[Religion and Revolution]: Achievements

Hi guys,

similar to the Event System, TAC and thus also Religion and Revolution also have an Achievement System.

Achievements are small stories with a nice image to it, which are triggered, when the player fulfills certain conditions.
(e.g. a certain number of a building type, a unit, a profession, production of a yield, battles won, ...)

The Achievement System has been completely neglected so far in our mod.
But it is indeed a very nice way to create more atmosphere.

Since we have introduced so many new yields, new professions, new buildings and new units, we really have massive possibilities for new achievements.

3 Rangers
10 Native Slaves
1st Grand Cathedral
3 Taverns
100 Gold produced
100 Cattle bred
...

Yes I know, a small story with an image is not really exiting stuff, but believe me, it would really add to the quality of our mod.

It would really be fantastic, if we would find somebody interested in writing such small stories and creating nice pictures from ingame screenshots.

raystuttgart said:

Hi guys,

similar to the Event System, TAC and thus also Religion and Revolution also have an Achievement System.

Achievements are small stories with a nice image to it, which are triggered, when the player fulfills certain conditions.
(e.g. a certain number of a building type, a unit, a profession, production of a yield, battles won, ...).

Click to expand...

Yes! I really like this system. Who actually developed this? Is it TAC, or is it Dale for Age of Discovery II, or someone else?

raystuttgart said:

The Achievement System has been completely neglected so far in our mod.
But it is indeed a very nice way to create more atmosphere.

Click to expand...

Since TAC has already many achievements (especially compared to original Colonization), the situation isn't as bad as it seems

raystuttgart said:

Since we have introduced so many new yields, new professions, new buildings and new units, we really have massive possibilities for new achievements.

3 Rangers
10 Native Slaves
1st Grand Cathedral
3 Taverns
100 Gold produced
100 Cattle bred
...

Click to expand...

I agree. I like the "100 gold produced" idea, since it is quite historical (Eldorado, California's gold rush)

raystuttgart said:

Yes I know, a small story with an image is not really exiting stuff, but believe me, it would really add to the quality of our mod.

It would really be fantastic, if we would find somebody interested in writing such small stories and creating nice pictures from ingame screenshots.

Click to expand...

Actually, I really loved the cute-scenes in original Colonization. So I wouldn't sat it "is not really exciting stuff"

Robert Surcouf said:

Who actually developed this ?

Click to expand...

The code is originially from Dale. (Patch Mod)
But the version in TAC (and Religion and Revolution) is improved.

Robert Surcouf said:

Since TAC has already many achievements (especially compared to original Colonization), the situation isn't as bad as it seems

Click to expand...

It is not critical, but as I said, we would have tons of possibilities for new achievements ...

Robert Surcouf said:

So I wouldn't say it "is not really exciting stuff" ...

Click to expand...

As I said, I would really like to find somebody interested in creating achievements for our mod.

I will be writing the stories needed and am examining what the funnest achievements would be. Once i have a list i will propose them, and i think it is exciting stuff - it gives that old school video game feel (pirates anyone?) when certain milestones are reached - this announcement of clear progression gives a sense of achievement and unites the "player" with the "character" (in this case, the leader you chose and the people of your nation).

The screens are a great way to "show" the player their progression.

Some of the text will consider the assumed situation - for example, founding 10 colonies - however i will communicate before doing too much text to figure out what is already done and coordinate accordingly.

and if provided a small amount of instruction i will create some with consideration to things that are notable for better or worse.

Kill 5 europeans
Kill 5 natives.
hunt 5 whales.
Convert 5 natives to your religion.
Three ships are lost at sea.
Trade with europe 10 times.
Trade with natives 10 times.
Trade with 5 different natives.

I would like to "reward" the player for things they do and unfold a story about their actions.

thadian said:

Kill 5 europeans
Kill 5 natives.
hunt 5 whales.
Convert 5 natives to your religion.
Three ships are lost at sea.
Trade with europe 10 times.
Trade with natives 10 times.
Trade with 5 different natives.

Click to expand...

All of these things are currently not possible with the Achievement System.
It would need further programming to make it possible.

Maybe for next release I will do an enhancement of Achievement System and Event System.

I was currently thinking of achievements for our new units and productionlines:
(This alone has enormous potential ...)

