand, why the article is not presented on the still empty article page and is only discussed here on the discussion page, because that's how a Wiki usually works...? Xanathon 07:44, 14 December 2006 (EST)

The styles - :lol: I decided to use them as long as Numenor needs time to find an unique format for all the sites which belong to the "TXMT encyclopedia" (yes, that's it's title and it wasn't me who suggested this) because it already looks different to the other SimPe- explanations and this encyclopedia will be different to the other sites - because in generally, it is possible to explain things in a way you can understand and use them without having to understand everything, the background, included - like e.g. someone is able to use a PC for his job, can handle the required programs perfectly though he doesn't know how his PC actualy works (1|0, what happens within the RAM etc.), how the programs work to do what he wants them to do, without knowing what exactly his OS does - though he has to call the support when software or hardware are broken he can do his job and manage everything he needs for that. That's my opinion, I think Numenor thinks similar (if not, why should he want to do it ;o), Niol too and many others who know that you are able to do quite a lot with understanding the way you have to do things why, only in SimPe. It would be so much easier if this understanding (which is definately working) would be supported on the Wiki in an even more efficient way than tutorials can. One of the "goals" of this project is certainly proving that we are right; with the informations offered to you in a "language" you talk you can understand such a complicated topic like the Material Definition, you can even use the TXMT correctly in your packages without havng to ask others how to adjust it.
Of course, if someone wants to keep the wiki to be a sophisticated "White men over 50 with blonde hair and green eyes who were already divorced at least 4 times, their mothers were called Kunigunde coming from Burundi while they grew up in Alice Springs, London and Moscow and went to Yale only - Club" the amount of possible members should be quite small - but I think the Wiki itself isn't as sophisticated as some are smug about it. This depends only on the people who use it and on their toerance, their want to get others to be able to join - and of course the want of those others to do whatever they can do on their own to understand the offered info.
Nevertheless every journey starts with the first step =)

Ehm, Xanathon, don't get me wrong, I already noticed that you don't get the way it works this time =) Lots of stuff is discussed in the thread at MTS2, lots of stuff is only discussed between the 4 project members Numenor, Niol, Pixelhate and me so "suddenly" some results just appear in here.
In the thread Inge and Peter Jones got already "involved" as they want to write a plugin for SimPe for "the technically challenged" to handle the TXMT better and also Teko who investigates the Material Shaders can share his knowledge about the shaders with us like we can offer the TXMT stuff to him so you see, it is already a "network" in progress and that's exactly why I think it is possible to enable the Wiki advantages also for people who cannot program C++ or other programming languages just because everybody who visits the Wiki tries his very best to understand - and help helping yourself is a very well working principle, isn't it?

To your personal opinion: thank you =) Actually this is the first of several different versions that shall explain the background, "what is this material definition actually good for", in several difficulties (beginner, average and advantaged modder) explained via an analogy, a not too technical comparison as an intro, because the real technical explanation is explained on the next (still missing) page before it goes on explaining and listing data, the whole content of the TXMT, it's meaning, purpose, required cross links like the material shaders, the "envcubes" are needed, too and and and - so in the end every kind of "knowledge" will be able to read what this one understands, can even go on and read the next level of dificulty for camparison and may even understand in there things, just because info was available. You know what's important before you do the first step of a long journey, don't you? When the project goes on, it will be possible that people even learn walking in here before they start their journey exploring the whole TXMT, other features etc. That's what I think because I know ow "teaching yourself" works - you can learn a lot as long as you try it on your own and know where you have to look for.

It would be cool if you try to understand the principle and go on with offering input to the project, I think your opinion can be helpful, too =)

Khaibit 08:59, 14 December 2006 (EST)

Introduction to the Material Definion (TXMT)

What is it good for - an analogy for fundamental understanding

The Futuristic House

Imagine you live in a futuristic hightech house which is totally computer-controlled. You can adjust so many settings that you need to know the owner's manual first before you can use your house, live in there. Already the available functions and settings for every kind of appearance are too complicated to know about their possibilities. Some of these settings affect others, they interact with each other while other settings are only adjustable when you enabled the main setting for this area and others don't need further choices as they can only be turned on or off.
When you decide you want your house to dye the window glass when the sun shines you enable this option so now you have to adjust additional parameters for it. Do you want to dye the glass only around noon, to protect sensitive plants (only in a certain room?) and how do you want the colour of the dyed glass to behave? Shall it change - when, why and how? When the window glass is dyed do you maybe want the house to turn the light on automatically when you enter a certain room because the glass even decreased it's transparency? Do you want to have plate glass outside while it's matt inside?
Probably you noticed that this 'window glass example' was about Transparency and Reflectivity, even Animation and ordinary texture changes caused by Lightning parameters. That is not all yet: The wall and floor coverings, the surface of your furniture, decoration, your personal stuff, the stories you can read in books, the texture of your plants inside and in your garden, your clothes and even your texture, the color of your skin, everything is managed by the Material Definition (in this futuristic high tech house anyway). The Material Definition - by means of single parameters or groups of them - completely manages every aspect of the appearance of every kind of texture applied to the mesh.

Of course the Material Definition offers tons of possibilities so you can adjust/ tune and of course add these window-setting parameters and many more to your personal wishlish of "hightech house behaviour", though in the Material Definition you only can choose texture relating parameters. Some of them are independent while other choices need further fine tuning. If you decide to switch one of the hightech house behaviour parametes off it will automatically turn off its adjustment- subparameters if there were some. Some parameter are interrelated in a way that changes in one parameter immediately affect the other, related one, others are stand alone parameters and depending on the way you mix your parameter- bundle your windows will behave, look and even work in different ways - to adjust them easily you will understand how to handle the tool for changes like this, the Material Definition, correctly, easily and even in a more efficient way than you probably did before.

(next try, shall be simple/easier:)

A Sim's View Of Things

*getting prepared*

Explaining the TXMT from Sim to Sim who's fresh created and explores his universe

(another trial:)

The Tree's Branches

*getting prepared*

Standard (o-8-15 :P) file tree structure compared with the TXMT

The Sims 2: Behind The Scenes/ Off The Stage

*getting prepared*

compareable to these 'organs of a human talk to each other' stories, want to describe/explain the results with "listening to the program" and it's tasks to display the game... TRON is alive ;)