Warcraft II Forum

Warcraft II => Mods & Development => Topic started by: Lambchops on April 30, 2019, 10:07:08 AM

Title: Coming soon :)
Post by: Lambchops on April 30, 2019, 10:07:08 AM
(http://forum.war2.ru/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4910.0;attach=2990)
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Szwagier on April 30, 2019, 03:22:36 PM
I suggest make a bit darker map, its to light
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Lambchops on April 30, 2019, 09:22:58 PM
I suggest make a bit darker map, its to light

I agree, but sadly the way that page is displayed there is only 2 shades of green, and that's what they look like. It works ok to see the map anyway.

Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Zelya on May 01, 2019, 07:03:46 AM
Green mark that connection is OK has more green shades. So current palette should support them too.
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Lambchops on May 01, 2019, 08:09:12 AM
Green mark that connection is OK has more green shades. So current palette should support them too.

Yeah, you'd think so, but something about drawing over the screen there kicks it back to a very simple palette. idk why ... maybe ddraw/windows bug or something. I've tried using various 8bit and 32bit sources but but as soon as you write them to the DC most of the colors go. Write out all 256 palette entries and you still just get repeats of the same simple colors.

One day I might look at that, but right now I'm more interested in completing the installer for the plugin framework. Once that is done it will be much easier to add mods and improve them :)

Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: shesycompany on May 01, 2019, 09:36:20 PM
yay mods!!! im just curious if bigger maps would work...exctly what is causing the crash ... mini map??
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Lambchops on May 01, 2019, 11:40:49 PM
yay mods!!! im just curious if bigger maps would work...exctly what is causing the crash ... mini map??


It all works fine. The only thing I ned a little bit more testing with is the behavior when a new map is being downloaded. Currently it is still displaying the last map until the new map has finished dl. Not a big problem, but hard to test without annoying people.

Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Lambchops on May 02, 2019, 03:17:01 AM
Write out all 256 palette entries and you still just get repeats of the same simple colors.


Here's what you get when you draw a bitmap of the full palette on the DC. The source bitmap has the correct palette for that screen ofc. idk why.


(http://forum.war2.ru/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4910.0;attach=2992)






Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Zelya on May 02, 2019, 03:55:37 AM
Yes, looks like DirectDraw downgraded War2 palette to "safe" 16 color. Sorry, I'm not able to help you now.
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Lambchops on May 02, 2019, 07:37:56 AM
Yes, looks like DirectDraw downgraded War2 palette to "safe" 16 color. Sorry, I'm not able to help you now.


Yeah I figured it was something like that, doesn't really matter, with a low res map like this you really just want it to be clear and easily understandable, which it is.

Despite the aesthetics IMO it's more useful as-is than a thumbnailed pudpic would be.

(http://forum.war2.ru/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4910.0;attach=2994)

 
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Lambchops on May 02, 2019, 08:36:22 AM


             Ok ....  HERE (http://forum.war2.ru/index.php/topic,2703.msg78016.html#msg78016) it is .... please test  :)


Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: shesycompany on May 02, 2019, 06:51:21 PM
yeah sure there mr inner circle
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Lambchops on May 09, 2019, 12:18:13 AM
OK so I've added a hook in the screen display proc before it gets to ddraw so now there's no palette issues.

Looks a bit better.


(http://forum.war2.ru/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4910.0;attach=3006)

(http://forum.war2.ru/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4910.0;attach=3008)

I'll add it to the next release.

Next plugin will add hp/mp bars under units on screen for better microing. Also chopping bars for peons so you can see which ones have chopped more.



Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: shesycompany on May 09, 2019, 09:46:32 PM
looks great man..another question..what stops the other teams from being player controlled? is 8 player max locked?

there is 16 teams in the game with buggy thru 255
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Lambchops on May 09, 2019, 11:04:32 PM
looks great man..another question..what stops the other teams from being player controlled? is 8 player max locked?

there is 16 teams in the game with buggy thru 255


Well you can't get more than 8 people into the pre-game lobby so....

Also ... THIS (http://forum.war2.ru/index.php/topic,2703.msg47943.html#msg47943)

So yeah, no dice. It would probably be easier to re-write the entire game for >8 players than modify the existing one to do it.

Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Lambchops on May 10, 2019, 08:52:59 AM
  Well here's a proof of concept for the life bars thing. Still a lot of kinks to iron out, but it should work ok I think:

(http://forum.war2.ru/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4910.0;attach=3010)


So how should this be handled? I'm thinking magic / chopping display should only be for your own units, but life should be visible for any unit in visual range... or should this be handled some other way?

