Dawn City Beta Available

[Popek]

Haven't played a game in the 102 beta yet Hobbes so can't give any new finds yet.

 

However I spent some time dabbling with the mapmaker and came up with a few buildings.

 

a few questions.

 

do 2x1's work ok?

 

sweet mercy how did you manage to do 2x2x10's without your browser just dying. I did a 2x2x6 and load the .map took ages.

 

Now I'm very unsavvy when it comes to digging into all the files and organizing them appropriately. So moving from this step to actually getting my creations into a playable battlefield is something of a challenge to me. So any help with that would be appreciated to.

 

If this warrants it's own thread I'll do so, but for the time being i think it applies here.

 

These tiles look gorgeous with a little trickery. Broken bushes make for nice rooftop hanging gardens.

 

-image removed, was distracting from this thread-

Edited April 28, 2007 by Popek

[Hobbes]

do 2x1's work ok?

 

Yes

sweet mercy how did you manage to do 2x2x10's without your browser just dying. I did a 2x2x6 and load the .map took ages.

 

I am not using Nachtwolf's map editor at this stage but the older Daishiva's Map View, that might explain it (or your system might just be a little slow). The problem with using it is that you need to have the terrain files on the old format (.mcd, .pck, .tab) instead of a single .lua file to define the terrains. It might be a bit complicated to use the old format though.

 

Now I'm very unsavvy when it comes to digging into all the files and organizing them appropriately. So moving from this step to actually getting my creations into a playable battlefield is something of a challenge to me. So any help with that would be appreciated to.

 

A place to start is the map guide, I've attached it to this post. It badly needs a revision because it hasn't been updated to reflect the latest changes (namely the new .lua file formats for the tiles and maps) but it has a section concerning how to create terrains for UFO2000). I'll upload it to the UFO2000 wiki and see if I can start working on updating it.

 

These tiles look gorgeous with a little trickery. Broken bushes make for nice rooftop hanging gardens.

 

My advice would be to stick to basic, simple designs when creating buildings. Rooms with only a few tiles area usually tend to frustrate players with the maps because of the complexity.

newmaps.txt

[bamb]

Zazam.

The map editing wiki entry.

http://ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Custo...s_%28UFO2000%29

 

Edit: I'm still working on it!

Edited April 25, 2007 by bamb

[Exo2000]

Haven't played a game in the 102 beta yet Hobbes so can't give any new finds yet.

 

However I spent some time dabbling with the mapmaker and came up with a few buildings.

 

 

a few questions.

 

do 2x1's work ok?

 

sweet mercy how did you manage to do 2x2x10's without your browser just dying. I did a 2x2x6 and load the .map took ages.

 

Now I'm very unsavvy when it comes to digging into all the files and organizing them appropriately. So moving from this step to actually getting my creations into a playable battlefield is something of a challenge to me. So any help with that would be appreciated to.

 

If this warrants it's own thread I'll do so, but for the time being i think it applies here.

 

These tiles look gorgeous with a little trickery. Broken bushes make for nice rooftop hanging gardens.

 

That's a pretty neat little house, actually. I like it.

[Sinofdamnation]

Haven't played a game in the 102 beta yet Hobbes so can't give any new finds yet.

 

However I spent some time dabbling with the mapmaker and came up with a few buildings.

 

<--- animated

 

a few questions.

 

do 2x1's work ok?

 

sweet mercy how did you manage to do 2x2x10's without your browser just dying. I did a 2x2x6 and load the .map took ages.

 

Now I'm very unsavvy when it comes to digging into all the files and organizing them appropriately. So moving from this step to actually getting my creations into a playable battlefield is something of a challenge to me. So any help with that would be appreciated to.

 

If this warrants it's own thread I'll do so, but for the time being i think it applies here.

 

These tiles look gorgeous with a little trickery. Broken bushes make for nice rooftop hanging gardens.

 

That's a pretty neat little house, actually. I like it.

 

me too, I wouldn't mind living in something like that IRL

And the tileset is very cool too.

[Popek]

bug found.

 

Wooden fences applied to the 'right' wall when broken are not passable to foot traffic.

the 'left' wall broken wood fences are fine.

 

i just addded

 

			TU_Walk = 4,
		TU_Fly = 4,
		TU_Slide = 4,

 

to the version we're using for burbs to tile 35 "Wood fence wreck N"

Edited July 9, 2007 by Popek

[Popek]

any progress news on the set?

[Hobbes]

any progress news on the set?

