RTS-SK Mission Shortcut Button
by RTS Kit Account · 01/14/2008 (12:16 am) · 9 comments
Oh my fellow RTS brothers!! The testosterone-exceeded barbarians (FPS developers) are invading us!!
Lets put some RTS push here... a little patch for the MainMenuGui.
I have used this since long time, without noticing that it may be useful for other people as well. That, until I saw Martin Schultz's Quickstart your game for debugging resource, which is essentially the same thing I were using.
So, that obviously inspired me to share this for the rts kit, with some changes (more like I am using it, this is not the Martin's resource actually), and a little more elaboration: I asked my always ready companion James, to make some apropriate graphic buttons.
The result can be seen on the screenshot below:
So this patched MainMenuGui adds a new button, which actually is an automated way of do:
1) "Start Game"
2) Select Mission
3) Enter Player Name
4) "Launch Mission"
5) "Ready"
So as you can see, unlike Martin's resource, you still have to hit "Mission Shortcut" to get to the mission, but this in exchange of flexibility.
If you have the stock kit, the .gui file goes in starter.RTSclientui<mainMenuGui.gui>
and the 4 .PNG files goes in: starter.RTSclientuimainMenu folder
You can customize the values for the mission file, player name (just look at the bottom of the file), and multi or single player with a little more work.
Although this could be used on a final release as a "Quick Mission" option, should be refactored to use some predefined player profile. Right now, its for dev use, just launch the damn mission ;)
Download here.
Thats it, hope it be useful.
P.S.: I think with a little of love this can actually work for the starter.FPS as well.
Lets put some RTS push here... a little patch for the MainMenuGui.
I have used this since long time, without noticing that it may be useful for other people as well. That, until I saw Martin Schultz's Quickstart your game for debugging resource, which is essentially the same thing I were using.
So, that obviously inspired me to share this for the rts kit, with some changes (more like I am using it, this is not the Martin's resource actually), and a little more elaboration: I asked my always ready companion James, to make some apropriate graphic buttons.
The result can be seen on the screenshot below:
So this patched MainMenuGui adds a new button, which actually is an automated way of do:
1) "Start Game"
2) Select Mission
3) Enter Player Name
4) "Launch Mission"
5) "Ready"
So as you can see, unlike Martin's resource, you still have to hit "Mission Shortcut" to get to the mission, but this in exchange of flexibility.
If you have the stock kit, the .gui file goes in starter.RTSclientui<mainMenuGui.gui>
and the 4 .PNG files goes in: starter.RTSclientuimainMenu folder
You can customize the values for the mission file, player name (just look at the bottom of the file), and multi or single player with a little more work.
Although this could be used on a final release as a "Quick Mission" option, should be refactored to use some predefined player profile. Right now, its for dev use, just launch the damn mission ;)
Download here.
Thats it, hope it be useful.
P.S.: I think with a little of love this can actually work for the starter.FPS as well.
#2
Henry
01/15/2008 (1:22 pm)
I tryed using it, ported it over to TGEA sucessfully but its a waste of time. In the time it took me to port it over and still have a bunch of missing functionality ive written my own RTS system with multiple improvements. You should be telling people not to buy this, not encouraging them :PHenry
#3
...
And I think the problem of some people is this enormous arrogance... Henry, the kit has some flaws, but do you really believe that you are capable of program an entire subset of RTS functionalities alone? Do you also think that you alone, could do a better job than the team of programmers and testers at GG (who are the core engine owners and developers?)
I cannot understand this kind of speech. I consider it an extreme form of amateur and naive thinking.
Besides that, you mention that you worked with the kit, but there is NOT ONE comment of yours on the RTS Kit forums that expressed that. Maybe if you had expressed your disagreement on the proper time, some constructive debate could have happened. Now, this, its just flame.
But overall, I cant understand at all, why such people feel compelled to write when others are doing what they couldnt. I this case, and in many others, there are people pushing for do something better, and always appear someone trying to demoralize the whole offort.
The kit has fantastic functionalities, and is an starting point. I believe that, to the point of use it day after day, and besides that, push to make a better product.
