Wijitmaker

Humanoid Bodies ≈ 350 Animal Bodies ≈ 450 Humanoid and Building Props ≈ 20 World Objects ≈ 150 Buildings ≈ 400

Sorry akya, if you were using mathmatica I could help, but I don't have maple.

I used to play basketball, so this caught my eye. Remember that old movie back in the 90's about basketball and how whitemen can't jump. Well, generally that is true... but check out this guy. Here is a kid from canada who just happens to join the college program here where I attend at EWU. He has hops! Thats for sure! Check it out http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~jheyward/dunkcontest.wmv His name is Henry Bekkering, and he is 6' 6", 210 lbs, from Taber, Alberta. I think he is only 18 years old too.

However, in theory... with our modding capabilities, you could practically make your own game over top of 0 A.D.. Being that 0 A.D. is absolutely free, you don't pay a dime. You also don't have to do any hard core programming either

stag driving? please no! perish the thought! Here is a fun quote from May 19th, 2001: Happy Birthday Man

Yeah I saw it too, I told Stuart, I could have done without seeing so much of Acheles' skin A shame I know absolutly nothing about the mythology and legend behind the story... oh well It was entertaining, but I pretty much agree with your setiments Bobbo.

There was an interview I did at Christmas, but the site that hosted it and asked the questions died. I suppose that means we could host it on our website now?

Maker = Topknot Demos = just some old stuff he was doing while playing around with blitz basic code Easter Egg = Its been a few years, but I think it was a building - when you clicked on it it played a sound or something... I forget

Hmm, well I was looking around my HD, and I don't have any of the old blitz source code, except for one terrain editor. I have quite a few old compiled demos, but thats the only source code I have. You might be able to contact the maker, but I don't know if he is online anymore.

Yeah that was from a prototype engine, it was programmed in blitz basic... you still want it?

Which screenshots are you refering too?

What about Bob?

Yeah those are pretty much the best ones IMHO. The Grail is more 'fatasy', The Pendragon is mainly a battle book, and Avalon could be read totally independantly. I liked the Atlantis connection too. I also appreciated all the history he researched and how he interweaved it into the legend of Arthur. Cool stuff I haven't read them in about 5 years, its about time to re-read them again The deal is, we are doing an Arthurian based campaign for part II of the game. If you would be interested - you could help perfect the current storyline we have now? The guy who wrote the first draft based it largely on Bernard Cornwell's books. It would be kind of nice to have a story that is our own. I also have a few history articles I've been working on that I need to get completed - "Authorian Britian" and "The late Roman Empire". Julia Ormond I guess its a personal preference, but the whole lancelot story really annoys me. Yes, its a pivital part of Monmouth's story... but I just don't like it. I guess perfer putting Arthur and Gwen on a moral pedistal I'm also a big fan of the "True" king Arthur vs. the "Legendary" king Arthur. The history of the british isles from 400-600 AD has always facinated me lol, thats exactly what I want. No glitz, no glamour - just history and an epic story!

Ah, another arthur fan - can't ever have enough of you I'm a big fan myself but based on another author (Stephen R. Lawhead). Hopefully we'll have a nice campaign for you in Part II. BTW looking forward to the new Arthur film? http://www.murphsplace.com/owen/arthur/arthur.html I sure am!

It's Stuart's birthday today! Congrats on the quarter century mark there man Have a great day, and don't work to hard!

