From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (qmail 5355 invoked by alias); 22 Sep 2004 16:36:40 -0000 Mailing-List: contact xconq7-help@sources.redhat.com; run by ezmlm Precedence: bulk List-Subscribe: List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: , Sender: xconq7-owner@sources.redhat.com Received: (qmail 5342 invoked from network); 22 Sep 2004 16:36:39 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO smtp815.mail.sc5.yahoo.com) (66.163.170.1) by sourceware.org with SMTP; 22 Sep 2004 16:36:39 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO ?192.168.1.101?) (sampln@sbcglobal.net@67.121.168.201 with plain) by smtp815.mail.sc5.yahoo.com with SMTP; 22 Sep 2004 16:35:07 -0000 Subject: Another pre-release of the coating-based terrain module From: Lincoln Peters To: Xconq list Content-Type: text/plain Message-Id: <1095871049.15989.41219.camel@localhost> Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 20:31:00 -0000 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-SW-Source: 2004/txt/msg01218.txt.bz2 I've managed to stop the random maps from producing some of the most illogical climate combinations (e.g. tropical rainforest next to polar ice cap), but the process of generating the map is now *much* slower. On my 2.167GHz Athlon system, it took 1 minute, 15 seconds for Xconq to set it up! It also now occasionally leaves "land" terrain (i.e. terrain of undefined climate) scattered around the map, usually in areas where incompatible climates would border each other. On other occasions, a third climate type will "snake" into the gap, so that, for example, a large region of interior Mediterranean land is separated from a large region of polar tundra only by a stretch of humid continental land about 50 kilometers wide. I've also dramatically improved the graphics, although they still have a ways to go. As strange as it may sound, what it needs in the way of graphics to work as I envision it is a lot of images of dirt. Yes, dirt, because the cell is not supposed to imply the presence (or absence) of vegetation. Instead, the vegetation, which is defined as terrain coating types, would be applied to the dirt, thus making the map capable of handling much more detail than is currently possible. Think about it this way: if you clear a stand of trees, all that (usually) remains is dirt. The area is not instantly re-populated with grass; in fact, the climate may be such that trees thrive but grasses cannot survive. And woe to the fool who would clear an evergreen forest in a subpolar climate in the hopes of growing a rainforest in its place. I've also implemented all of the weather phomena I could think of that might affect an Xconq game, but the kernel code to use it is not there yet. And some weather phenomena may still be missing from the list. Anyone on the list see any that I've missed? So far, I have rain, glaze (freezing rain), snow, hail, tropical storms, thunderstorms, forest fires,* and dust storms. I've also written in lava flows, though such things are rare and thus rarely would affect a war game. I'm still trying to decide whether or not to add the other things I proposed, such as soil composition. It is not a high priority (since it would rarely affect game play in any direct fashion), but it would allow for Xconq to absorb more of the GIS data than just the elevation maps and vegetation. I currently have no plans to make such things work on random maps. You can download the new version at: http://homepage.mac.com/lmpeters/omniterr.g * Seasonal fires are an essential part of the weather cycle in much of California, probably in a few other Mediterranean climates as well. The ability to handle fires is also essential if anyone wants to build a game involving napalm bombs. --- Lincoln Peters aquadextrous, adj.: Possessing the ability to turn the bathtub faucet on and off with your toes. -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets"