Welcome to the Diplomacy II Sub-Forum!

[The Capo]

Okay, there is some good news and some pretty bad news. I suppose I'll go with the good news first...

The good news is that the mod is basically updated as far as what I can finish on my own. I finally changed the text for the units, I got some new units in and have played a lot of games without any MAF issues, which is great considering I got a lot of MAFs in the early stages. I still haven't optimized the buildings and units yet so when that is finished this thing should run very smoothly. The LHs have all been updated and optimized, the only LH I am dubious about right now is Theodora and that is because it was an early Ekmek creation so isn't up to par with his latest stuff. HOPEFULLY Ekmek finishes Theodora soon, but I am relatively sure he hasn't been working on her lately. Anyway, the units look good, the mod is running smoothly, and the playtest will be ready for tomorrow barring some unforseen craziness.

Now some bad news; I finally heard back from the "code guy" and he listed at least five things that couldn't be added for various reasons, mostly due to performance or unfinished modding. So while this doesn't actually effect anything, since those features wouldn't have worked anyway, it does remove a lot of the content I wanted to add. Unfortunately SuperSpies is part of the issue, so I am going to have to learn some code myself and see if I can figure it out, I will say that it doesn't look good though, but we'll see. I did ask him if he could do two last things for me (they weren't mentioned in his list of things that couldn't be done), so hopefully that works out.

So to summarize; tomorrow the playtest will be out. If you want to playtest please PM me, otherwise I am going to send the playtest to whomever I like, so if you want it PM me, if you don't really care you still might be invited to playtest.

EDIT: Since posting this he has again PMed me and told me he'd get two of the things requested in. So it isn't so bad. I might have to learn some SDK compiling though in order to get Super Spies in. Unless anyone else wants to learn some SDK and feels like helpin the ol' Capo out. This does not change the schedule for the playtest though. It will be ready tomorrow. I want to do ONE more playtest after that and then I think I might be able to get the final version done.

 

[The Capo]

Well, you know that unforseen issue I was talking about? Well it has happened. So the playtest will NOT be out tonight (well most likely it won't be). But, so you guys don't think these constant delays are in vain, the reason it is being delayed today is because my code guy decided (completely out of the blue) to throw me the stuff for flags by era. That is something I really really wanted in this mod, so I am going to take the time to get it in and working. Not only are there supposed to be flags by era but on top of that flags by leader by era. So for example, if you are playing as Germany and have Bismarck as your leader you will get the Iron Cross for the Modern era, if you are Hitler you will have the Swastika, if you are Adenauer you will have the eagle and so on and so forth.

I am not entirely sure how long this will actually take me to implement and then test (just to make sure I don't send you guys a super-buggy playtest), but I figure it is worth it. Right now I am checking to see exactly how I have to merge this, so I am waiting on PMs, in the meantime I have been compiling the flags. If you want to be a help I still need flags for Babylon, Sumeria, Ethiopia, Mali, Vikings, and the Maya primarily. I'll also post in the Art thread too.

 

[AbsintheRed]

The Super Spies work perfectly in other big mods like Quot Capita or LoR.
Can't we get some help from those mods? I can check the code if you want to...
What's the main problem with implementing super spies anyway?

 

[The Capo]

Personally, I don't know. I had it in Diplomacy just fine. But the guy I'm working with told me there are bugs in it, so I trust his judgement (if you notice I do that a lot with people) over my own since that is his area of expertise. If we are dealing with a leaderhead I will do whatever I want, but when dealing with SDK I'll let the code people take precidence over my own opinions. I am going to look into it, obviously I want SuperSpies to be part of this mod (I basically dedicated an entire trait to the fact that it will be there), and since we are going to have to ditch the "Civ V Deadline" I am going to put Inquisitors in as well for the finishing touch. I figure Super Spies along with the Nationalistic trait and Inquisitors along with the Religious victory are good enough changes from the original game to give this a real expansion pack feel, particularly with new civs, art, and leaders. So while this mod won't wind up as different from the base game as something like LoR, Quot Capita, or RoM, it will still be a pretty good mod, especially for those who want some new features but don't want anything that entirely changes the strategy behind the game.

