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I've been developing an idea I plan to use in my current game project. At least I hope to do so.

I would like to enable a game state output to a file, sort of like saving, which can then be accessed by a separate program. That program could then return a file which would be read with the game. In this way you would enable modders to have 100% freedom to design the AI mod of their dreams, probably a compiled program in C++ or some other language. Since they are trading file outputs the actual nature of the program probably doesn't matter as far as languages are concerned. The modder made AI could do all sorts of stuff like have its own files and data just like the built in AI of a game does since its its own totally separate program. Well there may need to be a way to spawn multiple instances of the AI module so that they can all run simultaneously and speed up the end turn wait. My CPU has 8 logical cores so it could use 1 for each instance of the AI.

Well, even just using all 4 cores would be helpful. Otherwise as long as your program could produce proper output you would have total freedom in the AI. Obviously for real time and multiplayer games this could be an issue, especially some kind of cheat in multiplayer, though I'm not sure it would be super easy to send a bogus output to get some benefit.

Also each individual AI could allow for scripting if so desired since it can do anything it wants, so you wouldn't be preventing non programmers from helping.

To put it nice I just burnt the shit out of the bridge that connects to a quite large section of the internet community who would be interested in Mandate. As such, there's no longer any point in continuing development of the game. My motivation pretty much instantly evaporated, as well. Shit could get even nastier in the next few days depending on how certain relevant personalities play things, basically if they disclose private messages or don't, since no one has any reason to take my side over said personalities' version.

Anyways, Omega, feel free to close this forum.

Okay, so I've been working on the save function. Just on a whim. I got it to work by commenting out a few functions that caused crashes. Now I'm churning through those problems. Basically the game was not saving some data in the unit save function and then tried to load it, causing a crash. I am attempting to implement the saving and loading of every currently non-processed variable.

I have long shifts at work the next few days, somewhat compensated by being pissed off by and screwed over by EU4, thus causing me to stop playing. I believe I'll have scenarios properly saving including all new game data by the weekend. If it goes reasonably fast I'll be able to put some serious hours into working in the other parts of the map editor that aren't finished. The parts I have work pretty well except they can't save. Honestly the way the map save files themselves are set up I can't see any benefit to messing with the map editor file. The only thing its really good for is the parts you can't do anywhere else and I'm gonna work on that if I can. Basically the starting positions and all that jazz. Maybe mass placing trees and terrain for finer editing later in 3D.

I'll try and put up a video when I'm done of me fuzzing a map.

I am at the phase where I am comfortable moving away from programming to filling out the game content. I have been doing some math and I am projecting a beta release of my current game project in 14 days.

I will probably have to fill out some features with a little bit of light programming and correct bugs that I can't be aware of until I actually try to make a game that does what I want, but I'll primarily be connecting game content with currently functioning game mechanics that I've added.

I've got a plan for how stuff works and I'm going to build it up in stages. First I am going to build up the basic economy. So I have like 100 resources already ready and functioning and I am going to connect them to the items and buildings and each other.

Pretty typical city building chains like wheat->ground wheat+milk->bread. Maybe some liquor.

Currently I'm considering my process distribution. Do I want wheat fields, private mills, and baking sheds all on crop farms? Hard to decide. Also dreaming of the day I can play with the graphics code to modify a farm model at runtime based on what items(facilities in this case) are connected.

Anyways, once I hook up the basic economy and get the worker units set up, I plan to start setting up the related stuff. So educated citizens to be overseers of buildings, items that come from the processed resources and the improvements and enchantments of those items.

Once I get all that down I can finally move into the Orders/combat part.

So I've more or less finished off events and special citizen generation which really only leaves me with one more major system to go.

Crafting.

Crafting in this project is more or less modeled on MMOs, mainly SWG style.

The special characters have a set of skill values related to every material and every item template as well as meta-item templates like bladed weapon and armor and metal and wood and so forth.

Most characters won't be particularly good at this. Your citizens will train up but its not a super fast process. Your best bet for getting good crafters is to create a city or district that causes your houses to spit out educated citizens well suited to crafting.

Materials start out raw like iron or and such. Through a main set of processes as well as tons of optional ones you refine the materials to get them as good as you can. You will have crafting skills related to processing. There tends to be a split between processors and item makers. It would be rare and somewhat inefficient to have one person do all the wohttps://forum.megaglest.org/Smileys/SoLoSMiLeYS1/scared.gifrk in an item chain. There are processing and crafting skills related to all materials and items/meta-items.

