RockPatch -> Ares Migration Assistance

[Renegade]

Good day,

for those of you who didn't follow the other topic, the suggestion to create a converter for those switching from RockPatch has come up.

Given that those who used a previous pd-inspired exe patch will likely be the first ones to adopt the next generation of them, I do think helping and supporting people switching from RP to Ares is an important step in establishing Ares as the new exe patch. (Whether it technically is an "exe patch" or not is a different topic.)

I created this thread (and will sticky it) to serve two purposes:

1. Help switchers directly. This thread shall serve as the central support thread for RP modders having problems switching, and, in the process, hopefully grow into a documentation that answers frequently asked questions about RP->Ares switching before a modder has to ask them.
   
2. Development of a converter. I volunteered to give writing a converter a first try, but I need help gathering the neccessary data: I need to know...
   • What RockPatch-versions are currently in use, and who of the people here uses which?
     
   • What features do you guys know for a fact exist in both RP and Ares, making a conversion possible?
     
   • What RP features do you guys know for a fact do not exist in Ares, making their conversion impossible?
     
   And I need RP INIs. I need real-life RockPatch-ified rulesmd.inis so I can test conversions on actual data. Examples of RP-code and the correct equivalent Ares-code, if you've done such a thing before, would also be greatly appreciated.
   

Obviously, once there is a converter, somebody will also have to actually try the conversion and see if it works as expected, but that's a thing for the future.

I'm also open to suggestions how the converter should look/work.
Currently, my idea is making it a wxWidgets application (got to be something cross-platform, 'cause I can't do native Windows development), having a load button to load RP rules, an execute button, a text field which shows the converted sections and other notes, and a "save to ini" button to save the complete converted ini. (I will make it preserve comments, 'cause I hate those tools that just wipe them out.) I don't know whether I'll actually parse the INI yet, or if I'll just do simple text operations, but that's ultimately an implementation detail, nothing more.

I *may* offer the option to generate a diff between converted and original file, if a diff util is present, but that's low priority.

So yes. Talk to me about the converter, shower me with your wisdom and code, and help those who want to join the next generation of YR modding.
(Administrative side note: This thread will, by design, attract newbies. You don't have to accept full-blown n00b behavior, as usual, but in general, be lenient and nice - while the n00bs are a lost cause, the newbs could grow into formidable modders - if we don't push them to the n00b havens.)

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Features known to work in both RP and Ares:

• Coming soon
  

RP-features known not to work in Ares:

• Coming soon
  

Post here if you need help switching from RockPatch to Ares!
Please include the exact version designation of the RockPatch you're using and all other information available, such as which RP features you're using, where and how exactly the problem occurs, and what you have attempted to fix it so far.