PROJECT: Playtest

[Martin Gühmann]

Originally posted by Tamerlin
Martin, I have not yet installed the new playtest files (I have planned to do it this week), have you changed the colors or are you still using the ones coming from the previous playest files.

After some experimenting with Locutus' second colors00.txt and its hard readible colors on the wonder screen I decided to use the one from the last playtest version and just change the colors that cause conflicts. I returned to the original Barbarian red for the Barbarians and freed that color for another civ. I moved back the magenta and moved another color forward.

I just changed the problematic colors, replaced the nearly identical colors with ones from Flinx colors00.txt and darked the yellow a little bit. So that most of the colors are now well readable on the wonders screen, of course there are some exceptions, but a players' color set needs all colors.

-Martin

[J Bytheway]

Originally posted by Tamerlin
I have a question for the modders and Peter in particular, does someone know if the Updater2 can run without the DebugSlic=No option. If the answer is yes I am ready to spend some time to check the text files and make the changes that would allow us to use it with the playtest files.

Well, we should be fixing the source code so that all correctly-written SLIC will work with DebugSlic=Yes, so either way it would help .

[The Rusty Gamer]

Here's a question: do all the mods (medieval etc) still work under this new version or is the mod thing still to be addressed?

[J Bytheway]

People seem to be generally assuming that they won't work - but I think most of the relevant SLIC functions (although not the diplomacy ones) have been filled in now, so you could try. You might want to avoid mods that use diplomod, though.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by J Bytheway
People seem to be generally assuming that they won't work - but I think most of the relevant SLIC functions (although not the diplomacy ones) have been filled in now, so you could try. You might want to avoid mods that use diplomod, though.

Is there a mod that does not use at least the Diplomod 3.5?

[J Bytheway]

OK, let me rephrase that - you might want to remove the diplomod component .

[Martin Gühmann]

Originally posted by The Rusty Gamer
Here's a question: do all the mods (medieval etc) still work under this new version or is the mod thing still to be addressed?

Some text files need to be changed so that you can play them, they might not work properly but they work, once you addapted. In particular const.txt, tileimp.txt, terrain.txt, need to be changed, const.xt is really needed, otherwise the game does not run. tileimp.txt is needed if you want that trade routes follow roads etc. and you want to handle the tileimp construction sounds, well in that case you should then remove all the soundfix stuff, and terrain.txt is needed if you want to use the alternative hut/ruin graphic.

Originally posted by J bytheway
Well, we should be fixing the source code so that all correctly-written SLIC will work with DebugSlic=Yes, so either way it would help .

The problem here is that most code is not written correctly, or is incorrect because of bugs in the engine itsself. And I noticed that the valid check functions throw slic errors when their argument is invalid.

But what I actual want to know now from the playtesters is if the unit in the wrong place bug still occurs. I think that has to do with a memory leak that Fromafar fixed and therefore it would be gone with the memory leak.

-Martin

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by Martin Gühmann

But what I actual want to know now from the playtesters is if the unit in the wrong place bug still occurs.

Are you talking about the infamous ghost unit?

[Martin Gühmann]

Originally posted by Tamerlin


Are you talking about the infamous ghost unit?

Actual I am talking about this one..

Also known as issure #4: Increased animation queue to 12, making unit-in-wrong-place bug less likely.

All I want to know is if the problem was fixed at the root or if we still need to increase the animation queue.

The ghost unit is something else and actual more dangerous as it is a 13th unit on a tile that actual is only partly there, and soon if you select it or the AI does the game crashs. So that is not a unit in the wrong place but a unit that shouldn't be there.

-Martin

[Maquiladora]

You know this ghost unit problem i only ever got it using the scenario editor on a previously saved game, and it never actually crashed the game when i selected the ghost unit.

I dont know if its still included in the sourcecode exe though.

[J Bytheway]

Originally posted by Martin Gühmann
Some text files need to be changed so that you can play them, they might not work properly but they work, once you addapted. In particular const.txt, tileimp.txt, terrain.txt, need to be changed, const.xt is really needed, otherwise the game does not run. tileimp.txt is needed if you want that trade routes follow roads etc. and you want to handle the tileimp construction sounds, well in that case you should then remove all the soundfix stuff, and terrain.txt is needed if you want to use the alternative hut/ruin graphic.

Ah yes - I'm really not paying enough attention, am I. If I get a spare moment I might throw together something to automatically convert the files...

The problem here is that most code is not written correctly, or is incorrect because of bugs in the engine itsself. And I noticed that the valid check functions throw slic errors when their argument is invalid.

Strange... But then I guess we knew it was going to be pretty strange. Noone has figured out that problem ith operator precedence either (I looked, but it seems to have been done fine to me...).

[Tamerlin]

Peter,

I have a last question related to the Updater2.

Some functions in the Updater2 slic code have an APOL_ prefix, can they be a problem with a playtest version which would lack an appropriate SAP2 file or are they somehow self sufficient?

[I]APOL_DisableTriggers
APOL_HasDataBaseAdvance(int_t thePlayer , int_t theAdvance)
(APOL_HasDataBaseAdvance(tmpPlayer, EN_ADV)

[J Bytheway]

UPDATE 2004-04-12

Well, it's been more than a week since the last version and some handy changes have been made, especially for those wishing to try out the mods (I think all the necessary SLIC functions are now in place - with one possible exception), and most importantly I had a few free minutes, so I've uploaded a new playtest exe. Download at:

Edit: Removed link. The latest version of the Apolyton Edition can be found here.

Edit: This version is now obsolete, the next version is available here.

Changes:

Added: Mousewheel support
Fixed: Problem with previous bugfix preventing rush-buying of infrastructure/capitalization
Improved: Rush buy buttons disabled outside of players own turn, to avoid MP rush buy bug
Fixed: Misleading display of rush buy costs in city manager
Added: Missing SLIC functions
Fixed: Handling of SLIC errors

(I think I even remembered to change the version number, in all 5 languages...)

[Maquiladora]

Nice one J i will test in MP next time i play.

[Solver]

John, which SLIC function is the missing one?

Either way - great job . If I get some time, I'm going to try to install a mod over the playtest build and play a few turns.