EasyVent Editor Super Perfect v1.7 README by RavenOfRazgriz

0---Table of Contents:

1---Features
2---Preparing to use EasyVent Editor Super Perfect v1.7
3---Understanding the Main Interface
4---KeyBindings
5---Feedback/Questions



1---Features

With EasyVent Editor Super Perfect v1.7, the proverbial Event Editing world is at your fingertips.  This tool includes many powerful features to both help the newb better edit Events, and to help the pro do what they're good at far faster than ever before!  These features include:

-Directories brimming with Template Events.  From the Original Final Fantasy Tactics (without any filler or errors!), to Final Fantasy Tactics: Complete, and the soon-to-be released Vanilla Plus, finding a start to base your event around has never been easier.

-Multi-saving.  This will not only save your event.txt, but will allow you to simultaneously save to a Custom Event Directory, giving you a backup full of all your hard-made events.  If you want to save to your own folder instead or in addition to the Custom Event Directory, all you need to do is type its name into the Directory ComboBox (expanded on later) and it's as simple as a Save button away!  If you're one of the people who always wanted to be able to compile your TEST.EVT from that big PSX Events Notepad file... EasyVent Editor Super Perfect can save your events directly to that and compile them directly from it, too!

-Multi-decompiling.  When you press Decompile, not only is the standard PSX Events.txt Notepad made, but a folder named PSX Events is also made, with each decompiled event individually saved.  This makes it easy to simply grab a specific event after decompiling TEST.EVT, but still allows you to scour a single file with every event should you need to.

-Multi-compiling.  The Compiling options with EasyVent Editor Super Perfect are unmatched, and far beyond what one could do by hand.  In addition to standard compiling, this program can compile entire folders filled with events, assuming they follow one or two naming schemes (again, expanded on later).  This is a great time-saver for people working on larger projects, as what could take days of drudgery can be completed by this program in under ten minutes!  As mentioned above, this program can even compile directly from the PSX Events.txt Notepad file, something that was previously impossible, so you have full control over how you want to organize your events!

-Map Previews.  No more scouring the front page of ffhacktics.com or your preferred method of getting vantage points for your events, this program lets you do that with two simple ComboBoxes.  The top ComboBox on the far right controls which map you wish to view, and the bottom one controls which of the five views is displayed - Bird's Eye View, South Corner, East Corner, North Corner, and West Corner.  In the names, each "Corner" refers to the one on the bottom left of the image, for a frame of reference.

-Event Command Help Tips. EasyVent Editor Super Perfect has a ComboBox containing every Event Command - click once to view any available help data, along with the command's form, click twice to concatenate it to your event above the "EventEnd()" command.  Note that this will cause your cursor to jump to the top of the editing window, just scroll back down if needed and your command will be there.  It even has the fields pre-filled using notation to help you remember what goes into each area.

-Camera and SpriteMove Command Generators.  These two commands are some of the most complex to use because they rely on pixels instead of the actual map.  No more, I say!  With EasyVent Editor Super Perfect, an interface to help you quickly plug through each of these commands is right at your fingertips.  It supports decimal notation as well, so people better versed in their use can still get use and precision from the generators without feeling like they're forcibly restricted to 1 Panel or 1h increments.



2---Preparing to Use EasyVent Editor Super Perfect v1.7

Very little prepwork is needed to use this tool.  First, get a program such as CDMage, and use it to open your Final Fantasy Tactics ISO/BIN/IMG/etc file as Track 2.  Go into the disk's EVENTS folder and find TEST.EVT, near the bottom of the list.  Click "Extract from ISO..." and specify it to extract into the main EasyVent Editor Super Perfect v1.7 Folder.  (That's the same folder with the main program and this README.)  ...And you're done!  You can now begin using this program to modify the events in Final Fantasy Tactics.  When you're done, simply use the reverse process and Import the TEST.EVT back into your game file, and boot 'er up.



3---Understanding the Main Interface

The main interface of EasyVent Editor Super Perfect can look overwhelming, but is actually very simple to use, with the initial labeling making their purposes obvious after only one or two uses of the program.  When you open the program, the top area should contain six drop-down menus, or ComboBoxes, as well as six Buttons.  The bottom should contain one notepad-like window, one greyed-out notepad window, and a map image.  

