Spring RTS Engine

Hay Guys!

Spring has a particle engine and script spawnable shots, and I am abusing it!





Yes the laser network lags, but don't you want it?

maybe you could use the "laser network" effect whenever a new major unit comes online... coming out from the CPU right? and it would be visible in line of sight so you could have an idea where the other guy is building big stuff

I think the laser network might work faster if you used only two beams, both emitted from the pinnacle of the curve and using the fact that beamlasers collide with stuff to end in the right place.

BTW, it looks like your Kernels handle the beams, wouldn't it be less demanding on the CPU to make the sockets find their Kernel once and emit their beam as long as that Kernel is alive (Kernel would only have to look for the first socket to determine shieldedness and Socket would have to look for the Kernel exactly once and later only see if the id still points to a living Kernel)? Wouldn't handle newly made Kernels but with the current rules they shouldn't appear midgame anyway.

There is no super unit SinbadEV. The most major unit would be the worm and byte , which the hole & kernel build in chain.

KDR_11k, I thought having only one single unit running the script would be less demanding than having many. But it's true that if it was run by socket, they wouldn't have to loop through all 5000 ID every frame. Imo the big problem is that I don' know how to emit lasting laser, so I have to refresh everyframe. Maybe if I used another effect than the instabeam, I could emit it only once a while and have it have a lasting effect. Anyway, I don't think that pseudo ONS will make such a good gameplay, so optimising it is not my current priority.

Lasers have to be singleframe and I don't think it matters much, they do collision detection every frame anyway and disappear as fast as they appear. You could cut it down to two laser beams per socket though. Would look different but I don't think it'd look bad.

The sockets wouldn't just not have to cycle, they wouldn't have to recalculate the trajectory either (I really doubt you implemented an array for this, or did you?).

There, Kernel Panic 1.2 out, now with installer!
http://spring.unknown-files.net/file/29 ... Panic_1.2/



The installer:

• Install Kernel Panic Corruption (main KP data).
• Install Kernel Panic Eviless (mutator to play true KP).
• Install Kernel Panic ONS (experimental laggy mutator).
• Install the maps Marble Madness, Major Madness, and the two Direct Memory Access.
• Install the autospam widget (a better one).
• Enable Ground Decals and Lua UI in the registery keys.
• Install NTai with a KP profile.
• Install three single player scripts, and shorcuts to them.

If someone manages to beat the "Single Player Hard Script", I'd like to get the demo.

When Spring finishes loading, with any of the versions or singleplayer scripts, I get "Could not read water texture from file bitmaps/kpmaps/vividcolors.png". It happens with any map.

Same here. Can't play 1.2 from lobby either.

i get an error where I don't want to play the game because it is new and different

Hm, I don't get that missing texture error.

EDIT: Your ONS handling of invulnerability is flawed, keep in mind that mines, bugbombs and worms don't cause projectiles that can be deflected. Should've used damagemultiplier=0.000000001 and set ARMORED.

Thank for the quick and precise bugreport. I (and KDR) hadn't noticed this bug because we have the watery water shader. I'll fix it asap. Sorry about it.

Other things I have to fix:
- The pretty icons only shows for me, apparently I have to leave the .ico files somewhere.
- Considering how often AF release NTai, I ought to test if there isn't already a NTai.dll of higher version number.
- Like KDR just said, invulnerabily of Kernel in ONS gametype.

And for a longer term:
- Merge it with a Spring installer so we have a standalone KP installer.
- Make real LUA mission, that act as a tutorial, instead of just skirmish scripts.
- Probably balance some more.
- Retexture the hackers.

that is the most proffesional install ive ever seen, nice one

zwzsg wrote:- Merge it with a Spring installer so we have a standalone KP installer.

I kind of hope that it's going to be the other way around - spring installer should, IMHO, come with KP by default.

The latest NTai is the build I sent you in the lobby before you released this.

that is the most proffesional install ive ever seen, nice one

You havent seen my NTai installers

Ok, since 1.2 version was flawed and not worky on some comp, here is
Kernel Panic 1.3!

tombom wrote:When Spring finishes loading, with any of the versions or singleplayer scripts, I get "Could not read water texture from file bitmaps/kpmaps/vividcolors.png". It happens with any map.

gunblob wrote:Same here. Can't play 1.2 from lobby either.

I just fixed it. Sorry, I hadn't noticed since it only happens if you have "basic water" in settings and I hadn't. Please test the 1.3 and tell me how it goes.

