Hi, for lack of a better place to discuss development, I'm making this thread.
It seems there are several versions in development, as of now we have some with raaars anims and some without, we arent able to track changes made in various versions....etc
something like CAspring.org's trak would be great, but I havent the skill to set anything like this up. for now, I'm going to suggest that devs reserve a post in this thread for their changes, and update that post when something is done.
All my changes will be based on XTAPE9641b.
***Changes***
Added Behe's T1 Core Kbot models
Removed a lot of unused units taking up archive space
Fixed Dgun and live
Restored vanilla commanders
*Commanders are now nearly equal in stats*
various script/animation improvements
new explosion effects
GUI enhancements
Setup XTA homepage and links @ http://xta.darkstars.co.uk
XTA mutator discussion
Moderators: Moderators, Content Developer
XTA mutator discussion
Last edited by d-gun on 20 Sep 2010, 18:58, edited 5 times in total.
Re: XTA Developer discussion
Maybe try Google Code. I've been really happy with it. Though they might throw a fit because of the stolen IP. But really an SVN of some kind is really the way to go with a project of any complexity.
Re: XTA Developer discussion
Svn or equivalent would be nice. But imo better communication between the devs, namely Noruas, and between Noruas and the community is what is most needed.
Re: XTA Developer discussion
Latest version was made by Deadknight.
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Tim-the-maniac
- Posts: 250
- Joined: 22 Jul 2006, 19:58
Re: XTA Developer discussion
What we need is for noruas to come and say that he is willing to hand over dev to someone else.
Re: XTA Developer discussion
Why?Deadknight released a version,everyone is playing it...Tim-the-maniac wrote:What we need is for noruas to come and say that he is willing to hand over dev to someone else.
If deadknight wants to keep devving XTA why not let him?
Re: XTA Developer discussion
From XTA wiki page:
"XTA is proud to be a community-run development program. "
"Players contribute and offer help on a multitude of scales most notable of these are raaar and Deadnight Warrior"
"XTA is proud to be a community-run development program. "
"Players contribute and offer help on a multitude of scales most notable of these are raaar and Deadnight Warrior"
Re: XTA Developer discussion
yeah 'cos the wiki can't be edited by any old fool
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Tim-the-maniac
- Posts: 250
- Joined: 22 Jul 2006, 19:58
Re: XTA Developer discussion
Multiple contributors is fine but we still need one dev to have overall say. Otherwise we will just get endless debate as everyone knows best and no one will be willing to concede their points.
I was under the impression that noruas just allowed deadknight to do some bug fixes. He is official dev now? Or can just anyone use the XTA name?
I was under the impression that noruas just allowed deadknight to do some bug fixes. He is official dev now? Or can just anyone use the XTA name?
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Deadnight Warrior
- Posts: 183
- Joined: 08 Jun 2009, 17:59
Re: XTA Developer discussion
Would you guys for once spell my self-imposed nickname correctly.
I'm not a Knight, not a Dead Knight, but a Warrior. Warrior that battles in the middle of the dead night.
Regarding those dev tracking. I agree that there are lots of dev attempts, and just because I've shown the most initiative in the last 2 months, doesn't mean that I'll continue to work with such entusiasm as this semester I have a Programming Support Project for faculty, which will take most of my time, and 2 other collegiums (one being Math 3 which I failed twice already).
A good way of tracking work might be with Etherpad.
For those that want to contribute to XTA I strongly recomend you use XTA 9.641 beta as base (it's the most stable and fixed version of XTA up to date) and release your changes as mutators for it (less bandwidth and disk space usage and easier to see what you've changed)
I'm not a Knight, not a Dead Knight, but a Warrior. Warrior that battles in the middle of the dead night.
Regarding those dev tracking. I agree that there are lots of dev attempts, and just because I've shown the most initiative in the last 2 months, doesn't mean that I'll continue to work with such entusiasm as this semester I have a Programming Support Project for faculty, which will take most of my time, and 2 other collegiums (one being Math 3 which I failed twice already).
