When trying to create a new ESM to use in OpenMW (or Morrowind, really), without knowing which assets you'll need to have ahead of time, it can be a real pain to do so. This is because the game can crash without giving you a reason as to what you're missing or what you screwed up.
My suggestion is four-fold:
1) In the Editor's help file (or OMW Wiki) provide a list of required resources and settings needed to make an ESM or OMWBase file be correctly loaded into OMW without crashing the program.
2) Provide an automated wizard to go step by step in locating and consolidating resources (such as GUI textures and required models) to the correct location on disk, and to ask the user for input regarding the value of the required settings (such as the time related settings, and other various settings). This will quickly provide the user with a OMWBase file that can be the beginning of a new game based on the OMW Engine without the need for constant checking to see if the file works in the engine or not.
3) Extend this automated wizard to ask the user for input regarding settings that are not necessary to prevent the game from crashing, but would still be useful for the user to enter, such as the words to use for Global Settings related to menu buttons or calendar names, etc.
4) Provide default settings for step 3 so the user doesn't necessarily need to enter everything by hand, and can just click through step 3 if he wants, since its contents are not really critical. Give the user the ability to change these defaults in the Editor settings or in a settings file.
EDITOR: OMWBase Creation Wizard
Re: EDITOR: OMWBase Creation Wizard
Unnecessary. We already have a tool for verifying the correctness of an ESX file (or at least the beginning of such a tool). All the user has to do is click on a menu item and a few moments (or few hours, depending on his hardware) he will have a neat list showing exactly what is missing where.
A new ESM will have a reasonable setup regarding things like GMST and globals out of the box. For other things like models, where there is no reasonable neutral default, we can add a function that allows filling in stuff based on what Morrowind.esm is doing.
A new ESM will have a reasonable setup regarding things like GMST and globals out of the box. For other things like models, where there is no reasonable neutral default, we can add a function that allows filling in stuff based on what Morrowind.esm is doing.
Re: EDITOR: OMWBase Creation Wizard
Well, I'm glad to hear it! That'll make things a lot easier. However, I asked for #2 and #3 knowing that they were unnecessary. Your approach will work, but it would be a lot easier to do some of it with a Wizard. Maybe someone will want to make one on a whim in a few years? 
(wishful thinking?)
(wishful thinking?)Re: EDITOR: OMWBase Creation Wizard
I do not think such a wizard would be useful. For required resources (models/textures) there is nothing else but choosing the resources used by MW, that an automated tool like a wizard could do. There is no way to identify alternate resources for the same purpose algorithmically.
Regarding settings, you are aware that there are about 100 of them? And that is only for 1.0. I expect a massive growth even in 1.1. Having that in a wizard? Terminal UI bloat?
Regarding settings, you are aware that there are about 100 of them? And that is only for 1.0. I expect a massive growth even in 1.1. Having that in a wizard? Terminal UI bloat?
Re: EDITOR: OMWBase Creation Wizard
I didn't intend to have the tool choose each of the possible settings in the engine. The most important ones would be those that need to be set in order to prevent the game from crashing. Also, I didn't mean the tool would find resources algorithmically; the user would still have to set each one manually, but from within the Wizard's prompts. The benefit is that it would present him immediately with settings and resources that would be useful to have out of the way at the beginning (things required to prevent crashes PLUS things like menu graphics, which would be annoying not to have when play-testing).
Like I said, though, don't worry about it. What you already have sounds like enough. I only intended the wizard idea to be a supplement or aid for the novice modder.
Like I said, though, don't worry about it. What you already have sounds like enough. I only intended the wizard idea to be a supplement or aid for the novice modder.
Re: EDITOR: OMWBase Creation Wizard
No problem. Was worth discussing it. At least we have the wizard out of the way.
But just for completeness sake:
But just for completeness sake:
That is also something that the verification tool should do.The benefit is that it would present him immediately with settings and resources that would be useful to have out of the way at the beginning (things required to prevent crashes PLUS things like menu graphics, which would be annoying not to have when play-testing).