Dev Blogs II

This thread is a continuation of "Dev Blogs" ( http://forums.empiresmod.com/showthread.php?t=2032 )
The discussion thread can be found Here



Discuss elsewhere.



This image is NOT IN GAME

 

This Blog Entry features Work In Progress information, and is Subject to change, even without me telling you.


GUI Blag: The Intro

Hello! I'm Kylegar, a developer for Empires. Most of you know me, so I'll cut the introduction out, and continue. I'm currently working on a re-write of the base GUI controls, and, eventually, the menus themselves. Our goal here, is to do an eventual design overhaul of what you see, because the current interface is blocky, and, honestly, isn't very pretty. The way some of these GUI panels are designed, however, do not allow for any kind of new textures or layout redesign. So, I'm going to change that.

Overall, My Goals are simple:

1) Create a GUI Framework that has the same functionality of 2.12
2) Make sure that the Framework scales to match any number of screen resolutions
3) Make sure that the Framework allows for any number of future features that are needed
and finally:
4) Reduce workload implementing new GUI design in the present and future.

Hopefully you can see that I'm working to create a functional back end for the GUI interface that is scalable in both display, and in the features that are implemented.

Details...pls

So, I'm still in the design and concept phase, and actually haven't punched any code out (that's coming). I'm playing around with Valves GUI controls (Panels, Image Buttons, etc), as well as what Krenzo had implemented. I'm also trying to formulate what pieces of code I can split out into new controls that would simplify the creation of new menus that you see.

For example, one of the new controls I am designing is the Socketed Button and Socket Button Slot. This concept is used currently in the Vehicle Customization Menu, where you drag boxes into their respective slots on another part of the GUI. Currently, this is done with an image panel, and when you drag it, it checks to see if it has been left in a specific area on the panel.

However, what I plan to do is, Create a new control, Socketed Buttons, that are dragable, and have a few simple parameters, such as Texture, Size (the size of the socket slot it needs), and the weapon/item that it holds. When a Socketed Button is dragged onto of one of the slots, It PostMessages its contents to the Socket, and the Socket checks to see if 1) its the same type as the Button, 2) It's big enough to hold the Button, and 3) There is enough room to hold the Button.

Not only does this simplify the GUI, it is reusable across the other GUIs. For example, we can use it in the future Aircraft Menu, perhaps fit it in the Commander Interface, Or Drag Skills from a Skill Menu to the Class Menu. The options are there to create anything with these Socketed Buttons for any level of customization, without a ton of work to be done.

Sounds Great! Whens it going to be done? 2.2?

Well, Release dates are always "When its done", and, I doubt it will be finished before 2.2. Like I said, I haven't started writing code yet, I'm still conceptualizing different controls that are needed to rebuild the GUIs. The final design of the GUI is still up in the air as well. We have some pretty good Concept Mock-Ups, but, its all a work in progress, and we have nothing really to show at this point.

If you have any questions or comments, the Discussion Thread is Here. Also, you can reach me on IRC, on irc.gamesurge.net , channel: #empiresmod .

Peace out!

 

These are concept images showing how new GUI might look like. Commander GUI concept is being done.

New GUI might not be available in Empires 2.2 and the design might change. Some of these are very early work.

 

Doggeti has been working on concepts for the new HUD:

 

We are still working on the commander interface, major commander revisions, squad revisions and, of course, the Scout. Lots going on right now, we will post up something a bit more concrete when we set things in stone. I can say the improvements are long awaited and should really improve Empires.

 

Upon request, I am re posting some images I had already posted in the first Dev blogs thread. These are not in game shots.

Field piece/Anti-tank gun.



The Arnaud-Amaury, named after the Papal agent who said "Kill them all, let God sort them out" before burning a church full of people. Its an AA half track but it dosent take alot of imagination to use it on infantry.



The NF Sidewinder


NF Heavy tank reskin


The Beast, NF super heavy tank. Would be dropped by commander.

 

Well, I keep seeing ideas on the forums for aircraft models that I have already made. I love to see people getting into modeling and like to see thier work on the forums but just dont expect it to alwasy be included.

I've switched jobs in the real world so hopefully I'll have a little more time and can get some eye candy to all of you soon.

Work on Empires is still going nicely, not alot to show since its mostly code side but bugs are getting squashed and things tweaked. We are in need of some good modelers as I am the only one on staff at the moment and we have, at the very least, got to make new LODs for the current vehicle models; not to mention the new stuff we'd like to get out to you guys.

