Team sign-up Thread

[woodelf]

If you seriously want to help please jot down in this thread what you can offer up as assistance. Ideas and playtesting are important, but for now I'd like to focus this thread on XML, python, graphics, and anything else I'm forgetting.

Ideas can be fleshed out in the forum and I'm thoroughly encouraging everyone to think about life on the moon and what it will and won't be like.

Playtesting comes down the line, but is as important as anything else.

Myself, I can do XML and graphics. I'm trying to learn C++, but if someone else wants to tackle that I'd be thrilled. Right now we have Belizan's turret and attrition code and not much else.

 

[Kael]

Why split focus on this and the Alpha Centauri mod? If we can focus the community on fewer solid projects and slam them out we will probably have more success than smaller groups chasing different goals.

Of course I have nothing against more good mods (and I was as sad as anyone to see song of the moon dissappear). And I always love seeing mods going out of the starting gate, I just wish more reached the finish line.

But, woodelf, if it is that Song of the Moon has a special place in your heart (you were a major supporter of it when it started) then Im behind you 100%. I just wanted to warn against thining the talent to much.

 

[woodelf]

Yeah, this mod is my White Whale. I feel crappy that it died and I really want to see it done. Geo suggested to pare it down to maybe two eras and simply focus on survival and the beginning of expansion which seems about right to me for now.

SMAC is going well, but I'm finding I have extra time and hate being idle. We have tons more graphics now which can be plopped right into this mod and a lot more understanding of how to actually mod. A year ago it was all new and too many mistakes were made.

I also don't think that SMAC and SotM are the same. I know they both deal with colonization and space, but beyond that SMAC is dealing with the unknown while SotM is right outside our window. The tech is there so we don't need to go too far fetched. And I think everyone wants to go to the moon before they die.

I appreciate and understand your concern. And I'll be calling for help.

 

[GeoModder]

XML'ing and "research" are my main qualities for this mod. Although I specialized in city -and facility XML'ing, and am quite the beginner in other aspects.

 

[woodelf]

Geo - What of the tech tree would you like to keep? I think the first teo eras are fairly solid from what I remember.

I honestly haven't played this mod in 12 months...

 

[joelwest]

Geo - What of the tech tree would you like to keep? I think the first two eras are fairly solid from what I remember.

I honestly haven't played this mod in 12 months...

to answer your appeal for help I can do playtesting. (I tried getting into XML but never found a suitable XML editor.)

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I have played several complete SotM games with both terran and moon maps.

the transition from the first era to the second era right now is hardly noticeable. this may be alright, but it does violate the original intent that immediately after the breakaway life on the Moon would get alot harder.

this cannot be fixed without first overhauling the civics. with the genetic screening civic enabled everything is alot easier in both eras.

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the tech tree is complete through the middle of it. at the end of it the techs are mere placeholders, presumably for more advanced units that were never designed.

there never was a victory condition unique to this mod, so some of the empty placeholder techs could be used for this purpose.

 

[woodelf]

XML marker found here Joel.

Your ideas and suggestions are super so keep them coming!

 

[matthewv]

Wow, I can't believe this mod is coming back to life. You may remember me from a year back when I did a bunch of work on this mod when it originally started(I made the map script, terrain art, and the biodome). I originally lost interest in this mod because I became to busy with real life and this mod had no real project leader to control the work being done on it.

Good job woodelf in bringing the project back to life and acting as project leader. I assume the mod is still very similar to what it was like when I left since it was on v 0.23a when I left.

I likely will not be able to help out too much now but I can definitely look at the map script again and I fell like doing some more 3d model tinkering.

Edit:
Do you guys have anyone with any python knowledge now? I know a year ago Belizain and I were doing all the python coding and there were still plenty of bugs in it.

 

[GeoModder]

OMG, is this true? Ghosts exist?

Just kiddin'. Welcome back on the Moon, Matthew.

As on your questions: no, there's no dedicated python coder in our little "team" here. So we scrapped most of the latest (buggy) stuff from the mod. If you're interested in looking into this, we would love to have a python based event that puts "isolation" on the moon inhabitants, which means all contact with Earth is lost due to a cataclysm there.
As on the mapscript, personally I would love to have dustseas be replaced with hills and the ice-overlay back on the poles. At least with one row of plots. This to avoid the abrupt end of the current mapscript.
On the graphic department: someone who can puts structures in a cityset file would be great. Garret is a bit gone atm if I understand Woodelf's hints.

 

[woodelf]

Welcome back matthewv! Any help you give would be great.

AlaskanAssassin is doing some python tinkering, but like all of us he has multiple projects going on at once. He was going to work on the Isolation Event Geo spoke of, but there are tons of python things we could mess with, like the mapscript.

And since Garret is burnt out we do have a cityset to get nif'd. I have 8-10 basic structures done.

 

[matthewv]

Okay, now for a bunch of questions:
What did you guys all remove from the mod? Did you guys just remove the duplicate buildings and python coding(except map script)? If you left some python coding in the mod what did you leave in?

Also, do you have any way to manage who is working on what files so that people don't go changing the same file at the same time?(this will be very important if our mod team grows any more)

Who is all doing actual editing on the mod and who is just giving design ideas?

BTW, I really like how we have a separate sub forum for this mod. It was really confusing working out of just one thread for the mod before. Good ideas got lost and forgotten quickly.

 

[GeoModder]

We started from version .23a, and gutted the duplicated buildings and all python code but the mapscript, I think. Woodelf should know for sure since he executed the operation with help of Kael.

At the moment, I got on my list to adapt the xml for the moon .nif cityset once it is finished, and include buildings/improvements Woodelf now and then churns out. I tinkered a bit with the terrain output, but these changes aren't included yet.

Further more I started to evaluate what units to use (from the available graphics) in which era, but that's more for the BtS expansion when it comes out. Same with a revise of the techtree/buildings for a BtS version.

As it looks now, the current mod seems more of a testing ground then anything else.

Woodelf has a tendency to include stuff on whomever's wimp, so I guess it's my job to evaluate those random ideas too. He does the more general editing and distributes versions sofar.

 

[woodelf]

Geo answered most of the questions fairly well.

I started a thread about changed files so we could try to keep track. It might have worked so far!

Anyone can edit files if they mention it in that thread so we don't get duplicates running around.

And like Geo said this is a testing ground for BtS mostly. We want to polish it for Vanilla and add stuff for BtS.

 

[matthewv]

I think we should try to make a reasonably working copy that can be played to victory for vanilla civ 4 before BtS comes out and then maybe start a version 2 on the mod that is designed for BtS. If we can't get version 1 completed before BtS then we should just adapt version 1 to BtS and forget about having a good working mod for vanilla civ 4.

 

[woodelf]

Yep. To me what we're doing now is fleshing out civs, some artwork, and civics for Vanilla.

Geo is working on a new tech tree for the BtS version and that is our main focus, but we can practice here and make this mod better than it was left.

 

[snipperrabbit!!]

Sure it can be.

 

[Civmansam]

I remember this was the first mod I played for CIV, and it was one of my favorites. If you guys need any help I'm willing especially in the art area, (because I can use it for SW as well)

 

[woodelf]

Thanks Civmansam. I'm actually about to show you my Mos Eisley city set buildings.