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all the talk around the remake

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BrodieBrodie
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Postby BrodieBrodie » Fri Nov 16, 2007 2:52 pm

thanx for the input,
1. i have to implement the basic game structure at an early stage. this may or may not have efs features. eg.. the resources and structures.
2. good idea. point taken.
3. i/o files will be a basic set up for the beta testers. these are likely to disappear in the final cut. the reason the input files where so useful in efs was that the original game was evidently not fully tested before marketing. Once the game has the right adjustments, if changes want to be made, these can be radical in the c files
Last edited by BrodieBrodie on Sat Nov 17, 2007 1:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby BrodieBrodie » Fri Nov 16, 2007 4:19 pm

Ad-infinitum will not have scepters. voting will be by signet ring. these singnet rings must be worn by nobles.

the ranking signet rings are:

1 vote: knight
2 votes: baron
3 votes: Count
4 votes: marquis
5 votes: Duke
6 votes: papal ring
6 votes: royal prince (lost deep in alien space)
7 votes: emperor (held in royal palace)

the houses have the following signet rings:

Green: 1xBaron, 4xknights
blue: 1x Duke, 1xKnight
Red: 1xMarquise, 2xKnight
yellow: 1xCount, 3x Knights
Orange:1xCount, 1xBaron,1xKnight

the guild has 3xBaron
some neutrals have signets, these will be low ranking (baron, knight)

naturally, nobles can be killed and their signets can change hands. But a signet must be worn by a noble to gain the voting rights. And only one signet can be worn at a time by a noble
Last edited by BrodieBrodie on Fri Nov 16, 2007 5:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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guild/church

Postby BrodieBrodie » Fri Nov 16, 2007 4:57 pm

churches will always be controlled by the church.
in order to control (change the churches sect), players will have to place priests in the church. The church's sect will be that that has the most priests of that sect. Priests of other sects can not be killed/removed but must be outnumbered. if the maximum number of priests is equal to another, the sect of that church will be none, it is said to be in transition. Priests are expensive unites to build. note: spies who are priests can change sect once he has been lodged in the church, best to do this once the player is using his majority to declare himself emperor, and give them a nasty surprise.

planet will have one church, except the capital that will have 5 churches. Each of these churches represents one vote to the electoral collage within the church (for determining which sect is pope), regardless of planet population.

trader units are needed to collect the profits from taxes, these units must be placed in the planets marketplace/business district. The guild will also be able to place traders in this hex. other house's traders may be killed; but a house who is about to lose a business district may give his trader units to the guild just to annoy the invading player. Spies who are traders can sneak off taxes to their true lord, they may also recruit other spies in the populace (using money to corrupt).

in order to collect taxes one will not need to control the palace, but one needs at least one trader in the marketplace. The palace is used to control laws and the populace.

the marketplace represents 100% profit from tax. if one trader is in the marketplace, one collects the 100%; if two are in the marketplace each trader collects 50% taxes, each of these two 50%'s goes to the faction controlling the trader....etc. It is possible to pass laws against the Guilds profits, but this will anger the Guild. This anger will not cause military conflict but the guild will use its 6 votes* (3 barons) to vote for the player who is must favorable to its trading power.

* each merchant baron votes for various trade advantages, this may or may not be one player. 1st Merchant Baron uses his 2 votes to vote for player that least taxes guild transactions; 2nd baron votes for the player who has spent the most on guild goods; 3rd baron votes for player who's worlds give the guild the most profit in marketplaces.
Last edited by BrodieBrodie on Thu Nov 22, 2007 5:40 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Postby domingo » Fri Nov 16, 2007 4:57 pm

BrodieBrodie wrote:3. i/o files will be a basic set up for the beta testers. these are likely to disappear in the final cut. the reason the input files where so useful in efs was that the original game was evidently not fully tested before marketing. Once the game has the right adjustments, if changes want to be made, these can be radical in the c files.

Then the game you will create won't be moddable. If I were you, I'd keep it. Maybe adjust it to have one-file 'mods'.

Most successful games keeps on going because they are highly moddable.

