Suggestions for 0 A.D.

[maleg]

Suggestions: do spectator features for multiplayer

[MasonMac]

MODELLING PROGRAM:

A suggestion i have is for you guys to make a program that can allow modelling like making custom planes tanks etc. so you can make more HD units modders can make. It can use in-game models to be customized for the players liking and be used in game. I think you should make that program be free if you ever decide to make one and make it a seperate download for modders so it uses less space on a pc for people who would not mod. I know you will most likely make it free because since i started playing alpha 15, mostly everything was free. I think this would be a great tool for modders for all games, but i think it would be better for 0 A.D. BTW nice work on alpha 18! I hope this game gets noticed by big youtubers to spread the word!

[Lion.Kanzen]

...

I'm a modder and we use Blender to model the our 3D art Edited April 18, 2015 by Lion.Kanzen

[DonSkallon]

-Fort-Wall-Defensetower:

Allow defensive structures like guardtowers & fortresses to be included in walls.

Make defense towers a possible starting point from which to build a wall. Or an end point.
In a similair way allow walls to start or end at 1 of the 4 corner-towers of a fortress.

-Greek Fire:
Give Hellenistic cultures the option to develop flaming projectiles, perhaps in the last age.
Shooting flaming arrows & flaming catapult-rocks at the enemy might be a strategic &

hystoric addition.

-Artillery ships:
Give the Hellenistic cultures & the Romans warships equiped with Ballistas(Giant crossbows)
and/or Catapults. Perhaps also give the Hellenistic cultures ramming (war)ships.

-Entering & taking enemy ships:

Allow men garrisoned on a ship to enter and steal an enemy ship & it's load. If a ship has men
onboard, add an option to enter enemy ships using a skull&crossbone symbol-button. Stealing
an enemy merchant ship gives you the ship + it's cargo.Stolen enemy fishing boats may contain

fish. If an enemy ship you're entering is also full of enemy soldiers, there will be a fight on deck
untill one emerges victorious.

-Naval Defenses:
Allow defensive walls to be built in shallow waters. This way you can finally fortify an island
without giving the enemy a docking place to instantly drop 10 rams, 50 horsemen, 20 archers
and 30 elite spearmen on your island settlement: First ships would have to breach your walls.
This would also allow for lifting hooks to be installed on walls built in shallow waters. Hellenistic
cultures used these to pull invading ships that came up close out of the water, then drop them
again, smashing them on the rocks at the base of the wall & sinking them. Would add both

hystoric & strategic value to the game

-More Civilisations:
Some cultures are missing that really belong in both the timeframe and the geographic area
that 0.A.D. is themed on.
-Phoenicians (With special naval units & abilities and better prices when trading on the market)
-Israelites (With elite sling-units, faster healing priests, extra food from goat & sheep herding)
-Huns (With mobile yurt houses & buidlings, excessive population capacity, powerfull cavalery: No stone walls or buildings)
-Goths(Or are the Iberians supposed to be the Visigoths?)

Edited April 23, 2015 by DonSkallon

[Lion.Kanzen]

-More Civilisations:

Some cultures are missing that really belong in both the timeframe and the geographic area

that 0.A.D. is themed on.

-Phoenicians (With special naval units & abilities and better prices when trading on the market)

-Israelites (With elite sling-units, faster healing priests, extra food from goat & sheep herding)

-Huns (With mobile yurt houses & buidlings, excessive population capacity, powerfull cavalery: No stone walls or buildings)

-Goths(Or are the Iberians supposed to be the Visigoths?)

Phoenicians will be included in Aristeia mod and the same with Israelites

Huns and Goths will be included in the second part of the game (Empires

Besieged)

[DonSkallon]

Ooh Sweeet. Got to download the Aristeia mod. Looking for good link now.

I somehow find the new development of this game hard to follow.

Edited April 23, 2015 by DonSkallon

[Lion.Kanzen]

Ooh Sweeet. I can't wait for the Aristeia mod to come out! Much less for

Empires Beseiged!

I guess both can be downloaded for free from www.play0ad.com when they are released?

