ManGodAi4x / AquaCoop, Comic, Cinematic…Terminal Dark.

[Rman Virgil]

I notice that your "advanced bases" are currently nothing but an HQ. Do you plan on keeping it this way, or adding standard advanced bases later on?

Depends on feedback. I'll add 'em if peeps want 'em.

- RV

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[Rman Virgil]

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July 1st Fourth EDIT:

Significant oversights corrected and additional modifications made to both versions.

All Human Players MP Version Beta 8 here:

http://www.filedropper.com/4c-aquampbeta8

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SP Skirmish Beta 5 version Uploaded..

http://www.filedropper.com/4c-aquaskibeta5

NOTE: Added Advance Base structures to Beta 5 of SP Skirmish version.


ALSO: see page 13 for specific testing guidelines & suggested set-ups for each.

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Scavs aplenty.... To Battle....Out Flank .... & Outwit.. (A few are your friends too.)









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[Rman Virgil]

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July 2: Major changes to this SP SKI version.

SP Skirmish Beta 6 version Uploaded..

http://www.filedropper.com/4c-aquaskibeta6

NOTE: Added Advance Base structures to Beta 5 of SP Skirmish version and moved Scav allies to Player 0 & Player 2 Start Base Platforms. (NOTE: In the all human MP version they are in Forward Base Positions.)


ALSO: see page 13 for specific testing guidelines & suggested set-ups for each.

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[Black Project]

Hmm

New Skirmish & MP maps, i'll try them later

Regards BP

[Rman Virgil]

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I'm thinking I need to change the start base resources for the SP Skirmish version ...... mainly for the sake of the Skirmish A.I. Players but also connected to the Human Player SP. In the MP version humans can deal with the challenges posed... but for the SP Skirmish A.I. it a bit too much of a challenge and that in turn effects the quality of the experience for the human player.

I'll check it out tonight after work.

- RV

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[Rman Virgil]

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I'm thinking I need to change the start base resources for the SP Skirmish version ...... mainly for the sake of the Skirmish A.I. Players but also connected to the Human Player SP. In the MP version humans can deal with the challenges posed... but for the SP Skirmish A.I. it a bit too much of a challenge and that in turn effects the quality of the experience for the human player.

I'll check it out tonight after work.

- RV

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Done !


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July 2, third UL: Again, more major changes to this SP SKI version.

SP Skirmish Beta 8 version Uploaded..


http://www.filedropper.com/4c-aquaskibeta8


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[Rman Virgil]

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I have some suggestions for the all human player MP version I'll be making this evening and subsequently ULing a new version. Resource & position changes... and some topo changes around Player 0.

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I'm also noticing some peculiar Skirmish A.I. behavior in the SKI version I'm testing that I'm trying to figure out. Basically one of the A.I. Player's 2 Trucks jump right off and build a Cyborg Factory in T-3 and then do absolutely nothing more.... not even capping a couple wells a few tiles away. Very strange. Got to figure out what they hecks going on with that.

- RV

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[Rman Virgil]

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Last post on the next MP version iteration done... MP Beta 9b


July 3rd EDIT:


All Human Players MP Version Beta 9b here:


http://www.filedropper.com/4c-aquampbeta9b


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July 4th EDIT: Again, more major changes to this SP SKI version.

SP Skirmish Beta 8b version Uploaded..


http://www.filedropper.com/4c-aquaskibeta8b


NOTE: Added Advance Base structures to Beta 5 of SP Skirmish version and moved Scav allies to Player 0 & Player 2 Start Base Platforms. (NOTE: In the all human MP version they are in Forward Base Positions.)

ALSO: see page 13 for specific testing guidelines & suggested set-ups for each.


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NOTE: I'm gonna let suggestions accumulate for a week or two more before making final versions of Aqua Co-op all Human MP and Aqua SP Skirmish.

Doing this so I may take a fresh look at the whole of it with the last batch of suggested modifications.

