Dune Wars

[Ahriman]

Is there a glitch in the animation? Does it still happen if you have quick combat turned on?

 

[azzedar]

ill try next game (just finished that one ) ... but i found something else: is it intended that heavy carryalls, unlike light and medium, can't enter any solid terrain ? maybe they are a bit "too" heavy? =)
and, don't know if this is beeing discussed in the main forum, but isnt it a bit wierd that the fremen can order units from "their" home planet?

/edit:
ok, doesnt happen with quick combat turned on - youre right.

 

[Ahriman]

is it intended that heavy carryalls, unlike light and medium, can't enter any solid terrain ? maybe they are a bit "too" heavy

No. What do you mean by solid terrain?

but isnt it a bit wierd that the fremen can order units from "their" home planet?

Not really; they're coming from the south pole, by worm. Their home planet is Arrakis.

 

[davidlallen]

is it intended that heavy carryalls, unlike light and medium, can't enter any solid terrain ? maybe they are a bit "too" heavy? =)

Good find. Somehow the "can move all terrain" for heavy carryall is not set, so they can only move on desert. This makes them pretty useless, actually. We will fix that.

isnt it a bit wierd that the fremen can order units from "their" home planet?

There are two aspects to this: first, should they be able to order reinforcements at all? I think it makes sense. Second, should the graphics of the reinforcement screen show a planet, and the guild navigator, when the Fremen are ordering reinforcements? Probably not. The Fremen should have a different looking screen when they order reinforcements. I think this is on the list of things which koma13, the author of the homeworld screen, is still working on.

 

[davidlallen]

i think some of the special units are not shown in the dune-o-pedia (or not linked to their faction as race-only units). for example the devastator (didnt it had another graphic some versions ago? i dont like that one), the bene gesserit whatever-mother and the atreides hier.

Thanks for the feedback.

The Devastator is not presently any kind of UU. This is probably a bug in the civilization file; we will fix that.

The Reverend Mother is not actually a unique unit. The RM can be built by any civilization which has access to the Sisterhood Covenant resource. The Bene Gesserit palace gives 3 copies of this resource. So the BG can always build the unit; but also they can trade the resource to civs they are friends with, and those civs can build the unit. So this one is correct.

The Atreides Heir can only be built by Atreides; but according to the game, it is not a *Unique* unit. A UU is a replacement for another unit of the same unitclass; for example, the German Panzer is a replacement for the Tank. The Atreides Heir is the only unit of its unitclass, so the game does not consider it a UU. I agree this is a little confusing; perhaps what we should do is create a "fake" base unit which can be replaced by the Heir. Then the Heir will show up in the civilopedia as a UU. But, the problem is that then the "fake" base unit will also show up in the civilopedia. The same thing happens with the house corporation building. The house corp is the same type of "fake" building; every civilization has their own UB variant of it. But the house corp building shows up in the pedia anyway even though no civ can build it. I'm not sure how to solve that.

 

[Deliverator]

the problem is that then the "fake" base unit will also show up in the civilopedia. The same thing happens with the house corporation building.

Somehow koma has hidden the homeworld planet unit from the civilopedia. Perhaps we can extend this list of exclusions to other dummy units.

there seems to be a problem with the missile launcher (the siege unit) unit, too

I'll check out the missile launcher animation at the weekend. I have an inkling what it might be.

 

[azzedar]

ah, thy for the quick answer(s)
didnt knew that with the replacement units and the civiliopedia.

so the devastator is not (buildable) included yet at all? some kind of dune-o-pedia cadaver? will it be in the game again, and if not - why?

what about leaving the the offword screen completly for the fremen. maybe giving all units produced from that time on (when that tech is researched by them) a +2-5%str buff or something alike: showing that as the war on arrakis goes on and the other factions have established reinforcement routes to their homeplanets, the fremen have grown more zealous on their path. or just showing some random planet and declaring that they are buying them from mercenaries.
however... im sure you gonna find a fitting solution =)

and one last question, i couldnt find an answer for in game: what does the number of reinforcements depends on? when do the list refreshes?

