Merged master into brownan-chunkscan

This pulls in all the 1.9prep and textures.py updates into
brownan-chunkscan

CONTRIBUTORS.rst

@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ feature.
  * Ryan McCue <ryanmccue@cubegames.net>
  * Morlok8k <otis.spankmeyer@gmail.com>
  * Ryan Rector <rmrector@gmail.com>
+ * Jason Scheirer <jason.scheirer@gmail.com>
  * Gregory Short <gshort2@gmail.com>
  * Sam Steele <sam@sigbox.c99.org>
  * timwolla <timwolla@mail.develfusion.com>

docs/options.rst

@@ -24,6 +24,41 @@ files.
 Command line options
 ====================
 
+All Options:
+
+======================================== ==================================
+:option:`--advanced-help`                Print out help on all options
+:option:`--bg-color`                     Change the background of the map
+:option:`--changelist`                   Outputs a list of changed tiles
+:option:`--changelist-format`            Sets the format of the change list
+:option:`--check-terrain`                Output information on the textures
+:option:`--display-config`               Displays the configuration
+:option:`--forcerender`                  Forces every tile to render
+:option:`-h`, :option:`--help <-h>`      Prints help on the basic options
+:option:`--imgformat`                    Choose from png or jpg output
+:option:`--imgquality`                   Change jpg output quality
+:option:`--list-rendermodes`             List the installed rendermodes
+:option:`--no-signs`                     Do not place signs on the map
+:option:`--north-direction`              Choose which direction is north
+:option:`--optimize-img`                 Run pngcrush on outputted tiles
+:option:`-p`, :option:`--processes <-p>` Choose the number of worker processes
+:option:`-q`, :option:`--quiet <-q>`     Print less output
+:option:`--regionlist`                   Only render specified areas of a map
+:option:`--rendermodes`                  Choose which rendermode(s) to use
+:option:`--settings`                     Specify an external settings file
+:option:`--skip-js`                      Do not output generated javascript files
+:option:`--stochastic-render`            Re-render parts of the map randomly
+:option:`--textures-path`                Specify custom textures to use
+:option:`-v`, :option:`--verbose <-v>`   Print more output
+:option:`-V`, :option:`--version <-V>`   Print out the version
+:option:`--web-assets-path`              Specify alternate web assets
+:option:`-z`, :option:`--zoom <-z>`      Do not touch
+======================================== ==================================
+
+
+Help Options
+------------
+
 .. cmdoption:: -h, --help
 
     Shows the list of options and exits
@@ -280,6 +315,11 @@ Less Useful Options
     a certain date. Or perhaps you can incrementally update your map by passing
     in a subset of regions each time. It's up to you!
 
+    .. warning::
+
+        This option may currently be broken. Use at your own risk! Patches
+        welcome!
+
     **Settings file:**
         Option name: ``regionlist``
 
@@ -318,9 +358,11 @@ Less Useful Options
 
 .. cmdoption:: --textures-path <path>
 
-    Use this option to specify an alternate terrain.png to use for textures when
+    Use this option to specify an alternate terrain.png (and other
-    rendering a world. ``path`` specifies the **containing directory** of
+    textures) to when rendering a world. ``path`` specifies the
-    terrain.png.
+    **containing directory** of terrain.png. Alternately, ``path`` can
+    specify a zip file containing the textures, such as a texture
+    pack.
 
     The Overviewer will look for terrain.png in the following places in this
     order: path specified by this option, the program's directory, the

docs/running.rst

@@ -90,9 +90,13 @@ You have several options:
   file in the same directory as overviewer.py or overviewer.exe. For
   installations, you will need to specify the path... see the next bullet.
 
-* You can put a terrain.png file anywhere you want and point to its location
+* You can put a terrain.png file anywhere you want and point to its
-  with the :option:`--textures-path` option. This should point to the directory containing
+  location with the :option:`--textures-path` option. This should
-  the terrain.png, not to the file itself.
+  point to the directory containing the terrain.png, not to the file
+  itself.
+
+* Alternately, you can download any texture pack ZIP you like and
+  point to this directly with :option:`--textures-path`.
 
