Topic: Initial musings of a total noob.
GunChleoc![]() |
Posted at: 2016-10-25, 17:42
I have no idea how SCons works with a Widelands build - why don't you just use Busy indexing nil values ![]() ![]() |
Lokimaros![]() Topic Opener |
Posted at: 2016-10-25, 18:58
@GunChleoc Oops! I tell a lie, I used ./compile.sh, without "-r", just to see what would fail and get that library or whatever would turn up. Not used to compiles immediately succeeding anymore. But I clearly had all requirements fulfilled by then, and the compile went swimmingly. Kudos to all of you! But I skipped looking at the script options, because the compile went well, and never bothered to think about looking there. My bad. (I'd used scons on the source from the the Mint widelands package, which was build 18, hence my confusion.) But ./compile.sh -r doesn't result in a make install working from the build directory, either. But "cmake .." from the build directory will, of course. ![]() ![]() |
king_of_nowhere![]() |
Posted at: 2016-10-25, 19:15
I'm not sure what you mean by "difficulty of a map". Most maps are symmetrical, so the difficulty is always the same, since you and the opponents start on an equal footing. A few maps are hard because they have strange terrain; probably the best example of this is my archipelago sea map, but in that case it is written in the map description that it is difficult. Or you could mean "difficulty in playing solo against all the AI teamed up", in which case the difficulty depends on how many opponents you have and the geometry (it's much harder if they all come at you from different sides than if you can face one at a time, of course). Then there are asymmetrical maps, and most of those already list which are the easiest and hardest starting positions. A few things about the differences among the tribes from a strategical point of view:
So you can see for example that a small map will give barbarians a good chance of killing early, but if they fail, atlanteans will be favored because they are better in tight spaces. A large archipelago map will be good for empire, while barbarians will suffer. EDIT: as for difficult maps, while not included in the core game, there are also a few maps available for download that are designed to be challlenging to play against AI, though you just started, so you're unllikely to be interested in those yet. The one that got more positive reviews is "the great escape" https://wl.widelands.org/maps/the-great-escape/, while the hardest is probably "concentric rings" https://wl.widelands.org/maps/concentric-rings/. Yes, I am shamelessly shipping my own maps Edited: 2016-10-25, 19:25
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SirVer |
Posted at: 2016-10-25, 20:28
Widelands has not used scons in a long, long time.... I am so glad that we got rid of it. ![]() ![]() |
Lokimaros![]() Topic Opener |
Posted at: 2016-10-25, 22:01
@king_of_nowhere Those are exactly the kind of considerations that determine the difficulty of a map. Look at it like this: I'm only just now learning the game, so I'm liable to go with default settings, and I played Dry Riverbed. On that map, gold is only available in the enemies thirds of the map, so barbarians won't have War helmets until you get there and establish a defensible position with gold mines under your control. I reached gold on both sides, but only on one side I had a more or less defensible position, so on the other wide I got gobbled up so easy I quit that game. So I'd not recommend that map for a newcomer. it's taken out of the Release for a reason like that, I imagine. Likewise, if you have a fairly small map with 8 starters, that'll be suicide to try for a noob like me, as well. If, however, you have the largest possible map, with two islands, a tiny one with the AI and an Australia for the player, that'd be so easy even I could win from the AI outright. Differences in difficulty. I just think it would be helpful if there was some sort of difficult indication with maps, so the newless cluebie, to wit, me, would know which maps to use for practice (the easiest), and which to test the newly acquired skills on (the mid-level ones). ![]() ![]() |
king_of_nowhere![]() |
Posted at: 2016-10-25, 23:06
How do you decide who is the player and who is the AI? you have a large map with one side having an easier start, but you may choose to play either side. so difficulty is not an appropriate definition, since what constitutes difficulty depends on what you are trying to do. that map would be labeled as a map where blue player has a good start and red player has a bad start, for example. The 8 players small map should be labeled exactly a such. So, you are looking at asymmetrical maps specifying which side has the advantage. there are a few of those, and you can look for more in the download directory on this site. ![]() ![]() |
DragonAtma![]() |
Posted at: 2016-10-26, 05:40
On a side note, earlier this year we discussed difficulty levels:
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GunChleoc![]() |
Posted at: 2016-10-26, 06:16
It is possible to assign tribes to player starting positions in the editor, but when preparing a game, this information is ignored. We should work on that once I have redesigned those screens. This way, a map creator might assign a coastal position to Atlanteans and an inland position to Barbarians, for example. Edited: 2016-10-26, 06:16
Busy indexing nil values ![]() ![]() |
DragonAtma![]() |
Posted at: 2016-10-26, 14:13
Speaking of map creators, it seems odd to me that the random map creator creates specks of desert around the coast. Yes, they're intended to be beaches, but.... I just don't think they look too good.
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GunChleoc![]() |
Posted at: 2016-10-26, 14:19
We have a series of open wishlist bugs for the map generator - somebody needs to give it a big overhaul. I have other things on my personal todo-list though. Busy indexing nil values ![]() ![]() |