[Religion and Revolution]: Mod Development

[Willi_Tell]

Roughly said, the difference is
packed art: faster initial loading, more time between every turn
un-packed art: slower initial loading, less time between every turn

Especially for long and big games/maps, I really think it's good to have unpacked art.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's my personal experience...

 

[Nightinggale]

I just found something else which needs profiling. If packing really slows down next turn events, then it can easily turn into a poor tradeoff. Next turn delays are far more important than the startup delay.

 

[raystuttgart]

We have had the discussion about using FPKs several times.
(And I have had long discussions with several Civ4BtS modders as well.)

We are not using FPKs on purpose.

It is true, that FPKs speed up initialization.
But it also negatively impacts ingame performance and stability.
(Although the negative impact is not that big.)

Ingame performance and stability are more important to me, than initalization time of the mod.
(Intialization is incredibly fast on my monster machine anyways, once everything is cached.)

There are several things however that should not be put into FPKs if you want to use them.
(e.g. Movies and Atlasses. Thus you should take a little care how you structure them.)

Using FPKs or not is simply a "matter of taste".
Almost every (experienced) modder will have a different opinion on that topic.
(A lot may also depend on your individual system and of course on structure of the mod.)

 

[raystuttgart]

Well ok, I have finished DLL and XML for Africa Screen last night.

With some luck I will have a first testable Beta uploaded to SVN tonight.
(Still need to do some small improvments in Python though.)

Edit:
Will probably need until Sunday until this is bugfree. So I will not upload tonight.
(Still have some small bugs with Controls in Africa Screen. Recalling, Sending to City in New World, ...)

Basically Africa works like this:

1) It is highly configurable.

• Africa Prices for Yields -> YieldInfos.xml
• Africa Prices (and Availability of Units) -> UnitInfos.xml

2) Works similar to EuropeScreen with some small differences

• Prices are independent of / different from Europe (and of course vary over time by similar rules)
• By default, only African Slaves can be bought as Units (with slightly increasing price)
• No Immigration (that still takes place in Europe only)
• Taxes are the same as in Europe (It is the Africa Colony of your King)
• Yields boycotted in Europe are boycotted in Africa as well (It is the Africa Colony of your King)
• When declaring Independence Africa is not accessable anymore as well (It is the Africa Colony of your King)
• Every plot that allows to sail to Europe, does allow to sail to Africa as well (there are no different EuropePlots and AfricaPlots)
• AI ignores AfricaScreen but gets the DLL-Diplo-Event for African Slaves more often

Summary:

Africa is simply a new trading place with different prices that also allows to buy slaves as cheap labour.
It is not meant to allow the player to avoid boycotts through the king or allow further excessive trading while fighting WOI.

Hope you like it.
(This was more work than it might seem.)

Edit:
I have attached some screenshots.

Edit 2:
Most of the Credits go to Dom Pedro II because I have heavily used his old code from Triangle Trade.
However, I have done substantial changes to his work:

• He used a very different pricing mechanism. I use a similar one as Europe.
• He had implemented separate AfricaPlots which I thought were unnecessary.
• In his version Africa was not under control by the King, which I changed again.
• Fixed / implemented Automization for Sailing to Africa
• Several small improvments and changes that were necessary to be compatible with RaR

Edit 3:
Special Thanks again to Willi_Tell, who created the backgrounds for AfricaScreen.

 

[Willi_Tell]

Great, Ray! Thank you! Can't wait to play the africa feature(s)!

Is it just myself or does the current "sail-to-Africa"-button not really fit?

I couldn't resist and created a new one (to fit with the "sail-to-Europe"-button)

Please feel free to use it, if you like it

 

[Schmiddie]

I have already created new buttons and uploaded them to SVN... I never liked the style of the new button for "Sail to Europe" so I have created both in another style...

But everybody feel free to use the other version...

 

[raystuttgart]

Nice.

 

[raystuttgart]

By the way:

Once this is fully implemented it should be relatively easy (for me) to duplicate the feature to create something like a "Port Royal Screen" or "Tortuga Screen"
if background graphics were available.
I am not sure though if that would really further add to gameplay and fun.

Theoretically that place could be a bit different / special.
(Independent of King)

• Maybe only Privateers, Pirate Fregates and Smuggling Ships could sail to it. (Ships with Hidden Nationality)
• Could allow buying of Criminals, Pirate Fregates and Smuggling Ships.
• Could have fixed "Bribe Rate" instead of "Taxes".
• Of course different Prices for Goods
• Goods would not be boycotted
• Still available during War of Independence
• Button to buy units would not be available without a ship in the port

Maybe:

• Accessable only from Europe_West_Plots (Pazifik)

@Schmiddie and Willi:

I personally don't really care but effort for implementation would be comparably low for me, since I already figured out the details of such a feature.
(The only things I still need to do are some Python Screen improvments / fixes, but that should be done until Sunday.)

