00-Argonath-Wiki

Migration Guide Overview

Introduction

This comprehensive guide will help you migrate to Argonath Systems, whether you’re coming from a legacy quest system, another framework, or upgrading from an earlier version of Argonath Systems itself.

Argonath Systems is a modular quest and gameplay framework for Hytale that provides a robust, scalable architecture for creating complex quest systems, NPC interactions, and game mechanics.

Table of Contents

  1. Why Migrate to Argonath Systems
  2. Migration Strategies
  3. Migration Planning and Assessment
  4. Common Migration Scenarios
  5. Migration Timeline and Phases
  6. Risk Mitigation
  7. Getting Started

Why Migrate to Argonath Systems

Benefits of Argonath Systems

Modular Architecture

Scalability

Developer Experience

Feature Richness

Maintainability

When to Migrate

You Should Migrate If:

  1. Legacy System Limitations
    • Current system doesn’t support complex quest structures
    • Performance issues with large numbers of quests or players
    • Difficult to maintain or extend functionality
    • Lack of documentation or community support
  2. Feature Requirements
    • Need advanced condition systems
    • Require dynamic NPC behavior
    • Want sophisticated UI customization
    • Need multi-language support
  3. Development Efficiency
    • Spending too much time on boilerplate code
    • Difficulty onboarding new developers
    • Testing is manual and time-consuming
    • Integration with other systems is complex
  4. Player Experience
    • Players report bugs or inconsistencies
    • Quest progression issues
    • Poor performance during peak usage
    • Limited customization options

Consider Waiting If:

  1. Stable Production System
    • Current system meets all requirements
    • No significant pain points
    • Migration would disrupt active player base
    • Limited development resources
  2. Near Future Commitments
    • Major release or event planned
    • Limited testing time available
    • Team capacity is constrained
    • Budget restrictions

Migration Strategies

Choose the strategy that best fits your project’s constraints, team size, and risk tolerance.

1. Big Bang Migration

Overview: Complete migration in a single release cycle.

Characteristics:

When to Use:

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

Process:

Phase 1: Preparation (2-4 weeks)
├── Environment setup
├── Team training
├── Migration tool configuration
└── Backup procedures

Phase 2: Migration (1-2 weeks)
├── Convert all content
├── Data migration
├── Integration testing
└── Performance validation

Phase 3: Cutover (1-3 days)
├── Final backup
├── Deploy new system
├── Smoke testing
└── Monitor

Phase 4: Stabilization (1-2 weeks)
├── Bug fixes
├── Performance tuning
└── User support

Example Timeline:

Week 1-2:  Setup and training
Week 3-4:  Development environment migration
Week 5-6:  Content conversion and testing
Week 7:    Staging deployment and validation
Week 8:    Production cutover
Week 9-10: Stabilization and optimization

2. Incremental Migration

Overview: Migrate systems gradually over multiple releases.

Characteristics:

When to Use:

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

Process:

Phase 1: Foundation (3-4 weeks)
├── Core platform migration
├── Storage framework
├── Configuration system
└── Minimal functionality

Phase 2: Feature Set 1 (2-3 weeks)
├── NPC framework
├── Basic quests
├── Simple objectives
└── Testing

Phase 3: Feature Set 2 (2-3 weeks)
├── Advanced quests
├── Condition system
├── UI components
└── Testing

Phase 4: Feature Set 3 (2-3 weeks)
├── Remaining quests
├── Custom content
├── Integrations
└── Final testing

Phase 5: Completion (1-2 weeks)
├── Legacy system removal
├── Cleanup
└── Documentation

Migration Order:

  1. Infrastructure Layer
    • Platform Core
    • Storage Framework
    • Configuration System
  2. Core Features
    • Framework Core
    • Framework Accessor
    • Text Styling
  3. Gameplay Systems
    • NPC Framework
    • Objective System
    • Condition System
  4. Advanced Features
    • Quest Framework
    • UI Framework
    • Custom Mods

3. Parallel Migration

Overview: Run both systems simultaneously during transition.

