SmileyCountry - DevLog

[Code6226]

Just got done with the Resource Required task-list.

Trees actually give you Logs now. Logs are (brace yourself) consumable, in that you can now click on them, and they morph into Planks. (This is a shortcut for now. Later, the idea is that you can cut Logs->Planks yourself anywhere, but a Woodcuttery would do a much better job)

Also, now when you want to Contruct a Construction_Job, you need to have enough planks. Right now, Signs take 2 Planks to build, and Buildings all take xSize*ySize planks (so a 3x3 building=9 planks). These actually get removed from your inventory if you successfully build the what-not.

This is pretty exciting, because while SmileyCountry is not at it's ambitious goals yet, you are currently able to play around in a virtual sandbox:
-Bunch of people can log in at once
-Chat with each other / See others walking around
-Dig up dirt/holes
-Chop Down Trees, Get Logs
-Craft Logs->Planks
-Place Construction Jobs (Ask for Buildings/Objects to be build)
-Build Construction Jobs (using Planks)
-Destroy stuff people have build

So you see, things have come full circle: Gather resources, build stuff with them, destroy them; repeat.

With this feature-set, I WOULD be comfortable to release a private alpha, except for one thing: feedback.
That is, the game gives you no feedback with respect to Objects right now. Sure, you see if there is a ConJob or a finished Object, but there is no indication of how much HP an Object/Building has, how much Damage you are doing to it (should you be), or who the Owner is. Also, I think it is important to know how much a Con Job will cost to Con ahead of time, which isn't in yet either.

Getting much closer to something playable though.

[Code6226]

My final post of the day, since I'm getting sleepy:

When you highlight something for using your Equipped item on, the color is now based on the action you will take when you use it there:
So if you are about to Harm the Object/Building, it will highlight Red. If you are about to Repair/Construct something, it will turn Green. If you are about to Harvest it (destroying it in the processes), it will turn Orange.

You can harvest trees for logs. You can build Signs with 2 Planks. You can harvest a Sign for 1 Plank.

Moved the requirements for how many planks it takes to build an Object into the Objects.ini so both server and client can look at it from one place.

Building buildings now require xSize*ySize *Special Planks. Most Buildings will have a Special of 1, but the Jail, for example, has a Special of 3, since the plan is that you won't put Objects there, but will rather just house criminals.

Repairing is not actually in. For this, I really think I'd like a Chain Action mode. For example, right now you can use 1 Log, and it will turn into 1 Plank. With repairing, you turn each Plank into as much HP as makes sense for that building/object. However, if you need to repair something using 50 planks, it's no fun to have to keep clicking. So later, I want to add something like Channeling, where you either pick how many of something you want to use, or the game will keep repeating what you were doing, if you have more resources to keep doing the same. But this will probably be after the first private build/alpha.

But back to the colors:


I've found this extremely helpful so far. It's very nice to be able to see, without looking at your inventory, what you are about to do. "I've got this Sign selected... in GREEN... I will Repair it" vs "Let's cut this tree down... oops, RED, better put away my Rocket Launcher and get out my Hatchet -- There we go: Orange"

Next time, I will try to set up more feedback from the game. The client already has access to how much MaxHP is for any given object/building, as well as how many planks are required to build it. Since repairing always does 48 HP per Plank for Buildings, that's easy too. I might keep that golden ratio for Objects too, so resources are efficient.
So it's mostly a matter of drawing a little Hover-Over-Info box for Objects/Buildings that displays what the client knows, and a few things the server will let the client know. Then I just need to add a little damage/repair pop-up number whenever the HP of something changes.

[Code6226]

Cleaned up the Login screen, fixed some bugs with the Settings, and added an option to disable the Ambient Sounds.

Also started on the Hover-Over info for Objects. It looks further than it is though. The client starts out knowing very little about all the objects on the map. First time the user hovers over an object, it asks for more details. That's what I have to code next time. For now, the missing info shows up as ? marks, as it will initially later:

[Code6226]

Well, getting extended information about Objects by hovering over them works great now:



You get: Name of Object, Owner's Name (if any), Budget

If Con Jobs, you also get: Required Materials
For Non-Con Jobs, you also get: HP

Since I took a shortcut with the way buildings are sent (I didn't bother to say what Building Con Jobs construct, unlike with Object Con Jobs), I have to implement that first before I move on to HoverOver info for Buildings. I also had a shortcomming of Building Roof graphics, I just MS Paint hacked the City Hall one to say Jail/Restaurant for those 2 buildings. All Building Roofs look virtually the same, but it will work for now.

