I thought I would start a new thread since Red's work in progress thread is so long with different aspects of his new mod being discussed.
I have the test version Red sent me. I haven't played a great deal with it, but right away there is a problem/annoyance/uncertainty for me. That is all that tall grass/fodder/thatch densely growing all over. It is a problem for me as it slows down the bannies clearing our an area for the initial buildings. It takes a lot longer to clear a space than usual.
Also, I do not understand the fodder system. So, Red, maybe there could be less of the tall grass/fodder or is it thatch. Also, could someone explain the fodder farming system so maybe I would then not find it an annoyance to clear the grass/fodder. Right now I don't know what use the fodder is for my bannies, nor all that tall grass.
When you first start a map, fodder can be used to heat homes, instead of firewood.
Later, when you have enough firewood, fodder can be used to make fertilizer, which can be used in greenhouses, which can grow fruits and vegetables all year long.
So, instead of my worrying at the start to cut up firewood, the bannies are using that tall grass to heat their homes?! OK. That is good. No wonder they were not crying about freezing when it seemed it was taking me longer to get my woodcutter up and running. They must have been using that tall grass for heat.
I will start a game again, this time considering that copious amount of tall grass in the starting area sort of like mini trees to use for heat, and not send my bannies further away to chop more trees at the start.
Thanks for the information, Hawk.
Also, mixed in with the fodder is flowers. They can be harvested to trade and make perfume to trade.
You can use it as fuel. It's also used as part of the production chain for fertilizer for the greenhouses when you get to that point.
I find it to be really dense, too. Was having a hard time with hard starts digging through it all enough to get everybody housed and forestry / gathering going the first year while addressing everything else. Was able to do all the basics, but on every start but one I had to choose between running out of clothing or tools in order to get the building up. The one I was successful not running out of anything, I limited my house building the first year, leaving most of them homeless (which is perfectly fine and is the way I used to do it...just don't get the early jump on reproduction depending on what families get housed) and skipped building a woodcutter since I had to clear fodder for the forest cluster anyway. This allowed me to get a jump on a smith, lumbermill and tailor just in time to not run out of tools and clothes both. It just takes some experimenting and jugglingz really.
But I do find the groundspawns to be pretty dense, also. Slows things down quite a lot. I'm leaning towards a preference of the fodder and flowers just being farmed, since we have the addition of copper, too, but want to play with it more to decide. I hope others play with it and offer feedback, too. It's not the worst thing to have a set that offers extra challenge at the start like this. Has been really fun, actually.
If you're having problems, I noticed that easy starts seem to be quite a bit easier than hard. I don't find hard starts especially hard usually, but tried one on easy with this and it was quite a bit easier.
@Hawk did some medium starts and it sounded like they went really smoothly too. A lot more smoothly than I was experiencing with hard starts, it sounded.
Just some thoughts from playing with it a lot this weekend. Hope that helps. I would be interested to hear more about how you do if you get into it. I've had a lot of fun with it, personally.
thanks you for your initial feedback :)
as
@Maldrick and
@Hawk explained, it can be used as firewood (thats the concept of NatDiv Mod).
and later you need it to feed the stables in order to get fertilizer which is the Greenhouse chain. it provide good food all year long.
it also can be used as material for building some buildings like apiary .. but also some buildings provided in the NatDiv Mod.
the grass spawns flowers. the flowers can be taken to the parfumery and make perfume with it. it is a very nice selling item.
the Beta Test 03 that you've got have them immortal so it is accumulating alot over time.
the Beat Test 04 i am preparing for today ... has less spawns and also important, they arent immortal anymore, so they will die after couple of years and get refreshed with new spawns
i am also reducing of -20% the number of polygons, reducing the size of those too making them smaller and specially the flowers will be less high too. (both will help you feel to not be overwhelmed and will also help the more little computers :)
Quotethe Beta Test 04 i am preparing for today ... has less spawns and also important, they arent immortal anymore, so they will die after couple of years and get refreshed with new spawns
i am also reducing of -20% the number of polygons, reducing the size of those too making them smaller and specially the flowers will be less high too. (both will help you feel to not be overwhelmed and will also help the more little computers
Red, I am glad you will be making those changes. It has been way too many flowers (very, very tall flowers!) and too much grass. Good also to make it less polygons for the less powerful computers, which I think includes my computer.
