guerringuerrin

100% 0adopeamine This is even better than the last one.

You'll never be able to have flawless code, but you can always build stronger code and better anti-cheat protection. This is the case with maphack, which afaik have been fixed in the latest version. Furthermore, saying that 0 A.D. is insecure just because it's open source is like saying Windows is more secure than Linux because it's closed. Security doesn’t depend on hiding the code, but on how the system is designed and what measures are in place to protect it. Not exactly true. Most—if not all—GUI changes are made by modifying the contents of the GUI folder without even touching the simulation folder. True. And I'm not in favor of enforcing any mandatory system for using certified mods or restricting mods. I'm in favor of making information about which mods are being used by all players in a match (whether signed via mod.io or verified in any other way) available to all players—or at least to the host—of the match. After that, each host can set their own rules. Yes, it’s a big challenge. And yet, here we are enjoying an incredible game developed by a community of developers and players that moves forward in many areas through discussion and consensus.

There is a skill on being aware of your military production and keeping your pop up. In fact, just yesterday a player told me he was using the autotrain feature because "it helps me keep up my population". And in the context of the (serious) discussion about this feature, sounds like an euphemism to say "it takes away brain time to come up with original strategies". Yeah, I mean the current training system is buggy in the way I've described. Is very different from a feature that instantly produces units according resources and housing available. In my opinion, you took automation to an extreme, and it does provide a clear advantage over those who don’t use that feature. And I feel frustrated that we can't even agree on that and the importance of fair play in a competitive environment. Cause might not be a super popular RTS but 0ad actually has a competitive community at some point. You’ve got a point here, as you never tried to keep your mod in the shadows, and I don’t think you’ve ever acted dishonestly. So accusing you of hiding it or being a cheater doesn’t add anything to the discussion. However, it’s currently impossible to know if someone is using it independently, and not everyone may be as honest as you in that regard and yeah, those are cheaters.

@Sesshoumaruin order to get your points you'll need to upload the commands.txt file from the replay's folder. You can check on the replay's section of the game, identify it and navigate to the file's path shown in the bottom section of the screen to get the replay folder

Just to clarify the topic of automatic transmissions in case I'm misunderstanding due to a language barrier: In most races, the transmission is semi-automatic/sequential. This means that the driver does actively shift gears, even though the system is electronically assisted. In most of the cases, no driver would choose a fully automatic gearbox, because deciding when to shift and when to downshift is key to optimizing the car’s performance (for overtaking, entering/exiting corners, etc.). And this is why going to non-gaming-related analogies can be so confusing and creates dead-end discussions. BUT if wanna keep playing with the analogy... I would compare the semi-automatic transmission to my customTrainer mod. In this case, the system automatically finds an idle barracks and assigns the units there, instead of stacking them in a barracks that’s already busy—something that forces you to constantly search for the darn idle one. We could even consider this a bug in the game, and this system comes to fix it while still respecting the “non-automation principle” (okay, I’m getting philosophical here). Now, fully automating production can result in a competitive advantage between two players of similar skill, if one of them has to spend less attention maintaining their population high while the other has to carry out repetitive production tasks. It’s also something hard to quantify—it’s more of a qualitative difference, since you can’t measure, for instance, how distracted someone might get in the heat of the moment, forgeting to check it's military production. And this is fairly obvious. The trade-off is that you lose control over batch sizes at any given time, and that can affect your economy at certain points. But you can toggle autotrain on and off. So a player could activate it during moments when they’re focused on battle and know they have enough resources for autotrain not to hurt their economy. Meanwhile, the player without autotrain is forced to constantly pay attention to their production. Atrik usually argues from the perspective of gameplay preference, which I think is totally valid. Others (like me) argue from a fair play and competitive balance standpoint (please, serious arguments—none of that “I have better hardware” or “I woke up more noob than yesterday” stuff), and I think that’s also valid. In fact, this is a discussion present in many RTS games. But the problem is that if we don’t start establishing some shared criteria for this discussion, and everyone argues from completely subjective positions, there’s no way to reach any kind of conclusion. About quickstart, a simple example: in AoE2 it’s banned. In StarCraft 2 it’s standard—your 4 Drones/Probes/SCVs automatically go straight to the minerals as soon as the game starts. And we can apply this same example to vanilla AoE2 and 0 A.D. The built-in auto-queue feature in vanilla 0 A.D. is actually banned in AoE2 and StarCraft 2—it’s only allowed in non-competitive matches. Conclusion: the scope and limitations of what’s allowed in the different ways the game can be played ultimately depend on community consensus and by having ways to enforce that consensus. Right now we keep at zone 0 here