 

[koma13]

and one last question, i couldnt find an answer for in game: what does the number of reinforcements depends on? when do the list refreshes?

In 1.6 this:

SpawningChance * (100.0 / (TrainPercent + CurrentUnitsInPool))

SpawningChance: currently 10%
TrainPercent: depends on game speed (quick: 67 - normal: 100 - epic: 150 - marathon: 200)
CurrentUnitsInPool: number of reinforcements already available

I am sure this can be improved.

however... im sure you gonna find a fitting solution =)

True. I plan to give Fremen their own screen. The reinforcement screen is still under work, currently it's more a kind of brain storming (with a lot of trial and error).

Somehow koma has hidden the homeworld planet unit from the civilopedia. Perhaps we can extend this list of exclusions to other dummy units.

It is directly hardcoded into the sevopedia. I can extend that to other units but if we use a lot of dummy units we should create a xml tag...

 

[arkham4269]

I've started a new game w/1.6 and so far no crashes. The only question I had was I started the game as Bene Texlaiu (again sic) and turn one I founded a religion. Is that normal for them since they can't get a lot of the different religions?

However we still get the weird pop-up error. This time I saw what happens. You get the initial pop-up saying "You built your first settler" and then you click through that and then you get pop-ups like "You built your first archer!" and then "You built your first gunpowder unit" and I think the last one was "You've built your first helicopter" so maybe the Dune War settlers trigger all those codes.

Two minor complaints, one I think you can fix and one I' don't think you can. First off, is the deep desert actually ocean with a desert graphic? I ask because sometimes when I'm flying a scout off hither and yon, I'll hear the sound of the ocean as if you were mostly on a water screen in basic civ.

Secondly, any chance to change the sound effects for the 'grav-ship' (Off the top of my head I can't remember what it's called in Dune War but the graphic is a take off of the old SMAC grav-ship) It's just weird to see a suspensor unit have tank sound effects. Actually, I would think the Planetfall mod would probably have the sound you'd need. BTW, I chuckle that the later transports are taken from the old 1999 show.

That does bring up a question/suggestion. While it might not be massively useful, might you considering adding Planetfall's "APC" promotion which allows infantry units to get a +1 movement. Without roads, it would be nice to be able to get your infantry to move a bit faster in your own territory at times.

 

[The_J]

Ack! To be honest I have been modding for almost two years and never changed plotlsystem.

Then you had luck. The file is horrible.

I see it has lots of references to nif filenames in there, and in particular to the "soilenr" directory which I was complaining about. I will definitely update these, but a number of them have been wrong for some time (like since DW release 1.2 at least.)

I will try search/replace/fixup the plotlsystem file, and if I have a chance I will also try an actual experiment with different altitudes and the improvements.

Did it work?

This annoys me too. I think it happens when you have advisor popups switched on. It's not exactly the same message repeated, it goes "Congratulations you have just created your first <unit type> unit!" with 4-5 different unit types.

The popups are triggered in Python\CvAdvisorUtils.py, and the unitcombats/special units are hardcoded in there. Removing a unitcombat will not produce an error, instead these strange things will happen (i didn't find that out, it's from Xienwolf).

 

[Deliverator]

The only question I had was I started the game as Bene Texlaiu (again sic) and turn one I founded a religion. Is that normal for them since they can't get a lot of the different religions?

In the Dune fiction the Tleilaxu are xenophobic religious separatists. See here for the background and here for an overview of the religion design.

Two minor complaints.. First off, is the deep desert actually ocean with a desert graphic? I ask because sometimes when I'm flying a scout off hither and yon, I'll hear the sound of the ocean as if you were mostly on a water screen in basic civ.

Secondly, any chance to change the sound effects for the 'grav-ship'.

Both of these are fixable. I'll make a note to look at them.

