Aurora 4x

VB6 Aurora => VB6 Mechanics => Topic started by: Steve Walmsley on June 30, 2009, 10:07:03 AM

Title: New Create Game Window
Post by: Steve Walmsley on June 30, 2009, 10:07:03 AM
I have changed the creation of a new game from a series of questions and selections to a single window that is filled in beforehand. I hope this will be a lot easier for new players and will allow experienced players to more easily customise the game start. The existing game window becomes the Modify Game window, allowing you to update parameters mid-game. On the new window, if you change the population, government type or the industrial percentage, the size of the manufacturing sector and the number of research labs and shipyards is shown. The shipyard and research lab figures can then be overriden. You can click on the screenshot below to view at normal size

[attachment=0:3okpzkov]gamewindow.JPG[/attachment:3okpzkov]
Steve
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Father Tim on June 30, 2009, 10:53:50 AM
Awesome!  Thanks Steve, this'll be a huge help.
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: welchbloke on June 30, 2009, 11:37:35 AM
A great big vote of thanks for the change from me too!
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Beersatron on June 30, 2009, 12:06:29 PM
Looks sweet!

Got a question on the assignment of starting tech, if you deselect the automatic option do you then spend the points on the research tab in game, or is there are another screen when you hit Create that specific handles this?
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Steve Walmsley on June 30, 2009, 12:22:27 PM
Quote from: "Beersatron"
Looks sweet!

Got a question on the assignment of starting tech, if you deselect the automatic option do you then spend the points on the research tab in game, or is there are another screen when you hit Create that specific handles this?
If you don't spend the starting tech point, you can spend them in game on the Research tab of the Population window. A small box called Tech Pts Remaining will appear with the number of remaining points. As you use the instant button to select techs, the number of tech points is reduced accordingly. When they are all used, the box vanishes.

Steve
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Kurt on June 30, 2009, 12:40:57 PM
Very, very nice Steve!  

Kurt
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Erik L on June 30, 2009, 07:22:01 PM
Very nice. You got a spelling error in the Political skill area. "Conections"
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: ShadoCat on July 01, 2009, 11:43:55 PM
Beauty.
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: waresky on July 21, 2009, 10:41:13 AM
Awesome work!
u hit very hard our fantasy....
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Paul M on August 05, 2009, 02:48:58 AM
Steve,
I am going to restart my Draakkaa campaign and go again with a pre-tnt start but I am not sure how to handle the technological points.  The game window starts with 30,000 points and auto assign selected.

What should I do for a pre-tnt start?  Change the value to 0 or ignore it?

BTW saw your aurora post on the wargamer.com.
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: sloanjh on August 05, 2009, 09:48:54 AM
Quote from: "Paul M"
Steve,
I am going to restart my Draakkaa campaign and go again with a pre-tnt start but I am not sure how to handle the technological points.  The game window starts with 30,000 points and auto assign selected.

What should I do for a pre-tnt start?  Change the value to 0 or ignore it?

BTW saw your aurora post on the wargamer.com.

Hi Paul,

  I just did a pre-tnt start last night, and left the default settings - it didn't appear to give me any starting tech.  In other words, it looks to me like setting to 0 and ignoring have the same effect.

John
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Steve Walmsley on August 05, 2009, 06:31:09 PM
Quote from: "sloanjh"
Quote from: "Paul M"
Steve,
I am going to restart my Draakkaa campaign and go again with a pre-tnt start but I am not sure how to handle the technological points.  The game window starts with 30,000 points and auto assign selected.

What should I do for a pre-tnt start?  Change the value to 0 or ignore it?
I just did a pre-tnt start last night, and left the default settings - it didn't appear to give me any starting tech.  In other words, it looks to me like setting to 0 and ignoring have the same effect.
The default for pre-TNT is now no starting tech. I have changed the code for the next version so the Assign Starting Tech option is unflagged when you selected Conventional

Steve
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Steve Walmsley on August 05, 2009, 06:37:33 PM
Quote from: "Paul M"
BTW saw your aurora post on the wargamer.com.
Yes, I haven't really advertised the existence of Aurora very much, apart from a post on the Star Ranger forums a while back. Although we have almost 400 registered users, a lot of Starfire players registered in the early days and since then the expansion in numbers must have been through word-of-mouth. This latest version brings it to the point where I am happy to draw people's attention to it because it is a playable game now rather than a work in progress. I'll see what reaction I get from the wargamer forum and then I may mention it in a few other places.

I have also registered a doman name now (http://www.aurora4x.com (http://www.aurora4x.com)) so in the coming weeks I will probably create a website that shows off the game, although these forums will remain my main focus.

Steve
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Paul M on August 06, 2009, 05:31:31 AM
Thanks Steve and John I've been side tracked a bit by HOI3 but I want to get back to Aurora and hopefully not face the annoying error messages that ruined the last game.  4.1 looks very good...haven't yet downloaded 4.11.

The wargamer is a great place I think.  I tend to oscillate in my posting there though.  I found out about Aurora basically from word of mouth after I got fed up with Starfire (not the game but the list) and then the local starfire group succomed to real life events *sigh*.  As a suggestion Steve make a signature for yourself there with the aurora website in it that will probably help as well.

I am really looking forward to the operational diplomacy as it makes NPRs a lot more interesting to me.   Have to see how things go this time about, the fact that the civillians won't be dumping population and infrastructure on hellballs I want only automatic mines on is a huge improvement as well.

And the ability to build terraforming installations and move them is great.  I wanted to do that several times in the last game since trying to keep ships in orbit around a colony world is major pain.

