When I say AI, that includes unit AI, as well as opponent AI. I'll have another go at creating mechs later today.
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When I say AI, that includes unit AI, as well as opponent AI. I'll have another go at creating mechs later today.
Also, I suggest that RMVs consider distance (in movement "cost") from their current pos, to a potential slurp-zone, and then back to whereever they do a drop-off.
And I think they need to be able to detect possible choices in a larger area... more like 20x20... even though they wouldn't be able to see that far, RMVs may be automatically equiped with a special mineral sensing device or something. Of course, this detection area depends heavily on processor speed factors.
*ahem*.....*backs away*Quote:
Originally posted by Arbiter
You haven't had your machine running for the past 8 days without a shut down have you?
I will try again tommorw :)
Hi all.
Nice to see we've had lots of lovely feedback - thank you all for the effort you've put in for us.
As far as I remember, RMVs don't have a drop off point. Any materials harvested are automatically available in the warehouse immediately. This is supposed to imply the efficiency with which the machines work. Trust me, you don't want 40 or 50 RMVs traipsing across the map from turn to turn. Your machine really would grind to a halt!
but it's beautiful...Quote:
Originally posted by Jotaf98
Hey, just a couple of suggestions:
Change the background, ok? The game has nothing to do with space, so why do you make the background a NEBULA?! :p
:(
Yes, I know it's beautiful - it's just that if the game has nothing to do with that... ok, forget about it :)
Anyway, is combat gonna be turn-based like most RPGs, or they fight without anyone interacting? Personally, I think the first option is the best one, people like to be active in battles you know :p
Another problem, when asigning a "chip" (i think that is it as i have to keep changinh pcs) when there are more than two, i cant see the thrid, aslo, i cant clear a box and make it empty :)
Simon,
Thanks for the comments.
Right, the build Q. It does remove it, it just doesn't refresh the list. Shoddy, shoddy, shoddy. I've fixed that now. Ta.
Good point about the scroll bar. I've now fixed that also.
I'm aware of the issue with the displaying of components selector thingy (you know what I mean) falling off the bottom of the square. In fact, brb.
Ok, fixed.
Oh, and to clear a box, click on it to select a component, then click on the displayed menu, but not on a component (on the border around it as it were). It's crap but it works until I come up with a better method.
PS - why didn't it work the first time, so's I know for future reference.
Jotaf,
Not sure what you mean. Combat will be done in each players turn unit by unit. AI will be ran first, so all those driven by AI will attack, then any units without orders will be allowed to move/fight. There will also be an additional chance to fight during other peoples turn, but this will not be governed by the player. If a unit is fired upon and it set to retaliate and it has enough power/ammo it will return fire. This is automatic.
Does this explain it? :)
Howdy Arbiter,
Right.
I had all ready created the temp.bmp file but still to no avail.
Sentience doesnt appear to be trying to read the file anymore, but it still crashes.
Here are its dying moments :
Hope thats of some help ;)Code:06:04:00 Sentienc Close C:\GAMEDEV\JAMIE.SSG SUCCESS CLOSE_FINAL
06:04:00 Sentienc Read C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSVBVM60.DLL SUCCESS Offset: 720896 Length: 4096
06:04:00 Sentienc Read C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MSVBVM60.DLL SUCCESS Offset: 724992 Length: 4096
06:04:00 Sentienc Attributes C:\WINDOWS\WINHELP.INI NOTFOUND GetAttributes
06:04:00 Sentienc Attributes C:\WINDOWS\WINHELP.INI NOTFOUND GetAttributes
06:04:00 Sentienc Attributes C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\.HLP NOTFOUND GetAttributes
06:04:00 Sentienc Attributes C:\WINDOWS\HELP\.HLP NOTFOUND GetAttributes
06:04:00 Sentienc Close C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\DX7VB.DLL SUCCESS CLOSE_FINAL
06:04:00 KERNEL32 Close C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ASYCFILT.DLL SUCCESS CLOSE_FINAL
06:04:00 KERNEL32 Close C:\GAMEDEV\SENTIENCE.EXE SUCCESS CLOSE_FINAL
PlenderJ,
That's fantastic. Now what does it mean.
I notice that you're using a save game there. If it's a save game from a previous version it can cause all sorts of weird and wonderful problems to occur.
It isn't is it?
