PROJECT: Playtest Thread III

[Martin Gühmann]

Originally posted by Fromafar
Don't throw away your file yet: unless someone starts modifying or adding strings, it will be possible to continue with the next release.

And even if someone starts to modify the string database, noone needs to throw away his old savegames. Just a reloadslic does solve the problem.

-Martin

[Fugi the Great]

Originally posted by Fromafar
Don't throw away your file yet: ..., it will be possible to continue with the next release.

Good, that game was starting to get interesting. Was just getting ready to start gearing up for an offensive against my southern and northern neighbors - both ticked me off in the past. Northern one stole my land by plopping two cities in the middle of my country, southern one doesn't seem to know that I consider foreign military units moving through the middle of my territory an act of war - if it wants to see the size of my country, then exchange maps.


Someone had mentioned this in the past, but since we have people modifying code, would it be possible to maybe put a clock on the top banner or somewhere near there in one of the next playtest versions?

[Flinx]

Good Idea!

Originally posted by Fugi the Great
Someone had mentioned this in the past, but since we have people modifying code, would it be possible to maybe put a clock on the top banner or somewhere near there in one of the next playtest versions?

MOO3 had this, and I thought it was great. I am not sure I actually stopped playing any sooner, but I was good to know that it was 4am and I really, really needed to go to bed.

[The Templar]

Which directory do you put the required .NET dll files into so that the playtest version will work?

[Martin Gühmann]

Originally posted by The Templar
Which directory do you put the required .NET dll files into so that the playtest version will work?

I just wonder qhy Maq added John's latest playtest release post.

To sum it up you don't need the extra files. And if you want to have them nevertheless then put them into your ..\ctp2_program\ctp\ folder, just in case if anybody releases a version based on VC++ 7.0.

-Martin

[Maquiladora]

Originally posted by Martin Gühmann
I just wonder qhy Maq added John's latest playtest release post.

To sum it up you don't need the extra files. And if you want to have them nevertheless then put them into your ..\ctp2_program\ctp\ folder, just in case if anybody releases a version based on VC++ 7.0.

-Martin

Well i assume you mean i didnt update the first post, i was waiting for it be to stable before i changed it, and then i forgot for the last couple of days to change it.

[The Templar]

I got a crash upon ending turn 131. Here's the log - hope it helps. BTW, I really like what I see so far.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
0x7c92ae22 [__onexitbegin + 0x7be08dca]
0x77c2c2de [__onexitbegin + 0x7710a286]
0x00402061 [??3@YAXPAX@Z + 0x11]
0x005735dc [??1SlicSymbolData@@UAE@XZ + 0x8c]
0x0053e007 [?Execute@SlicEngine@@QAEXPAVSlicObject@@@Z + 0x47]
0x0048b349 [?FinishBuildFront@BuildQueue@@QAEXAAVUnit@@@Z + 0x719]
0x0048ce77 [?FinishCreatingUnit@BuildQueue@@QAEXAAVUnit@@@Z + 0x147]
0x0049c4a3 [?GEVHookCallback@CityCreateUnitEvent@@EAE?AW4GAME_ EVENT_HOOK_DISPOSITION@@W4GAME_EVENT@@PAVGameEvent ArgList@@@Z + 0x53]
0x00577b74 [?Activate@GameEventHook@@QAE?AW4GAME_EVENT_ERR@@PA VGameEventArgList@@AAJ@Z + 0x34]
0x00578552 [?ActivateHook@GameEventManager@@QAE?AW4GAME_EVENT_ ERR@@W4GAME_EVENT@@PAVGameEventArgList@@AAJ@Z + 0x22]
0x005768ee [?Process@GameEvent@@QAE?AW4GAME_EVENT_ERR@@AAH@Z + 0x3e]
0x005782b8 [?Process@GameEventManager@@QAE?AW4GAME_EVENT_ERR@@ XZ + 0x88]
0x00578201 [?ArglistAddEvent@GameEventManager@@QAE?AW4GAME_EVE NT_ERR@@W4GAME_EVENT_INSERT@@W4GAME_EVENT@@PAVGame EventArgList@@@Z + 0x1e1]
0x00577ffc [?AddEvent@GameEventManager@@QAA?AW4GAME_EVENT_ERR@ @W4GAME_EVENT_INSERT@@W4GAME_EVENT@@ZZ + 0xcc]
0x00432fc5 [?dh_endTurn@@YAXPAVDQAction@@PAVSequence@@W4DHEXEC UTE@@@Z + 0x35]
0x0042b589 [?HandleNextAction@Director@@QAEXXZ + 0xc9]
0x0040c34a [?Process@CivApp@@QAEJXZ + 0x12a]
0x00406f4e [?CivMain@@YGHPAUHINSTANCE__@@0PADH@Z + 0x39e]
0x00406a05 [WinMain@16 + 0x65]
0x007bae9c [WinMainCRTStartup + 0x134]
0x7c816d4f [__onexitbegin + 0x7bcf4cf7]
---------------------------------------------------------------

[Fugi the Great]

Bump

Two weeks without a reply by anyone, so how you guys doing with the new version of the playtest? Getting a little itchy to play the rest of that game (above) or a new one, sort of tired of playing Playtest I (the only I have no problems with so far).