Characteristics:

When to Use:

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

Process:

Phase 1: Setup (4-6 weeks)
├── Deploy Argonath alongside legacy
├── Configure data synchronization
├── Create comparison framework
└── Beta user group

Phase 2: Parallel Operation (8-12 weeks)
├── Synchronize data bidirectionally
├── Monitor both systems
├── Gradual user migration
├── Performance comparison
└── Issue resolution

Phase 3: Validation (4-6 weeks)
├── Compare quest completions
├── Validate data integrity
├── Performance analysis
└── User feedback

Phase 4: Cutover (2-4 weeks)
├── Final user migration
├── Disable legacy system
├── Remove synchronization
└── Cleanup

Phase 5: Decommission (1-2 weeks)
├── Archive legacy data
├── Remove legacy code
└── Documentation

Synchronization Strategy:

public class DualSystemCoordinator {
    private final LegacyQuestSystem legacy;
    private final ArgonathQuestSystem argonath;
    
    public void synchronizeQuest(UUID playerId, String questId) {
        // Read from both systems
        LegacyQuestProgress legacyProgress = legacy.getProgress(playerId, questId);
        ArgonathQuestProgress argonathProgress = argonath.getProgress(playerId, questId);
        
        // Determine source of truth (most recent update)
        if (legacyProgress.getLastUpdate().isAfter(argonathProgress.getLastUpdate())) {
            // Sync legacy -> Argonath
            argonath.updateProgress(playerId, convertProgress(legacyProgress));
        } else if (argonathProgress.getLastUpdate().isAfter(legacyProgress.getLastUpdate())) {
            // Sync Argonath -> legacy
            legacy.updateProgress(playerId, convertProgressToLegacy(argonathProgress));
        }
    }
}

4. Strangler Fig Pattern

Overview: Gradually replace legacy functionality with new system.

Characteristics:

When to Use:

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

Implementation:

public class QuestSystemFacade implements QuestSystem {
    private final LegacyQuestSystem legacy;
    private final ArgonathQuestSystem argonath;
    private final MigrationRouter router;
    
    @Override
    public QuestProgress startQuest(UUID playerId, String questId) {
        if (router.shouldUseLegacy(questId)) {
            return legacy.startQuest(playerId, questId);
        } else {
            return argonath.startQuest(playerId, questId);
        }
    }
    
    @Override
    public void completeObjective(UUID playerId, String questId, String objectiveId) {
        if (router.shouldUseLegacy(questId)) {
            legacy.completeObjective(playerId, questId, objectiveId);
        } else {
            argonath.completeObjective(playerId, questId, objectiveId);
        }
    }
}

Migration Planning and Assessment

Pre-Migration Assessment

1. System Inventory

Create a comprehensive inventory of your current system:

# inventory.yml
legacy_system:
  name: "CustomQuestSystem"
  version: "2.3.1"
  
  quests:
    total: 127
    active: 98
    deprecated: 29
    
  npcs:
    total: 234
    quest_givers: 45
    vendors: 67
    generic: 122
    
  integrations:
    - EconomyPlugin: v1.2
    - PermissionSystem: v3.4
    - CustomItems: v2.1
    
  custom_code:
    quest_types: 12
    objective_types: 18
    reward_types: 8
    condition_types: 15
    
  database:
    type: MySQL
    size: 2.4 GB
    tables: 15
    active_players: 1247

2. Dependency Mapping

Map all dependencies and relationships:

Quest A
├── Requires Quest B (prerequisite)
├── Uses NPC "Merchant" (interaction)
├── Checks Permission "vip.access" (condition)
├── Grants Item "magical_sword" (reward)
└── Integrates with EconomyPlugin (reward)