I think there is a little confusion on what exactly this RPS stuff does. I don't view RPS as the greatest deciding factor of combat in the game. The RPS stuff is mainly to give the game symetry. It gives a function and pupose to every unit. As far as one unit being 'effective' vs. another unit... I think there are two other MAJOR factors that really outweigh or be a counter balance to RPS dynamics. That would be the techs researched and the ranking of the units. Example... say you have an infantry swordsman and you you know that your bonused vs. infantry spearman. Your both at the basic level with no techs researched. Chances are you'll win. Say you take that same basic swordsman and attack an advanced spearman, there is no way you'll win - he'll kick your butt. The only chance you got is to research a few more millitary techs and after you do that you have a chance at evening the playing field so you with your teched up basic swordsman could make a fighting chance vs a relitively unteched advanced unit. RPS doesn't mean your invicible vs. certain units and it doesn't mean you have the silver bullet. It does mean you have an upper hand on an even playing field and you the AI will used that knowledge to attack in a more efficient manner that will gain you as the human player the most 'bang for your buck' when your not their to watch and command every move. So take the slinger for example... these guys are pretty weeny anyway. Relitively little to no armour and as they gain rank, it will probably only effect their attack strength and accuracy. Pretty fragile dudes. The support units and siege weapons are the same way (except the ram has impervious pierce armour). The Cavalry Archer and Cavalry javelinist will probably be weakened generally by the overall armount of armour that they will have (definatly less than a cavalry spearman - also probably less than a cavalry swordsman). Cavalry archers in part I of the game might as well be a SU because they are so rare (I think only the Persians have them?) And the cavalry javelinist will be probably be one of the lowest hit point units of all the cavlary units. Another thing to point out is that we are only going to give slight bonuses... example say a 5% attack bonus vs. that classification at the basic and say a 15% bonus at the advanced and maybe a 25% bonus at the elite. Looking at number examples... it would be something like: sword_infantry_b attack: 5.00 sword_infantry_a attack: 8.00 sword_infantyr_u attack: 12.00 Thats the attack it would have vs. any unit on the map except for the the infantry spearman and infantry javelinist. When in combate with its RPS partner the stats change. In those cases it would be (using the percentages above): sword_infantry_b attack: 5.25 sword_infantry_a attack: 9.2 sword_infantyr_u attack: 15 Note that the bonus increase in strength as the unit advances, but also see that the unit is still going to cause damage on other units that aren't its RPS partner. I hope that explains things a little better that I should have explained in the first post. Does that help things sit better?

Ok, I got one more revision trying to clean up the things Ken pointed out. I'm trying to get it so that it makes logical sense, and each unit has 2 things its better against and two things its weaker against. Thats the goal See if you like it better Glad we might be finding something that would be tollerable from all 3 of us. Here is the history behind the units as I understand it. Ken, Paul, and Bobby – you’ll have to correct me if you see any problems. Infantry Spearman – probably one of the most primitive units in the game. Fighting with a shart object at the end of the pole didn’t require a lot of technology to develop. It also allowed the human to distance themselves from their attacker. As time pasted the spears got longer and longer. Started with a fighting style similar to a quarterstaff, then to using them in numbers as a ‘pin cushion’ vs. humans (sarrisa in a phalanx). Later it was developed to combat cavalry. During mid-evil time it evolved to the pike. These units tended to be armored heavily as possible. Clearly a solid advantage vs. all forms of cavalry. Infantry Sword – basically a developed sickle. Probably from the club, to the axe, to the sickle to the sword. It was the Romans who used them to combat the long range of the sarrisa. Simply knock the shield aside and walk your way up the shaft of the spear and thrust the sword into the ribs. The spears were so long they had to use two hand to wield them and that meant no shields, so it was a pretty easy kill.once you got past the point of the spear. Generally these were armored well, had shields, and tended to be the nobles. A good sword was an expensive weapon. Clearly a solid advantage vs. spearman – and pretty much any other units on foot that wasn’t well armoured. Infantry Javelinst – these were the skirmishers. These lightly armored units would advance quickly, throw a hail of javelin and then retreat back to their ranks. Grab another spear and repeat. They would do well against any unit that wasn’t wearing proper armor, but do more poorly if they fought hand to hand vs a well armored unit. They didn’t always have to thow their spears either. They used these light small spears in hand to hand similar to quarterstaff. Also note that the development of the pilum was a key transition. This pilum was a weapon with a long steal shaft that would sink into a shield, but be nearly impossible to remove. This rendered the shield useless. They also wighted and balanced them to make them accurately hit with a punch. These guys were great for unshielded units and units that were not armored well. Infantry Archers – they tended to be lightly armored. They usually only took part of first part of the battle which involved sending a volley of raining down the enemy. Of course they would have to stop shooting once the melee units closed in. This means their job was largely over once the ‘true battle’ was underway. They spent hours of training with a bow. If you were hit by an arrow it was more likely an act of random chance than being specifically targeted by an archer. Also worked will vs. any unit that was not properly shielded or armoured. Slingers – they were amazing shots with their slings. They used choice rocks, and often specifically created ‘shot’ made from lead. They could pierce amour in close distances. They were lightly armored because they needed the mobility in their arm regions. Effective vs. armoured units, but if they were effective vs. armored units, then they were especially effective vs. non armored units. Cavalry Spearman – this was the weapon of choice from horseback. This was the unit that would eventually evolve to the medieval knight (after heavy influence by the Sarmartians and their lances). Infantry were an easy kill, just ride them down and squewer them with your stick and its point on the end. As with all cavalry – it was only the rich and the nobles who were able to fight from horseback due to the cost of owning such a beast. These guys have a strong advantage vs. any infantry unit except those spear infantry. Cavlary Swordsman – fighting from horseback with a sword is a tricky thing to do. This required usage of a sword that was longer than the typical infantry sword. One needed a good reach to attack from the height of a horse. If you were without spear (the ideal weapon of choice) it was probably because you needed your hands free to do other tasks such as riding hard and fast. It wasn’t uncommon for the men to dismount and attack from foot if they were armed with only a sword. Used as a quick strike force united to run down the weak units and put a sword in their back. Cavalry Javelins – the javelins thrown from a horse’s back were probably 3 at most. The idea was to quickly advance with 3 in hand, then throw them all. After you had done that it was time to switch to your secondary weapon which was usually a spear or a sword. Fairly vs. any foot unit. Probably pretty good vs some cavalry too if they weren't moving. Cavalry Acher – a very rare unit. It was used by the Persians, but it didn’t gain much traction until the parthians, huns, mongols, and other people of the nomadic steeps introduced them to western Europe. This was the most effective unit on the battlefield for several hundred years till the well armoured knight game allong. Good vs. any foot unit that wasn't heavily armoured.

