Alpha Centauri 2

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri & Alien Crossfire => Modding => Topic started by: Yitzi on December 17, 2012, 12:56:28 PM

Title: How many landmarks might people want to be able to place?
Post by: Yitzi on December 17, 2012, 12:56:28 PM

I'm working on a .exe mod that will add some very useful new functionality for modders, but the extra variables have to be stored somewhere.  There seems to be room at the end of the list of landmarks on the map, but it will mean that there will be problems if you place too many landmarks (the maximum number will probably be two less than it was before.)  There'll still be room for a lot of landmarks, but will it still be a problem, and should I try to find somewhere else for the extra variables?

Title: Re: How many landmarks might people want to be able to place?
Post by: ete on December 20, 2012, 01:45:48 AM

How many can currently be placed?

Title: Re: How many landmarks might people want to be able to place?
Post by: Yitzi on December 20, 2012, 03:21:08 AM

Normally it allows up to 64 landmarks; what I'm planning would limit it to 57 if I calculated correctly.  (For comparison, there's 32 landmarks available from the scenario editor, though you can place more than one of each and even not in the scenario editor you can name your own landmarks.)

Title: Re: How many landmarks might people want to be able to place?
Post by: Yitzi on December 20, 2012, 11:26:55 PM

Well, I've found another option: I can put it in the slots available for premade units (which also can go up to 64.)  Either way, I'd need to use a total of three slots* (though taking premade unit slots would mean I'd be able to do more additional options in the future before needing a fourth slot); which is better?

*The way I had it currently planned was as 7, but I can move it to reduce the "cost".

Title: Re: How many landmarks might people want to be able to place?
Post by: Green1 on December 21, 2012, 01:50:52 AM

The landmark thing seems to work like "stamps" that the Fallen Enchantress system uses to generate random maps?

Speaking of .exe modding, it would be cool to allow custom stamps or be able to disallow the random map generator from using some landmarks. I sometimes hear yelling through the door of the MP cult member's door about monsoon jungle and MP.

Title: Re: How many landmarks might people want to be able to place?
Post by: ete on December 21, 2012, 02:11:48 AM

Dropping a small number of landmarks when there's that many should be fine. I imagine more people would max out the predesigned units than landmarks (for AI boosting units).

Title: Re: How many landmarks might people want to be able to place?
Post by: Yitzi on December 21, 2012, 04:40:27 AM

Quote from: Green1 on December 21, 2012, 01:50:52 AM

The landmark thing seems to work like "stamps" that the Fallen Enchantress system uses to generate random maps?

I'm not sure what those stamps are; the way SMAX (and I presume SMAC) does it is that there's a section of the program that stores what the (up to 64) landmarks are: What they are, where they are, what they're named.

Quote

Speaking of .exe modding, it would be cool to allow custom stamps or be able to disallow the random map generator from using some landmarks. I sometimes hear yelling through the door of the MP cult member's door about monsoon jungle and MP.

That would probably be somewhat difficult but when I finish all the mods I've got planned I may offer to take requests, and that could be such a request.  Until then, you'd have to just have a CMN make a map to whatever specifications and then manually remove the jungle.

A different idea would be to work on more general balance; the reason the jungle is so powerful is that nutrients are more powerful than other resources because they can support specialists (which also is a major contributor to the power of ICS and, to a lesser extent, that of crawlers); with specialists and satellites depowered, the monsoon jungle would be reduced to the power of the uranium flats or Garland crater.

Title: Re: How many landmarks might people want to be able to place?
Post by: Green1 on December 21, 2012, 05:14:23 AM

Stamps are when you take certain groups of tiles that look really cool then have the map generator re-use them in future maps.

Unrelated, but I have one good idea for future exe modders. You guys should really put something on the title screen so you know which version you have loaded. For instance: picture #1: Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic MP Evolution 1.5. (Hellbrick and crew) picture #2: What would be cool to see this as a standard in AC!

Title: Re: How many landmarks might people want to be able to place?
Post by: Kilkakon on December 21, 2012, 03:34:38 PM

I should put version numbers on my title screen too...