SWY
Prince
I noticed a possible bug with the minimap.
If you have a current unit (blinking) you can change the map position by clicking in on the minimap. The map will update correctly if you select a spot in which the unit is still visible. Othewise, using the minimap does not update the map right.
This may be related to a bug that I've already solved... but I will have to check that out. Otherwise, it will be fixed in the next preview.
P.S. I have played a few turns and I am amazed how this is so close to the original. Sounds aside, I thought that opened my dosbox civ instead! I really hope that you will manage to recreate the game fully.
I'm getting more and more confident that I will be able to at least recreate the original experience of the game, though some things might differ a bit (like the placement of buildings in the city view)... for things that I can't figure out exactly I will at least be able to create a similar implementation.
It's possibly going to take years to finish this project... so please be patient.
I know you have modding in mind after the game will be cloned, but how are you going to do this? Will you make it possible to add new units, or mechanics that exist only in newer iterations?
Well, with .NET it's very easy to create plugins for existing applications, if the application developer allow it, which I will. With the source code available to read, I would guess that it's going to be very easy for anyone with C# experience to create mods for the game.
It's just going to be a matter of placing a .dll file in the mods of plugins folder of CivOne and the game will pick it up.
For example, you might create a simple .dll that adds a new Civilization to the game... or that replaces a current Civilization with another one. A mod like that could be done in less than 10 lines of code.
I will, of course, provide examples so anyone would be able to create simple mods... but theoratically the sky is the limit.
What I really liked about Civ is its simplicity. I think the best mods will be the ones preserving this simplicity to a degree.
I agree. But complex mods will be very possible.
I want to ask if you will do the code in such a way to allow stuff like (through mods):
- veteran, elite, leveled units like in Civ3/4
- great people or heroes (like a scientist or builder)
- leader unit (player) which if lost would lose the game
- upgrading units (to new techs)
- undercover units like the privateer in Colonization with privateering in mind (ability to get some gold from capturing an other vessel)
- more than 3 trade routes / city (with market place, bank, etc) and ability to cancel routes
- events such as plague, barbarian hordes etc
- support for extended tiles (ancient/medieval/industrial/modern/future) but also more tiles than in the Civ ruleset. I am imagining modding this for extended scenarios like post apocalyptic, alien invasion, Alpha Centauri style mod, fantasy themes, etc.
There's nothing here that seems difficult to me, so yeah... all these mods should be possible.
Other things you may consider are:
- Mods that give Civs special abilities
- Mods that allow bigger maps
- Mods that expand the tech tree, add new wonders, building and units...
- Mods that change how the AI works
- A mod that makes the world flat (not cylindrical)
- A mod that allows you to play on hexagon tiles
- A mod that changes the display to isometric
- High resolution texture packs...
I try to design my code with future modding in mind.
Still, it's going to take a while before any of this is possible... unfortunately, I can write code but I can not do magic.
Edit:
I have enabled modding support. I had already implemented it, basically. It took me 3 lines of code to enable modding support, and another 4 to handle extra civilizations being added to the game.
I will post a new version and a zip with 3 mods that I've created. I will post the source code of the mods on GitHub some time tomorrow, to show how easy it is.