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modable

Postby BrodieBrodie » Fri Nov 16, 2007 5:34 pm

yes i understand, but i feel more will be gained from finding the proper balance in the beta testing. It is important that adjustments are not just made in input files, but that these are further integrated by a programmer for the artificial intelligence. Certain things will be adjustable, i.e the aliens being strong/medium/weak as this can be easily integrated; but take a simple adjustment on the gem resources, if gems are more common
than usual this will effect the artificial intelligence, the guild will play badly in attempting to control these resources, the other computer players will overestimate the resources value etc. If the attack ratings of a tank are adjusted, these may seem simple but once again the ai will be at a loss. Programming a varying artificial intelligence is more than i am capable of.

but a huge advantage is having the c files, programmers will be able to make adjustments and the repercussions ad lib. Imagine you had the original c (or other) files of EFS, now you can see the amazing possibilities. Even if you are not a programmer, there will be bound to be somebody who has the skill and shares your vision.
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Noble Skills

Postby BrodieBrodie » Sat Nov 17, 2007 1:15 pm

draft notes of the skills of house's nobles (each house has 5 nobles), each noble has a special unique skill, {sub-note: skills are designed to give each house a separate atmosphere} :-

blue {leader/popular faction, ie House Artreides in Dune}
1. Charisma (General)
2. Trainer (General)
3. Admiral (Space)
4. Population growth (Palace)
5. Citizen defense (Palace)

Red {military faction}
1. Jump troops (Captain)
2. Heavy troop (tech)
3. Tactics (General
4. Strategy (General)
5. Bazooka troops (captain)

Yellow {Religious faction}
1. Fanatic (captain)
2. food bonus (Palace)
3. Priest (tech)
4. Petitioner
5. Converter (Captain)

Green {spy & industrial faction ie House Harkonen in Dune}
1. Spy (tech)
2. Stealth (Captain)
3. Bonus energy (Palace)
4. bonus mines (Palace)
5. Forced labor (Palace)

Orange {trading faction}
1. Trader (tech)
2. bonus tax (palace)
3. builder (factory)
4. haggler (trade bonus guild)
5. Wealthy (income bonus)

(palace) skill used if noble is the planets governor and in palace.
(general) bonus skill given to each captain on world if noble is the assigned military General.
(captain) bonus given to each of the troops under nobles command if he is assigned as a captain.
(tech) bonus tech given, but can only produce/train the units/hardware if the the noble is in a university for Spy/trader/priest, or factory for heavy troop, and only in that university/factory and not another.
(space) bonus to all ships in a group.

Petitioner- this noble may demand the church ban/allow one tech. this tech may not be a common tech (eg spy, basic tank, priest, transport ship), but an uncommon to very rare tech. the effects are the same for all players (ie tech banned for all, tech allowed for all). the petition costs a small fee. The petitioner may at any stage change the petition (the fee will steadily grow). eg. petitioner banns the dreadnought tech, later she banns Shock Troops, when she does this, dreadnoughts tech becomes unbanned; later she petitions against a church ban on hover tanks, this tech becomes legal for all, and the old petition banning dreadnoughts is now lifted....etc

forced labor- each town hex generates one extra working unit (may only be used for labor and not military.

converter- has a chance of enlisting apposing units who's moral is low

builder- has a random chance of building a random unit in a factory. this unit is totally random regardless of the techs known. a certain amount of recourses will be used before the creation to 'experiment'. the creation may fail, then the resources are used regardless.

fanatic- units under this noble ignore all moral.

Citizen defense- the worker population resists in town/mines/wells. This resistance is limited (low moral), but will be very irritable for an invader and seriously slow an attack down.
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time line

Postby BrodieBrodie » Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:16 pm

the ad-infinitum historic:

notes on guild and republic.

when the game starts, all unaligned factions/planets are defines as neutrals. this means that instead of attacking, players can trade/place merchants in their towns etc.