1. Certain amount of units of a specific type
2. Certain amount of buildings of a specific type
3. Certain amount of a specific yield traded
...

e.g.

• 1000 gold minded
• 1000 coffee produced
• 3 butchers
• 5 Conquistadores
• 10 African Slaves
• 2 Great Cathedrals
• 3 Markets
• ...

Take a look at Civ4AchieveInfos.xml and you will see what is currently possible.

Edit:

I will take these 2 points on our list:
(It had been discussed before but was not explicitly listed.)

Enhancing Achievement System
Enhancing Event System

Having examined the XML and world builder i have come up with some ideas.

The base idea is to avoid giving all the cards in one game, and to give cards in meaningful situations, therefore no need to give too many - quality over quantity.

Story Method:

For the text, i am going to do a small analysis of some common game states.

1: Pyramid buildings. Considering the desirable and viable size of empires that develop, i notice there are 3 stages of the pyramid. This means it is reasonable that town hall, stockade and church will be in every city and things such as Stockade and Market will be in about 1/2 cities and the rest will be specialized on what terrain and demand permits.

Empires heavily focused on 3-5 trade goods will get a good share of these achievements in their game, in addition a few others.I like the idea of this model to all buildings in the pyramid.

So if the achievements are paired up like this across the buildings players will achieve greatness of different levels in different areas in different games - thus, in that sense a different story each game by consequence of gameplay behavior.

For units i would propose a model akin to:



This signifies that most action occurs on land anyway, and that land forces and naval forces, when built in these amounts provide enough cards but not too many. (not getting every achievement in every game is rewarding because your achievements will reflect your playstyle.

This idea is a shoot based on the above information.

Is it possible to have a pyramid structure of achievements?

For example:



Considering the top tier building in a resource pyramid, the expert that harvests and the expert for the building as an achievement as well.
If you master 3 resources in this fashion, that is also an achievement. 5 resources yes, 10 resources yes.

The purpose is to consider what counts as a milestone in your journey - without adding too many.

Having examined the XML and world builder i have come up with some ideas.

The base idea is to avoid giving all the cards in one game, and to give cards in meaningful situations, therefore no need to give too many - quality over quantity.

Story Method:

For the text, i am going to do a small analysis of some common game states.

1: Pyramid buildings. Considering the desirable and viable size of empires that develop, i notice there are 3 stages of the pyramid. This means it is reasonable that town hall, stockade and church will be in every city and things such as Stockade and Market will be in about 1/2 cities and the rest will be specialized on what terrain and demand permits.

Empires heavily focused on 3-5 trade goods will get a good share of these achievements in their game, in addition a few others.I like the idea of this model to all buildings in the pyramid.

It is unlikely a player will have 10 leather factories - but the might have 5 if it is one of their focus resources in their grasp. Almost every civ would have greater than 5 but less than 10 docks, around 5 shipyards and around 1 to 3 naval ports.

So if the achievements are paired up like this across the buildings players will achieve greatness of different levels in different areas in different games - thus, in that sense a different story each game by consequence of gameplay behavior.

For units i would propose a model akin to:



This signifies that most action occurs on land anyway, and that land forces and naval forces, when built in these amounts provide enough cards but not too many. (not getting every achievement in every game is rewarding because your achievements will reflect your playstyle.

This idea is a shoot based on the above information.

Is it possible to have a pyramid structure of achievements?

For example:



Considering the top tier building in a resource pyramid, the expert that harvests and the expert for the building as an achievement as well.
If you master 3 resources in this fashion, that is also an achievement. 5 resources yes, 10 resources yes.

I would think X resources of a given type per turn would count as an achievement and first to build a Naval Yard and Grand Cathedral (or the other top building in a pyramid) would give an achievement.As these events happen, your gameplay behaviors will give you achievements that over time tell the story of your game.

The purpose is to consider what counts as a milestone in your journey - without adding too many.

Now that i have an idea the type of achievements that could be worked out, what do i need to change in other files before i copy-paste the "template" in CIV4AchieveInfos, CIV4GameText_Achievements and the schema files? For example, do i need to change the number of achievements the game recognizes somewhere? Im ready to work on this and any text involved as well as any text that others don't have time for. I will even go over what is already written and propose small changes to re-submit for the peer review process once i know this information.

