Topics

101

General discussion / FAQ threads

« on: 8 July 2010, 22:14:11 »

As some of you have noticed, I recently started an FAQ thread in the Tools section, and I was thinking maybe we could take a similar approach to other boards?  An FAQ on Mods, for example, would answer common questions like "how do I install a mod?", while one on General Discussion could have things like "how did Glest get started?"  Currently, all of the knowledge of the community is spread around the forum and the wiki, and it might do us some good to consolidate it to make it more n00b-friendly.  Does this sound like a good idea, or a waste of time?

102

Mods / Sticky topics

« on: 5 July 2010, 17:07:34 »

Maybe we need some kind of consistent policy for sticking topics, especially mods.  I say when a good and worthy mod has a new release, we stick it for a week, and then remove it after that?  We've got a few stickies for things that haven't been active for a while, like the Vbros packs, or the Megapack, which is now part of Megaglest, so that topic is barely relevant, right?

103

Tools / Tools FAQ

« on: 4 July 2010, 06:56:38 »

Welcome to the Glest Tools FAQ.  If I missed anything important, say so and I'll add it.  Here we go.

What all needs to be included to make a mod?
Typically, a complete mod includes models, textures, animations, icons, music, sounds, and XML files.

Is that as hard as it sounds?
None of it is overly difficult, but it will require you to learn a lot of new things you've probably never seen before, and it will take a lot of time if you're starting from scratch.  However, it can be done, and there has been a lot of great work from people who started modding Glest with no prior knowledge of any of the necessary steps.  I'm one example, and there are others.

What programs do I need?
To do a complete modification, you need a modeling and animation program, something to create 2D images such as textures and icons, a text editor for working with XML files, and the g3d export script.  These are the bare minimum, but there are other useful tools.  The standard set used here is Blender for modeling and animating, GIMP for creating 2D images, Notepad++ or gedit for XML.  Additional useful tools include Audacity for sounds, the g3d viewer, 7zip for archiving, and some plugins for GIMP.

Where can I get these tools?
Notepad++: http://sourceforge.net/projects/notepad-plus/files/
Blender: http://www.blender.org/download/get-blender/
Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/
The GIMP: http://www.gimp.org/downloads/
Glest Tools:

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[url=http://www.filefront.com/14631195/GTP_1.0.exe]http://www.filefront.com/14631195/GTP_1.0.exe[/url] (includes map editor, GAM, g3d viewer, Export Script, and Import Script in an installer)
GIMP Resynthesizer plugin: http://www.logarithmic.net/pfh/resynthesizer
GIMP Lower Frequency plugin: http://registry.gimp.org/node/24636
On Debian-based GNU/Linux operating systems (such as Ubuntu), most of these should be available from your package manager, and those that aren't should install and run using Wine.

Can I use different programs from those recommended?
For modeling, Blender is highly recommended, unless you're already a pro with another program.  Blender is available for no cost and is free and open-source software.  Additionally, it is what most of us use, so if you have a question, we're much more likely to know the answer if you're using Blender, and it makes collaboration much easier.  Finally, the only program that supports the g3d export script in its current version, so you'll need a copy of it anyway.  Some artists have had success working in other programs (like GMAX) and using an intermediary format like md5, then using Blender to export, but obviously this is inconvenient.  See

Code: [Select]

[url=https://docs.megaglest.org/Other_Modelling_Tools]here[/url].  Older versions of 3DS also have a working script.  For textures, Paint.NET and Adobe Photoshop both work, and Adobe Fireworks can be used for icons, but GIMP is recommended for most of the same reasons as Blender.  For XML files, any text editor should work, even very basic ones like Notepad, Vim, and Nano.  However, Notepad++ makes things a bit easier with syntax highlighting and other nice features.  On Linux, gedit works just as well (I use it), and Kate probably does too.

Where can I find some tutorials?
Eventually I plan on putting together some really good tutorials for all the necessary steps, but until then the ones on

Code: [Select]

[url=http://glestguide.co.cc]glestguide.co.cc[/url] should be good enough for the basics.

What kinds of licenses can I use for my work?
If you're using anything from Magitech, then you have to use CC-By-SA or a compatible license.  If you're using anything from another artist, check with that artist.  If everything in your mod was made by you from scratch or from public domain sources, then you can license it however you want.

How should I license my mod/work?
Glest is a free and open-source game and all the original content is under CC-By-SA.  This is the same license that most mod creators in the Glest community use, and it is what I personally recommend.  This license lets you keep more control over your work than a public domain or CC0 license would, while allowing other people to use it and fostering an atmosphere of openess and sharing.  Most of us consider that to be a good thing.  With that said, you can license your mod or work under any license allowed by law.

