Mod Release Build 14 Final Now Available

Done:

http://piratesahoy.net/build/b14_installer.exe

http://piratesahoy.bowengames.com/potc/b14_installer.exe

This is it.
I am finished.
I deserve the vacation that my dear friend(s) have been recommending I take for two years straight.

In other words, this is where I leave things.
It is up to whoever reads this to take things where I left off.

Think:
Plastering this all over the internet (ModDB, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, NexusMods and what have you more; like GOG.com/Steam, etc. and the list goes ever on).
I hope you fine peopsels enjoy this cumulative result of 14 years' of effort by easily 100+ different people from all over the globe, working together voluntarily in their spare time for zero charge.

 

I believe the key to great art is actually "Finished, not perfect".

As if any artist would ever call their work "fully finished".
But yes, ye be right.

So I think we should finish Build 14 before calling it final

Too late; we called it "final" ages ago.
Hence my idea of calling us in phase 15 now.

For Build 15 I also think we need to bring something new to justify it's existing. Building Build 15 around a few central ideas will help limit the scope a bit (so we have a clear goal/endpoint at which to consider Build 15 "finished") and guide us towards making a coherent update that is both fun and easy to explain/promote (so people WILL play it).

Even just "standalone release" would for me be good enough for the "15 monicker".
And that's definitely something we can do. Even if it's just on ye olde Storm 2, it'd still be a pretty big step.

* Expanded and improved map. The worldmap is the largest missing piece for the StormX version, so I would be happy to improve and expand the worldmap to include additional regions. And with full access to the source code I can also guarantee we can make to work really well. Personally I would also like to modify the world map to match the real world, and use real coordinates for islands and locations, so people can learn useful navigation skills by just playing the game - or use existing navigation experience to play the game.

Eventually, I'd dream of working in a "map" system like Virtual Sailor / Vehicle Simulator.
That one allows adding ANY new sailing areas with the same easy as a new ship!

I prefer to focus on things I can change.

Maybe you cannot change that.
But as Will Turner would say:
"No cause is truly lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it."

If nobody else fights with it, then I'll continue being a fool.
A fool who YOU ALL put IN CHARGE!!
For reasons unknown...

 

I think it should be fairly easy to dynamically (un)load islands and ships as you sail. The difficult part will be updating all the other systems and quests to use such new system, like for example quests stages that trigger when leaving an island might need to be updated. And for such a system to be fun, the ship AI would also need some serious improvements I think.

Supposedly Maelstrom includes improved Ship AI.
I don't know to what extent.
But @ChezJfrey and @Mirsaneli might be able to enlighten us.

 

I hope the AI improvement can also be applied to NH.

 

I hope the AI improvement can also be applied to NH.

I believe it is included in here:

New Horizons by ChezJfrey

New Horizons

chezjfrey.itch.io

 

I believe it is included in here:

New Horizons by ChezJfrey

New Horizons

chezjfrey.itch.io

You have to pay for it though. It should be free.

 

You have to pay for it though. It should be free.

Yes.
It should.
Ideally.

We have no say in what the Reef does.
But that does not mean we have no say.

 

* Expanded and improved map. The worldmap is the largest missing piece for the StormX version, so I would be happy to improve and expand the worldmap to include additional regions. And with full access to the source code I can also guarantee we can make to work really well. Personally I would also like to modify the world map to match the real world, and use real coordinates for islands and locations, so people can learn useful navigation skills by just playing the game - or use existing navigation experience to play the game.

Perhaps improve the mainland, maybe add a few more locations? Maracaibo would be a fine addition for piracy, for one...

 

Too late; we called it "final" ages ago.
Hence my idea of calling us in phase 15 now.

Beta 4 was declared final and the archive name, "b14_beta4_final.tar", reflects that. It did not indicate that Build 14 was finished, only that we then moved onto Beta 4.1.

 

Beta 4 was declared final and the archive name, "b14_beta4_final.tar", reflects that. It did not indicate that Build 14 was finished, only that we then moved onto Beta 4.1.

I declared it BUILD 14 FINAL on 1 Jan 2022 in the title and body of this very thread.
As far as I'm concerned, the next release should be a Build 15.
And certainly whatever I release next will not be yet another old 14-er.

For the sake of a true future, we need to look beyond where we've been stuck for 10+ years.
Certainly I need to do that.
For my own sake as well as everyone else's.
I would really appreciate help in whatever is next..

 

we then moved onto Beta 4.1.

If that were true, I'd have marked it in the download filenames.

Beta 4.1 feels like it was AGES ago.
I seem to remember also a Beta 4.2 already in our past.