 Note: the :option:`--check-terrain` option is useful for debugging terrain.png issues.
 For example::

overviewer.py

@@ -547,6 +547,9 @@ if __name__ == "__main__":
     try:
         main()
     except Exception, e:
+        if e.message == "Exiting":
+            logging.info("Exiting...")
+            sys.exit(0)
         logging.exception("""An error has occurred. This may be a bug. Please let us know!
 See http://docs.overviewer.org/en/latest/index.html#help
 

overviewer_core/chunk.py

@@ -125,25 +125,6 @@ def get_tileentity_data(level):
     data = level['TileEntities']
     return data
 
-# This set holds blocks ids that can be seen through, for occlusion calculations
-transparent_blocks = set([ 0,  6,  8,  9, 18, 20, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33,
-                          34, 37, 38, 39, 40, 44, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55, 59, 63, 64,
-                          65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79,
-                          81, 83, 85, 90, 92, 93, 94, 96, 101, 102, 104, 105,
-                          106, 107, 108, 109])
-
-# This set holds block ids that are solid blocks
-solid_blocks = set([1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22,
-    23, 24, 25, 35, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 60, 
-    61, 62, 67, 73, 74, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 86, 87, 88, 89, 91])
-
-# This set holds block ids that are fluid blocks
-fluid_blocks = set([8,9,10,11])
-
-# This set holds block ids that are not candidates for spawning mobs on
-# (glass, slabs, stairs, fluids, ice, pistons, webs,TNT, wheat, cactus, iron bars, glass planes, fences, fence gate, cake, bed, repeaters, trapdoor)
-nospawn_blocks = set([20,26, 29, 30, 33, 34, 44, 46, 53, 59, 67, 79, 81, 85, 92, 93, 94, 96, 107, 109, 101, 102]).union(fluid_blocks)
-
 class ChunkCorrupt(Exception):
     pass
 
@@ -412,7 +393,7 @@ def generate_facemasks():
     left = Image.new("L", (24,24), 0)
     whole = Image.new("L", (24,24), 0)
     
-    toppart = textures.transform_image(white)
+    toppart = textures.transform_image_top(white)
     leftpart = textures.transform_image_side(white)
     
     # using the real PIL paste here (not alpha_over) because there is

overviewer_core/quadtree.py

@@ -337,7 +337,12 @@ class QuadtreeGen(object):
                 quad = Image.open(path[1]).resize((192,192), Image.ANTIALIAS)
                 img.paste(quad, path[0])
             except Exception, e:
-                logging.warning("Couldn't open %s. It may be corrupt, you may need to delete it. %s", path[1], e)
+                logging.warning("Couldn't open %s. It may be corrupt. Error was '%s'", path[1], e)
+                logging.warning("I'm going to try and delete it. You will need to run the render again")
+                try:
+                    os.unlink(path[1])
+                except Exception, e:
+                    logging.error("I couldn't delete it. You will need to delete it yourself. Error was '%s'", e)
 
         # Save it
         if self.imgformat == 'jpg':

overviewer_core/src/iterate.c

@@ -20,12 +20,22 @@
 static PyObject *textures = NULL;
 static PyObject *chunk_mod = NULL;
 static PyObject *blockmap = NULL;
-static PyObject *special_blocks = NULL;
+
-static PyObject *specialblockmap = NULL;
+unsigned int max_blockid = 0;
+unsigned int max_data = 0;
+unsigned char *block_properties = NULL;
+
+static PyObject *known_blocks = NULL;
 static PyObject *transparent_blocks = NULL;
+static PyObject *solid_blocks = NULL;
+static PyObject *fluid_blocks = NULL;
+static PyObject *nospawn_blocks = NULL;
 
 PyObject *init_chunk_render(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
    