Quest B
├── Uses NPC "Guard Captain" (quest giver)
├── Requires Level 10 (condition)
└── Grants Experience 500 (reward)

3. Complexity Analysis

Rate each component by migration complexity:

Component Complexity Effort Risk Notes
Simple Fetch Quests Low 1-2h Low Direct mapping
Kill Quests Low 1-2h Low Standard objectives
Dialogue Trees Medium 4-6h Medium NPC framework
Branching Quests High 8-12h High Complex conditions
Custom Quest Types Very High 16-24h High May need custom code
Economy Integration Medium 4-6h Medium Adapter needed

4. Resource Assessment

Evaluate available resources:

team:
  developers:
    senior: 2
    mid: 3
    junior: 1
  
  qa_testers: 2
  
  availability:
    full_time: 3
    part_time: 5
    
budget:
  development_hours: 400
  testing_hours: 120
  contingency: 20%
  
timeline:
  start_date: "2026-02-01"
  target_completion: "2026-04-30"
  buffer: 2 weeks

Migration Scope Definition

Define Clear Boundaries:

in_scope:
  - All active quests (98)
  - Quest-related NPCs (45)
  - Player progress data
  - Configuration files
  - Economy integration
  
out_of_scope:
  - Deprecated quests (29)
  - Non-quest NPCs (189)
  - Historical data > 1 year old
  - Custom mini-games
  - Third-party plugin integration (except Economy)
  
nice_to_have:
  - Enhanced dialogue system
  - New UI components
  - Performance improvements
  - Additional quest types

Risk Assessment

Identify and Rate Risks:

Risk Probability Impact Severity Mitigation
Data loss during migration Low Critical High Multiple backups, validation
Extended downtime Medium High High Staged rollout, rollback plan
Player progress corruption Low Critical High Data validation, testing
Performance degradation Medium Medium Medium Load testing, optimization
Integration failures Medium High High Adapter layer, testing
Team capacity shortage High Medium Medium External support, training
Scope creep High Medium Medium Strict scope management
Timeline overrun Medium Medium Medium Buffer time, phased approach

Risk Mitigation Strategies:

  1. Data Loss Prevention
    • Automated backup before each phase
    • Real-time backup during migration
    • Immutable archive storage
    • Regular backup validation
    • Point-in-time recovery capability
  2. Downtime Minimization
    • Blue-green deployment
    • Feature flags for gradual rollout
    • Canary releases
    • Automated rollback triggers
  3. Quality Assurance
    • Comprehensive test suite
    • Automated regression testing
    • User acceptance testing
    • Performance benchmarking
    • Security audit

Success Criteria

Define measurable success criteria:

success_criteria:
  functional:
    - All active quests migrated and functional
    - 100% player progress preserved
    - All integrations working
    - Zero critical bugs in production
    
  performance:
    - Response time < 50ms (p95)
    - Memory usage < 2GB
    - CPU usage < 30% average
    - Support 2000 concurrent players
    
  quality:
    - Test coverage > 80%
    - Zero data corruption incidents
    - < 5 minor bugs in first week
    - User satisfaction > 90%
    
  timeline:
    - Complete within 12 weeks
    - Each phase within 10% of estimate
    - No missed milestones

Common Migration Scenarios

Scenario 1: From Custom Quest System

Context: You built a custom quest system and want to migrate to Argonath.

Challenges:

Migration Approach:

  1. Data Schema Mapping
// Legacy format
public class LegacyQuest {
    private String id;
    private String name;
    private String description;
    private List<LegacyTask> tasks;
    private Map<String, Object> rewards;
}

// Argonath format
public class ArgonathQuestDefinition {
    private String id;
    private Component displayName;
    private List<Component> description;
    private List<QuestObjective> objectives;
    private RewardSet rewards;
    private ConditionSet prerequisites;
}

// Converter
public class QuestConverter {
    public ArgonathQuestDefinition convert(LegacyQuest legacy) {
        return ArgonathQuestDefinition.builder()
            .id(legacy.getId())
            .displayName(Component.text(legacy.getName()))
            .description(splitDescription(legacy.getDescription()))
            .objectives(convertTasks(legacy.getTasks()))
            .rewards(convertRewards(legacy.getRewards()))
            .build();
    }
}
  1. Progressive Data Migration
#!/bin/bash
# migrate-custom-quests.sh

echo "Starting quest migration..."