KDR_11k wrote:Your ONS handling of invulnerability is flawed, keep in mind that mines, bugbombs and worms don't cause projectiles that can be deflected. Should've used damagemultiplier=0.000000001 and set ARMORED.

Ok, done. By the way, ONS should be considered as experimental. It's meant as a proof of concept, and so that people (including end-users, not just other modders) can try it once and give feedback. It's not meant to become the major and most played KP.

1v0ry_k1ng wrote:That is the most professional install I've ever seen, nice one.

Thanks, but it's not yet as good as it could:
- It should ask what element to install, instead of always installing everything including shorctuts all over the place.
- It should make an uninstaller, considering how many files it creates. And also considering how I coded 1.3 to delete some 1.2 files.
- It should check that Spring is really installed in the folder the user pointed to, and prompt to download and install Spring if not.
- Speaking of which, I really wish I could find a way to make the url in the text appears as a clickable link instead of plain text.

AF wrote:The latest NTai is the build I sent you in the lobby before you released this.

Yes. However, maybe you will release some more version in the future. And maybe will come one day where the KP installer is not up to date. If someone manually installed your very lastest NTai, then Kernel Panic, it would be a pity to replace NTai by an older version. Anyway, so as to adress this issue, in 1.3 installer, I added a something that compares the version of the dll, and if there a NTai.dll of a different version, it asks the user what to do. I'd rather have it automatically keep the highest version number, but doing something as simple as > is quite difficult in NSIS. Especially since NSIS gets version number into two variables, dword low and dword high. I could also have used the "libtype" command thingy, but I was (probably irrationnaly) afraid it would register or share the dll or something and in doubt I prefered not to.

imbaczek wrote:

zwzsg wrote:- Merge it with a Spring installer so we have a standalone KP installer.

I kind of hope that it's going to be the other way around - spring installer should, IMHO, come with KP by default.

While I would be very happy if this happened, this raise three issues:

• Kernel Panic needs special map. You can't really play KP on small divide, and you can't really play XTA on marble madness. If Kernel Panic was bundled in main Spring installer, that would happens. Yes, maybe it's time to think about having Spring and lobby handle mod-specific maps (but please make it overridable). Any other mod, such 1944, EE, Gundam, BA, etc.. can share maps with any other mod. But Kernel Panic has maps for itself only.
• Kernel Panic doesn't really showcase Spring to its best:
  • Instead of detailed reflective textures, you have wireframes.
  • Instead of nukes explosion clouds that unhinge your jaw, you have retro style pixelly explosion.
  • Instead of TA brilliant ressource system, you have no ressources.
  • Instead of the richness of large mods, you have an extremely simplified gameplay and low number of unit types.
• Kernel Panic gets updated very often (like, once there was six versions under 48hr). The new Spring version... from the look of it I'm not even certain it will get officially released one day.

So, yeah, get it and give comments, bug reports, multiplayer balance feedback, demos of you beating the hard script, etc...

Alright.

Now, I don't have much time for anything these days, but I did decide to download and play Kernel Panic 1.2 - it worked well enough, no problems there.

However, the Hard script is just cruel. Easy takes a fair amount of time, but not too long. Medium takes five minutes - I won the same way I won the first three games I played online several versions ago.

Hard is, sadly, not hard. It is mean. Mean and hilarious.

I played the Hard script twelve times. I rushed. I spread. I fortified. I abused DOS units. I abused mine-bugs. I dotted the map with walls. I put up beach heads. I channeled my three foes.

I know I can beat it, but sixty commands a minute isn't enough. I will, however, find a way. I will.

How did you get custom nanolathe? I really need a custom one for my game, just to make it "More Free". By the way, gonna try this out tonight, looks like a great mod. Maybe I can actually win for once.

shownanospray=0 and make the effects you need in the unit script.

EDIT: Zw, your Trojan script doesn't handle building anything that's not a window gracefully.

neddiedrow wrote:I know I can beat it, but sixty commands a minute isn't enough. I will, however, find a way. I will.

Good good. Looking forward to hearing from your result.


Easy is meant to be a sand box, where you have ample time to discover the mod without worrying about defending or mounting an attack. There are enemies to attack if you wish, but if you do not do anything, you still have like 1/2 chances to win. In easy, you can watch AI playing to learn how to play, and try doing the same immediatly. There's no difficulty in easy, just discovering the mod.

Medium is meant to be the true skill test to decide if you're ready to go multiplayer. Indeed, I, too, manage to win medium very quickly. But imo this has more to do with the small size of the map than with the low difficulty. I'm not sure but I think true beginners wouldn't win medium on first try.