There are physical and magical processes for material optimization/preparation and also physical and magical actions to create good base items. On top of this some Guilds/Orders/Manufacturies can do special actions and enchantments and such either during processing, crafting, or afterwards in the case of enchantments and socketing and encrusting and so forth.

I'll probably finish up citizen generation today and get the basic crafting work done today or tomorrow and then I'll start hooking crafting up to citizens. Once the last connections between systems are made I'll be working on additions to the provisional faction to test out how things work in the actual game rather than in theory. If that goes well I start working on the content stuff, setting up Orders and Guilds and Manufacturies and then city building stuff like housing and services and markets and shit.

I figure I'll be getting serious about content starting next week after finishing stuff and working out bugs and incorrect behavior.

So now that I've dealt with some burnout, I am ready to do some more work. I am currently implementing events and it may take a while to iron out the kinks. I'd expect to spend a week on getting this up and running and working fast enough to avoid messing with the game.

This is going to take over a lot of the stuff that scenarios and shit did although those are not getting removed. There will be flags and such keeping track of what events have triggered.

This should add a lot more options to the game whether you are making a standard RTS campaign or something more like the exploratory strategy games I work on.

According to Very Sleepy of the 50% or so CPU time taken up by the ::processFrame function, which itself is 50% of CPU time used, is in the minimap, particularly updateUnitTex. I have never fiddled with the minimap, but perhaps one of the GAE programmers is aware of this issue and why it happens. It seems weird that this function, for something as irrelevant as the minimap, is taking up 25% of CPU time, even after you factor in all the extra stuff that Mandate has in gameplay over GAE.

The more I refine my additional code the larger % of time taken up by the minimap. Its basically 40% of all time according to the profiler. Other significant time is spent mainly on the UI and my new AI. AI is 10%. UI is 10%.

I will probably fiddle around with the minimap code in a couple weeks to see what is up.

I just set the minimap to updateUnitTex every 20 frames instead of 5. Lag disappeared magically. Now minimap is about 10% of total time. And the difference honestly isn't very visible, the minimap is so low res anyways.

After quite a bit of labor I have gotten the beginnings of a 3D Map Editor for Mandate. As far as I am aware it doesn't require a significant amount of my new code so its possible that if I add features in the right order it could be easily ported to GAE.

I have, after lots of labor and annoying errors and unclear code, been able to allow proper placement of map objects in game, based on my previous faction build menu. I will be working on added all the other current map features later. I will be attempting to utilize the save feature, with some modifications for maps, to create a way to store a map. Since the map is effectively created in a game context, its requires both a tile set and a faction. I will try to make these option when I split map making into its own context activated from the menu. Currently and hopefully still after that change, you are able to place both any tile set object and any unit from the player faction. After the change ideally you could place a unit from any faction in the same tech tree.

This may or may not later be modified to include some sort of scenario editor. When and if I add the overworld map screen you should be able to use that as well in conjunction with the map editor. I haven't ironed out all the specifics yet.

Although this should be relatively easy to port to GAE it uses the UI library of GAE so I do not think it would be possible to add this functionality to MG or VG as well.

How would you guys feel about storing skills in a faction folder and then simply tying them to models with a string in the XML. So then you could give all units a basic attack with a basic damage, and then assign a value to the new strength stat in the unit XML to do differentiation.

You could then write one basic attack skill, one standard move skill, one stop skill, one die skill and for buildings one be_built skill. This instead of having to write one skill that essentially looks identical in every unit XML.

And if you want to add special attack skills its can't possibly add any more effort. Then in the unit XML you would just specify a set of strings:
<skills>
  <skill "stop">
  <skill "move">
  <skill "attack">
  <skill die">
</skills>

Special skills would have their name in the skill XML file so you could just plug another string in in the unit Xml. You can also set move speed and attack speed and other things in the Unit file to be added to the values in the skill file.

Personally I would consider this a more efficient method of defining skills but I am not sure if modders would agree.

As part of an idea I was recently thinking of I wanted a way to have the environment affect units. Nothing as complicated as only building on special terrain types, though that is in the works, but mostly proximity effects.

I wanted some of the magical orders in my current game to have benefits if their buildings were near certain things. For instance pyromancers whose Motherhouse is by a volcano could gain some special benefits.