 

Almost turning from moribund to dead. Like UFO2000. And version 103 has been uploaded

Edited July 10, 2007 by Hobbes

[nachtwolf]

any progress news on the set?

 

Almost turning from moribund to dead.

 

Do you need tiles?

[Hobbes]

Do you need tiles?

 

Yup

[Popek]

any progress news on the set?

 

Almost turning from moribund to dead. Like UFO2000. And version 103 has been uploaded

 

 

that's so grim

[Hobbes]

any progress news on the set?

 

Almost turning from moribund to dead. Like UFO2000. And version 103 has been uploaded

 

that's so grim

 

Is version 103 that bad?

Edited July 10, 2007 by Hobbes

[Popek]

any progress news on the set?

 

Almost turning from moribund to dead. Like UFO2000. And version 103 has been uploaded

 

that's so grim

 

Is version 103 that bad?

 

meant in regards to the mortum comment, especially concerning ufo2k

 

haven't given 103 a whirl , doin' so now.

[Popek]

took a few spins through 103. I like the new H shapped office building, and large scrapyard area. Hope to see the offices furnished , they still feel like death traps right now

 

feels strange to me after working with those tiles for so long, we definitely have a different style of gameplay we're after.

I dig the tight alleys and 2 floors per floor of the buildings. Not so much a fan of the squareness, but thats a personal opionion. I couldn't find any standout bugs/issues, tried every ladder/staircase I could, shot lots of walls. Glad to see the broken fence is passable... not much else I can say at this point, nice work.

 

I'd be keen on doing some beta runs with you if we can ever coordinate such a thing.

[Hobbes]

took a few spins through 103. I like the new H shapped office building, and large scrapyard area. Hope to see the offices furnished , they still feel like death traps right now

 

feels strange to me after working with those tiles for so long, we definitely have a different style of gameplay we're after.

I dig the tight alleys and 2 floors per floor of the buildings. Not so much a fan of the squareness, but thats a personal opionion. I couldn't find any standout bugs/issues, tried every ladder/staircase I could, shot lots of walls. Glad to see the broken fence is passable... not much else I can say at this point, nice work.

 

I'd be keen on doing some beta runs with you if we can ever coordinate such a thing.

 

I like the type of gameplay that your Burbs are designed to but I am really aiming for a different experience for Dawn City.

I've been playing several games of Apocalypse on the past months after not playing the game for years (it was my first X-COM game but my favorite is UFO) and I took the ideas of the 2 level floors from it.

 

Lets see if we need in the server one of these days. I also want to try Burbs online.

Edited July 13, 2007 by Hobbes

[bamb]

any progress news on the set?

 

Almost turning from moribund to dead.

 

Do you need tiles?

 

Office tables and computers and chairs? That would rock! Flat panel displays so it'd look contemporary.

And cubicle walls (quite low health). At such height you can't directly see over? Or two sets?

 

It's easy since it's modular and real offices are like that too.

 

Perhaps venetian blinds for the windows too.

[Popek]

any progress news on the set?

 

Almost turning from moribund to dead.

 

Do you need tiles?

 

Office tables and computers and chairs? That would rock! Flat panel displays so it'd look contemporary.

And cubicle walls (quite low health). At such height you can't directly see over? Or two sets?

 

It's easy since it's modular and real offices are like that too.

 

Perhaps venetian blinds for the windows too.

 

 

and the water cooler by the photocopying machine

[Hobbes]

Office tables and computers and chairs? That would rock! Flat panel displays so it'd look contemporary.

And cubicle walls (quite low health). At such height you can't directly see over? Or two sets?

 

It's easy since it's modular and real offices are like that too.

 

Perhaps venetian blinds for the windows too.

 

 

and the water cooler by the photocopying machine

 

The candy machine by the corridor. Billboards on the walls.

[Kraplax]

Guys, that's just wonderful job! U've made very interesting map =)

I really apreciate your job. I suppose it would be the right thing to make an underground floor (severs and tunnels network) as it was already suggested. Hope your map will be included in the next release, which is i also hope, will be very soon =)

[hurz]

Thank you for this beautiful map. Gameplay works so far, except for one stairs continuity bug making an upper floor reachable only for flying units; see screenshot.

[Kraplax]

Hey, good work, hurz!

I've also noticed that, but didn't paid any attention... At foirst glance i just thought there should be a lift or something like that in that gray "box". It was my network maych, so i didn't want to think much about that, and since none of me and my opponent likes to climb too high we just missed that bug. Sharp eyes yuo've got =)

[hurz]

Another minor hickup: those wooden inserts (maybe former window frames) in the brickwalled buildings take an insane amount of laser fire. The brickwalls themselves and the steel doors are destroyed far more easily (read: ~50 shots and more..) than them. This of course is a non-issue for now, if you did not finetune the hitpoints yet.

