offworld trade and resources

[Ahriman]

I don't think there is a need to make it finite. You just need to control the rate at which units are added to the pool dependent

Your conception sounds fine, but how is this not finite? If you can only buy units which are in the pool, and units are only added to the pool slowly over time... then by definition there is a limit to the number of units you can buy at any time.
This is basically what I meant by finite; you can only buy what is in your pool.
As opposed to a system where you can buy an infinite number of units of any type at any point in time at a constant marginal cost of X per unit.

If we don't want to give the Fremen the screen

I'm generally in favor letting Fremen use the screen, just give them different graphics. Take out the Guildsman and have desert/worm-rider pictures.
I don't like the free-unit-spawn mechanic. There is no strategy there; no decisions that the player makes to encourage this or anything, its just free units.

like Kindjal (which I still think should be renamed Ginaz Swordsmanship/Ginaz Sword Training)

I agree. IIRC, a Kindjal is just a particular type of blade. It would be like a medieval mod having cutlasses or broadswords or scimitars as a strategic resource.
How about "Swordmaster training"?

 

[Deliverator]

Ah, I misunderstood what you meant by 'finite', I was thinking you meant that the total number of units ever available for each civ was fixed.

 

[Ahriman]

Ah, I misunderstood what you meant by 'finite', I was thinking you meant that the total number of units ever available for each civ was fixed.

What I meant was just that there was a small/finite number of troops that you could recruit at any given point in time, and that the pool was slowly replenished.

But, technically, doesn't your model also have a finite number of troops that a faction can ever recruit? If there is a limited pool size at any given point in time and a finite replacement rate, and a finite number of turns in the game....
But I think you thought I meant a fixed pool with NO refreshment?

There are two ways I could see the pool work.
a) You can only recruit units from an available unit pool; eg at any point in time this pool might have 3 elite bladesmen, an attack thopter and a guardsman. So those are the only units you can recruit.
Slowly, units are added to the pool, and it keeps increasing over time. So if you never buy anything, the available pool can eventually get huge.
b) You can only recruit units available from the pool, and there is a fixed maximum number of units of each type that the pool can contain, and this can vary by faction.
If you buy units from the pool, the pool gets depleted, and then recovers over time but ONLY up to the maximum pool size.
Eg The Atreides pool could have 3 thopters, 1 assault hornet, 1 interceptor hornet, 1 bladesman and 1 AT infantry.
The Harkonnen pool could have 3 scorpions, 2 artillery, 1 AA infantry and 1 guardsman.
And you buy whatever is the best unit in that slot that your current tech level allows.
If you buy any units they are subtracted from the pool, and every X turns the pool gets replenished to maximum (or just gets 1 unit replenished every Y turns).

Its also interesting to think about what factors should affect pool size/refresh rate.
I could see a National Wonder that would increase the size or refreshment rate of your pool, for example. Should it be linked to your on-Arrakis tech level?

 

[davidlallen]

I don't think polling the screen to check what units are available is necessarily a big problem if the screen is a big element of the game. That's what you have to do in Colonization and no-one complains about it.

I agree with your "if statement". However, I was thinking of this screen as a small element which added a little uniqueness, not as the main way to get units. I haven't played Col, but I gather this screen is the main/only way to get units?

If it is a small element for DW, I feel strongly Fremen should not have access to it. It represents what the Spacing Guild does to ship units to the planet. We should not overload it by saying the Fremen can also use it to import units from some distant towns. The Fremen should have another way to get units.

I don't like the free-unit-spawn mechanic. There is no strategy there; no decisions that the player makes to encourage this or anything, its just free units.

(redirected to "making fremen different" thread, new post in a few minutes)

 

[keldath]

hey guys,
i havent read all the posts here, im a bit busy these days,
but it seems that koma13 does an awesome work, and its gonna be an awesome aspect.

ill just add that every civ must have this screen, perhaps it can be a general one for eah civ, or as probably u guys will do - unique to each civ - though i think it will be heavier?

for the fremmen....we need to find some alternative, maybe they can just import units from other fremen sietchs or something like this.

anyway, you might have already discussed this issues,

so ill get back to the tech tree.