While it might not be massively useful, might you considering adding Planetfall's "APC" promotion which allows infantry units to get a +1 movement. Without roads, it would be nice to be able to get your infantry to move a bit faster in your own territory at times.

I believe we have this. If you look in the civilopedia under Promotions there is one called Home Ground that does exactly what you describe.

 

[davidlallen]

I started the game as Bene Texlaiu (again sic) and turn one I founded a religion. Is that normal for them since they can't get a lot of the different religions?

We should definitely add more documentation for the different religion effects. There is some information in the religion pedia, but there are other effects which are not documented yet regarding how the religions spread. You can get this information from the religion redesign thread.

However we still get the weird pop-up error. This time I saw what happens. You get the initial pop-up saying "You built your first settler" and then [...]

You get the same popups when you play a vanilla game. You get these because you have switched on "advisor popups" in the game options screen. The only problem with DW is that you get a number of these popups all at once, instead of getting them at different times. I will look into why these all occur at the same time. Most players switch off advisor popups after their first game.

Without roads, it would be nice to be able to get your infantry to move a bit faster in your own territory at times.

As deliverator has also pointed out, *all* your units get double move inside your own cultural borders. Look for the house-shaped promotion icon.

 

[arkham4269]

Just to confirm that missile tank bug. I attacked w/one and I got about 1 iteration of combat 9with the tank taking a hit) and then the game crashed.

BTW, two minor questions.

1. Is there any sort of pop-up telling you a storm has destroyed something? I've never seem to recall seeing one nor have I noticed any damage from any storms.

2. Is there anyway to get an alert when there is a diplomatic shift against you? There is a lot going on in the game and having some diplomatic alert options would be nice. I ask this since I made some deals with Leto II and he was happy with me. (little happy face next to him in the log and all) then about 3-6 turns later he's attacking me! No indication prior to that.

Now I realize that Corrino (who I was at war with) might have bribed the Atredies but it seems a BIG leap to go from being really happy with me to BANG war the next turn without some sort of warning.

I don't know, I would think there should be some sort of diplomatic penalty to other players if someone goes to war with someone who is "Happy" with you...even though I occasionally do it. I mean if you can't trust someone you have good relations then others would become very suspicious of that 'turn-coat' as well.

 

[koma13]

1. Is there any sort of pop-up telling you a storm has destroyed something? I've never seem to recall seeing one nor have I noticed any damage from any storms.

I agree. This x,y coords aren't very helpful. But a pop up is overkill. Some icon showing up for a few seconds would be nice (you can do that in python: CyInterface().addMessage).

 

[arkham4269]

Not sure is this is a bug, something no one has spotted or the way it should be but I can't seem to upgrade Turbines I to II unless I have one of my combat units destroy the initial turbine. Now all the other worker enhancements work (Mine I to II for example) so I'm sort of bemused why you have to destroy your own stuff to upgrade.

Plus, not to whine (really, I mean that) but is there any idea when the Dune-O-pedia might get more entries? I ask this mostly since I really love this mod but often have no idea what I should be doing. For example, the Axotl tanks don't seem to do anything other than cost 20 hammers. The Bene Tlex are supposed to be able to do plagues but I'm really late in the game building space ports and the like and so far haven't seen any benefit to being a Bene Tlex. That and what do mentats do? Are they super spies or what? I dread the entry "pedia stub here"

Beyond that I must say that this is a kick ass mod in that it doesn't seem to tax my system. Biggest problem I've always with most mods is that the late games starting to tax my system and finally crashing. I've even been able to leave the music on which I often turn off to make things run smoother. With most mods I have to play on tiny/small maps with minimal factions and I still sometimes can't get to the end. (sigh) I envy those who have the pimped out systems capable of playing 18+ civs on gigantic maps. BTW, Does this mod have the CAR accelerator?