 

Kraplax: stairs problems seem to pursue me, so i keep an extra eye on them.

[Popek]

walls don't lose life per hit, they have an armour rating that shrugs off any damage if it is not high enough (like Armour in regular Xcom functions). So while it seems it takes a 'lot of hits' in reality you just aren't using a strong enough weapon.

 

However yes, I agreed the wooden sections were far more resistant to damage than brick walls. In the burbs tileset I've changed brick to have 90 armour so it becomes rather potent for cover purposes. This makes the combat around warehouses more interesting as pretty much only plasma and HE will damage the walls.

[hurz]

So it has been a misconception on my side that terrain would accumulate damage. Using plasma indeed changes things. Never mind and thank you then.

 

edit: I actually like the idea of having stronger walls useable as cover. Only those wooden bits in there apparently being even stronger than the walls themselves felt somehow wrong.

Edited July 30, 2007 by hurz

[hurz]

Several minor problems came up during another hotseat fight:

 

some wooden fences still are impassable after being shot through

This occured only on 'eastward' or 'rightward' fences, 'west' or 'left' fences worked ok.

 

a large door can be simply walked through without opening or shooting at it first

i don't know if this is a real issue or just a result of my pickyness

 

some spottings happened right through still-functional brickwalls, in the first case even diagonal, through 2 walls. Call it x-ray vision

Edited August 5, 2007 by hurz

[Popek]

a large door can be simply walked through without opening or shooting at it first

i don't know if this is a real issue or just a result of my pickyness

 

some spottings happened right through still-functional brickwalls, in the first case even diagonal, through 2 walls. Call it x-ray vision

 

these are problems with ufo2000 itself not the tileset. The large doors are intended to function like ufo doors in xcom, they just haven't been implemented yet.

 

As for the x-ray vision, I haven't encountered this at all with these tiles but i suspect it has something to do with the lighting/vision code in the version you are running. I haven't tried that yet myself so cannot confirm.

[Hobbes]

Just to say I've taken notice of all the reports made here. I don't expect to release a next version of dawn city soon (only when all tiles are drawn) but the issues related to the terrain will be fixed later. Thanks for the help!

[hurz]

As for the x-ray vision, I haven't encountered this at all with these tiles but i suspect it has something to do with the lighting/vision code in the version you are running. I haven't tried that yet myself so cannot confirm.

 

All this took place on 0.7.1071, lighting level 6 (darkest possible).

 

I don't expect to release a next version of dawn city soon (only when all tiles are drawn) but the issues related to the terrain will be fixed later. Thanks for the help!

 

No need to hurry. Thank you for doing all the work to create this!

[Hobbes]

I've done a lot of work and playtesting (thanks to Kratos) on the past days and I've released version 1.04, available at the top of this thread.

 

List of changes:

- Nearly all minimap images have been corrected to properly reflect the actual colors of the tiles.

- Fire stairs have been added to most warehouses to provide access to the roof.

- A few more tiles added (not the ones need to fill the office buildings though).

- Redesign of maps for aesthetic reasons.

- Fixing the stairs problem reported above.

- Changes of battlescape generation code to reduce the occurence of 20x20 and 20x30 maps.

 

From the playtesting I've made I'm pretty sure by now that there won't be sewers added. They would be fun, but games already can take a long time because of the existing complexity of levels.

 

There are still a number of things I want to add:

- Office tiles, plus more objects (for streets/roofs/etc.). (tile design)

- Prevent repetition of identical maps standing close one another (map generation/map design).

- Redesigning some of the larger buildings. (map design)

- Add more 'damaged' wall tiles, i.e. windows that get broken when hit instead of immediately turning into wrecks. (tile design/coding)

 

Here's a list of tiles I still need (the graphics) in case anyone wants to give a hand:

- AC unit (for roofs)

- Stairs (to replace the current ones)

- Trash can

- Large tree

- Office furniture (including open space walls, cabinets, desk, chairs, table, water cooler, xerox machine, etc.)

- Inner lamps (suspended from the ceiling) for the hotel

- Tires, workbenches, tool shelves, etc. for the warehouses.

- Bus stop

- Office building roof

- Etc.....

