Custom Settlements Repository

[Germanicu5]

The idea of this thread is to create a common model, texture, settlement-related sharing platform for all M2TW community.

There are many forum members working on different bits of custom settlements now, so why not make a more common effort in order to produce a bigger variety of structures.
I imagine many of us can upload even tiny part of our work without being in pain that we're getting rid of our intellectual property. So let's paste links, upload models and make this thread worthwhile.

Credits for making this possible go to to Wilddog and makanyane for their tool, as well as Argantonio and KE for previous research. KK has made a nice tutorial, here's the LINK.

I'm not a talented 3D modeller and I'm preoccupied with some other projects, so I'm not going to be the biggest contributor as I suspect, but I have no doubt there are skilled artists around.
I've been wanting to propose such project for a while, but lack of time caused significant delay.

Custom Settlement Repository

1. Settlement Tweaks (changed defense points for vanilla settlements) 1a. SS-specific pack 2. PSFs (wide range of updated\new forts and ambient buildings) 2a. Pathfinding fix for PSFs 3. ME Huge City Path Fix (Kingdoms) 4. SE_fort_g path fix

Regards

P.S. Moderators can edit OP in case the library needs an update.

[Gorrrrrn]

FWIW - my PSfs PLUS a selection of ambient buildings (farms, monasteries, fortified houses) that can be placed as forts on the strat map and appear on battle maps here:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/downl...o=file&id=3115
might save some people some time - done with early versions of IWTE - hope they are compatible with later versions.

(sadly not optimised versions)

note wolfslayer has released pathfinding fix for se_fort_i here:

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...39#post9359239

[Germanicu5]

Cool, added them to the list, 2 positions are good, keep up the pace .

Regards

[Rorarii]

I'm just adjusting terrain heights for default villages, towns and large towns ATM. nothing serious as yet.

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...95#post9093195

Love to see others work in this area.


R

[wolfslayer]

G5, going to download and check this out, this looks interesting. I know KK uses my ME Huge City Path Fix (Kingdoms) in TATW, it opens up a blocked main road to the plaza.
I lost a large collection of ambients with pathfinding I had been working on, but never released; I plan to recreate a few of those and release.

The first two are I am already recreating from my functional lost versions, I just need to playtest a few times to make sure there are no path traps and put together the upload:

The two encampments will load as ambient scenery in place of monuments and ruins. They can be handy defensive points if you are outnumbered on the battlemap and are close enough to move your forces to.
They also add a nice military look to battlemaps.

SE Citadel has the fully functional twin gates (I moved the plaza in here, and yes the AI found it's way to the plaza, en masse. Since there is no "4th perimeter" the attacker can activate the gates once they capture the 3rd perimeter, but it's still a good blocking point

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

If I'm not mistaken, the building_detail = low/high in the .cfg relates to the amount of ambient scenery generated on the battlemap (needs confirmation, but I'm quite sure)! Those of you with highend cpu and vidcards make sure and go with high!

I also have experimented with the buffers per node settings (ground cover, sprites, water cover, etc) and seemed to get some extra ambient to generate. Since one of my SLI cards bricked, and I'm back on one card, I've reverted to stock, but it's an area worthy of research (reducing these values (ie.,= 0) has predictable effect, ground and water and sprites disappear).

Added subscription.

[Germanicu5]

@wolfslayer

I didn't mess with pathfinding files, so your fix doesn't get overwritten. I added it to the list, I hope you can retrieve some of your previous work.
I'll post a guide on placement of defense points if I stop being shy (for now it's only available on one of dev forums ).

As for graphics detail - I'll refrain from any research due to the fact I always play on lowest settings to obtain max speed.

Regards

[wilddog]

@Germanicu5 and wolfslayer
Just saw you were both referring to "defence points" and Johnwhile was also asking about them on the IWTE. However not sure everyone is referring to the same thing.

The IWTE tool reference to that is in line with the AI files reference to it.

[Germanicu5]

@wolfslayer

Ok, I stopped being shy, info can be found in IWTE thread.

@wilddog

Thanks for info, I decided to post a tutorial as now I see someone would actually benefit from it... I hope people find it useful, it's a bit of AI-creating spin-off knowledge.

Regards

[wilddog]

@Germanicu5
That's fine I've seen the post and looks good.

We spotted the link when we looked at it but misinterpreted it as helping identify how to get to the plaza (hence our original name of direction markers). When we realised the direction was pointing outward we then spotted the AI reference and partially renamed in IWTE (I should correct that).

I just wanted to stop confusion between in game named 'defensive points' and ambients being used as defensive positions (which is what I think Wolfslayer was talking about).

[wolfslayer]

"ambients being used as defensive positions (which is what I think Wolfslayer was talking about)."
Yes they are just spawned ambients with no plaza or defensive points that I know of, they mainly are places to turtle when outnumbered.
Ambient scenery is mainly (memory hogging) eyecandy, my point is to make them into something fun and useful in the battlemap dynamic, I've played with them enough to know can be ;-)
..ambients reflect the development of a region.ex: fertile_high tiles should generate large farms, windmills etc..

