Final Fixes Reborn

[lfgr]

As for animals, what did you want? I would happily import some of my low-poly models, such as this:




The problem is, these "low poly" models (around 5-6k, mind you) are too big for Civ 4.

That would be great. We currently have/want boar (already found a model with suboptimal but OK animations), cobra (bad animations), lizard (some fictional giant one, no animations) and crocodile (no animations). Actually, these animals were chosen based on habitats we don't have any animals for yet, so if you have similar ones that would work, too.
If there is any boring work to do that doesn't require Maya, I could do that, of course.

Anyway, looking forward to see your AoE units!

 

[Methuselas]

That would be great. We currently have/want boar (already found a model with suboptimal but OK animations), cobra (bad animations), lizard (some fictional giant one, no animations) and crocodile (no animations). Actually, these animals were chosen based on habitats we don't have any animals for yet, so if you have similar ones that would work, too.
If there is any boring work to do that doesn't require Maya, I could do that, of course.

Anyway, looking forward to see your AoE units!

As I stated before, I'm having issues with putting units with non-Civ skeletons in game. I'm not sure if it's a Maya issue or what. Send me a link to the boar and cobra. If they work in game, already, I can probably clean up the animations.

 

[Methuselas]

Good GOD, 3D Max is *SUCH* a crappy program. I don't know *HOW* it became a "standard."

I've about given up on putting custom models in game. I finally managed to get one in game, using a non-standard rig, but of course, the animations don't work and the archaic design of Max, I can't figure out something as simple as adding a bloody texture to a model, when in Maya it's just a few, simple clicks.

We may be resigned to only using humanoid models, as I can bind models to skeletons and export them from Maya to have them work in game.

 

[Daris]

SVN 290 is giving me the movies are not installed correctly error again, but earlier SVN versions still work Tested 280 and it still does. On Revision 282. 285 doesn't work, I think I'll stick with this one.

 

[black_imperator]

try deleting your cache folder maybe ? (in C:/Users/Username/AppData/Local/MyGames/Beyondthesword/)

 

[Daris]

Yeah I've tried that. In fact this was a fresh install completely.

 

[black_imperator]

It could be possible that you don't have editing access on the game's folder (or the cache folder), which could cause something like that?

 

[Methuselas]

SVN 290 is giving me the movies are not installed correctly error again, but earlier SVN versions still work Tested 280 and it still does. On Revision 282. 285 doesn't work, I think I'll stick with this one.

If it's installed on your C:\ Drive, you'll probably need to use "take ownership" on the Directory.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753659(v=ws.11).aspx

 

[Ag0range]

It is marvellous to see all the advance you have made, dear modders!

Actually I am completely enjoying the things I see.

I have got a couple of feedback notes. First, I guess the Mercenaries menu is still a WIP feature, for that I never found a button to hire and as well, there is overpowered salad of units available, right?

Second, my favourite part, the Wizard Towers, you know, Tower of this-and-that, I would really love to see their models like Master of Mana had... You know why? These buildings are so costly in requirements and hammers, one would expect, as minimum, some huge beautiful Lord-of-The-Rings type epic "television" towers in the cities, not some cottage like the actual Tower of Mastery. Second, it would be so sweet if the whole topic of the Towers might be reworked so they might give some serious terraforming/summon/enchantment benefits, with variety of options... So the Towers might come to be an actual Doomsday-type military projects! Sigh... Ahahhah. )

 

[Methuselas]

Second, my favourite part, the Wizard Towers, you know, Tower of this-and-that, I would really love to see their models like Master of Mana had... You know why? These buildings are so costly in requirements and hammers, one would expect, as minimum, some huge beautiful Lord-of-The-Rings type epic "television" towers in the cities, not some cottage like the actual Tower of Mastery. Second, it would be so sweet if the whole topic of the Towers might be reworked so they might give some serious terraforming/summon/enchantment benefits, with variety of options... So the Towers might come to be an actual Doomsday-type military projects! Sigh... Ahahhah. )

I never played Master of Mana, so I have no idea what they looked like, but if you can get me images or screenshots of the Towers, it shouldn't be hard to remodel.

I have enough information that I'm confident I can start working on Unit upgrades, using Firaxis' skeletons, but still being able to create new animations, if I need them. Unique models are giving me a headache, though, but I'm getting better results now that I broke down and installed my own copy of 3DS Max 8. Still having issues, but at least I can export FBX files that partially show up in-game, correctly. I know I'm just missing something simple using Maya. This weekend, when I'm off from work and the Munchkin is on visitation, I'm going to unbind a unique model in Maya and reskin it, but with a Master Dummy bone as the bind point. I'll be pissed if it's something as simple as that, but requiring all that work.

Cross your fingers.

 

[black_imperator]

It is marvellous to see all the advance you have made, dear modders!

Actually I am completely enjoying the things I see.

I have got a couple of feedback notes. First, I guess the Mercenaries menu is still a WIP feature, for that I never found a button to hire and as well, there is overpowered salad of units available, right?

The hire button should appear near the unit button in the menu when you have enough cash for it
For the mercenaries, i didn't really get much feedback, so i don't really know if there's too many units, not enough, some classes that should be barred from appearing, too expansive, not enough,.....

Second, my favourite part, the Wizard Towers, you know, Tower of this-and-that, I would really love to see their models like Master of Mana had... You know why? These buildings are so costly in requirements and hammers, one would expect, as minimum, some huge beautiful Lord-of-The-Rings type epic "television" towers in the cities, not some cottage like the actual Tower of Mastery. Second, it would be so sweet if the whole topic of the Towers might be reworked so they might give some serious terraforming/summon/enchantment benefits, with variety of options... So the Towers might come to be an actual Doomsday-type military projects! Sigh... Ahahhah. )

i don't want them to be too powerful, but i'd like to revisit them in some way, along with a few other magic stuff.