It would be very nice to see some pictures from your testing of this very interesting mod.
yeah agree, it would be great !
Starting over with the new version tomorrow as time allows. Will see what I can do. :P
i personally have hard to get flowers :P
gonna compare flowers with some other wild things like onions, mushrooms, and ect.
Whelp, I'm not the best at grabbing screenshots, but here's a few from Beta 4.
The first is obviously the stats. The second is at the start of the map. The rest were all done at 25 years in.
If I take more, should I zoom in closer to get under the fog?
I really like those 3 story houses. :)
thanks for the picture even if i couldnt yet have them all load ...
but ya like you said, try to make some at max close.... and it you can tilt the camera also to max to ground with page up / page down keys ...
I'll try the up/down keys next time, and get in a little closer.
i can use some screenshot to replace the vanilla scrrenshots we see in wait of " Loading...... " the game :)
@Hawk you can add CC no rain mod if you want to get rid of the rain and fog.
at least i made one :P
i am quite more satisfied with my last numbers about grass/flowers spawning :)
Quote from: RedKetchup on January 16, 2018, 12:13:38 PM
i am quite more satisfied with my last numbers about grass/flowers spawning :)
yup i like so much last build.... i am sending right away the BetaTest05.zip :)
i wont make the 06 before couple of days, maybe a week :) time to included many things
Quote from: brads3 on January 16, 2018, 10:31:04 AM
@Hawk you can add CC no rain mod if you want to get rid of the rain and fog.
I'll look into that. Where is it; over at BlackLiquid?
I am trying to run this mod with no other mods, but I did have to include the Flatten Terrain mod by GimmieCat. ;D
That CC mod shouldn't affect the this mod at all though.
Quote from: brads3 on January 16, 2018, 10:31:04 AM
@Hawk you can add CC no rain mod if you want to get rid of the rain and fog.
I looked over at BlackLiquid and did not find a mod named no rain. I did find one over there that said CC: Light Rain Effect by ShockPuppet. The description said;
QuoteReplaces Rain with a light occasional rain. Does not affect snow.
Doesn't say anything about the fog.
I also have a mod named LessFog. Not sure where I found it or who made it. The description says;
QuoteNot a perfect solution, and you'll still get fog when you zoom the camera out during normal weather. But while it rains or snows, your vision will be perfectly clear.
Isn't that the same thing that the Show weather effects in the Game Options tab unchecked does?
Zoomed out all the way is where I got the fog in my screenshots. Zooming in eliminates the fog.
I checked too.the lite rain is the file but mine is older.not sure if there has been any changes or if it is just due to the site change that occurred. if the fog onl;y bothers whwn you are zoomed out all the way,i wouldn't bother with it.since you only see the fog zoomed out,i wonder if it is computer graphic fog not the game itself.
I think it's the game itself. That zoomed out fog has been mentioned before by others.
@Hawk , I just put a mod together to see about that and you are correct, I can't get that fog to completely disappear either.
Anyway this mod will replace the particle textures of the Rain and Snow to be blank clear textures. So it will still Rain and Snow, you just won't see it.
I lightened the fog a little I think... not completely sure though if the change i did there actually did anything.
**post edit -- removed mod download
I'll check it out on my end with Red's mod.
@Discrepancy - Here's a couple screenshots showing the difference with and without your new mod.
The first one is without.
Just curious; how is this different than the Game Option to
'Show weather effects' unchecked?
haha, nothing by the looks of it. I'd forgotten there was even an option for that.
okay we try again,
@Hawk ,
delete the last mod, this one here will remove the fog - but you must also have the Show weather effects unchecked in the options menu, otherwise the clouds will come with the rain/snow.
Quote from: Hawk on January 16, 2018, 03:19:45 PM
Quote from: brads3 on January 16, 2018, 10:31:04 AM
@Hawk you can add CC no rain mod if you want to get rid of the rain and fog.