+    PyObject *tmp = NULL;
+    unsigned int i;
+    
     /* this function only needs to be called once, anything more should be
      * ignored */
     if (blockmap) {
@@ -47,29 +57,54 @@ PyObject *init_chunk_render(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     blockmap = PyObject_GetAttrString(textures, "blockmap");
     if (!blockmap)
         return NULL;
-    special_blocks = PyObject_GetAttrString(textures, "special_blocks");
+    
-    if (!special_blocks)
+    tmp = PyObject_GetAttrString(textures, "max_blockid");
+    if (!tmp)
         return NULL;
-    specialblockmap = PyObject_GetAttrString(textures, "specialblockmap");
+    max_blockid = PyInt_AsLong(tmp);
-    if (!specialblockmap)
+    tmp = PyObject_GetAttrString(textures, "max_data");
+    if (!tmp)
         return NULL;
-    transparent_blocks = PyObject_GetAttrString(chunk_mod, "transparent_blocks");
+    max_data = PyInt_AsLong(tmp);
+    
+    /* assemble the property table */
+    known_blocks = PyObject_GetAttrString(textures, "known_blocks");
+    if (!known_blocks)
+        return NULL;
+    transparent_blocks = PyObject_GetAttrString(textures, "transparent_blocks");
     if (!transparent_blocks)
         return NULL;
+    solid_blocks = PyObject_GetAttrString(textures, "solid_blocks");
+    if (!solid_blocks)
+        return NULL;
+    fluid_blocks = PyObject_GetAttrString(textures, "fluid_blocks");
+    if (!fluid_blocks)
+        return NULL;
+    nospawn_blocks = PyObject_GetAttrString(textures, "nospawn_blocks");
+    if (!nospawn_blocks)
+        return NULL;
+    
+    block_properties = calloc(max_blockid, sizeof(unsigned char));
+    for (i = 0; i < max_blockid; i++) {
+        PyObject *block = PyInt_FromLong(i);
+        
+        if (PySequence_Contains(known_blocks, block))
+            block_properties[i] |= 1 << KNOWN;
+        if (PySequence_Contains(transparent_blocks, block))
+            block_properties[i] |= 1 << TRANSPARENT;
+        if (PySequence_Contains(solid_blocks, block))
+            block_properties[i] |= 1 << SOLID;
+        if (PySequence_Contains(fluid_blocks, block))
+            block_properties[i] |= 1 << FLUID;
+        if (PySequence_Contains(nospawn_blocks, block))
+            block_properties[i] |= 1 << NOSPAWN;
+        
+        Py_DECREF(block);
+    }
 
     Py_RETURN_NONE;
 }
 
-int
-is_transparent(unsigned char b) {
-    PyObject *block = PyInt_FromLong(b);
-    int ret = PySequence_Contains(transparent_blocks, block);
-    Py_DECREF(block);
-    return ret;
-
-}
-
-
 unsigned char
     check_adjacent_blocks(RenderState *state, int x,int y,int z, unsigned char blockid) {
         /*
@@ -284,14 +319,15 @@ generate_pseudo_data(RenderState *state, unsigned char ancilData) {
 
         return final_data;
 
-    /* portal, iron bars and glass panes
+    } else if ((state->block == 101) || (state->block == 102)) {
-     * Note: iron bars and glass panes "stick" to other blocks, but
+        /* iron bars and glass panes:
-     * at the moment of writing this is not clear which ones stick and
+         * they seem to stick to almost everything but air, but
-     * which others no, so for the moment stick only with himself.
+         * not sure yet! Still a TODO! */
-     * This is a TODO!
+        /* return check adjacent blocks with air, bit inverted */
-     */
+        return check_adjacent_blocks(state, x, y, z, 0) ^ 0x0f;
-    } else if ((state->block == 90) || (state->block == 101) ||
+
-               (state->block == 102)) {
+    } else if ((state->block == 90) || (state->block == 113)) {
+        /* portal and nether brick fences */
         return check_adjacent_blocks(state, x, y, z, state->block);
     }
 
@@ -372,7 +408,6 @@ chunk_render(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     
     for (state.x = 15; state.x > -1; state.x--) {
         for (state.y = 0; state.y < 16; state.y++) {
-            PyObject *blockid = NULL;
 
             /* set up the render coordinates */
             state.imgx = xoff + state.x*12 + state.y*12;
@@ -380,6 +415,8 @@ chunk_render(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             state.imgy = yoff - state.x*6 + state.y*6 + 128*12 + 15*6;
             
             for (state.z = 0; state.z < 128; state.z++) {
+                unsigned char ancilData;
+                
                 state.imgy -= 12;
 		
                 /* get blockid */
@@ -396,28 +433,14 @@ chunk_render(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
                     continue;
                 }
                 
