UTDZac
commented
1 year ago Thanks for this cool tracker extension idea Mixone, it's pretty sweet and simple!
There are a few code suggestion and changes I'd like to make. I'll outline them below:
1. Avoid having any print statements anywhere in the final extension release
Often the Lua Console output is reserved for the tracker for any important messages. Printing to it might push those out of view. In addition, printing in quick succession can cause notoriously bad performance from Bizhawk, slowing down the game tremendously.
2. I'm not sure how to actually use the nicknames.txt file
Based on the nicknames.txt that comes with the extension download, I don't actually know how to add new nicknames to it. I'm not familiar with what format it expects, nor can i really figure it out based on the contents of the file itself. I recommend having at least three pokemon and their associated nicknames in the files so that it is more clear how the user should expect to enter in new information.
For example
Bulbasaur: Flowersaur
Charmander: LittleRed
Squirtle: LeonardoI know this isn't the format you're using, I merely picked something to showcase legibility and ease of use.
3. Use PokemonData instead of DataHelper
In some places you use the DataHelper class for some data. This is primarily a helper class for sharing screen data between Bizhawk and MGBA, so that it only has to be calculated once. It appears you really only need some basic information about a Pokemon, which you can get easily from PokemonData
4. Verify the nicknames.txt file exists before using it
In the unlikely event the nicknames.txt file was moved or not supplied, this will throw a nil error. The Tracker code safely captures this error to prevent the application from freezing up, but perhaps you want to handle it useful. You can easily check if a file exist via FileManager.fileExists() which will work on any operating system or emulator.
Other Thoughts
It's easy enough to have the user open up the nicknames.txt file to edit it and add in new names or change existing ones. However, if you want to go the extra step, you can include this as part of the extension itself. This can be done by including a self.configureOptions and have that function open up a bizhawk forms prompt. To see example prompt template, you can copy the one from LogOverlay.openRandomizerShareWindow(). By including the configureOptions function, the tracker will automatically add an OPTIONS button to the extension page on the tracker screen.
Mixone-FinallyHere
Are you submitting an extension, or an idea?
Extension
Tell us about your extension / idea
Unsure if this fully fits parameters for Ironmon as it performs a memory write to set nicknames.
The idea with this extension is that since users sometimes play at fast speeds, and the text input in Gen3 is not great, this will allow to simply not have to nickname and automatically ensures the mon gets a nickname, in theory avoiding accidental errors that might make a mon "illegal" as it wouldn't have a nickname.
Additionally it allows content creators to have an easier way of having their mons named after viewers at random from a list instead of having to manually input them each time
Link to extension
https://github.com/Mixone-FinallyHere/AutoNicknamer-IronmonExtension
Additional Information
No response