[Protra3211]

I found too that the first playtest worked without problems. Also AI unit movement was good,.When at war or peace the ai would keep up a good border defense. Spread out but with stacks of 6 and 8 units and when attacking came from two sides so you were bogged down with defending you cities. Had to work hard to make you empire grow. Like chess the more space you control the better chance you have of winning and the ai would never give up any area without a fight

[Ekmek]

I too have found no probs with the latest playtest. I think one time it crashed and one time it kept making the wlking noise but after restarting on those instances I had no problem. I was playing an unmodded version on Hard. Early on I wiped out the Austrians quick but after that I was pretty hemmed in. I think I had the largest empire but was falling behind in technology and really couldn't expand. At one point the Roman took 3 of my top 5 cities but I was able to retake them. I could say that they failedto reinforce there newly captured citie with fresh units bt my military situation was the same so I was forced to skimrish to keep them from hitting them again.

Other than that, pretty good! but I have a few other After Action Review (AAR) comments:

Problem:Too much gold in a game
Solution: Increase building costs in the txt files
S: decrease terrain gold

P:Unit obsolete stil in que
S: redo to match more stuff to go obsolete when replacements are available like knights and cavalry, pikemen andriflemen

P:diplomacy
S: display regard score instead of faces migt be easier
S: fix interface (long discussed before). The diplomacy was tough, but it might have stemmed from early conquest of a civ, my size, and that i broke a treaty early on. diplomacy didnt get interesting until later on when I could swap techs. All the layout just doesnt give an interacting feel with te small picture and that you have to select one thing then send etc. I miss civ3 diplomacy compared to this.
Q: is there a faq on diplomacy like how to improve regard and do treaties?


P:technology too fast and you get awkward looking militaries
S: May fixing the obsolete stuff but also maybe we should add some mod stuff to it because the game seems to make some huge tech leaps and you have machinegunners and pikemen etc.

P:Navy
S: too specialized units early on. Give early ships a (weak)combat value and group the advances of some ships like ship o line with carrack so you don't have awkward looking navies like fire triremes and galleons. Also the early catamarn or whatever it is should have a move of atleast 3 instead of 2 which will really slowsearly sea development.

P: Mentioned before, AI attacks with a settler in group
S: maybe have it ungroup before attack?

P:Upgrading units
S: this really needs to be hard coded, and it might be a group effort to do it. I made an ugly attempt at coding it I'll post later.

[Martin Gühmann]

Originally posted by Protra3211
I found too that the first playtest worked without problems.

What do you mean by first playtest or Playtest I? We never numbered these playtests releases. So please be more specific. Which playtest do you mean the playtests have an relase date the first playtest is from 09-12-2003 and to make it clear in words it is from September the twelfth two-thousand-and-three. If you mean this release then say it, but I doubt it. So if you refer to a speceal playtest version that is not the current one please refer to the release date, you can find it on the first screen, when you start the game.

Originally posted by Protra3211
Also AI unit movement was good,.When at war or peace the ai would keep up a good border defense. Spread out but with stacks of 6 and 8 units and when attacking came from two sides so you were bogged down with defending you cities. Had to work hard to make you empire grow. Like chess the more space you control the better chance you have of winning and the ai would never give up any area without a fight

Since you don't tell me what playtest you aare refering to, this kind of information is useless to me. I know that we didn't do anything about the AI in 2003, so you can't refer to the first playtest. Something I know is that in the current playtest something is broken, the AI doesn't expand as it was used to do, that was a problem of the map wrap fix. Well that is fixed, but I got the impression that there is something more wrong, the AI was nevertheless more agressive, better conquest and more Barbs.

And by the way Fugi I fixed the problem with Infrastructure, just to inform you.

Originally posted by Protra3211
P:technology too fast and you get awkward looking militaries
S: May fixing the obsolete stuff but also maybe we should add some mod stuff to it because the game seems to make some huge tech leaps and you have machinegunners and pikemen etc.

So you mean adding some techs, so that current save games, become incompatible?

-Martin

[Protra3211]

Your right Martain I dont want to mix up playtest on anyone , Im reloading CTP2 to have a fresh start. Also downloading playtest 2005 06 28 all three parts. Might use E.s new tiles they give the game a great look.
I was using 2004 04 03. The AI seemed to expand quick so that it had at least the number of cities that it s goverment would allow. But that was awhile back and I will stick to the latest develoments.
Who knows where your work will lead Martain.

[Abdul Alhazred]

Where i can download the latest playtest ?

The latest playtest should have corrected the caravan problem, isn't it ?

Thank You

[Martin Gühmann]

Originally posted by Protra3211
Your right Mart[...]in I dont want to mix up playtest on anyone , Im reloading CTP2 to have a fresh start. Also downloading playtest 2005 06 28 all three parts. Might use E.s new tiles they give the game a great look.
I was using 2004 04 03. The AI seemed to expand quick so that it had at least the number of cities that it s goverment would allow. But that was awhile back and I will stick to the latest develoments.
Who knows where your work will lead Mart[...]in.

Well from 2004 that's really old. And there was no major AI alteration in the code. And all the reports about this version aren't very usefull since we went a long way from there, and all what counts is to improve the current version.

-Martin

[Protra3211]

Im playing the new playtest and so far after 125 turns no problems. Im playing with 8 other AI factions on impossible with largest map size. Im playing as Celtic empire and have met England -Korea and Polynesia.

The AI Martin is building cities up to its goverment limit
and most have a army between 20 and 35 units. No early wars between AI factions yet excecpt me with a cold war brewing with Korea.
I still think its best to control your own city needs as AI does ok but likes to max out farmers which max growth but adds turns to building units.
Im enjoying playing this game but im in last place and my skillls are rusty so I will read up on the best way to manage cities.