-                
+                /* check for occlusion */
-                /* decref'd on replacement *and* at the end of the z for block */
-                if (blockid) {
-                    Py_DECREF(blockid);
-                }
-                blockid = PyInt_FromLong(state.block);
-
-                // check for occlusion
                 if (render_mode_occluded(rendermode, state.x, state.y, state.z)) {
                     continue;
                 }
                 
-                // everything stored here will be a borrowed ref
+                /* everything stored here will be a borrowed ref */
 
-                /* get the texture and mask from block type / ancil. data */
+                ancilData = getArrayByte3D(state.blockdata_expanded, state.x, state.y, state.z);
-                if (!PySequence_Contains(special_blocks, blockid)) {
-                    /* t = textures.blockmap[blockid] */
-                    t = PyList_GetItem(blockmap, state.block);
-                } else {
-                    PyObject *tmp;
-                    
-                    unsigned char ancilData = getArrayByte3D(state.blockdata_expanded, state.x, state.y, state.z);
                 state.block_data = ancilData;
                 /* block that need pseudo ancildata:
                  * grass, water, glass, chest, restone wire,
@@ -426,23 +449,20 @@ chunk_render(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
                     (state.block == 20) || (state.block == 54) || 
                     (state.block == 55) || (state.block == 79) ||
                     (state.block == 85) || (state.block == 90) ||
-                        (state.block == 101) || (state.block == 102)) {
+                    (state.block == 101) || (state.block == 102) ||
+                    (state.block == 113)) {
                     ancilData = generate_pseudo_data(&state, ancilData);
                     state.block_pdata = ancilData;
                 } else {
                     state.block_pdata = 0;
                 }
                 
-                    tmp = PyTuple_New(2);
+                /* make sure our block info is in-bounds */
+                if (state.block >= max_blockid || ancilData >= max_data)
+                    continue;
                 
-                    Py_INCREF(blockid); /* because SetItem steals */
+                /* get the texture */
-                    PyTuple_SetItem(tmp, 0, blockid);
+                t = PyList_GET_ITEM(blockmap, max_data * state.block + ancilData);
-                    PyTuple_SetItem(tmp, 1, PyInt_FromLong(ancilData));
-                    
-                    /* this is a borrowed reference. no need to decref */
-                    t = PyDict_GetItem(specialblockmap, tmp);
-                    Py_DECREF(tmp);
-                }
                 
                 /* if we found a proper texture, render it! */
                 if (t != NULL && t != Py_None)
@@ -450,8 +470,8 @@ chunk_render(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
                     PyObject *src, *mask, *mask_light;
                     int randx = 0, randy = 0;
                     src = PyTuple_GetItem(t, 0);
-                    mask = PyTuple_GetItem(t, 1);
+                    mask = PyTuple_GetItem(t, 0);
-                    mask_light = PyTuple_GetItem(t, 2);
+                    mask_light = PyTuple_GetItem(t, 1);
 
                     if (mask == Py_None)
                         mask = src;
@@ -473,11 +493,6 @@ chunk_render(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
                     }
                 }               
             }
-            
-            if (blockid) {
-                Py_DECREF(blockid);
-                blockid = NULL;
-            }
         }
     }
 

overviewer_core/src/overviewer.h

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 
 // increment this value if you've made a change to the c extesion
 // and want to force users to rebuild
-#define OVERVIEWER_EXTENSION_VERSION 12
+#define OVERVIEWER_EXTENSION_VERSION 13
 
 /* Python PIL, and numpy headers */
 #include <Python.h>
@@ -94,8 +94,32 @@ typedef struct {
     PyObject *right_blocks;
 } RenderState;
 PyObject *init_chunk_render(PyObject *self, PyObject *args);
-int is_transparent(unsigned char b);
 PyObject *chunk_render(PyObject *self, PyObject *args);
+typedef enum
+{
+    KNOWN,
+    TRANSPARENT,
+    SOLID,
+    FLUID,
+    NOSPAWN,
+} BlockProperty;
+/* globals set in init_chunk_render, here because they're used
+   in block_has_property */
+extern unsigned int max_blockid;
+extern unsigned int max_data;
+extern unsigned char *block_properties;
+static inline int
+block_has_property(unsigned char b, BlockProperty prop) {
+    if (b >= max_blockid || !(block_properties[b] & (1 << KNOWN))) {
+        /* block is unknown, return defaults */
+        if (prop == TRANSPARENT)
+            return 1;
+        return 0;
+    }
+    
+    return block_properties[b] & (1 << prop);
+}
+#define is_transparent(b) block_has_property((b), TRANSPARENT)
 
