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If you get stuck give me a shout.
Yeah, we could have an up/down/left/right image for all the torsos and all the chassis.
Bear in mind that an up looking chassis would have to fit on an up looking torso...
If you were feeling really bold we could also do the diagonals too!
I can get away with changing the framework to support this.
Im not going that far for the sake of 40x40 images.
Leave it for now, I'll discuss it with you in person before we embark upon this.
Ok, well - let me know.
I'm already stuck :rolleyes: but I'm gonna work this one out myself.
K, have fun! :D
Oooh, oooh, could you design a diplomacy screen for me that will show what people think of other people?
Just design the screen, don't worry about what's going on behind it...
My mind's a complete blank here...
Ok...first things first -
what functionalities will there be? There will be trade, messaging, insults, gifts...
throw me a bone here...
Guns:
Mortar Launcher
Micromissile Launcher
HGP Projector (High Gravity Pulse)
Mass Warp Cannon
Magnetic Compressor
HERF Gun (High Energy Radio Frequency)
Heavy Shotgun
Howitzer
Ammo:
HEAV (High Explosive Anti Vehicle)
HEAV(e) (High Explosive Anti Vehicle (energy) )
SABOT
High Velocity
HEAP (High Explosive Armour Peircing)
HEAP(e) (High Explosive Armour Peircing (energy))
SLAP (subcaliber light armor penetrator)
Hollow Point
High Velocity
Low Velocity
(APDP) Armor Piercing Dual Purpose
(APFSDS) Armor Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot
(APDS) Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot
Chips:
(considering renaming these to enhancements to give use broader scope.....)
Thermal Sighting
Passive IR
Passive UV
Laser Targetting
Notes:
Thinking about making 'Supressed' versions of weapons as these are going to be the thing that makes units more visible (that and reactor... ;) )
Just a screen to show what people think of the other people. Like I said, don't worry about what goes on behind it, I just want an idea of how we can display peoples views of other people.Quote:
Originally posted by Behemoth
Ok...first things first -
what functionalities will there be? There will be trade, messaging, insults, gifts...
throw me a bone here...
There's another post on the previous page of some stuff I was thinking of.
Guns:
Laser
Assault Rifle
Auto Cannon
Gauss
Maser
Boser
Mass Driver
Phase Disruptor
Plasma Rifle
Rocket Launcher
Yeti Claws
Mortar Launcher
Micromissile Launcher
HGP Projector (High Gravity Pulse)
Mass Warp Cannon
Magnetic Compressor
HERF Gun (High Energy Radio Frequency)
Heavy Shotgun
Howitzer
Ammo:
Standard Cased Ammo
Depleted Uranium Cased Ammo
Caseless Ammo
HEAV (High Explosive Anti Vehicle)
HEAV(e) (High Explosive Anti Vehicle (energy) )
SABOT
High Velocity
HEAP (High Explosive Armour Peircing)
HEAP(e) (High Explosive Armour Peircing (energy))
SLAP (subcaliber light armor penetrator)
Hollow Point
High Velocity Solid Shot
Low Velocity Solid Shot
APDP (Armor Piercing Dual Purpose)
APFSDS (Armor Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot)
APDS (Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot)
Laser Beam
Boser Beam
Maser Beam
Plasma Charge
Gravity Dip
Gravity Well
FFAR (Folding Fin Aerial Rocket)
MWAR (Multiple Warhead Aerial Rocket)
Micromissile
Flechette
High Explosive Mortar Shell
Yeti Scratch
Chips:
(considering renaming these to enhancements to give use broader scope.....)
Thermal Sighting
Passive IR
Passive UV
Laser Targetting
Notes:
Thinking about making 'Supressed' versions of weapons as these are going to be the thing that makes units more visible (that and reactor... ;) )
Morning chief!
We've still not got that tech tree finalised have we?
I was thinking right, if we specify the type of the tech in the ini, then lines to be drawn between the techs can be coloured depending on the tech it's going from/to.
This would allow us to have limited overcrossing lines and not get too hard to understand...
Now we know why SMAC doesn't even try to display it on screen.... :rolleyes:
had exactly the same thought process in the car this morning. The poster of the SMAC tech tree does have crossing lines though, doesn't it (and the lines are coloured)Quote:
Originally posted by Arbiter
Morning chief!
We've still not got that tech tree finalised have we?
I was thinking right, if we specify the type of the tech in the ini, then lines to be drawn between the techs can be coloured depending on the tech it's going from/to.
This would allow us to have limited overcrossing lines and not get too hard to understand...
Now we know why SMAC doesn't even try to display it on screen.... :rolleyes:
Problem tentatively solved then - I'll draw a draft linking of the techs with coloured lines for your perusal.
Whats the chance (uh-oh) that the line linking 2 techs of different colours is drawn in a gradient between the two colours?
Ow! stop hitting me!
How do you mean, gradient?
If you mean fades from one to the other then it's possible, but would be a speed hog. It's also a lot of code for little gain.