Please refer to these last 2 beta iterations with any input & be as specific as you can with recommended changes. Emails, PMs or posts - any are fine.

To think that the time I've spent on this I could have instead made ..... O, well, we will leave that to the imagination.


In any case, though not quite finalized, both versions of Aqua are close enough to done that I can say with some confidence a couple things.

1.) The game play of both versions is both unique and outstanding fun with lots of replay value.

2.) The map making craft is both unique and of the first order in aesthetics coupled with game play. It's all of piece in total immersion, deep challenges and deep fun..

3.) Because of the amount of work involved in creating them it is unlikely you will see their like any time soon - even from me.

I highly recommend them both without reservation even at this stage - quite a lot of testing and refinement has gone into them already. You will not be disappointed if you actually play WZ. Sometimes I wonder about that last.

In addition to the recommended play set-ups on page 13, I also suggest in both versions that you play with locked teams. It's a real blast. Like playing WZ for the first time, it's that fresh an experience.


Well then, off to get on with a weekend of Independence Day celebrations.

- RV

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[JDW]

4-c Aqua Co-op MP Beta 9b is working fine under the 2.3 version. No crashes. However, since I launch the game from the terminal, I still see many error messages after I quit the game, not sure if they are relevant, have a look and let me know what you think,

P.S: Let me know if you are not able to read the attachment

EDIT: I will complete playing the map a little later, as you know I was concerned about the crashes at the moment.

[Rman Virgil]

4-c Aqua Co-op MP Beta 9b is working fine under the 2.3 version. No crashes. However, since I launch the game from the terminal, I still see many error messages after I quit the game, not sure if they are relevant, have a look and let me know what you think,

P.S: Let me know if you are not able to read the attachment

EDIT: I will complete playing the map a little later, as you know I was concerned about the crashes at the moment.

Thank you for testing with Trunk & now v.2.3.1.

I've been looking at the ticket files you posted. Very instructive. I learned about the Tank Trap limit the other day myself and made adjustments already in the SP Skirmish version of the map. Still need to attend the all human MP version.

The Scav Factories exceeding the hard coded limit I'll have to change in both versions - that's easy.

These will also be useful for flaME - checks before compiling the map. These were helpful checks in EW & 32EW - it wouldn't let you compile a map until you made the essential corrections.

All told - these are hard-coded limits. Hardware does not matter these days. But they should not crash the game. They are simply removed upon load and not placed. That's how v.2.3.x handles it..... no problem really, though it does log in the terminal that it has had to do these things before loading the map.

I'll have to look at the suggested double-placements - of the boulders in particular. That's an easy mistake to do in flaME. Easy to fix too. But still.... that should not crash the game.... and does not in v.2.3.x. It is simply not placed on the map load.

Long and short - I'll make the corrections though they do not crash v.2.3.1 for the reasons stated above. Trunk code should also be modified in the same way - these should be handled the same way they are handled in v.2.3.1 I believe - but do correct me if I'm wrong on that score.

As far as the map running in v.2.3.1 - the biggest challenge on the BETA side is testing for BALANCE - as far as Oil Resource amounts and locations... as well Player 7 Scav Force strength and locations. These are the areas I have been making modifications in the last several iterations of both versions - MP all human version & SP Skirmish version. VERY hard to test for all by my lonesome - impossible really with the MP version - and where I really need the most input from others on.

Thanks again for your efforts and input j0shdrunk0nwar - it not only points to areas I will attend to but also stuff that needs attention in flaME and the Trunk code.

- RV

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[JDW]

These will also be useful for flaME - checks before compiling the map. These were helpful checks in EW & 32EW - it wouldn't let you compile a map until you made the essential corrections.

Agreed. I am no mapper, but anyone would tell you that that would be a very handy feature.

Thanks again for your efforts and input j0shdrunk0nwar - it not only points to areas I will attend to but also stuff that needs attention in flaME and the Trunk code.