Can I sell my mod?
If you are the creator of all the content in your mod, you may sell it and do with it whatever you want.  Otherwise, check the licenses of all your sources.  If it is under any Creative Commons license, then you may sell it UNLESS the license contains a Non-Commercial (NC) clause.  For example, CC-By-SA is fine, but CC-By-NC may not be sold without permission.

How do I share my mod with the community?
Simply compress it, upload it, and share the link on the Mods board.  For compression, 7zip is probably your best bet, and we typically use the 7z format because it offeres the best compression ratio.  For uploading, we like Filefront and Mediafire, so either of those will do fine.  Feel free to post it on ModDB.com as well.

Where can I find more information?
The forum, the wiki, and

Code: [Select]

[url=http://glestguide.co.cc]the Glest Guide[/url].

I just added or modified a texture, and now Glest and/or the g3d viewer crashes when loading the unit.  What's up with that?
This usually means that you have RLE compression turned on, or that your texture is in the wrong format or wrong location.  Open up your texture file, save it as a targa (*.tga) file, and make sure the check-box for RLE compression is empty (not checked), and that the location is in the same folder as the g3d files that use that texture.  (Note: When working with the GIMP, it's best to save your working copy as *.xcf and use the "save a copy" function to save it as a targa.  This lets you keep your layers intact between sessions.)  Another possible problem is capital letters.  Glest does not like capital letters in file names, so make sure everything is in lower-case, including file extensions.  This means that something.g3d is fine, but Something.G3D is not.

I'm viewing my unit in either the g3d viewer or in Glest, and it's not showing up, or parts of it are missing.  What's up with that?
This usually means that either 1.) you didn't have the objects selected in Blender when you exported, or 2.) you didn't triangulate all the faces.  To fix this, open up your blend file.  Select a mesh object, go into edit mode, select all faces, and hit "ctrl t".  This converts all of the quadrangular (four-sided) faces to triangles so Glest can see them.  Repeat the process for all your mesh objects.  Once you've done that, select all the objects you want to include, and export.

There's probably a ton of stuff missing, so post your ideas.

_{Edit by Omega: Updated Glest Guide links}

104

General discussion / Gathering volunteers

« on: 10 June 2010, 02:25:48 »

I've been hanging around the Wesnoth forum a bit lately, and they've got a forum devoted to (non-Wesnoth) game development, so I thought about posting a sort of "help wanted" topic for GAE, figuring that some of the many FOSS enthusiasts might be inclined to help.  I'll post it here first to see if anybody has any suggestions to polish it up.  Here's what I have so far:

Subject: Help wanted - C++ programmers for free RTS

This is a call to all C++ programmers interested in helping with a FOSS gaming project.  I'm sure many of you are at least somewhat familiar with the free, open-source, 3D, real-time strategy game Glest.  In case you're not, I'm including a link and some screenshots below.  What you may not know about is the Glest Advanced Engine currently under development.  This project has already made some great strides in improving the game, such as an improved pathfinder, new lua scripting capabilities, and improved multiplayer, as well as many "under-the-hood" improvements.  The problem is that there is a lot of work to be done and we currently only have a handful of programmers actively working on this project, so I'm looking for a few volunteers to help out.  We could use just about any programmer good with C++, and we especially need someone familiar with graphics coding and OpenGL, and someone good with AI programming.  If you're interested in helping, or just finding out more about the project, you can head on over to the Glest forum and inquire there for more information.

<!-- screenshots and whatnot go here -->

105

Off topic / Computers, gadgets, etc.

« on: 19 May 2010, 06:46:23 »

HP 2133 Mini-note

1.6Ghz CPU
2GB RAM
120GB HDD

8.9" screen
1280x768 max resolution

6-cell battery

GNU/Linux Ubuntu 10.04 Netbook Remix
Windows 7

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[img]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs532.ash1/31218_389978957831_501807831_3996952_3356276_n.jpg[/img]
More pics:

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[url=http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs572.snc3/31218_389978937831_501807831_3996950_1685708_n.jpg]http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs572.snc3/31218_389978937831_501807831_3996950_1685708_n.jpg[/url]
[url=http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs532.ash1/31218_389978912831_501807831_3996948_4109266_n.jpg]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs532.ash1/31218_389978912831_501807831_3996948_4109266_n.jpg[/url]
[url=http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs532.ash1/31218_389979237831_501807831_3996955_502298_n.jpg]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs532.ash1/31218_389979237831_501807831_3996955_502298_n.jpg[/url]
Got it for $192.50.

