Sentience

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Originally posted by Arbiter


Stick some ideas down then monkey!

I'm not the only source of fresh ideas you know...!

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Okay, I don't know about you, but I'm of the impression that the native life on the planet isn't intelligent enough to build monuments and pretty buildings, so the majority of things will be natural, or placed by previous alien visitors...

Land:
Mountains (we can prolly manage a couple of these)
big wierd alien building (damnit! not another ****ing building!)
Desert (like "dirt" terrain but more so)
disused mines

Sea:
The Great Trench (a huge underwater valley - may have bonus minerals and more native life)
A big coral reef
stupifyingly big icebergs/icefloes
perhaps something silly like a kraken corpse

blah blah blah...

I don't think there have been any previous alien visitors as we might as well simply rename Sentience to SMAC and be done.

By mountains you mean real big hombres?
By icefloes, you mean a big white island?

Disused mines are out as there are no previous tenants.

Others:

A big murky forest
A big whirlpool thing
A big marsh
A meteor impact site
A lava flow

More?

Did you ever produce some 20x20 images of the resources that we were going to use a bonus' on the squares? Like a small oil drop, a gem etc?

Quote:

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Originally posted by Arbiter
I don't think there have been any previous alien visitors as we might as well simply rename Sentience to SMAC and be done.

By mountains you mean real big hombres?
By icefloes, you mean a big white island?

Disused mines are out as there are no previous tenants.

Others:

A big murky forest
A big whirlpool thing
A big marsh
A meteor impact site
A lava flow

More?

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how does a big forest and a big marsh differ from terrain type "forest" and terrain type "marsh"?

Quote:

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Originally posted by Arbiter
Did you ever produce some 20x20 images of the resources that we were going to use a bonus' on the squares? Like a small oil drop, a gem etc?

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A bit like in Heroes III? No, I haven't but I can if you want.

It doesn't really, it simply has a name. :)

If you wish, the forest can be constructed of darker forest squares (should be easy enough for you).

If fact, if we copy the 777 and subtly change its contents (darken the forest, put snow on the mountains, change the dirt to desert and marsh to something a bit weird) then we have 5 quick terrain abnormalities for little extra work. :)

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Originally posted by Behemoth
A bit like in Heroes III? No, I haven't but I can if you want.

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Probably more like the ones in SMAC, but less obtrusive. 20x20 would be nice. Need to be transparent too.... ;)

Cheers mucker - how long will these take?

Quote:

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Originally posted by Arbiter
It doesn't really, it simply has a name. :)

If you wish, the forest can be constructed of darker forest squares (should be easy enough for you).

If fact, if we copy the 777 and subtly change its contents (darken the forest, put snow on the mountains, change the dirt to desert and marsh to something a bit weird) then we have 5 quick terrain abnormalities for little extra work. :)

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I don't like the idea of "dark forest" or "snowy mountain" as a named doodad. I'll make 'em for you (take a bit longer than you've esimated though), but I think they'd be best as "alternative 777 graphics"

Quote:

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Originally posted by Arbiter


Probably more like the ones in SMAC, but less obtrusive. 20x20 would be nice. Need to be transparent too.... ;)

Cheers mucker - how long will these take?

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whoah there, one step at a time...

What resources in smac? describe / brief me better and I'll se what i can do. You're off again, Ian, do this, do that, do the other - no wonder I can't keep up...Lets walk before we run...

The bonus resources in SMAC. Think about the map.

Mineral bonus, energy bonus, nutrient resources.

I thought you knew what I meant. Small, 20x20 transparent non-animated representative graphics for the following:

BaseMetals
precious
gems
Biomass
fossil
Fissionables

To be placed on a square when it has a larger than average amount of that resource.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Behemoth
I don't like the idea of "dark forest" or "snowy mountain" as a named doodad. I'll make 'em for you (take a bit longer than you've esimated though), but I think they'd be best as "alternative 777 graphics"

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Of course, we'd name them as MirkWood or WorldsEdge mountains or some other such cheese.

