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Messages - cephalo

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751
Utilities and 3rd Party Applications / Re: PerfectWorldDF world creator utility
« on: June 17, 2010, 03:41:33 pm »
Quote from: lastofthelight on June 17, 2010, 01:39:04 pm
Unfortunately, the window is tied to the little four-dimensional arrow thing that appears, which regardless of the position of my mouse, is always in the top center of the window. Moving the window anywhere that the mouse doesn't fit (i.e. beyond the top of the desktop) is simply not possible, even with the arrow keys it will just bounce back.


Also, I have no idea what the difference is, sadly.
Try the same thing but with the 'Size' menu option. That should shrink the window so you can expose the bottom.

Quote from: ClaidheamhMor16 on June 17, 2010, 02:33:22 pm
I modified the cave numbers to 10 and 10.
The civ number is 20.
I'll try exporting it and creating my world again.

Slow down while forming lakes.
Frozen and rejected one.
Again slow down with lakes.
Again frozen then crash.
*facedesks*
Are you logging the world gen rejects? What does the log say?

752
Utilities and 3rd Party Applications / Re: PerfectWorldDF world creator utility
« on: June 17, 2010, 09:47:49 am »
Quote from: lastofthelight on June 17, 2010, 09:33:36 am
I did in fact have large fonts on. I tried turning them off and using the program again. No go.

The problems appear to be such:

The size of the window does not alter when I change the size of the window. Which is to say, though there is nothing I can do to get the bottom of the window on the screen, except by using the maximize button, which doesn't help, I can use the side of the window to resize it. It is clear when I do so that the text/spacing/appearance of the program does -not- alter to fit the resize. It is also apparent that there are no scrollbars.

Try this: with your window in non-maximized state, right-click on the title bar and select 'Move' from the menu. Then use your arrow keys to move the window up and left until you can grab the corner. I'm hoping that by resizing from the corner that some scrollbars will appear. This is a strange, annoying problem. Sorry about that!

I wonder what condition is different on your computer. I tried changing my resolution to 800x600, which is too small to fit the window, but as soon I open the app I get scrollbars.

753
Utilities and 3rd Party Applications / Re: PerfectWorldDF world creator utility
« on: June 17, 2010, 08:56:30 am »
Quote from: ClaidheamhMor16 on June 16, 2010, 10:59:30 pm
I seem to have gotten everything exported correctly, it's trying to formulate my new world but it's got about 25 rejections now.
Joy.

You shouldn't be getting any rejections really. PW turns off all the rejection criteria by default for each map that you use. One thing that might be a problem is that if you need a playable civ(Yeah, we need that lol), and you have too many caves, the monsters in those caves can easily kill off every civilization in the first few years. If your world is going through the history super fast, that's usually why.

You can turn on the option in the d_init.txt file for world rejection logging, so we can see why this has happened.
[LOG_MAP_REJECTS:YES]

Quote from: lastofthelight on June 17, 2010, 01:55:02 am

It has nothing to do with my resolution, I can change it to the max and its not any better. Minimizing and maximizing doesn't help, either.

I'm trying to figure out why the info is not fitting on your screen. Are you using large fonts? On my screen, the window takes up about a third of the screen at 1280x1024 resolution. The screenshot appears to be your whole screen, and there is too much info to fit. Is that assumption correct?

Somebody earlier had some problems with a small netbook screen not having scrollbars, but I thought I had fixed that so that everything was scrollable.

754
Utilities and 3rd Party Applications / Re: PerfectWorldDF world creator utility
« on: June 16, 2010, 10:59:05 pm »
Quote from: ClaidheamhMor16 on June 16, 2010, 10:26:43 pm
Ok. I fully accept I am not a techie nor moderately skilled at doing anything with files.
At all.

If someone could -please- explain how I get this LOVELY map I created after saving it, into the file that it needs to be so I can play it in DF.
Please use simple language and file locations based upon a Windows Vista system.
Thanks in advance, this'll make me a very happy guy.

Did you read the manual that comes with the zip file?