I'll look into that. Where is it; over at BlackLiquid?
I am trying to run this mod with no other mods, but I did have to include the Flatten Terrain mod by GimmieCat. ;D
That CC mod shouldn't affect the this mod at all though.
No Rain mod is on Steam, not BL. BL made a Light rain mod but that's not the same thing.
If you aren't using Steam you can have my copy of No Rain. You might also like No Wind, which kills that slightly annoying wind noise you get when you zoom out.
@Discrepancy - Thanks! I'll check it out, but probably not tonight. I'm busy in the kitchen right now, making pasta sauce - from scratch. YUM! :)
@elemental - No, I'm not on Steam but with the Show weather effects option unchecked you don't get any rain anyway, or snowfall. Just snow on the ground.
As for the wind mod, I kind'a like that sound, when I have my headphones on. :)
Thanks for the links though. Much appreciated. I did download them, just for the heck of it. I might try them out.
I like No Rain because it removes the rain but you still get snow.
With that option unchecked in the Option menu, you still get snow on the ground, you just don't see it falling, like you don't see the rain.
However, it might be kind of neat to actually see the snow fall. I haven't seen that in quite a while, in the game. It's snowing outside my house right now.
Yes, with No Rain you still get falling snow, not just snow on the ground. I don't mind having falling snow but the rain is a bit much.
No real-life snow here. Cicadas from 5am to 9pm, practically non stop. A noisy bunch this year.
Quote from: elemental on January 16, 2018, 07:47:01 PM
No real-life snow here. Cicadas from 5am to 9pm, practically non stop. A noisy bunch this year.
The glorious sound of being someplace warm!
Luckily we only got about a half an inch here this time. A couple weeks ago we got about 4 inches.
Any snow around these parts shuts everything down. The problem is that it starts snowing while the roads are still warm enough to melt it. Then the temps drop and it freezes. You can drive on snow but ya' just can't drive on ice.
Man, did this thread get off-topic.
Quote from: Hawk on January 17, 2018, 05:11:45 AM
Luckily we only got about a half an inch here this time. A couple weeks ago we got about 4 inches.
Any snow around these parts shuts everything down. The problem is that it starts snowing while the roads are still warm enough to melt it. Then the temps drop and it freezes. You can drive on snow but ya' just can't drive on ice.
Man, did this thread get off-topic.
Sounds like you're near me. The ice is a problem but people are ridiculous about an inch of snow.
I'm about 40 miles north of Atlanta.
Quote from: Hawk on January 17, 2018, 06:55:46 AM
I'm about 40 miles north of Atlanta.
Ha, no kidding? I'm in Chattanooga.
I'm in Cartersville.
Very cool. Seems like I always run into people from Cartersville in my gaming. Either a lot of gamers there that like the same games I do or we keep running into one another. :P
Small world.
I've not run into anyone else in Cartersville. I guess I don't play the same games. LOL!
On the rain topic, have you tried CC: Light Rain Effect (on Steam or from the Shocks Lab section of the CC website)? It replaces the darkness and heavy rain with a much lighter rain. Kills most of the rain fog too. Sits at the very top of my mod list - the only green mod in my list! It's way better than the vanilla rain and you aren't dust dry all the time. Doesn't affect snow. And it's currently snowing here in Connecticut...
I haven't. I have the weather turned off in the Options.
Quote from: RedKetchup on January 16, 2018, 07:53:22 AM
thanks for the picture even if i couldnt yet have them all load ...
but ya like you said, try to make some at max close.... and it you can tilt the camera also to max to ground with page up / page down keys ...
@RedKetchup - When I use the PageUp/PageDown keys, the tilt is so minimal it basically does nothing. Only about a .5 degree, if that.
Is there any way to increase the tilt capabilities?
Quote from: Hawk on January 17, 2018, 04:18:08 PM
Quote from: RedKetchup on January 16, 2018, 07:53:22 AM
thanks for the picture even if i couldnt yet have them all load ...
but ya like you said, try to make some at max close.... and it you can tilt the camera also to max to ground with page up / page down keys ...