That isn't to say there aren't new strategies involved.

I was also considering, when this was finished, creating an extended versionof the mod where a couple techs are added to some eras to make them longer, and possibly adding an expanded future era and a stone age era. Originally I wanted to beef up the future era, but at this point it isn't really worth it. Especially with Next War already a part of this mod.

 

[The Capo]

UPDATE: 12 October 2010

Well there is some slightly bad news, apparently getting DCN ported into Diplomacy II is going to take a lot more time than originally thought. So in the interim I figured I'd add a few new units/graphics, do some optimizations and add in Inquisitors (as well as the Spanish Inquisition Project).

I can't really predict how long all of this will take because I attempted three times previously to get Inquisitors into the mod and failed each time.

I'll keep you guys posted on everything I do as usual. I am hoping for a new playtest within the next week or two.

 

[Vortilex]

Are dynamic Civ names going to be integrated (sorry if I already asked this and got a response, I'm not good at remembering that kind of thing)

 

[The Capo]

Are dynamic Civ names going to be integrated (sorry if I already asked this and got a response, I'm not good at remembering that kind of thing)

The plan is to have Dynamic Civ Names added to Diplomacy II. There are two issues with this though, the first is that this feature may not be in the next playtest, which was supposed to be the LAST playtest. Unfortunately, I am going to have to add another now. So there are two more playtests (planned) before the release. I apologize for the delay but, as I have said before, I would much rather delay the mod than release it unfinished.

The second reason is because we have to write new names for Diplomacy II rather than use names from other mods (in this case CCV), since Diplomacy II has modular civs that are used as dynamic names in that mod, and to add civs like Vietnam, Israel, the Sioux, Iroquois, Franks, etc.

 

[AbsintheRed]

I think it doesn't really matter if there will be an extra playtest.
We have plenty of time. Even if Civ V was a perfect game, it would take at least 2-3 years to mod it somewhere near the Civ IV level.
And actually, based on the forum reactions it's very far from perfect (sometimes I think it's even far from being a good game )
Furthermore I think the good things in Civ V will be modded to Civ IV much earlier than the other way around...

So it's really no problem at all, you can have as many playtests as you want
The quality is much more important than anything else

 

[Vortilex]

Oh, I don't mind more playtests. You put it perfectly, it's better to strive for perfection (or at least damn close to it) than it is to release a half-done product. I had been thinking of some of the RFC names for the dynamic names, but I also like(d) the LoR names. This may even warrant a thread

 

[The Capo]

Firstly, a response to Vortilex; that is EXACTLY the sentiment I want to see here.

And on that same note, I honestly hope I am creating a good mod. And at that something worthwhile. And I hope you guys have had fun helping me out with this, I hope I can impress you with the final version. As usual I always save something as a surprise.

Anyway... if you want to playtest the next version please PM me. And on top of that, , I started many sentances with the word "and." sorry about that...

 

[The Capo]

Sorry everyone, I got really sick a few days ago and have basically been in bed since. I'm starting to feel better now though, and Smeagolheart was nice enough to get the inquisitors in so I am going to test it out and then if all goes well put the next playtest out.

Bakuel said he was going to put up some new units (I think for Russia) by Christmas, so if that is the case I'll probably wait for those to be done before putting the playtest out.

 

[The Capo]

Delete me!!!

 

[The Capo]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MITHRA!!!​

 

[The Capo]

Alright everybody, finally have a bunch of good stuff to report, so I am going to do it.

Firstly, Smeagolheart is finished with the Inquisition thing. All I have to do is fix up a few loose ends and I should be able to merge it into the updated mod. Also Bakuel has a few surprises coming out for all of you in the next few days, in the meantime I got a few advanced units so I can start updating that for the playtest.

Also I am nearly finished with Camillo Cavour, which means I will be opened up the LH department, I am nearly finished playing around with IgorS' Menelik, which means I'll get him ready for the mod. Not to mention working on Smeagolheart's Osman a little bit to he is fit to be in DipII (as far as his beard goes). Plus I wanted to mess around with the flags by era a bit more so that there aren't too many or so that they are better suited.

