Screenshots thread

[Grey Roger]

I don't see the problem?

The name is a bit long for the display boxes.

There is definitely a problem though.
There is code around to make sure the game understands no ships that are too big show up for Holland in the later periods.
Adding the ship doesn't mean she'll show up anywhere. Not in this specific case...

Any idea where I can find that?

I'll also need to amend "NK.c". If Holland has 3rd rate ships then naval officers should be able to get them after promotion to high enough rank.

If the game can't be made to understand that Holland is allowed big ships in later periods, it might not be too bad; it just means Holland can't get them in random fleets. There weren't that many of them. So perhaps you can get one by cheating at FreePlay, or by promotion to command one, but not in routine encounters on the high seas. (Why does Holland need special code anyway? If you don't want Holland to have large ships in later periods, just set 'refShip.holland = 0.0;' to all large ships in later periods.)

 

[Pieter Boelen]

The name is a bit long for the display boxes.

Ah! Well, I don't think it's the only one.
And it actually looks to just about fit.

Any idea where I can find that?

In PROGRAM\Encounters\Encounters_init.c you'll find this line a few times:

if(GetCurrentPeriod() <= PERIOD_EARLY_EXPLORERS || GetCurrentPeriod() >= PERIOD_NAPOLEONIC) Enc_ExcludeNation(rEnc, HOLLAND);

And also in PROGRAM\QUESTS\quests_common.c:

    if(GetCurrentPeriod() <= PERIOD_EARLY_EXPLORERS || GetCurrentPeriod() >= PERIOD_NAPOLEONIC)
    {
        if(sti(rFantom.nation) == HOLLAND        && maxclass < 3)                        maxclass = 3;
        if(sti(rFantom.nation) == PORTUGAL       && maxclass < 3)                        maxclass = 3;
    }

If the game can't be made to understand that Holland is allowed big ships in later periods, it might not be too bad; it just means Holland can't get them in random fleets. There weren't that many of them. So perhaps you can get one by cheating at FreePlay, or by promotion to command one, but not in routine encounters on the high seas.

It can certainly be made to understand if you want.
But what you describe also doesn't sound so bad. Up to you.

Why does Holland need special code anyway? If you don't want Holland to have large ships in later periods, just set 'refShip.holland = 0.0;' to all large ships in later periods.

Because for WorldMap and Quest Ship encounters, the ship tier is decided FIRST and then the game tries to find a ship that fits with the requested criteria.
If every Tier 2 ship is disabled for Holland, then the game goes into an infinite loop trying to find one.
Of course there's a fail-safe to break that loop so the player won't get messed up; see Force_GetShipType in PROGRAM\Ships\ships.c:

    if(finish)
    {
        trace("Force_GetShipType: Maxclass = "+maxclass+", Minclass = "+minclass+", Per = "+GetPeriodName(GetCurrentPeriod())+", Nat = "+GetNationNameByType(nat)+", Type = "+type+", Loop = "+end+", Ship ID = "+GetShipID(iShipType));
        return iShipType;
    }
    else
    {
        //    return GetCharacterShipType(GetMainCharacter());
        // PB: If all fails, return a random period-specific ship type instead of the player ship -->
        TraceAndLog("ERROR - Force_GetShipType: unable to find ship, returning a default ship instead");
        TraceAndLog("ERROR - Force_GetShipType: Maxclass = "+maxclass+", Minclass = "+minclass+", Per = "+GetPeriodName(GetCurrentPeriod())+", Nat = "+GetNationNameByType(nat)+", Type = "+type);
        switch((GetCurrentPeriod()))
        {
            [...]
            case PERIOD_NAPOLEONIC:
                switch(rand(2))
                {
                    case 0: return GetShipIndex("Schooner50"); break;
                    case 1: return GetShipIndex("FastMerchantman1"); break;
                    case 2: return GetShipIndex("lineship47"); break;
                }
            break;
        }
        // PB: If all fails, return a random period-specific ship type instead of the player ship <--
    }

But as you can see there, you then just get a completely random "not too bad" ship, with complete disregard for the type of ship that was requested in the first place.
In other words: It's good to have that fail-safe just in case. It is even better if it never ever ends up happening.

(It took forever to figure this one out as the game would either get stuck or keep generating very samey-samey squadrons with semi-random ships. )

 

[Cerez]

No, if he's going into "Guardians of the Galaxy" mode then he's going to do it properly.

Hahhaha! Brilliant!

How many people chat to residents at all? And how many of those pay attention to the actual text shown?

... *mutters under breath* "...how many people chat to residents..." *yells* HEY! I talk to, and carefully listen to, every single resident. EVERY... single... one!!! *glares at you piercingly with manic eyes*

 

[Cerez]

There is a bit of a problem, though...

Shorten it to Prins Willem? For those who know the ship well, I think it is enough. And for those who don't, the name makes no difference.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

... *mutters under breath* "...how many people chat to residents..." *yells* HEY! I talk to, and carefully listen to, every single resident. EVERY... single... one!!! *glares at you piercingly with manic eyes*

So the count is now: one.

