automating Dominions

[Gandalf Parker]

I thought Id toss out some of the many automation features that are possible with this game which some might not have considered because they arent on the menu screens.

1) I added some switches to my icon that I click for dominions so that the games I create will have certain defaults. Such as rename on, Half of Fame set to 15, Indepts set higher, magic sites set higher, even rarity set higher. I still get the same screen on making a game but the settings are already on my favorites. I can still change them if I want but it saves time. Also things like windowed mode, and no credits screen when I quit.

2) In the middle of the night my machine generates a big bunch of random maps that I can look at in the morning to see if any particularly appeal to me.

3) I have an icon on my desktop that takes me directly into my usual game name "local". And its also set for windowed and no credit screen when I quit. Basically the same as a "resume game" button. Also since my solo games are quite large, the processing can take a long time so I have it make noise when the hosting is done (actually it speaks and says "HEY! Your turn is ready.")

4) I have icons for specific MP games. I just copy the Dom3 icon and add the swtiches for the IP and port of the game. That saves me from typing in the address each time when Im in multiple games on multiple servers.

5) I have a timed alarm program on my machine which lets me link to my MP games icons. That way in the morning its always popped up so I wont forget to take my turn.

6) I also use the timed alarm program to remind me of real world things I dont want to lose track of (like getting my son off the bus)

7) I have an icon for saving all the games to backup copies. That way I can restore a game to a point before I tried something crazy just by copying the files back into the game directory.

8) There is a tool available which lets you check multiple servers to see if the turns are available without having to boot up Dom3 for each one.


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These are "you can" notes in case you didnt know.

A) You can add a title to your gods name.

B) You can take screenshots in the game. You can also turn them into cartoons if you are creative in that way.

C) You can record the combats altho that usually requires a downloaded program. But they are usually free so no big deal.

D) You can play your own music while playing Dom3. You can also replace the music files with ones of your own but its not easy. You can also automate something to randomly swap out music files each time you enter the game but thats not as easy as some of the other things Ive mentioned.

E) You can see alot of what the AI is thinking if you turn on logging. You get a HUGE text file with everything the game is doing as it processes the turn.

F) There are maps available which will lower the indepts so that AIs use their troops abit smarter. And some which give strange troops and equipment to the indepts just to make the game crazy.

G) There are mods which will add new nations, balance settings, and many other fun changes to the play of the game.

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These arent things on YOUR machine but still possible.

ii)In the larger games that I host I offer to put peoples emails into the post exec script so that the game emails them each time that the turns are processed. It could also send the turns but most people are happy to just get an email. Ive also gotten it to work with IRC, PMs, and even text message to a cell phone or buzzing a pager.

iii)There is a program which can view the gods you already made in case you forgot their settings or you want to print them out. At the moment its a linux only program, no web interface or windows version.

iiii)You can host a game without being up and running 24/7 or even available on the net to the players. Its a "play by email" option where you receive the turns, process them, then send the result files out all by email.

[Gandalf Parker]

Thats all I can think of for now. I might update it later.

Any particular option there you want more info on?

[lch]

Please elaborate point D), replacing the music with your own one. I identified that the music in Dominions uses some form of µ-law / A-law codec and I even managed to play it with some software, but it sounded distorted because what Dom3 uses might be differing from the standard specs.

Also, I want to see how many icons you have on your desktop. Starting Dominions by clicking? On icons? Never done that.

[Gandalf Parker]

The sox program I have on linux will create them. Im going to see if Johan will give us some specs on the actual settings to use in conversions.

Never done that? You dont have a desktop icon for Dom3? What OS are you? I actually have multiple desktops. Each of them have 3 or 4 dom icons and a folder going directly to the Dom3 directory where I tend to collect lots of links to the game. I think I have about a dozen on one of them. My old Dom2 folder had a couple of dozen. Some of them ran dom in different directorys so I could keep my map projects seperate from my mod projects and seperate from my solo games which ran in a different directory than my mp games. That way I could keep all my gods straight.

Anyway, in windows you can go to your dom3 directory and right-click the dom3 executable, then select "create shortcut". Right clicking that shows you the properties which lets you add switches after the command to start the game. And there are two pages of switches you can put there.

[tibbs]

Lots of useful info Gandalf. Thanks.

Where can I obtain the MP game turn status monitor? I heard there was one for Dom2 but wasn't aware it was available for Dom3? And is it available for Windows?

Thanks,
Chris

[Gandalf Parker]

Its a Windows thing. Its mentioned here..
Tools and Tutorials

[lch]

tibbs said:
Where can I obtain the MP game turn status monitor? I heard there was one for Dom2 but wasn't aware it was available for Dom3? And is it available for Windows?

Have a look at the Dom3 status monitor thread. You need the .NET Framework (or was it 2.0?) or alternatively Mono installed. Use the version that I compiled (as it is newer and 3.08 compatible) and tell me what bugs are left (I know there are a couple) and how to reproduce them and I'll fix them.

Gandalf's description was a little bit misleading, maybe: You can see the turn status from multiple servers, but only one by one, one after another. If you want to see a summary for all the games that you're in, like I loosely implemented for myself to keep track of things, then nag around in the thread about it.