Utility: Province Editor v101 - Updated

[Stryke11]

Jutetrea, I think you're doing the same thing I did before...did you intend your Tuatha Sorceress to have ALL the items you list, or just one of them, randomly? I believe the @ sign makes it random. Same with the magic. So she only gets either nature 5 or astral 1, not both. Each item has to have their own # line if you want more than one.

Ball can explain it better than I can.

[jutetrea]

Hmm,

So if I want a commander to have specific items I should separate him out via the program.. i.e. do my "main" commander, name, items, magic, bodyguards if any. Then my "thug" separately (by double clicking to remove "main" from the addition box) name, items, magic, bodyguards. Then my miscellaneous commanders as a group?

If I add items under the miscellaneous commanders (those i don't want to bother with magic, names, bodyguards) they will always be random on who gets it?

So, in the above case, If I want everyone (3 commanders) to have a skull staff, do I need to add @1 additem skullstaff or @3 additem skullstaff?

Also, say i have 1 commander. I want to add random items for all slots. leave everything blank, have it be dom select and hit submit? or have to hit submit for each item slot?

How about if I want him to just have 1 random item total?

I'm assuming the levels under the dom select are the various construction levels needed for the item? Or # of items?

On the left of the item screen:
I'm assuming =artifact filters to only show artifacts, -artifact subtracts them; but

what is considered special? the wish only items? (or event npc items?)

what are the P1, L1, P2, L2
I'm assuming P1 = path needed to create item
L1 = levels in a magic path? levels in const school?
p2 = second path to simulate a specific unit? a la E/B for blood stone?
L2 = ??

Yes, I would love the ability for an after battle report for special provinces only to show the description above the unit counts. We know they're going to do battle, as its the nature of the game, so all descriptions would need to be cheesy in that regard.

I like the splinter nation as well, but it would be much more powerful if the "kingdom" idea were ever implemented.

[jutetrea]

hmm, bugger.. I always wondered what the @ sign meant, I thought it was just simulating 6 lines of #additem. Yeah, generally when i put an item in there I want the unit to have it

For the future i like the idea of essentially "item lists" for increased replayability ... but baby steps

[Stryke11]

It would be nice if there was a way to test our creations by simulating a battle (using the dom3 program) and watch how our creations come up on the battle screen.

That way we'd easily notice flaws in the code. Like noticing they only have one of the items you wanted rather than all.

[Ballbarian]

Wow. I think that is the most questions that I have seen in one post.

I will try to answer them all, but for those who haven't stumbled upon it, there is a detailed help file in the "RanDom/SemiRandom/" directory called ReadMe.txt. It is overall, geared more towards using SemiRandom by itself, without the frontend tools, but it might save you some confusion to browse through it.

It is also very helpful to become familiar with the Dom3 map editing document from Illwinter. Of course one of the best tools is to study a couple of existing gan files that come with the program to get a general feel for the structure.

So if I want a commander to have specific items I should separate him out via the program.. i.e. do my "main" commander, name, items, magic, bodyguards if any. Then my "thug" separately (by double clicking to remove "main" from the addition box) name, items, magic, bodyguards. Then my miscellaneous commanders as a group?

That is pretty much the approach that I take.
A simple structure that I use in my own provinces is:
Code:

---

Boss Commander

  Name

  Items

  Magic

  Bodyguards

  Units



Generic Commander

  Bodyguards

  Units



Thug

  Name

  Items



Sub/Support Commander

Sub/Support Commander

Sub/Support Commander

---

If I add items under the miscellaneous commanders (those i don't want to bother with magic, names, bodyguards) they will always be random on who gets it?

Not 100% sure that I understand the question, but if you have...
Sub/Support Commander 1
Sub/Support Commander 2
Sub/Support Commander 3
#additem "Stuff"
...then Commander number 3 will receive the "Stuff".

So, in the above case, If I want everyone (3 commanders) to have a skull staff, do I need to add @1 additem skullstaff or @3 additem skullstaff?

For each of the 3 commanders to get a skull staff:
Sub/Support Commander 1
#additem "Skull Staff"
Sub/Support Commander 2
#additem "Skull Staff"
Sub/Support Commander 3
#additem "Skull Staff"

Also I want to be clear here...
If you add 1 and only 1 specific item, then the line will be:
#additem <item name>

If you want to have a chance of 1 OF 3 items, you would use:
@3 additem
<item name>
<item name>
<item name>

If you want 1 and only 1 random item from one of the item lists you would use:
@RANDOM additem <item list name>

If you want Dom3 to assign random items:
#randomequip <0-4>

Also, say i have 1 commander. I want to add random items for all slots. leave everything blank, have it be dom select and hit submit? or have to hit submit for each item slot?

Yes. Basically.
If you want to let Dom3 handle the random items, make sure that the item list is blank, select "Let Dom3 generate" from the drop down box, and select the level (0-4) from the drop down box beneath it. 0=small chance/weak items, 4=largest chance/strong items. This does not guarantee that Dom3 will fill all slots however.

If you really want to have all slots filled with a random item then you would need to submit a random item list for each slot, or use one of the @RANDOM item lists for each slot.

Note that there is a small glitch that will sometimes cause the 0-4 drop down box to not re-enable itself after an item has been removed from the the list. To kick start it, just reselect "Let Dom3 generate" again and it will reset itself.

How about if I want him to just have 1 random item total?

For just 1 random item you could use:
Code:

---

@3 additem

"Fire Sword"

"Ice Sword"

"Sword of Sharpness"



OR



@RANDOM additem 1HANDWEAPON

---

I'm assuming the levels under the dom select are the various construction levels needed for the item? Or # of items?

