Author Topic: Quasar4x - An Aurora4x VB6 clone  (Read 161798 times)

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Offline Kyle (OP)

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Re: Quasar4x - An early look at an Aurora4x clone in the works
« Reply #165 on: September 19, 2019, 05:42:13 PM »
Progress update 2019-09-19:

The current phase of multiple player support, alien contacts, sensors(!), and intelligence gathering is done!



Same thing at 5 second auto-turns and zoomed in:



And the event log:
Off-Topic: show


Phew. This was a rough one.  As part of the multiple-player support, I wanted to include alien contacts, but that wound up being quite an ordeal.  I think this is the most I've ever had to redo, re-redo, and re-re-redo various parts of code in this project, as more and more mechanics and situations emerged.  I had a lot to learn along the way about how A4X functions, learning that required rethinking and redoing how I coded things.  There are so many "moving parts" involved in sensors, contacts, and intel.  They involve multiple tables working together tracking the various bits of information each race has learned about every other race.

The following items were implemented:

Smoothly switching between races on any window with a race dropdown
Smooth transition between default races
SM View on Events window
Fleet orders involving contacts
Contact list on the F3 system map window
Show/Hide lost contacts
Display contacts and movement tails on in F3 window, colored by allegiance
Display alien active sensors on F3 in red
Contact names include the intel known about them in F3 and anywhere else
When an alien ship has multiple active sensors, only be verbose about the sensor with the biggest radius.  Show only radius on F3 window for the smaller ones.
'Distances' checkbox on F3 contacts tab (show distance from selected target on the contact name)
Planetary thermal sensors detect ships
Ship thermal sensors detect ships
Active sensors detect ships
EM sensors detect active sensors
Lost contacts are logged.  Info about a contact detected by active sensors is retained to support Show Lost Contacts on F3.
Discovering new alien races
Discovering new alien classes
Discovering new alien ships
Record maximum observed speed and thermal for alien classes and log when changed
Record all the types of active sensors detected via EM per alien ship
Record and log target cross section (estimated tonnage)
Pick starting friendliness (political modifier) based on detecting species xenophobia and race xenophobia
Log changes in thermal signature
Thermal signature when towing another ship and when being towed should be accurate

Fleet orders involving contacts - this includes trajectory prediction.  It also lands the fleet right on top of the contact, not just nearby.  This is significant because movement happens before detection, so when moving toward where you *think* a contact is based on your sensor intel, the contact has already moved but detection of its new location has not yet occurred so your fleet would move to the wrong spot.  The game will peek at the contact's actual location, but only if the target contact is in sensor range.

Currently all aliens are classified neutral.  Other than the starting friendliness, no further diplomacy is supported for now

You might have been wondering how I got both races to show side by side in the first animation.  No video editing was done, that is now possible in Q4X.  Earlier today I added a "Second System Map" item to the Help menu, so you can have one race open in the main system map window, and another race open in the second one, and see how the world looks from either side, simultaneously.  I renamed the Help menu to Quasar4x, and this is where I will put any new toys that aren't present in A4X, to keep things tidy. 



The "Second System Map" is experimental but it works if you just want another view on things. It was done primarily just to aid with development, but I thought it was cool, so I left it in. Much farther down the road I may polish it up and add support for unlimited system maps. There was very little effort in making this feature, due to the modular nature of the window, and the fact that quasar's state, like aurora's, is stored almost entirely in the database (when not processing an end-of-turn).  It wouldn't be a very big leap to support running multiple quasar4x's side by side, it would just involve adding some code to lock the other quasars' UI when processing the end-of-turn.  The database already handles its own locking for when players make quick updates, although it couldn't hurt to add a few quick safeguards.  Then after that, it's not much more of a leap to have the database be stored remotely rather than on the current computer, allowing many connections from many different places....

Whoa, got lost in the clouds there!  So anyway, there is more work in the areas covered by this update but for now I'm calling the current phase of multi-empires, sensors, contacts, and intel gathering complete!  The parts not done should be straightforward to add later on when they're needed, because the code for these features is all set up now and functioning (to great detail) from end-to-end.