We are also looking hard at the commander and his/her role, the Scout, ballencing, and a great number of other things that should be coming down the pipe after these bug fixes.

In the mean time, for those of you who lost the current aircraft that have been modeled I'm going to repost them here.

This is the StingRay, the NF medium transport. She can carry 6 in the bay and two pilots. In the belly are mounts for MGs or chain guns, or what ever. Pads on the bottom allow the Stingray to carry vehicals.



The Vulture is the NF Ground Attack Aircraft. She boasts a hard mounted vulcan cannon in the nose and a number of optional mounts under the wings.



The Warthog is the NF Gunship and is also the oldest aircraft in the arsenal (She was decomissioned before Jeoktia was defeated.) She began life as a light transport but was quickly fitted with armor and guns. This model has a rotating turret, twin 40mm canons, 20mm canons and rocket pods. In game versions may vary.



The Raven Mrk IV. Jekotia and the NF's premier air superiority fighter. A more detailed history can be found here, albiet without pictures.



and the lowpoly version ready for game.

 

Code Blawg the Second
The Myth, The Legend, Two point Two

You have all heard the rumors...I changed the #empiresmod topic...There an uncanny increase of activity on the forums... What does it all mean?

Well, I'll tell you. 2.2 is coming. And it isn't just "Coming", its...Coming soon. I'm not gonna tell you when just yet, but, I will tell you that it will defenatly be a treat.



Changes?!?

There is going to be a TON of changes in 2.2. I mean, a TON. We are compiling the changelog, and, I'll tell you, it's pretty big already. Weapons are being re-designed, there's new researches, you can finally voicechat in the Vehicle Customization window...

Ok, Fine, I wont be that vague.

For some reason, over the break since 2.1 both empires have forgetten how to spawn on their APCs, and in 2.2, you now must research the spawnpoint. Meaning, There's a new research in Mechanical Engineering, "Advanced Personnel Deployment", that grants the ability to spawn on APCs. This was implemented this change to slow down games, and stop the "Party Bus rush", but, it's in the first tier of researches, so, you will see it pretty quick. This doesn't change the APC's ability to give ammo, so, you can jump in and re-arm and heal if an APC shows up.

Also, Commander Vehicles are locked for 60 seconds after the game starts. Oh, and 9mining is gone.

What about Weapons?
Well, there is a big overhaul in the Weapon code and scripts. However, I need a disclaimer right here, because, well, its weapons, we are changing the scripts every day. SOME THINGS HERE IN THIS SECTION ARE STILL NOT FINAL, AND MAY NOT BE IN THE FINAL VERSION

With that said, the changes are Radical dude! The BE AR is now 3-round bursts, and has the same role as the NF Heavy Rifle, Medium to Long range, and a relatively high damage output. Of course, don't try storming around a corner with this baby, because you wont get enough shots off. Instead, use the reconfigured Brenodi Heavy Rifle, with a moderately high rate of fire, this gun is perfect for close range combat. The NF's Assult Rifle is for close-range, medium damage, and the Heavy Rifle is perfect for Medium to long range, due to its Single-shot nature. Of course, these names will probably change, but, the roles are there now, and you now have to make a choice, Hit at a distance and be terrible up close, or, be great up close, but cant hit the broad side of a barn if it's too far away?

The SMGs are getting changed too. No longer are Engineers plagued with crappy peashooters. The damage of both SMGs have been uped, and the RoF has dropped a bit. Grenadiers haven't been touched all that much, mostly because they are anti-tank. However, rumor has it, that he has a machine pistol (Read: Sorry to get your hopes up, it was a bug...I had to mention it though).

And that brings us to...

SCOUTS!!!!111one oen elevenone

Here's the bad news, and you are all going to hate me for it.

Scouts aren't changing for 2.2.

Nope, sorry, no changes...yet. The scout is being overhauled for 2.3, but, as of now, he isn't feature complete, and pulling the sniper rifle is just going to break the class even more. If it's any compensation for you, We moved him to the bottom of the list when selecting a class. Engineers are now the first class you can pick on the selection menu, and it will be the class you spawn as if you just hit "Accept".