I think that I covered this in the previous answer. If it is still not clear, be sure to let me know and I will try to expand on it.

On the left of the item screen:
I'm assuming =artifact filters to only show artifacts, -artifact subtracts them; but

what is considered special? the wish only items? (or event npc items?)

You are correct on the =/- artifacts filter.
Specials are items that are not available through construction research, but are found on some special monsters, like Bogus's "Greenstone Armor", and "Precious".
(USE ARTIFACTS & SPECIAL ITEMS SPARINGLY OR THEY WON'T BE SPECIAL ANYMORE! )

what are the P1, L1, P2, L2
I'm assuming P1 = path needed to create item
L1 = levels in a magic path? levels in const school?
p2 = second path to simulate a specific unit? a la E/B for blood stone?
L2 = ??

You are very close.
P1 = the 1rst path needed for a mage to craft an item.
L1 = the level in that 1rst path required.
P2 = the 2nd path needed for a mage to craft an item.
L2 = the level in that 2nd path required.


I hope that helps some.

(If you make corrections to your provinces, be sure to edit the existing posts & replace the attachments. Then I can add them to the next release!)

[Ballbarian]

It would be nice if there was a way to test our creations by simulating a battle (using the dom3 program) and watch how our creations come up on the battle screen.

That way we'd easily notice flaws in the code. Like noticing they only have one of the items you wanted rather than all.

Actually the thought had crossed my mind...
Considered just making a very simple 6 province map with 1 central starting point for a human nation and 5 neighbors. Then you could edit the map file and just paste in your test batch, create the game, attack a province, and view the results.

I am stretched thin... Stryke11? How are your map making skills?

[Gandalf Parker]

Something like the mini-map battle simulator?
Battle Sim

[jutetrea]

THANKS! That helped lots.

With the quick support I can't help but add a couple more:

Is there an undead tag in the unit finder? Lifeless works, but picks up elementals and such. Am I just being blind?

Is there a way to open and edit a previous GAN file?

Sites: Killfeatures remove all previous sites, correct? If I do not add killfeatures, will manually added sites supersede randomly placed? If I manually add 2, is there still a possibility for 2 randoms to show up?

Would it be possible to add a "all" selection under Lead in the unit finder? So I can sort just by commanding ability?

What does "clear garrison" do? Remove the province population starting troops? Is that something I should have been doing with my other gans?

Going back to your previous examples if I enter 10 commanders and hit submit, it then shows up as @10 commanders. Does that mean only certain ones will show up randomly or will all 10? Same with troops?

[Ballbarian]

Something like the mini-map battle simulator?

Yep. Something very much like that Gandalf.

Hmmm... But that means that I need to create a mini-SemiRandom that will read a gan file's contents and perform the random functions to generate the sample map code...

I will have to think on this more after this round of updates is complete.

Is there an undead tag in the unit finder? Lifeless works, but picks up elementals and such. Am I just being blind?

Look under "CType" (Creature Type).
This includes:
Normal (not one of the other 4 types)
Undead
Demon
Magic Being
Animal

Is there a way to open and edit a previous GAN file?

You can't see it, but there is a "Load" button in place, however, that feature is still several versions away from being enabled at the moment.

For now, if you have already saved and then find a minor error, or something that you would like to change, just open the GAN file in a text editor and make the corrections from there. Or, when it involves something a little more complex, just pop into the province editor and create the code that you want, select it from the preview or garrison text box, use right click + copy, or CNTRL+C to copy the code and paste it into your open GAN file where appropriate.

Sites: Killfeatures remove all previous sites, correct?

Correct.

If I do not add killfeatures, will manually added sites supersede randomly placed?

I believe that if you do not use killfeatures Dom3 gets first dibs on filling those 4 slots. That means that there is a risk of your manually placed sites not having a spot to fill and they will just be ignored.

If I manually add 2, is there still a possibility for 2 randoms to show up?

That is my understanding of how it works. Except a better way to look at it is that it is possible that 2 random sites will be placed by Dom3 and (if you are lucky) 2 slots will remain for your 2 manually added sites.

Would it be possible to add a "all" selection under Lead in the unit finder? So I can sort just by commanding ability?

As it is now, the "all" is implicit. Just uncheck the "Lead" filter, and all units will be listed. There are very few units that have 0 leadership if made into a commander. (Correct me if I am mistaken on this point!)

What does "clear garrison" do? Remove the province population starting troops? Is that something I should have been doing with my other gans?

The "Clear Garrison" button is just a quick way to clean out the Commander/Units section in Step 3, as opposed to the "Clear All" button which resets EVERYTHING. "Clear All" is essentially like closing the program and restarting it again.

Usually I will create my province, preview it in Step 4, and then hit "Save and Add" when I am happy with it, and finally hit "Clear All" to start the next province project. The exception being when I have another province in mind that is very similar to the one that I just finished, and then I might just hit "Clear Garrison" and then make changes from there.

Going back to your previous examples if I enter 10 commanders and hit submit, it then shows up as @10 commanders. Does that mean only certain ones will show up randomly or will all 10? Same with troops?

If you enter 10 commanders & hit submit, you are telling the province editor to generate code that will tell SemiRandom that you want 1 of these 10 commanders (selected at random) to appear in the province when the final map file is generated.

Same with troops.
Same with ANY list in the province editor.
The key thing to look for is the "@" symbol in the generated code, which is your signal that ONE of the things in the subsequent list will appear at that spot in the final map file.

[Endoperez]

Are there lists of fire, death etc sites of varying power yet? That'd help all special provinces a lot. As an example, the great city of the undead could have two minor death sites, one major death site and one fixed death site. The names might not quite suit the city theme, but it'd allow for varying rewards.