SLADE Over-Writes TEXTURES Definitions

When a change is made to the TEXTURE1 or PNAMES lumps, SLADE automatically creates a set of TEXTURES definitions that re-writes the existing definitions and adds a comment with a date stamp. While I appreciate the date stamp, I don't like the fact that my comments (associated with specific definitions) get erased. I have created a text file that contains my definitions and comments intact, and every time SLADE over-writes my definitions I simply copy and paste from my text file.

Is there a non-hacky way of disabling the over-writing of definitions? I'm new to SLADE (having just transitioned from SlumpEd), and my questions may appear to be terribly basic in nature. Please bear with me as I learn the ropes.

I'm using the official release (v3.02), as it has the editable pk3 that allows me to work with jpeg images natively. The problem I describe may have been addressed in the beta (v3.10) version, but I would like to stick with v3.02, for the reason I just mentioned.

Thanks.

Preserving comments is hard to do, since comments are, by definition, meant to be ignored by the program. And it's really hard to know what to do with them.

Let's take an example:

// This is a texture file I wrote!

// First texture
Texture BLAH_01, 64, 128
{
      Patch PATCHY, 0, 0 // LOL
}
// That texture is so nice!

// Second texture
Texture BLAH_02, 64, 128
{
      Patch PATCHX, 0, 0
}
// Okay so that's the end of the file XD

What do you do with these comments? If you store them by position in the file, and the editor inserts a new texture at the top, all the comments will be shifted. If you store them by textures, the comments at the top and bottom will not stay there.

Since SLADE features a visual texture editor, you're not even really supposed to be needing comments. The best I can suggest for the time being is to put the texture comments outside of the texture definition, in a TXREADME lump or something.

Though I suppose we could make it so that only texture lumps that have actually been modified are rewritten when saving.

Gez said:

Preserving comments is hard to do, since comments are, by definition, meant to be ignored by the program. And it's really hard to know what to do with them.

Agreed.

Since SLADE features a visual texture editor, you're not even really supposed to be needing comments. The best I can suggest for the time being is to put the texture comments outside of the texture definition, in a TXREADME lump or something.

Yes, the visual texture editor does provide the relevant information, but, for the casual lump editor (such as myself), in a "cryptic" format. I was using the comments to create a correlation between the size scaling in game pixels and the scale factor, so that I could have a ready reference to easily assign the proper scale factor for new texture definitions. [More so because the system of scale factors is different for TEXTUREx than for TEXTURES.] The issue is less with TEXTURE1 definitions, as with TEXTURES definitions, which must be created manually. My current work-around of saving new definitions in an external text file is satisfactory, but I was just wondering if I was perhaps missing a "switch" somewhere in SLADE.

Though I suppose we could make it so that only texture lumps that have actually been modified are rewritten when saving.

No big deal, from my perspective, and I wasn't intending to make a feature request. Still, if it's an easy fix, I'd appreciate it greatly.

ReX said:

I'm using the official release (v3.02), as it has the editable pk3 that allows me to work with jpeg images natively.

3.1 should have the pk3 also (at least, the official beta, not sure about the builds from drd)

sirjuddington said:

3.1 should have the pk3 also (at least, the official beta, not sure about the builds from drd)

I'm pretty sure I downloaded it from the SLADE site, but perhaps I used the drd mirror. At any rate, the version I obtained (slade_310_b2.7z) has no pk3 file.

Still, I'm quite pleased with v3.02, and this is a minorissue as far as I'm concerned.