Multiline map comments

[Zehra]

While we do have shell style single line comments, multi-line comments would be very useful for map makers.
It would make several things much easier, especially when working with large scale maps and the temporary commenting out of objects is needed.

-Zehra

[macsforme]

And what is your proposed syntax for this feature?

[allejo]

If you use an editor with syntax highlighting, you can highlight a block of text and use your editor's comment shortcut. Real haxors use keyboard shortcuts.

[Zehra]

And what is your proposed syntax for this feature?

C style comments.

If you use an editor with syntax highlighting, you can highlight a block of text and use your editor's comment shortcut. Real haxors use keyboard shortcuts.

While it may be easy for us, I'm certain the majority of players have never used source code editors before.(Much less code.)

-Zehra

[tainn]

For what's worth, I do encounter cases where I have to (temporarily) remove a section of objects, though I simply use two separate text files to achieve that. Maybe multi-line comments might make that more elegant, though there are simple workarounds now already.

I would probably still use the two text files at the end of the day, since they also help out with other, potentially more frequent issues. One of them is find and replace, where I was to mass-change the values of some objects, but not all of them. Since my editor only allows file-wide changes, not selection-wide ones, I cut the part I want changed to the secondary file, modify it, and cut it back to the primary. This is an example of a frequent use.

[Zehra]

For what's worth, I do encounter cases where I have to (temporarily) remove a section of objects, though I simply use two separate text files to achieve that. Maybe multi-line comments might make that more elegant, though there are simple workarounds now already.

For most other games, this is a general feature which does not even need to be mentioned as it is already expected.
Multi-line comments should be supported, as it would be the proper way to do things.

I would probably still use the two text files at the end of the day, since they also help out with other, potentially more frequent issues.

In the end it comes down to personal preference, but all of us have found workarounds for the current lack of multi-line comments.

One of them is find and replace, where I was to mass-change the values of some objects, but not all of them. Since my editor only allows file-wide changes, not selection-wide ones, I cut the part I want changed to the secondary file, modify it, and cut it back to the primary. This is an example of a frequent use.

It is reasonable to expect a source code editor or even a text editor to have 'find and replace', the same as it is reasonable to ask for the bzw syntax to support multi-line comments.
The part of the editor not supporting section-wide changes is related to the editor and not bzw syntax.
Secondary files for editing is something even I've done, and while it can be an example of frequent usage, it does not mean efficient usage.

-Zehra

[blast]

For what's worth, I do encounter cases where I have to (temporarily) remove a section of objects, though I simply use two separate text files to achieve that. Maybe multi-line comments might make that more elegant, though there are simple workarounds now already.

For most other games, this is a general feature which does not even need to be mentioned as it is already expected.
Multi-line comments should be supported, as it would be the proper way to do things.

What other games have a plain-text map format and multi-line comments? We could see how they handle it. Looks like Quake 3 has a plain-text map format used by editors, but seems to only have single line comments.

[Zehra]

What other games have a plain-text map format and multi-line comments? We could see how they handle it. Looks like Quake 3 has a plain-text map format used by editors, but seems to only have single line comments.

My bad, I was mistaken on the subject.
My thoughts were that it may be a widespread feature [within games that support map file comments], but this does not appear to be the case.

-Zehra