NOTE - this is as raw as it gets!!! Be Warned! this is my most inner workings on display..be kind!!
i havent spellchecked it. formatted it. re-read it in much detail..just skimmed through to highlight the dates, really.
if anything looks, reads or sounds funny, odd, offensive (i dont see why that should be tbh!), or anything else, tis best you treat it with a large pinch of salt
i wrote this as i went so its going to be wrong in places, innacurate for the most part, and so on...
BUT, it may reveal my mad inner workings and provide general amusement and/ or interest on that level.
its been copied and pasted straight from notepad, hence the sometimes strange smilies, and odd format.
i dont think ill repeat this process in the future though...
for Map No.7 - Czar Star.
Map Notes My personal ramblings Feel free to read according to your level of interest or boredom, whichever fades first! this is map no.6, started on 16th august 2010.
ive just started and right now im playing with flower and mine grow times,
and their min and max speeds, etc, in the Globals section.
my first thought is to make the grow times longer but the move speed quicker.
so im trying to tune that in the Globals.
next ill probably make a few more roids to start testing a second enemy,
in addition to the greys and 'enemy 2'.
this map will have 2 enemy factions AND the grey's to fight.
making 3 in total. im hoping the AI will do well...
Aug 29th or so...
adding some more roids. and the 2nd enemy. which should prove to be fun.
DONT FORGET TO TWEAK THE STARTING POS. FROM TESTING SETUP. IE, CHANGE
CLOSEST ROID PLAYERS TO GREYS, THEN ENEMIES AFTER THESE FIRST 'GREY' DISCOVERY ROIDS
might try and design a star-shape level so hopefully the different
coloured roids will twinkle away to themselves as you destory them...
need to keep adding now and get each new roid in the right place, then will need to
tweak numbers, positions, code behaviour?, radii, etc
Aug 29th...
added few more roids. experimenting with placement, send dist., aesthetic look of layout, also core energies are important...
getting mine and flower grow times and speeds closer to how i want them...
still unsure about to arrange the 2 enemies, plus greys, into suitable areas for good combat. but that will
come when all roids are in..
**
PLEASE NOTE ** THIS HAS NOW BEEN SPLIT UP INTO 2 MAPS ** ONE NAMED vanilla (unreleased) AND THE OTHER NAMED, FOR NOW, Czar Star (EDIT, this has since changed)
**
THIS WILL NOW CONTINUE AS THE MAIN MAP, NOW MAP NO.7.
Sept.23rd 2010, and the next step is to start populating the world with roids...
I have a vague design in my head before i start this of a rough direction/ plan of where i want the roids. but what kind, size,
distance, faction, etc, i have no idea yet. that will pan out as i go...
Oct.13th 2010 Hvae done a fair few things since last update. ive substantially populated with roids, working on the NE Regions and the 'connectors'
with the West. Next is South Region which i have only just thought of in terms of rough layout, etc.
theres still many tweakings to be made with distances, stats, etc, not to mention co-ordinates...
its important to note that during making this map, Alex, Rudolf + Co. released v2.06 - susbstantial improvements abound!
it plays a lot quicker, sleeker and the AI is slightly better. (still more to go on that i feel, but it is much better now)
v2.06, as i understand it as of today, is a prelude to a major update/ release thats in the works, but mainly for the PlayStation Network.
so hopefully there will be many more tweaks, developer-side, to improve things further.
as a result, my map now plays rather differently and it's an interesting challenge to figure what the best tweaks are... but thats all part of the game
So, ive finished the basics of 2 of the 3 regions i had initially planned. the south side is now on the agenda. but i may alter the overall
design to be less like a 3-pronged star-like shape, to be a slightly pincer-like shape with a circular southern region, kind of like
a picture of devil horns atop a headband of ring! (thats the closest image i can think of!)
this is because i want to have a certain flow to the game, so seedlings can fly around and populate and provide a greater threat.
thats the idea anyway...
ps this map has had many name changes- started life as 'hermes', then 'ipica', then 'centruum', and now im on to 'Czar Star'...
