Official VCMI project thread

[Mattard]

Both battle & adventure AI are rather simple and will pose no challenge to human player. The point is that they work and do what they were supposed to do correctly.

Not even a really bad human player? (me?)

[Warmonger]

The problem is about things AI doesn't understand or can't do.
Battle AI can't cast spells, use tactics and does not understand creature abilities but flying and shooting. Adventure AI doesn't understand quest and can't exchange armies and artifacts between heroes, etc. It can explore map effectively, though.

You can play against AI on simple or easy maps, but don't expect too much

[Yurian Stonebow]

Can you tell us a bit about the current progress concerning version 0.90?

[Warmonger]

In a few days development version should be ready. There are no significant features added, we focused mostly on bugfixing and major engine improvements. Another feature under development is cheat-proof mode.

What is already working:
Quest support - both new quest log and adventure AI
New filesystem - introduction to modding system and making us independent of WoG
Possibility to change few gameplay (!) options with config file

Not sure yet if new version comes in September or one month later.

[Yurian Stonebow]

This forum is not dead.

We fans of your work still follow this thread right here and keep reading every bit of incoming new information. The new development version (0.89b) is now out, as of Sept. 9th '12, along with these changes mentioned by your leader Tow on the VCMI web site:

"0.89 -> 0.next
GENERAL:
* New filesystem allowing easier resource adding/replacing
* Moved many hard-coded settings into text config files
* Commander level-up dialog
* New Quest Log window

BATTLES
* New graphics for Stack Queue
* Death Stare works identically to H3
* No explosion when catapult fails to damage the wall
* Fixed crash when attacking stack dies before counterattack
* Fixed Orb of Inhibition and Recanter's Cloak (they were incorrectly implemented)
* Fleeing hero won't lose artifacts.
* Spellbook won't be captured.

ADVENTURE AI
* support for quests (Seer Huts, Quest Guardians, and so)
* AI will now wander with all the heroes that have spare movement points. It should prevent stalling.
* AI will now understand threat of Abandoned Mine.
* AI can now exchange armies between heroes. By default, it will pass army to main hero.
* Fixed strange case when AI found allied town extremely dangerous"

Here's my quick commentary on some of your latest changes:

* Moved many hard-coded settings into text config files
(This is a great step forwards in terms of easing access to the information and options stored there. A most welcome change considering further modifications)

* New Quest Log window
(Another great choice for changing things made by your Team!
I certainly look forward to see your updated version in action )

* New graphics for Stack Queue
(Stack Queue will not work well in H3... It will ruin all the fun and make the battles feel less tactical "chess playing". However, I do know it can be turned on/off at will)

With best regards,

Yurian

[Warmonger]

It's good to hear someone follows us Thank you for your feedback, we do this all for game fans. Without you there would be no point

[Yurian Stonebow]

If you turn back a page or two in this thread, you'll notice that I am one of your most loyal followers here on CH. The project your Team does is, like I've said before, in the true spirit of Heroes and it is all valid, ever growing and evolutionary work there I've seen so far. I encourage you to keep up the good work & always continue to do your very best.

You will soon see that the closer you come to the work being finalized, the more people it will attract to this thread and to your forum as well. I have already made a solid promise to start co-operating more intensively once version 0.90 is out. (As long as WoG is out of the picture, that is. I will test VCMI as a "rewrited" H3:SoD)

With solidarity,


Yurian

[Salamandre]

VCMI is WoG recreated. Title

[Warmonger]

Well, since 0.89b WoG features can be turned on and off with config file (defaultMods.json). So there's something for everyone

And yes, true spirit of H3 is the key. It's easy to get lost in too many custom scripts.

[Yurian Stonebow]

Well, there's nothing wrong with my ability to read plain text and get the meaning of it. I do know that VCMI plans and targets to recreate the entire H3 game/engine along with its WoG features and give it new possibilities. But I do also know that one can test their stuff while staying clear of WoG.

I have all along stressed my willingness to participate in this project while it reaches the important 0.90 milestone. I have made a promise, given them my Finnish gentleman's word, that I will help them test the stuff and I shall honor my word be there WoG features involved or not. They told me that it is quite possible to test 0.90 without "wogifying" it and that's enough for me.

Salamandre knows that I value high his H3 maps, mods and projects be there WoG or not. I consider you, Sal, to be a true genious in your field.
The truth is that at the same time I have equal firm trust in Warmonger, Zamolxis and the guys behind VCMI. They are all dedicated fans and sharing the true spirit of Heroes between their Team. That is what counts the most. After all, in Heroes III We Trust.