106

Off topic / Transferring settings from one machine to another on Linux

« on: 8 May 2010, 23:13:45 »

I've been working with Ubuntu for a few months now, running it on various computers from my USB flash drive and it has worked quite well in absence of my laptop (which hasn't been working for a while).  What I want to know is: When I get my laptop working again (or replace it), is there a way to take all my settings and customizations that I have set up on my USB-based Ubuntu and transfer them to a new installation on my own computer?  I heard somewhere that simply transferring my entire home folder would do the trick (after installing Ubuntu on my main machine), but I figure it would be good to ask before trying anything.

107

General discussion / Campaign lobby

« on: 27 April 2010, 19:16:03 »

I originally posted this over on the Megaglest board, but I think it's more fitting as a new thread, and although I'm planning on having it work with both engines, my priority will be getting it to work with GAE.

I've just started dabbling a bit in Python, and I think I'm starting to get an idea of how to implement something in an external script that might work for launching campaigns.  In effect, the python script would create a sort of lobby from which you could launch your game and a script would run alongside the game, reading and writing data to an external file.  This could be something as simple as "you win the scenario, so write such-and-such to some file", or something that hooks more calls based on lua events.  I still need to look into some things to see if this is even remotely feasible, but if it is, then I pretty much know how to do it.

What (I think) we need for this to be possible:

• A way to launch Glest/MG/GAE with parameters that would make it run a specific scenario, so we can do something like os.system("glest -scenario %(user_selection)").  No idea if this is possible, presently or in the future.
• The ability to hook function calls from Glest and launch a script based on these calls.  For example, when the player beats the scenario, the runtime script launches a write-to-file script.  I think this is doable, but I need to learn a lot more about hooking.
  

If these two things are possible, I believe it will be possible to run campaigns for all three engines without modifying the engines themselves.
Here's my initial concept of what the lobby would do:

First, prompt the player for new campaign or resume campaign.

1. If resume, then look for associated files that tell us the player's progress.
2. Print a list of the campaigns the player has current progress in and prompt the player to choose.  E.g. "Resume which campaign?: (a) Scrambled Eggs, (b) Eye of the Walrus".
3. From an external file, build a list of the scenarios in that campaign that the player has unlocked, then print and prompt for a choice.  E.g. "Which scenario would you like to play?  Unlocked scenarios: (a) Atrium, (b) Green Tea, (c) Stairway to Utah".
4. Launch the game with that scenario (os.system blah blah from above) and launch the runtime script to hook function calls.

1. If new campaign, look for associated files that list available campaigns.
2. Print a list of them and prompt the player to choose.
3. Launch the game with the first scenario of that campaign and launch the runtime script to hook function calls.

Then the runtime script would intercept Glest's function calls and/or lua events and write relevant ones to an external file (from which the lobby will read later).  If we're able to read lua functions, then we could write a lot of "plot" information (like what jda was talking about) and have branching scenarios based on that, or even write directly to (a copy of) the lua file and run the modified version.
It looks pretty straightforward to me, but I might need some help sifting through Glest's functions to see what we need.  My exams are over on the 3rd, so I'll start looking into this with more intent around that time.

108

Off topic / Help request: I'm writing a report on free and open-source software.

« on: 19 April 2010, 04:50:27 »

For my Professional Writing class, I'm doing a feasibility report on getting my university to implement more free and open-source software in its labs, since currently we tuition-paying students are doling out a fortune for MS Windows, MS Office, etc., that comes on every computer in the whole school (and it's one of the 10 biggest universities in the nation) and the computers are crashing all the time, much to no-one's surprise.  Out of the 12 computers in this lab, two have been removed because they wouldn't boot, and another two currently don't work unless you boot them from an external device (meaning the hardware is fine but the software is not).  I think we can all guess whose operating system they're running.

Anyway, I need to find some good sources and examples of other institutions making strides toward converting their proprietary software systems over to FOSS.  I've already found a couple helpful articles (like where India's president says they need to start embracing open-source, and a US Department of Defense memo saying the same), but not really enough on which to base a 2500-word report.  What would be supremely helpful is anything about a large public university taking on such an initiative, but I'll take what I can get, sources, suggestions, etc.  If any FOSS developers are willing to give me some insight, I'll gladly take that too.

109

General discussion / Two glest.ini files on Linux

« on: 17 April 2010, 09:25:00 »

I recently got my Ubuntu up and running again, and I was rather perplexed at not being able to change the resolution in the glest.ini file.  I changed it, saved it, and ran Glest, only to find it running at its default resolution.  As it turns out, there's another glest.ini hidden in a different directory and the one that isn't hidden is (apparently) good for nothing except maybe a backup.  Anybody know what's up with that?  I installed it using the Ubuntu Software Center on Ubuntu 9.10.

110

Off topic / Browsers

« on: 8 April 2010, 18:34:51 »

What is your favorite browser?  Why is it your favorite?  What are some of your favorite extensions and add-ons?  All off-topic browser-related discussion goes here.

I'll start:

• Mozilla Firefox
• Its extensibility means it can do just about anything I want as long as I can find the proper add-on, and the open source means there isn't any funny business hiding in the code.
• Chromin Frame, Personal Menu, and Fission (the three work together to free up a lot of screen space); Ad-block Plus (I couldn't live without this one!)

111

Tools / Blender Auto-IK explained

« on: 6 April 2010, 00:25:00 »

In Blender's armature system, there are two main types of kinematics, or ways motion is calculated.  These are forward kinematics, and inverse kinematics, or FK and IK for short.  FK is the default, where you move one bone and all its children move with it.  For example, you shrug your shoulder and the rest of your arm shrugs up with it.  IK is the opposite, where the child bone "leads" the chain of its parents.  For example, you throw a punch and the rest of your arm and your shoulder naturally follow your fist.  The two ways I know of using IK are 1.) put an IK solver on a bone (this is how a lot of lower body rigs work) and 2.) use Blender's Auto-IK switch.  The Auto-IK switch is much more convenient when you will be going back and forth between FK and IK.  One approach I've learned is to use IK for the general shape of the motion you want, and then FK for manipulating the details.  The convenience of IK comes in the fact that you need only manipulate the leading bone to get the motion you want, instead of rotating each of its parents first.  Returning to the punch example, using IK you could simply grab the hand bone of your armature and move it forward to the target, and the rest of the arm and the shoulder would naturally follow.  To fine-tune your rig for easier IK, you may have to break some connections if you don't want the whole body to follow a single bone.

112

Off topic / Fun facts

« on: 24 March 2010, 00:44:05 »

This is the topic where you post anything interesting that most people probably don't know, therefor making it an interesting/fun fact.  Citation is a plus.  I'll start.

• Dolphins kill for fun.
  
• Pigs are (arguably) smarter than dogs.
  
• The anthropology technique of living amongst a tribe and recording their behaviors was pioneered by a Polish man who was stranded with indigenous tribal people because of World War 1.
  
• Texting while driving makes you 23 times as likely to crash.
  

113

General discussion / Promoting Glest

« on: 2 March 2010, 20:48:00 »

I've noticed a few posts around the board lately that relate to the idea of getting more people interested in playing Glest.  This is something we really need to happen, because more people means more development, so this thread is meant as a central collection of ideas to get more people interested in Glest.

• Slashdot
• Digg
• Reddit
• ModDB (Glest is already on ModDB, but it would help if more people would post their mods/tilesets/maps, etc., so that people can see how much content we're making!)
• Facebook (there's already a Glest fan page)
• Wikipedia (keeping the article current and interesting)
• Twitter

We need more ideas, so post them here and I'll add them to the list.  Thanks.

114

Mods / Dark Magic attribution

« on: 30 December 2009, 01:27:28 »

This thread is separate from the main Dark Magic thread in order to keep things better organized.  What I need is for everybody who's helped with anything for the Dark Magic project to claim credit for their work so that we can put together a text file giving credit for everybody's work.  Also, include how you would like to be listed (by name, by forum alias, or whatever) and if you have any specific title in GLADE.

I have two different approaches in mind, so I'd like to see which way the community would prefer.  The first way is to list each person and then their contributions.  The second is to list each unit and who worked on it.

For example, here's how option 1 would look:

Name of contributor
Title
Unit 1 model
Unit 2 model, texture, sounds
etc.

John Harvey
GLADE team Czar
Alliyp animations
Blood Fountain model, texture, and animations
Dark Mage animations
Divination Crystal model, texture, and animations
Gargoyle texture and animations
Harpy texture and animations
Sheol Temple model, texture, and animations
Sorcery Runes model and texture

And option 2 would look more like this:

Name of unit
Model by <contributors>
Texture by <contributors>
Animations by <contributors>
etc.

