Official Development Journal

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 7:36 pm

Now that I've taken a bit of a vacation from TBK to make Trivial Wars, I've begun rebuilding TBK.

I'm going to be rebuilding TBK from scratch ...and this time, I'm going to do it right.

This thread (an extension of the original Development Journal on the web site) will act as a diary for the re-design of TBK.

I've also mentioned the journal on the Vassal forum so that new Vassal developers can see a game being created from scratch and, hopefully, they may pick up a few tips and ideas from it. Feel free to post questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, etc.

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 7:55 am

One of the things I had a problem with in 0.9.7 was the manner is which the main map was made. I originally made it by placing hexes next to each other by sight without really caring about where they were specifically placed. Plus, the hex samples I used were self made and not particularly perfect.

This turned out to be a problem as far as placement and movement so this time I found a perfect hexagon and I'm placing each one specifically by pixel coordinate. This will insure a perfectly fixed hexagonal grid with the center point of any two neighboring hexes being equal throughout the map.

Another mistake I made in the early version was to make the map all at once and just adding to it as I went. This made it very difficult to make changes to it later on. This time around, I'm keeping a master canvas and creating separate transparent overlays that I can work on individually.

Here's a sample of the Mariah Lowlands overlay. As you can see, currently just the hex placement has been done ...I haven't added any extra artwork yet.

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_001.png

This next shot shows the master canvas of blue ocean with 3 overlays in place.

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_002.png

Time to build the Waterway now.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:03 am

The map's hex grid is now complete. It's missing all the extra artwork that was on the original map but that's not my concern at the moment. My main concern was establishing the grid and get the region points in place so I can start working with it. The artwork will be added later ...probably the last thing I do.

Here's a shot of the finished grid (the region points you see will not appear in-game)

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_003.png

If you're familiar with the original map, you'll note the Mariah Highlands (Wastelands) has been greatly expanded. I've also changed the number of players from 8 to 6.

Here's an area of the map where you can clearly see the region points in place. These points have been specifically placed so that any two neighboring region points are equidistant from each other. This will insure the centering of terrain tiles and allow me to set up the movement of player tokens by key board commands as well as mouse-drag.

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_004.png

Some may ask why I didn't go with a standard Hex Grid within Vassal. The built-in Hex Grid feature was considered but the numbering system for the hex grid is limited and I wanted to specifically code each area for a number of reasons.

As a result, I used an Irregular Grid and specifically placed 372 region points. Time consuming and boring but they fit my future needs.

Since I now have a map, I've begun placing tiles that are a permanent fixture on the map (known as At-Start Stacks). The one shown here is the Guardian that protects the Mariah Midlands from the Lowlands

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_005.png

In the old map, the descriptions for tiles and cards came up as a text box (known as Property Sheets) that looked rather dull and out-of-place. For this version, I'm using a standard mat and placing transparent description overlays on the mat. This shot shows the description window that pops up when a player clicks the "?" on the tile piece.

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_006.png

This description is created via a Place Marker and the red X in the upper right corner will make it disappear. Using this system, I can easily create other buttons, controls and variables and attach them to the descriptions depending on the needs of the piece.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:30 am

Before going any further into production of TBK, I did two things:

1) I created a spreadsheet to keep track of all the key commands used in the game so I don't duplicate key commands and establish certain commands for specific purposes. This list also includes abbreviation codes and variables (markers) for quick reference used throughout the module.

2) I picked up a Java plug-in for the module known as JEP (Java Math Expression Parser). (Thanx, Tim!) This will allow me to use mathematics and formulas within the module ...something the Vassal engine allows only on a very limited basis, at this point. Since I want everything to be as automatically controlled as possible, I felt is was essential to have a mathematics engine built into the mod.

Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 7:53 am

Finished placing all the At-Start Stacks (terrain tiles that have permanent positions on the board). Here's a shot of all of them in place:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_007.png

Here's a close-up of a few of these tiles on Breene Island

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_008.png

All of the other tile locations will contain randomly placed terrain. I'm going to be creating a terrain database and a World Creator Tool next.

Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:52 am

It took a while to get the first 3 steps of the world creation system working and to get all the kinks worked out but, after repeated testing, it appears to be working perfectly.

