Semi Random Map Generator

[TheWizardKs]

downloaded it but on installation it asks for the path put it in and it throws an error cant find path

Can you give me exact details on steps taken? I will try to simulate the problem for a fix.

On another note, I've spent some time reading about sams and cifs or some such, and looks like the global thing has been thrown aside. All this seems well and fine too, I have always wondered how much of the megs of data in my global custom assets was being loaded and retained. Really never had issues though, but I haven't tried many maps either, lots of trains.

That leads to my next 'problem' in my project. The RRT_Industry_scenarioName.xml file I have in my user map folder is a listing of the industries only, not the global one. So what I create in the program will not work with this format. I'll have to poke around in your new file specs to work this out, if I am able that is.

[vzbob]

downloaded it but on installation it asks for the path put it in and it throws an error cant find path

Can you give me exact details on steps taken? I will try to simulate the problem for a fix.

Its actually after you install it and go to set the Game Directory path it wont allow me to change the path there.

keeps telling me its an invalid path

[snoopy55]

TheWizardKs - As to the GLOBALS, everything you had in CustomAssets was being loaded into your memory. This was because the game saw all the XML files in 'CustomAssets/XML' as the Original 'Assets/XML'. So, SAMs (Stand Alone Maps) were created, followed by CICs.

What your program would really need would be a place for the user to list all the In-City and Out-Of-City Industries.

Something for you to dwell upon......

[TheWizardKs]

Its actually after you install it and go to set the Game Directory path it wont allow me to change the path there.keeps telling me its an invalid path

would you mind typing the exact steps/clicks you do here please?

What your program would really need would be a place for the user to list all the In-City and Out-Of-City Industries

I'm not following you on this. I DL'd your Hill Valley Mess to see what I'm up against and it has 27 industries listed. Does the game put all 27 in the map? I played briefly with the map and bought out all the computer players right off haha, what a feeling of absolute power eh? Anyway there were alot of different industries but I did not bother to count if 27 in them. I could make bombs but not sell them it seems. I also noticed that a few had I/O data, like the brewery, is this a self made one, or why did it have the data? (I almost exclusively played the US scenarios btw)

I'm kind of back to square one now though, DL'd all the trains files and I'm not sure what to do with them on this new map thing. If we are to rotate in and out only one map in our directory that means we have to have many duplicate FPK files so every train on our map will be duplicated in each map folder for moving/renaming etc? If that is true, are we positive beyond a shadow of doubt that all trains in the global xml were actually loaded in even if they were not used? As a programmer, I just find that a bit hard to swallow, though I certainly know there are some things in the game that I wonder how the hell did it get past the QA people (who I would have fired, personally). Anyway, off to study and test some more.

Or should I say play and dink around with my program a little? hehehe

[snoopy55]

First, Hill Valley Mess. That was a map made for RedKnight to work out some stuff. It was never originally written for any one else. When i started to do the SAMs, I saw it, did the required editing of the Goods, and posted it as a SAM. I guess it needs to be re-writen asto the Cities needs.

Second - As I said, SAM means Stand Alone Map. When you unzip one into your UserMaps folder, it's like a turkey dinner, the main dish with all the fixens. You don't put anything else into it. They come with 1 or more FPK fils which contains all the Tender files and any Mod materials that the map may call for. You play the map, and when you tire of it, you delete everything in your UserMaps folder and unzip the next map into it. You will always have a zipped copy on your system, or burned onto a CD or DVD.

If a person gets using your system, he could even get it all set up for a map, and zip the map, FPK(s) and the setup for your program into the same zip and store it, ready anytime he wanted to play it again.

As to adding new trains to a map, each Engine should come with a working XML file. You copy that, paste it into the RRT_Trains XML for the map, do the same for the name of the Engine into the maps RRT_Names XML and put the FPK for the Engines in UserMaps. Again, when you are done with the map, zip all the files in UserMaps together and name it so you know what the difference is, and save it.

[TheWizardKs]

thanks for the answers

I've been sidetracked viciously by another program, Warhammer Online. Spent the last two days doing nothing else, but I have thought about how I want to pursue the options on my map randomizer. I am going to DL a few of the stand alone and cic maps and try to figure a way to parse the industries info from them. As long as I use the goods I/O data I should be able to 'pair' them up correctly. An option to keep all industries the same and just randomize locations will be good too I think.

I'm thinking about the answer on the train thing and 'dreaming up' a possible utility to add that will read all map files in, index them, and allow you to choose which to run. I remember how the front end loaders helped Doom/Doom2 when there were so many wad files.

[TheWizardKs]

Its actually after you install it and go to set the Game Directory path it wont allow me to change the path there.

When you are on the select path window, you double click on the folder to navigate, I don't think you can type in the window, though I'm not sure. And you want to point the folder to the user maps directory in your documents, not the actual user map you want to modify.

My newer version works much better, though I still haven't spent alot of time on it lately. I played a game last night and got bought out again, arrrghhh haha.

[TheWizardKs]

I have finally beat the industries in the water problem. Next up is eliminating the need for IndustryBase.txt file. Expect a new upload this week, along with better instructions.

[TheWizardKs]

Check out the original post on the 1st page. I have uploaded a much better program.