Did you fix PDCs drawing maintenace minerals in 4.11?
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Hawkeye on August 06, 2009, 06:14:42 AM
I just wanted to throw in, that there is a link from "Atomic Rocket" to Aurora at http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3ar.html (http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3ar.html)
(that´s how I found my way here)

As Paul, I have been a bit busy with another game lately (WitP AE) but will have a look at Aurora again, when the first excitement settles down a bit.

 :)
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Kurt on August 06, 2009, 10:27:18 AM
Quote from: "Paul M"
Thanks Steve and John I've been side tracked a bit by HOI3 but I want to get back to Aurora and hopefully not face the annoying error messages that ruined the last game.  4.1 looks very good...haven't yet downloaded 4.11.

The wargamer is a great place I think.  I tend to oscillate in my posting there though.  I found out about Aurora basically from word of mouth after I got fed up with Starfire (not the game but the list) and then the local starfire group succomed to real life events *sigh*.  As a suggestion Steve make a signature for yourself there with the aurora website in it that will probably help as well.

I am really looking forward to the operational diplomacy as it makes NPRs a lot more interesting to me.   Have to see how things go this time about, the fact that the civillians won't be dumping population and infrastructure on hellballs I want only automatic mines on is a huge improvement as well.

And the ability to build terraforming installations and move them is great.  I wanted to do that several times in the last game since trying to keep ships in orbit around a colony world is major pain.

Did you fix PDCs drawing maintenace minerals in 4.11?

I'm probably going to get HOI3 this weekend, although I've been debating waiting, since with the usual Paradox game, it is better to wait until a couple of patches come out.  

Kurt
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Paul M on August 06, 2009, 11:11:42 AM
well I will be gettin my copy of HOI3 sometime around the 18-22 as it is not released in the EU until the 14th.  You can see my comments about the demo on the wargammer site.  The biggest single major glitch I have so far seen is the bork up over amph landings.  The problem is longstanding...anyway off to install 4.11.  Worse of course I have WitP AE on the way as well...and Alpha Protocol and Dragon Age: Origins is out in October.
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Erik L on August 06, 2009, 11:45:42 AM
Champions Online open beta starts in 11 days ;)
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Steve Walmsley on August 06, 2009, 11:55:27 AM
Quote from: "Hawkeye"
I just wanted to throw in, that there is a link from "Atomic Rocket" to Aurora at http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3ar.html (http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/rocket3ar.html)
(that´s how I found my way here)

As Paul, I have been a bit busy with another game lately (WitP AE) but will have a look at Aurora again, when the first excitement settles down a bit. :).

Steve
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: sneer on August 07, 2009, 02:33:44 PM
funny thing how in certain places gather people with interest in same games

2 years of hardcore WITP
3 years of hardcore EVE online
not to mention better known games like paradox designed :)

i see it as a prove finding aurora was a lucky day .....



btw - can you give link to this database fix tool you mentioned
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Steve Walmsley on August 07, 2009, 03:06:16 PM
Quote from: "sneer"
btw - can you give link to this database fix tool you mentioned
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1622 (http://aurora.pentarch.org/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1622)

Steve
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: ShadoCat on August 07, 2009, 04:16:07 PM
Quote from: "Erik Luken"
Champions Online open beta starts in 11 days ;)

Coolness!

I wonder if I'll be able to write up ShadoCat (from a campaign in the 80s).
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Paul M on August 10, 2009, 11:51:36 AM
Quote from: "Beersatron"
I played Eve for over 5 years and played it hardcore for the first 3 and a half. I keep on getting dragged back to it due to the 'ooh, shiny!' effect of well made ingame videos and news articles on the major wars. But, my subscription on both accounts just recently ran out again and I am leaving it for now. Certain groups of 'people' (and I use the term lightly) have made the game unbearable by their constant 'metagaming', crass jokes, racial slurs and general asshole-like behavior. It is the mother of all sandbox games and because it is 'only online' some folks think that they can do and say whatever they want and it isn't wrong.

The funny thing is, the only reason why I get so annoyed with these idiots is because I love the game so much. Bring back the glory years when a 5million ISK cruiser was the ultimate goal and it took you months to get there with manual mining and traveling 100s of systems which were not full of gold farmers and/or asshats.

/end rant :)


I tried Eve twice the first time I quit because of the garbage on the boards from the "Pirates" who have convinced me firmly that most people follow laws and rules of conduct due to fear of punishement and once that vanishes (as it does on the internet) then they degenerate rapidly into school yard bullies.  Eve has the potential to be a great game but the wanker gankers ruin it for me.  The second time I eventually joined  a RP corp but even there the level of Role Playing was minimal and I got tired and quit.  If I was a social as opposed to a physical scientist I would probably write a few papers on the behavior of people in on line games.  MMORPG I consider as: Many Morons Online Routinely Player Ganking.  A lot unfair but unfortunately there are those that make it more than correct.  I have given up on the boards of most MMOs because the conduct of the people is often absysmal.  I'm also not very interested in "grinding" or what level my character or anyone elses has so I don't fit in well with those people.  Why I prefer NWNx as the presence of DMs and the fact the game is provided free by someone else means there is a lot less of the griefing I see online.  I've DMed online and frankly a lot of the behavior which is considered de rigour in a MMO would have me booting players...but since they are paying in an MMO you can't do that.  But the justifications they come up with...they just make my blood boil as they are absolutely standard Bully speak...blame the victems, blame everyone else, take no responsibility, rules lawyer...its all there plain as day.  I agree with you Eve has the potential to be an incredible game...I really used to enjoy the faction missions with the background and stuff.

I broke down and started a new campaign so I'm in there with the bug sorting out!
Title: Re: New Create Game Window
Post by: Sotak246 on August 10, 2009, 12:40:43 PM
And here I thought I was the only one losing time to an MMO, my wife recently addicted me to Perfect World International.  All of the sudden all my free time just vanished. :lol: