How to start SP game efficiently?

alexti · #1 February 20th, 2004, 02:27 AM

I'm starting to find it annoying to have to click 75+ times to start a new SP game (I'm leaving Ermor out, so 15 nations, 5 clicks each to get to Impossible AI). I've tried new AI options, but they don't seem to apply to SP games. Is there any way to simplify this?

Gandalf Parker · #2 February 20th, 2004, 02:37 AM

It can be done with a modified map. A few of us were messing with it. Almost had a VBasic program that would let you set the parameters and then every time you clicked it would start a new game with those settings.

Jasper · #3 February 20th, 2004, 03:59 PM

You can use Command line flags to set all game features. Check dominions2/docs/command_line_switches.txt

Arryn · #4 February 20th, 2004, 06:04 PM

I think that what Alexti is hinting at is that it would be useful if Dom remembered all the settings used in creating a game, perhaps saved off to a config file, so that if you wish to start a new game with the same, or even another nation, all those settings would already be made. That would allow the player to make a quick review, tweak anything they'd like to change, and then begin the new game. Several dozen clicks would then be reduced to a handful.

IMO, command-line options (which aren't newbie-friendly, no matter how well documented) are a crude way of doing something that should be available built-in to the UI.

Gandalf Parker · #5 February 20th, 2004, 06:22 PM

Pros and cons. The command-line options allows me to have multiple icons with different settings. If anyone at my house enters the program normally then they get all of the neat features and menu options. But I can use my various icons to jump right into my MP games at different servers, or do a quick game start with lots of things turned off like animated backgrounds, fades, music, set at low-density graphics, etc etc

Maybe moving all of the game settings to the options on/off menu would help, or maybe a button for "save settings as default". But it still wouldnt be as good as the switches offer.

alexti · #6 February 21st, 2004, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jasper:
You can use Command line flags to set all game features. Check dominions2/docs/command_line_switches.txt

That's what I've tried, but I didn't manage to achieve the desired result. Basically, I design a new pretender, then I go to create a new game and in that screen all nations are always inactive. If they would be set to my options from the command line it would be fine. Were you actually able to do this with the command line options and what were your settings? I was trying --impai 0 --impai 1 etc. I also tried to use just one --impai N, but neither produced desired results.