"shopping list for GAE" (idea collection thread)

[mictes]

POLL CAN BE FOUND HERE:
https://forum.megaglest.org/index.php?topic=4524

Hi,

The new version of GAE looks very good, but after eliminating all bugs there should be added new features.
This thread is supposed to collect ideas and making a list of them, the ideas are "checked" when done, like on a shopping list ^^

I'll add new ideas posted in this thread to the list.
The ideas which are not finished at the moment are colored black, the ideas already added to GAE are marked as green.

I start with the features I need for my mod. Please dont think I demant on it, further see it as suggestions.

THE LIST:

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• more features for .g3d 3D fileformat (e.g. radiosity, particles...)
• Rotating units before building
• "half-death/half-life 3D model": other models for units which are almost destroyed.
• at the moment you can select 16 (?!) units at a time, it would be nice if you could select unlimited units by eliminating the double icons (ok, sorry for my rusty english, for example: when you select 3 workers there will be 3 icons for them, but what if it would be only 1 icons with the number 3 on it ?!)
• multiple death animations, depending on the unit from which the unit is killed
• building animations: you can simply use 3D-animations, which stops when you dont build anymore.
• size of an unit should be defined in y and x.
• The map-editor should have the ability to add slots for own/more objects or textures.
• more possibility for upgrades, the whole .xml should be changeable
• the possibility to use images for commands, e.g: an image (in our example a big white crosshait over the map/ground (at the target-location)) when launching an atomic bomb.
• customisable CPU Player
• Rotating skill for units
  
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So ok, you are welcome to amend/fill the list.

EDIT:
PLEASE READ!
Everyone have the ability to post own issues and ideas for the list.
You can vote for the ideas, simply check the things you want to have in GAE.
The ideas with the most votes are at the top of the list and are treatet as first.
Ideas with a lesser number of votes are at the end of the list and are treated later.

POLL CAN BE FOUND HERE:
https://forum.megaglest.org/index.php?topic=4524

[hailstone]

The TODO list and the bug tracker are also good places to look for tasks to be done.

[ElimiNator]

Click me!

• Water units
• Clifs
• Host can pause multi player
• Only loads the techs you pick
• Treaties
• Modes (you press "M" and a menu pops up and you can pick friendly or attack, so wen enemy comes your units don't instantly attack {for treaties}.)
• Teams can trade resources
• ECT...

[modman]

What relation does this topic have with the topic I started?

[ElimiNator]

every thing its the same. 

[mictes]

@modman: is there already such a topic ?
@hailstone: the To Do List & Bugs thread is a little bit unclearly, if you would edit the thread to a really clearly check-list I'll put my ideas in there.

[Omega]

Number 1 is impossible, and probably will always be impossible
Number 2 would be VERY nice, and very easy (I think)
Number 3 is too undescriptive, I can't make heads or tails about it
Number 4 is fine, but that's a lot of modeling.
Number 5 is great, and shouldn't be too hard. It just has to 'freeze' an animation if not currently being built, very useful.
Number 6 is nice, but once again a lot of modeling
Number 7 is completely pointless and unnesseccary
Number 8 graphically nice, but sounds tricky to impliment
Number 9 has been discussed, but depends on tiletsets
Number 10 would be sweet!

Click me!

Um... What is this supposed to be? ???

[mictes]

Number 1 is impossible, and probably will always be impossible
Number 2 would be VERY nice, and very easy (I think)
Number 3 is too undescriptive, I can't make heads or tails about it
Number 4 is fine, but that's a lot of modeling.
Number 5 is great, and shouldn't be too hard. It just has to 'freeze' an animation if not currently being built, very useful.
Number 6 is nice, but once again a lot of modeling
Number 7 is completely pointless and unnesseccary
Number 8 graphically nice, but sounds tricky to impliment
Number 9 has been discussed, but depends on tiletsets
Number 10 would be sweet!