A good way of tracking work might be with Etherpad.
For those that want to contribute to XTA I strongly recomend you use XTA 9.641 beta as base (it's the most stable and fixed version of XTA up to date) and release your changes as mutators for it (less bandwidth and disk space usage and easier to see what you've changed)
Re: XTA Developer discussion
I have implemented a dgun-live fix if anyone would like to help test this week.
I am aiming at weekly releases each Wednesday
I am aiming at weekly releases each Wednesday
Re: XTA Developer discussion
lol.. love this.Deadnight Warrior wrote:Would you guys for once spell my self-imposed nickname correctly.
I'm not a Knight, not a Dead Knight, but a Warrior. Warrior that battles in the middle of the dead night.
Re: XTA Developer discussion
I got it right on the wiki :'(
Re: XTA Developer discussion
There are a few balance and game design issues with XTA.
(lets leave sea for later since its a major issue)
#1 the commander and his upgrades(should it have any?what should they be? etc..)
#2 mines (overpowered or not?)
#3 amphibious T2 tanks need more testing(try and use them more)
#4 are scouts to be changed?
my opinions:
#1 commander upgrades should be removed.
The reasons are that the commander without upgrades in XTA is very powerful and useful throughout the game already.
The more powerful a commander is the more problematic he becomes in smaller games cause of his ability to get to the enemy base and start dgunning.
The commander is already powerful and he has the most powerful weapon in the game.
Adding more weapons as upgrades feels silly cause of that.
#2 I think mines are just straight out over powered.they are very cheap and very harmfull.
Even if mines are not strong in a mod the fact that a player knows there might be mines in an area already scares him somewhat from attacking there.
Even that is already an excellent achievement you don't need to have very cheap mines that can blow up half the map.
#3 well,need more testing to see if they serve mid game purposes well right?
#4 imo we need to think of how to make scouts less of a harass tool.
I think they are overly effective because they have a lot of hp yet are fast enough to avoid defenses to be able to quickly kill very low hp buildings like mexes and wind gens without anything being able to stop them.
The fact xta units deal low dmg makes unit more able to move through defenses and that is exaggerated when you have a units like the jeffy and weazel.
There is another issue that was never really discussed but maybe it should be.
mutual base destruction.
Basically i notice that in 1v1s a lot of the times bases of both players get completely ravished after both players choose a different attack tactic.
for example one goes air another land.
both starts effective both mostly uncounterable in 1v1 and cause mutual base destruction.
Would be interesting to hear what you all think about it.
Is it a fun factor in games?do you enjoy that or think it should be somehow changed?
I wouldn't mind editing and patching up XTA if there is some agreement about what to do.
I could release a version with changes according to the opinionsiv stated above as well but aside from balance changes i'm not sure what is there really to do in XTA ATM.
(lets leave sea for later since its a major issue)
#1 the commander and his upgrades(should it have any?what should they be? etc..)
#2 mines (overpowered or not?)
#3 amphibious T2 tanks need more testing(try and use them more)
#4 are scouts to be changed?
my opinions:
#1 commander upgrades should be removed.
The reasons are that the commander without upgrades in XTA is very powerful and useful throughout the game already.
The more powerful a commander is the more problematic he becomes in smaller games cause of his ability to get to the enemy base and start dgunning.
The commander is already powerful and he has the most powerful weapon in the game.
Adding more weapons as upgrades feels silly cause of that.
#2 I think mines are just straight out over powered.they are very cheap and very harmfull.
Even if mines are not strong in a mod the fact that a player knows there might be mines in an area already scares him somewhat from attacking there.
Even that is already an excellent achievement you don't need to have very cheap mines that can blow up half the map.
#3 well,need more testing to see if they serve mid game purposes well right?
#4 imo we need to think of how to make scouts less of a harass tool.
