incremental patch discussion

@ Deliverator, I have been playing using the "136 renaming v2" files for several days, and there are no more python alerts. Not sure if you have been waiting for confirmation, but I think these files can be considered safe to use now.

I have been experimenting with ways to pick plots for satellites/deepstrikes, figuring out how to make units move faster on desert, and tuning the terraforming victory. Nothing is ready to go, and 90% of the changes are in DuneWars.py only.
 
I have started working on 1.3.8 (or is it 1.3.9?) using your renaming patch (136 renaming v2) as a base. I have a lot to do for it, but I will aim to have it ready for the weekend if possible.

I have a spreadsheet done with the strategic techs for each unit and while I'm sure it's not perfect, it is hopefully a big improvement. Now I can start on the XML. I'm going to do a sweep through the threads and see if there's any issues that I can resolve while I'm at it.

By the way, apparently there were some changes relating to Gamefonts in BTS 3.19. Given that we now have a lot of wrong bonus gamefont icons that we need to create/replace, it would be good if there was a simpler way than putting them all into the gamefonts.tga which is a bit fiddly.
 
Deliverator said:
it would be good if there was a simpler way than putting them all into the gamefonts.tga which is a bit fiddly.
Click to expand...

Amen! It sounds like you have done it successfully, so you know about the magenta lines. I am not aware of any "less fiddly" way, but I would love to have one.
 
keldath said:
well, if someone can provide me with an art for each bonus, i can make the gamefonts myself along with matching the bonuses to it.
Click to expand...

It is time-consuming, but what I did for Fury Road was to just take the 64x64 icon for each resource, which we already have, and shrink it to 16x16 and then improve the contrast a little. That way no "new" art is needed, just time spent in photoshop or whatever to shrink and paste each one into gamefonts.
 
I think we can just do the gamefonts gradually. It does need some manual work to tidy them up because if we just resize to 16x16 a lot of them will look like mush. I think I'll just make sure all the resources have a different icon in 1.3.8 and then I can gradually replace them with the correct image in the gamefont.tga. Whilst we are still adding and removing some bonuses it makes sense to hold off doing too much work on it.
 
Weird bug with terraforming; I started a game, got a terrible map choice, and then hit regenerate map and my new start point (and everyone else's) were all grassland and plains.

This might be similar to the Advanced Start issue that others realized; I think the terraformed area was about the same number of tiles as the Advanced Start zone that you get.
 
Ahriman said:
Weird bug with terraforming; I started a game, got a terrible map choice, and then hit regenerate map and my new start point (and everyone else's) were all grassland and plains.
Click to expand...

Yes, for many mapscripts, regenerate map is broken. The mapscripts fail to clean out the bonuses from the previous map, so you get huge number of bonuses. Please use "exit to main menu" instead, which is a little painful.
 
There a few things that I'd like to be implemented that are related to some of the imported goods bonuses I am adding in 1.3.8.

1) I'd like to have buildings that provide more than one free bonus. FFH2 must have some custom code that allows this for their Palaces which provide 3 different Mana types. I'm guessing that they have are multi tag rather than the single line BTS <FreeBonus> tag in CIV4BuildingsInfos.xml.

2) Is it possible in Python or SDK to have a building/project that randomly changes to one out of a pool of buildings on completion? What I'd like is that when you build a Space Port what is actually built in the city is one out of a pool of Space Ports that each provide a different set of three imported goods.

3) I'd like to have Mentat, as a National Unit, 1 per faction, available at Mentats tech. The two powers I'd like are:
a) A spell like Inspiration in FFH2 which boosts the science output of a city, as long as the Mentat is attached. It would be called Human Computer or something like that.
b) Some kind of combat training ability like the Reverend Mothers, although it should probably be slightly different to that implementation.

None of these things are essential for 1.3.8, but they would make the implementation much more interesting. I'd like to know you're views on how easy/hard these would be to implement.
 
Deliverator said:
1) I'd like to have buildings that provide more than one free bonus. FFH2 must have some custom code that allows this for their Palaces which provide 3 different Mana types. I'm guessing that they have are multi tag rather than the single line BTS <FreeBonus> tag in CIV4BuildingsInfos.xml.
Click to expand...

Why do you suggest one building with three bonuses, instead of three buildings with one bonus each? Doesn't the player have to build something to get each bonus?

2) Is it possible in Python or SDK to have a building/project that randomly changes to one out of a pool of buildings on completion?
Click to expand...

It is not hard; but as a player, I don't think I would like that. If I need health and I spend hammers on something, I would prefer to get health, not say a science bonus.

