Freeciv 2.1-beta1 released - Win32 executables available!

[himasaram]

I reckoned this deserved it's own thread:

Freeciv 2.1-beta1 released. Grab the source code from freeciv.org

Unofficial Win32 builds available at http://ftpwww.freeciv.org/freeciv/incoming/

For the SDL package, you'd want to get the SDL theme. See http://www.freeciv.org/index.php/Themes#SDL_part

And for all of you who have complained Freeciv looks like a spreadsheet program, I warmly recommend you to check out the SDL package!

[barocca]

it looks good, it plays well,
it is a little different (but i am learning)

do you want us to email all bugs, or is there a thread where we can post questions/report bugs?
(the AI stole my civ when i reloaded after a "hiccup"(crash) and wont give it back)

B.

[himasaram]

Glad you like it!

You should report any bugs to bugs@freeciv.org! You can also ask for help at forum.freeciv.org (feel free to start a new thread about 2.1 bugs.)

However the "AI stole my civ" bug is a known one (reported here.)

The workaround is to issue an "/ai [playername]" command in the pregame dialog when loading after a crash, and then possibly a "/take [playername]".

BTW if you're experiencing a lot of client instability, try starting a standalone server, load you game with "load [savename]" at the prompt and then select the connect to network game button from the client. That way, the server will stay 'alive' even if the client crahes.

edit:formatting

[barocca]

my crashes are illegal moves using the numpad when the numlock button is NOT engaged,
squares i want to move from AND to are both in an enemy units zone of control,

ALSO if numlock IS engaged the general keyboard shortcuts (g for goto etc) are disabled,

and yes i have sent bug reports to that email

now what about general comments that may NOT be bugs, but design decisions that are confusing me
(auto science progression for example - i cant figure how to turn it to manual)
(note - barocca = blonde)

[Per]

Auto science progression? Science selection should be manual, unless, of course, you press 'end turn' without setting your research target once you have researched something and you no longer have a research goal.

[barocca]

where do we post comments/feedback here at Apolyton?

i get no popups about anything,
when wonders are built, when new tech is researched, diplomacy, etc,

so unless i go, every single turn, and check science... (which i dont, i am not a micromanagement type)


negatives - i miss being able to click on the ground (and hold) and the unit goes,,
i miss the popups for events, wonders, new techs etc,,
declaring war - that was a Bit** to figure out,,
squinting at the screen "is that farmland or not???",,
the city info box (on the map where name etc etc is displayed) NEEDS to be a fraction more transparent - the terrain immediately underneath is hard to determine,,
i cannot figure out how to click on a terrain and get information - i have to keep going back to the help menu for it,,
there is no information ABOUT terrain benefits IN the help,,
i have not yet found where the combat factors of units is displayed (why do musketeers continually make a mess of my armour??),,
i have not yet figured out how to determine how long something will take to build without actually "changing" to the item - i can't look down the list and "see" the time required,,
there are frequent "sounds" when the AI is moving that i simply CANNOT figure out WHAT they are for - FOR EXAMPLE i get frequent "ship sinking" noises when no naval combat (that i can SEE) takes place,,

i like
the overall feel of the game
the rich terrain
the unit graphics
the pathing is excellent
the civ borders are excellent
terrain specials stay with you when you transform (excellent)
switching around in the build menu to see what you can build does NOT lose you build points IF you return to the original selection "type",

MAIN POINT
an experienced civ player will feel right at home, all those annoying little bugs appear to be gone, but a few enhancements are missing,
however someone who has never played civ (my youngest brother has not, he was ten when civ2 came out) would be TOTALLY LOST

overall I LIKE IT, it can only get better!!
B.

[himasaram]

Originally posted by barocca
where do we post comments/feedback here at Apolyton?

Feel free to create a separate "2.1-beta1 bug reports" thread here at the Freeciv subforums.

i get no popups about anything,
when wonders are built, when new tech is researched, diplomacy, etc,

so unless i go, every single turn, and check science... (which i dont, i am not a micromanagement type)

Open up 'Game' menu and select 'Message options'. I bet the messages you mentioned are turned off. Them being turned off by default is of course a bug - maybe in packaging.

negatives - i miss being able to click on the ground (and hold) and the unit goes,,

I didn't know such a feature used to exist. Nowdays you can do keyboardless goto by clicking and holding on a unit and then dragging to the target.

i miss the popups for events, wonders, new techs etc,,

See above.

declaring war - that was a Bit** to figure out,,

There's a patch to add a few friendly buttons to the 'Players dialog' that might improve usability here. Do you have another good idea on how to make declaring war easier?

squinting at the screen "is that farmland or not???",,

Has been reported at for example the Freeciv forums including a proposed fix.

the city info box (on the map where name etc etc is displayed) NEEDS to be a fraction more transparent - the terrain immediately underneath is hard to determine,,

Agreed. I usually only use the "larger citybar" with larger tilesets where this is less of a problem.

i cannot figure out how to click on a terrain and get information - i have to keep going back to the help menu for it,,

It is mouse middle click in GTK2 and SDL clients.

there is no information ABOUT terrain benefits IN the help,,

Which terrain benefits exactly?

i have not yet found where the combat factors of units is displayed (why do musketeers continually make a mess of my armour??),,

You can see this in both the help system and the city dialog (namely Production tab -> Source Tasks field -> Info column.) Look closer!

i have not yet figured out how to determine how long something will take to build without actually "changing" to the item - i can't look down the list and "see" the time required,,

Again: in the city dialog->Production->Source Tasks->Turns column.

there are frequent "sounds" when the AI is moving that i simply CANNOT figure out WHAT they are for - FOR EXAMPLE i get frequent "ship sinking" noises when no naval combat (that i can SEE) takes place,,

Maybe it's moving to fast for you to notice? Otherwise I don't know...