I think they are overly effective because they have a lot of hp yet are fast enough to avoid defenses to be able to quickly kill very low hp buildings like mexes and wind gens without anything being able to stop them.
The fact xta units deal low dmg makes unit more able to move through defenses and that is exaggerated when you have a units like the jeffy and weazel.
There is another issue that was never really discussed but maybe it should be.
mutual base destruction.
Basically i notice that in 1v1s a lot of the times bases of both players get completely ravished after both players choose a different attack tactic.
for example one goes air another land.
both starts effective both mostly uncounterable in 1v1 and cause mutual base destruction.
Would be interesting to hear what you all think about it.
Is it a fun factor in games?do you enjoy that or think it should be somehow changed?
I wouldn't mind editing and patching up XTA if there is some agreement about what to do.
I could release a version with changes according to the opinionsiv stated above as well but aside from balance changes i'm not sure what is there really to do in XTA ATM.
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Deadnight Warrior
- Posts: 183
- Joined: 08 Jun 2009, 17:59
Re: XTA Developer discussion
No, I corrected it, and you spelt raaar as rear.babbles wrote:I got it right on the wiki :'(
Re: XTA mutator discussion
mutual base destruction: those are the best games.
mines: everybody whines about them being useless because wobbly
missles blow them up. i never see players make them and when i do they max get a flash when put when put on the ramp to the base on this ice map with the volcano. so probally not op.
scouts: sometimes annoying but only on some maps and early on.
commander: morph is usefull because its a safe investment. a windfarm or factory can be destroyed but the commander usually lives. and if he dies early its usually game over anyway. i think com upgrades (if any) should always be something that require a base to function. so no increased m/e production but ie rezz ability.
mines: everybody whines about them being useless because wobbly
missles blow them up. i never see players make them and when i do they max get a flash when put when put on the ramp to the base on this ice map with the volcano. so probally not op.
scouts: sometimes annoying but only on some maps and early on.
commander: morph is usefull because its a safe investment. a windfarm or factory can be destroyed but the commander usually lives. and if he dies early its usually game over anyway. i think com upgrades (if any) should always be something that require a base to function. so no increased m/e production but ie rezz ability.
Re: XTA Developer discussion
Sorry then, and the rear one was my spell checker I swear!Deadnight Warrior wrote:No, I corrected it, and you spelt raaar as rear.babbles wrote:I got it right on the wiki :'(
Re: XTA mutator discussion
Add to #XTA ?d-gun wrote: Setup XTA homepage and links @ http://xta.darkstars.co.uk
Re: XTA mutator discussion
i don't think i deserve to be highlighted like that. Remove me from the wiki entry.
After some time playing xta and poking people about possible changes, i decided to try to dev my own mod instead. I got tired of waiting for the next version and started the mod with xta 9.6, although i asked around and used an ide to check differences between files and import many of the latest changes into it. The mod i'm working on will focus more on micro than macro, and the commander will play an important role like in xta, but more broadly effective and not such a hard counter against some types of units. I'll try to merge a reworked TA gameplay with 2 new factions. I already ported about 2 dozen units for one of the new factions, but it's going to take about 2-3 months before it's ready to be shown off (i'm trying to lay low until i have something i feel is worth it...hopefully i'll get there).
I also have a full time job.
This to say that i'm not available to develop xta.
About Noruas, i find him in chat and in some games (and i only play once or twice a week). I think you should come out and say what you think about xta and its development.
After some time playing xta and poking people about possible changes, i decided to try to dev my own mod instead. I got tired of waiting for the next version and started the mod with xta 9.6, although i asked around and used an ide to check differences between files and import many of the latest changes into it. The mod i'm working on will focus more on micro than macro, and the commander will play an important role like in xta, but more broadly effective and not such a hard counter against some types of units. I'll try to merge a reworked TA gameplay with 2 new factions. I already ported about 2 dozen units for one of the new factions, but it's going to take about 2-3 months before it's ready to be shown off (i'm trying to lay low until i have something i feel is worth it...hopefully i'll get there).
