Seeking advice for El Aurens v2

[Boco]

Images for both the ss and the catapult are stored in SS.dll. I imagine that Midgard games only are hardcoded to use the latter set.

SS.dll appears to contain a background image, a couple of dozen structural(s) images, two multi-paneled images each for the various components and modules, an image with buttons, and two background images — one for building and one for launching.

It looks like the launching spaceship might also be hardcoded. There's an earth background shot but nothing that looks like a launching spaceship. Or is that in an avi?

I remember looking at this when Harry was playing with the idea. When I have time, I'll try to dig up that thread.

I like the supplies/troops in transit idea, but I'll need to examine both available palettes and what ToT does at launch time before I decide.

[Mercator]

Originally posted by Boco
Images for both the ss and the catapult are stored in SS.dll. I imagine that Midgard games only are hardcoded to use the latter set.

I'm not too sure of that. The only way that can be hard-coded is by having it depend on the folder and from what I just tested a spaceship doesn't simply turn into a siege engine when the savegame's put in the Midgard or Fantasy folder... So I think there must be some setting in the savegame itself... Then again, we don't know what that is... and I sure as hell don't have the time to find out.

It looks like the launching spaceship might also be hardcoded. There's an earth background shot but nothing that looks like a launching spaceship. Or is that in an avi?

Yes, there's a video for that... Or at least, there was with the original Civ2. I'm not even sure if I ever even launched a spaceship in ToT.

[Harry Tuttle]

Originally posted by Boco
I remember looking at this when Harry was playing with the idea. When I have time, I'll try to dig up that thread.

Gold Gulch Dev Thread

[Boco]

Originally posted by Mercator
I'm not too sure of that. The only way that can be hard-coded is by having it depend on the folder and from what I just tested a spaceship doesn't simply turn into a siege engine when the savegame's put in the Midgard or Fantasy folder... So I think there must be some setting in the savegame itself... Then again, we don't know what that is... and I sure as hell don't have the time to find out.

Got me! Hard-coded was an inaccurate term. I agree that it's likely that the choice between space ship and catapult is embedded in the sav file, and suspect that it's put there when the player decides what game to play. Since this setting doesn't seem to be governed by a text file setting, and since the hex address in the sav file is unknown, it is as impossible for me to fix as a hard-coded setting. It problably doesn't matter, though. ResHacker is equally adept at changing either set of pics. The palettes, however, may affect which set is a more desirable starting point.

Yeah, I figure that candy lips, debugging CivEngineer, upgrading SpriteGen, and planning the SL meet will keep you busy. Either that or you're ticked at being called a Dutch-Belgian instead of Belgian-Dutch (or something like that).

Thanks Harry, that should have been obvious to me, but it was posted before coffee.

[Mercator]

Originally posted by Boco
Yeah, I figure that candy lips, debugging CivEngineer, upgrading SpriteGen, and planning the SL meet will keep you busy.

[our_man]

I'm just writing a quick reply to say how much I enjoyed the 1st version, so I'm really looking forward to a new one. The only gripe I had with the the first version was I couldn't get Allenby to join me! Was I a victim of my own success? How are you meant to get this advance?

Did you ever consider setting up a page for high scores in the scenario? Due to it's rather unique system, I'd be interested in seeing how I did compared to other player's.

[Boco]

Thanks, our_man. A hall of fame table is an excellent idea! I'm kinda curious about scores myself. We could set up an informal one in a beta test thread. Then I could 'post the winners' in @MALEFAME of Game.txt in the release version. I'm sure there'll be a Xin Yu or two who can 'beat the system'.

And yes, you were fast! That's one of the tweaks I'm adjusting for v2. Generally, you'll have the choice of going slow with few casualties or fast and bloody. The cost/benefit balance for each approach will need some testing and feedback.

Since I had to go far back to find an uncorrupted version, I decided to make a major change in the map layout. The Sudan has been moved from map1 to map3. This will allow the player to actually build Egyptian Army units rather than request them from the War Office. The ability to move from the Sudan to either Egypt or the Hejaz will depend on conquering Darfur.

[Boco]

After a fun playtest of Allard's River , I've resumed work on EAv2. While it was on my mind, I revised the Kordufan-Gezira section of the Sudan map.

[Boco]

Looking at this image, you can see debris 'above' ocean squares. If you know anything about hexing, please check this thread: CivFan — ToT Map3 Bug

[Boco]

Okay, Catfish and Merc solved that one.

I put in a scheme to allow the Egyptian Army (only) to transfer between Egypt, Sudan, and the Hejaz. Transporter improvements are called Thos. Cook & Son, Ltd., after the Steamer company that ran on the Nile.

The player can now build Egyptian Army units in Sudan cities.

[our_man]

Looking good Boco.

BTW I finally got Allenby in the first version, and I must say he makes the scenario much easier! The only annoying thing was I couldn't increase my peace score at the end - the Sanusi kept on breaking cease-fires to ruin it!

[Boco]

Thx, our_man.

In v2, you will be allowed to Request "The Bull" after May, 1917. I may tweak the timing so that it reflects your progress.

I'll experiment a little with Yoshi's idea over at CivFan.

Originally posted by Yoshi in Dainichi Sekai Taisen version 2.0 Release, p2†
Possession of a nuke. If the AI doesn't have a nuke of its own, this should cause it to hold off its attack. (No promises, as I've seen the AI attack me when I had nukes and it didn't, but try it to be sure.)

I'll see whether giving Gendarmes a 99a will make those Sanussis more respectful of truces. In v1, the Turks are just as sneaky late in the game.

† Try Kobayashi's scenario, and give him some needed feedback. He's a great designer who's put in a lot of effort into DSTv2.

[Mercator]

Re: Uh-oh!

Originally posted by Boco
So-o-o-o...it's back to conventional cities and dialogless razing. So I have a few dozen no-city-present-cities to convert to regular cities via CivEngineer (is the date of the current version Nov 4, 2002?), but...

It took a while, but I finally had a look at what the problem with CivEngineer was... It turns out it was pretty simple. I fixed it in a minute...

A bit late for El Aurens now maybe, but here's a new version of CivEngineer anyway:

Download CivEngineer

[Boco]

Triggers for "The Bull"

Originally posted by our_man
BTW I finally got Allenby in the first version, ...

Any suggestions on a good trigger or two for enabling the player to request "The Bull"?

Ideally, I'd like to handicap good players by delaying his arrival, and encouraging rookies by speeding it up. The window should probably be from Feb/17 to Sep/17. Historically, this was when the Murray bumbled two attempts on Gaza, then Allenby smashed through Turk defenses. Like v1 (and history), v2 couples Allenby's arrival with major reinforcements.

@Merc. Next week, I'll be placing a few cityless labels on map1. I'll check out CivEng then. What was the bug?

[our_man]

Ideally, I'd like to handicap good players by delaying his arrival, and encouraging rookies by speeding it up.

Does that mean in the later version you want good players to be able to acquire Allenby eventually, even if they capture Gaza quickly?

I can't really advise you on this too much, as I'm unaware of the possible triggers in Tot. From what I understand though it's quite complex with flags that can delay events etc. If you could provide me with a basic understanding as to how it works I might be able to help more.