I will also be willing to contribute to slowly building a strategy guide and think about balance issues such as production desirability vs gold desirability on terms of getting buildings and citizens up and compare different methods of doing so.

thadian said:

Now that i have an idea the type of achievements that could be worked out, what do i need to change in other files before i copy-paste the "template" in CIV4AchieveInfos, CIV4GameText_Achievements and the schema files? For example, do i need to change the number of achievements the game recognizes somewhere?

Click to expand...

The only things you need to consider:

1. Achievement itself (CIV4AchieveInfos.xml)
2. The texts for the achievement (CIV4GameText_Achievements.xml)
3. The graphic for the achievement (.dds)

You don't need to change the schema or anything else.
(I will have to do that, when I expand functionality of the Achievement System.)

Some general remarks:

A) Let us not overexagerate !



Please consider:
1. Somebody needs to create all the parts for these achievements (texts, xml, graphics)
2. We should not have so many achievements, that they will start to become annoying.

B) We should not design our achievements to work only for supersize maps with really big amounts of cities
(Many players will also play on smaller maps because of performance or other reasons.)



C) Let us try to work with the functionality the achievement system currently offers.

For the next release I will try to enhance that system to offer more types of achievements.
(Villages missioned, villages destroyed, cities conquered, native players eliminated, ...)

---------------------------

I suggest the following:

Please let us get away from mathematical formulas and master plans.
Let us create them more spontaneously and in a creative way.

Try to think of a story first.
Then try to make an achievement from that.

e.g.:
Story about Goldrush --> Achievement triggered by amount of gold.
Story about Conquistadors --> Achievement triggered by certain number of conquistadors.
Story about Slaves from Africa --> Achievement triggered by certain number of African Slaves
Story about Native Slaves --> Achievement triggered by certain number of Native Slaves
Story about Dying Cloth with Indigo --> Achievement triggered by certain number of Dyers Houses
Story about Cowboys --> Achievement triggered by amount of Cattle or number of Rachers
Story about Naval Battle --> Achievement triggered by certain number of Frigates
Story about Rangers --> Achievement trigger by certain number of Rangers

These are only suggestions, examples of course.
(It is totally up to your creativity which stories you want to tell. )

Let us try to create atmospheric stories and not mass produced, boring or even annoying pop-ups.

We don't necessarily need achievements for every building or every unit or every yield ...
We also don't need to have several achievements about the same type of unit or building ...

Let us start like this:

You tell us 10 stories / achievements you want to create (as a start).
(Please try to pick 10 totally different topics.)

For these 10 achievements we will try to supply graphis made from ingame screenshots.
(Maybe you could even create the ingame screenshots with Worldbuilder and flying camera. )

After these 10 achievements are created, we will go for the next package.

Could we do it like that ?

that would be a good way to do it - i like the idea of making screenshots with worldbuilder - once i complete them, i will post them. As said, the idea is that less is more, quality over quantity and making sure that there is not clutter or too much for its own good.

thadian said:

that would be a good way to do it - i like the idea of making screenshots with worldbuilder - once i complete them, i will post them.

Click to expand...

Great.

If you can already create the screenshots it will save some time.
(We could creat the .dds - the 2D graphics - from them.)

Do you know how to use flying camera ?

thadian said:

As said, the idea is that less is more, quality over quantity and making sure that there is not clutter or too much for its own good.

Click to expand...

I fully agree.

raystuttgart said:

Do you know how to use flying camera ?

Click to expand...

And do you know the shortcut Strg + D, thadian? There you will find a menu which allows you to disable certain graphics like unit flags, borders or city billboards.

The shortcut does not work. Is it necessary to make an entry in the civ.ini (like the flying camera)?

EDIT: The cheat codes in the CivilizationIV.ini (CheatCode = chipotle) have to be activated.

Here is a draft for an achievement picture regarding the Ranger...



Hope you like it.

Thats why it wasn't working i have to use chipolte. Ive been using world builder, and setting up some nice screens as well as looking for natural moments.

I forgot all about that silly little chipolte but wow, it liberates the camera so much.... I just woke up for the night fellas, so i gotta get some coffee in me - ive set up some rather nice scenes and gameplay situations that will reflect the achievement and story.

