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Posted

Is there an official DCS SDK to download, like
many other games do offer to their community ?

Democracy was already invented, while Scrat was eating oak fruits.

Posted

The API is in the main folder. 

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

"Me, the 13th Duke of Wybourne, here on the ED forums at 3 'o' clock in the morning, with my reputation. Are they mad.."

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Posted (edited)
7 hours ago, joey45 said:

The API is in the main folder. 

Correct me if i' am wrong: but an SDK have documentation, examples, working examples,
constants, variables, functions etc for anyone to read and learn how to program the API.

Edited by ADHS
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Democracy was already invented, while Scrat was eating oak fruits.

Posted
10 hours ago, ADHS said:

Correct me if i' am wrong:

You're not wrong. AND in addition to mere API stuff, a true SDK would also contain an integration framework: libraries, data editors (in addition to ME) and inspectors, debugging aids,  automation tools - and some form of IDE.

All sorely missing, all very welcome if/when they show up.

Currently ED "officially" supports Notepad as combined SDK/IDE for DCS missions. I believe there is room to grow.

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Posted
On 1/10/2023 at 8:05 AM, cfrag said:

 

Currently ED "officially" supports Notepad as combined SDK/IDE for DCS missions. I believe there is room to grow.

welcome to the DCS world of the 90's.  

hopefully we'll see improvements in the next decade or so.  

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Posted
On 1/10/2023 at 2:19 AM, ADHS said:

Correct me if i' am wrong: but an SDK have documentation, examples, working examples,
constants, variables, functions etc for anyone to read and learn how to program the API.

 

About building your mods, check here:
https://forum.dcs.world/forum/218-how-to/

Meanwile, the SDK and the TDK (Terrain Develop Kit), has only availble to licensed 3rd parties to build aproved modules.

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Posted (edited)
8 hours ago, Silver_Dragon said:

About building your mods,

Personally i just wanted to continue lua scripting, no mods or so.
But without an SDK you are a blind that searching in the darkness.
You can't program with assumptions and by hunting fragments of
code from here and there. This is Indiana's Jones job.

Still, there is no official answer in here from an official person.


PS: Any relation with the old DRAGON? (bs1 + bs2 missions ?)

Edited by ADHS

Democracy was already invented, while Scrat was eating oak fruits.

Posted
9 minutes ago, ADHS said:

But without an SDK you are a blind that searching in the darkness.
You can't program with assumptions and by collecting fragments of
code from here and there. This is Indiana's Jones job.

lua is mostly reverse engineering, backtracking, trial and error.  It'd be nice to have SDK but will never going to happen.  Goes against their business model.  If someone creates better module than 3rd party developer for free for example.

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Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Taz1004 said:

It'd be nice to have SDK but will never going to happen.

for (the time that this stands) then do
      i don't find any reason to program the nothing
       return
end

Edited by ADHS

Democracy was already invented, while Scrat was eating oak fruits.

Posted

I too have spent many hours programming Lua code for DCS. There are times when I just say I have had enough. They obviously don't want us making mods. I suppose at one time they did. 

 

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Posted
22 minutes ago, tacts.zeagle said:

I too have spent many hours programming Lua code for DCS.

Still, there is no official answer in here from an official person.

Democracy was already invented, while Scrat was eating oak fruits.

Posted (edited)
8 hours ago, Taz1004 said:

lua is mostly reverse engineering, backtracking, trial and error.  It'd be nice to have SDK but will never going to happen.  Goes against their business model.  If someone creates better module than 3rd party developer for free for example.

I think we may be mis-communicating here. "SDK" to me is a generic term for 'Software Development Kit', and there can be multiple such SDK for a single platform. ED currently have an SDK for their licensed partners who develop modules, and another one (also licensed) for terrain development. I believe while we acknowledge that these tools exist, they are not what we are talking about here.

What we (Lua-scripting mission designers) are looking for is a third development kit - one for missions. IMHO Missions are what fuels interest in DCS, and good missions go a long way to making a module, and the entire package, more popular - it's in ED's best interest to support mission developers. ED have acknowledged this to certain extent, as the Mission Editor has become a central part of DCS' experience. There's stellar work from community mission designers (e.g. the "Foothold" series) that is driving multiplayer adoption.

Unfortunately, Mission Editor has a lot of rough edges, and provides no support at all for anyone who wants to go beyond ME's abilities: to use Lua for mission scripting. None of the currently most popular community-based MP missions are possible to create without Lua scripting, and those mission designers have to rough it out alone, or at best can rely on (again stellar) community support. ED's documentation is (to put it mildly) lacking, and there is no support at all for mission designers who develop Lua scripts for their missions. There are a couple of great libraries (like Mist or Moose) available to help, but instead from ED (who would be best positioned to develop, support and document them) they have been created and are maintained by dedicated members of the community.

What we are looking for is an SDK for mission development: Libraries to simplify tasks, and IDE support (so Lua scripting can be done from within ME, or at least properly linked so that code development doesn't have to rely on binding scripts). Tools to edit data (group spawning, kneeboard, mission briefing, tools for groups or triggers that organize and can transfer them from one mission to another, template editors, log analyzers, data visualization/search tools, helpers for text, structured, sound and visual data), tools to debug a mission (breakpoints, view variables, monitor flags and units), automation tools to build and test missions and campaigns, and of course ME toolchain integration to publish and maintain missions uploaded to ED's user files.

None of the above is available right now. I sincerely believe that mission designers contribute to DCS's popularity, and I think ED can profit a lot if they provided more support in that regard. A Mission Development SDK, separate from module or terrain SDK would go a long way to help the community to create significantly better, more engaging missions - everyone profits from that (except 3rd party mission designers, who may have to step up their game and create even better missions but now have the tools to do so - a win-win situation in my book)

Edited by cfrag
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Posted (edited)

cfrag

Right said and i fully agree with you and your analysis.
My opinion:
Every company have a Policy that is not interesting me.
All i can tell is that after months of effort to set a custom
working base with scripts, i have to give up as (seems)
there are no tools/docs given to continue further on.
Sure there are guys out there that they have spend more
time than me but it doesn't make any difference. We all
are in the same twilight endless loop, in the "wish list" zone.

Edited by ADHS
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  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

As shown, the officials towards this community are far absent.
No need to comment this stance as their absence is the silent
answer to the primary question of this thread.

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