Re: First impossible game... too easy?
 

sorry for me being off-topic, but this is awesome.
gandalf, thank you very much for those two links and your projects. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ March 26, 2004, 14:32: Message edited by: Morbius ]

Re: First impossible game... too easy?
 

Thanks to everybody who have posted their advice here, it has been very helpfull.

Gandalf, I am definetly going to try one of your allied map, great idea and implementation. If I understand your system correctly all "map" files with the name of the nations are based on the "tga" files that are generated daily in your "random map" folder, correct? Are they totally random maps produced my random-map-generator of yours, or they are semi-random with the some prototype geographical map with surface, seas, and provinces links "set in stone", and with random elements like "type of the land in surface province", etc.?


About this Miirunst map that you've mentioned - is it better than Orania map? Are you the author of it? How big is it in terms of number of provinces? (I've noticed on your website that it has impressive 30 MB in it, that's why I asking before downloading - my DsL is dead for the next 2 weeks, so I am using dial up for now http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif ).

Also Zen has mentioned "GP exclusive All-Ally huge map" in his reply. Is it one of your big random maps with random alliances or some special one?

(Sorry if some of my questions do not much sense, I haven't played with map-making in Dom2, so I maybe totally wrong with some of my guesses here http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif )

Re: First impossible game... too easy?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">NO the early projects like Poke in the Eye or the those random ally maps use tga that came with the game. Poke in the Eye uses the eye.tga and the random opponents ones use the aran.tga because both of those came with the demo and the game. Everyone has them already.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Some of both. Most of the ones I package as a scenario start with one of the randomly generated ones. Then I write a program to add randoms to the .map file (in BASIC of all things though they are available and easily modified to other Languages if anyone is interested). Usually they keep the terrain, province, and nostarts that the random map generator makes, then adds random province locations for whatever fun stuff Ive decided to try. Many of them Ive setup so that the program runs nightly generating a new randomized Version of the .map file.

I have some thoughts on doing one where both the tga and the map use new random Versions each day but havent yet. The randoms dont produce really playable maps everytime with the settings Im using now. I would need to play with the generator settings abit to get that to work well. Maybe after PhilD (or some other programmer) does some more touchups on the DomMap generator program.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">No the Miirunst map is MUCH more pretty than any of my random junk. It was done by Tiltowait and is definetly worth getting. You should get it from the Illwinter.com maps page because Im not sure if mine is the most up-to-date Version. I thought the map was too nice for my kindof messing with but Tiltowait specificall asked me to do one for his map. So now on my site there is a daily randomized Version that adds surprises to the Miirunst.tga
I named it MiirunstX so it doesnt overwrite the original .map but just gives a second verion to play off the same tga.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Im not sure. I havent done one yet where ALL of the AI's are allied against you. I thought that was a bit much. But now that so many maps are becoming available I guess there is room for such an extreme for those that want to take a stab at it. It wouldnt take long to do. An easy edit to the .map file. I will probably just keep watching for a decent random map to use as a base, and whip one out. Hmmm name it something like Way2Hard or 2hard4u or Xtreme, maybe Ultimate? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

EDIT: Hmmm if I only add "all AI's allied" and none of the other random stuff I do, then I dont have to worry about creating un-passable chokepoints (which forces me to carefully choose from the random tga's). This could be the first one that would work as both a random tga reselected every day. Hmmmmm

[ March 27, 2004, 14:51: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]