DLL Features

BTW a little progress update on the release of BULL as I know you all are pretty anxious to get your hands on it.

I have cleaned up the BUG + BULL code pretty well. BUG has all the options for BULL; only a few still need to be added to the options screen. For those that want to run BULL without BUG, it will use the GlobalDefinesAlt.xml file as a backup for options.

I'm awaiting translations of the options and some in-game text. Our translators are usually pretty quick at this so I doubt this will hold me up.

I still need to put BULL onto our SVN code repository and merge the BULL branch into BUG. This won't take a lot, but it requires digging through changes I made several months ago. :(

As I don't have time to create a nice installer for BULL right now, I'll probably release the first version as a ZIP file. Keep in mind that to use it with BUG you will need to get the latest BUG version from SVN. 3.6 won't cut it.

I'll keep you posted.
 
Awesome, I can barely wait. I've been hooked in to your SVN like it was life support for months, so this is not a problem :lol:
 
The simplest solution would require no extra screen real estate: ALT + click a specialist puts a red X over it and removes it as a possible specialist for the city. That right there would probably satisfy 95% of the cases people want: no more damn spies. :)

I wanted to ask a small favor. I hope this isn't imposing, but I want this feature in the first release if at all possible. Please do not withhold it to wait for a full UI. This feature would greatly improve my enjoyment of Civ 4, and I would hate to wait much longer :)

I know you are a busy man, and I think most people would be willing to overlook a plain version of it for the sake of functionality.
 
As I don't have time to create a nice installer for BULL right now, I'll probably release the first version as a ZIP file. Keep in mind that to use it with BUG you will need to get the latest BUG version from SVN. 3.6 won't cut it.

Use one of these:
BtS Mod install Scripts
I've just updated them, and they are simple and will do everything you would need. Wouldn't work for BUG proper directly though, since it installs to custom assets, but since BULL will need it's own proper mod file anyway (custom dlls can't load from custom assets, and I can't imagine you'd have it replace the original) one of those scripts should have everything you are looking for and will only take you a minute to set up for BULL.
 
The problem is that it will need to install into BUG, which method they used for BUG itself: CA or Mods folder.
 
Oh, so it'll need to install things into two seperate folders? (Installing the custom dll into the CA folder wol't work, so it would need to split install I'm assming?) If so, yeah, none of those scripts would work, or at least you'd have to re write parts of them...

BULL will need it's own mod folder anyway for the custom dll to be loaded, it's surprising it can't have everything install to that single mod folder where it'll extract the dll.
 
If you install BULL by itself, you can put it into a Mods folder or part in CA and the DLL into the core Assets.

If you install with BUG, it will depend on how you installed BUG. As a mod, it will all go into BUG's Mods folder. Into CA, it will do the same as above.
 
If you install BULL by itself, you can put it into a Mods folder or part in CA and the DLL into the core Assets.

If you install with BUG, it will depend on how you installed BUG. As a mod, it will all go into BUG's Mods folder. Into CA, it will do the same as above.

So you're going to recommend replacing the original Gamecore? I don't think you should do that...

From a general modding perspective, you should just accept the fact that BULL will need to be installed as a mod, there can't be an option like exists with BUG where everything goes in CA. Doing so would require replacing the BtS original gamecore. Replacing original files is a carnal sin in modding. Especially for a file as crucial as the gamecore. I strongly urge you to reconsider this, think of all the other moders this will mess up (it will make BULL installation incompatible with most mods that don't have their own custom gamecore), it'll wreck multiplayer for people that want to play online on occasion, and I'm sure there are a host of other problems out there that will also pop up. It's not worth it, BULL should just be required to install as a mod, a CA option just isn't viable...
 
FWIW I agree. I barely ever use the CA method for any changes except maybe a few XML changes. It's fairly easy to manage folders and mods (compared with backup up and replacing files), and obviously because the dll works properly that way it's the most sensible way to proceed.
 
You're forgetting that a lot of BUG users play in succession games, and they cannot use a mod or else every player in the game has to use the same mod. This is the only reason for a CA version of BUG. I think we'll have to have that as an option.
 
FWIW I agree. I barely ever use the CA method for any changes except maybe a few XML changes. It's fairly easy to manage folders and mods (compared with backup up and replacing files), and obviously because the dll works properly that way it's the most sensible way to proceed.

I would generally agree, but for something as incredible as Bull is likely to be I feel that keeping a backup of the original is a tiny price to pay.

The wait is still driving me stark raving mad :crazyeye:
 
i have bug installed into my custom assests folder.. and not as a mod.

i like being able to open up any vanilla save games i happen across... whether they be downloaded from these forums or given to me by friends to have a look at.

but thats just me.
 
forgot to add..

i have quite a few games in progress that i haven't gotten around to finishing. and if im forced to run BULL as a mod.. i wont ever be able to. that would make me sad, because once i try out bull.. i know its going to be like BUG and im not going to want to play without it ever again lol.
 
Even if the eventual installer doesn't put the DLL into the core Assets folder, you can always do that yourself quite easily. Thus, you'll be able to use BULL for other non-mod games just like you can with BUG.
 
Even if the eventual installer doesn't put the DLL into the core Assets folder, you can always do that yourself quite easily. Thus, you'll be able to use BULL for other non-mod games just like you can with BUG.

Anticipation of BULL mod has caused me to poke around in the SDK a bit myself. I am not nearly as good at it as you appear to be ;), but I know enough to play with it a little. Once you do release Bug DLL, do you plan on releasing the source code with it? I would enjoy having a look at it.

EDIT: I infer that you likely will, but I am interested enough that I figured I would ask directly.
 
Absolutely. BULL will follow BUG in being an open source project. You will be free to tinker with it and release your own version if you like.
 
Just a question.....

Are you going to include the unofficial patch code in BULL?

I would call that problematic, given that Dresden made some fixes that were somewhat ill received ( I'm talking specifically of caping the overflow gold, but there might be others ), and I think it is not the objective of this mod to change rules, espacially ones that people are split regarding them. Not mentioning that the patch has some bugs of their own that were never corrected ( stuff regarding solver changes to air power )....
 
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