In Conclusion

That's only a small part of the changes in 2.2. Of course, the 2.2 is on the Orangebox engine, so, we are moving over all the particle effects to the OB engine, as well having a ton of OrangeBox effects, like improved HDR, a bit of Motion Blur, and a few other things.

So, when is it coming out? Well, I'm not going to say, but, Its gonna be soon, and I mean really soon. I left a hint in the devblog about the release date...

Have fun!

 

Well, as some of you may have surmised, there was a slight hiccup with 2.2 concerning the commander. Our ingenious coding team, however, has that sorted out and 2.2 is once again on the fast track. You should be seeing something more VERY soon.

On my front, however, I am forced to begin work on 2.3 and some of the new artistic goodies therein. There has been a great deal of discussion about the gameplay of Empires, the role of the Commander, how to improve the mid-game and make squads more important/robust. The changes to the Scout will be extensive and will include a shotgun. That's what Im working on right now, getting the pretty highpoly shotty into a workable first and third person view along with animations. I also have a good concept drawn up for the BE shotgun as well and I think you all will be pleased. Ofcourse you'll get pics when I have them.

Other changes that we hope to have comeing your way soon are new Jeeps and, yes, Jeep attachments. To this end I had to make an entirely new NF Jeep. I know, I know, you all love that seldom used monstrocity but I hope you'll like what I've come up with. Unfortunatly I modeled it for my portfolio first and as such it has pretty show room paint; completly unacceptable for the Northern Faction. So, all I can show you is one of those practically useless silhouette shots. Once I bang it up, cover it with gear and add a few dozen years to its life, you'll get a better pic.

So I give you the first partial view of the "Taurus" the new NF multipurpose vehical.

 

Part I:

Hello there forumites, I'm arklansman, your friendly neighborhood mapperdeveloperperson. Most of you probably know me as the guy that closes your threads, but on rare occasions I actually do a little bit of work on the development of Empires. (I'm serious about the rare occasions part) While my title does say mapper, that's not all I do for our beloved mod. About seven of you know that I also have been working on particle systems for future releases. Here are a few random editor shots, most of which turned out horribly, and then a couple of ingame shots.


Bio explosion. Doesn't look much different than the current explosions in screenshots, but is considerably better in motion.



Horribly outdated plasma test.



Test for tank muzzle flashes.



Engineer spark in its proper form.



The new building smoke, one of the particle systems that you will see in 2.2. You can see the sabotage purple mixed with the grey damage smoke on top of the barracks.



A test of model recompiling, attachment points, and particle interaction with the world.


wut

 

Part II:
In addition to particles, I have been finishing up some unfinished features of Empires. Some of our community mappers have probably noticed the "Map Theme" parameter in the emp_info_params entity, or just been crazy enough to play emp_glycencity. This particular setting is to determine the setting of the map, and as any brilliant military minds such as those possessed by our two favorite warring factions would tell you, concealment in different settings is of the utmost importance. Brenodi scientists have worked many long years perfecting the uniforms of their soldiers so their soldiers will not be seen by the enemy until it is too late, while the clever soldiers of the Northern Faction found some dyes in a warehouse in the city of Brok. Special thanks to Bodrick and JJ45 for making most of the camo.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k42/arklansman/engybohmcamo.png
The Brenodi Boys in Blue Camouflage

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k42/arklansman/kantcamo.png
Hopefully the Northern Faction will discover an abandoned laundromat.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k42/arklansman/kantforestcc.png
Lighter shade of puke.

Bonus points to the first person to notice the one change I haven't mentioned.

And of course, the only important part of this section of my post (and the only thing I can take credit for :p) : ingame screens.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k42/arklansman/emp_duststorm0007.jpg
Random bot staring at me.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k42/arklansman/emp_streetsoffire0008.jpg
Bot22 getting steamy.


And finally, we have colorized the HUD concept that you can see a few posts up with a different color scheme for each team.

Northern Faction:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k42/arklansman/gui_concept_Feb2008_06_nf.png

Brenodi Empire:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k42/arklansman/gui_concept_Feb2008_06_be.png

Note: everything in this post is WIP, or some random, and most likely will change. Even more importantly, everything in this post will change.

 

As we are approaching the 2.2 release, here is the Changelog!

You will be hearing a bit more in the next few days, or hang out on #empiresmod on irc.gamesurge.net. We tend to talk about 2.2 alot there.

Also, if there are any typos in the changelog, let me know.

 

Updates to the Development Team

Since things are a movin and a shakin, and everyone is playing 2.2, I figured I would update everyone on the going-ons of the development team.

On a sad note, our Sound Engineer, Angry, is Shipping out in the US Navy. Stay safe and Give 'em hell Angry.

However, please give a warm welcome to Extrems and Coffeeburrito, both filling different coding roles.

Coffeeburrito is helping out on the C++ side, working with the source engine, and fixing things. He nailed down the Commander crash, and he also fixed the vehicle handbreak binding issue. woot.

Extrems is hard at work on the Empires website, giving it a much needed back-end overhaul. The Empires website will soon(tm) become functional, and you may see other people posting news, since we no longer have to edit the source code to post new articles . Thanks Extrems.

Anyway, short devblog post. We are working on 2.22, which is another bugfix/minor addition patch, which should be out within the next few weeks, and then, we move on to 2.3.

Edit: I almost (did) forgot, Vote for Empires for the ModDB Mod of the Year!

 

I'm freezing, it's -15 degres D:

So yeah, figgured since megel and the crew are posting constructive stuff i'd go ahead and post some stuff as well
Please note that it's still WIP



Ooooh! a snowy railroadstation in the middle of nowere!
What could possible be behind that massive door-thingy?



Hdr is the cause for most of the "wierd" lights by the way, and yeah i'l try to work in some more flavor

 

2.22 Status

'Tis looking good for 2.22, as we are entering the home stretch for the next update. We had a playtest on Saturday, and we got some overwelming good responses from the testers about vehicle handling (It's amazing), Weapon Balance (Also pretty amazing), and Crash fixes (Even more amazing).

Couple of nagging bugs were fixed thanks to the great Coffeeburrito, such as the Vehicle Handbreak being able to be bound to any key now, some GUI changes to allow easier customization, and a few others.

Currently, we are working on unique icons for each building on the minimap, fixing the z-buffering issues with Cyclopean's trees, and a possible color change to the main menu of the GUI (and fonts?).

Again, we are just polishing things, and 2.22 should be hitting a download mirror near you at the end of this week. We want to avoid another 2.21 release (ohgodservercrashes), so, we are taking great care that we don't delete the same pointer twice, or compile things with extra dependencies, so, if things come up, there may be a delay.

 

Oh hey dawg I herd u liek details so we put details on ur details so u can awe while u awe

OLD:

http://xs135.xs.to/xs135/09033/emp_canyon0020_1248.jpg

NEW:

http://xs135.xs.to/xs135/09033/emp_canyon0021_1578.jpg

OLD:

http://xs135.xs.to/xs135/09033/emp_canyon0023_1821.jpg

NEW:

http://xs135.xs.to/xs135/09033/emp_canyon0022_1168.jpg

Other vehicles have been done aswell, as have several textures.

 

SOF Light Uppdated

Based on some feedback, less blue was aparently preferd
I sorta agree to be honest


Also, signs:

 

Hey everyone, thanks for playing 2.23. We needed to test out all these ideas and concepts on as large a public as possible. With your feedback, we can continue sculpting our design.

Dizzyone is making a new AFV model to remove the size discrepancy between the NF LT and BE AFV. Currently no images, but it's in the works.

Also, a stroke of genius on Kylegar's part has recently given us some pretty awesome balancing options:

NOTE: These values and modifiers are subject to change (that's the whole point of it).

These damage attributes will help us balance out the interaction between infantry, tanks and buildings, which is what we are currently working on.

Drag is also working on a completely revamped research tree, with which we will hope to balance out the different research paths with. There will be counters, but one tree won't make another tree completely useless. We're still working out the details, but the weapons are already there, and they're pretty damn fun to play with (plasma nukes, anyone?).

We also have future plans for making squads easier to use and more important, incorporating squad skills and revamping the Scout.

We're also working on some minor fixes and tweaks. Two pretty cool ones I coded yesterday (yey!) are the script files for weapon and skill descriptions and a plus sign for weapons with multiple options. It might not seem much, but taking your first steps in Empires code is pretty overwhelming.



Thanks for playtesting our latest beta, and we hope you stick around

 

A lot of the recent balance changes were based on issues existing in the game, most of them haunting the game since 1.x. From thousands of hours of player experience, we've started making a long list of how the game could be improved, and various new ways to tackle these issues.

