[ROTP] video

[Ray F]

In case you guys want to see the game more in action, here's a video showing chunks of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFMgepl8-OA

[Hail]

Awesome!
Thanks for all your hard work. are you using Windows 10?

You are replicating the MoO1 UI. why?

btw, cpu usage on static screens is 20%-22%. Even on the stragetic map screen what is using the cpu?
compare that to the Council splash screen - 0.8% cpu usage.

[Ray F]

Awesome!
Thanks for all your hard work. are you using Windows 10?

No, I'm on Windows 8.

You are replicating the MoO1 UI. why?

Because I am replicating MOO1?

btw, cpu usage on static screens is 20%-22%. Even on the stragetic map screen what is using the cpu?
compare that to the Council splash screen - 0.8% cpu usage.

Planet rotation is the main cause of the CPU usage.

The planets are not really 3D, they're "3D". :P Specifically, they are really a 2D representation that I mathematically convert to a 3D representation in Java. Right now, ALL of the planet rotations are using the highest-resolution map when making this conversion, which is driving up CPU utilization on any screen even with small planet rotations. This is going to be a fairly trivial fix when I get to it

[Ray F]

Another thing to keep in mind is that all of the planet surfaces are generated from a random seed. This means there is a background process that runs to generate these surfaces. However, it doesn't generate them all at game start since that would bog down the CPU at startup. Can you imagine how long that would take for a 2000+ star galaxy? :P

Anyway, they are generated as needed. At game start, the player's homeworld is generated. Then, anytime you launch a fleet to an uncolonized system, it starts generating the planet for that system as a background process. The idea is that the planet will be completely generated by the time you reach the planet in a few turns and need to see it.

When a game is saved, only the seed is saved. This means that it's possible to spike the CPU by looking at a lot of explored planets immediately after loading a saved game. I'm not sure if this is a big enough problem to worry about solving, but the demo video was started from loading a saved game so it's possible that some initial CPU spike could have been triggered that way.

[Hail]

the strategic map lacks any planet surfaces, yet the cpu usage is still in the 20-ies.

Because I am replicating MOO1?

do you plan to replicate MoO1 to the byte? keep the bugs?
you already decided to alter the player's turn in voting in the Council.

Planet rotation is the main cause of the CPU usage.

I would drop planet rotation for now.

When a game is saved, only the seed is saved. This means that it's possible to spike the CPU by looking at a lot of explored planets immediately after loading a saved game. I'm not sure if this is a big enough problem to worry about solving, but the demo video was started from loading a saved game so it's possible that some initial CPU spike could have been triggered that way.

does that mean that the planets' surfaces will differ depending on in what order the player looks (visits) at them?

[Ray F]

the strategic map lacks any planet surfaces, yet the cpu usage is still in the 20-ies.

There are also animations with the aliens. Those will drive some CPU as well.

do you plan to replicate MoO1 to the byte? keep the bugs?
you already decided to alter the player's turn in voting in the Council.

It is a feature clone, so bugs and exploits will be fixed. In addition, there is a goal to have no cheats, where a "cheat" is defined as anything a player can do that the AI can't, and vice versa. Fixing the Galactic Council vote order is part of this reasoning. Always allowing the player to vote last gives the player an unfair advantage over the AI.

I would drop planet rotation for now.

Animations are an important part of the immersiveness of the game. They're not going away unless absolutely necessary.

does that mean that the planets' surfaces will differ depending on in what order the player looks (visits) at them?

No. The seed is saved for each planet. It means that each planet will look different from the others, even if they are the same type.

[Sirian]

The "terrain" you've created is a cool addition, but I would want it as an option, not as the default and especially not as the only option available.

GalCiv (1, 2, 3) has always had this "terrain" in the way it distributes its star clusters (and thus empty spaces, too) and has never bothered to balance any of it. It does make for a variety of map conditions (as likely to be OP in your favor as OP against you) and having that around is a plus.

But consider what is lost in the bargain: under the original Orion map configuration, the low occurrence of dead space means player's own expansion effort plays a HUGE role in the emergent politics of the map. Ability to reach a couple of extra stars -- or even one more -- and hold on to them (or not!) has direct impact on AI behaviors and outcomes. Pushing AIs backward along one or more borders leads to those AIs sometimes adding more pressure to opponents on their back sides. There is so much more at stake in the open galaxy, where every star is contested -- sometimes by several powers, once a bit more range and speed are unlocked. Hot potatoes aren't your favorite AI outcome, but just the possibility of 3 or 4 races fighting over the same planet adds quite a bit to the tension, the interplay, the costs and rewards and opportunities.

Compare to a galaxy shaped by dead space, where factions fill in large chunks of space uncontested, and the map luck rather than player's boldness and competence level shapes empires. ... You are risking an essential loss with your terrain, if that is the default or only option for star configuration. If the map change represents an added option, rather than a new normal, though, well-- then all's the better.


- Sirian

[Ray F]

The "terrain" you've created is a cool addition, but I would want it as an option, not as the default and especially not as the only option available.

GalCiv (1, 2, 3) has always had this "terrain" in the way it distributes its star clusters (and thus empty spaces, too) and has never bothered to balance any of it. It does make for a variety of map conditions (as likely to be OP in your favor as OP against you) and having that around is a plus.

Currently the space is really only a factor on the larger maps, none of which are available with the original game (which maxed out at 100 stars on a rectangular map).

There are a lot of galaxy generation options planned, including shape, size, density and age of galaxy. All of these options will change the way the map feels compared to the original game, but I am confident that the brilliance of the original game does not lie in its map generation, which is pretty simplistic, but in its ruleset and race balance.

I am hoping to get the galaxy options in the game for the alpha, specifically to encourage some feedback on tuning them properly.

[Psillycyber]

Holy cow, I am so pumped about this!

You are replicating the MoO1 UI. why?

If you look closely, you'll notice that there are tons of little interface improvements over the original. But I'm glad that the basic look and feel of the interface are staying true to the original.

Animations are an important part of the immersiveness of the game. They're not going away unless absolutely necessary.

I agree. I think they look great! As long as the frame rate doesn't start noticeably stuttering often while showing those surfaces, I wouldn't mind if it takes up a little CPU usage.

I also read that you plan on allowing 9 opponents at once. Sweet!

[Ray F]

I agree. I think they look great! As long as the frame rate doesn't start noticeably stuttering often while showing those surfaces, I wouldn't mind if it takes up a little CPU usage.

I think I'll add an option on the opening screen to disable animations for those who are more sensitive to CPU utilization issues.