Harpy
Model by Jamin
Texture by John Harvey and Archmage101
Animations by John Harvey
XML by Modman
Sounds by <to be determined>
Icons by <to be determined>

115

Mods / Showing off your unit animations with an animated GIF.

« on: 14 July 2009, 00:53:55 »

Have you ever painstakingly created an animation for one of your units and wish you could show it off, only to find out that nobody could be bothered to download your model and try it for themselves?  Here I show you how to solve this problem by turning your unit's animation into a GIF so that you can more conveniently show off your work, like these:



For the GIF, I used Blender and GIMP.  Open up your animated model in Blender and do the following (Sorry it's kinda grainy.  That's MS Paint for you. ):



On the Buttons window, select the scene button or press F10.  Change the directory into wherever you want to put the resulting images, preferably an empty folder.  To record all of the frames of the animation, leave Step set at 1.  To skip frames, set it to 2 to record half of the frames, 3 to record 1/3, and so on.  Adjust the start and end frames to the beginning and end of your animation.  If your last frame is the same as your first, you can leave the last frame off.  You can change the image size if you want, but we'll be cropping it in GIMP, so don't worry about it too much.  You can use either a JPEG or a PNG and either RGB (red, green, and blue) or RGBA (red, green, blue, and alpha), depending on whether or not you need alpha support.  Then press the big ANIM button, which will render each frame of the animation (or not all of them, depending on the step) and save it as a picture file in the directory you specified.

Then open up the directory where you saved the files, and open the first picture (by default it's called 0001.png) in GIMP.  Then in GIMP, go to File > Open As Layers.  All of the images that Blender put there should be titled 000X.png, where X is the frame number.  Select them and click Open.  Then crop your image.  If you don't know how to do this, just go to Image > Autocrop Image to get rid of all the extra space (this is optional, but saves room).  Next, File > Save As and name it with a *.gif extension.  On the dialog window that appears, select the Save As Animation radio button and click export.  At the next dialog window, you can change the delay between frames to whatever you want.  By default it's 100ms, or .1 second, which will make your GIF play very fast, so you might want to increase the delay.  Then Save and you should have yourself an animated GIF.

Note: Sometimes the result can be a little weird when you use alpha and the unit's silhouette changes, so if you don't get the desired results, try using RGB instead of RGBA, or just use JPEGs instead of PNGs.

116

Mods / Makehuman.org

« on: 10 June 2009, 22:54:40 »

I found an interesting program the other day that allows you to quickly and easily make 3D models of people.  The program itself is licensed under the GPL and anything you create with it is free to use in any form, commercial or non-commercial.  The site is makehuman.org and it allows you to very easily make 3D models of people and gives you lots of control over variables to make your model the way you want it, and then export it to an *.obj file with a single key press (it's the 'e' key, by the way).  You can adjust overall how masculine or feminine your model is, how light or heavy, how muscular or flabby, and how young or old.  You can also adjust ethnic background to modify aspects of the face, height, etc, and modify specific characteristics by scaling and moving body parts and facial features.  In short, this application is very powerful and very simple, even though it is currently only a pre-alpha.  It is expected that future versions will support posing and animation, but the current version does not.  One problem is that the models exported from this application are very high-poly and include unnecessary details like the inside of the mouth, which we really don't need.  Hopefully future versions will give more options to reduce this, but currently we have to do it on our own.  If you want a powerful, easy-to-use, and free way to customize human models, you definitely should check this out.  Currently, this program is available for Linux and Windows.

The MakeHuman Team retains Copyright over the topology and the base mesh, but grants you permission to copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the generated materials over which they hold Copyright, including the topology and positional information constituting the base mesh provided that this does not prevent others from doing the same.

117

Mods / Free 3D model sites

« on: 8 June 2009, 00:00:33 »

I've been searching for sites that have 3d models for free download, and I've found a lot of them, but most have terms that either forbid commercial usage or derivative works (thereby making them incompatible with the GNU General Public License) or their usage terms are incredibly vague, confusing, or contradictory.  One I have found that MAY be very good is the Google 3D warehouse, but I need clarification of their terms.  Their terms of service are hard to understand and seem to contradict themselves, but if somebody could clarify the following few lines, then we'll know:

Google claims no ownership or control over any Content submitted, posted or displayed by you on or through the 3D Warehouse. You or a third party licensor, as appropriate, retain all patent, trademark and copyright to any Content you submit, post or display on or through the 3D Warehouse and you are responsible for protecting those rights, as appropriate. By submitting, posting or displaying Content through the 3D Warehouse, you grant Google and its end users a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual license to exercise the rights in the Content, as stated below:

   1. to reproduce the Content;
   2. to create and reproduce derivative works of the Content;
   3. to display publicly and distribute copies of the Content;
   4. to display publicly and distribute copies of derivative works of the content.