@RedKetchup - When I use the PageUp/PageDown keys, the tilt is so minimal it basically does nothing. Only about a .5 degree, if that.
Is there any way to increase the tilt capabilities?
bah usually i tilt of 5% each time i ppress it and i can press it 3 times max till it blocks. you cant be horizontal at all. i think the max is 30%
DUH!!!! :-[ I didn't know you had to hit the keys repeatedly (I can hit each key up to 8 times). That does give a bit more than just once. It would still be nice to get more tilt, but thanks Red for educating me - again. :)
Quote from: Hawk on January 17, 2018, 04:24:51 PM
but thanks Red for educating me - again. :)
;D ;D ;D
Me too-I didn't know this either so thank you. There's a lot of Georgia people here-I'm from Valdosta.
Quote from: grammycat on January 17, 2018, 04:45:03 PM
Me too-I didn't know this either so thank you. There's a lot of Georgia people here-I'm from Valdosta.
Ah yes! South Georgia. Pretty country down there, but not as pretty as north Georgia. But then, I am a mountain man. ;D
RedKetchup, you have fences around seemingly all the production buildings. You really like fences! :D I like it for some of the buildings, but not for all. For the gatherer and hunter, the fenced in yard takes up space that I personally would prefer not to be taken up. Maybe you would think to make a variant with just those buildings without the "front yard".
I love your stone houses. :) Perhaps you might someday release them as separates when a person just wants an addition to the basic game. When I have too many big mods, my game takes so long to load, so sometimes it would be nice to play a quick game with just some of your buildings, that would not take so long to load.
Quote from: galensgranny on January 22, 2018, 02:52:00 AM
RedKetchup, you have fences around seemingly all the production buildings. You really like fences! :D I like it for some of the buildings, but not for all. For the gatherer and hunter, the fenced in yard takes up space that I personally would prefer not to be taken up. Maybe you would think to make a variant with just those buildings without the "front yard".
even with no fence, as a variant, the footprint would take the same space :) you cannot change the footprint size with variants.
i did finished the 3 open-sky mines. some details to solve though
i am getting some weird blue tint color on my walls inside the hole in only 2 of the 3 mesh and i have no idea why. the iron one doesnt get that, the hole part and the digging are exactly the same in the 3 meshes. i dont understand
Probably your texture that has some blue pigment.
It is enhanced when dark. Think about natural shadows.
They have a tinge of blue (unless they are red or green)
Perfect!
i tried to give the iron rusted texture to the rock one, although cause the orange-brown texture we werent seeing it, but on the stairs we were seeing the blue tint. (screenshot1)
so it is something else.
then i thought about the AO files. i just redid those completly... still same, screenshot 2
tonight , when back from sleep, i will detach the hole and the ground base from the iron mine and i will copy it to the rock one and the random one (which holes will be deleted) and reform the meshes with the iron one.
Quote from: kid1293 on January 24, 2018, 05:01:49 AMPerfect!
Looks awesome, I like it too! But
imagining myself a geologist and being critical over everything, I must mention that stone layer shouldn't start right at the very surface, since generally those excavation sites are to be placed on flat surfaces, not mountains, therefore on top layer there still should be soil and then sand and only deeper one may expect to see the stone. Looks awesome, but slightly illogical, that's what I try to say.
Quote from: Yandersen on January 24, 2018, 06:19:08 AM
Quote from: kid1293 on January 24, 2018, 05:01:49 AMPerfect!
Looks awesome, I like it too! But imagining myself a geologist and being critical over everything, I must mention that stone layer shouldn't start right at the very surface, since generally those excavation sites are to be placed on flat surfaces, not mountains, therefore on top layer there still should be soil and then sand and only deeper one may expect to see the stone. Looks awesome, but slightly illogical, that's what I try to say.
yeah but need to recover the very very bad holes completly. maybe one day you will experiment the digging through ground function ^^ haha
you can only cut the ground by full tiles of 1'x1'