Difference between revisions of "Distributing content"

Latest revision as of 12:28, 12 May 2021

Creator's Guide

Add-on Structure • Maps • Scenarios • Campaigns • Multiplayer • Units • Distributing Content

You've completed your creation. You've tested it, polished it, and tweaked it. You feel confident that your add-on is the greatest achievement since the sandwich was invented. Now what? Make it available to the world!

The Add-on Server

The add-on server is the preferred way to distribute your creations, whether it's a single map or a large campaign. The rules for publishing to the add-ons server are here.

In in order to publish an add-on to the server, you need to create a _server.pbl file inside your add-on's directory. Detailed instructions on the syntax of the file are located on the PblWML page. The _main.cfg file is also required, even for resource add-ons.

Once you are ready to publish:

Open Wesnoth
Select Add-ons from the main menu
Connect to the default add-ons.wesnoth.org add-on server
In 1.12: Select your add-on, which will be the last entry in the list of add-ons. Then select Publish add-on: Your Add-on Name
In 1.14: In the "State" drop-down above the list, select "Publishable", and the list will show only your add-on. Select your add-on, then click on the shield icon with the upwards arrow.

Note: If you haven't included a passphrase in the _server.pbl file then Wesnoth will add a randomly-generated password to it. This password can be used to upload updates. (Version 1.15.12 and later only) it will prompt for a passphrase instead of randomly generating one.

Note: By default, all files and folders inside the add-on's directory are uploaded, except those that begin with '.' and those that end in '~'. If you want to exclude any others, you may do so by creating a _server.ign file and listing within it the files or folders you wish not to be uploaded (see IGNFileFormat for more information).

Note: A command-line interface to publish add-ons exists for those who prefer it. The script is located in a path like "/share/wesnoth/data/tools/wesnoth_addon_manager" (may depend on your OS and wesnoth version).

License

Whenever you upload or update your add-on, you will have to confirm that it is licensed as required by

When a user downloads your add-on, it will include the ART_LICENSE that you included and a COPYING.txt file containing a copy of the GNU GPL version 2, signifying the content is licensed under such.

The Forum

Creating a thread on the Wesnoth forums is a good way to receive feedback for your add-on. Making use of the [feedback] tag in your _server.pbl is also highly recommended.

While it is possible to upload your add-on directly to the forums, that is not recommended since it requires extra steps on the part of the downloader and limits the add-on's exposure to players who regularly visit the forum.

Version control distribution

It is recommended that you create your own personal repository on a service such as GitHub. This will allow tracking changes you make to your content, as well as make it easier for others to collaborate with you.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Create}}
-You've completed your creation. You've tested it, polished it, and tweaked it. You feel confident that your add-on is the greatest achievement since the sandwich was invented. Now what? Make it available to the world! How? You can either share your content via the forums, or via the add-on server. Both methods are discussed below.
+You've completed your creation. You've tested it, polished it, and tweaked it. You feel confident that your add-on is the greatest achievement since the sandwich was invented. Now what? Make it available to the world!
-== The Forum ==
-The [http://www.wesnoth.org/forum/ Wesnoth forums] is a good way to distribute small creations, like single multiplayer maps. Larger creations, like multiplayer eras or campaigns, should be compressed before uploading them. Note that you may encounter a size limit on attachments.
-Also, there is a [http://www.wesnoth.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2014 legal announcement] that you should read before distributing anything on the forum. Basically, by posting you say that you own the license to what you are posting, and that you are giving rights under a Gnu or Creative Commons license as stated on [[Wesnoth:Copyrights]].
-This option allows for feedback and is pretty easy for the content creators to do. However, it requires extra steps on the part of the downloader and limits the add-on's exposure to players who regularly visit the forum.
 == The Add-on Server ==
-The add-on server is the preferred way to distribute your creations, but it is more suited for larger projects.  It currently lacks advanced organization features such as reviewing (although it does have a filter text box), so adding hundreds of little things makes it harder to find anything.  Basically, the server should not be used to post single maps, units, songs, or artwork, but map packs, campaigns, entire eras, music packs, and unit packs are fine.
+The add-on server is the preferred way to distribute your creations, whether it's a single map or a large campaign. The rules for publishing to the add-ons server are [https://forums.wesnoth.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=24320 here].
-In in order to publish and add-on to the server, you need to create a <b>_server.pbl</b> file inside your add-on's directory. Detailed instructions on the syntax of the file are located on the [[PblWML]] page. File <b>_main.cfg</b> is also required, even for resource addons.
+In in order to publish an add-on to the server, you need to create a <b>_server.pbl</b> file inside your add-on's directory. Detailed instructions on the syntax of the file are located on the [[PblWML]] page. The <b>_main.cfg</b> file is also required, even for resource add-ons.
 Once you are ready to publish:
@@ Line 24: / Line 16: @@
 * In 1.14: In the "State" drop-down above the list, select "Publishable", and the list will show only your add-on. Select your add-on, then click on the shield icon with the upwards arrow.
-<b>Note:</b> If you haven't included a passphrase in the <b>_server.pbl</b> file then Wesnoth will add a randomly-generated password to it. This password can be used to upload updates.
+<b>Note:</b> If you haven't included a passphrase in the <b>_server.pbl</b> file then Wesnoth will add a randomly-generated password to it. This password can be used to upload updates. {{DevFeature1.15|12}} it will prompt for a passphrase instead of randomly generating one.
 <b>Note:</b> By default, all files and folders inside the add-on's directory are uploaded, except those that begin with <b>'.'</b> and those that end in <b>'~'</b>. If you want to exclude any others, you may do so by creating a <b>_server.ign</b> file and listing within it the files or folders you wish not to be uploaded (see [[IGNFileFormat]] for more information).
@@ Line 37: / Line 29: @@
 When a user downloads your add-on, it will include the ART_LICENSE that you included and a COPYING.txt file containing a copy of the GNU GPL version 2, signifying the content is licensed under such.
+== The Forum ==
+Creating a thread on the [http://www.wesnoth.org/forum/ Wesnoth forums] is a good way to receive feedback for your add-on.  Making use of the [feedback] tag in your <b>_server.pbl</b> is also highly recommended.
+While it is possible to upload your add-on directly to the forums, that is not recommended since it requires extra steps on the part of the downloader and limits the add-on's exposure to players who regularly visit the forum.
 == Version control distribution ==
-Wesnoth hosts a [[Wesnoth_UMC_Dev| SVN repository]] to allow content creators to collaborate with each other in developing their content. Several high-profile add-ons were developed using it, including a few that ultimately ended up in mainline.
+It is recommended that you create your own personal repository on a service such as [https://github.com/ GitHub]. This will allow tracking changes you make to your content, as well as make it easier for others to collaborate with you.
-Alternatively, you could create your own personal repository on a service such as [https://github.com/ GitHub]. Several UMC authors such as shadowm, vultraz, and bumbadadabum have done this recently.
 == See Also ==