Yes, but wouldn't it be better if the battles had a different turn-based system? Because since each turn is an year, it wouldn't make much sense to fight a battle between 2 mechs with attacking intervals of 1 year :rolleyes: Or even if you changed it to 1 day each turn... :D
You know, like in Heroes of Might and Magic? Or in most RPGs, but where you can move your mechs? Or even better, you could directly control the mech, like if it was an action game? (Speed would be good to dodge attacks etc) :D
It would take you a bit more time to make it, but it's worth it. The game would be a lot more interesting ;)
BTW: Make the windows you open Modal! Because like that you can't click anywhere else in the program, so you don't lose them:
SomeForm.Show vbModal, Me 'Unless it's a module, in that case remove the Me
Im afraid not :)
I doodled a mech, then saved the game during the turn before the mech would have been created.
Ive tested it using a savegame, and not using a save game, and I get the same effect.
Actually, scrap the whole turn based thing and make it into a fully fledged 3D Open GL 1st person perspective army game ; like a 1st person version of command and conquer ;)Quote:
Originally posted by Jotaf98
You know, like in Heroes of Might and Magic? Or in most RPGs, but where you can move your mechs? Or even better, you could directly control the mech, like if it was an action game? (Speed would be good to dodge attacks etc) :D
lol :)
Yeah, but you should at least make your own battle system (don't put it into the real game) :)
PlenderJ,
You've lost me now, I'm only a dumb Englishman. :confused:
Let me get this straight, you can't create a mech?
The problem used to be that it couldn't find C:\temp.bmp
That's now fixed/worked around, so what's it doing that prevents you from creating a mech?
Jotaf,
A very visionary idea for combat, but maybe a tad excessive?
PS - almost all the forms are modal with the exception of the mech design screen with isn't for technical reasons (due to the way it displays the component selector). We're working on a solution for that at the moment.
I still get the file not found error.
I just tried it now from scratch.
And before you ask I have created the empty test.bmp, and I'm not loading a game.
It can't find "C:\temp.bmp" ?
And you've made it. Did you use notepad to make the file and then rename it? If so, make sure it's not called temp.bmp.txt (happens if you have 'hide known file extensions' turned on. Its name will look like temp.bmp but the grpahic will still look like a text file)
It's not read only is it?
It's in the root of C: not anywhere else?
i.e. "C:\temp.bmp"
I had the same problem when I put it on my old machine and merely creating a blank file called temp.bmp on the machine's C drive root solved the problem.
I've just read your post again.
It's TEMP.bmp not test.bmp
why not make the bmp using MSPaint. Then you KNOW its required file type...
Just my 2p.
Yeah just copped it myself too.
Dyslexia does make for some very interesting circumstances ;)
Anyway I'll test it later as I have a maths test tomorrow, and I'm well and truly screwed for it :)
TEST IT NOW *****!!!
*ahem* sorry.
Good luck with your maths test. It's clearly on your mind. Test.bmp indeed...
If you get stuck I'll use smoke signals outside the building to communicate the answers to you.
Smoke signals my foot !
Take a look at the attachment. Its one of my past papers ;)
1 + 1 = 2
2 + 2 = 4
1 + 2 != 4
There...you should have no trouble now...
Just write "Frog" for all your answers...As long as you back it up with some hazy proof, and show your working out, you'll easily scrape a B.
Not with the ****er giving these maths lectures ;)
Quote:
Originally posted by Arbiter
PS - why didn't it work the first time, so's I know for future reference.
I try not to restart my computer, and its running 24/7, I think i just ran out of resources, you need to work on memory allocation, and allow it to use the swap file to :) I will download the newest build tonight and give more feedback
Aslo, Once ive specified the parts for a mech, what do I do after that??
Si
Behemoth, Oi!! no cheating! :p
Cheating?
Simon,
I'll post an addon at about 19:00 tonight. Just extract, then copy over what you already have, overwriting files in the process. Save another 2.9mb download ;)
Once you've specified the mech components you save the design and then close the mech design screen. If it says cancel and not save then make sure you have at least one torso, reactor and chassis and you've chosen a destination building (the drop down). Click next turn and the unit is there.
Yippee! Then you can move it around, specify destinations etc.
In tonights exciting episode (upload) you'll be able to attack the enemy. Be sure to have two players....
... but we still dont get to see no source ;)
thats part of the mystique...
If you see it, we'll have to kill you and eat you.
At last I'm onto the interesting (ie. easy) stuff :D
Oh yeah, and mail 'uz a copy of sentience would ya when you've got the new version...
PlenderJ,
I can't view those as I don't have acrobat reader at work. The powers that be don't want it installed.