 

[koma13]

Thanks for the feedback. I will make a second version.

DA39. As requested in an earlier post, is it possible to trigger this screen on a button, which appears in cities that have the spaceport building?

What is the benefit in doing this? I find it a little counter intuitive to have to open the city screen first to get access to homeworld screen.

 

[davidlallen]

My suggestion was to allow the player to put the recruited units in any city which has a spaceport. This is the way mercenaries (used to) work in FFH; there is an action button available in any city which has a spaceport. These action buttons "look like" unit action buttons. World spells in FFH also "look like" unit action buttons. It is a little weird to see that every Grigori unit, including workers, work boats, etc has an action button to cast the World Spell, but it is easy to get used to.

 

[koma13]

Ah ok, but I think I already have a better solution to that problem...

 

[Deliverator]

For the background I would prefer a more solid/consistent image

I think I have a vague idea what you mean by this, but maybe you can create a rough example background to make it clear.

 

[koma13]

I think I have a vague idea what you mean by this, but maybe you can create a rough example background to make it clear.

Here is a preview pic of the next update. Maybe you can use that for inspiration.

Spoiler :

 

[keldath]

really nice koma!

say just a q, are you doing the whole thing on python?

 

[koma13]

Homeworld screen/interface is done 100% in python. The cvgamecoredll is only needed for ai.

 

[davidlallen]

I see you have put a list of the cities on the right side. I assume I can click one of these to send the new troops to that city. This seems OK; the only problem is that I rarely remember the names of my cities, especially when they are all made-up words or Arabic words I don't know. That is why I thought of selecting the city first. Do you think this will be a problem? I suppose it would be very complicated to put the minimap there, or somehow allow the user to select the city by clicking on a map.

 

[Ahriman]

I agree that names are hard to remember, but it looks like there is a city screen picture of the city in the bottom right corner, which should help to figure it out. Presumably that picture changes depending on which city you have selected?

 

[koma13]

I assume I can click one of these to send the new troops to that city.

Yes, first select units you want to buy, then click on a city to send these units. The guild navigator will guide you through the process.

That is why I thought of selecting the city first.

Imho it doesnt make much sense to select a city before knowing which units are available for purchase.

Presumably that picture changes depending on which city you have selected?

Correct. The picture updates when you hover your cursor on top of a city name (recycled some code from Europe screen ).

 

[davidlallen]

OK, that sounds great. BTW I have eliminated the Spacers Guild from the game as of 1.4.7 (not released yet). So if you want to use the leaderhead art for Pilru, go ahead. That image is from the Children of Dune miniseries. The image you have is from the internet somewhere, but I don't think that actually appeared in any of the movies or miniseries. I don't know where it is from.

 

[Deliverator]

That image is assembled from the beginning of the Lynch Dune film where a Guild ambassador visits the Emperor. I'm happy to go either way on which style of Navigator we use. I can get better quality shots from the Lynch film if we want. The Navigators are just humans evolved by the spice gas. I think that Edric in Children of Dune looks more humanoid, which is possibly better from an accuracy point of view. That said I do like the gas tank and Guild attendants in the Lynch film, if not the weird foetus-like Navigators.

 

[Ahriman]

I like the really twisted navigators and the gas tanks; Navigators are mutated beyond human. I also hate the picture we are using for the Bene Tl leader. Bene Tl are normally described as twisted mis-shapen dwarves, not charismatic looking normals.

 

[davidlallen]

I like the really twisted navigators and the gas tanks; Navigators are mutated beyond human. I also hate the picture we are using for the Bene Tl leader. Bene Tl are normally described as twisted mis-shapen dwarves, not charismatic looking normals.

When you hate something, please feel free to do something about it, such as finding a picture you like better. This is a screen cap from the only BT we ever see on screen in any of the Dune movies/miniseries.

 

[Ahriman]

I don't own any of the Dune movies/TV things, and I have no idea of any good art sources online. But some kind of twisted mutant would be better than this IMO.

Just providing feedback....