 

[Methuselas]

The hire button should appear near the unit button in the menu when you have enough cash for it
For the mercenaries, i didn't really get much feedback, so i don't really know if there's too many units, not enough, some classes that should be barred from appearing, too expansive, not enough,.....

i don't want them to be too powerful, but i'd like to revisit them in some way, along with a few other magic stuff.

That would explain why I never saw them. I may not have gotten far enough in my last game to actually hire mercenaries. I'll have to check it out. Does it let you hire just about any unit? Getting some Elven workers would be nice. ;P

 

[black_imperator]

The mercenary menu is a button on top left for that. It appears after anyone discovers the Trade tech.
it generates a random set of combat units you can get.

 

[dvor]

First thing about Mercenaries that requires a change is the unit name after it dies.
You can rehire a dead mercenary over and over again. Nothing wrong with that. But the name ...

 

[black_imperator]

First thing about Mercenaries that requires a change is the unit name after it dies.
You can rehire a dead mercenary over and over again. Nothing wrong with that. But the name ...

damn, i forgot i needed to fix that ^^


Edit : that should now be fixed, along with a small bug i introduced last rev.

 

[Ag0range]

Ehm, Sirs, my bad. I have downloaded and launched the last available MoM 2.11 - and the Tower models are the same: moreover, Ashes has got even more towers than MoM, actually, hehe . The only thing is:

* MoM has repeated (identical) model for the Tower of Sorcery and the Tower of Divination
* Ashes of Erebus has repeated (identical) model for the Tower of Necromancy and the Tower of D'Tesh, what is quite acceptable, because they are kind of the same.

The one I am in love and was confused with, is the Tower of Eyes, terrain feature! Btw, Civilopedia text missing in that one Obviously, it descends somewhere from FFH2... This one looks really sweet.

So, I might humbly suggest two ways:

1) easier (from my point of view) - rescale the Towers' models so that these might be actually visible in the cities on the map scale, or

2) the serious way: develop huge ploppable models, so that these objects might be constructed over the terrain by a great Sage (or even better, the Sage only has a unique right to construct the special placeholder, base, when the requirements are met, and he vanishes. To finish the actual Tower, the player will need various workers and over9000 turns, and the improvement of the "base" is changed to the actual Tower), so these Towers.... might be destructable and "diggable", "explorable" each, saying, 70 turns (like the Pyre of the Seraphic) by a Mage or higher tier guy to learn some unique random spells. That might give a ton of flavor! And might make the players respect and protect both own Towers and Mages, because if this Mage dies... goodbye the unique spell he learned as well

 

[black_imperator]

2) the serious way: develop huge ploppable models, so that these objects might be constructed over the terrain by a great Sage (or even better, the Sage only has a unique right to construct the special placeholder, base, when the requirements are met, and he vanishes. To finish the actual Tower, the player will need various workers and over9000 turns, and the improvement of the "base" is changed to the actual Tower), so these Towers.... might be destructable and "diggable", "explorable" each, saying, 70 turns (like the Pyre of the Seraphic) by a Mage or higher tier guy to learn some unique random spells. That might give a ton of flavor! And might make the players respect and protect both own Towers and Mages, because if this Mage dies... goodbye the unique spell he learned as well

not that one ^^ i won't start getting wonders directly as tiles on the map, this isn't civ 6 ^^ (Or rather, i would in some specific cases where it might make sense, not sure the towers qualify). I prefer keeping the UF for old and mythical places ^^

 

[Ag0range]

I just enjoy too much trying to get alive to and from the Pyre of the Seraphic, driven by curiosity, attacked by all the kind of weird wildlife and spectres roaming near hehe

So I visualized the Towers might qualify, because the Tower of Eyes is already there! Just like the Saruman and Sauron in the movie, spent quite a load of hammers to get built theirs, spent much time sitting inside, so suddenly boom - managed to offer a world invasion

Make my Mages actually sit and spend their pants in the Towers instead of roaming the wilderness! Ahaha! Mage held for 20 turns on the plot, when you cannot even choose him, and suddenly you need him on the border - and sorry, he has got 12 turns to go yet! Ahahaha!

P.S. or make the Tower of Eyes explorable each 200 turns for some dark and weird casts, spells, summons - or unfortunate consequences like going totally mad and going barbaric/demonic! Or even suddenly bringing Hyborem!!!

 

[black_imperator]

The reason the tower of Eyes is a UF is because it's a building that dates from before the Age of Ice. It's the Prison where Kylorin locked Perpentach up around the end of the Patrian Civil War. It would make sense to have it being explorable if it isn't already yes.

If you want to, you can make some new exploration results in the xml, by the way ^^

 

[Ag0range]

I mean it might be sweet to have a whole bunch of results planned for its exploration. Probably miniquests where one answers questions...

Regarding Mercenaries: My Lawful Good Malakim empire has just hired the cheapest option available - an Imp! The imp is able to cast Sanctify that is designed to cure the hell terrain... Weird. Even more weird is the fact we have no Hyborem entered the world, we have 14 in Armageddon counter... No idea where that Imp came from.

Now I understand the absence of the button - the last time I checked that window, I had much money to hire anyone, but I did not have the Trade researched. That is why. The button existed, but it did not say I needed to wait till trade. And I found that button accidentally, because I was looking for BUG option to turn the terrain damage on. It is too weird to see as my malakim army lives for ages visiting frost crystals like these were their home. Nothing to eat, freezing temperatures...