Ok, let's go:
(could it be you deranged the points a little bit ? ^^)

Why should be number 1 impossible ? .blend is an open formart I thought  ?!
Number 3: Currently an upgrade can only change some things like attack strenght, etc.
But it would be much nicer to give you the possibility to change much more things like models oder particle-animations and so on with an upgrade.
This give us the possibility for time-lines for example: if you upgrade / research the next time-epoch the models of all buildings changes.
Number 4 / number 6 : It shall just give you the possibility to use this feature, but it should not force you to do ^^
number 7: why not ? if you have a tank it may have 2 cells width and 4 cells lenght.

[silnarm]

the possibility to use .blend files as 3D models, cause .g3d dont have enought features (e.g. radiosity, particles...)

This is extremely impractical, perhaps change it to 'more features for g3d'

at the moment you can select 16 (?!) units at a time, it would be nice if you could select unlimited units by eliminating the double icons (ok, sorry for my rusty english, for example: when you select 3 workers there will be 3 icons for them, but what if it would be only 1 icons with the number 3 on it ?!)

This should be do-able, but it will create some problems... when the pathfinder is finished perhaps.

more possibility for upgrades, the whole .xml should be changeable

Upgrades could perhaps do more, but could you be specific? Remember that they can be 'required' by other things (including commands).

multiple death animations, depending on the unit from which the unit is killed

Maybe, there is of course the possibility of the killer have more than one attack type though... could get messy.

building animations: you can simply use 3D-animations, which stops when you dont build anymore.

There is a build animation for buildings now, I assume you mean multiple animations, for different stages of construction?

"half-death/half-life 3D model": other models for units which are almost destroyed.

Could be very nice for buildings... should go on the tracker.

size of an unit should be defined in y and x.

This would be very nice, but a LOT of engine relies on the fact that units occupy a square of cells. Might get looked into some time though.

the possibility to use images for commands, e.g: an image (in our example a big white crosshait over the map/ground (at the target-location)) when launching an atomic bomb.

Using the same mechanism as for placing buildings, a 3D model as cursor for commands shouldn't be too hard. To the tracker.

The map-editor should have the ability to add slots for own/more objects or textures.

That's the domain of the tileset, not map.

Rotating skill for units

Could you clarify what you mean by this?

[Omega]

Well, number 1 is not technically impossible, but almost so because of the extreme complexity, the lack of frame smoothing, the work required, and unknown effects of new features/old features/features not implimented in glest, version incompatibilities, etc;

Upgrades could do more, but what's the point mentioning so if you won't mention what they could do?

Regarding 4/6, I never was against them, and you're right, they would be optional, and very cool. However, I wonder if people would actually use them. As I said, lots of modeling...

Concerning number 7, I think I misunderstood you, and now I agree very strongly image maps are awkward to use for this, and don't do good for a moving unit.

I think by rotating, he means the ability to rotate a model before building it. I may be wrong though, and if so, then that's another good suggestion.

[mictes]

Ok, then we should improve the g3d format.
Radiosity would be a great beginning!

Rotating skillst: no omega, I meant a simple rotating skill just like the movement skill. I need this for rotating gun-towers for example.
But your ideaa is great, I'll add it to the list.

Again for the upgrades:
The Upgrades should have the possibility to change more things, like particle systems or the models of a unit. For that it also needs the possibility to specify various units which are how affected.
My example: you are in the stone-age, you can build some units. Now you upgrade to middle ages. But all looks still like in stone-age. It would be nice if an upgrade could change the models for the buildings.
A sheme like this would be nice:

<upgrade>
<upgrade name = "middle_ages" />
<upgrade time = "160" />
<upgrade requirements>
      <building name = "castle" />
      <upgrade name = "stone_age" />
</upgrade requirements>
<upgrade costs>
      <gold = "120" />
      <stone = "60" />
</upgrade costs>

<affected>

<unit = "abc">
<new xml = "abc2" /> <!-- the game loads the new xml: techs/magitech/factions/faction/units/abc/abc2.xml -->
</unit>

<unit = "xyz">
<new xml = "xyz2" />
</unit>

</affected>
</upgrade>

So an upgrade simply shift the xml for the unit.