Furthermore, for the avoidance of doubt, Google reserves, and you grant Google, the right to syndicate Content submitted, posted or displayed by you on or through the 3D Warehouse and use that Content in connection with any of the services offered by Google.  Notwithstanding the above, end users may not aggregate the Content obtained from the 3D Warehouse for redistribution, and may not use or distribute Content obtained from the 3D Warehouse in a mapping or geographic application or service without Google’s prior authorization.

Points 1-4 suggest that we can use anything posted on 3D Warehouse for our own purposes, but "end users may not aggregate the Content obtained from the 3D Warehouse for redistribution" is very unclear to me.

If it's okay to use these models, then this will be a big benefit.  They're all in *.skp format, but can easily be converted with Google SketchUp (it's free) into a usable format in just a couple steps.

118

Mods / g3d_support.py error

« on: 6 May 2009, 19:57:44 »

Okay, so I just installed the g3d_support.py script into my .blender/scripts directory and followed all the directions, to get only this error message when I try to run it:


This is what the line in question (267) says:

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for x in xrange(0,len(data.texturecoords),2): #Prepare the UV´s
In case you get the same error, simply remove the nonstandard character from the comment, so it looks like this:

Code: [Select]

for x in xrange(0,len(data.texturecoords),2): #Prepare the UVsand it should work fine.

119

General discussion / RPG-style attribute scores

« on: 4 May 2009, 03:35:20 »

   I came upon an epiphany today that ties in several of the proposed GAE implementations: RPG-style attribute scores.  This ties together evasion (with an agility score), conversion (to be resisted by a willpower score), disease effects (resisted by fortitude) and character variability (because they would be somewhat random).  How my idea works is that when one unit performs an action on another (like an attack), it compares the relevant variables to determine success.  For example, when an Archer attacks a Swordman, the Archer's relevant score (agility, or maybe aim or something like that) against the Swordman's relevant score (agility) are compared and the difference affects whether or not the attack hits.  Let's say the Archer's score is a 12 and the Swordman's is an 11.  That would give the Archer perhaps a 10% better chance of hitting with his attack.  Other applications for this include variable HP and EP amounts, attack power, and range, all of which could be modified by different scores, depending on the unit.  A Guard would have a higher or lower attack depending on his strength score, while a Battlemage would have a higher or lower attack depending on his intellect or willpower.  This is what it might look like in XML form:

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<unit>
<parameters>
<size value="1"/>
<height value="2"/>
<max-hp value="700" regeneration="3"/>
<max-ep value="500" regeneration="15"/>
<max-ep-dep value="intellect"/>
BLAH BLAH BLAH
</parameters>
<attributes>
<strength value="9"/>
<strength-var value="2"/>
<agility value="10"/>
<agility-var value="2/>
<fortitude value="9"/>
<fortitude-var value="2"/>
<willpower value="12"/>
<willpower-var value="3"/>
<intellect value="12"/>
<intellect-var value="3"/>
</attributes>
<skills>
<skill>
<type value="attack"/>
BLAH BLAH BLAH
<attack-strenght value="140"/>
<attack-strenght-dep value="willpower"/>
<attack-var value="40"/>
<attack-range value="7"/>
<attack-range-dep value="none"/>
<attack-type value="energy"/>
<attack-check value="willpower"/>
<defend-check value="agility"/>
BLAH BLAH BLAH
</unit>
   In this example, the Battlemage's EP score varies according to his intellect, his HP vary according to his fortitude (I think this would be universal, so it doesn't have to be defined in the XML.), and the strength of his attack vary according to his willpower.  The range of his attack doesn't depend on anything, so it remains constant.  When he attacks a unit, his willpower is checked against the defending unit's agility to see if he hits.
   An alternative way of doing this would be as follows:

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<unit>
<parameters>
<size value="1"/>
<height value="2"/>
<max-hp value="600+(fortitude*10)" regeneration="3"/>
<max-ep value="400+(intellect*10)" regeneration="intellect+5"/>
BLAH BLAH BLAH
</parameters>
<attributes>
SAME AS ABOVE
</attributes>
<skills>
<skill>
<type value="attack"/>
BLAH BLAH BLAH
<attack-strenght value="100+(willpower*15)"/>
<attack-var value="40"/>
<attack-range value="7"/>
<attack-type value="energy"/>
<attack-hit-chance value="50+((willpower-target_agility)*10)"/>
BLAH BLAH BLAH
</unit>
Unfortunately, I don't know enough about XML or about the Glest engine to know if this is even remotely possible to have equations like that, so the first example seems easier to implement.