NP, I'll mail you when I upload it.
The powers that be wont allow you to install adobe acrobat, but they'll allow you to spend your time working on your own programming projects.
Interesting :)
Just thinking, maybe you should version stamp the save game files.
So when its loading them sentience will know whether the file can be converted or not etc.
Also, I noticed in the save game files you're storing a lot of string descriptions which look like in game descriptions. Seems odd to me, but im sure there's method in the madness :)
Plend,
Err.... not exactly. But installation on machines are monitored by Big Brother software and a whole can of whoop ass is opened if it's detected. I don't have Sentience at work, but occasionally I send mails home with thoughts that have occured to me. If I come up with any code snippets off the top of my head I post them in the comms forum (Big Brother does not allow VB code to be eMailed off the server).Quote:
The powers that be wont allow you to install adobe acrobat, but they'll allow you to spend your time working on your own programming projects.
I'll add version stamping to the game files when I get home. Nice thought Sid.
PS - there is method in the madness. The ini files are written into the save game to preclude cheating. i.e one person changing the components in their inis to do more damage, or techs to cost nothing etc.
Hey, I have another idea: when you use a mech to attack another mech, a different window pops up. There, you have the combat, turn-based! But you can't control it. There's a pilot in each mech, remember? ;)
So, each "turn", the mech would decide what to do (simply attack with a weapon, or you could make it more complex with things like hide, run, etc). I'm sure you can do calculations to see if an attack missed because the mech is too slow and the other one is too fast, if it inflicts a lot of damage because it's weak or none at all because it has lots of armor, etc.
Each turn, you just display some text like "Red Team's Mech attacks with Missile. Blue Team's Mech dodges.", and show a nice animation like a missile being fired or the mech running away, if that's the case, I'm sure Behemoth can do this ;). Kinda like in Panzer General, there isn't anything easier than that for combat. But one shot each year looks laaame :)
A good idea (imo) would be that you start off with {a single mech, a number of mechs} so that you can be exploring which building up an army.
Also, other types of vehicles ?
Aircraft etc.
Other sorts of weapons, eg. nuclear weapons etc.
Then also the ability to build buildings.
Possibly so as to research better things, and what not.
Also could increase unit creation rate.
Another thing, how about walls/barricades.
You could have brick walls, barricads, metal walls.
Or you could just dig up sections of dirt and make land walls....
You're right, PlenderJ. And that shouldn't be that hard to implement once most of the project is finished ;)
Whoooo, lots of comments!
Right, I'll respond to them all:
Jotaf,
I'm not sure what you mean. Combat is turn based and the amount of times you can fire is based on the power/ammo requirements of the weapons. Moving uses power, as does firing. If you move, you have less (or no) power to fight. If you fire, you have less (or no) power to move.
It's possible (e.g for a light unit with a weak weapon) to move, then fire, then move again. Great for harrassment. If you have enough power to fire a weapon three times, then you can fire it three times.
Plend,
Some good stuff there.
There are three types of units; land, sea and air. Currently only land units are available. This will change shortly. I have made no provision in the framework for missiles (although an air unit packed with explosives is the same thing - see the comms forum for Behemoth and I discussing suicide mechs)
Building buildings (!) is coming soon, I just wanted to get building mechs out of the way first.
Barricades are a good idea, though I have no idea how I'll work them into the framework. I'll sort something out I'm sure.
Well you could impliment them as water (or any other uncrossable land), with a different picture....
Oh yeah, and you should have units that can carry other units.
So that you can land 20 weapon laden mechs outside an enemy base.
Roll on the good times ;)
Also, change the sentience icon :)
And you might want to change some of the in game menus.
Kinda like I half did in craft.
I hadvent done the space station menus yet, but the first few menus in the game are all black etc.
They dont look VBish.
Plend,
Unfortunately, I'm strictly limited by the number of limbs I have and the number of hours in the day. I can only do so much as once!
j/k These comments are good, keep em coming.
I could put a different graphic for the barricades but it wouldn't be a terrain type. I'm leaving that well alone. It works, and I ain't messing no more!
I can implement carried units easily enough I think. Would have to put a troop carrier component into a weapon mount. Odd, but it would work.
The Sentience logo will stay as it is. I'm just awaiting the tidier versions from Behemoth.
The in game menus are still work in progress. It's on my list to tidy up, but as it's only a cosmetic it's fairly low down.
Phew *pant, pant, pant* I think that's everything....