Map-editor: Of course it belongs to the tilesets, too. But if you cant place the new objects with the map editor you cant use them.
The ability to add own slots would be extremely nice!


Ok let's start with the list,
I updatet the first post, please read!

[Omega]

But isn't radeosity just... lighting?

I'm not sure the use in Glest... Particle systems, physics, soft bodies, yes, but radeosity? Explain.

[mictes]

yes, radiosity is light

[titi]

I want a more customizable CPU player!

I already described this one in the forum ( any one knows where I can find it ? I didn't find it )
The idea was to have costomizable CPU players ( via xml ), so you can add new cpus with xml.
The cpu has parameters yet like ressource multiplier, amount of produced fighter before starting attack and so on and so on.
If we would make this (even a bit!)customisable we really get much more fun playing glest.

As I said, i already posted this idea including an xml description, but I cannot find it any more    ( forum search and google didn't help me )

[mictes]

I added it to the list, but I cant find it, too ^^

[Mark]

I voted, but I think that each option was not given enough detail.  To put it politely, I didn't know what half of them were.  Before I voted I looked here of course, but still.  I think that this should be moved to the one in general discussion.  That one has much more detail and many more features.

[John.d.h]

Personally, I think the ability to only select 16 units at a time is not a bad thing.  It adds another element of strategy to the game.  If I can only send a force of 16 units, then I better send the right combination.  If you can select more than that, then why not just send all of your units to haphazardly swarm the enemy?  I think that would be a lot less fun.  As for the new models and animations, while this might be interesting and kinda fun, I feel like very few modders would go through the trouble to make all the extra models and animations, and if they did, then the size of a mod would skyrocket so much that a lot fewer people would want to download them, especially if they have a slow internet connection.  However, when it comes to animations, I think soft-body (aka rag doll) physics would be a great and interesting addition, but probably a LOT of work (maybe more trouble than it's worth).  Rotating buildings would be kinda cool, but I think it would mess up the cell maps unless you could only rotate them in increments of 90 degrees.  I would like more possibilities for upgrades, but I don't care for your idea of transforming the unit through the upgrade, when you could just give the unit a morph skill that requires that upgrade.  The only difference would be that it wouldn't be done automatically.  Maybe instead, just have upgrades that could trigger morph commands?  That seems like a simpler way to do it (but hey, I'm not much of a programmer).

The thought of a customizable CPU player is by far my favorite from this list, and would add a lot of variety to the game.  You could play against an infinite combination of different CPU players, for a different experience each time.

[silnarm]

AI

As some may have guessed by the first thing I chose to tackle in the engine, AI is an 'area of interest' for me. I have been mulling over numerous ideas, but I think I may have come to the conclusion that C++ is not the most appropriate language for implementing new AIs.  So, at this stage, what I'm thinking of doing is revamping the AI interface, and exposing it to LUA.  If we do go this route, I will implement a couple of basic AIs that could serve as a basis for others to develop their own, basically I'd do enough to show of the interface, and then hope someone else will come along and do the hard work

It may not be as accessible as XML, but it's a good deal better than C++.

That said, I don't want people getting too exited just yet, this is no small project, and I have many other things to finish before I even look at the AI in any depth, and upon looking in depth, I may well change my mind!

[modman]

Wow, that sounds cool!  I'm trying not to get too excited, but that definitely would be really cool.

Maybe, as people develop their own AI, people will download them, and before you start the game, you will select the AI you want to use.

In order for that to work, there would have to be a ton more things to work with.  You would definitely have to have more controls on the units themselves than what LUA has now.

[Mark]

Okay, so each user created AI will go in folder called "AIs"?.  So maybe, in a "scenario.xml" document, when it looks for an AI, instead of having level 1-4 AIs, it could be "marksai.xml", or "silnarmsai.xml"?  That sounds very cool.