Data Model
If you want to start contributing data to FrontierNav, it is worth knowing how the data is structured.
FrontierNav uses a graph data model for its data which consists of the following concepts. Depending on where and how they are used, they can use different names but still mean the same thing.
Entity Type (Table, Category, Relation, Schema)
Relationship Type (Inner Table, Nested Table)
Property (Column, Field, Attribute)
Entity (Row, Entry, Page, Tuple, Node, Vertex)
Relationship (Link, Reference, Edge)
Data (Cell, Value)
Entity Type
Entity Types define the structure of Entities using Properties. An Item is an Entity Type, whereas a Small Potion is an Entity.
Relationship Type
Relationship Types define a link between two Entity Types in one direction. So Enemies drop Items and Items are dropped by Enemies is one Relationship Type as they mean the same thing but are read in opposite directions.
The first Entity Type owns the Relationship Type, so it can point to as many other Entity Types as it wants. However, the linked Entity Types can only point to the first. So Enemies can drop Items and Weapons, but Weapons can't then be dropped by Treasure Chests. To do that, you will need another Relationship Type owned by Treasure Chests. This limitation was introduced to simplify the model a bit to avoid many-to-many spaghetti. This may change in the future as FrontierNav improves its tooling.
Property
Properties define the structure of an Entity's Data. For example, an Item has a price which is a number.
Properties can also define the structure of a Relationship's Data. For example, an Enemy drops an Item at a certain rate.
Property Types
The types of values Properties can define are currently limited to the following:
Text ("Hello", "A sentence", string)
Number (0, 1, 2, 3, number)
Boolean (yes/no, true/false, boolean)
Relationship (references a RelationshipType)
Tunnel (references a Relationship Property entrance and a corresponding Property exit)
Useful for re-using data from other Entity Types without having to repeat yourself.
Attachment (references a file like an image)
Entity
An Entity is something that exists in the game world. A Character, Item, Enemy, Mission are all Entity Types, whereas "The Hero", "Small Potion", "Defeat the Dragon" respectively are Entities.
Relationship
A Relationship links two Entities together. Both Entities will refer to the Relationship in their Data to link them together. For example, Black Dragons drop Dragon Scales.
Data
Data describes an Entity. Where Properties define the structure of Data, Data contains the values. For example, a Small Potion has a price of 200 gold.
Similarly, Data helps describe a Relationship: Black Dragons have an 80% chance to drop Dragon Scales.
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