So after a few months the – internal – version 0.600 is complete, with the new networking system operationnal and the old code mostly updated, at last! In the last few weeks, i’ve started building new features again.
Also, i started the implementation of Server-side region pathfinding. What does it mean ? It means the server is now getting ” eyes ” , beeing able to see a region. It’s first aplication is to allow the server to place buildings properly by itself, especially the automatic spawning of slum houses for extra populations ( in the last test game it, the messy temporary solution created exploits that are now fixed ).
Here on the screen you can see a debug view of one pathgrid of a region. This is what the server ‘sees’. Here its showing invalid zones in purple (buildings and cliffs) and free spaces where to place a building in green.
Later on, this will allow buildings, walls and terrain to have an effect on battles ( currently they’re all ignored, and its as if armies were fighting in empty plains ).
The next step on that matter is to implement server-side WORLDMAP pathfinding. It will allow automatic movement of troops ( armies coming back to home after a mission or an attack, AI controlled barbarians moving around and attacking players etc.. )
Also here is a screen of the diplomatic menu.
Its composed of a text editor and an optional treaty proposal. Treaty options will in the end include things like right of passage, payment of tributes and taxes, setting up manual trade routes, allowing trade with cities ( the ability of a player to take trading offers from the regions of the other player ), transfering territories, becoming allied and vassals etc…
Also as you can see on each side of the treaty, there is ‘breaking closes’ specific to the 2 members of the treaty. These will apply to the relevant member that breaks the treaty, and it includes 3 options: a gold penalty (some sort of security deposit) sent to the other member, the automatic declaration of war by the other member and an honor penalty. Honor will be a non gameplay stat only used used to inform other players of your reputation.
Signing a treaty with a high honor engagment basically means you ” swear to god i’ll respect it ” while a low one will mean more something like ” lets see how this agreement goes and it will last as long as i’m in the mood”.
This assymetrical system will allow a player negociating peace with a defeated oponent to force him to accept vassality and tributes , binding him with lots of penalties while having none on his side to remaining free to do as he wish.
Treaties will also cost some administration points, depending on the nature and amount of terms they contain.
They will also include a possible limited duration after which they become obsolete without triggering any breaking close.
v0.600 changelog
Engine
– Global networking upgrade & reorganisation to standardize and optimize data transfers and database management.
– Data subscription system to maintain data automatically synced with server
– New pathfinding system and coordinates to optimize framerate and allow later support of terrain elevation and walls.
– Multi threaded pathfinding system to optimize framerate
– Cleaned up login process
– Implemented Server side region pathfinding, allowing the server to place buildings in regions automatically.
Gameplay
– Events system
– Early diplomatic and contact menu
UI
– New text editor
Audio
– Added dynamic music player and transitions
– Fixed bug in ambiant city sounds
– Added building sound effects
Graphism
– Added oldpigs and piglet citizens.
– Now 2 visual levels of citizens ( total of 4×2 citizens )
– Added building animations
Debug
– Solved crashs when loading region.
– Solved workers not properly leaving a bulding set to sleep
– Solved bug where population could be duplicated when destroying slums
– Solved bug where slums would fail spawning
Great news! Fantastique! I’ve been anxious waiting for nouvelles. I must say I’ve already show the game to some amis, et on est impatient pour y jouer, hahaha
Le beta c’etait superb, e j’espere que the next one will be even better!!
Continuer working!! =D
I wonder, will corruption have some positives effects ? Or players will just want to eradicate corruption as much as possible, instead of doing some kind of balance ?
Yes exactly. And its already part of it, the last testers have experienced its effect 🙂
Right now you still get an arbitrary administrative capacity (100) but in the end you will “produce” it with administrative buildings : at first your capital’s government center ( just a chieftain’s hut at the stone age..), and then local town halls and so on. I’m thinking of having local and state wide administration, state wide beeing used for global things like treaties and army management and local one affecting levels of local corruption and other region specific effects. ( Right now there is in fact only ” local ” administration and this corruption system is already implemented )
Thanks for continuing your work on this project! Out of curiosity will the administrative tax be part of the “a single city can be better than an empire crippled with corruption” does the player start with an innate amount of administrative power?
I could answer yours answers by a long post. But I’ll try to keep it short.
I suppose the balance of the production rate of administration will often be corrected, as games tests will be played. I suppose it’s the kind of things hard to get “right” for the dev. I dońt know total annihilation, and the concept of “constant flux” in rts, I heard about for the first time two days ago. In an article about total annihilation. 😛
I tought it was some sort of mathematical thing applied on porcos, not graphisms. All is clear now. 😀
About Olaf, it was six months ago but I remember than he was a nice guy to play with. So maybe, really maybe, he’s a nice guy to work with.
And the graphisms he showed are alot like yours, so no problem of style. I don’t know anything about graphism, so I don’t know if it’s hard to copy the style of someone else.
I said : short. So, waiting for the next news (in two months ? ^^), going to swim in a cold lake waiting for the next Alpha play, and lot of bravos to you two !!
Yes, as i said the building spawning system was a really messy and a temporary thing, so it caused a glitch where when destroying slums, if there was no available room in other dwellings, it would spawn 2 new ones instead of one, duplicating the population in it. There was also other bugs about removing population, where buildings would still have workers even when the porcos working in it where supposed to be gone…
Administration is not a stockable ressource like coins. Its a constant flux reprensenting the administrative capacity of your state. An administrative tax means you’ll spend some of your administrative capacity to administrate stuff about the other player. For exemple a use of this would be within alliances where each vassal participates to the main kingdom administration, the king’s state who would need this to enforce faction treaties.
An embargo means you won’t be able to setup trade routes or accept trade offers from the target player, pretty classic.
And as administration is a constant production it means that yeah, nothing consumes it “ponctually” , its a constant thing like lets say “energy” in STR games such as Supreme commander or Planetary A.
The 2 levels of citizens is just a visual thing. just that there’s now a set of “stone age ” citizens and a set of more civilized ones.
As for Olaf yeah, its a personnal friend of mine and he’s starting to help me out doing some graphism things like buildings 🙂
Can we have informations about exploits caused by the old way of Slums Spamming ? I like to heard about obsoletes exploits, they are usually fun.
Looking at the changelog, it was duplication of the population, but I wonder how it’s possible to.
Looking at the diplomacy screen, I wonder about the “administration tax”. Does it refer to a repetitive tribute like in, for example, civilization games ?
What does “embargo” means in gameplay terms ? The player can’t send supplies to an embargoed enemy for the duration of the embargo ?
The honor idea is great, especially as now, not enforced by the game itself, but by players.
The cost of a treaty will be punctual (at the time of the signature) or repetitive (as in, lowering the production of administration or i dunno what) ?
“They will also include a possible limited duration after which they become obsolete without triggering any breaking close.” This. This is nice. I mean, it seem pretty normal, but if forgotten, bad things happen. Like an angry fire sheep.
Fire sheeps are a bad thing.
“- Now 2 visual levels of citizens ( total of 4×2 citizens )” Meaning ?
Finally, once again my felicitations for all this damn work. You are pretty dedicaced to this game, and it’s really great. Also, seeing than you have accepted help from someone (Olaf, i mean) ? It’s great. I remember old messages about “I prefer to work alone for the time being, cause too many peoples tend to make the project fall apart”.
Excerced control on the grow of the team ? It’s the best.
Bon courage pour la suite. 🙂
Wow. Great work! I’m looking forward the next game’s session
Looks fantastic, man. Keep up the good work!