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Dashboard addition
Holy crap. Sorry, a bit grumpy, it is 100 degrees out, ac is not working and this code is needlessly complex. I am decently new to PHP and all, OOP is great, but you guys have gone way further than needed imho. Some code is easy to read, while other bits are nightmarish. Anyway, with everything spread all over kingdom-come I've been dredging through files trying to figure out just where in the hell populates the side menu on the dashboard. I've found the class for sidemenu but I can't figure out where in gods green file structure it is pulling from.
Anyone able to point me in some direction?
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the easiest way is to look at a plugin that uses addlink function to add items to sidemenu.
if you define what you want to do functionally rather than "structure" - it may be easier to answer
but this may help....
dashboard/controllers/class.dashboardcontroller.php:75: // Configure SideMenu module
vanilla/applications/dashboard/modules/class.sidemenumodule.php
/applications/dashboard/views/modules/sidemenu.php
I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.
My first goal in exploring vanilla was to simply add a section to the side menu of the dashboard (like Users or addons), didn't even need it to be functional just was supposed to be a simple easy goal. It has proven everything but that. Like I said, I will be the first to admit I am no PHP god or king, but I've been sitting here exploring files for hours on end trying to figure out where these files are pulling their assets from. I have looked at all those files you referenced, and I can see it building the side menu, but I can't see where it is pulling the things it is building from. Perhaps I am just too frustrated and angry at this point and I am glazing over it. But with the amount of time I have spent trying to do something that should have been simple, I am questioning the benefit of me using Vanilla. vB or something similar while older and clumsy is far easier to understand, at least for me. Hell, I feel coding a whole new forum software might be easier than trying to figure this one out. I think I will just call it a week for this one, and come back to it in the future, I am just too frustrated to accomplish anything useful at this point.
Thanks for your time.
It's a steep learning curve, and its best not to modify the core. And use it like a black box.
It may take more than a night to get some of the basics.
Like I say learning the structure and how everything is put together is harder than learning how to use the functions and methods available.
You can learn more about vanilla by experimenting with plugins, than you can with modifying the core. But , whatever is best for you. It is a fantastic piece of software to learn on, but a night is not going to work. Even if you think what you want to do is an easy task.
I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.
Look for
Base_GetAppSettingsMenuItems_Handler()in/applications/dashboard/settings/class.hooks.phpfor examples on how to add links to the dashboard side menu. Check out this wiki page for information on the software architecture pattern that Vanilla uses.Add Pages to Vanilla with the Basic Pages app
Shadoware, thank you very much! Now I have somewhere to start!
peregrine, it was a day, not an evening, I spent 8-10 hours climbing through code trying to get a grasp of the program and find that file, and if 8-10 hours isn't enough time to accomplish a simple task then yes, I am in the wrong software. I read the wiki page Shadoware provided and I still don't understand the file layout worth a darn, I get the concept, but files are all over the place. I don't have a use for any of the plugins, I am looking to create my own very specific, and very detailed modification and I am just not sure it is going to work given how spread out Vanilla is. I will continue to play with it for a bit longer, but the more I think about it, the more frustrated and disenchanted I become.
irony
I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.
I considered for some time whether to be rude or clever in my reply here, but then I remembered who and what I am and considered who and what you are and finally came to this thought. Thank you for attempting to be helpful earlier, it is the thought and time that counts. More so however thanks to Shadoware for being actually helpful and for being the only one in this thread thus far to not be snarky, myself included. If not for him I'd still be pulling my hair out.
Your reply was well constructed, thanks for not being rude, sometimes I fail at this.
So to use shadowdare's suggestion you would implement it in themehooks or in plugin or override function, if you decide not to modify core.
It's just adviceable not to modify core in the long run, if you had thoughts of that. However, you are the decisionmaker. Just a suggestion.
clever rather than rude is preferred. you get more lol reactions. Yes, wiki is a great idea.
It really is a fun piece of software to use, if you plan to spend time experimenting. But for the quick change without a substantial amount of time probing code, some things can seem daunting. at least it seems so and was in my experience. I still haven't got the hang of many things.
As for who you are? and who I am? we are just two people who intersected on this forum, nothing more and nothing less.
I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.
I will take in to consideration trying to avoid modifying the core. I'm just not certain it can be avoided with what I have in mind. I did however just find the app and plugin creation guide and I will work from there outward. But sadly what I want to do is so in depth I am not certain I will be able to get everything I want in without changing the core code. Stupid grand ideas...
As soon as you find interesting information, please document it on the Vanilla Wiki
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do you have photographic memory? speed reader?
It took me 6 months to learn just where all the files were and what they did.
It helps to first learn what it does and how before you try to hack the core no? You should try other software, at least so you can compare and see that Vanilla is the simpler one to work with....it only seems complicated when you don't understand the flow of things within the framework.
The files are where they need to be. They are organized by the order they are used and are very easy to find and edit.
You can't expect to have all the files in the same folder do you?
That's too bad, since plugins are a big part of how it works. It is a modular system.
It helps to know the software and how it works, also to look at other plugins and how they are made. There is nothing that can't be made and that is what is remarkable about this software.
Just try the others if you think they are better or different. You will be back...
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Welcome to the community!
What version of Vanilla are you running?