Quick reply before I go to bed. I'm looking at the 3 sieges as (non of these rank): Ballista - specifically used vs. nonmech units. Its that one unit on the map with super high attack, long reloading time, very weak HPs, small splash damage, expensive, automatic unpack and pack time is required as soon as it stops moving, longer range, with moderate speed. Ram - specifically for buildings. this packs the bigest punch with crush damage. Its slow, highest attack vs. structures, high resitance to pierce damage, week vs melee damage and crush damage, espensive. Onager - basically a cross between the ballista and the ram. Its used vs. anything on the map. Slower as a, shorter range than the ballista, can fire as soon as it stops moving, little faster reloading times than a balista, weak against melee attack, more HP than the ballista, attack is evenly split vs buildings and units so the overal effect against either is less.

I forgot I had visio now... so I redid what I had before here: Ok, this is Stuart's idea he explained to me today via email: And, this is the one where I tried to do a graph from above: Here is the visio files Stuart if you want to play around with them: http://www.wildfiregames.com/~art/wijit/rps.zip Complexity? Hah! That's *depth*, that is! That's strategy! Er... wait.... how did you.... how did you know I would say that! I veiw super units as uniquely adapted to fit the civ. But, I imagine they generally would be based on the 'normal' CS units. I think I'll adress your concerns in the next reply when I'll type up some history background for you that I'm basing my system on.

Thanks for looking it over guys Tomorrow I'll try to draft up something to make a graphical presentation of Stuart's idea.