I now have activated the debug panel, examning the flying camera and other options - this will allow for some rather nice shots to be taken. As for the stories, i have come up with some ideas and now i am in the process of connecting them together to create a continuity - i started with the "basic story" that happens in every colonization game (mod or no) and looked at some of the "expected things to happen".

To start small with achievements, i will consider things that WILL happen throughout the course of any normal game and a few things that are fun to do - the stories can be as short descriptions or longer writings (3 paragraph form, 3-7 sentences per paragraph). I was afraid i was limited to a sentence or 2 but now that i know i can type some fun to read stories in the file itself... thats why i love notepad++. (and it doesn't have a spellchecker messing up my correct sentences!) I want to make the colopedia as fun to read as the civlopedia in FFH, so i am glad Colonialfan has accepted my assistance and allowing me to handle text for the buildings. I also look forward to the peer review, when we see everything each other has been doing, and re-working things. For me, that is one of the funnest parts to see what ideas we can produce for one another.

I have copy-pasted the template and am creating some fun stories - at this point, i put paste them at the end of the file. (all in one spot) Should i leave them at the end, or move them somewhere by a certain order?

Several Topics of achievement:


The intention is there will not be a global plot that is the same every game, and this is represented by the players gameplay behavior. Instead, these smaller sub-plots will happen throughout the game, developing that games storyline based on the rhetorical situation, namely the order in which different units or buildings are purchased.

This is the basic plot of a given game, based on how you win and what you do on the way to victory or defeat:


Stories that reflect milestones - and several things that won't always happen, as well as a few things that you have to chase (but can win without doing) give the player a sense of connection and immersion to the game they are playing without re-visiting the forced linear method of older RPG's and keeping true to Civ's "open end" model. At the same time, this adds a small directive of goals to establish throughout the game, so that it becomes less of a sandbox and more of a theme park. This is of course, in name only because there are plenty of theme park elements in the background (building pyramids, resource upgrades, expert citizens) and bringing more attention to this area of the game is a good thing because it does not change gameplay or force a play-style - while adding something (a real sense of progression with "Point A's and Point B's).

Now that i have several ideas, i am writing 3-sentence outlines for each story and will use this model to write them:


Each "Sentence 1" will say GOOD JOB. Each "middle sentence" will provide flavor and entertainment. each "Final Sentence" will open the First Sentence of the next paragraph. This will allow players to see a congratulations and how this affects the game in the popup without scrolling. Then by scrolling or opening the achievement screen, players can read the descriptions. This way, players who just want to close them and get to the screen later will see the "end" of paragraph 1 instead of seeing a word cutoff (the last word being "of", or "the" or something. Without rolling down, players will feel a stimulation from ONE paragraph and have more available if they want it.

Well, now to finish these stories and see what i can do to implement them. Most of them look pretty simple to implement, however i am not seeing limits - i am seeing possibilities, so anything along the lines posted by me or Ray in the spoilers makes for good fun.

My belief is that 18 - 24 achievements throughout a "normal pace" game is a correct amount. Most players should win or lose around turns 300 - 500.

400/20 = 20 achievements per game. Also, about one achievement every 15-30 turns keeps you wanting the next one without burdening you with too many. The reason i came up with a few that depend on multiple factors is to include "more" achievements while distributing "less" achievements per game.

What do you think?

Schmiddie said:

Here is a draft for an achievement picture regarding the Ranger...
...
Hope you like it.

Click to expand...

No I don't like it ...
I LOVE IT !!!

thadian said:

Should i leave them at the end, or move them somewhere by a certain order?

Click to expand...

At the end of the file is just perfect.

I am really looking forward to your stories !

At first i thought i would have to put them in seperate files and copy the text over to the game, but having read further...

I now know i can do it like this:

1. Place the entry and stories into the XML at the end of the file.
2. Save the file, check the SVN for updates, then paste the file from my exported /mods file into the file in the SVN folder.
3. Once this is done, how do i upload the updated file? I do have tortoise client, and will do the achievements before i do the buildings because i really enjoyed reading the text for units and buildings in FFH, and i want the text for those things to be just as enjoyable in RaR.

thadian said:

... so i am glad Colonialfan has accepted my assistance and allowing me to handle text for the buildings.

Click to expand...