[wolfslayer]

I believe my se_fort_i with functioning gate and plaza in the keep is in Roz's PSF file at your link. I just had a bear of a time getting this to load as a buildable slave fort in a Steel campaign, it kept defaulting to me_fort_b, the default ME fort, since it was built by a rebelling ME general (I control rebels in developer's hotseat mode), plus I have changed slaves to greek culture for ambient scenery testing, etc.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

This settlement still needs some tweaking with plaza and pathfinding. Those super high arrow towers work, if you expand the radius in desc walls (I tested but reverted values after I saw it worked)! The best way I found to test pathfinding is in a campaign; build where you are likely to be besieged by the AI (or control ai faction to setup a siege) and then sally out. As the AI mills around outside you can explore all areas and see how units fit and move. Some of the stock wall paths have errors! If you ever see a unit stuck at a wall entrance in a stock settlement you know their is an error there that can usually be fixed with a one pixel 0,63,0 indentation at that spot in the pathfinding tga.

ne_medium_encampment needs a few path tweaks and some variations textures and I will upload. Showing up frequently on battlemap.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The tents are indestructable with collision (they block projectiles) ;-)

Also working on me_large_estate with pathfinding and new functional fountain sounds, very nice..

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

UPDATES *** se_fort_g pathfixes for Roz and all..check readme for install

[wolfslayer]

"SE_fort_I (modified SE Citadel as fort) path fix for Roz's PSF mod by wolfslayer
.
This fixes a pathfinding error where units were getting stuck inside the wall entering the north tower of the east gate.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Unzip to SS6x folder, overwriting the previous file.

Enjoy, wolfslayer" (from the included txt)

http://www.mediafire.com/?57ineqq97en7qt9

This settlement and others, including vanilla CA paths (ne_large_town, for example), need some more path work, but this was a fairly major problem I discovered in a campaign battle.
I will be taking a closer look at this and other settlements and modifying, and posting on this thread when ready for download..WS

[Gorrrrrn]

wolfslayer - good work, pleased to see you hard at work on settlements, ambients and things
---
tried to download the file but firefox reported it couldn't find it.
can you simply add as an attachment to the post?
thanks.

[Germanicu5]

@wolfslayer

Unfortunately (or fortunately for BAI users ) I don't have time to create settlements from scratch atm (which I intended to do).
Some good stuff there, I particularly like the encampment in front of the castle, adds some realism.

As for pathfinding bugtracking - isn't that too much trouble compared to creating a new settlement?

Regards

[wilddog]

@wolfslayer - Hi, I'm curious are you amending the pathfinding via the text editing or are you using the IWTE graphics tool or are you using some other means.

Curious because we changed some of the algorithms as we learnt a bit more about pathfinding?

[wolfslayer]

@wolfslayer - Hi, I'm curious are you amending the pathfinding via the text editing or are you using the IWTE graphics tool or are you using some other means.

Curious because we changed some of the algorithms as we learnt a bit more about pathfinding?

The paths on these ambients is just painting a minimum 4 pixel 0,63,0 path units can pass through.

On the open battlemap AI is going through the paths if they find it neccesary, sometimes they travel around; they don't seem to get too confused, it's similar to the AI behavior with the large hamlets or me large monastery, the biggest ambients that generate with connecting roads, when they generate.

I am using IWTE to generate the world 2d and pathfinding tgas..Photoshop CE to import/export into Paintshop Pro, where I do all the editing. PSP has some features that make editing fairly quick and easy.

I also usually have battle editor with the world model loaded in windowed mode I can use as a visual reference.
Custom battles with the ambient placed can also be reloaded with pathfinding corrections to test pathfinding with units, without have to exit any of the programs; this is for ground path editing, but the areas around walls, especially entrances is critical..I try and retain the wall sections intact from the original (for non-ambient settlements), even though I am finding errors in the originals.

I need to sit down and write a tutorial with a few screenies, I'm sure other graphics programs (that support creating a raster layer ) could be used also.

@Roz..I will attach here when I return home in a few hours ;-)

[wolfslayer]

@wolfslayer

As for pathfinding bugtracking - isn't that too much trouble compared to creating a new settlement?

Regards

Hmm not sure, creating a new settlement is still out of my league, this is more like just making sure units don't get stuck in running in place or going in circles inside the ambient ;-)

@ Roz

I see you guys soon !

[Gorrrrrn]

thnx wolfslayer -will add to next CHIP BETA, and added link in my post 2 of this thread.

[Germanicu5]

@Roz

It's all linked in OP, you just need to click the contentbox (I added wolfslayer's link yday).

Regards

[wolfslayer]

I will add pics to settlement projects I am working on and upload links when they are ready on post #11 to avoid a lot of clutter on this thread..I have the new 6.4 installed and want to check it out, but have a 6.3 "mod" install where I do all the settlement and sounds testing etc..anything I upload anyone is free to use or modify in mods, just mention me somewhere ;-)