I had a few minutes, so I decided to get my thoughts down on paper to make my presentation for the RPS paradigm of the game. Instead, I got involved and decided to just type it all up right now Here are the links of a few of the main sites I used for reference: http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/...article1087.asp http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20020313...reimeier_02.htm http://www.gamasutra.com/features/game_des...16/symmetry.htm http://www.gdconf.com/archives/2004/johnson_soren.zip http://www.worldrps.com/ Here is the primary dilemma we as designers are posed with in relation to unit interaction. How do we give players an assortment of units that are unique in their own right but at the same time do not overpower one another? We need to maintain balance to make the game not just fair… but the more variety you have, the more strategies and tactics you have. You empower the players with different offensive options, and in turn more options to respond defensively. Here are the basics of how the system works: Rock beats Scissors, Scissors beats Paper, and Paper beats Rock. This next image is an example of how the cycle works in AoK: It’s a pretty simple concept. Mounted units beat Ranged units, Ranged beat Foot units, Foot units beat Mounted units. Nothing to hard to grasp. AoK also shook things a up a bit because there were different ‘types’ within these 3. You had your skirmishers that were a cross between melee and ranged. Your pikemen that were great vs. cavalry and cheaper than swordsmen. And we know the rest… because we have all played AoK. This leads us to AoM: Basically the same thing at the ‘core’. But, this isn’t the only level. We give the player more stages: Notice how the human units are a subset of the greater collection of AoM units. This category in itself is a just a part in a great RPS dynamic. But, wait! That’s not all, it continues! All these choices here are now overshadowed by a greater RPS choice of which god you choose. This isn’t as pure of a RPS dynamic is the others… but, I don’t think it was dumb luck that the ES designers set it up this way. And finally: This is the weakest in the ‘RPS’ concept… but they made a graphic for it, so I thought it was worth showing Why do we use Rock – Paper – Scissor? RPS is used to ‘even the playing field’ of strategies that could be dominantly used multiple times because it proved effective in the past. Instead every action causes a reaction and the response to that action has another possible actions. If we had for example… one uber unit that was good for everything – then why would we use any other unit? The uber unit will be the unit of choice, if you don’t use it… you’ll loose. Another thing I noticed while trying to refine the interactions in warfare is that we have a few units that are not inherently different. The spearman and the swordsman? What makes them different? The archer and the slinger? Any unit that is the same as another should be cut. We don’t want to cut units because they were historically used… So, our only option is to make units unique in a way that might be a stretch in realism. Example, Why do we need to have a slinger? We already have 2 ranged units (arrows/javelin) – one long range and one short – one is more armoured and one is weaker. Where does a slinger fit in? How can he be different? I also noticed we have a few other things going on here. With the unit experience system, the computer is managing the evolution of these units on a unique unit to unit level. We can’t just magically wave a wand and instantly make all our swordsman super strong. We have to use military experience and ‘toughen’ up our units one by one, battle hardening them. Technologies are also unique because you can adjust your path of the game by the choices you choose while your advancing through your tech tree. I think both of those things fit very nicely with what I have here now: Here is how I have the interactions set up. Now, I think it’s important that all unit types from all civs start out with the same traits. If we decide to make greater distinctions, we can do it in their rankings (post basic). To explain the idea a bit: each CS unit is ‘good’ vs. 2 different types of units. It is also week vs. two different units (except the rare cavalry archer). This is important because it gives the player to different options to respond to an army. Also, not every civ has ever unit and this gives us a little compensation in that too. Also the slinger is a bit unique in his own right as he is ‘out of the loop’ with really only one main purpose (basically a mini-onager). I don’t think the bonuses should be vastly different. I do think the distinctions between units to widen as they do gain experience. Much of the greater effect the units will have on other units is compounded by the attack and armour types – these are affected largely be techs and unit experience. What this does do is that it singles out what unit they would choose to attack under the control of the AI. I imagine the attack priority would be something like this: 1] Attack units you were commanded to attack by the human player 2] Attack units that are attacking you 3] Attack units that you are bonused to attack 3] Attack any enemy in LOS So this chart would also play a role in that area. Without further adeu… I present to you the first draft of my RPS chart: I also made up a chart to explain some of the basic distinctions between units that make them unique. Why would I use unit A over B. Well, this is why. As always, I'm open to suggestions on how to improve the interactions and distinctions. I tried to follow history and common sense as much as possible, to there were a few things I had to fudge a bit to maintain a symetry. And that concludes my RPS presentation… Thank you all for attending, I’ll take questions in the back of the room, after we break for refreshments

You need to talk to your newsies, Sting and Code Optimist. Looks like they have been slacking Send them a PM and ask them to post more news