Oct 17th I've been concentrating on making the mine a little better. I feel that with the settings as they are now, this level has an excellent
feeling of weight and impact with the mine/ flowers. Much better balance between them and seedlings imo.
Oct 22nd.7pm!
playing through it many times now.. i like the lead in roids. the gentle but intriguing curves and lines of the map, the revealing of the map piece by piece..
its nearing some sort of completion. Im wrestling with the dilemna of whether or not to add a few more roids to the north to help with greater
seedling flow between the enemies. i think it would be better to have greater flow- back and forth kind of thing- between each tustling force...
but i havent done so yet, probably bcos of general laziness, but something else niggles me to not add them yet..
... shall i copy Annikk's AI code for the other enemy as well so there are 2 enemies with the AI code
theres a thought...
the mine ratios are taking much fine tuning. i like it... its tedious
but all part of the fun...
Oct 26th..
added 4 or 5 more northern roids to aid in movement and flow of seedlings.
haha! they force you to retreat again and again!! im really very pleased with this right now...
...ive just finished my first run through in the current setup.(its now 8.30pm, to get really detailed) and as above, theres a fantastic beginning to the level. nice lead in and good battling for the first 15 mins or so...
but then once that balance shifts, once you cross that threshold of control in the central area,
the game becomes just a little too easy for my personal taste. im going to tweak it so that it is
a little harder in the later game and not just in the early game.
that will be worth it i think...
hm...
... i still havent copied annikk's AI for the other enemy... perhaps a tester of that setup is in order...!!
testing...
testing...
... it's working.....
Nov 5th. test run through. steamrolled it a bit too much. needs tweaking. ill lower very slightly some seedling values and things,
but im also testing a brainwave of an idea of changing the so-called 'czar star' from Grey's (0), to Enemy 2 (3)!! im hoping it
will prove interesting....
also edited slightly all roid seedling counts. im trying a little back to the old-skool with a lower seedling count on start up
i thought it would be better than trying to subtly push a harder, faster kind of tactic. the newer AI does that for me to a better degree now
so i figure i can try this setup instead...
Nov 7th. tweaked a couple of roids to help join the West (3) with the central (2,etc) and rest of map. distances/ radius' weren't right.
still need to play with the seed numbers a bit - player cant break out into the main thrust of the action...
is that a good thing?!
first full run through of newest settings. fine tuning the mine power/ explosion radius and seed counts.
otherwise going ok.
i have one final thought for a roid....
Dec 22nd Big changes! As of today I am currently testing the implementation of 2 big pieces of coding...
Firstly, the long-awaited (for me at least) Pilchard's rallypoint code. It wouldn't work for me when it was first released and
i had been waiting ever since for an upodated version. So, now, i have Version 2. Let's see how it performs...
Secondly, Annikk.exe's brand spanking new Infected AI V2.
I have added that in with the old V1,
a different one for each of the 2 main enemies (im not counting the Greys here).
So, im expecting big things with these 2 massively game-changing elements.
Not to mention the general overhaul of the game code itself from a little while back.
because of this new AI i am testing the necessity of having any Globals for AI behaviour? is it needed now?
I'm anticipating a few things..
1-that some possibly quite major tweaks will be in order, which will set back any release date by some margin.
i expect the AI to completely alter the way the middle game is played. the start is still the start, but once the player
gets into the middle region, it may get extremely tough indeed! we'll see...
EDIT - hah! nailed that one, right on the money!
2- subtler tweaks with regard to seedling counts, starter trees, etc in lieu of the ability to establish rallypoints,
and thus make the game (possibly) quicker to play.
EDIT - hasnt worked out this time...
3- unforseen elements... these are, erm, unforseen...
and i think a name change will be in order for the final release... hmm...??
Well, first test run.. CRASHED! immediately after the 2nd welcome box, explaining how to use the rallypoints, it freezes.
OK...
i have discovered that Annikk's new v2 code works fine and the crash seems to be something else.
the new AI has done away with any need to copy the whole AI for different enemies so thats one big bloody blessing!
