Mii Editor Blog

I took a break from doing visual improvements on character rendering and have turned focus instead to the XML. The idea behind the XML was to create a human-readable version of the Mii format which could be edited in simple text editors and uploaded back in the Mii Editor interface. I also wanted the XML to function as a file format that could support multiple Mii definitions.

The current format for the XML now supports that - more than one Mii can be placed in a single XML file. This, however, has not yet been implemented into the Mii Editor beta. So far all I have is an example (with a DTD and XSL for styling):

• example.xml

Right-click and download to see the XML, or simply click it to open it in your browser with the XSL applied (you can also view source from that to see the XML).

The XSL transformation includes a run-down of Mii character properties, a preview using the "view" Flash movie, and a link back the editor to edit it directly. Unfortunately, due to IE's active content issues, all previews will appear black until you click on them... why black, I don't know. The imagery should technically still show. Clicking should only be required for interactivity... but this is IE we're talking about so who knows (not me at least, not yet, but I will look into it).

I guess it should be noted that the preview is generated by a hex string coded into the XML by the editor (the same one used in URLs). If other properties in the XML are changed, the preview will not reflect those changes unless that hex string is updated as well.

... oh yeah, the format is not 100% complete either. I still want to transform type values to match their location in the interface. For instance the first type on the first page of the hair tab in the Wii has a value other than 0 - its like 16 or something. I want to make the XML values match what is more naturally assumed - the first being 0, the second 1, etc.

Update: I narrowed the black preview in IE to be a result of using 100% to size the SWF object. I just hardcoded in the size now and it seems to work fine.

Labels: links, upcoming, update, website, xml