Hard is meant to be keep busy even the best players. To keep them entertained for hours. I am not even sure Hard is beatable: you are one versus three, so you are obviously outproduced. I am not sure that the superioty of the human skills vs AI is enough to compensate for such small odds. Maybe there's some exploit that once found will guarantee an easy win, AI are so easily tricked after all, but I hope not. Maybe the AI rush so hard there's simply no other way than losing, I just hope not. Ideally hard would be barely beatable only by the best player and their 1337 skills. But somehow I don't think just throwing three AI at the player without even proper testing will hit such a precise balance point. Hence why I'm curious to know if people beat hard and how.

Maybe I'll rename Hard into Insane some time. But then I would need to make a Hard script, cause in every game, the first three difficulty level are always easy, medium, hard. It's only the fourth level that get varying names. And if I start having four of those start script, then I should stop dumping shortcuts to them on the desktop. After all just by using the lobby, you can make yourself all those script, and many more.

I made those script and shorcut, because I'm sure there are people that are afraid or simply can't play multi, and aren't fully aware of all that's going around in Spring. For a newcomers or an outsider, it's isn't always obvious that the multiplayer lobby can be used to run single player games, or to find and download a single player lobby. It also is very hard to guess that only NTai.dll, and even, only the lastest NTai, is able to play KP.

I know many things we consider obvious here can be quite difficult to figure out for people that haven't been around as long as us. So I'm trying to make it as easy as possible to play Kernel Panic. This is why I made an installer where you have just have to run and click next. And this is why I'm trying to also propose an easy way to have single player KP game. I know these are pretty weak scripts and not real mission: basically I just ran the Spring multiplayer lobby, hosted a game, added some AI, then saved the script.txt. Ideally I would like to make some sort of tutorial mission, with LUA script to teach the player how to play the game, starting with the very basis such as camera control etc... The long term goal would be to have a complete package that would give even people who've never played TA or Spring or SupCom, and aren't even RTS buff, a very smooth introduction to Kernel Panic. If I could manage that, and also to retexture the Hacker side into a more fitting look, then I'd have a package that I could advertise even outside of the Spring community. Because Kernel Panic is different enough from TA based mods, that people who like TA based mods might not find what they are longing for in Kernel Panic, and people who don't hook onto TA might like Kernel Panic. However I'm still very far from proposing a smooth enough Click-a-KP-link to enjoy-first-game-of-KP process. So I'm going one step at a time. And anwyway, even for Spring regulars, installing LUA widgets or getting an AI to work can be arduous.

So far about all mods around here are multiplayer only. But imo the whole approach of orienting your mod toward multiplayer when in reality no one plays low profile mods online is flawed. Kernel Panic really doesn't lend itself to mission, but at least skirmish is possible. Maybe I'm wrong since the UF download count are low and the number of player in lobby are right, but I'm sure there's plenty of people who attempt to play Spring mods off-line, and who get very dissappointed once they realise the enemy doesn't do anything. Those people probably then think that Spring suck cause it has no AI and leave forever. Even now that the official Spring download comes bundled with two AI that can play fairly well most TA based mods, it aren't 100% obvious when you run Spring.exe what script to choose to get a skirmish going. It would be a such a vain task to try to get the spring.clan-sy.com leaders to orient their product in more off-line friendly direction that it hadn't even brushed my mind before I started typing that sentence. However, for Kernel Panic, I have the power to! Even if the mod really doesn't lend itself to single player, it should not be neglected as it's often an introductory step before the multi. The more people stick around after a successful first try, the more they're likely to look into further and end up going multiplayer regular.

rcdraco wrote:How did you get custom nanolathe? I really need a custom one for my game, just to make it "More Free".

Like KDR_11k said, it's not so much custom nanolathe, than disabling the nanolathe effect then writing lots of BOS code and custom particle effects to simulate one.

rcdraco wrote:By the way, gonna try this out tonight, looks like a great mod. Maybe I can actually win for once.

because I am unhappy that people play it not because of KP own value but just to make us believe they like it, in order to put KP authors in a better mood, in the hope they'll be more willing to share their construction secrets.

KDR_11k wrote:Zw, your Trojan script doesn't handle building anything that's not a window gracefully.

Woops, I forgot it can build other stuff than windows. Well, at least it merely look odd and doesn't prevent the game from going. One more item on the todolist for 1.4.

zyzwg, remove the offensive repair retreat and repair from your NTAI profile, they dont work properly atm and just cause the constructors to pause for 10 odd seconds instead of expanding