.
Edit: typo and grammar
01/15/2008 (3:09 pm)
LOL James. ...
And I think the problem of some people is this enormous arrogance... Henry, the kit has some flaws, but do you really believe that you are capable of program an entire subset of RTS functionalities alone? Do you also think that you alone, could do a better job than the team of programmers and testers at GG (who are the core engine owners and developers?)
I cannot understand this kind of speech. I consider it an extreme form of amateur and naive thinking.
Besides that, you mention that you worked with the kit, but there is NOT ONE comment of yours on the RTS Kit forums that expressed that. Maybe if you had expressed your disagreement on the proper time, some constructive debate could have happened. Now, this, its just flame.
But overall, I cant understand at all, why such people feel compelled to write when others are doing what they couldnt. I this case, and in many others, there are people pushing for do something better, and always appear someone trying to demoralize the whole offort.
The kit has fantastic functionalities, and is an starting point. I believe that, to the point of use it day after day, and besides that, push to make a better product.
.
Edit: typo and grammar
#4
After a struggle to get it over to TGEA and loosing alot of the functionality that is a necessary part of creating a RTS game of any kind i think its understandable i am a little disheartened with where my money has gone. There has been no active support from GG since its release on TGE 1.3. Why, for a product that you pay good money to have access to is it left to the community to write guides and update? To me that seems a little unacceptable.
"And I think the problem of some people is this enormous arrogance... Henry, the kit has some flaws, but do you really believe that you are capable of program an entire subset of RTS functionality alone? Do you also think that you alone, could do a better job than the team of programmers and testers at GG (who are the core engine owners and developers?)"
Im not claiming that i am "better" than GG or that i am even close to their standards. Only that the kit dose not really have that many astounding features. It has the BASICS of an RTS, which is exactly why i bought it, i didn't expect anything other than that .. don't get me wrong. That being said, since it is exactly that, the basics ... why would it be so hard to believe that it would be difficult to write your own alternative? How on earth is it arrogant to say that i believe i can get the ground work for an RTS written? At least, in my mind i don't think it is in the slightest.
Which features are there that you think would be hard to re-do if you needed to yourself? (Im guessing your a programmer)
01/15/2008 (7:05 pm)
"Besides that, you mention that you worked with the kit, but there is NOT ONE comment of yours on the RTS Kit forums that expressed that. Maybe if you had expressed your disagreement on the proper time, some constructive debate could have happened. Now, this, its just flame."After a struggle to get it over to TGEA and loosing alot of the functionality that is a necessary part of creating a RTS game of any kind i think its understandable i am a little disheartened with where my money has gone. There has been no active support from GG since its release on TGE 1.3. Why, for a product that you pay good money to have access to is it left to the community to write guides and update? To me that seems a little unacceptable.
"And I think the problem of some people is this enormous arrogance... Henry, the kit has some flaws, but do you really believe that you are capable of program an entire subset of RTS functionality alone? Do you also think that you alone, could do a better job than the team of programmers and testers at GG (who are the core engine owners and developers?)"
Im not claiming that i am "better" than GG or that i am even close to their standards. Only that the kit dose not really have that many astounding features. It has the BASICS of an RTS, which is exactly why i bought it, i didn't expect anything other than that .. don't get me wrong. That being said, since it is exactly that, the basics ... why would it be so hard to believe that it would be difficult to write your own alternative? How on earth is it arrogant to say that i believe i can get the ground work for an RTS written? At least, in my mind i don't think it is in the slightest.
Which features are there that you think would be hard to re-do if you needed to yourself? (Im guessing your a programmer)
#5
Im not discussing your feelings, Im shocked by the way you put them in a blog that is trying to be constructive. Your first post on this blog, was abosolutely destructive.
In other context, we could discuss about programming capabilities, and specially whats behind the RTS kit, in fact it already happened on other blog posts or forum threads, but you just should not appear and say "Hi, this is crap, dont buy it, I already did it better".