Nah by the icon I meant the icon used for the executable.
Its currently the god-awful VB icon.
Oh!
Err.... I never even stopped to consider that. I don't have any icon editors.
Behemoth! Make me an icon! :)
*sigh*
32 x 32, 256 colours?
Hey Have you ever played fallen heaven? I think you could use somme of the features of that game. Like the research part or even the yearbased building system. If you have never played it and you can't find it on any 5$ collectors CD you can ask me about it if you are interested. (must be fun to read all those messages in this thread.)
After all the game looks pretty cool, I couldn't really figure it out yet, but I think you got a good basis to make a real cool game.
And really get MicroAngelo to make another Icon. As soon as I saw this Icon I thought that it would be just another little stupid vbprog someone only spend 2 days on.
I can't vouch for Behemoth, but I've never played Fallen Heaven. It is along the same lines?
If you could outline some of the features of the game you think we could benefit from having, that would be great!
Behemoth,
Sorry pal, I've no idea what size icons are. I'll leave it in your hands... :)
Thanks!
Arbiter.
I just came up with the single most important feature that would make your game even more popular that wolenstein 3d and quake3 combined :
Have music by the divine comedy (aka neil hannon) playing in the background the whole way through.
*sigh*
BTW Jotaf. The mech's don't have pilots...
PlenderJ.
Why not just have Greensleeves playing on constant repeat with no 'music off' option.
Guaranteed to make it a best seller!
No, Arbiter - just the first 4 bars of Greensleeves...
Ok, ok - then just remember to change the turn "unit" from years to days or hours... :rolleyes:
Ho Ho Hoka Hey!
The new version is uploaded, and all in a nice 300k zip file to update your current version! Splendid!
Update includes:
More bug fixes than you can shake a stick at.
Optimised code.
New, improved recipe mech design screen.
The ability to create unit templates for easy mech creation.
Improvement of the pathfinder algorithm.
Speech (yes, voices of Behemoth and I sounding terminally depressed)
The first four bars of Greensleeves on infinite repeat.
Combat!
Version checking on the save games (Plend)
Fixed scrollbars and improvements to the build Q (Chenko)
The adding of contributers names to the faction names (look out for you!)
All sorts of little improvements and snazzy stuff.
OK, for combat make sure you have two factions, build a mech with each (ensure they have at least one weapon) and walk them into each other. Ranged fire and accuracy will be coming shortly. Be sure to set the weapon fire states in the mech design screen (those funny pictures near the picture of the weapon that look like blokes - they instruct the mech whether to fire if the target has shields up or down - make sure they're both ticked), if you forget, don't worry. Simply right click on the mech when it's been built and click view unit details. These can then be changed.
Tips, to hear speech, set some techs to be researched and use the move mech command to errr... move mechs ;)
Remember the 'click on unit and type @' to explore the whole map cheat, may be useful for finding the enemy.
Well, have fun guys. We both appreciate you all looking at it!
Just a few things ...
The route finding on the mechs doesnt appear to be 100%.
When my mech was created, for the life of me I couldnt get it to go anywhere by itself. It could however go there manually.
When your turn is complete, I think the view should be returned to where you were looking last ; not necessarily the centre of your base.
When I went to save the game to come on here, I selected my other save game to overwrite ; but it never asked me if I wanted to overwrite it ... not a major thing tbh.
All I can think of for now ....
Ha ha!!
Not so many bug reports.
There is a glitch in the pathfinding that's really weird. It doesn't seem to want to move a mech if it's on a building, but it only does it sometimes. If you move the mech off the building and then plot a course, when you click next turn it should start heading off that way.
I'll implement the screen snap to last viewed as opposed to base thingy when I get in.
Did ya try moving buildings around? Funky! A building has to be adjacent to a piece of road for it to be active, so if you run your admin centre off into the swamp, you'll notice you're not generating any power, or research for that matter.
Funky eh?
Now I just need to work on building construction.
I've got my maths exam today at 2 till 5, so I shant be messing with sentience till after that anyway ;)
Good luck chopper!
Luck has nothing to do with it !
Blind faith that the alimighty will provide for does however ...:)
I was just thinking arbiter, maybe you should change your very first post in this thread, and tell people, in bold, that you have a game that you want people to try, and that people dont have to read the 12 pages of bull**** before they post a comment/suggestion/bug :)
Damn good idea.
You're on form this week aren't you. Must be the exams forcing your brain to work. ;)