These aren't so important as the components anyway, so shelve these please.

Gleep!!!

http://www.vbforums.com/attachment.p...postid=1106417

If you have any comments Martin, they'll be more than welcome. :)

nah, any post by either of us in any forum contains an attachment within this thread in the form of our signatures...

sorry to spoil things...:)

Stop talking and start doing graphics.

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Originally posted by Arbiter


As hinted at in the code above ours is a little more complex, but not much.

It goes....

Who it affects (current player, allies, enemy, all)
Who can trigger it (current player, allies, enemy, all)
What the event is
What the effect is

I'm compiling lists of events and effects which I'll post up maybe later today.

The way it's going to work is that there will be a general trigger sweep at the start of each turn and after each triggerable event. This is going to be fun to implement, but it will really help make the game more interactive.

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You missunderstood me. What I meant was for your event to be a condition, and have an event for the triggers. The event could be beginning of turn, start of game, etc. You would still have who can trigger it and the effect, with a new piece. I think it would be better if each effect has the who it affects part instead of the trigger. In this way, you could create one trigger which gives the first player who brings an RMV to Region X 25 BaseMetals, and takes 5 BaseMetals from each player, and would display like the following:

Players:
All Players
Events:
Unit enters Region X (a set of tiles)
Conditions:
Triggering Unit is an RMV
Effects:
Give 25 BaseMetals to Triggering Player
Take 5 BaseMetals from All Players
Repeats:
No

Or atleast do something like this:

Players:
All Players
Events:
Brings an RMV to Region X (a set of tiles)
Effects:
Give 25 BaseMetals to Triggering Player
Take 5 BaseMetals from All Players
Repeats:
No

Your current plan for the trigger system could not do this, or at the very least require a set of triggers for each player which contains the total number of players (-1) worth of triggers, with just 8 players this would amount to 56 triggers instead of one.

Of course, if you don't wish to allow the player to create custom triggers (in a map editor), then you wouldn't need to do this, or even have a trigger system at all. That would create a game like lots of other games, do one thing every game (how boring).

It's a good idea, but a little bit of overkill really. We only need simply triggers to forward the plot idea and make the map a little more interactive. What you're suggesting is more like a whole scripting language for triggers which would be good, but more than we need.

oo ar!

Of course.

Morning Plend. :)

Have you:

a) Got a super furry bug list for me?
b) Had a look at the components and triggers spreadsheets?
c) Got any comments on the above?
d) Seen my thread in Chit Chat?

Quote:

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Originally posted by Arbiter
Of course.

Morning Plend. :)

Have you:

a) Got a super furry bug list for me?
b) Had a look at the components and triggers spreadsheets?
c) Got any comments on the above?
d) Seen my thread in Chit Chat?

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**** christ jesus **** tit.

a) no.
b) sortof.
c) not really.
d) about to reply.

Behemoth,

How'd you get on with those images?
How'd you get on with searching through your dev files for the salient bits?

mmm salty development files ... mmmm ;)

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Originally posted by Arbiter
Behemoth,

How'd you get on with those images?so-so. I resizes and jiggled about with the existing resource images, but probably needs more work
How'd you get on with searching through your dev files for the salient bits? hahahahahah!

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Have you sent the images to me for viewing?

What are you up to this evening?

not yet, I got home late, put in about half an hour, then rolled into bed. I was dead knackered this morning too...

I'll send em to you on MSN tonight.

Hokay. What time are you in work on Thursday?

8:30

Quote:

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Originally posted by Arbiter
It's a good idea, but a little bit of overkill really. We only need simply triggers to forward the plot idea and make the map a little more interactive. What you're suggesting is more like a whole scripting language for triggers which would be good, but more than we need.