# Step 1: Export legacy data
./export-legacy-quests.sh > legacy-quests.json

# Step 2: Convert to Argonath format
java -jar quest-converter.jar \
  --input legacy-quests.json \
  --output argonath-quests/ \
  --format yaml

# Step 3: Validate converted quests
./validate-quests.sh argonath-quests/

# Step 4: Import player progress
./migrate-player-data.sh

echo "Migration complete!"

Context: Migrating from BetonQuest, QuestCreator, or similar.

Advantages:

Migration Process:

// BetonQuest to Argonath converter
public class BetonQuestMigrator {
    
    public void migratePackage(Path betonPackage, Path argonathOutput) {
        // Read BetonQuest files
        var events = parseYaml(betonPackage.resolve("events.yml"));
        var conditions = parseYaml(betonPackage.resolve("conditions.yml"));
        var objectives = parseYaml(betonPackage.resolve("objectives.yml"));
        var quests = parseYaml(betonPackage.resolve("main.yml"));
        
        // Convert to Argonath
        for (var quest : quests.getQuests()) {
            var argonathQuest = convertQuest(quest, events, conditions, objectives);
            saveArgonathQuest(argonathQuest, argonathOutput);
        }
    }
    
    private ArgonathQuestDefinition convertQuest(
            BetonQuest quest,
            Map<String, Object> events,
            Map<String, Object> conditions,
            Map<String, Object> objectives) {
        
        return ArgonathQuestDefinition.builder()
            .id(quest.getId())
            .displayName(convertText(quest.getName()))
            .prerequisites(convertConditions(quest.getConditions(), conditions))
            .objectives(convertObjectives(quest.getObjectives(), objectives))
            .onComplete(convertEvents(quest.getEvents(), events))
            .build();
    }
}

Scenario 3: Upgrading Argonath Versions

Context: Upgrading from Argonath 1.0.x to 2.0.x.

See the Upgrading Guide for detailed version upgrade procedures.


Migration Timeline and Phases

Typical 12-Week Migration Timeline

Week 1-2: Preparation and Planning
├── Team training
├── Environment setup
├── Assessment completion
├── Strategy selection
└── Milestone planning

Week 3-4: Foundation Migration
├── Platform core installation
├── Storage framework setup
├── Configuration migration
├── Basic testing
└── Documentation

Week 5-6: Core Features
├── NPC framework migration
├── Basic quest conversion
├── Objective system setup
├── Integration testing
└── Performance baseline

Week 7-8: Advanced Features
├── Complex quest migration
├── Condition system
├── UI component migration
├── Integration completion
└── Comprehensive testing

Week 9-10: Final Migration
├── Remaining content
├── Custom components
├── End-to-end testing
├── Performance tuning
└── User acceptance testing

Week 11: Production Preparation
├── Production environment setup
├── Final data migration
├── Security audit
├── Backup verification
└── Rollback testing

Week 12: Deployment and Stabilization
├── Production deployment
├── Monitoring and alerting
├── Issue resolution
├── Performance optimization
└── Team handoff

Phase Gate Criteria

Each phase must meet specific criteria before proceeding:

