Fourth Age screen shots

[Omnirizon]

https://sourceforge.net/projects/fourthage/

FA-0.0.1a : The Storm of Progress
FA-0.0.2a : The Angel of Change
FA-0.0.3a : The Master Arriveth

I've decided to do a naming scheme for FA releases. early on, there's lots of releases, so these could get out of hand. I'll just name them for stuff that happened in the code or was added.

This newest update fixes some sillyness in the sprite movement system, and finally adds all the build methods to the unit factory (however, all the objects built are not really used yet, but they're there and all piled into the unit, which is basically a box of body parts and items as far as the code cares!)

big thing added........ is AI!
the master arriveth. there is now a 'master' class that oversees the creation and control of all computer controlled sprites. it uses mostly generator objects since it is operating constantly as the game is being run (this allows the methods for generation of units and their AI commands to be added as objects held by other objects, and to 'freeze' whenever they are finished with current commands, but to continually be checking for a need to generate another command).

the AI is very simple right now, it only moves the unit to the closes other unit. the big thing is the setup of a way to insert it: with the AI generator objects and a global AI update method. it will be very easy now to add new AIs, play with AI, and test it out. what is really needed is a way for determining what _kind_ of AI each unit should follow. at the moment it is simply hardcoded into the unit instantiation. another possiblity is to have it be part of the unit builds, or perhaps a unit generator attribute (so that all units that generator generates have the same AI, this is actually how nationality works right now).

the new source code is at sourceforge. i won't be adding an .app or .exe until I have the combat basics in place and a wizard mode, then people can test out combat while generating data to use to fine tune it

[Gregstrom]

This is certainly interesting, but what's Fourth Age again - is this a leak I see before me?

[Omnirizon]

not a leak. simply an effort to create a roguelike based in the age after Late Age, the Fourth Age (a play on the fourth age being the one after LA which is a third age of three, and on the fourth age being the fourth game after three). inspiration will be the dominions nations in a 16th century history setting.

it doesn't look like a typical rogue. i wanted a vector and pixel system rather than a raster and tile system (or whatever you want to call a typical 'curses' based rogue). where most rogues are thinking classic rogue, I was thinking ogre battle combined with classic rogue.

[Endoperez]

Here are the threads in which Omnirizon asked for ideas for the roguelike:

How different martial arts should be learned in-game
More about the combat model
Ambience and setting: Dominions in the Fourth age

[Wrana]

Hm, (un)fortunately, most LA nations tend to reflect exactly 15th-16th century. Of course, this shouldn't stop you from naming it "Fourth Age" - you just have no need for it...

[JimMorrison]

I was pretty certain that Late Age was the "Dark Ages". I guess I am just overlooking all the muskets and cannons in Dom3 LA. >.>

[lch]

Ah, screenshots!

Originally Posted by Omnirizon

That picture would look a lot better with a sprite graphic instead of a big green blob, I'd say...

[JimMorrison]

Kids these days and their lack of imagination.

I clearly see an "h" in that big green blob.

"h" to me, says "hero".

"hero", to me, says -




Yes, Boris, tell it like it is!

[Omnirizon]

Originally Posted by lch

Ah, screenshots!
That picture would look a lot better with a sprite graphic instead of a big green blob, I'd say...

yeah but those take precious time, and i'd rather get a game going before worrying about sprites.

speaking of which, I'll have new screenshots soon. i've almost got the character sheet put together, which signifies the fleshed out unit (or character) object.

right now I'm wrangling with equipment slots; i wanted them to mirror the way i've got the body and applying damage to the body setup, but that would require alot of cumbersome hierarchy. while a couple of functions for determining strikes on arbitrarily shaped bodies (represented through arbitrarily shaped hash tables) make dealing with a lot of hierarchy in the body pretty easy, all that hierarchy would have to be included in each and every equipment item (eg. armor[arm][left][hand] : gauntlet; as opposed to armor[hands] : gauntlets). That's too much to include right now. There's also a bit of a problem with equipping items that way. For example, a dog has a thorax, and a breastplate covers the human thorax, but a dog can't wear a breastplate. The only solution with such an equipment system is to have an equipment function which checks if the thing attempting to equip that thorax item also has arms, which a dog doesn't, but say a werewolf does. Then I suppose you could also have a breastplate covering the thorax which requires that the equipper have only legs, which a dog does... But once again, that's getting way too much cumbersome hierarchy. it is certainly possible and pretty straightforward, just a lot of rote coding of content to include. Not something I want to get bogged down in.

So therefore, equipment slots are probably going to be pretty straightforward, similar to what Dominions and virtually all RPG games do.

I'm also trying to get some initial skills laid out. At first, only wielded item skills will be included (that includes shields, which are actually trained as a 'melee weapon' since they are used paired with a melee weapon and typically contribute to both the offensive and defensive action of a melee weapon.) I want weapons to be historically accurate, but not overly specific. Thus, the ubiquitous longsword will be equivalent to the typical RPG 'bastard sword', which is actually what a longsword was (if not an outright 2h sword!). The typical RPG longsword is replaced by 'sidesword' which is a general term for all 1h cut and thrust swords of the Early Modern Period. All sabers, cutlass, messers, falchions, are 'backswords'. all daggers and some messers are 'daggers'. all 1h thrust swords are rapiers. all bastard or 2h thrust swords are Estocs. bastard or 2h sabres, swiss sabers, kriegsmessers would probably be called 'ulmish sabre' or something. All 2h double edge swords are... 2h swords.

Swords are probably the most diverse, other weapon groups hopefully don't need to be reduced so. The reduction here I think is good though. 'Backswords' probably ended up catching the most categories. However I read that training weapons like Dussaks(sp?) were used to train virtually all backswords (any single edged, typically curved, weapon). What I'm worried about here is training use.

[Wrana]

Well, you may be certain, but still "Conquerors of Sea" are clearly of the Henry the Seafarer's age, not Dark Ages at all. Inquisition, even earliest, can be seen only from 12th century (and Spanish one is known from 16th century). Pikemen began to be used in Europe in 16th century, and full plate is the armor of the same age. Vlad Tepesh lived in 17th century... Manchurian conquest of China is also 17th century...
Of course, Pythium LA is modeled after late Roman Empire, not late Byzantium. But if you want to use it as base for time-placement it would be even before Dark Ages start - the same goes with LA Arcoscehales (Hellinistic kingdoms) or LA Gath. I'm afraid there are no single nation in LA which would be based on Dark Ages... :P