Seems like a lot, but with the inquisitors added there are just a few small things I wanted to do and then I think the thing will be ready. Again, if you haven't PMed me about playtesting, please do so, right now I think I have three official playtesters and I'd like to have around seven twelve more.

 

[The Capo]

Hey guys, another update. This one is pretty important.

Firstly, I'm changing my ISP, which requires me to get a new wireless, which won't arrive for a few days after so I will be without internet at my house for a few days. Which means I won't be able to really upload anything because it is all on my home computer and transferring personal files at work is a no no for me. I kinda gave myself a lot of personal projects to work on so I am getting a little side-tracked (Leaderheads, stuff for the Magyar mod, units, and now this religious cutscene thing to name a few), that has always been a problem for me but in a way it is better than not doing anything. So there's that.

On the plus side, the religious cutscene thing is going very well right now and I finally tested Smeagol's Inquisition and it works well. So the mod is basically finished. The only things I really want to do at this point is streamline some more of the unit sets (including Bakuel's upcoming Indians, some more ethnic GP, and new Inquisitors/Missionaries), get the flags to look good (resizing the symbols etc.), add some new leaders (right now around three new ones, more on that in the leaders section), and get some new music in.

This is also going to require a lot of final-edits to some text and XML, just to make sure the buttons and everything match up. So there's a lot to do, but Diplomacy II is nearly ready for release. The main things are finished, now I just have to polish it up. This would be a great time for any reminders, ideas, or suggestions you might have to give me. So if you are reading this please either reply here, the appropriate thread, or via PM if you would rather do that.

Volunteers at this point would be extremely helpful, right now I need volunteers for the following things:

• Text editing; this includes translations.
• Compiling possible music for new leaders; I have nearly all of cybrxkhan's stuff, but I can't possibly sift through all of it for every leader so if anybody wants to help me put together some new music for this mod that'd be great. PM me if you are intersted or reply in the Art and Music thread.
• Finding good flags to represent the different eras for the civs. This one might have to wait for the next playtest just so you can see what I have come up with.

If you are interested in helping out with any of this please let me know. I want to get this mod finished as soon as possible, but without sacrificing quality. So quality is more important than expediency to me (always has been). Thanks.

 

[The Capo]

Didn't get much of a reaction last time, hopefully I'll get one this time.

Right now I am nearly ready to get the next playtest out, I just have to put in the new Inquisitors/Buildings (Holy Offices), tweak the Spanish/Grand Inquisition (not sure which to call it yet) to fit with the new religious victory, and then update some art (units, flags, and leaderheads) which I have been doing sporadically for the past couple of months.

This sounds like it is a lot, but it won't be as time consuming as it seems, the units are all finished and the python is all written. It is just a matter of plugging it in and checking to see that it works.

I am also moving, which is going to take up some time, so a conservative estimate would be about two weeks. In that time I'll be finishing up some new ethnic great people, this will be primarily for the Native North Americans, South Asians (Indians/Khmer/Vietnam), and Mongol-Turkic GP. I am also working on a few for some European and Middle-Eastern civs, and potentially some for the Polynesians although we'll see about that one.

I have around three PMs asking for the playtest, I'd like to get that number up to around nine. So if you'd like to playtest either PM me or post here, this is the first time I have allowed for posting here, but I want to throw a wider net this time.

So please volunteer, the mod is nearly finished and now more than ever I need vigilant playtesters.

 

[Vrenir]

Since your first playtest, I have acquired a more capable computer and am willing to help. I am a teacher, so I will have much more time available starting the second half of June, but I can probably squeeze in a couple of games before then as well.

 

[hoplitejoe]

i don't have much time but i will help when i can if you want

 

[AbsintheRed]

I'm here, as always.
So you can count me on with playtesting
Also, if you need some other help with the mod, just PM me

 

[The Capo]

I just wanted to let everybody know that I am moving and am about to unhook my computer, I have no idea how long it will take me to get back online. Possibly tonight, possibly a few days. We'll see.