New Faction: Dark Magic Version 3.1 released!!!

[mictes]

Yes, I see Dark-magic is not very "clean".
There much files that there are 2 times or which are not needed.

[modman]

If you're talking about the images that occur twice Mictes, you're absolutely correct, however Tech and Magic do the exact same thing.  Plus by cleaning it up, you'd save at most half a MB.

And Gameboy I have to make a separate download because some features of GAE just aren't compatible with the Glest engine.  Also certain things will be slightly changed just to make the new features work.  For instance, I am taking away the Reaper's melee attack for eminations.  That works fine in the GAE engine, but in the Glest engine it won't recognize the emination section and will only recognize that for as well as it can tell there is no more melee attack.

Is that unclear?

[mictes]

Plus by cleaning it up, you'd save at most half a MB.

^^ you didn't understand.

You have much models that are not needed, much tgas that are not needed and so on. I deleted them all by myself and saved about 9 MB's !

[modman]

I didn't know I was being so inefficient.  Please email me a list of unnecessary files so I can delete them and fix the corrections for the next release.

Thank You!

[modman]

I've changed the Dark Magic tech tree in a major way.  The change will take effect as of the next release.  I have deleted the Wizard entirely from Dark Magic.  Instead, the Apprentice "convokes" the Earth Serpent, the Stoneman, and the Tartaro.  Also, the Witch now conjures the Tree Walker.  This should allow the Tree Walker to be a little more mobile, since it is incredibly slow.  Also this change took effect after I realized that Tech had six levels to the end of it's tech tree, Magic had five, but Dark Magic had nine!  That's why it takes CPUs so long!  The change will also rid Dark Magic of the unnecessary Wizard anyways.  Below is an updated version of the tech tree diagram, which I have also included in the Dark Magic main directory to help first-timers understand Dark Magic.

[verarticus]

I just downloaded it and I'm getting some error on cant read unit xml. or something (btw I look at the credits and the imp things wrong I suggested that not gameboy)

[modman]

Can you post the specific error it said?  It should; there are no wierd things going on.  Make sure the folders inside the dark_magic folder are music, units, and upgrades, not another dark_magic folder.  If the latter is true you will need to move them up a level, like Tech and Magic are.

Also, sorry for the mistake!  I'll fix that for the next release.

Now, how about some feedback onn the faction itself :!:  !

[verarticus]

Can you post the specific error it said? It should; there are no wierd things going on. Make sure the folders inside the dark_magic folder are music, units, and upgrades, not another dark_magic folder. If the latter is true you will need to move them up a level, like Tech and Magic are.

Also, sorry for the mistake! I'll fix that for the next release.

Now, how about some feedback onn the faction itself :!: !

I posted what it said more or less : p and btw it was the later which was weird because I hadn't changed or overlapped or the such to it...
Edit Ill leave feedback in a little bit (must not have got upgrades moved so have to redownload > . < )
Edit (again) you also have to rename the xml. to dark_magic3-0 for it to work.

[verarticus]

ok What I tested was pretty good but a few things...
1- are you in the prosess of changes the shadow walker or did I forget to send you the skin for him?
2-There are a lot of upgrades O.O maybe try to combine some off the power increase ones.
3-I noticed you (or someone?) changed the imps flying thing maybe try to move that to the guys back to look more like wings.
4-did you remove the skins I made from the dragon or was it even there sorry I hav'nt check back with the dark magic faction been work on mine a bit (not swift btw).(I know you're changing it but did you not like? it just wondering.)

[modman]

Thanks for the feedback!    

1- I never got a new skin for the Shadow Walker, but that's ok because hopefully I can get a new model for it.  The real Shadow Walker is supposed to be a head taller than the Ghost Armor.  I'll release a pack that tells all about the units very soon.
2- I was thinking about this one.  But I couldn't think of a good name for the upgrade.  Any suggestions?  Plus I combined Cauldron and Dark Sorcery at one point, but I can't remember when.  Maybe early enough to be in your release?
3- Again, I'm kind of not focusing so much on what the units look like as much as their stats, because that's what takes the most time because you have to test it, sometimes in full games if it comes at the end of the tech tree.
4- I don't think I got any skins for the Wyvern.

How did the faction match up to the other factions?  I know...it's too strong, but how should I make it weaker?

[verarticus]

now I know I sent the wyvern or dragon or whatever skin...maybe If there was a building at the END that could be built it would solve this cause the Ai think they need these and get them before much else...I dont know on some of the names. and as for the faction being strong I'm going to have to test later...(forgot I changes the magic and tech I have it with(YAY! NOVAMAGE!)  > . < )

[modman]

Right now I'm having some trouble balancing this faction.  I cannot decide whether the Dark Mage should be a powerful unit (downside being that Dark Magic develops slower) or a weak one (running the risk of pretty much copying Magic, and also then you have to couple the Morlock, which is already weak.  That means Dark Magic will most definately lose the first attack, which might come after Magic and before Tech, so then after weakened, it still has to endure an attack by Tech.  See my problem?  Help!  Suggestions!  Should the Dark Mage be strong?   Should I add another unit to be weaker than a Dark Mage but stronger than a Morlock?  Suggestions for that!  I think it should be melee, but if not, what!

