[Abandoned!] Suggestion for Patch System

[0lhi]

In order to fix Vanilla Levels that are broken by new features like Multipoints or Multires, a system to patch old levels on-the-fly is required.

I'd like to make a suggestion how this could be implemented by the example of Cliffside.lvl from Super RMN Bros.:

1. Copy the old level inside a folder named OLD and check it's MD5-Checksum (here: 33e39e089734fa2b679898c40b5d6d77).

2. Add the changes to the level via an Editor (preferably Moondust with the 1.3 Config Pack) and save as NEW/Cliffside.lvl.

3. Create the Patch with the following Command*: diff -u OLD/Cliffside.lvl NEW/Cliffside.lvl > 33e39e089734fa2b679898c40b5d6d77.patch
   _{*Works on Linux, don't know about Windows.}

This will give us:

--- OLD/Cliffside.lvl	2010-04-12 20:29:18.000000000 +0200
+++ NEW/Cliffside.lvl	2022-07-20 11:40:55.298394121 +0200
@@ -12,10 +12,10 @@
 #FALSE#
 #FALSE#
 "Cavi Cape.mp3"
-0
-0
-0
-0
+-180000
+-180600
+-180000
+-179200
 0
 16291944
 #FALSE#
@@ -24,10 +24,10 @@
[...]

Anything before the --- / +++ lines will be ignored. This allows us:

4. To add comments about the changes made:

#1) Fill empty blocks for Multires.
#2) Add  bgo-61 (Black 32x32) to some pipes and blocks for improved looks.
--- OLD/Cliffside.lvl	2010-04-12 20:29:18.000000000 +0200
+++ NEW/Cliffside.lvl	2022-07-20 11:40:55.298394121 +0200
@@ -12,10 +12,10 @@
 #FALSE#
 #FALSE#
 "Cavi Cape.mp3"
[...]

5. And to add any Compat settings inbetween the comments and diff-content:

#1) Fill empty blocks for Multires.
#2) Add  bgo-61 (Black 32x32) to some pipes and blocks for improved looks.
#3) Set a compat value for example (not actually needed).
[compatibility]
enable-multipoints = false
--- OLD/Cliffside.lvl	2010-04-12 20:29:18.000000000 +0200
+++ NEW/Cliffside.lvl	2022-07-20 11:40:55.298394121 +0200
@@ -12,10 +12,10 @@
 #FALSE#
 #FALSE#
 "Cavi Cape.mp3"
[...]

Patch-Files will be stored inside patches.7z, which will be inside the settings folder.

This approach depends on:

• Engine-Level ISO Support for Asset Packs and Episodes #132
• Implementing the MD5-System, see Vanilla Levels that require a specific compat.ini Fix to work #54
• The big Settings/Compat Rewrite that @ds-sloth and I have been talking about.

What do you think?

[0lhi]

Since PhysFS can treat all contents of the Archive as if it were in a single folder, it may be better to organize stuff like this:

/Super RMN Bros.
-> /Cliffside.lvl
---->33e39e089734fa2b679898c40b5d6d77.patch
---->33e39e089734fa2b679898c40b5d6d77.compat.ini

[0lhi]

The idea of a Patch System is officially abandoned.

Reasons for this decision are:

• The complication that it would add to the Engine
• The time it would take to maintain such a system
• The changes it would entail to the effort of preserving SMBX Episodes

We cancelled it in favor a different approach that is currently being worked on.

Additionally, we'll focus on repacking good Episodes so that they can take full advantage of TheXTech's new features.

[LoveBodhi]

That's a pain...

[ds-sloth]

From my perspective, maintaining this sort of database seems nearly impossible. Additionally, the technical issues with supporting this, especially on our lower-end targets, are quite great.

I agree that the efforts of interested community members are best spent on ensuring that episodes work well with modern settings.