The Atlas Project

Version 0.31 is done. Several smaller changes and fixes, see the first post. :)

@tbear: Thanks. I'm looking forward to your feedback.
 
You know I really can't wait for the resources to come about now.

1) Thanks for the seperation of the size vs layout on the presets ;)

2) The size vs layout is nicely connected. Take Pangaea as an example. You choose the type and click Generate Land and walla you have a nice Pangaea. You then alter the size and the variables alter to the correct number for that preset size. :goodjob:

3) Concern though on the number 2 is as mentioned by Merak Spielman, it looks blobby. (You know that already though) So could some of the mathematical logic in the existing civ4 python scripts help change this.

4) The terrain functions are great! Is it possible to through in an age factor for the land, this could function as a way to group mountains and forest and other things more together? Like the older civ's use to have.

5) The generate misc appears to work but difficult to see. Hope some additional map view options can help eliminate this. You select generate misc and you see a dot here or there appear but its hard to tell all of them that appeared.

6) Icecaps being a seperate option was the right choice. And the ability to increase this number makes for great options in scenario ideas. However increasing the number to say 40 for a more ice land kind of map generates pillars of ice that seams to stretch into the middle of the planet. Could this be changed by making the formula run through a different calculation method. The age of land idea listed above might help in this.

7) Here's a neat one. Generate the misc first and you can then see the red dot's. What do those mean? (I'd still like to be able to see the map views being a different option ;)) Are they starting locations? I believe they are because if I turn off the coastal start they don't appear at all. Which needs to be addressed as well. Also I choose 18 and could only count 15. maybe I was wrong or blind though. Anything is possible ;)

8) Which leads me to the Manual. I like :goodjob: Using an index with links is the proper way to do that. You might think about using pdf995 to create a pdf instead of using a doc. Install pdf995(google it) and then alter your Doc file and print to the pdf995 printer. This will create the PDF. Keep your original to be able to alter it for future manuals.

9) Could you make the exit button write the existing setting to a file and then reload them on start? And if config.ini does not exist have it load the default ones(from the default command button) Which I am starting to appreciate. ;)

10) As for the map view I think an easy way to lay this out would be a check box next to each terrain type. You wouldn't need another tab just maybe extend the window size a bit.

Got to go for now. I know I need to look into the coast line stuff a little closer. I think I was noticing something in Civ4 on the map but not sure until more testing can be done. My weekend though is gone, going out of town. ;)

Overall Good job your really pulling some great things off in the creation of this. Your handle will live on through the ages of Civ. :goodjob:

Tbear2520
 
Thanks tbear.
'Generate Misc' currently does nothing but placing the starting locations, which are represented by, indeed, red dots. When there's not enough land the algorithm might fail to place all the requested starting locations. Have you noticed the dosbox in the background now gives some statistics? It might say something like this:

-------------------
New 40x24 map...
Land Percentage: 88.85416666666667%
Placing starting locations (coastal start is false):

Failed to place 13 starting locations.
Placed 4 starting locations
Map generated in 0.115694592 seconds!

So that explains why there are sometimes less red dots than requested starting locations. Your point 9 is a good one, will try to incorporate that one shortly.

Finally, I wanted to let you all know there's a way to have resources, goodies and rivers on Atlas maps, using the in-game cheats! Enable the chipotle code, press ~ and type Map.generateGoodies, Map.generateBonuses and Map.generateRivers to make your map complete.

Until Atlas adds these itself, you can use these commands to make Atlas maps playable :)
 
Junuxx said:
Finally, I wanted to let you all know there's a way to have resources, goodies and rivers on Atlas maps, using the in-game cheats! Enable the chipotle code, press ~ and type Map.generateGoodies, Map.generateBonuses and Map.generateRivers to make your map complete.

Yea baby, way cool. I knew there was some additional things like this after I was looking around at the auto turn forum you had commented on. I just haven't researched it enough. Thanks for info that will help. ;)

Also I did notice the Dos box. I wasn't sure if I just missed that before or not. I know in the early version is was just blank. I found that it was neet. I was woundering what all you were using that for.

Tbear2520
 
java version "1.5.0_05"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_05-b05)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.5.0_05-b05, mixed mode, sharing)
 
OK, just to clarify for my neophytic mind... the maps generated by this utility are not actually playable directly in-game because there will be no resources? I want to use this so I can make a broud outline of a desired map type... and then immidiately play it against the AI.

