With exams over and done with, I spent the weekend reintroducing myself to the project and attempting to get organized. I plan to shift to more frequent updates now that my schedule permits it and plan on working frantically over the next few weeks to make up for lost time due to exam stress. I have a meeting with my mentor Jubanka scheduled this week which should hopefully prove useful in ironing out many of the issues currently presenting themselves.
I’ve hacked up the main() function in order to allow for the ScummVM console to indefinitely delay while TFMX objects can be initialized and played. This has already proven useful in testing as the console can as an output for debugging. Some code for initialization has been put together hastily as well but will most likely be recycled as things get overhauled.
The analysis of the file format is complete and when time permits, as other pressing issues dissolve, I will compile the bulk of the information into a useful package for future TFMX hackers. This includes a detailed look at the patterns and macro commands. Also, a couple of minor issues regarding some of the oddities of TFMX will also be addressed.
Right now the focus is on hammering out design details and implementing proper strategies for the player so it is clean, readable, re-usable while remaining fully functional. Fumbling around with some of these previously implemented C players has been a nightmare and the last thing I want to do is simply rewrite bad code for a different backend. I believe overcoming some of these major challenges and having a better understanding of the “big picture” structure will allow me to better develop the smaller building blocks.