PH Database Editor

Hi everybody,

I really enjoy the complexity of the game! As many of you, I had a look at the xml files: thanks to the good work of the developers the file structure and the xml nodes are quite self explanary, but the size of some files makes it hard to create own symptoms, diagnoses, etc, especially if you're looking for some cryptic Treatment-ID...

My idea is to write a little helper program which is able to load the database in some UI, so even users with less xml experience are able to easily edit game options or create new diseases, symptoms, etc! Maybe this tool could be useful for some experienced modders too, who want to create way more than "just a few tweaks".

I added a screenshot of the current development - which is quite at the beginning, but please have a look by yourself.

Planned Features:

• Edit General game Settings
  
• Edit, Create or Delete Symptoms, Examinations, Treatments
  
• Multi-Language Support based on language files
  
• Edit many more XML files (which i Need to explore first, too!)
  

I would like to know, what you guys think? Is a tool like this helpful for you as modder? What features would you like to see?
Greetings,
Andy

Hi,

you did a great job, but I think that current structure of files is not usable for modding. If several modders affect same game files, it will be mess and possibly it could lead to serious conflict.

Hi Andy, this is actually quite amazing!

We edit the xml files directly on our side, but I can imagine how useful this tool can become, so let me give you a couple of tips at this point (we're working on documentation for modders in the meantime, but unfortunately as I'm currently also integrating workshop functionality, it still keeps changing too much, especially the location of files and asset loading).

The database is designed to be modular, so for example a mod with new diagnoses can consist of a new set of Diagnoses.xml, Symptoms.xml etc (you can check Objects, these are already in separate files), so the editor would need to be able to load/save the database from different folders.

Also, there are still some minor changes expected in the database structure (luckily not much on this 'medical' side), so please be aware of that. One example is the N:M relation between examinations/treatments and rooms, that will need to be changed to allow both new rooms and new procedures without changing the main database files every time.

Really curious to see how this progresses, but I should also suggest to wait for the documentation, as it might save you some time and implementation changes.

Thank you guys for your feedback so far. I am aware of the current situation with conflicted files and editing "base files".
But I think the xml structures in the mod files won't be much different from the core files, so changing the functionality won't be a big difficulty.

jan.oxymoron wrote:Hi Andy, this is actually quite amazing!

We edit the xml files directly on our side, but I can imagine how useful this tool can become, so let me give you a couple of tips at this point (we're working on documentation for modders in the meantime, but unfortunately as I'm currently also integrating workshop functionality, it still keeps changing too much, especially the location of files and asset loading).

Sounds like you could need some tool, too  
When the general functionalities are working, the oncoming changes on the database won't be that tricky. But yes, the program will have to be updated every time the DB structures are getting changed.

jan.oxymoron wrote:The database is designed to be modular, so for example a mod with new diagnoses can consist of a new set of Diagnoses.xml, Symptoms.xml etc (you can check Objects, these are already in separate files), so the editor would need to be able to load/save the database from different folders.

That was some important information. The program is already able to load many xml files of the same type (e.g. symptoms + symptoms_main) and combine them for editing. I will also implement some kind of "packet" / "module" manager, in which you can load/save/create packages without affecting the default files.

jan.oxymoron wrote:Also, there are still some minor changes expected in the database structure (luckily not much on this 'medical' side), so please be aware of that. One example is the N:M relation between examinations/treatments and rooms, that will need to be changed to allow both new rooms and new procedures without changing the main database files every time.

OK, i will keep that in mind. There are plenty of other things to do in the meanwhile  

jan.oxymoron wrote:
Really curious to see how this progresses, but I should also suggest to wait for the documentation, as it might save you some time and implementation changes.

I will keep you informed about the process and hope to upload an early alpha version soon. Until the release of the documentation i will try to focus on the generic functions.

Greetings,
Andy

Beautiful job!!!! I do not see the time to start loading new pathologies and symptoms into the game

Hey guys,
short update on the dev process.
At the moment the following xml's can be loaded and edited:

• Symptoms (including Symptoms_main)
  
• Treatments (including Surgery, TreatmentsHospitalization)
  
• Examinations
  
• Departments
  
• Diagnoses grouped by Department
  

The following xml structures are also planned:

• Languages: with the ability to easily create / modify translations.
  
• InsuranceCompanies
  
• Events
  
• Tweakables
  
• ....
  

I know, there are many more xml's, but I think these are the most common to be edited?

Great work, would love to try this out!

Hey all, short update on the current development:
- Language Integration finished. You can now edit database entries in a desired language.

I am able to relase an early alpha version shortly...

That's fantastic, neat and clever. Great job!

Would absolutely try it, good job!

Absolutely great and useful job ! thanks ! can't wait to test that

Amazing work! Can't wait to try this out.