Beta Testers needed for Thousand Parsec

Message

mithro · #1 Post by **mithro** » Sun Jul 02, 2006 11:13 am

Hi everyone!

I am trying to make the next release of tpclient-pywx client for Thousand Parsec ( http://www.thousandparsec.net/ ) as stable and playable as possible. However, currently we do not have enough testers to do this.

There are multiple ways you can help with testing,
* If you have are comfortable with developers tools, you can checkout the current repository and the requirements and try and run the tool. I'll put better instructions on how to setup the development enviroment soon.
* If you are less comfortable with developers tools, you can help by testing the soon to be released binaries (in the next few days). I'll post when these are avalible.

We are in special need of Windows and Mac OS X users. The code is mainly developed on Linux should be fairly stable on that platform.

Suggestions are always welcome (related or unrelated to the client).

Tim Ansell

#2 Post by **Tyreth** » Sun Jul 02, 2006 12:50 pm

I'm personally very interested in TP's progress, being a Stars! fan.

marhawkman · #3 Post by **marhawkman** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 11:38 am

*reads half of install instructions* O_O! How many different things are there that I gotta install????

mithro · #4 Post by **mithro** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 3:04 pm

Under windows the end user installation is very easy. You just download the yet to be created installer and double click

I should have this installer finished by the weekend.

Under Linux your package manager should do most of the heavy lifting and then you get the inplace package (which includes all the Thousand Parsec libraries and media).
I should also have this package uploaded by the weekend.

If you have any ideas how to make the installation easier, please suggest them.

I'm going to try and organise a game sometime very soon. Would any of you be intrested in participating?

marhawkman · #5 Post by **marhawkman** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 9:58 am

Yeah I'm interested. I think the main thing at the moment that it needs is an installer. (even a dos shell script would be good enough to do most of it.)

mithro · #6 Post by **mithro** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 11:55 am

Can you try the previous windows installer?

http://www.thousandparsec.net/tp/downlo ... .setup.exe

I'll be using the same process when releasing the next version.

marhawkman · #7 Post by **marhawkman** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:59 pm

Huh? Does that have the current version in it?

Pasi · #8 Post by **Pasi** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 7:00 am

Any chance you're making a package for ubuntu?

marhawkman · #9 Post by **marhawkman** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 9:45 am

Hmm.... so there's no single player version?

mithro · #10 Post by **mithro** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 11:17 am

There is currently no single player version.

Eventually we hope to add a single player version but it requires development of AI.

We have only limited time and AI for a game like this is quite complicated so we have been putting it off.

marhawkman · #11 Post by **marhawkman** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:14 pm

One possible shortcut is to write a psuedo AI. It just makes the race do stuff at random. Whatever it can do it does. It's not terribly efficient and makes for an opponent devoid of strategy, but it would at least give you something to squash in single player.

mithro · #12 Post by **mithro** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 2:18 am

If somebody could come up with a simple flow chart or a group of simple rules or something for an AI, I could most probably create one in a few hours. (IE Something like "If x do y".)

The biggest problem with "just doing random stuff" is that I don't think it would actually do anything, the game requires you to do thing in order otherwise things don't work.

IE To conolise a planet,
Build Colonisation Ship
Send Ship to Planet
Give Colonisation Order

I'm happy for people to come up with puesdo code or such which I could then impliment (the hard part is coming up with the correct puesdo code).

Anyway...

Still trying to get the next version out as soon as possible. Recent testing has shown some usability problems which I want to fix first.

marhawkman · #13 Post by **marhawkman** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 2:20 pm

When I said "random stuff" I meant random stuff it can actually do. So it just does whatever it can with no actual strategy behind it's actions.

Code: Select all

Function: build stuff
If enemy=no then build_warship=no
If scoutable_territory>scouts then build_scout=yes 
If colonizable_planets>colony_ships then build_colony_ship=yes 
(If there are buildings in your game I guess you'd add something for them here)

(note: this would consider how many it has under construction when deciding to build more. Also I'd make scoutable_territory scale based on number of unexplored systems just to prevent the AI from trying to build one scout for each reachable unexplored star system.)(for the first version I'd make it not consider crappy planets(like tiny barren and toxic planets from MoO2) when deciding whether to build ships)

Code: Select all

Function: move ships
If ship=warship then move_to=enemy_territory
If ship=scout then move_to=unexplored
If ship=colony_ship then move_to=colonizable

Note: for a later version you'd make it decide based on planet value and distance which to colonize/attack first, but for a start we'll just make it colonize/attack whatever it can that's in range. For attacking I'd make it consider whether it can win, at least in a later version. For Colonization I'd make it(in the later version) assign planets points based on their value(this might get modified by your tech) and subtract points based on their distance. Whichever planet has the highest value gets colonized.(note I'd add a tag to prevent it from choosing the same planet multiple times) Scouts would just move to the closest unexplored system.(again with the anti-redundancy check)

that should be enough for at least a half-baked AI.