When a host starts a brand new game, the first thing they'll see is the main Kingdom map with the World Creation tool in the center. The tool looks like this:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_009a.png

This plaque will display the instructions for each step along with the needed buttons. Once a step is completed, the current plaque will be replaced by a plaque for the next step rather than use image layers. This allows me to break down the actions and key commands to a manageable level rather than try to do everything with one plaque.

Here's a shot of the empty Kingdom ready for building:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_009b.png

The first step is simple enough. The world builder clicks the button and it sets the Main Stone Bridge in one of four locations in Mariah Lake to bridge the north and south corridors. The plaque switches to Step 2:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_010a.png

Step 2 involves creating a river, 3 to 4 hexes in length, if both the north and south corridor of the Lowlands. Here's a shot of the plaque up close for Step 2:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_010b.png

The world builder would start by clicking the "Get Bridges" button which randomly places a wooden bridge in each of the corridors. The player may freely move and rotate these pieces to insure they can be crossed and they are not in an invalid location (like right in front of the Main Bridge).

Here's a shot of the 2 wooden bridges in place:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_011.png

The world builder would then use the "Straight", "Curved", and "Random" river buttons to get river pieces to complete building the rivers. These pieces can also be moved and rotated freely. Once the rivers are built, the world builder would click the button to go to the next step. This locks the rivers and wooden bridges in place. Here's a shot of the completed rivers:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_012.png

Now that the preliminary work is done in the Lowlands, clicking the button in step 3 does several things automatically (no user interaction needed):

Randomly places terrain tiles in all locations.

There's one tile called the Settlement Market, which is somewhat like a flea market set up away from the townships and provides many of the merchant services. This market would be wasted if it was set up too close to either township so a check is made when the terrain tiles are being distributed. If the Settlement Market comes up, the world creator looks at the location and if it's within 4 hexes of a township, it tosses the market out and gets a new tile. So, the Settlement Market will only appear in about 60% of your games and it will always appear at least 4 hexes away from either township.

Once all the tiles are distributed, the world creator checks each location for a River or Wooden Bridge tile. If it finds one, it tosses out the other terrain tile that was placed there.

Players may need a raft or boat to cross the Mariah Channel or sail the Waterway. Forested locations are needed to build a raft or boat. So, the world creator picks a random location along the northern shore next to the Mariah Channel and examines the piece in that location. If it's a River or Wooden Bridge, it gets a new location. If it's a Forested tile, then no adjustment is needed and it skips the process. If it's any other type of terrain, it swaps out that tile with a Forested tile. It then does the same thing along the southern coast next to the Waterway.

The last thing it does is highlight all Impassable locations in red (so the world builder can examine them to make sure there are no blocked avenues) and moves on to Step 4.

This all occurs nearly instantaneously. Here's a shot of the complete Lowlands with the Impassable locations highlighted. Note that the north and south shore have at least one Forested location:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_013.png

My next posting will probably cover steps 4 through 6 ...or more.

Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 4:30 am

The Kingdom map creation process is now complete.

Continuing from my previous posting...

Once the host checks to make sure there isn't an Impassable tile problem in the Lowlands, they click the button to go to Step 4.

This sets off another series of automatic events:

It locks the Lowlands Impassable locations in place.

It randomly builds the Mariah Townships on the west and east ends of the Lowlands.

It places the 2 special Midlands tiles at the far west and east ends of the Midlands.

It places Fort Leck (where players hire armies) in a random Midlands location.

Randomly builds the Midlands area.

Highlights the Impassable locations in the Midlands and presents the host with the Midlands Impassable check in step 5.

Here's a shot at the end of this process:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_014.png

The host would note that there's only one Impassable location in this example and it's completely blocking passage from west to east. These next two shots show the host right-clicking the tile and changing it with the Replace command.

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_015.png

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_016.png

Once the host has completed the Midlands Impassable check, they would click the button to go to step 6. The automatic process would complete the following:

Build the Wastelands DMZ.

Will highlight warfare bonuses on those locations that may become involved in a conflict.

Build the Wastelands Battleground.

Highlight the Impassable locations and present the host with the Wastelands Impassable check for Step 6.