Thoughts?

  -- edit --

and how about training complete % bars for rax etc? gold left in mines? upgrade progress for smith/mill/foundary/altar etc?

Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: shesycompany on May 10, 2019, 10:46:59 AM
https://careers.blizzard.com/en-us/openings  u and zelya go!
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: iL on May 11, 2019, 03:11:51 PM
  Well here's a proof of concept for the life bars thing. Still a lot of kinks to iron out, but it should work ok I think:

([url]http://forum.war2.ru/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4910.0;attach=3010[/url])


So how should this be handled? I'm thinking magic / chopping display should only be for your own units, but life should be visible for any unit in visual range... or should this be handled some other way?

Thoughts?

  -- edit --

and how about training complete % bars for rax etc? gold left in mines? upgrade progress for smith/mill/foundary/altar etc?



I'd say that would be great to observe mode, but looks like cheat in usual game.

At the same time, maybe there's not a big problem to make such improvements like that? Same as warlatency was a big disputable thing for years. And now it's the part of gameplay.
Maybe we can add such small improvements to war2 gameplay, like ingame timer, such health/magic bars, building/training queues, etc?
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Lambchops on May 12, 2019, 06:23:31 AM
I'd say that would be great to observe mode, but looks like cheat in usual game.

At the same time, maybe there's not a big problem to make such improvements like that? Same as warlatency was a big disputable thing for years. And now it's the part of gameplay.
Maybe we can add such small improvements to war2 gameplay, like ingame timer, such health/magic bars, building/training queues, etc?

Thanks for your feedback :)

I thought on-screen stat-bars would be ok because its not giving away any new information that the player doesn't already have access to, its just presenting the same info in a more accessable format.

Building/Training queues would be an entirely new element that would definately change the game, so I'm not personally in favor of that unless there is a clear majority of players who want it.

There's a fine line between improving the game and changing it, which is why I want people's opinions on these things.

Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: shesycompany on May 12, 2019, 03:41:09 PM
click a building and the units icons little appear for that building ..kinda like ps1 war2
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: iL on May 12, 2019, 04:06:16 PM
I thought on-screen stat-bars would be ok because its not giving away any new information that the player doesn't already have access to, its just presenting the same info in a more accessable format.
To check unit health you have to click on that unit, then look into it's icon, that requires some more apm to do that.

I remember many moments when almost dead orge killed several peons, but 1 hit from peon would kill that orge. Player just didn't check orge's health.

So i'd consider such stat-bars would be a game modification, not just small improvement. At the same i don't protest against such modification, maybe that will be useful for the game and it's community. Maybe need to ask more experienced players, i'm newb in war2...
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Zelya on May 13, 2019, 04:45:54 AM
Also please note that any of Blizzard RTS games has no possibility to see healthbar of not selected unit.
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Szwagier on May 13, 2019, 06:05:05 AM
Also please note that any of Blizzard RTS games has no possibility to see healthbar of not selected unit.

Did you ever play warcraft3?
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Zelya on May 13, 2019, 06:21:26 AM
Also please note that any of Blizzard RTS games has no possibility to see healthbar of not selected unit.

Did you ever play warcraft3?

OK. My fault. Lets say no healthbar "by default". :)

Spoiler
PS And as I remember this this feature came to War3 with some patch and was absent first couple of years, am I right?
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Szwagier on May 13, 2019, 08:14:39 AM
Yes, I dont remember which one, but I think it was 1.21 something, I think Before they add it it worked if u use alt
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Lambchops on May 19, 2019, 10:32:03 AM
              Warcraft II Plugin Interface

       ( including demo plugins )
 

This will install a small file called "LC.dll" and make a few modifications to Warcraft II BNE.exe that link it.

A "plugins" folder will be created in the wc2 folder. Plugins can be placed in this folder will be automatically loaded when you run wc2.

This will allow a variety of mods to be easilly installed/uninstalled by users.

If there is nothing in the "plugins" folder, there is no change to how the game functions.

  -------------

For developers:
Spoiler
A plugin is simply a dll file that has the extension changed to "w2p".
There are currently only 3 hook points, although I may add more in the future if there is a demand.

The hook points can be accessed by exporting appropriately named functions from a plugin dll.

w2p_init has no arguments and is called when the exe is first started.

create_game will be passed a pointer to the game name and called when the player creates a game.

join_game will be passed a pointer to the game name and called when the player joins a game.

screen_update will be passed a value that describes the current game screen and will be called immediately before each screen update.