Once half the total number of neutral worlds are captured by the main houses the remaining neutrals will become rebels. This change is a declaration of war against all the houses (and church). a sort of revolution "a la francaises.". the rebels will build armies, combine their resources/techs etc and actively attack players, and churches (judged to be corrupt). They will however be to disorganized to create new industry etc (build structures such as new factories), but will rely on what they already have (or capture). they will be none to good at raiding other worlds (expansion), but prefer helping each other (support).

now one comes to the crux of the matter, the guild. naturally the guild is behind the rebels, but will they join them and declare the republic? The guild is ambitious but not stupid. They will first calculate their chances before running headlong into open rebellion. Their support to the rebels will be quite open, but technically not illegal, they have an ancient contract with the empirium to supply ALL human planets. if they chose to trade at a suspicious loss with the rebels this is their business. One factor that is important to their declaring a republic is their trading benefits with the main houses; if the houses are sidelining the guild, taking their profits etc...the guild is likely to believe they have nothing to lose, that now is their chance, and openly declare the republic.

Once the republic is declared, all surviving rebel words and all guild worlds and all guild holdings will become one faction, The Republic. All the republic's techs and resources will be pooled. its tactic will be aggressive and expansionist, with huge military and industrial funding by the ex guild resources. Naturally the guild will have been preparing all through the beginning part of the game, building on 3 worlds - huge industrial/population complexes, a high tech army, and a powerful fleet. These worlds are close to the Capital and the guild will not hesitate to attack the Capital early, with a huge prepared force. Naturally all hell will break lose. Although the republic will destroy churches and have no sect, most of the church sects will be strangely inactive to this revolution. this is not as bizarre as all that, the situation is now civil war on a grand scale, a war that the church can not but help being a little responsible for and guilty of.
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Postby ssfsx17 » Sun Dec 02, 2007 10:35 am

Question about the guild:

Does the guild control ALL trade, such as in Dune, or is it more like the one in Fading Suns?
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Guild

Postby BrodieBrodie » Mon Dec 10, 2007 3:54 am

hmmm...not sure i agree with the question:
as i see it, in Dune, the guild has a monopoly on space transport, i doesn't deal much in trade (unless you consider transport to the only trade, i see trade more as financial transactions in general, not just limited to paying transport);
in EFS (comp game, not sure about the rpg) the guild buys and sells resources to players (and does loans).

in Ad-Infinitum, the guilds roll is more involved in all sectors that make money:

it places merchants in players and neutral cities to collect taxes (trade cuts)

it sells/buys from/to players and neutrals (not just resources but also hardware, anything from troop armor to the latest space ships).

it rents techs from/to players and neutrals.

it tries to monopolize hyperspace fuel mines by actively conquering (or buying/renting) these from neutrals.

it transports players goods/hardware/troops/personnel (for a fee) between worlds (this is the best way to move spies), no, it does not have a monopoly on space travel.

it may even sell its votes by auction at various stages of the game.

it may make loans.

Players may trade with the guild, with neutrals, or with other players. When i say trade, i mean all of the above. however, trading with the guild will always be a preference as 1) they offer very competitive prices; 2) players will prefer to conquer neutrals; and 3) other players are competing against them directly for the same goal.

post scriptum, I am not yet sure if the guild will get involved in spying, but if it does, it will be for financial purposes (i.e. selling its spies to other interested parties)
Last edited by BrodieBrodie on Mon Dec 10, 2007 5:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Capital

Postby BrodieBrodie » Mon Dec 10, 2007 5:08 am

notes on the rules of combat on Capital

combat is technically illegal on capital. However, as with all laws, these may be broken.

the law of non engagement is policed by the High Steward (Neutral), players may get away with attacking other players if they are not seen. What this translates to is that the High Steward will have a scattered force of randomly moving "police officers". if these officers are not about, engagement will be possible. once engagement starts, the closest police officer will rush to the seen to catch the attacking party. if the attacking party does not stop before the police arrive, he or she will be fined (level of fine depends on damage caused), and if he/she continues regardless, the High Steward will declare war on him/her (he has a powerful force on capital that will be used for this effect). If the player stops before the police arrive, an "investigation" will be launched that has a good chance of never finding (or proving) the culprit. This investigation will take time and its chances of success depend on the damage caused and type of units used in the attack. Note: certain unites will have better chance of evading detection (eg stealth trained units and snipers in town hexes), where as others will be more obvious (eg artilery, tanks). Space ship bombardment will be instantly detected and any infringement will be enforce by the High Steward's powerful orbital battle station with immediate effect.