I would be happy to point you in some direction if you care to discuss your plans. If you want to keep it private, feel free to PM me.
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I use to maintain a vBulletin, and a phpBB board a few years ago. I had this grand idea and also needed to get back in to php, so I thought I would combine the two. I found the others far simpler in the flow of logic at least where my brain is concerned. I also understand the files are where they need to be, as I get the concept, but I most certainly don't get the flow. lol
The work I want to do will probably take 6 months with a program that I do understand, you'll have to forgive my frustration in the thought that I need another 6 months on top of that just to get familiar with the software :P Well you don't have to forgive, but hopefully you can understand it. lol
Hello, and thank you. Version 2.0.18.8
I don't mind sharing, as at one point I was willing to pay to have it done, then my contract fell short and my job ended. I also realized I would never be able to quite put it to words to get exactly what I wanted so I needed to get off my butt and do it myself.
I want to develope a game addition to a forum software. As in, the game operates inside the forum not as an addition to it. Text based and modular (therein lays the nightmare). The ability for people to create games in the admin center. Having forums auto switch you from your main account to the character you play in game. Creating a character or empire, assigning attribute points. Multi level maps to keep track of characters. Shopping, fighting, and any other action in posts based off the players attributes and some random number gen. A completely tracked currency system and a whole lot more.
If you would like to know more, I have a 6 page typed out word document of what I was looking for when I was going to hire someone that I'm happy to share. Like I said, it is a beast, and overwhelming to think about. So coupled with the beast of Vanilla my brain is possibly imploding
ok so basically you want to convert this software into a game software, use the forum capabilities for the game. Have the forum provide a communication point between the game (virtual) and users(real) and be able to switch between characters you play in the game.
I would not see the need to switch accounts just to switch characters unless the character is on another account, then you could link accounts .
You can switch characters much like you switch on a Facebook page . You can post as the page or as yourself the admin of the page.
This means a huge amount of pages for single accounts you know... If you already had a game , I could see how you could incorporate vanilla into the game.
For example Playdom created some games that were rather simple but got people hooked and they included a forum for players. The forum seemed more popular than the game itself .
I am not sure how you can convert the software into a game itself. I think it better to create the game and then apply the forum to the game. You could make plugins that switch the characters for the forum , there are many possibilities in that regard.
look at this forum http://forums.marvelheroes.com/
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I bet you get some good input, If you made up some mock images (of parts of the vanilla forum pages that would point to a stub in your future program)with a photoshop thing, certainly people could guide you where to hook in and whatever. just some food for thought. There are a number of gamers who are ace developers on this forum, they might have ideas.
I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.
Yes, the characters would be an addition to your main account and your main account would be what was referenced while anywhere but the game forums.
It is not just a single game I am looking at. The forum would be a hub for many types of games. I have been a member of a web based game with forums. It just doesn't have the community and activity I am looking to create. I also want the games to be story driven, actions being rewarded for writing in posts rather than just clicking a drop down and letting the mechanics work.
I can see it laid out in my head simply enough, but putting it all to code is daunting task. Especially the part where the games aren't hard coded but allowed to be created by others. Actions like fight, sneak, purchase, negotiate, will all have to be hard coded, but the creator of each game could choose how different attributes would affect said action and possibly give them different names or not use them at all.
I've included the 10 (my mistake) page paper if you are truly curious, I only recommend reading if you are absolutely bored :P
I do have a few mocked up images. Where I intended to start was just a little button that said "Create Game" in the admin center, and allow you to apply a title, hence this post lol I had to walk away again today due to frustration so I think for the next couple days I will just play with plugins and see if I garner anything from it.
I know you don't want to look at plugins, but look at a few very simple plugins.
http://vanillaforums.org/addon/addmenuitem-plugin
then you could add some functions like this.
public function Base_GetAppSettingsMenuItems_Handler($Sender) { $Menu = $Sender->EventArguments['SideMenu']; $Menu->AddLink('Moderation', 'Create Character', 'settings/NAMEOFYOURPLUGIN', 'Plugins.AddMenuItem.Manage'); }this would give you a start with exacly waht you wanted to do.
I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.
You can start by making a flow chart , like a story board of how things will go down. We can't create the games for you, you need to separate the game from the forum.
Once you have the game or games going on, which is really the hard part, you can incorporate the forum and people could give you a tip as to how to incorporate it seamlessly. But you need to keep it organized and little steps, one game at a time.
So set up the forum and get to know what it does what it can do by checking out plugins which you may be able to modify to your needs.
Vanilla is like the iPhone, when you first get it you are like what the hell it has nothing!! but then you see the plugin/app store and your life changes
The plugins are like the app store. Vanilla is like the iPhone .
Then it will become clear how to incorporate the forum into a game .
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also you could maybe glean some information from here.
http://vanillaforums.org/addon/guestrestriction-plugin
http://vanillaforums.org/discussion/20359/annotated-plugin-how-to-write-a-plugin-for-how-to-set-guest-to-view-title-only-and-not-content
as well as the example plugin.
I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.
With all due respect, first I am not asking you to create anything for me. Second, I do not need to create the game separately. If you are saying this is impossible with Vanilla then I will gladly move on. I can see how to code it in vBulletin I just was never a fan. Details were asked for and I shared them, that is all.