... so to make a simple plugin all you need to do is make a dll file that exports one function called "w2p_init" that takes no agruments, then rename it to "MyPlugin.w2p" or whatever and put it into the "plugins" folder. Your plugin will then be injected into the WC2 process when you next run it.

I will try to do some examples later when time allows.


   ---------



There are 4 example plugins included. If you don't want any of them, you can disable/enable them individually just by moving them in or out of the plugins folder (of course exit WC2 first then restart).





   ----------

   The "Lobby Map" plugin



(http://forum.war2.ru/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4910.0;attach=3008)


The "lobby map" Plugin gives you a preview of the map in the pre-game lobby.

  -----------------


   The "Game Time" plugin


(http://forum.war2.ru/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2703.0;attach=3019)


The "Game Time" plugin just adds a small game timer to the in game screen.


     --------------



   The "Chop Bars" plugin



(http://forum.war2.ru/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2703.0;attach=3017)

The "Chop Bars" plugin gives you an on-screen progress bar for chopping peons that you own and are selected.


       ------------



   The "Allied Colors" plugin


(http://forum.war2.ru/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2703.0;attach=2177)


The "Allied Colors" plugin give you the option of displaying all allies in blue and all enemies in red on the mini-map.
Press F2 to toggle this on/off. It is off by default.










   ----------------------



To install download THIS (http://forum.war2.ru/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2703.0;attach=3016) zip file and copy/replace its contents into a combat43 installation.



  ----------------------

This is still in development, but appears to be working and stable for me .... please test! :)


Note: The plugin framework currently only supports BNE 2.02 (Combat Edition 4.3), it does not support CE 4.4 or the GOG version. If there is a demand it can be ported at a later date.



                                                               :critter:
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Szwagier on May 19, 2019, 12:12:56 PM
chop bars  shouldnt be allowed

cause people will move peons with less hits, since they dont know they move from gold mine
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Lambchops on May 19, 2019, 09:22:57 PM
chop bars  shouldnt be allowed

cause people will move peons with less hits, since they dont know they move from gold mine

Kind of the point.

Sometimes you can't pull from gold without warlat... these things are improvements.

I did make it so the peons have to be selected, due to concerns raised on this thread, and I did ask for suggestions specifically about this earlier, why wait until now to say something?

Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Szwagier on May 20, 2019, 01:03:45 AM
chop bars  shouldnt be allowed

cause people will move peons with less hits, since they dont know they move from gold mine

Kind of the point.

Sometimes you can't pull from gold without warlat... these things are improvements.

I did make it so the peons have to be selected, due to concerns raised on this thread, and I did ask for suggestions specifically about this earlier, why wait until now to say something?



I didnt see it,

You cant pull peons cause someone is laging, and i suggest play ef
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: iL on May 20, 2019, 03:13:32 PM
chop bars  shouldnt be allowed

cause people will move peons with less hits, since they dont know they move from gold mine
I'd say chop bars looks even more cheating than health bars:
there was no legal way to know how long time peon chopped his tree except to look at him. And now you can just click and see.
I don't mean that's bad, that's just changes the gameplay a bit.

You already released is though, so, looks like we should add it into all versions to make it be balanced for everybody.
Maybe that is a good time to make some fresh live for war2.
Why not to add something new? Let's do it.
Title: Re: Coming soon :)
Post by: Lambchops on May 21, 2019, 08:40:14 AM
I'd say chop bars looks even more cheating than health bars:
there was no legal way to know how long time peon chopped his tree except to look at him. And now you can just click and see.
I don't mean that's bad, that's just changes the gameplay a bit.

I think it was a pretty obvious hole in the game interface, it's been in the wargus interface since it started.

.... i mean it's your peon - why wouldn't you know how much it has chopped?

You already released is though, so, looks like we should add it into all versions to make it be balanced for everybody.
Maybe that is a good time to make some fresh live for war2.
Why not to add something new? Let's do it.

I can look at adding it to the 4.4 version, although I do wonder why we are bothering to use the GOG version at all. Is there any real use/advantage to using it? The only use I know of is that you can say it's "compatible with GOG", but there's nobody using the gog server anyway so why bother?

People who download the GOG client can still play on RU, and if CE has improvements then that will encourage any GOG newbs to install and use War2Combat.

Anyway I havn 't looked at 2.021 much but it appears to be 99.9% the same as 2.02, just with a 0x50 byte offset on the .data section. Not hard to convert, but it would mean maintaining 2x versions of every plugin just to support a server that nobody uses anyway....

Does anybody actually play on the GOG server??