I also have a full time job.
This to say that i'm not available to develop xta.
About Noruas, i find him in chat and in some games (and i only play once or twice a week). I think you should come out and say what you think about xta and its development.
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Deadnight Warrior
- Posts: 183
- Joined: 08 Jun 2009, 17:59
Re: XTA mutator discussion
I see lot of whining about game balancing, but very few suggestions how the balance can be corrected. This is why most mod devs give up modding after a while.
IMO the game should not be balanced and no war fought in the history of this planet was (as then nobody would win).
Instead of whining "Nerf that unit it's OP" try finding the proper countering tactic, best example are Goliath, Sumo and Krogoth. Normaly they're almost invincible if you don't have an Annihilator. But then some smart arse figured out the Cloak & D-Gun (tm). Now people don't use them because they don't want to provide D-Gun targeting practice to enemy commanders.
Think that Ravens (in current state) are OP? Try gunships or bombers. Ravens are patheticaly weak against air.
XTA players almost seem to lack inventiveness when it coms to combining units from various labs (as most stick to one lab type only).
One balancing issue I personaly don't like is that all scouts (kbot, veh, hover or sea) are much to powerfull (in term of health) for their cost. And small T1 attack units (like PWs, AKs, Flash, Gators) are much more effective than heavier (or more expensive) units from same lab, when they should be just cannon fodder/diversion.
But the point is, if you think an unit is OP, use it in your own advantage.
Was Die Dicke Bertha OP when it sieged Paris? What about V1 & V2 London siege? F-117 NightHawk stealth tac bomber? Little Boy on Hiroshima? Tsar Bomba (57Mt H-bomb) tested on Novaya Zemlya?
There are countless examples of OP weapons, but their ownes would never say that their arsenal is powerfull enough.
XTA has derailed the C&C way where defences are almost useless, HLTs, Flaks partly, Anni, DDM and LRPCs being only good statical units. But they instantly cost insane amounts of M, gulp energy like royal ale and are an easy target for air (ok, Flaks are actually good against it, who would have guessed that) and T2 outranges them with ease (Annis and DDM are in a league of it's own).
IMO the game should not be balanced and no war fought in the history of this planet was (as then nobody would win).
Instead of whining "Nerf that unit it's OP" try finding the proper countering tactic, best example are Goliath, Sumo and Krogoth. Normaly they're almost invincible if you don't have an Annihilator. But then some smart arse figured out the Cloak & D-Gun (tm). Now people don't use them because they don't want to provide D-Gun targeting practice to enemy commanders.
Think that Ravens (in current state) are OP? Try gunships or bombers. Ravens are patheticaly weak against air.
XTA players almost seem to lack inventiveness when it coms to combining units from various labs (as most stick to one lab type only).
One balancing issue I personaly don't like is that all scouts (kbot, veh, hover or sea) are much to powerfull (in term of health) for their cost. And small T1 attack units (like PWs, AKs, Flash, Gators) are much more effective than heavier (or more expensive) units from same lab, when they should be just cannon fodder/diversion.
But the point is, if you think an unit is OP, use it in your own advantage.
Was Die Dicke Bertha OP when it sieged Paris? What about V1 & V2 London siege? F-117 NightHawk stealth tac bomber? Little Boy on Hiroshima? Tsar Bomba (57Mt H-bomb) tested on Novaya Zemlya?
There are countless examples of OP weapons, but their ownes would never say that their arsenal is powerfull enough.
XTA has derailed the C&C way where defences are almost useless, HLTs, Flaks partly, Anni, DDM and LRPCs being only good statical units. But they instantly cost insane amounts of M, gulp energy like royal ale and are an easy target for air (ok, Flaks are actually good against it, who would have guessed that) and T2 outranges them with ease (Annis and DDM are in a league of it's own).