MapScriptTools: Fall from Heaven 2 support

[Terkhen]

As a side project for ExtraModMod, I have been working on fixing some issues and adding some features to MapScriptTools. As some of you may already know, MapScriptTools is a set of code tools for MapScript creation intended to help with making MapScripts compatible with many mods, and one of those mods is Fall from Heaven 2 (along with most of its modmods). Besides using it in my own ModMod and testing it in More Naval AI, I have made some short tests in Rise from Erebus and Master of Mana and everything seems to be in order. For more information, you can check this thread: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=540261

I have created this thread in order to let FFH2 modmodders know about this tool, in case that they are interested. I am also interested in Fall from Heaven 2 specific feedback for the features included with this tool. The most important one is probably the resource balancer. If the balancer is enabled, it will make sure that certain resources are always placed nearby each civilization's starting point, and to remove others resources for that zone. It is possible to define which resources to modify for each mod. Currently, MapScriptTools uses the following resource lists:

Fall from Heaven 2:
Resources to balance: 'BONUS_MITHRIL', 'BONUS_REAGENTS', 'BONUS_HORSE', 'BONUS_MANA', 'BONUS_IRON', 'BONUS_COPPER'
Resources to eliminate: NONE

ExtraModMod:
Resources to balance: 'BONUS_GUNPOWDER', 'BONUS_REAGENTS', 'BONUS_COPPER', 'BONUS_HORSE', 'BONUS_IRON', 'BONUS_MITHRIL'
Resources to eliminate: 'BONUS_MARBLE','BONUS_STONE'

I would like to discuss what could be a good default selection for the Fall from Heaven 2 balancer. If anyone is interested in specific values for their mods (or even adding multiple balancing schemes instead of having a single one), that could be easily added for the next version.

Another point that I would like to discuss is the placement of civilization starting points and unique features in the Erebus MapScript. It would be simple to add placement information for mod-specific civilizations and unique features, so if anyone is willing to do the work of defining placement values for any new civilizations and features, I will be happy to add them. You can find their values in the Erebus_mst.py file, at the GetCivPreferences and GetImprovementPreferences methods.

Of course, any other feedback or discussion besides those two topics is welcome

 

[Tholal]

So if I understand correctly, this is a tool to assist in creating and editing mapscripts? Your new versions of the mapscripts can be used without the tool?

 

[Terkhen]

So if I understand correctly, this is a tool to assist in creating and editing mapscripts?

That's correct. The adaptation of an existing mapscript to work with MapScriptTools is not trivial, but once that it is done it is quite simple to incorporate all of the tool's features such as the methods that beautify the terrain, the improved bonus balancer, a handler of team starting positions or support for storing the game options chosen the last time.

Although it is not as interesting for specific mods as the other features, one of the tool's main features is that it acts as a compatibility layer between different mods. For example, these mapscripts will create haunted lands and kelp when used in Rise from Erebus and Master of Mana, without producing any errors in other mods that may lack those features such as for example More Naval AI or ExtraModMod. It is also possible to customize how some things work for each mod; for examplr, EMM currently uses different resources for the balancer than the ones originally chosen by Temudjin. If these mapscripts get more use, I'm hoping that the feedback will help on improving the quality of these twelve mapscripts not just for a single FFH2 based mod, but for all of them.

Your new versions of the mapscripts can be used without the tool?

No, they need to have MapScriptTools.py and the TXT files in the mod's assets. Besides that, they don't need any explicit support from the mod they are being used on; these files and the mapscripts can always be added later by those who want to use it.

 

[Terkhen]

I have released a new version of MapScriptTools which adds support for recent versions of More Naval AI. As I mentioned before, it should also work in all modmods of the Fall from Heaven 2 family. If you are interested in playing in a toroidal Erebus, being able to start a game that uses a random mapscript, or in having your favourite map script options saved instead of having to set them all again whenever you start a new game, give it a try and let me know how it went!

You can find the main thread here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=540261

EDIT: If you are using a mod that includes previous versions of this tool, make a backup before installing this!