Currently my plan is to add a tags system to map objects. Then you can add various things to a unit based on its proximity to objects with the appropriate tag.

For instance some pseudo code:

if (building->isNear(object)) {
    applyBuffToUnitsMadeThere()
}

if (building->isNear(object)) {
    produceNewResourcesOnTimer()
}

The XML for the unit would be like:
<proximity>
<tag name="volcano">
<enhancement>
//fill in normal enhancement XML here
</enhancement>
</tag>
</proximity>

How useful would that kind of thing be to people?

Here is a list of Factions I used art assets from to fill out my faction(aside from Magitech):
Woodsmen
Romans
Greeks
Moon
Dwarves
Elves
Gauls
Saxons
Imperials
Warlords
Undead
Crusaders
Dark Knights
Dark Magic

If you are the creator of one of these factions it would be helpful if you could provide a description of how you would like to be credited.

I was thinking of adding an art credits and sound credits file in the TechTree folder and just list each person and what things they added. Not sure if its better per faction, per model or what not.

I'll leave it up to the content creators what kind of mention they want. If anyone doesn't weigh in, although given that I'm likely going to have to push back release to new years that shouldnt be an issue, I'll probably just add a mention like: such and such faction created by such and such person was used for models and icons and sounds of some units.

I did some forum and google searches and wiki searches, but people keep posting to sites with short hold times, so its almost impossible to find downloads for certain factions.

I've been digging through the mods section trying to find some factions with good quality models and a semi-compatible art style to magitech to flesh out my kingdom simulator demo. I'm pretty far behind code wise although I added and de bugged a shit load of features, but the file was supposed to go up thursday but some sneaky errors and lack of models delayed it.

Anyways I was wondering if anyone had these factions saved or if they actually exist:
Undead
Grey Elves
Orcs
Goblins

Also is there a version of the Elves faction with properly textured Sanctuary and Lore Hall and Ents and what not. Both files I found, 8.7 and 9.7 display as improperly textured in the G3D viewer.

Also is anyone aware of any other fantasy or fantasy related factions with quality models under a free license?

I currently have:
Imperial/Warlords
Solunar(Moon only)
Elves(buggy displays on many units)
Dwarves
Dark Magic
Magitech

Thanks for any help you can give me. I dug around for about 2 hours but I really have quite a bit of programming to do. I still have a couple behaviors to add to the AI and to debug a few things. I also have to dig around and create a faction setting to cancel the original AI, the new AI can currently only work in a scenario with two "player" factions. Disable AI cancels my AI for some reason and standard games the old AI currently overwrites the new agent/behavior based AI.

So currently based on my tests skills/commands don't have any sort of cool down. They all function as autoattacks, and choosing a new skill/command does not reset the timer.

So if I select a command/skill with an attack speed of 10 even if I switch to a new command/skill it would take 10 seconds of downtime before it switched to the new skill which would then proceed at its actual listed speed.

Furthermore attack speed relates only to energy cost being used, all the other aspects of the skill trigger on animation speed.

Do you guys consider this to be an accurate description of the current system?

As part of my Majesty-like work I had been trying to allow wizards to cast spells as they had done in that game, but I believe they used a cooldown system as opposed to what appears to be the Glest/GAE/MG system.

I can write in an optional cooldown for skills, but I don't want to mess with it unless my current understanding is accurate, otherwise I could get some nasty side effects.

Does anyone know some good software that can record video of Glest derivatives?

I used Taksi for my only video so far but now it has started getting me an error from assertGL() and then it crashes the game. I'm not really up on the whole desktop recording software stuff.

[List of previously added features:]

I decided to just make one thread about my fork and not post new threads but mainly just update this one:

Videos:
Mandate related supply chain example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZe2R0LGQJY&feature=g-upl
Mandate related item system demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoHTr4m37Bs&feature=youtu.be

My blog is available at my website at:
www.lordofthedawn.com/wp

SourceForge page, not super useful yet:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/mandateengine/

GitHub Page, also not incredibly useful, does have copy of master branch:
https://github.com/MoLAoS/Mandate

The website is not currently in serious use and mostly dealt with two of my previous projects. The blog is updated daily or weekly depending on my mood.

