Bukkit

Frequently Asked Questions

This section provides information about Frequently asked questions about DispNameChanger (DNC).

Q: What is this Spout/SpoutCraft I keep hearing about?

A: Spout and it's client, SpoutCraft, are a server/client plugin system that allow advanced features not normally allowed by the client and server. An example of this is Adding capes to the game, custom blocks, items, sounds, and monsters. DNC uses Spout to enable changing the name above a players head. Bukkit doesn't support this natively so Spout is required. I could use Packet Editing so it would work in vanilla Minecraft, but I do not have the experience to do something like that. Plus, Spout and it's client adds some really neat features! Remember, to see the changes you will need the client.

Learn more about Spout here.

Q: Will DNC change the name above the player's head?

A: Yes, with Spout enabled it will. Otherwise no. For more information, see previous question.

Q: Will you support feature X?

A: Post a suggestion in the ticket system. If I believe it is worth coding into the plugin then I will.

Please note that adding functionality beyond what DNC does (Like changing a player's skin) Is beyond the scope of this plugin; ergo will be declined. DNC is, and will always be, a simple plugin to change a user's name. Nothing more, nothing less.

Q: The plugin Jar isn't in the Zip that I downloaded!

A: That's because those are the source files. CurseForge which the platform for Bukkit Dev is built upon wasn't made for Binary Files (Like jars and exes). Because of that, Developers like myself have to upload the compiled jar separately. Due to the CVS (Concurrent Versions System) that I use (SVN or Source Version Numbering) that comes with the projects, whenever I Tag (Mark the current set of code) for Release Builds, CurseForge zips the files together for download. As such versions of the SourceCode are easy to get a hold of. The negative is that more often than not, when I upload the jar that contains the compiled plugin, the download is for the Zip instead. This is because the moderators on Bukkit Dev have to approve my Jar before it is allowed for download.

tl;dr: Go to the files section and download the uploaded jar from there instead.

Q: Will DispNameChanger work with <insert your favorite chat manager here>?

A: Unfortunately, the answer to that is a little more complex than it should be. All I can say is try it and see. Plugins like Essentials have their own Display Name Changer built into the plugin itself. This is because of the way Essentials and the like handle chat.

DNC handles display names by using Bukkit's own system. I change the display name on the player and let Bukkit read the display name from there. The bonus of this method means that I don't have to write any special code to handle chat itself. It also means that even if you were to install DNC, there wouldn't be any conflicts with other Chat Managers when it comes to printing user messages. The negative of this means that those Chat Managers have to monitor the display name to ensure they are displaying the correct name, instead of using the player name.

If you find that a display name isn't being displayed in your chat messages even though there are no errors from DNC, Please contact that plugin's Author and ask them to add in a setting to use the display name instead. Otherwise there isn't much I can do.

Q: Will DispNameChanger work with <insert favorite nick color manager here>?

A: Short answer? Yes, it should. Long answer? Maybe.

It depends entirely on how the Chat Color Manager works. 90% of the use cases mean that the DisplayName should display with the proper color. However I can not guarantee this as there are many ways to color display names. Some of them include altering the DisplayName itself, while others add color formatting and printing the message themselves.

If there is a conflict with a ChatManager where colors don't work feel free to file a ticket and I'll see about getting it fixed.

Q: Can you make it so that DNC works with Mob Disguise for feature X?

A: Short answer: NO. NEVER! Long answer: Maybe.

Mob Disguise is closed source. It also happens to do some funky things with Packet editing so that it will work on Non-SpoutCraft clients. How do I know this? Because Bukkit does not support changing, much less removing, the name over a players head natively. This means that to achieve the affect that MD does, they have to edit packets to the client. I'm no networking specialist and messing around with client packets can break the game. I don't want to do that. If MD would like to provide an API or would like me to Provide an API for doing so, we can happily solve this problem and possibly integrate the feature you want. Until then, you are SOL.

Q: Can you make it so when I type /command <user> <target> that it will work?

A: Yes. In fact this is one of the future features of this plugin. However, I have yet to actually start writing that feature in yet. It involves intercepting all command calls, and replacing any display name found with the user's real name, and then re-executing that command. I'm hoping that bukkit will add in this feature themselves for the bukkit commands themselves so I can ignore them.

Q: I want to fork DNC, Is that possible? How would I do it?

A: For whatever reason, a user may want to Fork DNC because they don't like something I'm doing in it or feel they can do it better. That is perfectly fine with me as long as they accredit the same rights I have given to everyone else, and credit the work already done in the plugin to myself and the other Authors of the plugin. You can fork the plugin by visiting the GitHub page referenced under the repository section of the plugin. There you can fork to your hearts content.

Q: Forking isn't exactly what I meant. I just want to help add a feature?

A: The project is now hosted on GitHub. You can now easily create a fork of the project on GitHub.com, and then make a pull request to the main repository. I will review the changes and if I am satisifed with them, I will pull them into the main repo.

If you would like to co-author changes into the plugin by joining the project I would be more than willing to allow someone to do that. Adding features to the project is on the top of my list, but it none-the-less competes with other things I have to do in my life. A little help can go a long way. Just contact me via PM and I will see about setting you up as an Author on the plugin. We will discuss access rights, and what I expect of someone who is to be doing work on the plugin.

Q: My question isn't answered here! Where do I ask it?

A: The preffered method would be to either ask it on the main page in the comments section, or secondarily on the forum. However, if it's a bug report, feature requestion, or general issue with the plugin itself, then please consider filing a ticket and changing your subscriptions to the plugin here. While I would like to support everyone in the Comments section, it just isn't feasible.