It may be that one day I will contact Sal to inspect our Sighisoara Team's Second Campaign and give his opinion of the work done there so far. I am not on Salamandre's or VCMI guys level of modding and technical knowledge considering H3 engine and its possibilities but I do enjoy map making and playing Heroes III with SoD/Complete/HD Mod.

I believe in changing ideas, solidarity between fans and players and respecting others. That's my favorite recipe.

With solidarity,


Yurian

[Salamandre]

I am flatted but the truth is I have zero knowledge in coding languages-when I read Warmonger logs is like chinese to me-, I was a SoD mapmaker and learned erm only for my maps purpose, influenced by Corribus-Fnord amazing work. Now I have a decent level, but not more than that.

My wish is that all mapmakers try one day to see beyond standard wog and realize how much their map could be improved, due to endless customization. There are many misunderstandings about wog, for example few know that my maps (or the majority of other maps) have none of wog options in, just the author ideas ermified. Could be a dialog called by a quest, a unique fight or a Playboy model to pop up :p

As I am helpless with coding in general, there is highly probable that I will not be able to do same level modding in vcmi, because it took me several years of constant work in erm. Computer sciences are very far from my specialization and even today erm is a torture for me.

[Warmonger]

when I read Warmonger logs is like chinese to me

But you know, unlike in ERM, we are able to use English names all over the code to make it much more readable . Especially when working on high-level features I usually do. Certainly it's easier to understand what the code is all about, at least, believe me.

Anyway, there are many people in the team who can't code, but help as testers, share good ideas or create graphics. I believe once some modding possibilities are added, interest will grow rapidly

[GreatEmerald]

But you know, unlike in ERM, we are able to use English names all over the code to make it much more readable . Especially when working on high-level features I usually do. Certainly it's easier to understand what the code is all about, at least, believe me.

Anyway, there are many people in the team who can't code, but help as testers, share good ideas or create graphics. I believe once some modding possibilities are added, interest will grow rapidly

Ah hah, yes!

And indeed, modding support is what I'm waiting for. I'll also have to test out your Linux build at some point.

[Warmonger]

Something like this?



New creatures with new creature window:



Now can have also stack experience support!



For the ones that would like to ensure compatibility with one of the most popular WoG features.

[Salamandre]

This is getting very interesting

About death blow, was it coded from scratch? Because in wog it never does double damage.

[Warmonger]

Damage calculation is described in Strategija on pages 18-19.

[Warmonger]

Take a look at 0.89c development version. New features need tetsing before final release in a few days!

[Pol]

Wonderful work. I just want to say that I'm watching VCMI Team outstanding work on both boards. And the 'battle AI' sounds yummy. And I definitively have in the scope VCMI for the next year.

@Salamandre
I guess that you're right. It must been coded anew.

[Zamolxis]

Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock ...

... and there it is:

We are proudly releasing VCMI 0.9. It is a first build from the 0.9x series and important milestone for the project. As more and more features are implemented, VCMI slowly starts being playable. Our work gradually shifts from implementing only H3 features to filling the gaps and providing totally new features.

This build features several important new features coming beyond H3 that we implemented. The first one is the new filesystem handler. It is now possible to deploy VCMI onto various types of installation (check the file config/filesystem.json to get a taste). Thanks to that, VCMI is now able to work with ERA as well as with WoG. All mods rely on the new filesystem, please check the New Main Menu graphics or HotA Creatures mods to see how are they organized.

The second important novelty is a mechanism allowing adding new creatures into the game. It still should be treated as provisional one, although it seems to be fully functional. Please check the Warmonger’s mod that adds HotA creature into VCMI. We also moved even more hardcoded properties to the text config files, so it is possible to modify them with a mere text editor.

Eventually there comes an effort to provide a new and better battle AI. It is still in a very early phase and not as stable as the current AI but it will eventually replace it. The new battle AI is called unsurprisingly “BattleAI”, while the old one is “StupidAI”. Both AIs are shipped in this release and it is possible to select, which one will be used by typing “setBattleAI <name>” into VCMI console. By the default StupidAI, as the more stable one, is used. More AI improvement should be expected in the coming releases.

There are also other new features, like the new quest window, please check the changelog below. We also did a number of bugfixes, including fixing previously implemented parts of Campaign support that got broken. It is now possible to start and to a certain degree play a Campaign — though there are still a number of missing features. We hope to implement them in the further releases.

For the bugreports that we resolved in this release, please check the bugtracker changelog.