I need posting & suggestions!!!

[modman]

:idea:  :?:  ?

What do you think?

[modman]

I don't really like the idea to tune tech because:
Even in a big map you are happy when you reach a big army of battlemachines and aircrafts before the game ends and you or your opponent wins.
Usually you don't even reach all available units. I think newer and bigger and stronger units will not result in more fun matches.

Why does noone create ( and finish!! ) a new faction which works with magitech like I do it ?
This would be something interisting in my opinion.
Here are so many good people now, why don't you all focus on ONE project with a SIMPLE techtree(like tech or magic) and build up a new faction WITHOUT using future features which are not implemented in glest yet?
I would also contribute to such a project!

First thing: Dark Magic is the type of project you are talking about.  There are no future features in it, and I have been working on this project since July, when I started with Glest.  (Actually it's kind of interesting looking at origanal Dark Magic tech trees because of Dark Magic's huge amount of evolution.  Some unit's have survived since then, others are long trashed.  An origanal version had a chimara as a unit conjured by the Witch!  Many are name changes though.)  I haven't released betas of any other factions, just tech tree diagrams because when I do finish Dark Magic I want to have a very defined tech tree and (hopefully) forum support [cough...models].  Also, I just kind of like to create tech tree diagrams (I hate having to say that, but I have to to differentiate from ie Magitech tech tree.  Why can it not be called a world or something other than tech tree?)

I don't like comparing Glest to other games, because Glest is so different, which is one of the main things I like about it, other than it is free and moddable, but other RTS games with something comparable to Tech have crossbowman, axeman, plus tons of siege machines.  Take Stronghold 2 for example.  They actually have an entire building devoted to making siege machines (but this game has tons of buildings anyhow.  I downloaded a demo of it and it seemed pretty fun).

I would totally appreciate your support, Titi, as well as anyone elso who models, of Dark Magic.  Maybe take a look at the modeling tutorial?

[RTSman]

I downloaded your faction modman.  I like it a lot.  The black mage should be able to morph quicker though and the dragon is too powerfull.  There should also be a weaker unit with a sword but stronger than your weak cheap ones.  If i could model i would help you but i'm too much of a noob.

[modman]

Thank you for the feedback.  If you read the previous posts, though, there will be a new unit for Dark Magic v3.1, the Daemon Slayer.

By the way, I could really use a new model for this unit; right now I'm stuck with a reskinned swordsman. ;[z]

[modman]

I thought it was time for a new beta of Dark Magic.  This is version 3.1.  Version 3.2 should have even more sounds, but this version has a few.
Below is a list of changes that I've made in the order they were done (So yeah, I do attempt to balance Dark Magic); some are bigger than others, but the biggest is probably the removal of the Wizzard and related changes.

