Debugging Scenarios

[jmoser]

Okay, I'm in the final stages of putting together a scenario based on the age of Louis XIV. I'm trying to go through, player by player, to fix bugs, like cities going into unrest, units that can't be maintained, etc.

Here's the problem: I can't work on one player without having the others start doing things on their own--moving their units, declaring war, starting work on wonders, etc. The Turks have just built the palace of Versailles in Sarajevo!

Can anyone help?

John Moser

 

[xeven_god_of_helsibahr]

What I usually do is place cities FIRST, then I build all the neccesary Improvement/Wonders, then lastly, I workon the the techs, unit placement, and text. I works for me!

 

[Morten Blaabjerg]

jmoser, the easiest way to avoid this is to use a savegame-file as a "template". Save the scenario like a normal saved game, and use this as the file you work on -without units moving, AI players messing things up etc.
Then playtest all you like with different players, and write down what needs to be changed. You can save the testgame like another savegame named "test" or something similar.

Then load in your "template" savegame again, and start doing the changes, and change player using the "cheat" menus -"Set Human Player" -to avoid AI players taking turns.
Once you're done, save the template again, under a new name (if you regret something), and you can go another testing round.

Only save as a scenario when you're finished with all this. Also scenario settings, timespan, etc. should preferably wait until last, before you save as scenario.

There are some good documents available in the downloads section that explains something like this in detail. I learned very much from John Marricks article "Adv Scenario Design" -can be found there.

Yours Truly,
Morten Blaabjerg

 

[kobayashi]

Morten's got the right idea.

Just becareful of the events file. Usually it is better to just edit the events file directly but sometimes you need something from the events editor (like the number of an advance). If you edit the events file from a save game, it will use what it remembers from when it first was run as a scenario and overwrite the master events file.

[This message has been edited by kobayashi (edited May 21, 2001).]

 

[oryx]

jmoser
You need to turn on the "Always wait at end of turn" game option. That way you can switch from tribe to tribe without each tribe moving.


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"There is no tiddle-taddle nor pibble-pabble in Pompey's camp."