List of previously added features:
[spoiler]Abilities system which is somewhat like effects and includes manaburn and lifesteal and similar effects
Local storage and production of resources
Global automatic production of resources by buildings/units
Process system which consumes some resources to produces others based on the auto production system
New resistances system for damage types which works for both "armor" for physical damage and resistance for magical or technological
Items which can add abilities and effects as well as bonus enhancements of both static and multiplier types
Staged upgrade system complete with optional names for different levels
Optional increasing costs per unit of the same type
Unit/Building/Resource/Item Capturing system
Increasing unit stats/enhancements values for stats as well as store, create, process, and cost modifiers for staged upgrades
New garrison command which provides load bonuses to carrier stats based on number of units of a given type carried
Tunnel/Teleportation/Stargate type faction transport system where you load units in one unit and can output them elsewhere
New build order where you build a construction zone of correct size and use streaming resource consumption to build units
Automated resource movement for local storage where you assign a unit 2 structures to transfer materials and products
Formation commands where you can define a formation or set one up in game for units to stay in
Hierarchical system of leader units who can issue commands to whole squads and control things like focus fire and synchronous attacks
Hero/Mage/Leader system with designations for special units with extra abilities
New set of panels for GUI with with items, garrisoned/loaded/faction loaded, general stats, resistances and armors, generation
The ability for buildings to be restricted to specific foundation spots
The ability for some buildings to gain special bonuses and units and other stuff by building near a map object like a volcano
Bonus power based on the time of the day
An AI personality system where some unit types can follow their own unique AI and do many tasks without human help
The ability to build structures from a faction menu
The ability to place buildings directly from other buildings to be built by nearby builder units
Single unit bonuses that can be sold for resources to power up an individual unit[/spoiler]

Partially Completed:
[spoiler]Settlements where you can assign commands like patrol and guard to a group of structures
Area of operation which may include a settlement with commands like patrol and sentry given by leadership
Multi tiered unit hierarchy from squads to cohorts to centuries to legions to hosts
Special order system for automating actions like focus fire and healing priority and other player assisting unit automation
Possibly an HTML/CSS/JS based GUI overhaul to sit on top of current wxWidgets system for custom GUIs including styles and panels
Advanced path finding for both regular units and the tiers of unit group sizes
New passability class/pathfinding logic to enable walkable walls and ships and arbitrarily defined zones of occupancy like lava
Utility based AI system with some minimal hierarchy structure to provide superior challenge
Special AI data injection so that new tilesets/maps/factions or games designed by modders will be supported by specialized AI
New map understanding system for the new AI where it generates its own player like understanding of the map without hardcoded help[/spoiler]

Semi-Complete List Of Intended Features:
[spoiler]Monster taming and breeding system
MMO like crafting system
Support for the majority of MOBA game features
Extensive source documentation for programmers
Advanced science/study system including TBS like research trees
Campaign map type system with support for modders
Update to modeling format with functionality similar to 0 A.D. plus some extra stuff
Graphical update with various normal and spec map capabilities plus superior water rendering
Extensive support for in game terraforming
Support for cliffs and other terrain features[/spoiler]

September 1st:
[spoiler]I added items today and they are working really well. I am finishing up load bonuses, basically if you put more units in another unit they can give bonuses to stuff. So more process or resource creation speed and amount for mines and factories and such. They basically work the same as items so it should be easy.

My next project is the trade route system that uses the already finished local storage functions I have added. I also added a building command that costs resources to do a build action. In academic RTS circles its called streaming construction. You can also do streaming production, ala TA power systems.

Trade routes come with way points and use commands like transport and escort for caravans. Trade routes can be quite complex and are automated.

Following this I will finish the systems for the new building method where you transport resources to a specified site for the local construction system.[/spoiler]

September 20th:
[spoiler]
So I took a long break. Stupid neurological issues.

Currently I am attempting to build the libRocket GUI library into the Mandate Engine. This will allow GUIs to be modified with web standard languages. Although IIRC libRocket is not totally standards compliant its close enough that anyone who knows HTML and CSS can modify the GUI in nearly any way. I intend to provide hooks into C++ for all unit stats. So you can create a unit panel containing only the information you care about.

This should allow some solid freedom for modders and fit well with the new stats system. I would like modders to be able to add arbitrary stats to the game, this should be possible with some vector based classes. So instead of renaming health and energy and abusing resources you can add multiple ammo types, power management and other things to a far future war game. In theory you could even recreate a sim city type game.

