Online editor offline?
masterex

Is there a way to get a copy of the editor for offline use? I would be happy To run a server, I just have not found a copy. am i missing something?

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Gio

Hi masterex

While we do have plans to release the editor code to the public eventually (like we did with the core framework), this won't happen very soon - there are quite a few things on our roadmap before we get to that. Honestly we aren't quite ready for that yet.

For the time being the editor can only be used on clockworkchilli.com. This shouldn't affect you too much though, because:

  • your projects data is always stored locally on your computer, it is never sent to us (unless you use our cloud-based service to build an Android app, in which case it's stored on our server for 72 hours)
     
  • the only data that we collect is anonymous usage statistics: how many people use it and when (plus some geographical information, i.e. how many people from the US, Europe and all that). We don't know, cannot know and don't want to know what you do with the editor :)
     
  • we have a very good track record at keeping the service up and running - I think we had about 25 minutes downtime in 2016 overall
     

The main limitation is that you can't access the editor without an internet connection. To be clear, it works if you're offline, but to initially load the editor page you need to be connected to the internet.

Also the other limitation is that you can't mess around with the editor's source code directly. But you can override / extend its functionality by writing extensions for it, which hopefully should make up for it. Also if you notice a bug and let us know, we'll try to fix it in a short time.

masterex

First of all, Thank you for your response. The only problem is that I am currently going to school, What I care about is that even though I have the internet it is filtered, One of those sites that are filtered is yours. I don't really care about the internet when I am anywhere else but when at school. Is there any way that you could even package up the editor so it stays closed-ish source? This would be really helpful if there way an offline edition of this. I love the engine and I have not found another one like it with that good of an editor! If there is any way at all then that would be very helpful. 

 

Also, I did see that you don't need to have the internet once you load it, that is not exactly true, I have already tried this :( It does not work. The editor works until you need to preview a game, mainly because of the usage of iframes (I completely understand why you are using them). The only way that I see this could be fixed while still providing the editor on your website is to use the HTML5 application cache. I have no intention to use your source, just to use the editor offline. The app cache does not seem that hard to implement either!

Gio

Unfortunately application cache is now deprecated and will stop working soon.

We are not opposed to people looking at the editor source code, and in fact we are not being secretive about it - the code is easily accessible if you know where to look. It's just the logistics of distributing updates, having people running different versions and all that.

Having said that, we could send you a version to run locally, but we won't be able to keep it up to date or send you periodic updates - basically you'd be stuck with that version.

Since the next version (3.5) is due to be released soon (we hope this week but could end up being next week), I'd wait until that's ready. If you let me know which operating system you're on, I'll see if we can package it for that OS.

Also note that some things will never work while you're offline, e.g. building for Android.

With that in mind, I'd try looking into some proxy service to bypass the filtering, if thats an option, as it would allow you to stay up to date.

masterex

Thank you *again* for your prompt response!

First of all, Wow! I really need to catch up on my web standards. That just came to memory at the time of writing that entry. Now that you bring up the point of the logistics it does make a lot of sense. It would be pretty hard to keep everyone up to date. Wouldn't it make a lot of sense to just periodically release the editor source in a zip to something like, for example, GitHub? You could have it there for people like me, really wanting on offline zip. It does not seem to hard to do it that way, just zip it, upload it, and done! If people really want to run it offline then they will figure out how to do it themselves! That could help spread the code even more. 

Also, Thanks for offering to build it for me, I am experienced enough that if I need it to run like that I can do that myself, You seem like a really busy person, Especially contently answering questions on the forums (Just Like Mine!). I also have a quick question, What does the backend run on? Node.js or Prompt JS? (saw that on the downloads and thought,"Hmmmmmm, maybe they are using their own tech!"). 

Anyway, If you do seem to still look at this feed even though this is my 3rd post, Thanks in advance!

Gio

It isn't very simple, because while the editor is mostly made of static files, it is also connected to some of our services... for now it's mainly the Android build service, but it's going to be many more things soon.

The editor code is separate to these services, so any code that we release will only work offline as long as you don't use the online services. There are ways to make it work with our services even when it's hosted on another server, but there are a number of cross-domain issues to tackle. That's why a public release is a bit complicated. It will happen, just not very soon.

For now, when WADE 3.5 is out I can send you the editor files for your own use (i.e. don't redistribute them please).

Any way of hosting static files will work - node.js is ok, but also any apache / php solution is fine. We made the prompt.js tool to make it more convenient for people to quickly run a static node.js server on windows. So prompt.js is an option too, but in no way a requirement.

 

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