And now, at long last, it's time to go back to the basics, and fill in quite a few easy bits that are missing from basic gameplay.  For example, mass drivers, research queues, terraforming, team ops, ground unit training, the list goes on and on.  There are a lot of core gameplay mechanics that should happen when time passes that don't, making a peaceful non-ai game as of yet still unfeasible.  I plan to change that, starting with the most basic of missing mechanics items and going from there!
 
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Offline Breadabix

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Re: Quasar4x - An early look at an Aurora4x clone in the works
« Reply #166 on: September 20, 2019, 07:35:55 AM »
Hows the multiple player system going to work with this? Are we going to be able to set up multiplayer games kind of like in Civ 5 or it it going to be multiple person inputs from the same PC?
 
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Offline Kyle (OP)

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Re: Quasar4x - An early look at an Aurora4x clone in the works
« Reply #167 on: September 20, 2019, 11:32:43 AM »
Hows the multiple player system going to work with this? Are we going to be able to set up multiplayer games kind of like in Civ 5 or it it going to be multiple person inputs from the same PC?
Oh that's years away if ever, I was just daydreaming.  For more of my thoughts on it and general discussion check out http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=10438.msg115082#msg115082
 

Offline Breadabix

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Re: Quasar4x - An early look at an Aurora4x clone in the works
« Reply #168 on: September 20, 2019, 06:35:41 PM »
Makes sense it is possibly years away if it happens at all, there are some serious flaws in a multiplayer aurora/quasar that need addressing.  Hope it happens eventually but understand if it doesnt :)
 

Online Steve Walmsley

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Re: Quasar4x - An early look at an Aurora4x clone in the works
« Reply #169 on: September 21, 2019, 05:59:26 AM »
Makes sense it is possibly years away if it happens at all, there are some serious flaws in a multiplayer aurora/quasar that need addressing.  Hope it happens eventually but understand if it doesnt :)

One of those flaws in that Aurora is designed as a single-player game :)
 
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Offline alex_brunius

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Re: Quasar4x - An early look at an Aurora4x clone in the works
« Reply #170 on: September 23, 2019, 03:36:52 AM »
One of those flaws in that Aurora is designed as a single-player game :)

True. A much more streamlined combat and order UI would be needed for one ( pre set up rules of engagement + click on map to order ). But that said I would kill for a version of Aurora ( even a very simplified one ) that supported real time multiplayer ( similar to Stellaris but without fancy graphics and instead with good ship design and colony development ).
 
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Offline Ranged66

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Re: Quasar4x - An early look at an Aurora4x clone in the works
« Reply #171 on: September 23, 2019, 07:25:06 AM »
Is there any chance you can get civilian shipping and mass drivers up and running next?  ;D

I love playing Aurora as a peaceful empire builder, colonizing the galaxy, and with those done Quasar will have that part sorted :)
 

Offline TMaekler

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Re: Quasar4x - An early look at an Aurora4x clone in the works
« Reply #172 on: September 23, 2019, 10:44:10 AM »
What would be a nice addition as a kind of "multiplayer" would be an option to "export" the state of each empire into a standalone file which you then can send to the multiple players. Based on that file each player then can for example create new ship designs, plan research, production, etc. Everything that has a "cue". Those inputs then could be exported and send back to the SpaceMaster who can import them and continue the game on his computer.
 

Offline procdrone

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Re: Quasar4x - An early look at an Aurora4x clone in the works
« Reply #173 on: September 23, 2019, 01:15:35 PM »
The most important thing for import/export to me, personally, would be able to import/export ship designs and component designs.

. . . But let Kyle finish the base product first, features/improvements later :)
 
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Offline TMaekler

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Re: Quasar4x - An early look at an Aurora4x clone in the works
« Reply #174 on: September 24, 2019, 06:34:09 AM »
The most important thing for import/export to me, personally, would be able to import/export ship designs and component designs.

. . . But let Kyle finish the base product first, features/improvements later :)
Yes. My ideas go into the direction to make it easy to play multiplayer "pen & paper" style...
 

Offline Kyle (OP)

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Re: Quasar4x - An early look at an Aurora4x clone in the works
« Reply #175 on: September 25, 2019, 04:02:26 PM »
Progress update 2019-09-25:

Sorry, not a very exciting one.  I've had very little time to work on Q4X since my last update, but hopefully I'll be able to pick the pace back up a little bit.