At the very LEAST, shouldn't you be on Beta 5 by now??
We've been on 4 for SIX BLOODY YEARS:

PotC: New Horizons - What's New in Build 14 Beta 4.0? news

Our biggest release in years recently went live with more features and refinements than you could wish for! Find out what's new in this article...

www.moddb.com

 

Rather than getting hung up on whether it's Beta 4.1, Beta 5, Build 15 or whatever, I repeat my earlier suggestion - scrap the build number entirely and just call it "New Horizons".

 

Rather than getting hung up on whether it's Beta 4.1, Beta 5, Build 15 or whatever, I repeat my earlier suggestion - scrap the build number entirely and just call it "New Horizons".

Matches my thinking.
14: PotC: New Horizons for the Mod
15: New Horizons for the regular Standalone
16: New Horizons Revamped for the Maelstrom Standalone by @ChezJfrey and @Mirsaneli
17: Beyond New Horizons for the Storm X version by @Hammie


We'll still have the number, but with a name it'll be much clearer what's what.

Maybe even consider throwing completely different names in there..


Gentlemen of Fortune
Hearts of Oak
Conquest of the Seas

Would be nice to eventually have official PA! releases matching those titles.

 

Matches my thinking.
14: PotC: New Horizons for the Mod
15: New Horizons for the regular Standalone
16: New Horizons Revamped for the Maelstrom Standalone by @ChezJfrey and @Mirsaneli
17: Beyond New Horizons for the Storm X version by @Hammie


We'll still have the number, but with a name it'll be much clearer what's what.

Maybe even consider throwing completely different names in there..


Gentlemen of Fortune
Hearts of Oak
Conquest of the Seas

Would be nice to eventually have official PA! releases matching those titles.

I think with so many New Horizons variations and eventually those 3 last titles (which appear as their own thing as well besides New Horizons) things might get real confusing for people, I second @Grey Roger with just having New Horizons, the build number can stay as an internal thing for us/patch notes.

And why have separate version for the mod and standalone ? I think everyone will want to download the standalone anyways as it's much easier that way.

Maybe something like this could work better:

New Horizons for the regular Standalone (Eventually move it to Storm X version when it's ready)
New Horizons Maelstrom Standalone by @ChezJfrey and @Mirsaneli

Just my two cents, you do you!

 

I think with so many New Horizons variations and eventually those 3 last titles (which appear as their own thing as well besides New Horizons) things might get real confusing for people,

Probably true.
We need to think of something better.

I haven't quite got the solution clear yet either..

Thanks for thinking along, all!

 

The Maelstrom version is a separate entity and we have no right to say what it should be called. That is for @ChezJfrey and @Mirsaneli to decide.

So the development sequence for New Horizons could be:
PotC: New Horizons - the modded version of the original 2003 game
New Horizons - no longer "PoTC:" because it's standalone
Beyond New Horizons - the Storm X version by @Hammie

 

@Grey Roger: I remembered correctly. A template of all stuff I use to make an Installer EXE was already posted here:

Index of /potc/Installer

piratesahoy.bowengames.com

If you have questions, I can help out.
All I can say is: it works for me.
Usually..

 

The Maelstrom version is a separate entity and we have no right to say what it should be called. That is for @ChezJfrey and @Mirsaneli to decide.

Gentlemen of Fortune: New Horizons would be my bet.
It'd only make sense since the Reef took ownership of the GoF title (even if it was originally a PA! one too).

I'd be perfectly happy with that title.
After all these years, why not decide they can have the "GoF" title with our blessing?

 

@Grey Roger: I remembered correctly. A template of all stuff I use to make an Installer EXE was already posted here:

Index of /potc/Installer

piratesahoy.bowengames.com

If you have questions, I can help out.
All I can say is: it works for me.
Usually..

That link leads to five files - "CRCCheck.zip", "Nsis7z_19.00.zip", "PoTC Installer.7z", "nisedit2.0.3.exe", "nsis-3.06.1-setup.exe". What do I do with them?

 

Install NSIS and HM NIS Edit.
CRCCheck and Nsis7z are plugins and I can't remember how to install them.

I'm sure an internet search will answer it though.
Lemme know if you get stuck.
I'd have some digging to do too.

The one 7-Zip archive contains the code and source files that I set up for the EXE Installer.
This is where I'd recommend you start looking to see if anything connects with sense for you.

 

@Pieter Boelen @Grey Roger If we want to make the game standalone, do we really still need an installer? Or can we just put it into an extract-anywhere archive?