Converting Ming to freeciv

Thue · August 14, 2000, 17:32

Now, there is a native windows freeciv binary, and I have just implemented the patrol command Ming wanted so much. So, do we have a convert?

While I had the keybord out I changed the goto to "preview" a path by displaying a line on the map following the cursor, line SMAC and civ:ctp.
I also added shared vision, ie if player1 gives you shared vision you will see evrything he sees. Does SMAC or civ:ctp have this feature? Anyway, it is cool

Oh, and dwp is adding support for observers watching a game and for multiple people controling one player simultaneously.

And with the latest adde nation we are reaching the limit of 63(!), and some coding must be done to raise that

But of course freeciv was already cooler than civ 2 before those improvements!

Now I am off to finish those automated ferryboats...

tonic · August 14, 2000, 20:09

Trying to get some perspective from one who is just stepping into the rather blurry world of Freeciv on the Windows platform. How does this binary of yours fit into the current Windows implementation of Freeciv?

Thue · August 17, 2000, 14:43

Umm, you download it and run it.
ftp://ftp.freeciv.org/freeciv/packages/windows/freeciv-1.11.0-win.zip
Here is the info from www.freeciv.org/windows/

quote:

1.Extract the archive.
It will extract into a subdirectory called "freeciv".

2.Start the server:
1.Open a new MS-DOS/Command Prompt window.
2.Use "c:", "d:", etc. and "cd /.../freeciv" to change to the Freeciv directory.
3.Type "civserver" to start the server. You should see:

This is the server for Freeciv version 1.11.0
You can learn a lot about Freeciv at http://www.freeciv.org/
1: Now accepting new client connections.

For introductory help, type 'help'.
>

3.Start the client; connect to the server:
1.Open a second MS-DOS/Command Prompt window.
2.Use "c:", "d:", etc. and "cd /.../freeciv" to change to the Freeciv directory.
3.Type "civclient" to start the client. A Freeciv client window should open, and a Connect to Freeciv Server dialog should also open.
4.In the Connect to Freeciv Server dialog, press the Connect button. The dialog should close, and the Game menu in the Freeciv window should become
enabled.

4.Set up your game parameters in the server; start the game:
1.Switch back to the server MS-DOS/Command Prompt window.
2.Now, enter Server commands. Use "help" for help.
(To get a quick game started, just type "set aifill 5" to tell the server to automatically create 4 AI players for you to play against.)
3.Start the game by typing "start". A What Nation Will You Be? dialog should open in the client.
4.In the What Nation Will You Be? dialog, choose a nation, and press Ok.
5.Switch back to the Freeciv client window. Now, you're up and running!

Ming · August 17, 2000, 16:15

The directions seem simple enough...
I'll try downloading it and see what happens.

CapTVK · August 17, 2000, 18:11

Ming actually trying out FreeCiv!? That'll be the day!

setup hint for Ming: FreeCiv consists of two programs: a client and a server. You'll have to start the server up first before you can start up the client (a lot of people seem to forget this). You can tweak a LOT on the server, try to experiment with the settings for awhile...

Thue · August 24, 2000, 07:05

So Ming, what is the verdict?

Ming · August 24, 2000, 10:07

I had serious problems... never got it to work... Maybe CapTVK's advice will help...

Steve Clark · August 24, 2000, 10:39

With all due respect, why in the world would anyone waste time with this stuff? And why would you waste Ming's time with a hack job?

Thue · August 24, 2000, 13:52

Hack job? IMNSHO freeciv is better coded than civ 2 on many areas, including goto, diplomacy, AI, custom rulesets and fog of war!

Why anyone would play a hack of a game like civ 2 when freeciv is available is what I do not understand!

Thue · August 24, 2000, 14:17

quote:

Having viewed the source to Civilization: Call to Power, the Freeciv source is much nicer

see it here

CapTVK · August 24, 2000, 15:00

quote:

Originally posted by Ming on 08-24-2000 10:07 AM
I had serious problems... never got it to work... Maybe CapTVK's advice will help...

Ming,

I see you have some trouble running FreeCiv so here's a small list of
instructions which might help. I already emailed this but I'm posting it here for the benefit of other readers interested in testing out FreeCiv.

Here I have some quick instructions for installing FreeCiv on Windows:

At the moment there are 2 version for windows: One that doesn't need
X-windows and one that does. I recommend the one that needs X-windows
because it's the most recent, plus it's also smaller.