Thanks!
 
@MadHaTr:
Ok, it's not a version problem then... I've been looking for Java settings that could be causing the problem but no luck there, either. Next thing I'm going to try is making all the component alignments explicit, maybe that will help :confused:

@stgelven:
Thank you. I guess the thread could be moved to the utility forum. Then again, it also involves user-created maps :)

@jpinard:
You're right, no resources are currently included. There's two things you can do:
- Let Civ's default algorithm add resources, goodies and rivers by using the cheat console
- Wait a few days until I've added resource generation :)
 
Version 0.33 is finished, and it generates resources!!1!!1!11 :D

I actually played and enjoyed an Atlas-generated map tonight! The lack of rivers and goodie huts makes for a start that's a bit slower and more difficult than usual. Also my program picks starting locations that seem to be a bit worse than normal. But I caught up anyway and won a Diplomatic victory in 2015 :cool:

I'll put the new zip in the first post :)
Junuxx


by the way, have you discovered the easter egg/tribute yet?
 
Junuxx said:
by the way, have you discovered the easter egg/tribute yet?

No I've looked but the easter eggs have always been hard for me to find. Sometimes I couldn't find Microsoft's Easter eggs with instructions. hehe Click three times in flag color ##### then click here and there and then nothing.\

But anyways I like the resources, nice addition. One thing though, the generate land should clear the existing resources.

I love the drop down for size and layout. Also could we get a zoom in feature. When you create a large map say 75x150. Just as an example. Then populate it the information is to small to tell what's what. Exspecially if there is alot of land. Good job on the placement of resources.;) :goodjob:

The Game tab is a nice addition. It shows the end will be fully playable ;). By chance will you be putting in a load map option?
 
Hello Junuxx,

I have tried the v0.33. Hope you will put the suggestion into the next few versions.
1. Proportion of resources to land mass. I have tried a couple of maps that are 128 x 80. The bonuses between cities are more space out than the normal games. On the other hand, the map.generatebonuses has the same problem!

2. Odd placement of bonuses. Whales and fishes in the deep sea (which reflect reality) but has no game value. Rice in the middle of a forest. Pigs in the tundra (do they have pigs/boars in Siberia?)

3. Would be nice if we can specifiy the percentage or number of each type of bonuses (a la civ3 editor).

4. Also had some runtime error but which disappeared after I deleted and re-install altas.jar. (not very helpful here, but just to let you know)

But it is really a great job! cannot wait for further improvements!
 
Hey fanatics,

@tbear:
To see the easter egg, try setting size to 'Impossible' ;)
A load map function is on the to do list for 0.40, but zooming will be difficult I think. Can't promise anything ;)

@Simmelan:
1. They are in proportion to land mass. Most land resource is placed once per (200 plots*land percentage), and some crucial ones like horses, iron, coal and oil a bit more. But you might be right that there aren't enough. I will soon add a Resource Abundance control so you can have as many resources as you like.

2.Yeah, I know. It's a cumbersome job to do, figuring out resources and terrain. I did a test game and corrected some silly things, like silk out of the forest and rice on hills. But feedback like this helps me find this stuff sooner. :goodjob:
By the way, I think I've seen rice in the middle of forests quite some times on normal maps?

3. As I said, I will add a abundance control. For every resource would be cool, but then again, I don't want to clutter the interface.

4. Hm. What kind of error? :o

Thanks both!! :)

I've updated the website and it now contains a very extensive change/download log.
 
Junuxx said:
Hey fanatics,
I did a test game and corrected some silly things, like silk out of the forest and rice on hills.

Rice on hills. Look at the Earth scenario near the Chinnese Tibet border. There is a rice on hills plot, so this may be a feature and not a glitch.
 
I agree it looks silly. However terrace farming on hills, even for rice has been a part of agriarian practices for thousands of years.
 
Is there any plans to import maps that are already made? In particular: I have a map that I have made myself, but I don't want to have to put in resources. Is there a way to import the map and generate the resources through the Atlas Project?
 
Well if someone design a nice graphic for ahill terrace farm , THEN I might allow rice on hills again ;)

Anyway, version 0.34 is finished. LOTS of improvements and addition. I'll update the first post shortly. A complete changelog can be found on the website
 
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