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_017a.png

You'll note there's a line of Impassable locations on the lower right of the Battleground but they don't block off any areas of the map so the host may leave them or replace a few of them, if they like.

This shot shows an example of the Warfare bonuses a location may have. Forested locations have an attack advantage (shown by 2 crossed swords), Defensive Fortifications have a defense advantage (shown by a shield), and Hills and Mountains have both an attack and defense advantage (shown by 2 crossed swords over a shield).

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_017b.png

Once the host has finished the Wastelands Impassable check, they click the button to go to the next step. This is the last click on the Kingdom build. From this point on, the rest of the Kingdom is built automatically. The creator will:

Lock the Wasteland Impassable locations in place.

Build the Wastelands Safety Zone.

Build the Mystic Realm.

Build the entire Breene Island area, including the Palace Grounds.

Here's a shot of the entire Kingdom built:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_018a.png

Here's a closer shot of the Breene Island area:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_018b.png

At this point, the world creator would close the Kingdom map and open the Catacombs map to begin building that area. That's what I'll be setting up next.

Total build time up to this point is between 1.25 and 1.5 minutes. Previous version of TBK, where the world was built manually, would take about 15 to 20 minutes to do what's been shown here so far. Big difference.

Moving on to the Catacombs now...

Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 9:27 am

The Catacombs was quick and easy. It requires that the host click one button. That's it. From that one click, the Catacombs map is built with the process insuring there is at least one Quick Exit room present and there can be as many as three. It also randomly rotates each room.

Here's a shot of the empty Catacombs with the World Creator plaque. Note the map has been updated graphically from previous versions.

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_019.png

This shot shows what happens once the button is clicked. Note in this example, two Quick Exit room (rooms with a door and "?" in them) appeared in this build.

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_020.png

At this point, the Catacombs map will automatically close and the Palace map will open for building.

The palace map is quite complex and I am definitely going to be challenged in coming up with a practical and feasible way of building it. I may not be back for a while ...it's going to take some time to figure this one out.

Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:02 am

The Palace didn't take nearly as much work as I thought it would. Because of it's complexity, it does require a lot more manual interaction than the other areas but it's still a far side quicker than it used to be.

After the Catacombs is built, the world creator automatically opens the Palace map. Here's a shot of an empty palace with the entrance on the upper left corner and the World Creator Plaque in the upper right corner.

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_021.png

Each time the host clicks the button on the plaque, a room appears at a random location. The host can then move and rotate the room to insure it doesn't overlap other rooms or have part of the room sticking out-of-bound. Once the button has been clicked 12 times (producing 12 rooms), the rooms are locked down and the plaque goes to the next step. Here's a shot of the palace with rooms:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_022.png

The plaque then tells the host to click the "L" in Palace in each room to give the room a Room Number Marker and an Object ...what the players will be searching for when they explore the palace. Here's a shot of what happens when a host click the "L":

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_023.png

The host can then reposition the markers and go to the next room. Here's a shot of the same room with the markers repositioned:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_024.png

Once the host has done this for each room, they click the plaque button to go to the next step. Here's a shot of the palace with all rooms containing markers:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_025.png

This next step opens a small window that gives the host a supply of doors to place in the palace. The host can place as few or as many doors as they like to insure that all rooms and hallways are accessible. Here's a shot of a door being placed:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_026.png

Here's a shot of the palace after all doors have been placed:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_027.png

At this point, the host makes one final click on the plaque. The world creator will then go to each door, randomly determine if the door should be locked or not, and, if so, places a lock on it. Here's a partial shot of the palace with some doors locked and some open:

http://www.drnostromo.com/tbk/Journal/TBK_028.png

The world creator would then closes the palace map and re-opens the Kingdom map. The World Creator plaque will have been replaced with a Character Creator plaque and players may now begin developing their characters.

Total build time for the entire world is roughly 6 minutes with about 4 of those minutes building the palace. Considering that the previous version of TBK was a far more complicated process and took roughly 45 minutes to build, this is quite a significant improvement.

Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 9:51 am

Just a quick note to mention that I'm currently doing a re-design on Trivial Wars and I'll get back to TBK a bit later.