Next is the addition of the improved version of Pilchard's Rallypoint V2 code...
EDIT - i removed the 2nd part of the rallying code and the game doesnt crash. i have the grey slider bar ingame, which obviously
won't work, but it's something in the long, per asteroid code that's doing it.
AT THIS POINT ID LIKE TO SAY ONCE AGAIN
that i am eternally grateful to the efforts of the more capable coders.
you know who you are..
for someone like myself who knows quite literally nothing, all this dense, complicated
code is just mind-boggling and all i can do is take their genius and hopefully
weld a coherent map out of it.
So, thanks yet again to you good people for literally making anything possible at all
Dec 23rd first run through, minus the updated rallypoint code.
firstly, the whole game runs a lot quicker. this is due mainly i think to the updated game as a whole. very nice.
second, the AIv2, in the current setup, doesnt seem to be doing anything! perhaps i should up the seedling counts somewhat and see...
i think im going to need to add more roids to enable greater movement and therefore a tougher game. i want this map to be
... BIG!
Dec 26th problem, as pointed out by annikk was that i had multiple WhileGameRunning loops, with multiple 'Ends'
that was causing the code after each End to not work properly. In addition, his AIv2 code was outside
the last 'End' and so wasn't kicking in...
so now the whole thing is in one While loop and works as it should.
Also, the rallypoint code now works too, for the same reasons...
EDIT - although the level works ok with the rally code in place, im having trouble using it?!
Im now in the process of trying my level, really, for the first time, as it should be played
the AI is already looking fiendish..
Need more roids... this must be more epic and concentrated in the middle/ Central Region. perhaps alter the player's start approach to be either;
more split either side of the Czar Star, or to come in and battle for it... hmm... not sure about the latter as it
would require the enemies being closer to the player at the start (maybe!?).
investigate...
right, annikk has again seen to my many problems and sorted them. i guess he has special powers or something!
1st-i was using 'coroutineyield' at the end of my greeting message code which was giving me the problem of
a repeating greeting ingame which made it unplayable. he changed it to 'end' and it works.
2nd-he thought it better to have Pilchard's rally code in between the LevelSetup and LevelLogic functions
EDIT- found out why..
3rd- he has now, because of sorting issue no.1 above, been able to use one single While loop for the whole of LevelLogic...
...which is good.
NOW - i will play my level properly before editing its properties - more roids, seed counts, etc...
eeesh!!
Dec.30th Annikk released AIv2.2 - have had to increase mine explosion radius to accommodate for his massively large swarming enemies
now my thinking is that a mine should have a large radial blast that inflicts some decent misery on the enemy who dares to attack.
this seems fair
have added 6 or 7 more roids in the SOUTH section to add another route into the System to the east and not a simple funnel
into the west side of the Czar Star.
Now, i MUST test this AI fully...
the AI is pure evil.
i keep reducing the number of seeds the enemy starts with and they just keep coming...in their 100's...
----
BELOW recounts my first proper game. step by step...
this is the first time since discovering the game that i play with real fear about the enemy's abilities.
you get a real sense of impending decimation. every click and every tree you plant and move you make will have consequences.
this AIv2 0.2 is something else!!!
have taken control of the czar star for the first time. this is test no.5!! i have reduced the enemy's starting seed count to a total of
60 per faction. and we reach the Czar at the same time! its a truly mammoth task...
BUT, i now hold it...
with 500 seedlings, 1 mine and an inbound flower to plant! the North East enemy roid has 375seedlings circling it, menacingly!
the West enemy is struggling slightly more than the NE enemy. they are obviously tussling greatly out of my field of vision.
NE enemy now has 500seedlings waiting to my NE. the West enemy is gaining ground on the NE enemy.
exciting stuff...im bolstering the Czar all the time...
first attack - my 800 vs West's 150-200...i win, left with 600.lost mine. flower still inbound.
West attacking my weak weaterly roid left unguarded with more than 350seeds. West also gaining much ground in main map.
taken. they march on to my 2 lower roids. now within 2 of my starter roids.
mines need to be more powerful...there just too many of them!
