Journals
Dev Journal
Elemental Modding: Maps, Continents, Environments and Terrain
Having spent the weekend modding up Elemental I was able to find some weaknesses in our data driven system that I think we need to address sooner rather than later. This technical blog will discuss how worlds are made using the Elemental engine. Maps Map data in XML (e.g. mapsizes.xml) defines: Name of the map type (e.g. “Really big”) Map size in tiles (100,25) A default amount of land vs. water ratio (that can be adjusted by the user) as a % (e.g. 75%... [read more]
Dev Journal
Modding on a Sunday night: Part 2
Our story so far… Modding: Adding resources Modding: General Thoughts Lest you think I’m some sort of shut-in. I really did go outside today. Cider Mill and then played with the kids. So 2 hours spent moving around and the rest of the day in front of the computer. That’s a ratio I can live with. Only 2 broken bones… Adding Technologies Adding technologies to Elemental is still a work in progress because the research screen in Elemental ... [read more]
Dev Journal
Modding on a Sunday night: Part 1
Yesterday I talked about how I added some additional resources into the game. Today I’m going to talk about modding the tech tree. But first, I want to answer some questions I got from yesterday’s article. First, the age old issue of multiplayer came up. If I mod what is on my machine, how does that affect multiplayer? The answer is, it doesn’t. Our solution to this age old issue is, in hindsight, so obvious that I feel shame for our industry (and myself in particular but t... [read more]
Dev Journal
This weekend I’m trying to see how much I can do to the game without having to have access to the source or, for that matter, without having art skills. Right now, for beta testers, there’s not much modding possible because there are is no documentation and the data is streamed from our servers so that we can do real-time updating. Here’s how modding works: First, you have to think of everything in the world in three parts: 1. The data that explains what the thing you ... [read more]
News
Organize Your PC Desktop with Stardock's Fences 1.0
Stardock , the world leader in desktop customization, today released the highly anticipated version 1.0 of its popular and free desktop organization application, Fences. Fences is a one-of-a-kind program designed to organize the desktop by allowing users to customize how icons and files reside on the desktop based on user-defined preferences. Fences is the ultimate tool for those users who want to keep their PC desktop clear of clutter. Fences works by allowing users to “dra... [read more]
Dev Journal
Elemental Beta ideas discussed: October 2009
We’ve been combing through the forums looking at ideas people have had for the game. Now if anyone wonders why we’ve extended the beta testing period for this game need wonder no longer: We want time to put in your ideas. So let’s walk through some of them here. Creating your sovereign The idea has come up on the forums and we agree that sovereign creation should get its own screen and that the sovereign is independent of the kingdom/empire you choose. That is, you shouldn... [read more]
Dev Journal
The more I work with the beta of Elemental the more I think we need to integrate info cards into it. Those of you who have played Sins of a Solar Empire know what info cards are. They are one of the major game UI innovations that Ironclad has introduced to the genre. The idea is that when you mouse over something, a “card” appears on the screen that gives detailed information about it. They’re kind of like super tooltips. Well, for Elemental, that’s what we’re looking to do too. ... [read more]