New Outpost2 Campaign started

[Eddy-B]

Hello everyone !

It's been 10 days since i've joined the Outpost Universe. But i've been working almost everyday at this project: the understanding of OP2, and its libraries.

I've come from zero understanding { i had absolutely no clue how OP2 stored its missions } to something that is enough to start building missions within the first week, and for the past 3 days i've been busy creating the first mission DLL. I've used an old OP2 map, wich does the job quite well, but i'll be needing some more maps.

Also i'll need people to help me thru the 11 missions to come. I need some kind of story-line, because i don't want to make the next 11 missions the same as the first one: build base & gather ore, build base & gather ore, build base & gather ore, etc..  I want to make this somewhat different from the original, although i have no clue yet, as to how


Eddy-B




[size=8]PS: Please don't ask me for mission DLLs, i'll distribute when i'm confident they are good, and when i have several done[/size]

[Tellaris]

Best to wait for another map editer, the current one sucks, it takes forever to make a map of any reasonable size, as you have to do it tile BY INSIGNIFICANT LITTLE TILE atm.

[Eddy-B]

Doesn't matter; i'll use the maps that i have: no one remembers any of the 24 maps he /she played over the 2 campaigns anyway.
And then there are some of the mulyiplayer maps that'll work in campaign.

As for the map editor - yeah ... there are a couple editors: Kramy's editor can do 'bulk' tilesets: up to 36 at once.. BUT it has a problem displaying all the tiles..

[TH300]

A new campeign would be great.
But don't reuse maps. A campeign mission MUST HAVE a specific unique look that makes it more worth playing.
Maybe I'll find some time to make a map. Just tell me, what you want.

[Leviathan]

Best to wait for another map editer

op2mapper works great 2 make new maps.
copy and paste sections of old map to make ur new one
but yes more needs 2 b added

[Leviathan]

and Eddy
hackers editer which u can get from our downloads page, u can copy and paste over 400 tiles at one with it
www.outpostuniverse.net/downloads.htm
 

[Eddy-B]

But don't reuse maps. A campeign mission MUST HAVE a specific unique look that makes it more worth playing.

Too late ! I've worked for about 4 or 5 days on my mission one (plymouth), and changing maps, would also mean changing major portions of the DLL - and i'm NOT looking forward to that. It took a lot of testing to get it the way it is !

A new campeign would be great.

 .,, heard that before ! from various ppl.

Maybe I'll find some time to make a map. Just tell me, what you want.

.. uhm: well,, a couple of maps would be great ! (about 22 i guess, since i got 2 already.. lol)

Nay.. if you can spare the time.. make me a map for my mission 3. Missions 1 & 2 are set already. Now,

The plot so far:
Mission 1 { for mission briefing go here } is sort of an intro mission. It has the player gather ore & food and build a few kits for evac purpose.

Mission 2 will continue where mission one ended, with the player having to defend their own base against Eden, drive out any Eden units and build up an evacuation convoy.

Now, at mission 3 i want the player to enter with whatever he was able to get out from mission two. So i need a quiet little place, say with a big vulcano somwhere in the middle. I'll have the player come in at one end, then the choice is all theirs to set up base immediatly (gray lavarock, that will be flooded later), or to go to the other end of the map (the safe orange soil), but it'll cost a lot of valuable time just to get there. But the reward will be an abundance of ore. i want it to have just a few hills scattered around the map, but not to block the lava-path ! ... just try something .. i'll wait for the map.


Oh, and you mentioned this campaign must have something special: well, i'm trying to make all the mission interconnected: what you build now, can be used later. What gets lost in one mission, cannot be used in a next. This would add some more excitement to the game, AND will make your more careful about taking risks, as you may need your units/kits later...


Eddy.

[TH300]

well, i've began with the map now, but don't expect it to be finish soon (I'm busy with school). Also someone else has to do the lava movement (and mining beacons etc.), because I can't edit DLLs. Maybe I'll learn, how to do that, some time, but obviously not in the near future.

Hope, you're patient.


one question: How much of the map do you want to be filled with the dark gray lava rock? All except the place where the player enters and the safe place at the other end?

[Eddy-B]

hey great TH300 !

I'll try to be patient.. and DLL programming is my turf, so no need to worry. It includes AI, beacons and lava flow (don't know about this yet - but i will).

Below is just a simple version of an example map. It doesn't have to look like this exactly - actually it may be completely different, but i leave that up to you. About 25% has to be covered with the safe soil, the rest is lavarock (dark gray and black) and some normal rock (lightgray). You can fill up the area with small hills, slopes, or whatever, as long the lava-flow isn't hindered too much...  The blue arrow would suggest a starting point (but you can turn the map 90 degress or whatever if you like - it doesn't matter much). You may fill up some rocky areas with vegatation, put craters or whatever..  The white dots are suggested beacons, but you don't have to stick to that either. You can suggest a few spots for beacons: as i've said, player has the option to start building a small base at a starting (1-bar) beacon, and then move on, when the vulcano errupts, to a better suited spot further on.