[Code6226]

OK, HoverOver Info for Buildings is complete now:

Example for Non-ConJobs:


Example for ConJobs:

[Code6226]

Buildings and Objects now support being told that their HP changed. This will update the HoverOver for them, next time you hover over, and it will also pop up the traditional RPG damage number. Like so:



I've also been polishing a good amount of rough edges of the game, so I'm think we're ready for private alpha testing!

Checking back in soon...

[Code6226]

Just a quick update:
-Server now tells everyone when somebody joins/leaves game
-Server logs IP addresses

The database has been reset.

[Code6226]

Added basic server-side support for multiple areas.

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>June 10
[Server]
-Added support for sending messages to everyone in an area (not just the whole server)
-Support for being in different areas, keeping messages seperate
-Added warning if user is in non-existing area
[DB]
-Added areas table: areaName, xSize, ySize [Non 50x50 tile areas are not yet supported]


This server isn't live, since there is no benefit yet, since there is no way for the client to change areas.

PS: When the Private Alpha was released, SC basically finished with "MileStone 5: Let's live here", minus the pesky Cool Down, which I have delayed until I can think of a better way to do code it.]

So we are currently in "MileStone 6: We're not the only ones", which makes sense for implementing multiple Areas.

[Code6226]

I managed to work a bit more on it, and an update to SC is currently being released via Dispatcher.

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>June 10 (a)
[Server/Client]
-Added support for Changing Areas live/in-game
-Added "/warp AreaName" debug command to warp to area of that name
[Client]
-Added support for custom area sizes (smaller than 50,50)


So the client now supports being told to change areas in-game, as well as basic support for areas of different sizes. This is all done in a way that would technically allow new areas to be created or destroyed by the server at run-time. I don't intend to implement this, as the user-capacity would not scale, even if the Lebensraum ( ) did.

So check it out. Basically, you now get to do the following two commands in chat (press T):

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/warp Sandbox
/warp Smiletonia


The Sandbox is where you are by default, atm.

Invalid area names simply cause nothing to happen.

[Code6226]

Sorry for server-downtime; it's back up now.

[Code6226]

Did backend stuff. Nothing that would justify a new release just yet.

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[Client]
-Fixed client from trying to act/dig on terrain outside of area (right/bottom)
[Server]
-Redid Inventory Tables
--UserInventory is now generic: inventories(id,coins,bount) + inventoryContent(inventoryID,items)
--Everything that has inventories now uses the same tables, no matter if it's a person or a building
--Trading would be easy: Just update each item's owner inventoryID
-Objs/Buildings table don't have budgets/coins anymore
-Buildings now have inventories (created+destroyed with building, starting at ConJob)
-Hovering over building shows Coins in building inventory


[Code6226]

Small update: Server now spawns trees in every area, not just the first one! ^_^

[Code6226]

Release update

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>October 31
[Client/Server]
-Added error message when you don't have enough planks to make something
[Server]
-Added support for Tree growth in all areas (area list read in from sql)
-Prevented players from digging outside of area
-Moved from Python 2.5 to 2.6
-Replaced md5 with hashlib.md5


Also, thanks to the new version of Dispatcher, you no longer need Admin rights to check for updates, so you can start Smiley Country without Admin rights now.

[Code6226]

Did more preparation for the trading system.

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[Client/Server]
-Client is now told his coins + displays them
-Client can now request trade by right clicking a Building
--Server replies with Building budget+inventory contents
[Client]
-Trimmed non-sense from inquiry msg to obj/bldg
[Server]
-Added function to getBudget, getBounty, getInvMsg from InvID
-Added " to sendBudget from cli obj


[Code6226]

I find it cool that I was able to add a new building type to both the client and the server by simply editing the Buildings.ini and rebooting both. For the client to actually show it, I also had to give it two external picture files, but not a single line of code was edited to add the Sawmill building type.

It's important to remember that building's themselves are basically all the same. The different comes with which objects they are are allowed to host. Again, this is defined externally in the Buildings.ini

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[5]
Name=Sawmill
MaxPerArea=0
MinSize=3,3
BuildableObjects=Plank Maker
PlanksPerTile=1


Besides being the first logical building that's needed, there's another reason I'm adding this....

I have rethought of a simpler way to do Buy/Selling with Buildings, and I started working on it tonight.