BSL:BFW Scripting Language: Difference between revisions
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==What Are Scripts?== | ==What Are Scripts?== | ||
Scripts are the files that | Scripts are the files that drive level logic, environment effects, and cutscenes. Physically speaking, they are the .bsl files inside the folder Oni/GameDataFolder/IMGD/. By editing scripts, you can alter how the game plays. | ||
==Editing Scripts== | ==Editing Scripts== |
Revision as of 17:49, 5 February 2008
Bungie Scripting Language (or BSL) is what Oni scripts are written in. Being a scripting language, it is far more limited in scope and usage than a "real" programming language, as it was designed only to move events forward in the game, not to build programs.
What Are Scripts?
Scripts are the files that drive level logic, environment effects, and cutscenes. Physically speaking, they are the .bsl files inside the folder Oni/GameDataFolder/IMGD/. By editing scripts, you can alter how the game plays.
Editing Scripts
Scripts can be edited with and word-processing program, such as NotePad. They can be edited simply by typing inside the file. Script files can be generated by creating a *.txt document, then changing the extension from "txt" to "bsl". To learn BSL by example, you can read the .bsl files in Oni and draw connections to the events in the game that were produced by those scripts. For a primer in writing BSL, see the Tutorials section below. For a thorough course in BSL, see the Knowledge Database below.
Scripted Mods
Scripted Mods are great examples of what can be accomplished by editing scripts. They edit the *.bsl files to create interesting, and often amusing results. They can change everything from the fog, to how the characters and level interact. However, they cannot add characters or change the level layout, only its contents, as they are handled by the Binaries. Information on OBD: Oni Binary Data . They are great examples of what can be achieved simply by typing into a file. The possibilities are simply endless.
Probably the best specimens of Scripted Mods are the Oni Team Arena scripts. Based on an idea for multiplayer Oni, and inspired by Unreal Tournament, they augment Oni's hand-to-hand combat and gunplay integration with a scoring system much like Unreal Tournament's DeathMatch. More information about this exciting project can be found at the page listed above.
All other scripted mods are basically anything you can imagine. From free-for-all arenas to objective based missions and enhancements of the original level, they spice up the games original levels and provide a more exciting experience to those who have finished the game. They keep the game alive, outside of its original levels.
Downloads of OTA Mods are available at the Oni Team Arena page.
Downloads for other scripted mods mave been gathered here: Script Download Page and here.
Tutorials
For the practical minds who don't care (too much) about the theory:
- Wanna make minor (yet cool-looking) changes to the original level logic? Read this.
- Wanna script a "patch" that's effective in every level but doesn't affect the original logic? Also here.
- Wanna create completely new level logic from scratch? Here you are.
Knowledge Database
Documentation that describes the locations that BSL scripts reside in:
Syntax Overview
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