Phase 1: Preparation

Phase 2: Foundation

Phase 3: Core Features

Phase 4: Advanced Features

Phase 5: Production


Risk Mitigation

Backup Strategy

Multi-Tier Backup Approach:

backup_strategy:
  tier_1_continuous:
    frequency: Real-time
    retention: 7 days
    type: Transaction logs
    
  tier_2_hourly:
    frequency: Every hour
    retention: 72 hours
    type: Incremental backup
    
  tier_3_daily:
    frequency: Daily at 2 AM
    retention: 30 days
    type: Full backup
    
  tier_4_weekly:
    frequency: Sunday 2 AM
    retention: 12 weeks
    type: Full backup with validation
    
  tier_5_milestone:
    frequency: Before each phase
    retention: 1 year
    type: Immutable archive

Backup Validation:

#!/bin/bash
# validate-backup.sh

BACKUP_FILE=$1

echo "Validating backup: $BACKUP_FILE"

# Check file integrity
md5sum -c "${BACKUP_FILE}.md5"

# Test restore to temporary database
mysql -h testdb-host -e "CREATE DATABASE backup_test"
mysql -h testdb-host backup_test < "$BACKUP_FILE"

# Validate critical data
QUEST_COUNT=$(mysql -h testdb-host backup_test -sN -e "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM quests")
PLAYER_COUNT=$(mysql -h testdb-host backup_test -sN -e "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM players")

echo "Quests: $QUEST_COUNT"
echo "Players: $PLAYER_COUNT"

# Cleanup
mysql -h testdb-host -e "DROP DATABASE backup_test"

echo "Backup validation complete"

Rollback Procedures

Automated Rollback:

public class MigrationRollback {
    
    public void rollback(String migrationPhase) {
        logger.info("Initiating rollback for phase: {}", migrationPhase);
        
        try {
            // 1. Stop new system
            stopArgonathSystem();
            
            // 2. Restore database
            restoreDatabase(migrationPhase);
            
            // 3. Restore configuration
            restoreConfiguration(migrationPhase);
            
            // 4. Restart legacy system
            startLegacySystem();
            
            // 5. Validate rollback
            validateRollback();
            
            logger.info("Rollback completed successfully");
            
        } catch (Exception e) {
            logger.error("Rollback failed!", e);
            initiateEmergencyProcedures();
        }
    }
    
    private void validateRollback() {
        // Verify quest system is operational
        assertThat(legacySystem.isRunning()).isTrue();
        
        // Verify player data integrity
        int playerCount = legacySystem.getPlayerCount();
        assertThat(playerCount).isGreaterThan(0);
        
        // Verify quests are accessible
        var testQuest = legacySystem.getQuest("test_quest");
        assertThat(testQuest).isNotNull();
    }
}

Testing Strategy

Comprehensive Test Plan:

1. Unit Tests (Developer-Run)
   ├── Quest conversion logic
   ├── Data transformation
   ├── API adapters
   └── Utility functions

2. Integration Tests (Automated)
   ├── Quest system integration
   ├── NPC interactions
   ├── Storage operations
   └── External integrations

3. System Tests (QA Team)
   ├── End-to-end quest completion
   ├── Multi-player scenarios
   ├── Performance under load
   └── Edge cases

4. User Acceptance Tests (Stakeholders)
   ├── Key user journeys
   ├── Critical quests
   ├── Player experience
   └── Admin operations

5. Production Validation (Operations)
   ├── Smoke tests
   ├── Health checks
   ├── Performance monitoring
   └── Error rate tracking

Getting Started

Quick Start Checklist

Next Steps

  1. For New Migrations: Continue to Common Migration Scenarios
  2. For Version Upgrades: See Upgrading Guide
  3. For Breaking Changes: See Breaking Changes Reference
  4. For Technical Details: See Architecture Documentation
  5. For Support: Join our Discord Community or GitHub Discussions

Support Resources


Conclusion

Migration to Argonath Systems is an investment in your project’s future. With careful planning, the right strategy, and systematic execution, you can successfully migrate your quest system and unlock the full potential of Argonath’s modular architecture.

Remember:

Good luck with your migration!


Last Updated: January 25, 2026
Document Version: 1.0.0
Argonath Systems Version: 2.0.0