You really do that? The citizens who always say the same things? Wow!

Shorten it to Prins Willem? For those who know the ship well, I think it is enough. And for those who don't, the name makes no difference.

Makes sense to me!

 

[Cerez]

So the count is now: one.

You really do that? The citizens who always say the same things? Wow!

ONE?!!! I count as just ONE?!!! *makes a face*

This means war!

I'm kidding, but I do plan to expand on what citizens say and add an elaborate, random, natural/fitting conversation script just for this purpose, to make non-quest-giver citizens feel more alive and add a little more fun and variety in engaging with them -- instead of just having the generic "what do you want" reaction.

One thing I really liked about this game from the get-go is how alive the towns seem, with colourful citizens walking about and talking to each other, and it got more interesting once I noticed and influenced their behaviour with the changing weather (and hours in the day). Currently, the moment you talk to them, though, the illusion is broken. I want to change that.

 

[Grey Roger]

... *mutters under breath* "...how many people chat to residents..." *yells* HEY! I talk to, and carefully listen to, every single resident. EVERY... single... one!!! *glares at you piercingly with manic eyes*

Evidently not, otherwise you'd have noticed the problem with Philipsburg residents never saying "Philipsburg".

Next problem with residents: those in Nevis Pirate Settlement seem a bit confused about who's running the store.

"Old Blowhorn"... "He'll cheat you crooked..." These people need to be informed that young Kate Blowhorn has taken over her father's business.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

"Old Blowhorn"... "He'll cheat you crooked..." These people need to be informed that young Kate Blowhorn has taken over her father's business.

Actually, do those character rumours serve any purpose at all?
I don't think what they say actually corresponds to actual gameplay, does it?
Would be kind-of cool if it did!

ONE?!!! I count as just ONE?!!! *makes a face*

This means war!

Well, I didn't feel like claiming you have multi-personality disorder or something like that!

I'm kidding, but I do plan to expand on what citizens say and add an elaborate, random, natural/fitting conversation script just for this purpose, to make non-quest-giver citizens feel more alive and add a little more fun and variety in engaging with them -- instead of just having the generic "what do you want" reaction.

One thing I really liked about this game from the get-go is how alive the towns seem, with colourful citizens walking about and talking to each other, and it got more interesting once I noticed and influenced their behaviour with the changing weather (and hours in the day). Currently, the moment you talk to them, though, the illusion is broken. I want to change that.

That does sound really cool!

But you play a different game, don't you...?

 

[Grey Roger]

Actually, do those character rumours serve any purpose at all?
I don't think what they say actually corresponds to actual gameplay, does it?
Would be kind-of cool if it did!

Some are probably more accurate than others, but I don't think any are as badly outdated as to get the person's sex and age wrong. The storekeeper used to be Peter Blowhorn and that description would have fitted then. @Estharos changed a whole lot of characters' models, including replacing Peter Blowhorn with Kate Blowhorn, and didn't update "QC citizen_dialog.h" to match. I could do the necessary, or @Cerez could include such an update in the overhaul of residents' dialogs.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Some are probably more accurate than others, but I don't think any are as badly outdated as to get the person's sex and age wrong. The storekeeper used to be Peter Blowhorn and that description would have fitted then. @Estharos changed a whole lot of characters' models, including replacing Peter Blowhorn with Kate Blowhorn, and didn't update "QC citizen_dialog.h" to match. I could do the necessary, or @Cerez could include such an update in the overhaul of residents' dialogs.

Sounds like a good plan to correct it!

Hopefully @Cerez can confirm if his overhaul of residents' dialog is supposed to be for PotC:NH or for AoP/SD:CT.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Actually, do those character rumours serve any purpose at all?
I don't think what they say actually corresponds to actual gameplay, does it?
Would be kind-of cool if it did!

There is a citizen on Nevis who mentions the population of Nevis. This is a good indicator of how well or badly the Pirates are doing.

 

[Cerez]

I'm working on CT first, but if there's interest I may tackle POTC:NH afterwards. Some of this writing can be transferred straight from one to the other. It's generic in nature, and not necessarily game exclusive.

From what I've seen in my brief foray into POTC so far, the citizens have a brief random-and-rotating (3-way?) conversation script there, which seemed promising at first, but it doesn't always fit the context well and gets repetitive and old rather quickly, discouraging you to keep talking to people after that. The questions asked and responses are much the same, and having that questions convo everywhere, with every citizen, seems like an overkill to me.

A better way to handle it would be to give the player that detailed conversation chance with only a few citizens, who can actually offer some useful information. And you never know who that could be until you talk to them. The rest of the citizens will converse organically, but only briefly with you, since you are a stranger in town, and they have things to do to get through their day.