Czar under attack again from West. defending with 750 vs 2 waves of 150each. holding.
have lost 3 roids in the process. defending 1 roid from starter to the west side..
Czar down to 650...still battling...
3rd go from West at czar. czar down to 650 again. NE still gaining with nearly 700 on his main NE roid. if he chooses to attack, im done for.
Czar holds with 650left. reinforcing...
the end is nigh. too much to do and the enemy doesnt stop coming. theres just NO let up!!
i attack with all my czar seeds. 550 total to main West roid...lost them all. he has too many reinforcements and i too few...
ARGH!! too epic... need more starting seeds to help get the player into the game slightly earlier...
theres just SO much to do all the time. its utterly relentless...
Well, NE has 1000seeds waiting and waiting. West has 700 on my western doorstep and my czar star is nearly empty of seeds...
ive battled hard but theres just too many of 'em!
whenever NE decides to use his now 1200seeds.. that will be the end. im still in this, but only ONLY just..
just discovered some radius issues with some NE roids. needs to be increased to allow greater movement.
yes, some roids had missed a whole 0 on the end of the radius!oops! this will change things dramatically now ive increased them.
czar star has fallen. lost half my roid collection.
ill quit now but this has taken about 1hr10mins, for reference purposes
my conclusion is that-
the AI is ridiculous!
------
Jan 1st 2011!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY...
tweaked some random values such as send dist's, positioning, etc. also upped mine's power and detection radius..
a little better now when used en masse and with seeds.
played through whole game today after reducing the AI's starting seed count to something more managable!and i won fairly easily. altho my win
message doesnt pop up/ work
so i'll up the seed count by 5 at a time and see how i do. it doesnt sound like much, but it will change things a lot.
i am, although it probably wont happen, toying with the idea of changing the players start position again. hmm...
EDIT - hasnt happened yet...
definitely reaching the end though. not much longer now till the big release
fit for a name change? not sure... im thinking 'diablo' as the AI provided muchos trouble and constant battling..
current seed count at start of play is- Enemy 2, 75; Enemy 3, 75; Player, 105 - need to test with tese settings first...
EDIT - values changed slightly. NE enemy has 5 fewer seedlings at start than West.
EDIT- changed again. but cant remember how...(so many changes!)
Jan 2nd updated to AIv2.3
Jan 6th tested by annikk. feedback to downgrade some of the lesser roids values in keeping with roid size. done.
slight tweak for Global Grey's values.
final testing before release...
removed rallycode for now....
Jan 9th. final testing...
game 1 - defeat. NE took czar star with 1000seeds before id even got to the main West roid!
game 2 - West AI battles much more into middle. NE AI doesnt dominate like before.
this does lead to, however, much harder progression..
so. im going to add 1 more roid. a big one. to be discovered and utilised accordingly...
much testing being done. added 1 more big roid but kept speed lowish so it takes time for those powerful
seeds to come into play. but they are there and useful.
2nd. ive upped the mine values a bit more. just to be a bit more present against all those damn seeds!
3rd. its turning to a well balanced war in there...i hope it plays this well for everyone.
ARGH! still died..i was doing so well.
it seems there is a VERY fine line for when you choose to enter the main war. trying to take and hold the main West roid
as well as the Czar Star...is VERY HARD if your timing isnt perfect. i think its ready...
final name change to what is most suited.... Montezuma's Revenge.
Jan 10th...decreased some more enemy values slightly.
changed a few more roids to 0 on game start.
upped very slightly 2 of the player's roids' speed stats.
increased mine detection radius yet again. it really is necessary i assure you
...??!!
im tired!
ive reached the point where im tweaking and tweaking and tweaking and i cant win!!
its making me insane with joy..
if anyone can complete this...ill give them a medal.
it will be released tomorrow... come what may.
ive tried so many time to defeat annikk's ridiculous AI... and.. i fail each and every time.
i love what this level has become, and i even have plans for an extension...
but... i think people will enjoy its craziness!
a challenge it certainly is
THE
END
