Idea: Victory screens?

[wilboman]

I just wrapped up a Conquest victory, and it occurred to me: the Civ 4 victory movie seems slightly incongruous... Is there any way we could replace it with a victory text and images, or something?

Would it be possible to do something à la what they have in Alpha Centauri, a generic text but with triggers that replace the names of people, nations, religions, etc so that you get the correct ones every time?

 

[Chalid]

A single screen should not be a problem and placing the text should not be too. The only qestion is the priority of a new victory screen Meaning we need to assure that one can play the game to the end first

 

[C.Roland]

It's really easy to change the video we only have to make a new bik video. I can do it but like Chalid said it's not a priority.

 

[Corlindale]

I guess the focus should be making the AI so smart that noone will ever get to see the Conquest victory movie, thus making it a non-issue

 

[woodelf]

I consider it a victory to play 250 turns without a CTD. Can someone make a screen for that?

Seriously, new screens are a great idea for down the road. I'd like Wonder screens personally. I hate completing a Wonder and not getting a pop-up full screen still of what I just finished.

 

[wilboman]

I agree with you there. Wonder screens would be cool. But yeah, I guess that's all for down the road.

 

[woodelf]

Going back to this...does anyone know the procedure for making screens? I'd love to start making some.

 

[Corlindale]

How about making small quotes for the wonders, like in Alpha Centauri?

 

[woodelf]

How about making small quotes for the wonders, like in Alpha Centauri?

Yeah, but we need a screen to put them on. That's what I don't know how to do yet. A simple screen like the tech pop-up screen with a pic and quote would be perfect.

 

[Chalid]

Speaking of quotes do we plan voice overs for the technologies when the tech tree is finished? I could do some texts for magical techs in Latin and Middle Egypt language.

Hmm how about simply using the Pedia texts (or shortened versions) for wonder screens? Or even Adapt part of the Wonder Pedia. That should be doable quite easily.

I do not remember how the wonders in Alpha Centari were. Were that voiceovers or just text quotes (most likely both), or videos?

Edit: Doing popups in phython should be simple. I think either talchas or Kael could do them in a minute. (I did never but so i think it would take me 10-20 minutes to do one )

 

[woodelf]

I think SMAC was video, but there was a still screen as well. I think.

I have no problem with anything being used as the Wonder screen so long as something pops up to remind me what I just built! I want to see if this Google SketchUp I d/led can make some pics to put onto screens.

 

[Chalid]

We might want to use the Pedia Pics (the actual buildings, but not until later when they are nice... right now they just suck )

 

[woodelf]

We might want to use the Pedia Pics (the actual buildings, but not until later when they are nice... right now they just suck )

Fine by me, but not to be more obtuse than normal.....how do you make the screens and have the game call them up?

What tools/programs do you need and is it XML, python, other?

 

[Chalid]

python it is. youll have to trigger it on some onBuilt-event (Kael wil know which one.)

The screen itself consists only of some lines (i'd guess ~50 to 100) of phython code. Nothing esle needed (except eventually the pics and the quotes (which most probably would be the pedia entries as you otherwise would need an new XML tag for each wonder (meaning a SDK change) oh for the pics you need an XML addition too, or you customize the screens for each wonder (that would mean 50 to 100 lines + 2 lines per wonder) ))

Edit: no problem for the wounder as they already have a tag for pics/videos, so you need the pic the text and the screen template (phyton code)

 

[wilboman]

It would be nice with some well-made art we nicked from somewhere else, where possible. Bigger versions of the buttons, perhaps?

 

[woodelf]

I'm thinking of going hunting into CivIII. I played a lot of D&D:Mystara, Master of Myrror, and WH. There are a lot of nice static Wonder screens there.

 

[woodelf]

Chalid - will something like this work? There are tons of nice pcx files...

 

[Corlindale]

Does anyone have Civ II: Test of Time? I seem to recall that there were some fairly nice pictures for the Fantasy playmode, but I do not have the cd anymore.

 

[woodelf]

It would be nice with some well-made art we nicked from somewhere else, where possible. Bigger versions of the buttons, perhaps?

Missed this somehow. How good do buttons look when blown up big enough for a screen?

 

[Chalid]

Not good