New build pushed, the following minor items implemented:

- Relations with alien races decays from xenophobia.
  (still no diplomacy, this is just to stay in sync with the a4x side)

- Racial colonization skill affects colony cost

- Transfer trade good infrastructure to population when needed

- Population shrinks when there is insufficient infrastructure

- Overcrowding increases unrest

- Unrest decreases wealth modifier
  (Other negative impacts of unrest are still to-do)

- If no cause for unrest, unrest decreases based on species determination rating

- Randomized trade good production rates for new populations (was static)
 
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Offline Gram123

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Re: Quasar4x - An early look at an Aurora4x clone in the works
« Reply #176 on: September 27, 2019, 05:00:20 AM »
Quote from: Ranged66 link=topic=10149. msg116457#msg116457 date=1569241506
Is there any chance you can get civilian shipping and mass drivers up and running next?  ;D

I love playing Aurora as a peaceful empire builder, colonizing the galaxy, and with those done Quasar will have that part sorted :)

+1 Cant wait to be able to play this in a peaceful version.   I don't need military to have fun :) And huge amount of respect to Kyle for doing this!. 

But would need the civilian sector, asteroid mining, terraforming modules, TUG and stuff like that to work.  Is all that stuff already working? 
 
 

Offline Enoch

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Re: Quasar4x - An early look at an Aurora4x clone in the works
« Reply #177 on: September 27, 2019, 12:04:12 PM »
I've been following this project for weeks so I thought it was time I popped my head in to say thanks.
 

Offline procdrone

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Re: Quasar4x - An early look at an Aurora4x clone in the works
« Reply #178 on: September 27, 2019, 12:43:05 PM »
Of course, me and most of our discord community are closely following your project Kyle, it is something beautiful and much anticipated.

You're doing great work, Kyle!
 
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Offline Kyle (OP)

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Re: Quasar4x - An early look at an Aurora4x clone in the works
« Reply #179 on: September 29, 2019, 04:22:02 PM »
Progress update 2019-09-29:

Mass drivers are done!



Latest build has been pushed.  I debated on implementing bombardment for when the destination has no mass driver, but opted to put that on hold for now in the interest of finishing more of the basic mechanics first. So for now rather than bombardment it will just delete the packet and no minerals will be delivered.

Here are some additional things that were implemented:
 - button on the Population (F2) window named Independence (This button does a lot!)
 - background radiation is reduced by 100 per year. Dust is reduced by 250 per year
 - radiation reduces manufacturing efficiency and population growth
 - manufacturing efficiency and unrest affects shipyard modification
 - manufacturing efficiency affects financial centers
 - ground forces reduce unrest
 - radiation increases unrest
 - changing greenhouse gasses changes surface temperature
 - dust level decreases surface temperature
 - adding slipways to shipyard (capacity modifications already done)
 - partial completion of shipyard capacity modifications that are cancelled early
 - lots of fixes

A lot of items on this list that involve a gradual increase or decrease over time, for example 'ground forces reduce unrest', are much easier said than done.  The amount of words it takes to refer to a feature often doesn't come even close to giving an accurate estimate of how long it takes to implement.  This is because there are so many factors that go into a particular increase or decrease, with no feedback but for one single number.  For example, when I was testing Continual Capacity Expansion, I was getting a capacity increase from 1000 to 1004.780239 while Aurora was giving an increase to 1005.3148.  From this information alone, how does one determine what is wrong?  These are the factors I can think of that go into computing this number:
- time passed
- number of slipways
- amount of duranium available (less the reserved amount)
- amount of neutronium available (less the reserved amount)
- type of shipyard (naval or commercial)
- the current capacity
- the planetary governor's shipbuilding bonus
- the sector governor's shipbuilding bonus
- the racial shipbuilding bonus
- the racial shipyard operations bonus
- the population's unrest
- manufacturing efficiency
- the population's political status (only the default is currently implemented)
- the order of operations (efficiency calculated before shipyard modification, unrest and radiation changes calculated later on)

In this case, it was the racial shipyard operations bonus (0.9) that I was missing.  Finding the issue wasn't as bad as it might sound, but imagine having to consider this many factors for almost every time-related mechanic!  This is a good example, by the way, of one of the many fixes I usually don't bother to mention.

It's great to be done with many of the less interesting but important things on this list like unrest and efficiency penalties.  It'll be that much less work to do for upcoming additions.  Onward!
 
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