I know it’s a pain to write a DST. The dev kit is probably horribly out of date by now, plus you never really know how your DST will work until you upload it live and play with a real character. I try to encourage people from the start to get their code live on the site as soon as possible, but it’s still no fun to write and edit HTML (or any code) in a textarea. But, all that could change thanks to a recent update.
The ideal app
What if you could edit your DST files in your favorite text editor and never have to copy and paste it into the textarea? I’m imagining a desktop app where you select your HTML, CSS, and Javascript files on your local machine. Then, as you edit your DST locally, you can click a single button and the app syncs it to the server. Then, have a browser window open to a test character and you just refresh it. No more copy/paste, no more need to play with textareas. Smooth as silk.
Halfway there
Unfortunately, the ideal app doesn’t exist, at least not yet. But, I’ve taken the first step and added DSTs to the API. All the puzzle pieces are in place to make this a reality. They just need to be put together.
Can you do it?
I’ve got the API updated, but that’s about as far as I can take it. It’s been ages since I’ve done a desktop app, and I wouldn’t even know where to get started. Plus, I’ve got more features and bug fixes to work on than I want to think about. I need someone to step up, grab the reigns, and take it from here.
If you’re interested, or have a better idea, please come join the forum discussion. I’m really excited about the potentials of the API, and I think this app (or a better one!) would be a perfect fit.