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If you took the second idea I posted:

Quote:

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Players:
All Players
Events:
Brings an RMV to Region X (a set of tiles)
Effects:
Give 25 BaseMetals to Triggering Player
Take 5 BaseMetals from All Players
Repeats:
No

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then it wouldn't be much more complex then what you are already planning. Yes, the first idea is much more. If you think about it, the only difference from this idea and yours is that instead of the trigger having Who it affects, each effect has it.



And as for it being more then is needed, the more complex the trigger system is, then less repeatitive the game is, and therefore the more replayable it is.

Gaming,

At the moment, the triggers only have one event, and one effect.
It makes it smaller and easier to work with code wise and also to customise.

I don't want to go overboard on it really, it's not that important when all's said and done.

Good ideas though dude... :)

Behemoth,

How goes it?
Get anything done last night?
What time you finish tonight?
What you up to?
What time's work tomorrow?

:D

How goes it?
I'm so tired today I thought I was sick. I nearly got sent home but I protested (dunno why really).

Get anything done last night?
No. Was out.

What time you finish tonight?
6:00pm

What you up to?
Sleeping. Vomiting. Wanking

What time's work tomorrow?
8:30am

Poor Ian.

Where did you go last night? Quiz?

I've been hairdrying my carpet today. Cool as!

yeah, quiz. It was a poor turnout, so we just won our stake back :p

Quote:

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Originally posted by Arbiter
I've been hairdrying my carpet today. Cool as!

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How did it survive? is it repairable? what did the council say? what did the builders say? what did the insurance company say?

Quote:

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Originally posted by Behemoth
How did it survive? is it repairable? what did the council say? what did the builders say? what did the insurance company say?

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It survived through the efforts of myself, building walls out of towels to limit the damage and hairdrying it quickly. It still has black smudges at the edge where the mud came in, but I think I can get them out.

The council say: It's the builders fault.
The builders say: It's the councils fault.
The insurance say: nothing as I've not phoned them

Quote:

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Originally posted by Arbiter
It survived through the efforts of myself, building walls out of towels to limit the damage and hairdrying it quickly. It still has black smudges at the edge where the mud came in, but I think I can get them out.

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phew...

Quote:

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The council say: It's the builders fault.
The builders say: It's the councils fault.

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and you say:
You're both at fault for a) granting planning permission or b) building on a ****ty site. Sort it out between yourselves within 7 days or I start legal proceedings.

****ers :rolleyes: :mad:

How's your makeshift flood-barrier holding up? will it survive the rainy-season later in the year?

Not sure. Things are moving slowly at the moment. I'm gonna have a word with my neighbours this evening, after which I'm going to get drunk and finish the game of SMAC I started last night.

I'm Miriam. :D

I'm also going to code the first phase of the triggers system this evening. Send me more graphics please. :)

I'm not at home until Sunday now. What graphics do you need for the triggers section?

None at the mo, but I might need some big background images for some of the storyline things. Don't worry about them yet.

Where are you all weekend btw?

Conquest,

The military algorithms contained within the main routines of this persona lead it to seek the destruction of any biological or mechanical units not under its control.

Each and every piece of software produced to govern its fighting machines contains a small part of these algorithms making them the hardest hitting units on the battlefield.

Whilst the weapons control and targeting systems are state of the art, the residual colony management routines are somewhat overshadowed - leading to an inefficient use of resources.

Research,

Dedicated to the persuit of knowledge, this persona is optimised for problem solving and non-linear thinking meaning that the rate of technological breakthroughs is enhanced.

These optimisations mean that other aspects of its persona suffer, resulting in a reduced ability to deal with combat situations.

Administration,

This faction is representative of the usual red tape and bureaucracy. When the initial personas were being designed and submitted, those responsible for this one spent so much time debating its eventual form that the deadline passed and it was submitted as is.

Whilst it excels in no area, it also has no drawbacks - being adept at everything yet master of nothing.

Industry,

Based on the philosophy that economic might is the sure way to dominate others, this persona has had its industrial routines tuned to provide paradigm efficiency.