It was just an abstract idea I had. I thought it might work nicely through your particle engine.
another alternative is to draw the lines in an average colour between the source and destination techs - eg red tech > purple line > blue tech
I'm sure that can be done fairly easily.
I need to give some thought to the layout of the techs now - unless you wish to do it.
Or better yet, we both can - can you pop round for a bit this evening or I visit yours so we can get this show on the road?
Or, if you wish, I can amend the framework/scripts so it supports co-ordinates in the scripts and moves the techs around. That way you can experiment in game.
A similar idea might be to have a number of "slots" that techs can fit into and lines can join up, just to smarten things up...
eg:
the techs are all going to be resized to 40x40 (arent they?). We can leave a 10px gap between (or is this too much?), and they should all fit nicely.Code:## ## ## ## ##
##---##---## ## ##
| |
## -## ## ## ##
## ## ##---## ##
|
## ## ## ## ##
## ## ## ## ## etc
With a grid shap, the lines will cross, ala
VB Code:
Which line is going where?
The coloured lines will just overwrite each other
Using a more flexible system you'd get
VB Code:
You can follow the lines between techs. Of course, it would look better if it wasn't done in Ascii.... :rolleyes:
That was exactly what I was tring to say, but err...not in Ascii.
Great minds think alike (and fools rarely differ)...
Attached - this will form the base, needs fleshing out.
Rename to .DOC (MS Word format)
Attached - this will form the base, needs fleshing out.
Rename to .DOC (MS Word format)
Well my hairy friend I'm in an intellectual golden age (as it were).
That little chat last night refuelled my batteries and I'm going to get some serious work done.
Whilst I'm in this mood I think I'll get some of the behind the scenes stuff done, as that's always a chore (lots of work for no visible benefit).
*flexes fingers*
Let the code marathon begin!!! :D
Question for you?
When you choose to fire a units guns, not all guns will have the same range - how are we going to draw on the map the ranges of the guns?
I could do a different coloured circle for each weapon, but then people might be confused as to whether they are actually going to hit a square if the circle falls half over it.
I could shade squares (by transparenterising an image on ala fog of war) if they are in range, but with up to shades being dumped on top it might look a bit messy.
What do you think?
I've put in a blind fix for the res change problem.
It'll need some testing though - any chance of you giving it a whack this evening?
*yawn*
morning pal.
Sorry theres no yeti unit yet. I struggled into the wee small hours, but came up with nothing better that you could do yourself in 20 seconds on MSpaint, although i have done some behind the scenes stuff like designing fur textures and realistic stances (well stick-men, but you know what I mean).
When I read your posts re: ranges, I immediately thought the circle method was best. We can explain which squares it represents, and if people still struggle with the idea, we can shrink the circle a bit so they understand. I thin kits gonna be less complex this way.
I'm busy early evening (gotta give Rachel a lift somewhere approx 4pm-7pm), free mid-evening, and busy late evening, (quiz night approx 10pm-midnight/1am), so I've got a window I might be able to squeeze it into :D
1) Can you post a stick yeti here please? I just need a representative image
2) Don't understand what you mean re ranges...
'explain which squares it represents?' Basically when the line is over half way - but how are they to know, it might be one pixel out
'shrink the cirle' lost me totally here
Pods we were discussing...
'To Add:
'Industry: (rare)
'*Bonus processed resources (common)
'*Bonus components (not so common)
'*Free factory (v. rare)
'Colony: (v. rare)
'*Free unit (common)
'*Free building (not so common)
'Resource: (common)
'*Bonus raw resources (common)
'*Bonus energy (common)
'*Bonus processed resources (rare)
'Data: (not so common)
'*Bonus research points (rare)
'*Bonus tech (v. rare)
'*Phone number for other faction (rare)
'*Randomly explore piece of land (common)
2) If its not apparent which squares fall into the bracket of "within range", increase the size of the circle by (57/2=)28.5 pixels so that squares within range are fully covered.
That'll still be as complicated. As you get to bigger ranges you're going to end up with more squares that look as if they're covered but aren't. Especially around the top, left, right, and bottom of the circle.
Increasing the size of the circle won't help, it'll merely make the circle bigger - you'll have the same problem and it will inaccurately report the ranges.
ok, different approach...circles as before, but any square that can be targetted and is within range is highlighted somehow..?
PS. I found an old yeti. Its crap, but its something for you to work with while I attempt to improve upon it.
[edit]its too big to post here. you'll find it in your inbox[/edit]
This is what I was asking.... highlighted how?
ps - which inbox?
I don't know - a flashing red square or something. a green target. whatever.Quote:
Originally posted by Arbiter
This is what I was asking.... highlighted how?
ps - which inbox?
your work one.
The reason I'm asking is because I don't want to put time and effort into it for you to say it's ****.
A flashing red square? How do you know what gun can hit it?
Help me out here - if we want to make it look different (other than a colour change) then it all needs ot be recoded and as it's part of the graphics engine it's very hard to do.