1) Go to www.starnet.com and download the demonstration version of X-Win32.
Install it.
Note: X-win32 is a X-windows program that allows you to run programs from
one computer and seeing the output on another computer, this can also be the
same computer.
E.a I could run FreeCiv (the server part)on a pc down the hall and could
play Freeciv on the computer in my room (civclient).
Don't fret about X-win32 messing anything up during install, it's a high
quality program that should work on any version of windows (I use NT btw).

2) Download the most recent Windows+X version of FreeCiv from http://www.freeciv.org/windows.html

3) Start X-Win32

4) Start "Freeciv Server (do not announce game on metaserver)" from the
start menu.
Type "set aifill 5" (or however many total players (human and computer) you
want you can do 30 if you want!). Hit "enter".

5) Start the FreeCiv client from the start menu. (or just click on the
program from a directory)

6) From the "Freeciv Server Selection" tab of the dialog box that comes up,
enter the name you want to use in the "Name" field (Ming in this case).
Click the "Connect" button.

7) Switch back to the Civserver. Type "start" and press "enter". This
starts the game.

8) X-Win32 will give you a message every half-hour or so that you will only
be able to use it for a limited time. When it gives you a warning that it
will quit in 15 minutes, select "Quit" from the FreeCiv "Game" menu. Click
on the X-Win32 button on the taskbar and select "close". Repeat steps 4, 5,
and 6. This will reconnect you to your game.

9) Remember, the AI isn't very knowlegable about diplomacy. But then again,
in single player we want to rule the world anyway.

Hope this helps,

Cheers

[This message has been edited by CapTVK (edited August 24, 2000).]

Xin Yu · August 24, 2000, 20:35

Several questions:

Is there a function which allows 'grouping' of cities so the player only needs to give orders once for a group (including incremental buying)?

Similarly, is there a function that allows units to be 'grouped' so that the player only needs to move one unit then he can order the rest of the group to move the same way (the manually moved unit must be of the lowest moving allowance to ensure other units can go as far)?

Are civ2 scenarios (e.g., Red Front 1.4) playable in freeciv?

Maybe I'm asking for too much...

St Leo · August 24, 2000, 21:58

D:\leo\new\freeciv>civclient
1: Could not find home directory (HOME is not set)
Lots of Gdk-Warnings

Suggestions? I have successfully started civserver.

BTW, the graphics in *.PNGs appear to be on the ugly side.

------------------
St. Leo
http://ziggurat.sidgames.com/
http://www.sidgames.com/forums/

Thue · August 25, 2000, 04:21

Xin Yu: go in the menu reports->city report; it has a "change all" button, Which can change fx all cities producing warriers to producing phalanx
No unit grouping though.
And scenarios are not compatible; and cannot be made to be since the civ 2 map is isometric, meaning there is no way to convert the tile numbering scemes.

St Leo: Umm, I will leave that to someone has windows installed and know more about it. (but perhaps you only need to set set the HOME environment variable, just set it to a place where freeciv may write files to)
[This message has been edited by Thue (edited August 25, 2000).]
[This message has been edited by Thue (edited August 25, 2000).]

St Leo · August 25, 2000, 14:06

Procedure to get FreeCiv to run

1. Make a shortcut to MS-DOS prompt with 50 lines. It's far from enough, but it has to do.
2. Switch to the correct directory and type in civserver -p 5556.
3. SET a couple of options (the most important ones are scrolled past in SHOW - on my Linux box they are xsize, ysize, maxplayers, and aifill).
4. Start another MS-DOS prompt and run CivClient (connect to port 5556).
6. Type in START in the civserver window.

Thue, would the graphics engine be faster in Windows if I used the xserver version instead of the native one?

------------------
St. Leo
http://ziggurat.sidgames.com/
http://www.sidgames.com/forums/
[This message has been edited by St Leo (edited August 25, 2000).]

Thue · August 25, 2000, 14:33

I haven't tested either since I don't have windows. But a wild guess would be that the non-Xserver one should be fastest.

btw, Real Men compile the latest CVS development version and use that one, preferably on linux

(it is not very hard to do, though)

St Leo · August 25, 2000, 15:44

Well, I guess I'll play it on Linux. Unfortunately my modem is still uncofigured and the thing can only do 800x600 without dropping to 8-bit.

------------------
St. Leo
http://ziggurat.sidgames.com/
http://www.sidgames.com/forums/

Ari Rahikkala · August 26, 2000, 00:05

St Leo: Or just fire up the client and take connection. I can't exactly remember how it went with my computer, and can't test it just now, but I remember I had the same problem too, but I still could play. IIRC.