Check items implementation status for the full information about which map objects, town structures, skills, spells, artifacts, creature abilities and victory conditions are supported.

Download Links:
* Windows package (Win32, 6.1MB, ZIP Archive)
* New graphics pack for main menu (3.3MB, ZIP Archive). They look great, especially with higher resolutions. :-) To use, just extract the package into VCMI folder. Mod is deployed using the new filesystem feature. The graphics have been contributed by Dru.
* HotA new creatures mod (4.8MB, ZIP Archive). Extract it into the VCMI folder. The mod adds creatures from HotA to VCMI and contains a map filled with random creatures, so the testing is possible. Unfortunately, there is no way to place a new creature on the map (yet).

Linux packages:
Please visit this wiki page for installation instructions for Linux.
* Common data package (zip, 2.3 MB)
* Ubuntu 12.04 — 32 bit or 64 bit (Deb, 7.9MB)
* Ubuntu 11.10 — 32 bit or 64 bit (Deb, 7.9MB)
* Debian Sid — 32 bit or 64 bit (Deb, 8.8 MB)
* Debian Wheezy — 32 bit or 64 bit (Deb, 8.8 MB)


Installation:
Extract the package into your main Heroes folder. If you have older version of VCMI, you have to overwrite it.
WoG 3.58f or ERA is required. We recommend using English version, though VCMI should also work with other language versions. If you want to make your H3 installation English, extract this package into Data/ subfolder.

***

Save format has been changed, savegames from previous versions won't work with 0.9.

VCMI supports 800x600, 1024x600, 1024x768, 1280x800, 1280x960, 1280x1024, 1440x900, 1600x1200, 1366x768, 1680x1080 and 1920x1080 screen resolutions. To switch default resolution in system settings window click “HIGH” button and select resolution (available only in game). As for now custom resolution is only applied when the map is started. Since this build main menu correctly handles high resolutions.

Since VCMI 0.85 a new creature card is used. If you don't like it, the old one is still here. In the System Options window you can select which creature window you'd like to use (the "Classic creature window" check-box).

Acknowledgements:
Many thanks for all testers and developers who contributed to this build.

***

For the general information about our project look here. Our project isn't really playable now, but it gives you an idea of progress we have made so far. We're hoping that you'll like it.

Since VCMI 0.74 we have deployed separate bugtracker. Please report bugs using this form. Check this page for list of known bugs and details.

We hope you'll help us develop the project - details are available here. VCMI is an open source project licensed on GNU GPL 2.0 or higher. Our SVN repository with all the sources is available here.
You can look for help in building and developing VCMI sources in the development board.

CHANGELOG
0.89 -> 0.9 (Oct 01 2012)
GENERAL:
* Provisional support creature-adding mods
* New filesystem allowing easier resource adding/replacing
* Reorganized package for better compatibility with HotA and not affecting the original game
* Moved many hard-coded settings into text config files
* Commander level-up dialog
* New Quest Log window
* Fixed a number of bugs in campaigns, support for starting hero selection bonus.

BATTLES
* New graphics for Stack Queue
* Death Stare works identically to H3
* No explosion when catapult fails to damage the wall
* Fixed crash when attacking stack dies before counterattack
* Fixed crash when attacking stack dies in the Moat just before the attack
* Fixed Orb of Inhibition and Recanter's Cloak (they were incorrectly implemented)
* Fleeing hero won't lose artifacts.
* Spellbook won't be captured.

ADVENTURE AI
* support for quests (Seer Huts, Quest Guardians, and so)
* AI will now wander with all the heroes that have spare movement points. It should prevent stalling.
* AI will now understand threat of Abandoned Mine.
* AI can now exchange armies between heroes. By default, it will pass army to main hero.
* Fixed strange case when AI found allied town extremely dangerous
* Fixed crash when AI tried to "revisit" a Boat
* Fixed crash when hero assigned to goal was lost when attempting realizing it
* Fixed a possible freeze when exchanging resources at marketplace

BATTLE AI
* It is possible to select a battle AI module used by VCMI by typing into the console "setBattleAI <name>". The names of avaialble modules are "StupidAI" and "BattleAI". BattleAI may be a little smarter but less stable. By the default, StupidAI will be used, as in previous releases.
* New battle AI module: "BattleAI" that is smarter and capable of casting some offensive and enchantment spells

Full changelog is available here.

VCMI Team

[GreatEmerald]

Arg, this is a bit confusing. Does it already work with standalone SoD/Complete, without ERA/WOG?