This should also allow, assuming my understanding of lib rocket is correct, in game civpedia style manuals as well as more powerful tool tip type options.[/spoiler]

Update on Majesty stuff:[spoiler]

I enabled a new function which allows you to specify that a building can only produce a certain number of a given unit. I know that generally this was done using a resource limit but that was hacky and required making a new resource. Its now enabled by a simple xml line in the produce command. This is because Majesty guilds have a limit on the number of units they can build. This function can also be applied to my engines unit creation on a timer capability which is also enabled in the XML. This is because some Majesty buildings create units of a certain kind but limited to a specific number. Like the castle has x tax guys x guards x peasants.

My next goal is to make a faction menu for unit building. This shouldn't be incredibly hard as I've already learned to make new command types and actually I would just be using produce commands here. Just arranging GUI sections I guess. I was always intending to make this anyways. Now is as good a time as any.

I think my next goal would probably be to create an on created AI system. I'm not sure if I should make a special AI just for this demo and/or game style or put some work in to my main AI that I've been getting intermittent work on. Probably the second.

I think that might even be it since the demo uses the regular art assets.

for my mid libRocket break instead of adding fear and awe I decided to attempt to make a functioning clone of majesty, although you won't have random maps.

sort of like a one off scenario but adding engine support for a simple majesty like AI and using the previously added resource generation and item creating capabilities.

ill have to add the special simple AI, clean up the item display panel and stat bonus code and then repurpose some models to act as stand ins. i think ill make just the ranger, warrior, wizard, peasant and tax guy, and maybe a guard. and for buildings ill do the castle, warriors guild, rangers guild, market place, house, and wizards guild. i may add a guard house and a black smith.

i think ill have quite a bit of fun doing it since game logic and unit and item design is the part of game design i actually care about, as opposed to engine graphics and guis.[/spoiler]

September 27th, 2012
[spoiler]
Today I learned the hell of trying to implement mechanics that a previous person's work were never designed to support. Trying to add commands, even just one, to a faction menu was horrible. There were dozens of obscure functions in dozens of files that traded all skills and commands back to unit types. I have been attempting, for code clarity, to try and make all possible commands work through the built in system but boy is it hard. I eventually had to create a new command class for trading resources, just because it couldn't be done through the normal interface.

Luckily I finally worked through it and in a few hours I can construct buildings from the faction GUI. I can see a buttload of code refactoring in my future as I continue to expand the capabilities of the engine though. I'll probably end up having to rewrite the whole command system just to make it easier to deal with separating commands from being explicitly unit based.

A critical aspect of a Majesty like game is a menu that builds structures, although not units, from the faction level instead of the unit one.

I was thinking I could even abstract the whole command system from units and have a more abstract class that factions and units inherit from to get commands but somehow I see that causing some weird shit I don't want to deal with. Ah well.

I think I may actually get my Majesty demo up and running before the weekend, I had originally planned two weeks to do it with weekends for libRocket integration.[/spoiler]

Edit:
[spoiler]
Turns out you cannot expand the command system beyond units for a variety of reasons, or rather you could but its just not worth it. Just way too many modifications that could break the code. For this reason I am going to have to create a new type of command, probably similar to trade commands to work with non units. I'm kinda unhappy with this but its unavoidable.

Early commands will probably be a faction build function and maybe some global spell casting type stuff.[/spoiler]

Faction Build Progress, September 30:
[spoiler]
Faction build is not effectively up and running with only some small issues. You cannot see the ghost image that goes red and green based on if you can build in the current spot. I had to work outside of the command code due to having no unit involved and so I was just now able to figure out how to make the structure build where the mouse is. This system was really not meant to be easily extensible :)
It'll probably take me another day or so to work out all the kinks. I still can't convince the describe and subdesc functions to work. Some access error or another.
[/spoiler]

Item Creation, Process Integration, Storage, Commands
[spoiler]
I have done quite a lot of work, after getting the crude faction build command done, on getting the item system to work better. You can now create and store items with commands, the previously resource only processes, and item creation timers.
My next job will be to allow transfers, its partially done already, and then to get items to apply their effects to their holders and display in the item panel. Applying enhancements should be trivial, its applying bonuses to item, resource, and unit creation, as well as effects and abilities that will prove complex. And commands especially should not be to easy to handle. But items granting spells and other commands would be cool so I shall slave away.
[/spoiler]

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