Whilst its units might not be the most powerful on the field, its improved industrial output should help to ensure they are among the most numerous.

Nice. I'm not sure about the admin one - seems a little too comical.

Which factions are remaining?

I know, I was considering having a bit of comedy in it - but nothing too ridiculous.

You're more than welcome to post suggestions!!! rather than letting me do it all...

Those remaining are:

Defense, Cartographic, Covert Ops

How about doing some animated versions of the faction logos?

Something to be going on with...

Quote:

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Originally posted by Arbiter
I know, I was considering having a bit of comedy in it - but nothing too ridiculous.

You're more than welcome to post suggestions!!! rather than letting me do it all...

Those remaining are:

Defense, Cartographic, Covert Ops

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Precisely why I asked :rolleyes:
Bear in mind some of us have work to do and are jeopardising our jobs by simply browsing here.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Arbiter
How about doing some animated versions of the faction logos?

Something to be going on with...

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made a start on that a while ago but they looked ****.

I'll have another go ofter the weekend.

Quote:

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The cartographic and covert-ops programs were both off-shoots from the environmental awareness project. The cartographic faction primarily absorbed physical information concerning its surroundings and the covert-ops model researched political data. Both are matched in intelligence gathering but are polar in application. Whilst neither have the firepower of the military faction or the technological stand of the research faction, they are both strengthened by their "insider knowledge"

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needs a little reworking - if not only to separate the two factions, but I don't have the figures to hand - i don't know the strengths and weaknesses of either faction :p

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Defence:

Devised by the military team, the defensive algorithm was intended as a backup to the conquest program. Seeing an opportunity to monopolise the military involvement of the colonisation plan, the defensive program was designed to ensure the protection, safety and survival of its colony. This faction is best equipped to withstand attack both from native lifeforms and hostile mechs.

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They will, of course, need separating. A comparative study of them is nice, but not very useful.

I'll do them later. Thanks.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Behemoth

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DefenCe,

As we've shied away from the idea of them all being part of one colony gone rogue and onto the idea of them being separate bids to dominate the planet, it needs a little rewording and a bit of expanding. Right kind of thing though. :)

New projects:

Polymer Garden - Photosynthetic Plastics - trees which secrete random amount of plastics every turn
Shroud Generator - Photon Manipulation - Allows construction of shroud generator buildings which replace FOW around them

Projects should give 'invisible' free techs to allow special buildings to be built. This will mean an independent tech count will be required so the engine doesn't go mad.

I was with you right up until those last two sentences...

Cool projects though ;)

Thanks,

If you have any top ideas jot 'em down - we still need a few projects.

Those last sentences are just notes for me as to how I'm going to fool the framework. At the moment, the framework doesn't check projects to see if they allow buildings to be built, but it does check techs. The simplest thing to do therefore is to create an invisible tech and set it to researched when the project is complete.

Damn, I'm smart! :)

umm...ok. Do you have a copy of the tech tree?

Yes thanks.

Download the copy of the zipped components.xls I posted up earlier.

It's in there. :)

not at work. Don't be silly.

I'm not being silly. I've downloaded it, not my fault you work in a slave pit. :p

I'm going to seriously get some work done on S this evening.

You didn't answer my question about where you are this weekend....

I'm also rooting through my old eMails from you and I've found a top picture of a galaxy.

You've done some stunning pictures in the past.

seeing rachel, and possibly going to a gig.

Not so sure about sunday now, either...

Well, my first draft of the forest growth thing appears to have died horribly. It's converted the entire world to forest (excluding the mountains of course).

Hmmm......

Fixed the forest growth thing now, we now have lovely growing forests. :)

Was a bit bizarre, at first it only wanted to grow in strips from the north west to south east :confused:, then it refused to grow at all until I finally got it sorted.

The growth rate is script configurable btw. ;)

MINT! ;)