*Changed the names of the levels for the Wyvern and added a third level
*Decreased HP and armor of the Wyvern
*Gave the Witch a new particle proj
*Gave the Imp a new particle proj
*Removed EP cost from Wyvern's attack, as well as it's EP reserve
*Removed Wizard's EP pointless reserve
*Made the Dark Mage require the Sorcery Runes
*Increased the Dark Mage's attack damage
*Implemented a new particle proj and particle splash for the Dark Mage
*Combined the upgrades "dark sorcery" and "cauldron" into just "dark sorcery" and increased the upgrade's build speed slightly
*Cut the Acolyte's build skill speed in half
*Cut the upgrade "aeromancy" upgrade time in half
*Slowed down the Wizard's build and repair skill speeds
*Removed the Wizard completely from the faction
*The Acolyte now convokes the Earth Serpent and Stoneman
*The Witch now conjures the Tree Walker
*Slowed down Acolyte build speed even more--this seemed to balance Dark Magic
*Fixed a bug so now the Dark Mage actually DOES require the Sorcery Runes
*Fixed three Tree Walker Images so they actually show the intended colors-- this was caused by the fact that they were 65x65 instead of 64x64
*Lowered the Dark Mage's attack damage, raised its EP cost, and lowered its splash radius
*Lowered the Shadow Walker's attack speed
*Raised the Imp's energy cost and removed its wood requirements
*Renamed Tree Walker to Treant
*Fixed earth conjuring's image because it was 65x65 instead of 64x64
*Refrenced to the Energy Source in Magic with the Energy Fountain so that Dark Magic can take up less space and be smaller;  I saved 315 KB with that fix
*Allowed the Acolyte to directly convoke the Fury of the Tiki instead of convoking a Stoneman by removing the Stoneman altogether, which used to upgrade to the Fury of the Tiki; thus I removed a step
*Removed the Time Orb's ability of storing stone
*Gave the Tower of Wisdom the ability to store wood
*Slowed down Witch's attack speed
*Implemented a new unit into Dark Magic: The Daemon Slayer
*New Particle Proj for the Dark Mage
*Removed Dark Mage's splash (set to zero)
*Increased Dark Mage's HP regen to 5
*Increased Dark Mage's Armor to 25
*Gave HP regen 1 to the Acolyte
*Reduced the Witch's EP, EP regen, and attack EP cost by least common denominator so that EP regen is reduced to 1
*Removed EP cost from the Acolyte's attack
*Removed meeting point from the Fury of the Tiki since it no longer produces
*Gave the user the ability to control what the Fury of the Tiki attacks by using the attack command instead of the attack on and off commands
*Reduced the Dark Mage's gold cost from 100 to 85
*Made levels on the Dark Mage at 3, 7, and 12 kills.  Added third level "heroic" at 12 kills
*Gave a new splash to the Dark Mage, but the splash effect is still zero; the splash is superficial
*Removed any unit or upgrade requirements the Dark Mage previously held; this means you can promote an Acolyte immediately to a Dark Mage
*Sped up the Acolyte's build speed again; fixes in previous places have made this plausible
*Lowered the Acolyte's time value because of the previous reason; this allows the Sheol Temple to produce the Acolyte faster
*New Particle Splash for the Fury of the Tiki
*New Particle Proj coloring for the Fury of the Tiki
*Made Daemon Slayer weaker by lowering its armor, attack damage, HP regen, and attack speed
*Removed sight from 5, 10, and 20 energy
*Allowed the Witch to conjure the Acolyte, thus allowing very high mobility to Dark Magic (if you dislike this [MAJOR] change, please let me know on the forums)
*Removed the Acolyte's attack ability; this solves many AI problems, but most of all the Acolytes are never interrupted into attacking while a small attack is taking place, thus they continue harvesting
*Increased the Acolyte's repair speed value by 50
*Increased the Acolyte's HP to 550

Also, below is the new and improved tech tree image.


You can download it here.

[titi]

This techtree looks good! I really want to try it, but I cannot download it :-(

The link doesn't work. I found this one in your first post:
http://download108.mediafire.com/mimongimtn0g/yyywzxdxigd/dark_magic_v3.1.zip

[modman]

Sorry.  It should be fixed now.

[John.d.h]

there will be a new unit for Dark Magic v3.1, the Daemon Slayer.

Wait wait wait... for DARK magic, you're adding a Daemon SLAYER?  Doesn't that seem a bit... backward?  A daemon slayer should be part of some church faction or something... you know... the guys who DON'T like daemons.

[titi]

I played/tested it today:

I think dark magic is very strong! Especially the dragon( wyvern?)  is hard to get and the reaper is a real killer!
Its fun to play vs a cpu when the cpu plays dark magic, but I think If humans play it, they are too strong( I was much too strong ).
But I only played 3 big games yet and I might be wrong here.

All those upgrades and so on are not so easy to learn and I'm not very familar with all these fantasy unit names and their interactions.
So its not really easy for me to learn playing this faction. And all those known models doesn't make it  easy for me too to learn this techtree.
Due to retexturing some are looking really different but some really still look the same .
Especilly for the buildings you should learn how to build something in blender. For non animating things its really not too hard!
I will help you with some models when I have finished my damned persian sounds.......
I really hate this sound recording/making part, but its a must to get a nice feeling when you play a new faction.
You also have a nice background music !! (is it free to use? where did you get it from?)
And you have some nice unit sounds (but there can be some more ).

I will play it again the next days because I want my revenge! ( I lost 2 times playing tech vs dark magic cpu-ultra in a big map )

[modman]

Thank you for the feedback!
The background music is free, I guess, but I pretty much mixed together music from incompetech.com.  Kevin Macleod has tons (literally hundreds!) of free soundtracks, but you have to pick your way through them all.  He will even make a composition for you, but I emailed him and I think he expects money for that.  But there’s tons of free stuff anyways.  I was listening to it, and I heard a piece I thought would be appropriate to your faction.  By piecing the different soundtracks you find, you can make great background music for your faction.

Do you, or anyone else have any ideas on how to make Dark Magic weaker (hate to use the term; I prefer "less strong" because making a faction weaker is a misleading concept.  People tend to make one unit weaker while not attacking the core problem.

I was thinking making the Acolytes gather gold and stone at 15 per trip?  Good/bad idea?

PS you have Personal Messages Titi =)

[titi]

What about this energy tower ( ok textures can be better )
What about the animation?
When producing, the teeth can be animated separately like spider legs for example and the energy ball can rotate and move up and down
I can also try different coclors of the ball to indicate if it produces 5 10 or 20 energy points.

[gameboy]

wow nice one!
the texture looks alright, but it could use some improvement, but thats not for me to say.

[Omega]

I think it looks great!