120

Bug report / The Golem builds himself but doesn't finish.

« on: 15 February 2009, 00:41:52 »

As you can see, the Golem is at full health, but he's not built!  The way this happens is that the Golem regenerates even when he's not done being built, so you can have your Initiate begin the ritual and then leave, but the Golem will continue gaining HP at a regen rate of 3.  The Initiate can then come back and finish the job.  The problem arises (as far as I can tell) only when the very last HP is gained without an Initiate working on it.  The Golem will be at full HP but it is not finished being built, so it can't move or attack.  I tried sending my Initiate back to repair it, thinking that might work, but since it's at full health, he wouldn't do it.  Maybe if the Golem got damaged, then it could be repaired and finished, but that didn't happen during this game, so I have no idea if that would work or not.  Either way, I'm fairly sure that this is not supposed to happen.

Edit: I doubt any of the following will actually matter, but just in case: Glest 3.2.1, Windows Vista, Intel Core 2 Duo

121

General discussion / Backup?

« on: 21 December 2008, 23:47:49 »

I think it's about time to back-up all the board data.  I've been getting tons of page load errors on here today, so I'm kinda feeling a crash coming on.  

122

Maps, tilesets and scenarios / How do you make a tileset?

« on: 30 September 2008, 20:32:07 »

What all is involved in making a tileset?  Maybe somebody could make an overview if they have time?  I want to make a savanna/steppe tileset for Sun and Moon but I have no idea whatsoever about how to do it.

Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere, but I couldn't find anything.

123

Mods / Sun and Moon

« on: 28 September 2008, 01:17:34 »

Moon faction:

Hailing from the highlands of Rinarn, the Moon people are seen as unsophisticated barbarians by outsiders.  Their penchant for taking severed hands of their enemies as trophies has earned them a reputation for savagery, but they are so much more than mere brutes.  The artisans and craftsmen of the Rinarn lack many of the mechanisms of the Lanto, but they have mastered the working of iron weapons and armor.  Their soldiers fight with strength and aggression and their shamans and hags use mystic runes for protection and to bind monsters into their service.  Normally separated into squabbling tribes and villages, the people of Rinarn are a force to be reckoned with when united.  While the moon god Vaydrin is revered above all others, the tribes also pay respects to the spirits of their ancestors, animals, natural forces, and even the land itself.

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[center][URL=http://img132.imageshack.us/i/screen0g.jpg/][IMG]http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8633/screen0g.th.jpg[/img]
Click to enlarge.[/URL][/center]
Buildings are shown in blue, troops in green, heroes in teal, and upgrades in red).  Items shown in italics will only be included in the GAE version.

Dun (requires Standing Stones) - starting building, stores resources (concept)
   Serf - builder and gatherer
      Kern (morphs from Serf, requires Dun) - javelin unit, medium range, piercing attack

      Orchard - living structure, produces food and energy
         Thorn Tree (morphs from Orchard, requires Standing Stones) - living structure, produces food and energy, ranged attack

      Garrison - military barracks, trains units
         Broch (morphs from Garrison, requires Fortification) - military stronghold, trains units, ranged attack
         Savage - raider unit, fast movement, impact attack, leather armor, weak defense
            Therianthrope - monster unit, fast movement, slashing attack, rapid regeneration, debuffs
         Squire - infantry unit, strong defense, slashing attack, metal armor, slow movement
            Gallowglass (morphs from Squire, requires Rune Armor) - elite infantry unit, strong defense, strong attack, slow movement

      Standing Stones - stone circle, researches upgrades
         Henge (morphs from Standing Stones) - raised stone circle, researches upgrades, summons heroes
            Banshee (requires Lifespring) - magical hero, strong debuffs, healing ability
            Ceannfort (requires Broch) - military hero, strong defense, helpful emanation
            Fomori (requires Cairn) - sacred hero, strong attack, rapid regeneration
         Ancestral Communion (allows Cairn) - sacred upgrade, improves the sight radius of Gallowglass, Kern, Savage, and Squire
         Fortification (allows Broch) - military upgrade, improves the armor of Dun, Garrison, Broch, and Henge
         Otherworld Heritage (allows Lifespring) - magical upgrade, improves the EP of Fay, Hag, Shaman, and Thorn Tree
         Manxome Rune (allows Basilisk) - sacred upgrade, improves the attack strength of Dire Wolf, Fomori, Jabberwock, and Therianthrope
         Rune Armor (allows Gallowglass) - military upgrade, improves the armor of Ceannfort, Kern, Savage, and Squire
         Sign of the Eclipse (allows Therianthrope) - magical upgrade, improves the EP regen of Banshee, Fay, Hag, and Shaman