 

[Grey Roger]

The main purpose for citizens in PoTC:NH is to give you directions to various places such as the store, tavern and shipyard. Normally you can't fast-travel to these places unless you've first found them by walking around town, but if you ask directions from a citizen, fast travel becomes available. Citizens can also give rumours about sidequests, some of them limited to particular towns, some of them general. And occasionally they can give specific information for a quest in progress, e.g. if you're doing the "Help the Church" sidequest and want to know where Yedam Kinne lives, the citizens of Bridgetown can tell you.

A better way to handle it would be to give the player that detailed conversation chance with only a few citizens, who can actually offer some useful information.

In a way, that is already the case. As well as the permanent residents, there are often random walkers - the types who may try to sell you things, give you general game information, and sometimes pick your pocket. It can be hard finding Adam Groot among the random walkers in Philipsburg port, for example.

Meanwhile, in Nevis Pirate Settlement:

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Meanwhile, in Nevis Pirate Settlement

I like what you did there! Clever.

 

[FlyingGhost]

Slowly sailing home towards Jamaica after capturing a French Sloop, while writing my thesis and listening to appropriate music...

 

[Grey Roger]

It's Friday, so here's a puzzle for you. A Swedish warship is sitting right next to Turks Island fort. The fort isn't firing at the ship. Why not?

(It's not a bug in the relations system. It's not really a bug at all.)

 

[Grey Roger]

Meanwhile, in Santiago:


The ship's ensign is the red Burgundy cross of Habsburg Spain, before the War of Spanish Succession. The fort's flag is the white flag with the Bourbon coat of arms, after the War of Spanish succession. One of them really ought to change! Since the default king for "Golden Age of Piracy" is Carlos II, I'd be inclined to change the fort flag.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

It's Friday, so here's a puzzle for you. A Swedish warship is sitting right next to Turks Island fort. The fort isn't firing at the ship. Why not?

Let's see then:
- You're "faking" Sweden using a Personal flag while you yourself aren't hostile to the Pirates. (This was my first guess, before I remembered you guys added Sweden as an actual nation.)
- Or maybe Sweden was kind-of piratey as a nation and so you decided to make Sweden the only nation that is NOT actually hostile to the Pirates?
- Or you you tried what @Jack Rackham suggested and used Personal Nation for the fort? That fort flag isn't the regular pirate fort flag, so clearly you've done some editing of your own.

Did I get close...?

The ship's ensign is the red Burgundy cross of Habsburg Spain, before the War of Spanish Succession. The fort's flag is the white flag with the Bourbon coat of arms, after the War of Spanish succession. One of them really ought to change! Since the default king for "Golden Age of Piracy" is Carlos II, I'd be inclined to change the fort flag.

Does that fort flag still remain in use then anywhere?
Unhindered by much knowledge of historical accuracy myself, I kind-of like the variety of the fort flags being different from the navy and merchant ones...

 

[Grey Roger]

Let's see then:
- You're "faking" Sweden using a Personal flag while you yourself aren't hostile to the Pirates. (This was my first guess, before I remembered you guys added Sweden as an actual nation.)
- Or maybe Sweden was kind-of piratey as a nation and so you decided to make Sweden the only nation that is NOT actually hostile to the Pirates?
- Or you you tried what @Jack Rackham suggested and used Personal Nation for the fort? That fort flag isn't the regular pirate fort flag, so clearly you've done some editing of your own.

Did I get close...?

No. The Swedish flag is the genuine national flag, not the Personal one. Sweden is hostile to Pirates - in fact, since none of the historical wars have kicked in on the default FreePlay start date, Sweden is neutral to everyone and only Pirates are hostile. I haven't done any modding on flags, neither fort nor ship.

The fort flag is indeed not the regular pirate fort flag. I did put it there, but not by modding...

Does that fort flag still remain in use then anywhere?
Unhindered by much knowledge of historical accuracy myself, I kind-of like the variety of the fort flags being different from the navy and merchant ones...

The Bourbon flag for Spain is used in "Colonial Powers". This one continued in use until 1785, when it was replaced by the flag used in our "Revolutions" and "Napoleonic" periods - yellow and red background with a simpler coat of arms offset towards the hoist.

There was a slightly different version of the Burgundy cross which was used on fortresses, with more stumps on each branch of the cross :
https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/e/es1506ft.gif

To make it more distinct, the ship flags could be replaced with another version with fewer stumps:
https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/e/es~1506.gif
And the same design, with white cross on blue, for merchant ships.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

The fort flag is indeed not the regular pirate fort flag. I did put it there, but not by modding...

Is that fort flag a personal flag then that looks like a pirate one? I don't think we had one of those...

The Bourbon flag for Spain is used in "Colonial Powers". This one continued in use until 1785, when it was replaced by the flag used in our "Revolutions" and "Napoleonic" periods - yellow and red background with a simpler coat of arms offset towards the hoist.

You obviously know what you're doing and I'm sure you'll make a good decision.
The one thing I wonder about is what happens to that current fort flag ("white flag with the Bourbon coat of arms, after the War of Spanish succession").
I kind-of like the look of that one, so if it could be kept in use anywhere at all, that would have my preference.