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Some more ideas I am tossing around...

A

alan_smithee

Corsair
Storm Modder
So after playing SMP!, I've had a few thoughts for things that would be nice to add to PotC.

Cat's kind of already working on a treasure map idea so that needn't be said. And I think there has been some work to make the balance of powers, with hostile take-overs and peace treaties and so on more dynamic? I like how in SMP! you can have a hand in forging or breaking ties between nations - by escorting a packet with a peace treaty for instance. The first part of this needn't be hard - place government agents in the residences and, if you are in service of that nation and your current rep is good, you may offer to escort a ship with a message of peace, thus making allies of former enemy powers. I suppose the code would be adapted from escorting merchants, easy enough. But then I wouldn't know how to make a peace treaty take effect... I'm sure it's something simple I wouldn't think of though; also, there would also have to be conditions for a peace treaty between warring nations to be offered.

There could be some play within this, as well... the ship to escort could bear an offer of peace or peace treaty to be signed, or some correspondence between colonies, once we work more colonies of the same power in; or simply be a packet, a mail ship... much less money for that obviously but sailors do thrive on getting their letters. But unlike escort merchant quests, these ought to have a time limit, like carrying a merchant's cargo.

The other side of this - intercepting such ships, which would keep nations at war or cause them to enter war. "Correspondance" could also simply be a cargo item, to ransom if you capture it, or to load into your ship from someplace in a town and receive money for its safe passage to its destination.

==

Unrelated but I just thought of it while playing now: Is it right to be able to just walts into a governor's private chambers (and rummage through his stash)... shouldn't you first have to obtain an introduction, gain his favour or something? Putting some sort of intermediary in could make for some comical dialog, as some officious twit tries to bar your way the first time you want to see the guvn'r, and needs bribed or convinced you're a genteel fellow.
 
Sounds very good to me! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/w00t.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":woot" border="0" alt="w00t.gif" />
I believe CCC added some functions to set towns to a different nation. I suppose there are also functions somewhere to change nation's relations. Would be great if the nations would actually change relations and take over colonies. <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/william.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":will" border="0" alt="william.gif" />
 
Some good thoughts there, Alan! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/me.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":onya" border="0" alt="me.gif" />
 
Arr! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/danse1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":dance" border="0" alt="danse1.gif" />

Great ideas! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile2.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":))" border="0" alt="smile2.gif" /> Role-play, role-play, role-play! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile2.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":))" border="0" alt="smile2.gif" />
 
Interesting ideas, but I see one possible difficulty with colonies changing hands. In SMP, each nation has a number of colonies, so losing one doesn't usually wipe a nation off the map (except maybe in the 1600 game). In POTC, except for England, the others only have one each. What would happen when the English drive the French out of Falaise; are the French out of the picture forever? Do I lose all the acreage I've wheedled out of them? What about that fine French lass I've been diddl . . er . . . uh . . . conversing with?
 
And that's the beauty of it - if you've an ethnic wife or (even more important) a lot of money in the hands of some town's usurer, you've that much more incentive to go out on a cruise on behalf of that nation and win its holdings back - and then some. It would also give a lot more point to capturing forts, either from sea or (hopefully soon) land. As it is now, all you get for your trouble is some money and prestige, but the balance of power doesn't change as the town stays in that nation's hands.

NK, this has probably been hashed out endlessly before but what are the difficulties in adding more towns to islands?
 
As long as you make them from existing locations, adding more towns to islands shouldn't really be difficult, only lots of work (AFAIK). You'd need to setup the town with its locations in the island's file in the Locations/init folder and connect the locations. Then in the Characters/init folder you'd have to populate it.

What I'd wish for, though, are new models for the new locations.
 
Yeah I am thinking for now I will just have to raid some FdF or Redmond locations, use a part of a town for a whole new small town. But I am thinking of the difficulties in getting them to show up from the world map and being-at-sea-around-an-island screens, so you can sail to them...
 
Yes, seeing the fate of nations change and having some influence on it would make the game much more interesting. The "nation Strength" thread (somewher in "Build Alpha"?) has some more ideas on this topic


I have some ideas for a missiongenerator with diplomatic or secret service missions that influence war and peace. But these are so far ideas only, buried under a big stack of modconcepts labeled "To be done one day if I can find the time" <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />
So if you want to do something similar just go ahead and don't wait for me, I can always adapt my stuff to yours <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />


If the one-and-only town of one nation would be captured the nation would not be eliminated from the game. Their ships would still sail the sea, and the town could be recaptured: by a fleet from Europe, a rebellion of the original population or by a fortraid led by YOU.
 
We really should get the new islands mod finished. Then all nations would have more towns, so it wouldn't really matter if they lost one.
 
