FreeCtP2?

[LemurMadness]

I just thought about making a project with textures, data files and movies (the part that needs the Source Project to work -- Like FreeDoom).

Ideas, comments?

[HuangShang]

Will it be as ugly as Freeciv?

[Martin Gühmann]

Originally posted by HuangShang
Will it be as ugly as Freeciv?

Do you mean the graphics? That would be the only thing which needs to be replaced.

However the bigger problem is that we interpret EULA that way that we cannot release a no-CD version. So it looks like that everyone has to compile his or her own no-CD version.

-Martin

[LemurMadness]

I'd guess we could find a way to mount or burn the CD image and be recognized by Call To Power 2.

http://innerworld.sourceforge.net/ is a landscape generator (although not mature), for Blender. Blender is a 3D authoring software made in GPL.

Additional GPL landscape (terrain) generation tools are available in Freshmeat (http://freshmeat.net/search/?q=lands...&Go.x=0&Go.y=0 http://freshmeat.net/search/?q=terra...&Go.x=0&Go.y=0 ) and Sourceforge.

What im trying to figure, what about the strings? We can't just copy and paste them into the new data strings...

Oh and I guess we would need AVI compression, (like Xvid [GPL too I think]), for CtP2:AE.

[Tellius]

Hi,

Am I understanding correctly that the graphics are one of the main things prohibiting us from making a no-cd version??? I always thought the simple idea of the game itself is what was under Activision's copyright protection...

If the graphics are the main problem, there really is no problem at all. Tileedit is created by a fan, if we were to make every tile and tileimp from scratch (and I abuse this opportunity to once again to try and sell my idea of 250 or 300% bigger tiles which would give great results, see pic) there no longer is any copyrighted graphical material from Activision. But again, this seems a bit unlikely, there must be something more to this copyright thingie.

Tellius

[LemurMadness]

Originally posted by Tellius
Hi,

Am I understanding correctly that the graphics are one of the main things prohibiting us from making a no-cd version???

No, the problem is that we can't make something such as a no-cd program that alters the executable. What we need is something that makes the project compatible with Call To Power 2, probably making the game think that there's the Call To Power 2 CD in the unit without recurring to hacking or changing memory patterns in the computer (no reverse engineering), maybe by doing a little bit of research about the exact method of protection of the Call To Power 2 CD, and pack the "Project" with the same characteristics of the CD and making it fully functional with CtP2:AE, either by "mounting" the image file into a virtual cd image software such as daemon tools or by burning it on a CD. Technically we aren't breaching any License Agreement since we aren't modifying the software in any "malign" form, just making a GPL package compatible with the game. For a comparison, it's like Pidgin and MSN Messenger.

[HuangShang]

Actually I've been running the game with a simple Nero copy image since the beginning.

I thought FreeWhatnot meant making a clone coded from scratch, guess that's not it.

Bigger tiles sounds good, we don't need to stick with the original 266 Mhz requirements, right?

[Tellius]

Hi,

Sorry Lemur, but that sounds like a solution that is technically and legally (maybe, I don't know the exact content of the agreement) in order, but still goes against the 'spirit' of the copyright issue. I bet people at Activision - even if legal consequences are not to be expected from them - will NOT be amused.

Bigger tiles have always been on my wishlist. The big problem is that Martin the Dan is not interested in remaking Tileedit to accept different tile sizes than the ones the game uses now. I did receive the source code from him though, so if anyone out there knows Delphi and has some free time (yeah, that's going to happen:-( maybe he or she could give it a go. Eternal thanks from the community and potential immortality are the only incentives though.

I tried to make different sized tiles, and it seems 250% or maybe 300% bigger tiles are the best size I can imagine. We could use all those Civ3 city styles with room to spare for a stockade, wall ánd city wall graphic around even the biggest cities. No more overlapping, no more cramping feel, and still that nice feeling a bitmap engine gives you, simple bliss.

Martin, didn't you also help in creating tileedit?

Greetz

Tellius

[Martin Gühmann]

Originally posted by Tellius
Am I understanding correctly that the graphics are one of the main things prohibiting us from making a no-cd version??? I always thought the simple idea of the game itself is what was under Activision's copyright protection...

No, Tellius. The real problem is the Activision EULA, it says:

New Game Materials may be created only if such New Game Materials can be used exclusively in combination with the retail version of Call to Power II. New Game Materials may not be designed to be used as a stand-alone product.

So this means that the CD must be required to be in your CD-drive - no no-CD-version allowed. And a big graphics patch for the purpose of bypassing this CD stuff isn't allowed either.

Anyway such a CTP2 CD isn't so expensive either, you should be able to afford five Euros or on Ebay one Euro is enough and if you don't find it on Ebay you should get an e-mule or an e-donkey.

Anyway, let's move on to the next topic: Upsizing the graphics shouldn't be a problem, even if we replaced all the graphics as long the game crys for the CD we should be on the save side.

Originally posted by Tellius
Martin, didn't you also help in creating tileedit?

I helped Martin to figure out the format of the tile file, but I did prgrammed anything of TileEdit or SpriteEdit.

-Martin

[Tellius]

Martin,

The EULA works just as I thought, and you are of course correct, there simply is no need at all for a stand-alone version of the game, an original CDRom is not rare and not expensive at all.

I am so damn glad you like the idea of bigger tiles, somehow your backing of this idea makes it more plausible that it will in fact happen one day.

I already mailed a few times with Martin the Dane concerning this, but he is not interested in reprogramming tileedit. He did send me and E the sourcecode though, and gave permission to alter the exe. Unfortunately, E doesn't know Delphi, so we are stuck for now. According to E, making the adjustments in the CtP2 sourcecode won't be a big problem, but we do need a working version of tileedit that accepts bigger sized tiles.

Maybe one day... If we were to go for 300% bigger tiles, we can use Civ3 cities and still have room to graphically represent certain city imps, such as temples, walls, city walls, basilica's etc etc. It would be a fest for me, because I could finally contribute something to AE - the graphics!

Hope to hear from you!

Tellius