Quote from: lastofthelight on June 16, 2010, 05:46:17 pm
No, a normal screen. I don't even see the usual 'scroll up/down' bars that most programs have...

http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/6098/newbitmapimagewn.png

Hmm, It looks like your screen is very low resolution. Not quite big enough for the whole window's default size. What happens when you minimize and then maximize?

755
Utilities and 3rd Party Applications / Re: PerfectWorldDF world creator utility
« on: June 16, 2010, 05:00:32 pm »
Quote from: lastofthelight on June 16, 2010, 03:52:34 pm
When I start this up, I get a standard window with resize/etc....but half of it is cut off. For example, on 'Volcanism Map' I see on the left 'Volcanism Map' and the brown box, and on the right 'Percentage Below Extrusive Thr' and nothing will convince the cut off portion to show.

That's strange. Can I bother you for a screenshot? Are you using a small screen by chance?

756
Utilities and 3rd Party Applications / Re: PerfectWorldDF world creator utility
« on: June 16, 2010, 03:24:57 pm »
Quote from: madk on June 16, 2010, 02:26:06 pm
When I attempt to export my world_gen file, if I chose to Export As, the exported file is blank, and if I choose Export, I get the error message "Can't save file, might be in use by another application." Is this because I save my map before I exported it?

This is something I will need to clarify in the future. The idea is that you first import a world_gen file, alter it and then export. The error message is highly misleading.

757
Utilities and 3rd Party Applications / Re: PerfectWorldDF world creator utility
« on: June 16, 2010, 10:37:34 am »
Quote from: PTTG?? on June 16, 2010, 01:02:44 am
I just checked, and we can paint the basic temperature noise in DF. If the temperature gradient has any effect in painted worlds, it'll just add on top of the custom paint.

Yeah, but then it's meaningless. If the polar gradient were predictible, one might be able to compensate for it, but as it is, you never know if you'll have a north pole or a south pole. If you want some place on your map to be really cold, you don't even know if it will turn out like that. It could be one of the warmest places on the map!

The game already provides the addition of noise and also some altitude correction. I don't know what functions I can add that would act in a predictable way.

758
Utilities and 3rd Party Applications / Re: PerfectWorldDF world creator utility
« on: June 11, 2010, 07:43:38 am »
Quote from: PTTG?? on June 10, 2010, 11:27:11 pm
"What's this?" I thought. "An update to the PerfectWorld DF world creator utility? Could this be the elusive temperature control?"
Alas, I was dissapointed.

We'll have to wait until Toady One opens that up. I did alot of experimentation with that and pretty much anything you do gets overwritten. I think he's not real happy with some utilities of late, I don't wanna push him on that.

759
DF Gameplay Questions / Re: World Gen
« on: June 10, 2010, 08:09:49 pm »
Quote from: BadgerSensei on June 10, 2010, 07:52:18 pm
Thanks!

So nix the oceans?

If you feel like messing with a utility, PerfectWordDF(see sig) can place a border of mountains on the map edges. This tends to corral the rivers together and makes for a better chance of major rivers.

760
DF General Discussion / Re: Note on some utilities
« on: June 09, 2010, 10:20:29 am »
Quote from: Deathworks on June 09, 2010, 09:53:11 am
You are making it too easy for your argument now. I have not had much direct contact with Toady One, but what contact I did have showed me that he is a very decent and responsible person. By inviting people to use such gadgets, he does take on responsibility for the results, and I think that he is the type of person who does take that seriously.

I'm sure you are correct that Toady is a man of the highest character, and I would never suggest that he behave otherwise.

Let me tell you a true story. One rainy night a man knocked on my door and said he ran out of gas, and that he needed a few bucks to get home. I didn't care what his reasons were, he clearly needed some money so I gave him $20. I felt good about it too as he smiled and thanked me.

Two nights later he knocks on my door again. I open it and he says "This time..." and I cut him off! I told him straight out that it was not appropriate to go door to door begging for money. I asked him whether I made an enemy by giving a man $20! He left with a scowl.

Because I gave him a handout, am I then responsible for him from now on? What was my mistake, the giving in the first place or the cessation of giving? Am I responsible for him, or is he responsible for him?

We as a community also have a responsibilty to be reasonable with our requests, and if some of us can't do that, it is not Toady's problem at all. He has no moral responsibility to be compelled into giving more than he is comfortable with. Giving us an API, even a poorly conceved half-arsed one, does not change that.