Merely wondering here - not saying I will or anything yet, heheh - if we can make new houses and such and get into the game? <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":?" border="0" alt="unsure.gif" />

I have not yet tried, but it should be possible, no? Houses can be fun to make, heh. <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />

Or, alternatively, find some free on the net - there are a lot of free house model out there. <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/yes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":yes" border="0" alt="yes.gif" />
 
HSL: I poked around looking for building models once, and sure'n I found some but I couldn't know what to do with them. I hope you give it a look.
 
Sure, Alan, I know where to find some, yes, and could of course ask the creator as well if need be, but question is, is it simply to load them into the tool? <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":?" border="0" alt="unsure.gif" />

I can tweak the scale in C4D by getting a model in there to scale it (and after that have a scale to work from). <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/yes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":yes" border="0" alt="yes.gif" />

Inez, are you reading this? If not, then you can not answer this, I suppose... <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile2.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":))" border="0" alt="smile2.gif" /> Is it as simple as loading it into the tool as a .wrl? <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/william.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":will" border="0" alt="william.gif" />
 
Expanding patches would improve most locations anyway, for my taste most are too confined for a decent RPG feeling. Some townexits offer space and landscape variation. E.g. Douwesen townexit would make a nice farm: a few buildings around a well, gentle slopes, pond, cave and a comparatively large plain... Could the town itself be "removed" from the rural scenery by replacing the townwall textures with rocktextures? And the towngate with a cave or mine entry? Then we would have a rather spacious and interesting outside location that could be used for settlements of various types.

About building houses inPotC: Actually I know nothing about making new textures and models, but I recently fooled around with existing PotC models and was able to make "buildings" of the most primitive kind: barricades made of barrels and boxes. Did this by attaching models from the "swim goods" folder to stationary characters. A typical improvised workaround Couchcaptain style <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="icon_wink.gif" /> but this has some advantages over adding buildings to the permanent locationmodel:

-Buildings can be erected anywhere anytime during the game. So the player could decide to build a hideout in the jungle or a fortification on some beach.

-That could be part of the gameplay: you had to acquire materials and maybe workers to build something.

-Buildings could also be destroyed (removed or replaced by ruins) by attacks or disasters.

-We could make a truly random landscape by adding ever changing buildings, rocks and treegroups to it.

There are also problems: each building consumes a characterslot, for permanent buildings we have to create permanent characters, I don't know how to make patches so that you can't walk thorugh the walls...
The doors wouldn't have locators, so accessible buildings must have an opening instead of a door, and any furniture must be inside of the housemodel.

But it may be worth a try, so if some modeler could make a simple shack model which is technicaly like e.g. the box from the "swim goods" folder I could TRY to make the code that let's you build this shack in the game.
 
The patch is no problem with Inez' tool, lets you define where you can/can't walk and where you want to put locators.

I like that improvising. I tried making a small raft out of barrels and shipwreck parts, but it always makes my tool crash when I try and save. And I have looked at small bits before, like townexists, and thought about trying to make them look like something else. Some port areas, like Redmond, are so full of (utterly unused!) buildings they could be a town unto themselves, maybe with just a wall behind them for protection from land.
 
<!--QuoteBegin-High Sea Lass+Aug 11 2005, 12:23 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(High Sea Lass @ Aug 11 2005, 12:23 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Inez, are you reading this?  If not, then you can not answer this, I suppose...  <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile2.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":))" border="0" alt="smile2.gif" />  Is it as simple as loading it into the tool as a .wrl?  <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/william.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":will" border="0" alt="william.gif" /><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think CCC and Alan have already answered it: yes, basically it's that simple, plus you have to make a character patch (.ptc file), which can be done with the tool (though that is not simple). One limitation is that the tool can't yet make patches that aren't flat - all points have the same y coordinates.
In addition you need files for the locators, the windows, the lights etc - look what's in the locations folder. But all these can be made.

I very much like the idea to set up houses dynamically - maybe buy your own house from the usurer? (And then buy furniture to put into it?)
 
Too tired for a decent post, but I'd like to gloat a little after a hard day (ME trying to work with models <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/piratesing.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":shock" border="0" alt="piratesing.gif" /> Well, thanks to Inez' tool and models it wasn't THAT hard <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="icon_wink.gif" />)

The attached screenshot shows houses that Nathaniel Hawk built for himself in Oxbay port, fortified with stockades and a battery of cannons.

Note that this is no change to the portmodel but was added during the running game! It took about 15 mins. (Once the code was written <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" /> )

So a "Build your own town during the game" mod is within reach <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /> More details (and the catches <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="icon_wink.gif" /> ) tomorrow
 
Wow! That's a thing I've wanted to do for a long time!
<img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/william.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":will" border="0" alt="william.gif" />
 
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