Aristeia is free opensource project leaded by COM ( Council of Modders) and the second part have the same standard

[DonSkallon]

Nice. I'm not getting the Aristeia Mod to work though. Followed instructions though they're a bit vague.

It sais to drag the aristeia map into the 0ad mod map, but there are like 3 maps named either mod or mods
in the 0ad directory. Also the last instruction is vage. Does it mean I should rename the Pyrogenesis file in
my 0ad/binairies/system-map Pyrogenesis.exe-mod=Aristeia? I've tried it, but it doesn't work.

In the Mod selection menu Aristeia does not show up. Nothing shows up, untill I hit "Start Mods"
and then only 0.A.D. Empires Ascendant shows up, but that isn't it right?

Nice. I'm not getting the Aristeia Mod to work though. Followed instructions though they're a bit vague.

It sais to drag the aristeia map into the 0ad mod map, but there are like 3 maps named either mod or mods
in the 0ad directory. Also the last instruction is vage. Does it mean I should rename the Pyrogenesis file in
my 0ad/binairies/system-map Pyrogenesis.exe-mod=Aristeia? I've tried it, but it doesn't work.

In the Mod selection menu Aristeia does not show up. Nothing shows up, untill I hit "Start Mods"
and then only 0.A.D. Empires Ascendant shows up, but that isn't it right?

[Lion.Kanzen]

Aristeia the last release is very old and I don't think works with a18

And we have only a playable faction ( New kingdom Egypt, the Egypt of Ramses and the bible)

[sanderd17]

-Fort-Wall-Defensetower:

Allow defensive structures like guardtowers & fortresses to be included in walls.

Make defense towers a possible starting point from which to build a wall. Or an end point.

In a similair way allow walls to start or end at 1 of the 4 corner-towers of a fortress.

Not all fortress models and defense tower models are equipped for this. And I'd rather invest artistic and programming resources in other work.

It seems like a lot of work for little gain, and maybe even end-user confusion.

-Greek Fire:

Give Hellenistic cultures the option to develop flaming projectiles, perhaps in the last age.

Shooting flaming arrows & flaming catapult-rocks at the enemy might be a strategic &

hystoric addition.

Some champion or elite iberian cavalry already shoots flaming javelins. And some catapults shoot flaming rocks.

So that's already implemented (note however that the advanced and elite units are currently disabled, to focus on good balancing for the basic units).

-Artillery ships:

Give the Hellenistic cultures & the Romans warships equiped with Ballistas(Giant crossbows)

and/or Catapults. Perhaps also give the Hellenistic cultures ramming (war)ships.

All quinqueremes should be garrisoned with ballistas or catapults to increase fire power. So the Romans, Carthagians and Ptolemies already have this.

-Entering & taking enemy ships:

Allow men garrisoned on a ship to enter and steal an enemy ship & it's load. If a ship has men

onboard, add an option to enter enemy ships using a skull&crossbone symbol-button. Stealing

an enemy merchant ship gives you the ship + it's cargo.Stolen enemy fishing boats may contain

fish. If an enemy ship you're entering is also full of enemy soldiers, there will be a fight on deck

untill one emerges victorious.

Could be done via capturing. Though the stats will be hard to work out.

-Naval Defenses:

Allow defensive walls to be built in shallow waters. This way you can finally fortify an island

without giving the enemy a docking place to instantly drop 10 rams, 50 horsemen, 20 archers

and 30 elite spearmen on your island settlement: First ships would have to breach your walls.

This would also allow for lifting hooks to be installed on walls built in shallow waters. Hellenistic

cultures used these to pull invading ships that came up close out of the water, then drop them

again, smashing them on the rocks at the base of the wall & sinking them. Would add both

hystoric & strategic value to the game

It is already possible to build walls in shallow water (as long as your units can reach it). But sadly, the ungarrison code searches for the nearest passable position to spawn units.

So this might mean that enemy units will spawn on the inside of your walls. It's not very easy to fix this.

-More Civilisations:

Some cultures are missing that really belong in both the timeframe and the geographic area

that 0.A.D. is themed on.