Doing that, the only thing you accomplish to do, is catharsis, in the wrong place, and in the wrong way.
01/15/2008 (8:39 pm)
Henry, I think you are quite right, its actually understandable that you be disheartened. However, its not understandable at all, that you pretend that other people to be disheartened as well.Im not discussing your feelings, Im shocked by the way you put them in a blog that is trying to be constructive. Your first post on this blog, was abosolutely destructive.
In other context, we could discuss about programming capabilities, and specially whats behind the RTS kit, in fact it already happened on other blog posts or forum threads, but you just should not appear and say "Hi, this is crap, dont buy it, I already did it better".
Doing that, the only thing you accomplish to do, is catharsis, in the wrong place, and in the wrong way.
#6
As far as i can see, most people who own or buy the RTS kit are rather disapointed with it which can be seen by the amount of active posters on the forum.
Again, im sorry if i have offended you or your work on the kit but my opinion stands.
Henry
01/15/2008 (10:52 pm)
Novack , everyone is entitled to their opinion and perhaps this was not the best place to voice that and as you so delicately put it my opinion is "Hi, this is crap, dont buy it, I already did it better". Although i must say i didnt say i have already done better, but that i feel it is best off to start from scratch because the usefulness of this kit is questionable. Im sorry if i have offended you because you are activly working on the RTS kit to bring it up to standard but my opinion holds strong. I dont want to have to battle with the kit for a month when i buy it when in that month i could have done those features myself and with much less hassle.As far as i can see, most people who own or buy the RTS kit are rather disapointed with it which can be seen by the amount of active posters on the forum.
Again, im sorry if i have offended you or your work on the kit but my opinion stands.
Henry
#7
For the matter itself, its all right, I appreciate your intention to level down the tone. I have to say that I also reacted in such a way... :-/
And gruesome quoting myself:
(from the forum thread) I think that pretty much its my point concerning the rush for porting the kit to TGEA.
01/16/2008 (12:38 am)
Henry I saw initially just a "." for this post of yours - lol - I was wondering if you were just pointing that were here.For the matter itself, its all right, I appreciate your intention to level down the tone. I have to say that I also reacted in such a way... :-/
And gruesome quoting myself:
Quote:I know what you mean.
However, there is still much functionality to do, not tied to the rendering system. An RTS is a complex system that varies from implementation to implementation. 90% of it, is about gameplay, not rendering.
There, is where I am focusing and developing (and others as well) . You mentioned the World Domination Mod, and it is an excelent example of that. The main functionalities of any game are independent of the core engine version (TGE, TGEA). In fact, due to the fact that at the end, TGE and TGEA are the same engine, you will have a minor/trivial work porting the developed functionalities (again, WDM is a perfect example).
(from the forum thread) I think that pretty much its my point concerning the rush for porting the kit to TGEA.
#8
Henry
01/16/2008 (9:29 pm)
Yeah TGE/TGEA are very similar but alot of it does touch the rendering stuff, such as the map and circles. I still dont belive it is worth the hassle. Why dont we as a comunity make a fresh start on a project, rather than hacking our way through the old stuff?Henry
#9
AND personally I would not take that path right now for this: the slow but real waking up that Im seeing on the RTS side (GG and members). People has worked on this direction -including myself- on a push to put some movement, and I could say that there are some results, and Im not willing to abandon ship right now.
01/16/2008 (10:45 pm)
Well, that was offered to me a couple of times also. But I dont see it doable for a couple of reasons: why people not intrested on improve this kit, would work on another? this point is key, as many people tends to underestimate the job done on the rts kit; also would be ridiculous to divide the little rts community effort into two projects; besides that, there is the proximity of Torque2 which turns the things even more complex in terms of "is this the moment for it?"AND personally I would not take that path right now for this: the slow but real waking up that Im seeing on the RTS side (GG and members). People has worked on this direction -including myself- on a push to put some movement, and I could say that there are some results, and Im not willing to abandon ship right now.
Torque 3D Owner James
You know Novack, I think we're the only ones using the Kit right now...
ECHO...Echo...echo...
Yup :D