- RV

glad to be of service. will keep you updated on the map from now on, since it works fine on 2.3

[Rman Virgil]

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July 5th EDIT:


All Human Players MP Version Beta 9C here:


http://www.filedropper.com/4c-aquampbeta9c


This MP version corrects most, if not all, the console errors logged by Josh's test running on Linux. These had absolutely NO impact on loading or playing.... I corrected them as a matter of principle & dedication to impeccable craft.


I'll do likewise to the SP Skirmish version & post a new beta soon.




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[Rman Virgil]

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July 6th EDIT: Again, more major changes to this SP SKI version.

SP Skirmish Beta 9a version Uploaded..


http://www.filedropper.com/4c-aquaskibeta9a

This SP Skirmish version corrects most, if not all, the console errors logged by Josh's test running on Linux. These had absolutely NO impact on loading or playing.... I corrected them as a matter of principle & dedication to impeccable craft.



IN ADDITION......

Yea baby ! Solved the Ski A.I. issue. Why it even cropped up is beyond me because one of the major goals of this project was to keep it stock while pushing the design envelope with NO modding of any files - including the A.I. .slo & .vlo ... and yet a serious Ski A.I. problem came up... Well, it's fixed so I guess that is all that matters.

In any case, this SP Skirmish Beta v.0.9a will be the last Beta release.

I can now adequately test for balance without any help whatsoever and thus the next release will be v.1.0 in the Showcase BB & Addons (though I frankly see no discernible practical difference between posting here or there... except, ironically, there is quite noticeably more polished work posted here.)

Even though I will be making further balance tweaks to this SP Skirmish version the aesthetics of the map & its game play are both spectacular - by MY standards as a player, mapper and modder of the game since the year of its retail release. My standards are very high, clearly & objectively defined with not an iota of misrepresentation as seems to be the norm these days for reasons I cannot fathom nor can I relate to in any way.

---------------------> As for the All Human player MP version - the Beta 9C UL will look to be my last posted version until sometime in September when my LAN buds get together again and will surely help me get to the best balance state I can not seem to get in the way of needed feedback here. Some are real Pros too - pros as in they make their living in the industry working 60-80 hour weeks during pre-retail release crunch time..... and not because they simply play MP and have self-anointed themselves "Pros".

ALSO: see page 13 for specific testing guidelines & suggested set-ups for each.

- Mitaguyasin, RV

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[cybersphinx]

Yea baby ! Solved the Ski A.I. issue. Why it even cropped up is beyond me[...]

Maybe because none of us notice, and people don't actually tell us what broke, but either give up or silently change their stuff to work with the new version? Which leads to a. the new behaviour becoming the de facto standard (the longer it persists, the more things will potentially break when changing it back) and b. if the old behaviour was documented, that documentation will now be wrong.

[Rman Virgil]

Yea baby ! Solved the Ski A.I. issue. Why it even cropped up is beyond me[...]

Maybe because none of us notice, and people don't actually tell us what broke, but either give up or silently change their stuff to work with the new version? Which leads to a. the new behaviour becoming the de facto standard (the longer it persists, the more things will potentially break when changing it back) and b. if the old behaviour was documented, that documentation will now be wrong.

I understand what you are saying.

I just wanted to do more testing to be absolutely sure it was not a f@*k-up on my end before I posted a proper report.

It would help if peeps could independently corroborate - I have provided beta files to that end after all.

Well, be that last as it may... I'll be sure in a couple more days of testing (I got to fit this into an 80 hour RL work week schedule) so I will be able to properly describe the circumstances of the problem as it came up a little better than I have already earlier in my posts and of course what I had to do to make it work properly. It was the weirdest thing and I only just solved it this morning, literally an hour ago, while trouble-shooting using Occam's Razor. Anyway... I'm outta time for this until late tonight when I get back home.

- RV

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