3) I'd like to have Mentat, as a National Unit, 1 per faction, available at Mentats tech. The two powers I'd like are:
a) A spell like Inspiration in FFH2 which boosts the science output of a city, as long as the Mentat is attached. It would be called Human Computer or something like that.
b) Some kind of combat training ability like the Reverend Mothers, although it should probably be slightly different to that implementation.
Click to expand...

(a) is describing a standard specialist. In fact I think the science specialist is called Mentat today. Can the building act like a library and allow assigning a specialist?

(b) Did Mentats train combat units, so the unit would fight better after they left? In the books I mostly remember mentats suggesting complex strategies to get somebody to betray somebody else. Perhaps they could do something like give a combat bonus while they are stacked, but not afterwards?

EDIT: also, the AI probably won't do a good job of building and assigning units which have both a city defense, and an attack benefit. I tried to aim the Reverend Mother unit at attack and scouting. I like the idea of a Mentat unit, probably not as a UU since anybody could hire them. Let's agree on a design.
 
Why do you suggest one building with three bonuses, instead of three buildings with one bonus each? Doesn't the player have to build something to get each bonus?
Click to expand...

I have civ unique National Wonders called Atreides Landing Stage, Harkonnen Landing Stage that provide an imported good (e.g. Caladanian Wine) from the relevant homeworld. I am adding House Ecaz with the idea that they have an advantage in number and quantity of imported goods, Sapho, Semuta, etc. I don't want to have three separate buildings for them, Sapho Suppliers, Semuta Suppliers, which is the way I have to do it now - the best way would be to have a single Ecaz Landing Stage that provides all the Ecaz bonus resources, just like the FFH2 palaces provide 3 bonuses.

My idea in (2) is that with the Space Ports tech you can build a Space Port that provides more of your civs unique resource (the Landing Stages available at Off World Trade provides some), but also two other resources from other homeworlds. Having a pool of buildings was an implementation idea I had to achieve this. If Koma's Homeworld proof-of-concept goes well, then we could build in an element of true inter-planetary trade.

Maybe this will make more sense when you see the changes I'm implementing in 1.3.8.

Perhaps we need to think about a more interesting implementation for Mentats.
 
Which XML file do the tags such as UNITCOMBAT_LIGHT_INFANTRY point to? I want to update the names so that they are consistent. e.g. Suspensor Craft not Hover, etc.
 
Deliverator said:
There a few things that I'd like to be implemented that are related to some of the imported goods bonuses I am adding in 1.3.8.

2) Is it possible in Python or SDK to have a building/project that randomly changes to one out of a pool of buildings on completion? What I'd like is that when you build a Space Port what is actually built in the city is one out of a pool of Space Ports that each provide a different set of three imported goods.

3) I'd like to have Mentat, as a National Unit, 1 per faction, available at Mentats tech. The two powers I'd like are:
a) A spell like Inspiration in FFH2 which boosts the science output of a city, as long as the Mentat is attached. It would be called Human Computer or something like that.
b) Some kind of combat training ability like the Reverend Mothers, although it should probably be slightly different to that implementation.

None of these things are essential for 1.3.8, but they would make the implementation much more interesting. I'd like to know you're views on how easy/hard these would be to implement.
Click to expand...

2) Why not make a cheap spaceport building wich can be expanded with more traderoute buildings? each extra expansion giving acces to more resources?

a) Maybey a building wich would give science, espionage and 2xp to units build there?


davidlallen said:
Why do you suggest one building with three bonuses, instead of three buildings with one bonus each? Doesn't the player have to build something to get each bonus?



It is not hard; but as a player, I don't think I would like that. If I need health and I spend hammers on something, I would prefer to get health, not say a science bonus.



(a) is describing a standard specialist. In fact I think the science specialist is called Mentat today. Can the building act like a library and allow assigning a specialist?

(b) Did Mentats train combat units, so the unit would fight better after they left? In the books I mostly remember mentats suggesting complex strategies to get somebody to betray somebody else. Perhaps they could do something like give a combat bonus while they are stacked, but not afterwards?

EDIT: also, the AI probably won't do a good job of building and assigning units which have both a city defense, and an attack benefit. I tried to aim the Reverend Mother unit at attack and scouting. I like the idea of a Mentat unit, probably not as a UU since anybody could hire them. Let's agree on a design.
Click to expand...

The main function of mentats in the books seems to be mostly doing complexcalculations, but some like piter de vries and thufir hawat also where trained as assassins and thought of training excercises for the troops.
 
hey keldath, if you want me to include the SDK changes I'll need a compiled DLL.

The file you posted only seems to contain the source.
 
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