 /* pull in the rendermode info */
 #include "rendermodes.h"

overviewer_core/src/rendermode-normal.c

@@ -173,7 +173,9 @@ rendermode_normal_draw(void *data, RenderState *state, PyObject *src, PyObject *
          * get constant brown color (see textures.py) */
         (((state->block == 104) || (state->block == 105)) && (state->block_data != 7)) ||
         /* vines */
-        state->block == 106)
+        state->block == 106 ||
+        /* lily pads */
+        state->block == 111)
     {
         /* do the biome stuff! */
         PyObject *facemask = mask;
@@ -240,6 +242,10 @@ rendermode_normal_draw(void *data, RenderState *state, PyObject *src, PyObject *
                 /* vines */
                 color = PySequence_GetItem(self->grasscolor, index);
                 break;
+            case 111:
+                /* lily padas */
+                color = PySequence_GetItem(self->grasscolor, index);
+                break;
             default:
                 break;
             };
@@ -270,7 +276,8 @@ rendermode_normal_draw(void *data, RenderState *state, PyObject *src, PyObject *
                 facemask = NULL;
             }
             
-            if (state->block == 18 || state->block == 106) /* leaves and vines */
+            if (state->block == 18 || state->block == 106 || state->block == 111)
+                /* leaves, vines and lyli pads */
             {
                 r = 37;
                 g = 118;

overviewer_core/src/rendermode-overlay.c

@@ -37,10 +37,6 @@ rendermode_overlay_start(void *data, RenderState *state, PyObject *options) {
     Py_DECREF(facemasks_py);
     
     self->white_color = PyObject_GetAttrString(state->chunk, "white_color");
-    
-    self->solid_blocks = PyObject_GetAttrString(state->chunk, "solid_blocks");
-    self->fluid_blocks = PyObject_GetAttrString(state->chunk, "fluid_blocks");
-    
     self->get_color = get_color;
     
     return 0;
@@ -52,8 +48,6 @@ rendermode_overlay_finish(void *data, RenderState *state) {
     
     Py_DECREF(self->facemask_top);
     Py_DECREF(self->white_color);
-    Py_DECREF(self->solid_blocks);
-    Py_DECREF(self->fluid_blocks);
 }
 
 static int
@@ -81,7 +75,6 @@ static void
 rendermode_overlay_draw(void *data, RenderState *state, PyObject *src, PyObject *mask, PyObject *mask_light) {
     RenderModeOverlay *self = (RenderModeOverlay *)data;
     unsigned char r, g, b, a;
-    PyObject *top_block_py, *block_py;
 
     // exactly analogous to edge-line code for these special blocks
     int increment=0;
@@ -101,27 +94,19 @@ rendermode_overlay_draw(void *data, RenderState *state, PyObject *src, PyObject
         }
         
         /* check to be sure this block is solid/fluid */
-        top_block_py = PyInt_FromLong(top_block);
+        if (block_has_property(top_block, SOLID) || block_has_property(top_block, FLUID)) {
-        if (PySequence_Contains(self->solid_blocks, top_block_py) ||
-            PySequence_Contains(self->fluid_blocks, top_block_py)) {
             
             /* top block is fluid or solid, skip drawing */
-            Py_DECREF(top_block_py);
             return;
         }
-        Py_DECREF(top_block_py);
     }
     
     /* check to be sure this block is solid/fluid */
-    block_py = PyInt_FromLong(state->block);
+    if (!block_has_property(state->block, SOLID) && !block_has_property(state->block, FLUID)) {
-    if (!PySequence_Contains(self->solid_blocks, block_py) &&
-        !PySequence_Contains(self->fluid_blocks, block_py)) {
         
         /* not fluid or solid, skip drawing the overlay */
-        Py_DECREF(block_py);
         return;
     }
-    Py_DECREF(block_py);
 