I will leave the decision to you guys.
If you supply the graphics and want to have that as well, I will implement it.

Otherwise, it is no problem for me if we simply forget that.

 

[Schmiddie]

Hehe, sounds interesting!

Hm, how would the player "sail" to this "screen"?

For Africa and Europe it makes sense to reach them via special fields on the map and then sail "out of the mp", but for a harbor (Tortuga or Port Royal or another) which already is located in the New World? Hm...

 

[raystuttgart]

Hm, how would the player "sail" to this "screen"?

Just the same.
Let us please not make this more difficult than necessary.

 

[Willi_Tell]

Yea, although I like the idea of having a pirate port to sail to, I may not have the time to create the graphics for it soon - that would take 2 weeks at least...
(creating an "Europe Screen" is not an easy run)

@schmiddie: your buttons are great, please take them!

For Africa and Europe it makes sense to reach them via special fields on the map and then sail "out of the mp", but for a harbor (Tortuga or Port Royal or another) which already is located in the New World? Hm...

Interesting idea...
Apart from that: perhaps, the visibility of the pirate port-screen might be handled different? The button at the top (to switch to the port) will only be displayed, if the player has a ship in the port. So, if you want to "see" the port (Screen), you first have to sail into...

 

[raystuttgart]

If I get the graphics and you two want to have it, I will create the feature.
Just give me a clear "yes" or "no".

I don't really care if this will take a few weeks. We do not have to hurry with the next release.
I could already program everything and use the same background as "Africa" until the new background graphics for "Port Royal" (or whatever it shall be called) are available.

I would create a version as outlined here.
Maybe the button to buy units would not be available without a ship in the port.
(Adjusted the concept with that point.)

But please let us not make this feature much more difficult than necessary.

 

[Schmiddie]

Just the same.
Let us please not make this more difficult than necessary.

It was really just a question. Will there be a further field or just a button or what?

I just wanted to know how you would implement this since I have no idea. It was not a suggestion of creating a city or something like that on the map.

 

[raystuttgart]

Will there be a further field or just a button or what?

No, as I explained (maybe not clearly enough), there are simply EuropePlots which allow to sail to Europe or Africa.
(Did not make any sense to me to split that.)

[*]Every plot that allows to sail to Europe, does allow to sail to Africa as well (there are no different EuropePlots and AfricaPlots)

With "Port Royal" it would be just the same.
(If we want to stay with that name.)

 

[Nightinggale]

Personally I always wanted the western ocean to lead somewhere else. Sometimes you have to build a colony on the west coast and build a ship before you can reach it and just the achievement giving some discovery points (if I recall correctly) is a bit lame compared to the effort. Still it shouldn't be a major balance changing thing to access.

I like the icons from Schmiddie the most even though Willi_Tell's icon isn't bad either.

 

[raystuttgart]

Well, once the feature is implemented and working it could be made more complex.
(e.g. being accessable only from Europe_West_Plots. I have added that point as a "Maybe")

But first of all I would like to implement it without making it unnecessarily complicated.
(Currently my time for modding is really extremely limited.)

 

[raystuttgart]

I still don't feel I have gotten a clear answer.

Should I also implement "Port Royal Screen" or not ?
(And will we get background graphics for it at some point?)

 

[Nightinggale]

But first of all I would like to implement it without making it unnecessarily complicated.

That is the best way to code something like a MOD. Plan a lot of milestones to reach your goal and make sure the game is playable at each milestone. There is always the risk that you never reach your end goal if you set it too high and a multi-step plan mean the work isn't wasted if that happen.

I still don't feel I have gotten a clear answer.

Should I also implement "Port Royal Screen" or not ?
(And will we get background graphics for it at some point?)

I think it could be interesting and would like it see it in the game. Buying criminals with pirate ships is a bit of an issue as colonists can't board them, but that can be dealt with. In fact it could be nice if colonists could board pirate ships when their ship is conquered (maybe turn them into criminals) or in a smuggler port while you can't place colonists in your pirate ship in Europe or in your colonies.

Needless to say I can't draw a new screen for this feature.

 

[raystuttgart]

Buying criminals with pirate ships is a bit of an issue as colonists can't board them, but that can be dealt with.

Yeah, that is true.
The easiest would be to simply offer only Pirate Fregate, Privateer and Smuggling Ship to be bought there and no Criminals.
(None of these three ships can carry Units.)

But that really is no big issue that cannot be solved.

Needless to say I can't draw a new screen for this feature.

That is why I am asking Schmiddie and Willi if they really want to have that feature.

 

[Schmiddie]

Yes, I like the feature and like to see it ingame.

A screen with a "typical" pirate harbor would be very nice, but I have not the time to create a screen for this feature.

Maybe Willi can do it again?