Starting with the far left of the program, there's 3 ComboBoxes which are very important to this program, going from top to bottom.  The top ComboBox is the FFT Event Index ComboBox, and contains a list of every Event in the game, sorted by how they're organized into FFT's TEST.EVT file.  This will be your primary field for choosing which event you want to load, or specifying a name and offset to save your event with.  The second ComboBox, the Vanilla Plus Event Index ComboBox, is almost exactly the same, but meant to be used with event sets that conform to the "Vanilla Plus" Reorganization Project event order.  Until this project is finished, you'll likely want to not use this box, as you'll probably not get what you're expecting to unless you're loading from the Vanilla Plus Event Directory and know what you're doing when saving.  The third ComboBox is the Directories ComboBox.  This is used to choose which folder your template events are loaded from, and can also be used as a means of saving backups of your events if you specify custom directories.  Just make sure you actually make the folder before specifying it!  

Below these three ComboBoxes are three buttons, which should each be obvious enough.  Decompile TEST.EVT will do what it says on the tin, as described in the Features section.  Open Indexed Event does similarly, grabbing a validly named event as specified by either of the top two ComboBoxes from the folder specified in the third, and opening it into your editing window.  Finally, Save As Event.txt does a number of things.  It saves an Event.txt for singular Compiling, allows you to save a copy to your Custom Event Directory folder, and if the Directory specified in the Directory ComboBox is valid, will also save a copy of your event there as well.  This will ensure that your work doesn't get lost to a simple error in buttons.  Below that is your editing window, which is where you make your events.  It loads a blank event with all the essentials required to make an event by default, and will do so whenever you try to load a nonexistent file using the Open Indexed Event button.

To the right and in the center is your Event Commands ComboBox.  This ComboBox contains a list of every Event Command.  Clicking the command once loads its help file into the greyed-out box below it, and twice concatenates it to your event currently in the window, directly above the EventEnd() command.  Concatenation will make your cursor jump to the top of your event - don't worry, that's normal.  Just scroll back down and everything will be fine.  The output command also has help guides, making it easier to learn remember what data goes where.  Below this ComboBox are Buttons that open Generators for the Camera and SpriteMove commands, which are normally very complex to use.  Just input the criteria you want into the appropriate Generator, and it'll do all the pixel-math and automatically concatenate your command to your event above the EventEnd() command!  Again, your cursor will jump back to the top, and again, this is normal.

To the far right is the map previews.  The top ComboBox controls the mpa display, the bottom controls the view.  The "Corner View" specified refers to the bottom left corner from how you're looking at it, to give a sense of cardinal directions.  These should make it far easier to move and angle your units on the map during your events.



4---KeyBindings

Main Window
CTRL+A = Highlight all Text in Editing Window
CTRL+D = Decompile TEST.EVT
CTRL+F = Find or Replace Text in Editing Window
CTRL+I = Move to Indexed Event ComboBox
CTRL+L = Close EasyVent Editor Super Perfect
CTRL+M = Move to Map Selection ComboBox
CTRL+O = Open Indexed Event
CTRL+P = Open SpriteWalk Generator
CTRL+R = Open Camera Generator
CTRL+S = Save As Event.txt
CTRL+T = Move to Command List ComboBox
F1 = Help (Opens this README file.)

Camera Generator
CTRL+E = Export to File
CTRL+L = Close

Sprite Generator
CTRL+E = Export to File
CTRL+L = Close

Event Compiler Options Window
CTRL+E = Compile Just Event
CTRL+D = Compile Directory
CTRL+R = Remember My Choice

Save Warning Window
CTRL+Y = Yes
CTRL+N = No
CTRL+D = Don't Ask Me Again

Help Window
CTRL+L = Close

Custom Directory Save Query Window
CTRL+Y = Yes
CTRL+N = No
CTRL+R = Remember My Choice

Find/Replace Window
CTRL+F = Find Now!
CTRL+R = Replace Now!
CTRL+L = Close



5---Feedback/Questions

If you somehow got this from a different site, you can visit ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php and find the EasyVent Editor Super Perfect download thread to leave questions, comments, criticisms, phone numbers if you're of the feminine persuasion, etc. should you feel so inclined.  You can alternately email me at ravenofrazgriz@yahoo.com.