Once a player declares himself as emperor, or the aliens land on Capital, or the Republic attacks, the High Steward will call all his police officers to barracks and use the battle station only to attack Aliens, The Republic, or in defense against attacking players. The law is technically still in place, only no longer policed...
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unit experience

Postby BrodieBrodie » Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:50 am

adjusted the notes on unites experience on page 1 hereto.
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Postby erno » Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:25 pm

Hey, in the readme.txt you call the Graphics designer. I am the one. So, what exaktly U neeed? 3D models, or som 2d renders, witch fileformat, and generally, what do U exactly need, unit design, or the cities, or...?
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graphics help

Postby BrodieBrodie » Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:26 am

hello erno,

see the file graphix of the ad-infinitum folder. this shows the basic graphics set up, BMP files, not 3D.

i will need bitmaps of planet surfaces, units, portraits, icons, menus, etc..

the best way to start is to chose a world type (eg, jungle, temp, isle, ice, lava, exotic, swamp...or invent your own world type), and do all the graphics for that world.

say you chose temp world type....
you must tell me what type of terrains and how many you may need...for example:
plain: 7 types
hill: 5 types
mount: 10 types
swamp: 4 types
ice cap: 1 type
rocky: 3 types
trees: 5 types
hill+trees: 1 type
swamp+trees: 1 type
sea shalow: 10 types animated
etc...the choice of number of types is up to the artist.

the program gives each hex a random value of 1 to 10 (will probably change this to 1 to 20 to allow seesaw type animations), these values can be assigned to the terrain diversity (eg 1-9 is plaine type A, 10 is a rare plain type B with yellow hue.)

tell me in advance which type of world you would want to tackle, how much space you need for hex types, and i'll set the program so that you only need update the BMP files.

note on trees: trees will have type diversity but also a random category, eg...
5 x terran oak type trees for one world
5 x jungle type trees for another
5 x mushroom type trees .....

note: jungle worlds do not mean the type of tree (they may have pines) but are worlds that are covered with mostly forest.

some worlds may have unique graphic features that cleverly replace normal types (eg...a rocky plain instead of forests)

within the graphix folder you should find two blank hexes, each with a varying height. this is the hex dimensions.

so are you interested? if so create an account on sourceforge.net and post future graphic questions in the ad-infinitum forum (i'll create a graphic section), as i do not think it is appropriate to use this EFS site for further technical graphics questions in ad-infinitum.
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progress report, v. ai_19_7

Postby BrodieBrodie » Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:32 am

planet generation is now fairly complete. other world types to be added, but not urgent. Roads now added and a path finder that will also be used by units.

will now turn my attention to town population...this is a key feature of ad-infinitum:

working on v. ai_19_8 that i hope to have working towns:

each town will have four "working" units. these units must be assigned to a work place...eg...farm, factory, well....but also to star port, university, palace, lab....as laborers/servants/maintenance....their military purpose is to form space ships (unskilled crew), infantry, tanks, ships (but not air force).

i will try to make the system as simple as possible, using icons that appear when the town is clicked on, showing the division professions and, where possible, also indicating the work place. a simple click and drag on the icon to the new work place will be the way to operate this system.

ie...player clicks on a town. Four icons appear: Farm, mine, factory, blank. Player clicks on the blank icon and drags it to a nearby unused factory. icons now display: Farm, mine, factory, factory. to create troopers: drag icon to barracks.

i'll work on various ways to allow quick perusal of industry activity...i.e if factory has no assigned workers, it will not have smoke from chimneys. Farms that are unmanned will have different field graphics. other, such as mines will need some kind of animation to show activity.
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Postby Kosh2 » Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:16 pm

A very interesting project BrodieBrodie. Thanks for your effort. I'll play a bit with, now downloading it


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