From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (qmail 3492 invoked by alias); 14 Dec 2003 04:33:12 -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 3484 invoked from network); 14 Dec 2003 04:33:11 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO smtp10.hy.skanova.net) (195.67.199.143) by sources.redhat.com with SMTP; 14 Dec 2003 04:33:11 -0000 Received: from [212.181.162.155] (h155n1fls24o1048.bredband.comhem.se [212.181.162.155]) by smtp10.hy.skanova.net (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id hBE4XAi7028971 for ; Sun, 14 Dec 2003 05:33:10 +0100 (CET) X-Sender: u22611592@m1.226.comhem.se Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2003 05:36:00 -0000 To: xconq7@sources.redhat.com From: Hans Ronne Subject: Improved network game file handling X-SW-Source: 2003/txt/msg01031.txt.bz2 I have checked in extensive changes to the file loading and saving code. Save/restore of network games is now fully supported in xconq, and there are several other improvements as well. Here is how it works: 1. In order to distinguish saved games from each other, they are now named with module and turn number, e.g. intro-4.xcq or advances-22.xcq. 2. You can also pick a completely different name when you save a game. Whatever name you pick is now stored without path in module->filename, to ensure portability of saved game files across platforms. 3. Saved games are now stored in a default location, which is home/.xconq on Unix and a new xconq/save folder on Windows and Mac. You can, however, override the default and save games elsewhere. 4. Any player in a network game can save the game. When he does, the game is first saved locally, in the location and with the name the player picked. Thereafter, all computers in the game will also save the game, using the name picked by the first player, but in their default locations. The first player may therefore end up with two copies if he saved the game in a non-default location. The point of saving all games in the default location is that it makes it possible to restore the game automatically (see below). The point of letting the first player save the game elsewhere is to ensure that one copy of the game is stored wherever the player wanted it to be. 5. When the network game is resumed, any of the previous players can be the new master. When everybody has connected, the master opens a saved game (or a library module for a new game). The saved game that is opened by the master does not have to be in the default location, but all clients must have a copy of it either in the default saved game location or in the lib folder. These copies are found and opened automatically, if present. 6. The players are assigned sides depending on the order that they connect to the master. Thay can, however, use the Exchange button in the Player Setup Dialog to switch around so that they get the same sides as before. 7. It is possible to resume a game with either fewer or more human players than before the save. Any missing players will be played by the AI. Additional players will take control of any sides that were under AI control. 8. Severel other types of files (checkpoints, preferences, statistics, scores, errorsaves) are now also saved in the default saved game directory. 9. Single player mode also uses the new file names and default locations. 10. It is possible to use a saved single player game for network play, if there are free sides (i.e. sides originally played by the AI). However, all players must in that case put a copy of the saved game in their saved game folder before the master starts the game. Hans