2.23 was one of the the firsts step towards pushing gameplay into a direction where strategy, teamwork and tactics would be the rule instead of the exception. As we've been around for quite a while, it seemed that with every release, new players would flock the servers, expecting mostly teamwork, it's clear that a lot were enthusiastic about teamwork aspects, and the sheer size and complexity of the mod. However, most of them did not seem to stay. We've been trying to pinpoint the reasons why these players don't seem to stay around, and have been trying to come up with many solutions, currently being considered for future releases.
​

So, 2.23. I didn't expect to receive so many death threats, and as some of you have pointed out, it's most likely caused because we've kept you guys in the dark for so long.

To straighten things out once and for all:
2.23 was released under the idea that we would get the changes tested as is, as well as that we would start switching from private tests, to the most straight forward way to involve the public (Which are currently the majority of players, obviously); as in release, early release often.

2.23 was in no way a complete patch, everyone knows this game will always remain in beta, but 2.23 strays off even from that ideology, by only implementing half. The reason behind it is that we require more time to complete the rest. Expect 2.24 to finish the balance introduced with 2.23.
​

The idea being that 2.23 will clear the way for the new balance, and adding different damage values for tanks, infantry and structures in future releases.
As this wasn't yet implemented with 2.23, we couldn't balance things like grenadiers and structures along with the changes done to tanks, we did plan doing this and have gotten most of the design behind it worked out.

While this might have come as a surprise to everyone, 2.23 not giving the impression of any real changes, rather general bug fixes and small additions, it was around the time that our priorities for 2.3 had shifted from being purely gameplay balance to include a graphics overhaul among things. It meant that if we wanted to start getting results from real playtests on experimental ideas, they would have to happen at this very moment, where our planning isn't filled with getting a worthy 2.3 patch ready for release. The only real way to find out whether any change to the hard to grasp elements of empires will ever work out is to put them to the test in the real thing, the game many people play daily.
​

Kylegar, like beerdude mentioned, had a sudden stroke of genius (apparently while touching himself under the shower, furiously) to add more depth to the planned damage split up, the results as shown in the post above. Beerdude, drag and I are currently coming up with a good design to work this into the game, which will allow us to go beyond the current balance, adding new armor, new weaponry and above all, new counters and an improved rock paper scissor balance.

A lot of players have mentioned that we do not listen to community feedback, or do not seem to be transparent enough in which ideas we like. Well to be fair, this is partly because there's a lot more to consider, than whether we like the idea or not. We currently have our hands full with what we're doing already, and while it may not seem obvious, many changes in 2.22 and 2.23 (and soon 2.24) are actually inspired by community feedback.

The arty, even if it was disliked, was a community suggestion. Buffing plain armor and standard engine was as well. Making scout sabotage more powerful has been requested many times. While the last is not exactly what people wanted, it's still inspired by community feedback, and if it doesn't work, we will continue to work on the idea and try different things. These are just a few of the many ideas that have been inspired by community feedback, it shouldn't come as a surprise that we share many ideas on how the game should evolve, where most of the time community feedback will confirm our suspicions or add additional value to them. A lot of people seem to forget that this team is in fact recruited from our very own community, we're still in it because we enjoy playing this game and enjoy being part of it.

Lastly, I wanted to explain why the things have been changed as they are, however I think it's better if I mention what the upcoming changes will include.
One of the things in that list is that we will be trying to implement direct counters to structures, this will not only allow us to raise the hit points/resistance of structures, it will also mean that taking down structures will involve tactics and overall strategy.
We're also working on trying to get rid of the grenade spamming, laming up those tight areas as well as taking down structures in mere seconds with our handy sidekick, mr ammo crate.

As mentioned, RPG's will be buffed and put back into their rightful position, and in fact will be better than ever, being able to take down structures more easily than before, and fight those tanks, mad max style. Expect his damage to be buffed for 2.24, for later releases we will also make him fire and reload quicker. Sadly it requires us to redo the animations frame by frame, as we currently lack the original files used by the Damian, the animator who retired. (if you're out there Damian, lend us a hand!)
​

There's a lot more, and really all it takes is for you guys to keep posting feedback, I'll definitely try to respond to as many threads, rants and rages, as is humanly possible.

Take care, and expect 2.24 soon

As a last note, someone mentioned that a lot of people are not aware how to become a tester. Everyone who wants to become a tester can pm me, you will be given the appropriate access.