[bamb]

Version 1.04 uploaded as of August 13th, 2007

 

Damn good looking shots with some new buildings. One problem I had with 103 was that the maps tended to be a little open.

[Hobbes]

and the water cooler by the photocopying machine

 

Water cooler done. Working on the photocopying machine...

Edited August 14, 2007 by Hobbes

[Popek]

haha, thats so fantastic.

 

i really gotta make some of my own tiles. but i'm vague on pixel art. Would working in vector format (illustrator) and scaling down create usable graphics.. if so then I'm definitely taking a crack at making some pieces I'd like to use for burbs

[Kratos]

i really gotta make some of my own tiles. but i'm vague on pixel art. Would working in vector format (illustrator) and scaling down create usable graphics.. if so then I'm definitely taking a crack at making some pieces I'd like to use for burbs

You could try working in vector format. But consider this, if you scale down, you will lose picture detail, thus making a) a blurry image or a ugly pixel clash. Creating with pixel art allows you to control this. And since these tiles are very small, it doesn't take much effort to create basic objects.

[Hobbes]

A little update....

 

This is how the roads and the office buildings look so far. Any feedback appreciated.

[Popek]

lookin' sexy hobbes. and the tiles look great to!

[Hobbes]

Due to a just discovered bug I won't upload here version 105 (since it makes the terrain a bit unplayable) but here are some pictures of Nachtwolf's street lamps:

[Popek]

those crosswalks are beefy. it's like a stampede is expected to leave through those tiny office doors

 

otherwise i like the new changes and lamps. doesn't looks so abandoned anymore

[Exo2000]

So far so good! I think the water cooler looks a bit out of place (the angle and colours seem to mismatch everything else somehow, like some of the alien things - too much detail in too little space) and the cubicle dividers could probably do with a bit of shading (they look too flat and textureless) - and the new lamps look neat too. Considered getting some crossing lights done for those zebra crossings at all?

[Hobbes]

So far so good! I think the water cooler looks a bit out of place (the angle and colours seem to mismatch everything else somehow, like some of the alien things - too much detail in too little space) and the cubicle dividers could probably do with a bit of shading (they look too flat and textureless) - and the new lamps look neat too. Considered getting some crossing lights done for those zebra crossings at all?

 

Concerning the office...yeah, drawing isn't really my thing

 

Nachtwolf will probably make some more traffic signs, I discussed it with him the other day.

[bamb]

I think the lamps are a little bit too big. And maybe there are too many of them? I don't know.

It will be a nuisance when fighting and then your expensive aimed shot hits a damn lamppost from nowhere. Ie it will make shooting more random.

 

I agree with pope about the maybe a tad too wide crossing marks. They aren't a meter across, at least not around here But it might require work to do more floor tiles for them (you'd need two kinds at least I guess.)

 

But looks very nice in total!

I can't wait to try it!

[Hobbes]

As you may have seen, Dawn City is now a part of the distributive

 

Just to let everyone know that the bug concerning the glass windows but it has been fixed already. I simply thought that I'd be back before the next beta was released to add the fix (and a few more things).

[Popek]

minor graphical oddity involving the office floors. If you look carefully some areas in them have a slight transparency. See image, you can notice it mostly where there is a window below, or in the darkness above explored areas, it creates a light grey.

 

 

[Hobbes]

Yup, odd. I'll have to look into it. Thanks

[bamb]

Had some problems with the ladders on one white house's west end:

http://e.photos.cx/snapshot_1-e5d.png

I couldn't get up. Tried from both sides.

Other ladders worked fine.

Edited September 10, 2007 by bamb

[Hobbes]

Had some problems with the ladders on one white house's west end:

http://e.photos.cx/snapshot_1-e5d.png

I couldn't get up. Tried from both sides.

Other ladders worked fine.

 

Ah, I assigned it the wrong tile. Thanks.

[bamb]

Btw I spotted this in the editor one day:

http://e.photos.cx/dawn_tile_bug_perhaps-97a.png

Dunno what causes it...

[Hobbes]

I know, the tile has the wrong image assigned. Thanks a lot, those bugs can be hard to discover.

[nachtwolf]

Dawn City will be updated to 106 in the next Beta. Edited June 3, 2008 by nachtwolf

[Popek]

any specific changes? ones that might affect my current methods of mapping tiles for burbs?

 

more specifically we were wondering if tile reference numbers were being shifted around again.

last time it was a bit of a pickle to clean that up.

Edited June 10, 2008 by Kratos

[nachtwolf]

Would this simplify matters?

terrain_dawn_city_beta106.zip