I really don't have the faintest idea, mate. I'll go away and give it some thought, you do like wise, and then we can post our respective ideas and tear chunks out of them ;)
I'll be back later.
ok, heres my idea:
if a target is in range etc, show a generic "in range" marker. For this example, use a flashing red square.
the player clicks on the target and a window comes up containing checkboxes for the relevant weapons, eg:
(where # is a checkbox) if necessary, ghost out the boxes for those weapons where firing is not an option.Code:1: laser #
2: cannon #
3: EMP not in range
4: machinegun out of ammo
[ok] [cancel]
In fact, slight amendment:
all weapons can have a checkbox, those that can fire will have the checkbox unghosted, and to the right of the checkbox is the current status of the weapon (ammo / energy drain etc) almost like a piece of "consequences of firing" information
I didn't really want boxes popping up when you come to fire. If you want to toggle weapons on and off you use the mech view/design screen.
What I wanted to know was how to display, on the main screen, which weapons are in range...
He he he he he!
Chewbaccas ugly half brother....
Ok, you dont like my idea, now you post yours.
I quite like the idea of having a last minute override, but we'll see what you come up with thats better.
Last minute override? It's turn based....
The idea I just came up with (in the last 3 mins) was to have a set of graphics to place down transparenterised (like a crosshair) with the numbers above it of which guns can fire.
e.g
VB Code:
like this?
That's about the gist of it yeah. :) Thanks dude!
For speed though, I don't want to draw that up to four times.
Also, the numbers seem a little unclear (because you shrunk em down? - maybe better to put the numbers in pixel by pixel at 40x40?)
I was busy yesterday/last night.
I've added in the code for shooting anything that moves (though it's still flawed, it crashes if you try to shoot a pod... :rolleyes:)
I've added in the changes to diplomacy based on troop placements (though that doesn't work properly either - needs massive debugging)
I've added in the changes to techs allowing you to specify their position from the scripts. I'm going to further improve it tonight by revamping the internals, so the number of techs isn't code limited.
I've added in monster generation routines (though these are flawed also, the monsters are being created but they're not visible)
Fixed a problem with the weapons firing alerts
Blind fixed the change res problem (I still can't duplicate it!)
A lot of work there, though most of it needs debugging. That's what comes of coding blind.... ;)
Anyways - what did you get up to?
You'll notice your inbox contains nothing from me this morning. Thats because Hotmail was incredibly cack last night. Hopefully I'll remedy that this evening. I'm out for most of it though, so I'll try and get this sorted before I go out.
And how was your evening?
Go on - whats all this differences stuff? you were gonna tell me last night, but I thought it prudent not to pry in Pete's presence in case it was sensitive.
Mmmm.... so instead of talking about it in the privacy of my own home in front of people I've know for over a decade, I'll write it out on an internet forum frequented by countless people.
No.
Just generic 'differences' is all.
Anyway, when are we going to get together and do this tech tree. I can pop round yours on the way home from work on evening. In fact, *nostalgia flash*, are we ever going to do a night of drinking beer in your study and then retiring to our indoor semi-submersible kayaks again - or are those days gone?
You Spa (c)Plenderj, you know thats not what I meant. I meant tell me one way or another as promised. email me, ring me, volunteer the information in the presence of Pete...Whatever :p...Quote:
Originally posted by Arbiter
Mmmm.... so instead of talking about it in the privacy of my own home in front of people I've know for over a decade, I'll write it out on an internet forum frequented by countless people.
No.
Just generic 'differences' is all.
Anyway, when are we going to get together and do this tech tree. I can pop round yours on the way home from work on evening. In fact, *nostalgia flash*, are we ever going to do a night of drinking beer in your study and then retiring to our indoor semi-submersible kayaks again - or are those days gone?
What needs doing on the tech tree? I thought it was done other than the coordinates in the scripts malarky. I've already told you im busy tonight, so that wont do...
Let me know what needs doing and I'll get a plan together.
Oh, well, if that's it then you can just amend the scripts to make the research screen.
You'll enjoy that. Remember to amend the spreadsheet and save it as a CSV - don't just hand amend the scripts otherwise the spreadsheet will be out of date. And that's the definitive article.
Is that the end of it though? thats what I'm asking. are we up to date or not? do we need 40x40 images, more 50 x 50s or what? have you coded the coordinates stuff yet?
and what about you and Fe. The girl, not the metallic element.
Sod the graphics for the time being.
Oh, what did you think of the idea of drawing them at 100x100 and resizing them?
Forget Fe and I - I'll talk to you later about that.
And yes, I have coded the co-ordinate stuff. The latest code version in your hotmail account contains it. The script can be made from the components.xls that's in the game directory (along with the code).
why do we want graphics at 100 * 100 then only to shrink them down? they'll take up more space and the reduction algorithm will make them a bit poo.
I err...never reinstalled VB...when i get round to it I'll do so. I'm out tonight however.
Because 40x40 will look shiite at 1280x1024 or 1600x1280. That's why.
Ian, just to confirm - are you going out tonight?
Almost forgot to mention-
I'm going out tonight :rolleyes:
How was last night?
Last night? I went out :D
A good ole' jammin' session. Quite enjoyed it. Made slow but steady progress.
Same again next week :)
Good man. Whatchoo up to tonight?