-Phoenicians (With special naval units & abilities and better prices when trading on the market)

-Israelites (With elite sling-units, faster healing priests, extra food from goat & sheep herding)

-Huns (With mobile yurt houses & buidlings, excessive population capacity, powerfull cavalery: No stone walls or buildings)

-Goths(Or are the Iberians supposed to be the Visigoths?)

Remember that the timeframe of 0 A.D. part I, is between 500 BC and 1 BC. There's also a part II planned, to span from 1 A.D. to 500 A.D.

But nobody started working on part II yet (we have enough work with part I first).

All civilisations in 0 A.D. are also modeled after the point in history where that civilisation reached its top.

So also if a civilisation existed in the given timeframe, but it didn't reach its high point in the timeframe, then the civ doesn't belong in 0 A.D.

Furthermore, we also focus on civilisations from the Mediterranean, or from civilisations who came into contact with Mediterranean civs.

The high point of Phoenicia was between 1200 BC and 800 BC. So well before the timeframe of 0 A.D.

Besides, the Carthagians are included, and they're direct descendants of the Phoenicians.

The Isrealites were also before the timeframe.

Huns on the other hand, only rose after 1 A.D., so they're completely after the 0 A.D. timeframe.

And Goths existed in the timeframe, but weren't very important. Their high point was at the fall of the Roman Empire. So a lot later than our timeframe.

[DonSkallon]

Alright, yeah it was my understanding 0.A.D. was themed around the period 500 BC - 500 AC.
I didn't know the period from 0 - 500 AC would be the theme of the next 0.A.D.-game.


I personally thinks the option to connect walls to fortresses and defensetowers would allow for better city/fortification-shaping.
Shape of a city/fortification is very important to strategy. Now it's easy for units to become trapped between a wall and a fortress.
If walls could be connected to fortresses this wouldn't happen anymore. Same goes for guard towers.

Also I forgot to mention, and maybe it's already an option but I don't know:
Is it possible to rotate buildings before ordering them built? If not this would be very handy as well.

[sanderd17]

Yeah, units indeed shouldn't get trapped when spawned. Lets hope the next pathfinder makes this possible to a certain extent.

Rotating buildings is possible by holding down the mouse, and dragging to select the angle. You can also use the [ and ] keys to rotate in jumps of 15 degrees.

[Ayakashi]

Will the new pathfinder make things like blocked line of sight possible? The fact that archers shoots through walls is a major gripe I have with the current build of the game.

[sanderd17]

Will the new pathfinder make things like blocked line of sight possible? The fact that archers shoots through walls is a major gripe I have with the current build of the game.

Currently, that doesn't even use the pathfinder. So it will not be an immediate result. But if the pathfinder is fast enough, and we can call it for every arrow, it might be possible. It won't be a priority though.

[oshron]

going back to Greek fire, i decided to look into it and Greek fire itself wasn't developed until after around 672 AD, well outside the timeframe Ascendant AND Besieged. i DID also find that a primitive flamethrower is mentioned as being used against the Athenians in Ascendant's timeframe, but not by any currently playable civ.

that said, i think Greek fire is just too impressive to NOT be included even if it's not part of a playable civ's repertoire. if it were to be implemented for any civ, i'd say save it for the Byzantines in Besieged since they're the ones who used it historically and are most famous for doing so

[Stan`]

There is a mesh theban flamthrower I think already in the game.

[Ayakashi]

Greek fire don't really belong to the vanilla game's time frame, but it should be something to be featured in the 1000AD mod! Am I correct?

[Farawyn]

You could display the number of villagers selected during a selection?

[Ayakashi]

Another small suggestion: what about making units not attack animals automatically unless attacked first? At least in the case of non-aggressive animals like boars? But IMO preferable for all animals. Reason being that I find it annoying when my units break formation just to chase an animal in the distance or getting a false alarm of being attacked because one of my units decided to go after a wild boar. It's a minor issue, but can save quite a few annoyances. IMO AoE2 does this quite well.

[Lion.Kanzen]

You could display the number of villagers selected during a selection?

yes check one of the left panels

[Tango_]

Hey buddies.

Here are 3 small proposition which might improve the game IMO:

• Patrol button : a button placed near other functionnal buttons, as « delete » or « garisonning ».

