VCMI 0.93c - development version (r3548)

Hi,
it’s time for another development build: 0.93c. We have fixed a number of reported crashbugs. Not all of them but we are on the good track. Please check if I got all the builder dependencies in the package properly.

DOWNLOAD LINK: download.vcmi.eu/vcmi_093c.7z

Save format is not compatible with 0.93b.

Another development build (one or more) is to be expected before release, its exact timing remains to be decided.

And how will I distinguish existing bugs from new?

Generally speaking… you can’t. It is job for a programmer, not a tester. Don’t worry about duplicates.

Well, you can to some degree rely on circumstances or log message similarity but these are only hints. There can be two bugs that look the same to the tester; or a single bug causing two different crashes.

I’d advise you to just submit several “typical” crashes and then submit more only if sth catches your attention by looking different.

About features for 0.94.
So as you plan it to October, maybe someone will work on turn-off standard towns feature?
Because mod manager is only one killer feature in 0.93b.
If standard towns turning off will work, it will be great.

I see 2 easy ways to implement it now

  1. in “defaultMods.json” add options like
    "castle":true,
    “conflux”:false,
    “rampart”:true…

or

  1. just add “special” field to faction. So mod turning out castle will look like
    "core:castle":{“special”:true}

So this will need only 3 places of changing program code:

  • when In dialog of starting options, incrementally check that standard factions (1-9) are disabled, and just don’t output to user choice of turned off faction.
  • when changing randomly generated towns on map, just rerun random generation if turned-off town gets in it.
  • before starting game loop through all creatures and for creatures with turned off faction set “special” field to “true” (this step can be made in turn-off mod also).

If faction towns, objects and creatures are already placed on map by editor, just leave them be.

Don’t think this will require a super correction and testing.

What do you think of it?

PPS Another related feature (maybe better fitting to “Modding suggestions” but related to towns.
There is only one faction (neutral) that loads without “town” structure. But it will be great to have possibility to make factions that don’t have town/town screen but have creature backgrounds/alignment etc like neutral faction.
This is prevented by error detection in json files.
My suggestion is to turn off “town” absence detection.
So these factions will not appear in starting options, but will be present in game.
First idea - is to move warmachines to new faction (like “warmachines”). They have nothing to do with boars, rogues or trolls.

Can’t see how and why removing towns could become a “killer” feature.

I already explained that original towns can’t be asily removed for teh following reasons:

  • Many different game mechanics depend on particulr towns and their creatures
  • All existing maps contain some creatures from some towns and these can’t be removed.

Existing creatures and objects written on maps will stay. I propose to only not generate new creatures/towns on map when random/new week. That’s enough.

PS In HOTA feature to turn off towns for map is already discussed and decided to be done for Forge release. And VCMI is open-source, it’s strange that this is already not done (Krs tried to make standard towns as mods, but seems, it’s too hard to realize now, and needs a lot of work done on VCMI code).

And I propose to finish all missing H3 features.
waits for something to happen
Nothing? Well… Probably somebody needs to spend some time on it.

I am not interested in implementing this feature because it is much more complex than it looks like. And I’m almost sure that everyone in vcmi team shares my opinion on this subject.

  1. They never confirmed this.
  2. So what? As you said - “VCMI is not HOTA”.

Please, let’s close this subject. I don’t see anything useful coming from this discussion.

It’s nothing complex compared to realizing HMM3 functional, altrough.

Well, maybe somebody else wants to work on it.
Or someday I’ll install Linux and fix this out by myself.
So don’t see need to close this subject. This is must-have feature, I think.
If somebody doesn’t air his ideas, there is no possibility somebody will realize them.

0.93с with a lot less accidents. If only he played harder … It would be cool.

By the way, played some map.
What bothers me, that AI doesn’t buy troops in town, when my hero comes near.
I kill hero with one troglodyte, and see, that in town there is a hell lot of creatures available.
It’s the same bad thing, that was already in earlier builds.
I don’t know, has AI unlimited resources or not, but he must be improved to buy troops at first chance.
Maybe start with temporary workaround, but this must be fixed.

AI is not complete and we are all aware of that.
Just be patient and wait for proper solution. No more workarounds.

Wow…I haven’t played recently to see something like that.

AFAIK, making AI is very hard, so it will probably take some time.

If you want, we can play a map together some day, in order to bypass that obstacle of stupid AI. :wink:

I cant generate any random map - no matter what i choose.

There is no random map generator yet.

There is. Not very useful, but still. We even have separate category for it on Bugtracker ><

Its true. I noticed it back in 0.92

logical

And he ignores the city. My city. That is easy to grab. He runs several heroes of different players, and each of them ignores the city. What is very strange

With him how easy it is to play that did not even fun to play. There is no intrigue at all.

I believe that:

  1. it is necessary to give the computer the ability to see the whole map

  2. should be allowed to see the whole army of your heroes.

  3. should be given the opportunity to see all of your spells and mana, artifacts, and settings.

  4. Consider this information to maximize the benefits

  5. We must teach him to consider one more fight another round! Several moves ahead

At least that.

Yet it would be good to teach him to play in the chain. By submitting an army from one heroes to another, and so clearing the teritory. Mining gold and resources.

The very important statement to start with: AI does not cheat, as no player is allowed to cheat.

AI buys all avaliable troops at the end of each round, if only can afford.

Since 4. is certainly missing and will be missing for a long time, there’s no point to implement 2 or 3.

Easy to say, but in fact impossible to realize. This is way to complex to plan exhaustively, though we have some resonable planning already.

For now it is important to teach AI what it can’t do completely, such as:

  • Use adventure spells to move around
  • Use teleports (not easy, since they are random and unpredictable)
  • Gather needed resources and build needed buildings, all at once
  • Farm banks and other treasures
  • Manage artifacts
  • Evaluate treasures

AI partially can do that, but managing heroes seems to be very complex problem, but some cleanup here is possible. Certainly it’s not possible for AI to use chaining as human do.

AI should attack the city if it’s unguarded.

Should, but for some reason it does not always make it. Yet it’s very confusing starting hero. Sitting in the city. I now have no fun saves, but I’ve seen it many times

In my opinion, even if he is playing with cheats, but plays harder than playing as now.

And then the fair or not fair? Play so much more interesting.

That is not working at all, AI doesn’t buy anything. But at least AI is building town dwellings.

AI doesn’t attack unguarded cities usually.

PS I don’t agree with idea, that AI must not cheat, at least now. AI is not ready yet, so it’s urgent to make him at least defensive.
I propose two fixes:

  1. give AI much more resources than to human players.
  2. fix issue with not buying troops.

That’ s first priority thing. If map is explored to AI, it’s also be good, and classical (like in HMM3 you resembling).

I’ve spent probably several hundrets of hours watching AI and it does NOT sit in a city and always buy units if it can. If you claim otherwise, report it as a bug.

I think (and probably Tow agrees with me) exactly opposite. Since AI is not completely functional, there is no point to try it make it challenging yet.