Great Update for a very Good Game.

[z1812]

This is the best board type game for the computer that I have come across. I love the maps and the boardgame ambience. Is it perfect? No, but niether am I!! [:D]

There are 2 changes I would like to see. One small, One large. I like the giant maps but not the wood grain board background. Perhaps we could have a choice of just black or green etc.

Would it be to difficult to make the counters (chits to some ) easily moddable? I would love to do some work on them.

It is a very charming game. I have told my wargaming friends about it. Hopefully they will give it a try.

[junk2drive]

While it isn't always easy to find a time to match up with others, the H2H action is the best turn based play that I have run across. I would like to see some alternative rules and gameplay.

[Jamm]

Love the new maps in the update.
Hopefully there is something there that is moddable.

[Gerry4321]

Hello:

wondering what you mean by the bold-faced text?

Thanks,

Gerry

ORIGINAL: junk2drive
While it isn't always easy to find a time to match up with others, the H2H action is the best turn based play that I have run across. I would like to see some alternative rules and gameplay.

[junk2drive]

Things like leaders as units and the rules to go with them, no cards as an option. There are some alternative rules for the board games. I think I found them at boardgamegeek in pdf.

[ericbabe]

Thank you for the kind words.

The chit graphics aren't easy to mod because they have to be compiled in Visual Studio to be included in the XNA framework. If anybody would like to try modding them, I can send you the base files you'd need to change, and would be happy to compile a new set of models once you're done changing the graphics in the 2D files.

The giant map files are not easy to mod either since I ended up having to use a custom file format for them to avoid some issues we were having with the .NET garbage collector. The non-giant versions of the maps can be modded -- they are the _Paper# files in the Data/Maps/ folder.

[z1812]

Thanks for the info Eric. What type of file is the base file?

[Gerry4321]

JD, I have another question for you. Browsing CMBB forums a while back I think I saw your name. You may have used PBEM for CMBB?

What do you like so much about the H2H Play? Do you like CoH because of the interactive nature of the play for example?

Thanks,

Gerry

ORIGINAL: junk2drive
While it isn't always easy to find a time to match up with others, the H2H action is the best turn based play that I have run across. I would like to see some alternative rules and gameplay.

[junk2drive]

I like WEGO better than turns but it has its quirks too. For turn based games, either vs AI or PBEM, watching the replay of the opponent action can take a long time depending on the game. Automatic op-fire can be hit or miss as well (lol). This game keeps you doing something most of the time, until you run out of points or decide to hold off doing anything. Most games are like checkers or chess and some have dice and cards involved too. This game plays like checkers but you think like chess and the dice and cards can change everything in real time.

[Gerry4321]

Interesting. After failing to get into CMx2 I have gone back to dappling with chess. Over the next few weeks I am hoping to be able to spend more time with CoH and maybe try H2H over the Christmas holidays. I really enjoyed ASL by PBEM a few years ago. H2H is the best gaming experience in my opinion.

Thanks,

Gerry

[junk2drive]

You can chat in game as seen in Jamm's AAR. You can chat in the lobby to set up the optional rules if you haven't done so ahead of time, or after the game.

[ericbabe]

ORIGINAL: z1812
Thanks for the info Eric. What type of file is the base file?

It's actually just raw binary data. I originally tried loading JPG files, but the big buffers that XNA was creating to load these files weren't being disposed by the garbage collector reliably, or at least not fast enough, and we were getting out of memory errors. To fix this I created one buffer and use it over and over without the need to dispose and recreate it for each file load. If people are interested in creating their own giant map files, I can put together a little converter program that will take a giant JPG file and split it up into the proper .byt files.

[Jamm]

ORIGINAL: ericbabe

ORIGINAL: z1812
Thanks for the info Eric. What type of file is the base file?

It's actually just raw binary data. I originally tried loading JPG files, but the big buffers that XNA was creating to load these files weren't being disposed by the garbage collector reliably, or at least not fast enough, and we were getting out of memory errors. To fix this I created one buffer and use it over and over without the need to dispose and recreate it for each file load. If people are interested in creating their own giant map files, I can put together a little converter program that will take a giant JPG file and split it up into the proper .byt files.

That would be great.
Some kind of blank hex template would help tremendously.
I was just going to post and ask what the dimensions were for the files you were using in the byte array.
Will your program load more than the 0 to 15 it loads now?
Another question, were the original boards just scanned hexes and all?
And was this layered with the co-ordinate grid somehow?

[ericbabe]

It uses the same hex template that we distributed for the modders to make maps using the input map parser, albeit at a larger size. I can't seem to post ZIP or PNG files, and the full sized JPG is too big. However, if you take the hex map on the JPG I posted below, open it in your paint program, stretch it to 8192x8192, it should serve as a proper hex template.

The program only works with the 0-15 byt maps, but those span the full playing area. We're already pushing the limit of the 2GB address space that Windows normally allocates as a maximum per process. These aren't scans of the boards -- these are the final art delivered to Academy Games from which the board game boards were printed.

I had to layer it to the computer game grid by hand. The board game art files aren't quite on regular hex grids -- the grid offsets are a little different for each board, by just a few pixels -- and so I had to do some adjustment by hand to get them to fit.

[Jamm]

Thanks Eric.
I'll see what I can come up with.

[Ratzki]

Is it possibel to get another hex.jpg posted with no colour between the hex sides as you guys did a while back? Thanks

[z1812]

ORIGINAL: ericbabe

ORIGINAL: z1812
Thanks for the info Eric. What type of file is the base file?

It's actually just raw binary data. I originally tried loading JPG files, but the big buffers that XNA was creating to load these files weren't being disposed by the garbage collector reliably, or at least not fast enough, and we were getting out of memory errors. To fix this I created one buffer and use it over and over without the need to dispose and recreate it for each file load. If people are interested in creating their own giant map files, I can put together a little converter program that will take a giant JPG file and split it up into the proper .byt files.

Thanks Eric but thats a bit more than I understand. When I do any modding it is usually on bmp or jpg images............simple files. Is it possible to get the counters in that form to mod?

[ericbabe]

ORIGINAL: z1812
Thanks Eric but thats a bit more than I understand. When I do any modding it is usually on bmp or jpg images............simple files. Is it possible to get the counters in that form to mod?

Yes, if you'd like to mod these, they are just flat PNG or JPG files. They are built into the 3D chits during my compile process, but I'd be happy to do that for you if you would like to produce a modded set of unit images.

I'll try to send them to you if you write me at ericbabe@west-civ.com.

[ericbabe]

ORIGINAL: Ratzki

Is it possibel to get another hex.jpg posted with no colour between the hex sides as you guys did a while back? Thanks

Do you mean without the white background or without the blue lines, or both?

I can't post transparent files on the Matrix forum as JPG's need to have a solid background, but I could post a version without the blue guidelines, if that's what you'd like.

[junk2drive]

There is a 2048x2048 copy of the hex grid bmp in your manuals folder. You should be able to copy the hex grid to use as a layer.