Oh, one final question. I haven't had a chance to look at the discussion thread but was there ever any requests/denials for building outposts/fort sort of like they have in FF/Orbis. Playing on archipelago it be nice to be able to build a fort or even an outpost that would be destroyed if someone built a city near it just to not have to keep a unit out in the boonies to keep an eye on the other factions.

 

[davidlallen]

I can't seem to upgrade Turbines I to II unless I have one of my combat units destroy the initial turbine.

Please come join the lively debate on this thread.

Plus, not to whine (really, I mean that) but is there any idea when the Dune-O-pedia might get more entries?

Please help by writing some! See this post for details. I am sure you have already read through the Dune Wars Concepts tab in the civilopedia, including the section on unique abilities for each civ.

Axotl tanks don't seem to do anything other than cost 20 hammers.

The details on this may not be very clear in the documentation. Once you have built one, any units built in that city will have extra promotions. Basically, this building creates a clone of your most experienced commander. So if you build a Heavy Scorpion, and you have a unit out there somewhere which is a Heavy Scorpion with Combat III and Drill II, then your new unit will start out with Combat III and Drill II. It may be slightly less because cloning is not a perfect process.

That and what do mentats do?

Mentats are Under Construction. Please see this thread for our plans.

 

[arkham4269]

See this post for details. I am sure you have already read through the Dune Wars Concepts tab in the civilopedia, including the section on unique abilities for each civ.

I love the smell of sarcasm in the morning. =)~ Since the missile launcher bug is a bit of a game killer, I'll have the time to read more of the game.

You the problem is that it's too bad you have to activate the game to review the Civlopedia. I mean if the game is on...wel you want to play it!

 

[davidlallen]

I love the smell of sarcasm in the morning. =)~ Since the missile launcher bug is a bit of a game killer, I'll have the time to read more of the game.

Sorry, no sarcasm is intended. My point was that many things are described there; but your feedback is vital in terms of pointing out things which are not described there. For example, the axlotl tank, founding/spreading of certain religions, and the current status of the Mentat are missing from the documentation. If there is anything else you find confusing, please let us know, and we will add the needed information to the game.

There is a workaround for the missile launcher, which is to activate quick combat. It is not as pretty to watch, but it does not crash.

 

[arkham4269]

Sorry, no sarcasm is intended.

Hey, no problem. I've often said when I was in the military to people, "If first you don't succeed, how about you try reading the instructions! If that doesn't help, try following them." I guess the problem is that I'm sort of use to just jumping into a game and learning while doing and with the Dune-O-pedia having a lot of blanks, it's a bit hard.

There is a workaround for the missile launcher, which is to activate quick combat. It is not as pretty to watch, but it does not crash.

Work around work for me. I was playing on archipelago maps already so your other work around was okay too!

 

[arkham4269]

Arrakis has a pretty deep "canon". There is lots of material available on the definitions of plants, technologies, etc. But, the Dune Wars civilopedia is kind of blank. We have histories for the leaders and civilizations filled in, but the rest of the entries just say "Stub text for ...something...".

Would anybody like to help fill in the civilopedia? If so, please look into file ...Dune Wars/assets/xml/text/DuneWarsText.txt. (The "txt" file, not the other two.) Find lines like this:

<English>
Stub text for ...something...
</English>

And fill in some useful text with your favorite plain text editor. Then zip the file and post it here, or PM it to me. There is a script I run to fill in the other languages. You don't need to worry about formatting, except to leave the English.../English tags untouched.

If we have multiple people who volunteer to help, we can coordinate who will work on which group. The technologies are probably easiest, and then the bonuses. There are a lot of units and buildings but we can work on those in pieces.

We have been putting out a new patch every 1-2 weeks, so you can look forward to seeing your work "in print" fairly quickly.

Thanks in advance!

Gee, I'd love to help but I think I'd have to reread the books first. Plus I never did read the 'prequals" since I heard they sort of sucked. However, I do enjoy doing it so I'll see what I can do as I find stuff in the game that needs it.