[DEPRECIATED] Campaign 4 (Old thread)

[Rman Virgil]

As usual Rman you're a fine example of humanity and understanding.

I've had a good nights' sleep (12 hours!) and I'm bright-eyed and bushy-tailed today. Let's see how much I can get done.

Just an ol' school Warzoner like yourself.

Sleeping well and enough, nothing can replace that for vim and vigor. I tend to short-change myself on sleep now and then when I get fixated on a task and it's a steep price to pay as a consequence. Know better too. Can get away with it as a "kid" but as an ol' timer, not so much.

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[Goth Zagog-Thou]

Hehe no doubt.

[Goth Zagog-Thou]

Well folks, looks like I've found the limits of what Warzone 2100 can handle after all. I need to work within the rules, it seems.

It's not just running into the limits on the number of events either. The script interpreter has become overloaded and I've got too much happening at once. Shuffling events around so that they only fire when needed isn't helping. For example, attack events aren't being processed when they are supposed to happen -- perhaps by as long as a minute +30.

Reluctantly, I shall submit to good practices of WZ Scripting and perform the following:

- The map expansion points will now mark where we load the next series of missions at. That means loading screens and such as in Cam 1-3.
- I shall divide the codebase accordingly. This should hopefully alleviate the strain upon the script interpreter and the game engine itself, improving performance.
- I shall attempt to, whenever possible, "trim down" the scripts and attempt to alleviate "extra fluff" as appropriate.

Another turning point, indeed. Perhaps a blessing in disguise.

[NoQ]

The script interpreter has become overloaded and I've got too much happening at once.

Well ... welcome to the club, i guess (:

[Rman Virgil]

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Berg fixed BPs Scav HQ .pie and posted in NoQ's thread.

Script interpreter too. That would ultimately impact how much mission branching is possible I would think.
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[Goth Zagog-Thou]

It appears that my earlier diagnosis was incorrect concerning the script interpreter.

I'll post a fixed-up version of r16 with Berg's fixed HQ and the fixes to the script.

And yes, it was my fault.

[Rman Virgil]

…

I'll post a fixed-up version of r16 with Berg's fixed HQ and the fixes to the script.

…

Sweet.
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[NoQ]

It appears that my earlier diagnosis was incorrect concerning the script interpreter.

Welcome to the other club then (:

Spoiler:

I was blaming the script interpreter for months before i recently figured out that i somehow put the code after `break' in a `switch..case' ...

[Goth Zagog-Thou]

Bwahaha I feel your pain .. now I don't feel like such a dunderhead about it.

At least it wasn't a total waste of time. I got the new INTMESSAGES done, and a fix to why factories weren't producing like they should be. I'll apply them to the script and see how I can improve things elsewhere since I'm on such a rampage.

[Rman Virgil]

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Noticed an odd behavior.

If you press the Reticule "Design" Button (F4) or the "Intelligence Display" Button (F5) it brings up the rotating Backdrop screens from opening the game's Main UI. I also noted the green atom icon button had been replaced by a faction icon. I double checked this without running any mods and said reticule buttons (& F keys) behaved normally.
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[Goth Zagog-Thou]

Yeah that's the Contingency stuff at work. I plan to replace that with something else.

Just images in the folder.

[Goth Zagog-Thou]

Moving right along.

- I've got a new way to handle Research that works MUCH better and more cleanly with less frustration compared to using arrays ...
- M11 is getting more "fleshed out". This will result in more of the story being told.
- The M3 -> M12 loop is going to be more interesting. Of course, "more interesting" is relative since that loop currently isn't doing anything.
- Performance during the M4-> M11 thread is VASTLY improved thanks to some rather obvious trickery that I should have thought of before. These gains will be immediately noticeable when Transport Two goes boom.
- Overall improvements to performance in general. Sadly, no amount of shuffling will alleviate the entirety of lag during the initial event(s) unless that is a level all to itself.
- Scavenger Choppers and VTOL Factories are now enabled.

[Rman Virgil]

Yeah that's the Contingency stuff at work. I plan to replace that with something else.

Just images in the folder.

Ahh, k.

Interesting, how you can do that within the game. Wonder how you could make more practical use of it ?
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[Goth Zagog-Thou]

That remains to be seen. Remember, I'm not great when it comes to graphics.

[Goth Zagog-Thou]

Sometimes a step backwards is a giant leap forwards.

In this case it couldn't be farther from the truth.

I've figured out how I'm going to handle research in Cam 4, and you guys are gonna love it.

Instead of subjecting the player to the VERY large technology tree that is a hallmark of Contingency, we're going to choose our research paths. That's right folks -- you'll get where you want to be more quickly, and quite a bit more directly.

Here's how it'll work:

- There are core topics that everyone will need (and want). All research paths will get everything non-weapon that they should.

- You'll be able to choose from the following:

- Machineguns
- Energy & Lasers
- Mortars & Artillery
- Fire
- Cannons
- Railguns
- Rockets & Missiles

(I realize that one of the foundations of Contingency is "crossover weapons" -- the same will reign true here as well. Research something enough and you'll get the Crossover weaponry).

The method of choosing will be the Primary weapon topic in your Research Facility (which I will add myself tonight). Once you select a Research Path the others will clear out of your way until you have fully researched that topic, at which time the other topics will become available to choose from again.

I think this is an extremely clean way to handle research, and choice appeals to me a great deal.

There will be a few potholes along the way, of course. It may not work all that well at first -- it'll need to be tuned until it's "just right".

Please chime in with your thoughts / opinions on this matter. I need all the feedback I can get!