      Cairn (requires Ancestral Communion) - sacred structure, trains units
         Fay - support unit, healing ability
         Hag - spellcasting unit, debuffs
         Shaman - summoner unit, requires EP to bind units
            Dire Wolf - beast unit, fast movement, strong attack, weak armor

Code: [Select]

[url=http://www.tarpits.org/education/guide/flora/wolf.html](concept)[/url]            Jabberwock - creature unit, tough armor, debuff emanation
            Basilisk - flying unit, ranged attack, rapid regeneration

      Lifespring (requires Otherworld Heritage) - magical structure, healing emanation (concept)
         Enchantment - magical upgrade, adds EP regeneration to Lifespring's emanation

Sun faction:

The Lanto, or people of the Sun, were once a vast empire but their power has dwindled in recent times.  The two most influential figures in Lanto society are their monarch, Queen Niandra, and the leader of the temple, High Matriarch Ola.  From a long line of warrior queens, Niandra seeks to restore the former glory of the once-great nation.  Unlike some cultures, the Sun nation do not see magic and technology as opposing forces, but rather use them together to produce magical-mechanical constructs like the mighty Colossus.  They also have a variety of regular human soldiers, magical beings, and animals at their disposal.  A common misconception is that the Lanto worship the Sun.  They do revere the Sun and honor it, but only as the greatest manifestation of their goddess, Elondra.

Screenshot coming soon!

Buildings are shown in blue, troops in green, heroes in teal, and upgrades in red).  Items shown in italics will only be included in the GAE version.

Palace (requires Sun Well) - starting building, stores resources
   Laborer - builder and gatherer
      Artificer (morphs from Laborer, requires Effigy) - advanced builder, fast repairs
         Colossus (requires Arcane Engineering) - siege unit, strong defense, impact attack, stone armor, slow movement
         Sunglass - defensive structure, energy attack
   
      Herder's Pillar - agricultural center, produces food and livestock
         Goat - livestock unit, produces food (concept)
         
      Fort - military barracks, trains warrior units
         Citadel (morphs from Fort, requires Monasticism) - fortified barracks, trains advanced units
            Janissary - elite archer unit, long range, strong defense
            Zealot (requires Valor) - lion cavalry unit, strong attack, fast movement, AoE buff

Code: [Select]

[url=http://www.tarpits.org/education/guide/flora/lion.html](concept)[/url]         Slinger - ranged unit, long range, impact attack, weak defense
         Ghazi - infantry unit, balanced fighter (weapon concept)
                  
      Sun Well - cultural center, researches upgrades
         Consecration (allows Solar Circle) - sacred upgrade, improves the armor of Effigy, Monument, Palace, and Sun Well
         Dominion (allows Effigy) - arcane upgrade, improves the sight range of Citadel, Effigy, Monument, and Palace
         Monasticism (allows Citadel) - cultural upgrade, improves the production speed of Monument and Solar Circle
         Arcane Engineering (allows Colossus) - arcane upgrade, improves the build and repair speeds of Laborer and Artificer
         Sacrifice (allows Phoenix) - sacred upgrade, improves the EP of Celestial, Eunuch, Matriarch, and Zealot
         Valor (allows Zealot) - military upgrade, improves the HP regen of Agha, Ghazi, Janissary, and Slinger
            
      Solar Circle (requires Consecration) - temple structure, trains sacred units
         Eunuch - support unit, heals and buffs
         Matron - priestess unit, strong attack, helpful emanation
         
      Altar (requires Solar Circle) - sacrificial structure, summons sacred units
         Celestial - angelic unit, ranged attack, fast flight
         Phoenix - flying unit, energy attack, rapid regeneration (concept 1) and (concept 2)
         
      Effigy (requires Dominion) - arcane structure, debuff emanation
         Amplification - arcane upgrade, improves the effect strength of Matron and Penitent
      
      Monument (requires Sun Well) - advanced cultural structure, summons heroes
         Agha (requires Citadel) - martial hero, balanced fighter, helpful emanation
         Matriarch (requires Solar Circle) - clerical hero, splash attack, heals and buffs
         Penitent (requires Effigy) - angelic hero, strong attack, healing emanation