{snippet the positive comments... }

MAIN POINT
an experienced civ player will feel right at home, all those annoying little bugs appear to be gone, but a few enhancements are missing,
however someone who has never played civ (my youngest brother has not, he was ten when civ2 came out) would be TOTALLY LOST

overall I LIKE IT, it can only get better!!
B.

Freeciv does not have a particularly good record of being newbie friendly. But IMHO this is continously improving. For example 2.1 ships with a simple tutorial scenario that explains the basics. Also war has been made more logical - one of the major complaints of the 2.0 series - as you now start out in war with everybody but get an offer of ceasefire the first time you meet.

Thank you for your comments! Thanks to concerned users like you, Freeciv may continue to improve.

~hima

[barocca]

soo many options in message options - very very good - can tweak to hearts content

the city dialog (Production tab -> Source Tasks field)
highlighting an item activates a little arrow in the bar seperating the "Source Tasks field" from the "Target Worklist",
clicking the arrow allows queing of builds - excellent

the message tab, i overlooked that at first - very very handy item

another very handy feature is the reports, though science report does not always update in the turn you make changes,
the economic report DOES update

purchase unit upgrade - very nice :-)
(the change made to leo's workshop effect is also very good)


um - terrain,
example desert - in the help menu the benifit gained from oil or oasis is not listed,
perhaps include them in the description?
also in this version there is enough room for the word "result" to be fully spelt
(the benefit IS displayed with the middle mouse button click on the tile)

the "ship noise" seems to be heard whenever an enemy ship moves into view of one of your units,
and yes it does move very fast, more often than not you cannot identify where the encounter took place if the ship has moved into view, and then away again,
(is there a way to turn off "follow enemy units"?)

occaisionally the game fails to center on the active units, most often the first unit when your turn starts

should a unit take a city during the automatic movement phase of your turn (where units with destinations move),
a popup of the captured city appears and obscures the remainder of the automatic movemnt phase.
perhaps popups appearing during automatic movement phase should be minimised by default??

click/go to
in civ2 FW and later you left click a unit, scroll to where you want it to be, click on a tile and Hold the button down and after a second or two a little "go to" and arrow appears, release, and that is the units destination,
the problem with selecting the unit and dragging the destination point is you can only go somewhere within the window you can see - you cannot order a unit to go a long distance.
in freeciv You can select the unit and use right click to move the section of the map you can see and select a destination that way, BUT you have to press "G" on the keyboard as well. (i can cope with that, it takes a little getting used to is all)



will go looking for the patch you mentioned later today, (helpfull buttons) there is a declare war button i am assuming :-)


i will also go looking at the tutorial later today
:-)


am enjoying myself immensly,
have a novice level game going with a shocking start!
(just pure bad luck, started on a little isthmus of land attatched to antartica)
- i am having to tweak for every beaker and coin,
a challenge it is!!!

Ten thumbs up (am often accused of being all thumbs)
B.

[Boco]

A daring venture

Originally posted by barocca
have a novice level game going with a shocking start!
(just pure bad luck, started on a little isthmus of land attatched to antartica)
- i am having to tweak for every beaker and coin,
a challenge it is!!!

What factors go into determining where civs start?

[Harry Tuttle]

Hmmmm two things:

How can I identify terrain on the map? In Civ2 I was able to double click and see a description of the underlying terrain.

Is there any way to see who embassied AIs are at war with?

[himasaram]

Originally posted by Harry Tuttle
Hmmmm two things:

How can I identify terrain on the map? In Civ2 I was able to double click and see a description of the underlying terrain.

Easy: Middle-click.

Is there any way to see who embassied AIs are at war with?

Bring up Players dialog (F3) double click on the player and select Diplomacy tab.

[himasaram]

Re: A daring venture

Originally posted by Boco


What factors go into determining where civs start?

It depends on the 'startpos' server option.

Anyway, starting in polar areas is a bug, reported here for example..

[Harry Tuttle]

I gotta say, it's a good game. I'm currently taking on 9 AIs with the Indonesians as my allies. Damn Catalans almost got me before I received chivalry.

[barocca]

Re: Re: A daring venture

Originally posted by himasaram Anyway, starting in polar areas is a bug, reported here for example..

it can be fun

my current game i started in south pole,
there is enough room on the little "blob" of land for two real cities, or four workable ones,
i went with four workables,

nearby is a single usefull square and about 8 or 9 tiles beyond are two usefull squares,
i made cities in both of those areas,

not too far away in the opposite direction, (maybe 20 tiles) is another little isthmus of land where i could fit 3 real cities or maybe 6 workable ones - i went for 3 almost reals (minor overlapping,

another 20 or so tiles is a good narrow island that stretches up to the equator then splits left and right, good for 15 or so reals or several dozen workables,
i have been building roughly 50/50

by 1770 i had ONE city of size 8, but 20 something around size 5, keeping the other civs at bay was challenging.
by 1870 my cities were all 12 or better.

in a nutshell THIS is the most fun i have had playing civ in ages,
please dont annihilate polar starts, just make them less likely

note
a Real city has exclusive use of all the land within it's radius,
a Workable city shares its land with one (or several) other cities,
(allows resource tile sharing - similar to time-share, without the greasy salesmen)

Cheers,
B.

[Harry Tuttle]

I have been having fun too. I love the grandness of it all. Thanks for those tips!