The debate around the use of mods is a broad and somewhat controversial topic that I’ve observed since I first became part of this community. I’ve noticed that, whether in favor of or against the use of mods, many argue that it’s impossible to prevent them. Even if all players in a match (not just the host) could see which mods are active, they claim there’s no point in adding such a feature because it’s very easy to rename a mod to disguise it as something else and hide what’s actually being used. One could even inject a mod inside another mod and achieve the same result. Below, I’m sharing a sort of "white paper" outlining what I believe is a possible alternative to this issue. While it may not be free of weaknesses, it could make it significantly harder for players to deceive others. Mod Integrity Verification in 0 A.D. Objective Prevent the use of hidden or modified mods that provide unfair advantages in multiplayer games, through automatic integrity checks without compromising player privacy. Context Currently, players can install mods in two ways: As folders, which are easily editable. As .zip or .pyromod files, which are harder to modify without leaving traces. There is currently no native mechanism that allows the host to verify whether a player is using a modified mod. Proposal Implement local mod integrity verification using cryptographic checksums (e.g., SHA256), and report this data to the host. How it works On the client (player) side: When launching the game or connecting to a match: The client calculates a hash (e.g., SHA256) for each enabled mod. It generates a list with: mod name, hash, and enabled status. This list is automatically sent to the host. On the host side: The host receives the list of enabled mods and their hashes. It compares them against a predefined whitelist (for a tournament, server, or community). If mismatches are found, the host may block the connection or issue a warning. Security and privacy No file content is transmitted. There is no remote access to the player's file system. Only mod names and hashes are shared. Forging these values would require tampering with the engine or core scripts. Advantages Makes it harder to use undetectable modified mods. Promotes transparency and fair play in multiplayer sessions. Scalable for tournaments, ranked matches. Suggested implementation Add SHA256 hash computation during mod loading. Extend the multiplayer connection protocol to include mod hash information. Allow hosts or servers to define and enforce a list of accepted mod hashes. Technical considerations This system is not intended as a foolproof solution against all forms of malicious modification. While verifying and reporting mod hashes locally significantly raises the difficulty of using altered mods without detection, a technically skilled user could still modify the game engine to falsify the reported hash values. It’s also worth noting that 0 A.D. is widely used on Linux, where many users compile the game from source due to delayed updates in official repositories. In such cases, the compiled binaries may vary between users even if the source code is the same. However, this does not affect the validity of mod verification, as hash comparisons are made on the downloaded .zip or .pyromod files—whose hashes remain stable as long as their content is unmodified. Despite these limitations, the proposed system represents a meaningful step toward improving transparency and reducing the prevalence of undetected mod-based advantages, without requiring invasive anti-cheat mechanisms.

While working on a PR to incorporate hotkeys for building placement, building selection, and unit selection, I created this mod that—on top of building placement and selection—adds hotkeys to select several unit classes not covered by AutoCiv: all infantry, cavalry, champions, mercenaries, healers, heroes, and even dogs! It can be used alongside AutoCiv, although I haven’t tested it with its latest versions. There are still some features left to add, but I’d really appreciate help from anyone willing to test it and help catch any bugs I might have missed. I’d also love to publish it on mod.io, so any help with that would be greatly appreciated! To install it, just unzip BuildingHotkeys.zip and copypaste the BuildingHotkeys folder into your mod's folder Or u can use this =) BuildingHotkeys.pyromod Here's a demonstration video: BuildingsHotkeys mod.mp4

@Itms It might not be related to this specific RC3, but I just experienced a crash after a 30-minute game with this RC3. There were lots of serialization errors before the first window crash. I was able to click "Continue" and the game kept running. However, it crashed again when I tried to save and clicked the save button. Uploading here. I can report on gitea if neccesary Crash_rc3_250714.zip

@king reza the great, regarding the cheats you mentioned I think people don’t feel guilty about using certain mods because they don’t see them as cheats, and I believe very few players actually 'cheat knowingly' using maphacks (which I assume we can all agree are cheating) or actually hacking the game sourcecode to exploit other stuff. But one of the biggest problems is that every time this discussion comes up, it feels like we’re starting from scratch, constantly forced to redefine everything or debate overly relativistic arguments that ultimately go nowhere (difference in hardware settings, fluctuation in player performance due to outside factors?? ). The essence of fair play in any competitive setting isn’t absolute equality — which is impossible — but a shared agreement on which mods/systems/handicaps, etc are accepted in a competitive environment and which aren't. The problem in 0 A.D. is that such an agreement doesn’t exist. And the current stage of development make it impossible for hosts to technically enforce their requirements — they must rely on trust, or manually review replays to detect automation or unfair behavior. That said, those who’ve read my opinions on this topic know I have a somewhat ambiguous position — one that’s unsuccessfully tried to bridge both sides. Given how completely I’ve failed at that, I’ll just say this: I’ve also felt frustrated like you, and only by letting go of certain ambitions — which I think are nearly impossible to resolve in the game’s current state — was I able to enjoy playing again, even with people whose views on 0 A.D. I don’t share. I even feel like the overall toxicity has gone down a bit. I miss your early cav harrass gameplay. There's so much ecobots like me out there I really hope you come back to play and enjoy the game with all of us!