761
DF General Discussion / Re: Note on some utilities
« on: June 09, 2010, 09:45:35 am »
Quote from: Siquo on June 09, 2010, 09:34:17 am
Read responsibility not as: "A whole lot of work" but as "The guy who gets all the blame if it fails"

Ah, you know that people don't need reasons to assign blame. It's a non-issue. Sticks and stones will break my bones, but blame will never hurt me.. uh yeah that's it.

762
DF General Discussion / Re: Note on some utilities
« on: June 09, 2010, 08:55:29 am »
Quote from: Siquo on June 09, 2010, 08:31:37 am
Having an API won't stop people from doing what they're already doing now, hacking into the memory.
What it does do is transfer responsibility to Toady...

That's the part I disagree with. It only ever has to be as much responsibility as he wants it to be. Once you get a solid framework going, I'm thinking it would be low maintenance, and he can take all the time he needs to get to that point.

763
DF General Discussion / Re: Note on some utilities
« on: June 08, 2010, 08:09:12 pm »
Yeah, thanks for the summary of Toady's thoughts on this, it's an interesting read.

I don't think I agree that creating an interface API will open a pandora's box. I think it would be not terribly difficult to expose an API while just keeping the interface you normally have, and then forget about the API outside of major bug fixes. You deal with the possible dependancies, headaches and pressure by simply ignoring it. I've seen other games do this and then the community just does what it does with what they are given, and the game company doesn't even get involved for the most part. It's unmet expectations that create unrest, if you set the bar kinda lowish nobody will complain. If you say you're going to maintain the API above all else you'll have the world on your shoulders.

UI stuff is grunt work. It's a bad use of Toady's time I think. Would he not be happier to just focus mainly on the game mechanics? Learning how to expose an API might seem somewhat daunting however, given the vastness of what DF still hopes to accomplish. It's an investment, but I think the risk is low, and has a good chance of ultimately increasing Toady's satisfaction.

DF is really a popular game now. I just wrote a utility that had 150 downloads on the first day! I wonder if Toady really wants that kind of success, because from now on their will be more and more people leaning on him with requests. You have to learn to switch it off and not hold yourself responsible for the needs of the world.

764
DF General Discussion / Re: Note on some utilities
« on: June 08, 2010, 08:44:28 am »
As far as the UI goes, to me the only problem is with the textual elements. I love the ACSII graphics! That part tells me everything I need to know, in a way that has a very appealing and unique atmosphere. It makes it seem even deeper than it actually is. Stonsense and other visualizers are fun too, but I wouldn't want to play the game that way.

Things fall short when you have to display text in a window that is 28 characters wide! The room that the text takes up greatly limits what's possible with the UI. We're back in the days of DOS with this issue. For example, the database at my workplace has a field for a customer address street name. It's called 'ADBCD' lol. That's because back in the day, you didn't have room for descriptive names for stuff. It was an 'eggheads only' club.

My ideal DF would use the existing character set graphics in a game window panel, with something totally different for everything else. Something with a modern readable font. It could be stylized as long as it's readable.

As a quick fix, I think it would be fairly easy to make a mouseover tooltip system that uses a real font. I'm sure that would have helped me a great deal while I was learning.

765
DF General Discussion / Re: Note on some utilities
« on: June 07, 2010, 02:24:05 pm »
DF does and will continue to influence future games, and if someone wants to use it to inform their game design in some ways I think that makes DF even more valuable to them. I think it's totally out of line to suggest that DF should not be supported. Especially if you like DF enough to dream of cloning it, you have to respect the shoulders you are standing on.

I don't think anything like this would be a threat to DF's support. It's Tarn's vision that makes DF what it is, and even if some big game developer were to ripoff DF exactly today along with a super cool interface, the two versions would diverge from here on out and it's unlikely that the clone would have that 'spark' that brings us all here.

I don't think theres a better way to make DF than a slow, deliberate process, where everything is examined over months and years. There's no game that could be made that would stop me from coming back here from time to time and forking over a donation. There will always be something new here that won't be available anywhere else.

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