You can make the journey longer by putting some hills along the way the player has to zig-zag around or something.

I hope you get the point


Don't let restrict you - YOUR the map designer, not me. Im just giving you an impression of what (i think) would be nice. Map size could be a 128x128.. not too big i guess

Edit by op2hacker: Image was returning a hot link protection, so I copied it to our servers.

[Hooman]

Quick suggestion: You should make the mine that gets destroyed by lava have the highest ore yield. That way there is actually a point to stop and build a base there. It really doesn't take long to cross most maps and it's usually well worth extra ore. Besides, they'd have to recoup the cost of building the base that gets destroyed by lava. Anyways, I just figure the highest rewards should involve the highest risk.
 

[Eddy-B]

come to think of it: you're right - lol
ah - im waiting for this map first b4 starting the dll. Need to finish up mission 1 and im still creating the scene for mission 2

[The_Blight]

One of the things I like about OP2 is the DontKnow-factor

You are never sure the spot you picked will fulfill the expectations you had about it, if you have found a high-yield ore spot, the area might be crawling with vortexes and earthquakes, or you might be a sitting duck for your enemy while maybe some further there's a medium yield mining spot which has natural defences (cliffs) and is reasonably quiet...

Then I'd go for the medium yield, but you have to make choices, and you have to make them quick, and sometimes when you are in a hurry you pick the mine which has a route to it over a very seismic active area...

But also, who knows how far the lava will come, as Eden I most of the time can keep all my GeoThermal Power Plants, as they are almost on the edge of lava-soil and, errr.., other soil..

-------
Ideas
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Battles between the same houses, eg a renegade general of plymouth has started an own colony and wants to bring the original plymouth down, this calls for new tactics as most (at least I am) players are used to fight plymouth with eden and vice versa, or maybe an eden AND a plymouth colony against the player...

Unit-only missions with specefic objectives and limited re-inforcements, find this, destroy that, run for this, capture that, etc...

Some storyline I thought of earlier :::Lights Out::
[You are Plymouth] Your colonies have been destroyed one by one, times are desperate and there's only one option left, and it depends on nature itself, you've been watching an Eden base in an area that houses many natural dangers, and your wait has paid off, the base has been struck by all kinds of disasters in a short period of time and is evacuating, though it's still defended by an emergency power system and a reasonable army, a convoy with most of the colonists and 2 ConVecs carrying a new ComCenter and a Structure Factory, some other vehicles under whom also a reasonable armed force are en route to a safer location...

That could be the storyline, now for the mission details :

- If you hadn't noticed, the goal is to capture the units from the convoy useful to Plymouth, when it's moving from A to B, you have to strike, take what you can, sneak away again and silently build up a base on the map, and later on destroy the eden force, ofcourse, the disaster-struck Eden colony revives after some time and even calls in reinforcements from smaller bases on the map, destroying/disabling these smaller bases' Command Centers and Vehicle Factories will stop their reinforcements.  

- You start out with some Lynxes(Maybe 2 or 3 Panthers, and 1 Tiger), most EMP, some RPG/ESG/Microwave
(Maybe no ESG as that would damage the surrounding units too, and maybe no RPG because they might target the wrong vehicles and make the mission fail...)

- You have to intersect with the convoy, how its done best depends on the map, whether or not the player has much time to plan and whether or not there are extra patrols on the map, and maybe if seen by these hell breaks loose, if the player can get an advantage on a high platform or maybe a place to avoid where there are Eden guardposts etc...

- QUESTION : If you capture 2 Eden ConVecs with an Eden ComCenter and an Eden Structure Factory, and you let them build them, will they turn into Plymouth ComCenters/SF's ? It would be cool having a Plymouth Player having to use Eden Tech...

Whew, congratulation if you got this far    :blush:  

[Eddy-B]

Thank u for the input !

some remarks:

Battles between the same houses, eg a renegade general of plymouth has started an own colony and wants to bring the original plymouth down, this calls for new tactics as most (at least I am) players are used to fight plymouth with eden and vice versa, or maybe an eden AND a plymouth colony against the player

.. i like that idea.. i might use it in my campaign !

(Maybe no ESG as that would damage the surrounding units too, and maybe no RPG because they might target the wrong vehicles and make the mission fail...)

.. EMP also just "attacks" any enemy unit. Same goes for micro, or whatever other weapon. The only sure option is to select the STOP command, and select your targets one-by-one manually.

RE: QUESTION
.. I'll check out what will happen with loaded convecs, and wether they build eden or plymouth buildings/units.
Also we're checking out if it's possible to have spiders (or newer, more advanced units) capture buildings. The unitname 'tarantula' has already been suggested. Or maybe; to give eden a chance: call it "black widow" where the ply player can use the new spider only once, as it merges with the eden savants to take them over, making the "black widow" spider disappear. But i don't know if this is easy to accomplish by us (me, hooman, hacker, whoever else wants to try this)