This button would first be usefull to keep a territory under control, and also being usefull to keep units kinda protected. Indeed, instead of placing your army on a position, it is better to give it the order to patrol from a point A, really close to a point B. Thanks to this, units patrolling wont be attracted, or attack opponent unit they can see.

At the moment, by posting units on a position, they'll attack opponents they see, and because of this, you can loose some units for nothing.

This patrol button would be an interesting stuff, IMO.

• Random teams : as a setting, to select before starting a match, as for pop cap or cheats.

This random team choice is implemented in Age Of Empire 3. It allows to have teams made randomly, whatever players' skill is. This stuff is usefull when you don't know the skill of the players in your room, or when you don't know how to make team at all, whatever the reason is.

I guess an interesting stuff to add to this setting, is selecting the number of team you want, and the number of players in each team. Also, you can have 2v2v2, or 3v1, or 2v2, or 2v4, made totally randomly.

Also, each player would choose his civilisation and his « colour » (by the place he has in the room), and the teams would only be clear (for the players) at the beginning of the game, or during the map is loading, by adding a kind of « these are the random teams guys ! Enjoy ! », to the loading map page.

• Handicap : as a setting, to select before starting a match, as for pop cap or cheats.

This handicap setting would consist in increasing or decreasing different « gaming rates » of a player. These « gaming rate » might be all important rate, as unit production time, gathering rate, etc...

For example, A plays vs B. A has an handicap of -50%. B has 0% handicap.

Also, A will gather ressources 50% slower than B, etc etc...

This handicap setting would allow all players to play together, whatever their skill is. This handicap would also balance games.

After discussing this Handicap settings with some players, the remark that giving more starting ressources to a player could also be a way to balance the game. However, whatever these starting ressources are, a good player will be able to have a better eco, more army (or whatever you want) after some time, so it wouldn't necessarly be a good solution.

Also, handicap setting might be an interesting stuff.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Tango_

[zzippy]

At the moment, by posting units on a position, they'll attack opponents they see, and because of this, you can loose some units for nothing.

Set to passive or standground works fine for the scouts, no? Combined with batch walkorder on minimap, its kinda patrol. Sure a button for endless A <=> B ride would be perfect ..

Edited May 4, 2015 by zzippy

[Tango_]

Set to passive or standground works fine for the scouts, no? Combined with batch walkorder on minimap, its kinda patrol. Sure a button for endless A <=> B ride would be perfect ..

It works indeed, but not enough, considering that , from your say, you speak about combining it with batch walkorder:

*happened to me in game*

I was with 20-30 cav, behind the cc of my opponent, near the end of the map. I had a really tight corridor which was safe from CC's arrows, and from the tower's arrows which was on a side. On the other side, around 10 spearmen gathering wood.

Escaping by this way seemed to be as a bad solution, so i used shift to create this patrol movement.

With another front to hold on, pressure put by the opponent, these walk order weren't well done because i had to be fast, so 1 time on 2, my cav was shot. I lost a lot of units.

What you propose doesn't seem to me as a good solution. Too long, too complicated, and should regularly check if the homemade patrol is still running.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Tango_

[Lion.Kanzen]

• Patrol button : a button placed near other functionnal buttons, as « delete » or « garisonning ».

This button would first be usefull to keep a territory under control, and also being usefull to keep units kinda protected. Indeed, instead of placing your army on a position, it is better to give it the order to patrol from a point A, really close to a point B. Thanks to this, units patrolling wont be attracted, or attack opponent unit they can see.

At the moment, by posting units on a position, they'll attack opponents they see, and because of this, you can loose some units for nothing.

This patrol button would be an interesting stuff, IMO.

I suggest this , but is planned and is avaible a ticket in the trac

http://trac.wildfiregames.com/ticket/1720

Edited May 5, 2015 by Lion.Kanzen

[Tango_]

I suggest this , but is planned and is avaible a ticket in the trac

http://trac.wildfiregames.com/ticket/1720

Well, i see, ticket opened 2 years ago

Btw, the 2 others propositions are IMO the most interesting, because would clearly improve the gameplay and relations between players, patrol button suggestion is interesting but can wait 2 years more.