The purpose of this mod is to allow access to options, hotkeys, or the last game summary directly from the lobby without having to exit to the main screen of the game. It’s especially useful if you want to adjust some settings while waiting in a host’s gamesetup without losing your spot. Other, more robust mods like ModernGUI or boonGUI offer the same functionality, but this option is suitable for those who prefer to keep things simple and like the original lobby interface. Just unzip LobbyMenu.zip and copy paste the LobbyMenu folder into your mod's folder and you are ready to go. If you have any suggestions or If you find any bugs, please contact me and I’ll fix them ASAP. Note: The small black lines visible on the buttons are not caused by the mod. On my 4K monitor, the GUI appears very small, so I had to scale it to 200% in the settings, which causes those small black lines to appear. Here are some screenshots:

I'm sure many people would find it fun to challenge themselves with tasks like those in AOE2, where you can improve your times/results while learning the basic mechanics of competitive multiplayer. Another good and fun way is through campaigns—while they might not be as focused on technique improvement, they can create immersion and a lot of engagement. Other people enjoy reading specific build order PDFs, copying them, and refining them. I guess there's no single successful formula. But all of these approaches have proven, in different contexts, to attract different types of players. Anyone willing to work on any of these things is more than welcome

AOE II has some very simple challenge in which the player can learn elemental skills like Early economy basics; reach Fast Castle Age in the shortest possible time; standard booming, rushing the enemy, defending a rush. And the player receives a medal based on their performance level

You are the true 0ad influencer, @JC (naval supremacist). You've made my day. thanks

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I think all cavalry should get a slight speed nerf — or alternatively, pikes and spearmen should move a bit faster — so that cavalry players can't always choose when and where to engage. Additionally, the damage multiplier of spears and pikes against cavalry should be increased to make them more effective counters. I think cavalry should be a more tactical or support role unit, rather than being the main army core — unless a specific civilization or historical context justifies otherwise.

It's clear there's a lot of room for balance improvement, but please don't remove CS. It's one of the few most distinctive features of the game. Let's not revert everything to the existing standard. Let's not turn 0ad into yet another RTs

In the case of AOE2/Starcraft, the parchment overlay is typically shown either before or after the mission starts, not during gameplay—it’s part of a GUI page. Meanwhile, the hero dialogue layout is used in-game, as it often highlights specific areas of the map, such as the player's starting position, key locations to reach, resources, enemies, and so on. That said, there are many other games where the parchment-style overlay is shown during gameplay and they can be combined.

@VanthaThe text It's much more clear now and easy to read. I really like that mockup op

That mockup is awesome. Really like that layout for cinematics. Of course, The idea is to give you something to work with and help you move forward until a volunteer can create them. They can also be useful for presenting proposals to the artists.

In terms of design, I also like the use of overlapping. It removes rigidity and allows the figure to connect even more with the text. Also as u say, having different predefined layouts with slight variations in this design could help speed up the process of creating narratives for the campaign. Personally, I like campaigns where a character is developed over time, because it builds a certain empathy with them and I think that creates excitement. In this sense, first-person narration can deepen the player's connection with the character, but it might pose a greater challenge compared to third-person narration, which allows for the inclusion of more general contextual elements. In the case of 0 A.D., it might be interesting to combine this with a certain level of historical accuracy that, without turning it into something purely educational, allows the player to learn verified historical information. I think something in this same style done in charcoal helps integrate the image more easily with the GUI you're creating than if we used color images. I also think it might be easier to produce something of this size that looks nice or aesthetically coherent than if we tried something similar to the current portraits in 0 A.D. But in the end, it all depends on the artist =). These images were created with DALL·E. They might be useful to start working on the GUI. If you think they could be helpful to use in the meantime, feel free to ask me if you need something specific — I still have plenty of prompts available this month.

What does the FOV value?

Yes and I really like what you did. I just wanted to suggest that it might be helpful to bleach the paper a bit (less orange) and clean up the area where the text will be to make it easier to read. Yeah I think something similar to this could be very cool in terms of layout. Could be much more simplier. Using one side for the text and the other side for the image instead of this example in which there's some overlapping of the image on the text area Yes, it would be great if we could get an artist to illustrate the characters for the campaign.

@Vantha I think your idea is very good, and while we can say that adding audio/video tracks increases immersion, the most fundamental (and complex) thing is building compelling characters and an interesting narrative that can be supported by simple things. Here are some example from AOE2, some nice-looking portraits of the character, some text to tell the story. The idea of moving forward on a path can be achieved with a few aesthetically well-connected elements. https://gamerant.com/age-of-empires-2-best-campaigns-ranked/

This sounds very promising! I'm looking forward to test this mod. Please. Share links =)

After succesfuly compiling on a brand new installed Ubuntu I can run the game but textures looks broken and this messages are shown on the terminal ERROR: Failed to decode texture "art/textures/ui/pregame/icons/map.png" Unknown texture format ERROR: Failed to decode texture "art/textures/ui/pregame/icons/experimental.png" Unknown texture format ERROR: Failed to decode texture "art/textures/ui/global/modern/gold-separator.png" Unknown texture format ERROR: Failed to decode texture "art/textures/ui/global/modern/button/red-unselected-right-center.png" Unknown texture format

I'm almost done with that for place and select hotkeys for buildings and selecting units. I need some time (and help) to do the PR