It is great, that the two of you are organizing the work on texts together.

thadian said:

I also look forward to the peer review, when we see everything each other has been doing, and re-working things. For me, that is one of the funnest parts to see what ideas we can produce for one another.

Click to expand...

Yes, brainstorming and working together is a lot of fun.

thadian said:

Several Topics of achievement:

Spoiler :

Title - Abstract - Trigger
Letters Home - Colonists are sending letters home, beckoning family, and old friends to join them in new prosperity. - 1,000 Gold.
Wild Lands Your people have spoken with 5 Native Chiefs. Animosity lingers as some call them savages and others call for their well treatment. - Speak with fifth Native Chief.
Professional Navy - Our people have perfected the art of shipbuilding, and have begun constructing a navy. Build a Ship Unit in a city with a Naval Port.
Professional Army - Now that we have begun to train a professional army, our people feel safe. Some people say our growing strength may reach that of the king! - Build 3 Veterans in a city with a Great Armory.
Moby-Dick - Our fishermen have prepared to hunt monstrous beasts in the ocean!. Build a whaling boat. (there have always been stories, even before the 1851 novel.)
Wild Mustang - Governor! As some of our wild horses have escaped, they have begun breeding in the wild. Ranchers have gathered and are ready to begin training them for service and commerce.
Sid Meier's Pirates! - Our pirates have begun to scourge the oceans, in search of fame and plunder! - Build/Buy 3 privateer units.
Ranger Roger - Our troops have assembled new light infantry units, moving fast through the woods and plains. How will these new troops shape the armies of the new world? - Build or buy 3 Ranger Units.
New Evangelism - With the arrival of our first Bishop, religious authorities in Europe are becoming concerned about the growing culture of faithful worshipers in the New World. Build or Buy first Bishop.
New Market - Our merchants are trading goods on a global scale, breaking the European monopoly. As we are becoming independent of the homeland for resources, our economy is growing. Our people are starting to desire independence from the homeland in other areas as well, Governor. Trade 1000 Goods in Europe.
Taming the Wild - Our units are mastering the ways of the new world. Will we be able to protect ourselves from external threats? Will our troops become strong enough to fend off hostile natives, and unfriendly colonies? Oh, governor. Will our troops equal that of our Liege at home? First time a Land Unit is promoted for a third time.
No, Sir! - Our people are sharing your attitude about The King. He has no place to tax us! Our merchants suggest improving our economy and cutting Europe out of our markets. The third time you say "No" to your kings demands.
First Parliament - Our Founding Fathers are debating the direction of the country, and inspiring our people. Will you heed their words? Obtain fifth founding father.

Click to expand...

Please check, that the achievements you want to do are possible with the current achievement system.
(I really don't know, when I will find the time to enhance the possibilities of the achievement system. )

thadian said:

What do you think?

Click to expand...

Nice.

Could you eventually also create achievements for some of our new features ?
(Because I really believe those would make great stories and could be set up quite easily.)

1. Rangers
2. African Slaves
3. Native Slaves
4. Conquistadores
5. Smugglers
6. Gold mined
7. Bishops
...

thadian said:

3. Once this is done, how do i upload the updated file?

Click to expand...

Simply right click on your local copy of our repository and select "SVN Commit".

But please only upload achievements that are complete and tested.
(XML, texts and graphics.)

We can't have half implemented or buggy work in our upcoming release.

of course, i will get them done right before i upload them. I also like to post what im working on for communication ease.

I have a small problem however - kind of embarrasing, i enabled Debug Mode, and am getting used to the flying camera.

However, something happened unknown to me that cause the widget with the debug options to vanish... and i can't get it back and pushing control + d isn't helping. Somehow i turned off the weather overlay and can't see the storms i made for a screenshot. I want to get some screenshots made, and converted for use so i can upload it as complete as possible.

edit: Once i have this done and before i upload, i will run several games and determine...

1: The achievements work, and the text is nice eye candy on the popup.
2: The amount of achievements feel good and not burdensome.
3: I get a natural feel that i am advancing to the next "stage" or "level" of progression that is marked.

In part, if i can make it check both a building AND a unit type as conditions, i could make an achievement for EVERY top-state building in the pyramid + expert harvester + expert unit and in theory, it will not be overburdening because nobody is going to "pokemon" every resource in that way unless they are trying to get a "100% complete all achievements" type of game.