Upload Labs - Suggestions

🔴 Major Pain Points

1. Expose Window/Node Metadata in Data.windows

Problem: To build the wire-drop node picker, we had to load and instantiate every window scene to discover what connectors it has.

Current workaround: Load scene → instantiate → scan for ResourceContainers → get connector info → free instance

Suggestion: Pre-compute metadata in Data.windows:

Data.windows["compiler"] = {
    "scene": "window_compiler",
    "category": "processing",
    "inputs": [{"shape": "square", "color": "lime", "resource": "code"}],
    "outputs": [{"shape": "circle", "color": "orange", "resource": "file"}],
    "max_count": -1,  # -1 = unlimited
}

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2. Add Connection Lifecycle Signals

Problem: Had to infer when wire was dropped on empty canvas from Signals.connection_droppped and check if connection was actually made.

Suggestion: Add explicit signals:

signal connection_drag_started(origin_id: String, connection_type: int)
signal connection_cancelled(origin_id: String, connection_type: int, position: Vector2)  # Wire dropped on empty canvas
signal connection_preview(origin_id: String, target_id: String)  # Hovering over valid target

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3. Expose ResourceContainer Connector Type

Problem: Had to search for child nodes named “InputConnector”/“OutputConnector” to determine if a pin is input or output.

Suggestion: Add direct properties to ResourceContainer:

@export var connector_type: int  # Utils.connections_types.INPUT or OUTPUT or BOTH
func is_input() -> bool
func is_output() -> bool
func has_connection() -> bool

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4. Window Spawn Helper API

Problem: Spawning windows requires: load scene → instantiate → set position → emit signal → await initialization → check validity.

Suggestion: Add utility function:

# In Utils or Globals
static func spawn_window(window_id: String, position: Vector2, auto_connect_to: String = "") -> WindowContainer

# Usage
var new_node = Utils.spawn_window("compiler", drop_position)

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🟡 Would Significantly Help

5. Desktop Selection API

Problem: Accessed internals like Globals.desktop.selected directly, had to call internal methods.

Suggestion: Clean public API on Desktop:

func select_all() -> void
func select_by_category(category: String) -> void
func clear_selection() -> void
func get_selection() -> Array[WindowContainer]
func center_view_on_selection() -> void
func delete_selection() -> void

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6. Camera/Viewport Access

Problem: Screenshot feature needed to access and manipulate camera for proper rendering.

Suggestion: Expose camera controls:

Globals.desktop.get_camera() -> Camera2D
Globals.desktop.get_viewport_rect() -> Rect2
Globals.desktop.capture_viewport(quality: int = 1) -> Image

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7. Settings Change Signal

Problem: Had to create custom callback chains for settings like opacity, glow.

Suggestion: Centralized settings event:

signal setting_changed(key: String, old_value: Variant, new_value: Variant)

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8. Node Count/Limit API

Problem: Had to dig into Globals.max_window_count and Utils.MAX_WINDOW to understand limits.

Suggestion: Clean API:

func get_node_count() -> int
func get_node_limit() -> int
func set_node_limit(limit: int) -> void
func can_add_node(window_id: String = "") -> bool

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🟢 Nice to Have

9. Window Container Lifecycle Signals

signal initialized()     # After fully ready with ResourceContainers registered
signal closing()         # Already exists ✓
signal selected()
signal deselected()
signal moved(old_pos: Vector2, new_pos: Vector2)

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10. Modding Hook Points

Add virtual methods for modding extension points:

func _mod_pre_delete_window(window: WindowContainer) -> bool  # Return false to cancel
func _mod_post_create_connection(output_id: String, input_id: String)
func _mod_pre_save() -> Dictionary  # Return extra data to save
func _mod_post_load(data: Dictionary)

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11. UI Layer Access

Problem: Had to navigate scene tree to find HUD → Overlay for placing mod UI.

Suggestion: Named access:

Globals.get_ui_layer() -> CanvasLayer  # For overlays like command palette
Globals.get_hud() -> Control  # For HUD buttons

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12. Resource/Currency API

Problem: Currency modification required understanding internal mechanics.

Suggestion:

func get_currency(type: String) -> float  # "money", "research", "token"
func add_currency(type: String, amount: float)
func set_currency(type: String, amount: float)

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🐛 Minor Issues

13. Typo Fix

Signals.connection_droppped has triple ‘p’ - consider fixing for consistency.

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Summary Table

Suggestion	Effort	Impact	Feature Affected
Window metadata	Medium	High	Wire-drop menu, Command palette
Connection signals	Low	High	Wire-drop menu
Connector type expose	Low	High	Wire-drop menu
Spawn helper	Medium	High	Wire-drop menu
Selection API	Low	Medium	Command palette
Camera access	Low	Medium	Screenshot
Settings signal	Low	Medium	All settings
Node count API	Low	Medium	Node limit feature
Lifecycle signals	Low	Low	General modding
Hook points	Medium	Medium	General modding
UI layer access	Low	Low	Settings UI, Palette
Currency API	Low	Low	Cheats tab

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The main challenge is that many internals aren’t designed for external access, requiring mods to reach into private state.