Just finished my second java homework assignment. Wahooo! Tell me what you think!? Note: it assumes some user intellegence on input import java.io.*; //calling all classes in the java.io file in the java directory import java.text.DecimalFormat; public class Video { public static void main (String [] arguements) throws IOException { /***************************************************************************** * Name: Jason Bishop * Program: Video * Description: Simulation of a video store cash register * References: None *****************************************************************************/ BufferedReader kb = new BufferedReader (new InputStreamReader(System.in)); //calling up classes from the java.io file we imported DecimalFormat money = new DecimalFormat("'$'#.00"); //setting a money format, note I figured out how to autimatically include the dollar sign /*******************************INPUT SESSION********************************/ final String Pad1 = " "; // setting a pad of 26 spaces final String Pad2 = " "; //setting a pad of 16 spaces System.out.print("Please enter your name: "); // asking for name input String name = kb.readLine(); System.out.println(""); System.out.println("Now enter your rental information for video rental #1"); System.out.println(""); System.out.print("Title: "); //asking for title input String title1 = (kb.readLine() + Pad1).substring(0,26); //decided to pad this up here, instead of waiting to do it below System.out.print("Type (n = New, o = Old, c = Classic): "); String type1 = kb.readLine(); type1.toLowerCase(); //setting to lowercase to minimize input errors System.out.print("Days rented? "); String rent1 = kb.readLine(); // This is a copy of the form for video rental #1 above (except I changed all 1's to 2's) System.out.println(""); System.out.println("Now Enter your rental information for video rental #2"); System.out.println(""); System.out.print("Title: "); String title2 = (kb.readLine() + Pad1).substring(0,26); System.out.print("Type (n = New, o = Old, c = Classic): "); String type2 = kb.readLine(); System.out.print("Days rented? "); String rent2 = kb.readLine(); System.out.println(""); /*************************USER INPUT INTERPRITATION**************************/ int rent1int = Integer.parseInt(rent1); //changing a string entry to an interger for calcuations int rent2int = Integer.parseInt(rent2); double cost1 = 0.0; //setting a place holder for a movie cost value String type1full = "error"; //setting a place holder for the string output of the movie type if (type1.equalsIgnoreCase("c")) {cost1 = .598; type1full = "Classic";} else if(type1.equalsIgnoreCase("o")) {cost1 = .998; type1full = "Old";} else if(type1.equalsIgnoreCase("n")) {cost1 = 2.495; type1full = "New";} //next few lines are a repeat from above double cost2 = 0.0; String type2full = "error"; if (type2.equalsIgnoreCase("c")) {cost2 = .598; type2full = "Classic";} else if(type2.equalsIgnoreCase("o")) {cost2 = .998; type2full = "Old";} else if(type2.equalsIgnoreCase("n")) {cost2 = 2.495; type2full = "New";} double rentcost1 = cost1 * rent1int; //multiplying daily cost by days rented double rentcost2 = cost2 * rent2int; if (rentcost1 > 99.00) rentcost1 = 99.00; //caps the cost per video at 99.00 max if (rentcost2 > 99.00) rentcost2 = 99.00; double tax = (rentcost1 + rentcost2) * .081; //calculating the tax cost double total = rentcost1 + rentcost2 + tax; //adding the tax cost to the video cost String cost1output = money.format(rentcost1); //applying the money format to the doubles and creating new string variables String cost2output = money.format(rentcost2); String taxoutput = money.format(tax); String totaloutput = money.format(total); /******************************OUTPUT SESSION********************************/ System.out.println("Your Recipt:"); System.out.println(""); System.out.println("STUDENT NAME: " + name); String cell_a1 = ("VIDEO NAME" + Pad1).substring(0,26); //padding the 'cell' to the right String cell_a2 = ("TYPE" + Pad2).substring(0,16); String cell_a3 = ("DAYS RENTED" + Pad2).substring(0,16); String cell_a4 = ("COST OF VIDEO" + Pad2).substring(0,16); String cell_b2 = (type1full + Pad2).substring(0,16); String cell_b3 = (Pad2 + rent1).substring(rent1.length(),16 + rent1.length()); //padding the cell to the left (note: I found it easier to take the length of the string as the minimum and the length of the string plus the pad as the maximum) String cell_b4 = (Pad2 + cost1output).substring(cost1output.length(),16 + cost1output.length()); String cell_c2 = (type2full + Pad2).substring(0,16); String cell_c3 = (Pad2 + rent2).substring(rent2.length(),16 + rent2.length()); String cell_c4 = (Pad2 + cost2output).substring(cost2output.length(),16 + cost2output.length()); String cell_d3 = ("TAX:" + Pad2).substring(0,16); String cell_d4 = (Pad2 + taxoutput).substring(taxoutput.length(),16 + taxoutput.length()); String cell_e3 = ("TOTAL DUE:" + Pad2).substring(0,16); String cell_e4 = (Pad2 + totaloutput).substring(totaloutput.length(),16 + totaloutput.length()); System.out.println("@" + "--------------------------" + "-" + "----------------" + "-" + "----------------" + "-" + "----------------" + "@"); System.out.println("|" + cell_a1 + "|" + cell_a2 + "|" + cell_a3 + "|" + cell_a4 + "|"); System.out.println("|" + "--------------------------" + "|" + "----------------" + "|" + "----------------" + "|" + "----------------" + "|"); System.out.println("|" + title1 + "|" + cell_b2 + "|" + cell_b3 + "|" + cell_b4 + "|"); System.out.println("|" + "--------------------------" + "|" + "----------------" + "|" + "----------------" + "|" + "----------------" + "|"); System.out.println("|" + title2 + "|" + cell_c2 + "|" + cell_c3 + "|" + cell_c4 + "|"); System.out.println("|" + "--------------------------" + "-" + "----------------" + "|" + "----------------" + "|" + "----------------" + "|"); System.out.println("|" + Pad1 + " " + Pad2 + "|" + cell_d3 + "|" + cell_d4 + "|"); System.out.println("|" + Pad1 + " " + Pad2 + "|" + "----------------" + "|" + "----------------" + "|"); System.out.println("|" + Pad1 + " " + Pad2 + "|" + cell_e3 + "|" + cell_e4 + "|"); System.out.println("@" + "--------------------------" + "-" + "----------------" + "-" + "----------------" + "-" + "----------------" + "@"); }//end of main }//end of Video Class

I thought of one today that would be pretty handy... [tab] =