     /* get our color info */
     self->get_color(data, state, &r, &g, &b, &a);

overviewer_core/src/rendermode-spawn.c

@@ -35,13 +35,10 @@ static void get_color(void *data, RenderState *state,
     /* default to no overlay, until told otherwise */
     *a = 0;
     
-    block_py = PyInt_FromLong(state->block);
+    if (block_has_property(state->block, NOSPAWN)) {
-    if (PySequence_Contains(self->nospawn_blocks, block_py)) {
         /* nothing can spawn on this */
-        Py_DECREF(block_py);
         return;
     }
-    Py_DECREF(block_py);
     
     blocklight = getArrayByte3D(self->blocklight, x, y, MIN(127, z_light));
     
@@ -72,7 +69,6 @@ rendermode_spawn_start(void *data, RenderState *state, PyObject *options) {
     
     /* now do custom initializations */
     self = (RenderModeSpawn *)data;
-    self->nospawn_blocks = PyObject_GetAttrString(state->chunk, "nospawn_blocks");
     self->blocklight = PyObject_GetAttrString(state->self, "blocklight");
     self->skylight = PyObject_GetAttrString(state->self, "skylight");
     
@@ -87,7 +83,6 @@ rendermode_spawn_finish(void *data, RenderState *state) {
     /* first free all *our* stuff */
     RenderModeSpawn* self = (RenderModeSpawn *)data;
     
-    Py_DECREF(self->nospawn_blocks);
     Py_DECREF(self->blocklight);
     Py_DECREF(self->skylight);
     

overviewer_core/src/rendermodes.h

@@ -143,8 +143,6 @@ extern RenderModeInterface rendermode_normal;
 typedef struct {
     /* top facemask and white color image, for drawing overlays */
     PyObject *facemask_top, *white_color;
-    /* only show overlay on top of solid or fluid blocks */
-    PyObject *solid_blocks, *fluid_blocks;
     /* can be overridden in derived classes to control
        overlay alpha and color
        last four vars are r, g, b, a out */
@@ -206,8 +204,6 @@ typedef struct {
     /* inherits from overlay */
     RenderModeOverlay parent;
     
-    /* used to figure out which blocks are spawnable */
-    PyObject *nospawn_blocks;
     PyObject *skylight, *blocklight;
 } RenderModeSpawn;
 extern RenderModeInterface rendermode_spawn;

overviewer_core/util.py

@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@ class DumbFormatter(HighlightingFormatter):
             line = "*" * min(79,len(line)) + "\n" + line
             return line
         else:
-            return super(DumbFormatter, self).highlight(record)
+            return HighlightingFormatter.highlight(self, record)
 
 
 class ANSIColorFormatter(HighlightingFormatter):

sample.settings.py

@@ -1,10 +1,17 @@
 ################################################################################
-# Please see the README or https://github.com/overviewer/Minecraft-Overviewer/wiki/DTT-Upgrade-Guide
+# This is a SAMPLE settings file.
-# for more details.
 
-# This file is not meant to be used directly, but instead it is supposed to
+# THIS FILE IS NOT MEANT TO BE USED DIRECTLY, BUT INSTEAD IT IS SUPPOSED TO
-# provide examples of interesting things you can do with the settings file. Most
+# PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF INTERESTING THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH THE SETTINGS FILE.
-# of the time, a simple 'setting_name = value' will work.
+
+# THIS IS NOT A BASE FOR YOUR OWN SETTINGS FILE. CREATE A BLANK SETTINGS FILE
+# AND PUT YOUR OPTIONS AND CUSOMIZATIONS IN THERE.
+
+# See http://docs.overviewer.org/en/latest/options/#command-line-options
+# for options you can set
+
+# See http://docs.overviewer.org/en/latest/options/#settings-file
+# for more info about settings files.
 
 # This file is a python script, so you can import any python module you wish or
 # use any built-in python function, though this is not normally necessary
@@ -169,4 +176,9 @@ north_direction = "upper-right"
 ### a guide. Be sure to read what each option does before you set it.
 ### See the README for more details.
 import sys
-sys.exit("This sample-settings file shouldn't be used directly!")
+sys.exit("""
+The sample-settings file shouldn't be used! It contains lots of things you
+don't want, and is just a set of examples to give you ideas of what's possible.
+You must instead create a blank file and put your options and customizations in
+there.
+""")