[Warhammer Dark Omen Forum]

Warhammer Dark Omen Forum

["002f:fixme:x11drv:X11DRV_desktop_SetCurrentMode Cannot change screen BPP from 32 to 16".]

Cheers devast, I gave you a pretty good reply in the main thread so wont repeat myself here. Just dont burn yourself out and wrap this thing up is my advice. As far as multiplayer is concerned we can work on that Im really excited about the demo btw and hope you release the code for it too. Seeing how you implemented the WHFB combat rules into code form would be very enjoyable.


So, Ive been doing some experimenting with wine and I have made some decent progress but have become suck. I have rolled back the wine virtual box to run Windows 98 and get the following error from the terminal:

"002f:fixme:x11drv:X11DRV_desktop_SetCurrentMode Cannot change screen BPP from 32 to 16".
 This problem seems very similar to ollys guide step 4 "16bit colour Screen Resolution". Im 80% sure its the exact same problem actually but Im not sure how to fix it from the wine gui.

The wine virtualbox also throws up the error message "An error has occurred with the current Dark Omen installation, please re-install.", but the linux error is the root cause of the windows error message.

If I can fix this error I know its clear sailing from there so any advice would be appreciated.

As a side note, if I run the game under windows XP or higher I get the infamous black menu screen with sound/music.

Do you have a link to that blog post so I can keep track of things? Also a link to the current code for the project would be very useful to help me understand where the project is and any important concepts I could learn ahead of time.

THE DEMO
Based on what I know about the project so far then my recommendation would be to release the demo version, do some tweaks based on feedback and take a break for a couple of months to recharge. I would consider that project complete tbh. Three years is about right to developer a game, especially on your own.

NEW BEGINNINGS
Mid-Jan 2020 come back and we will start fresh on a completely new project. A multiplayer version of the game taking the lessons learnt from the demo moving forward. Our primary goals are to write a multiplayer server/client (I have experience in this) and then a basic level editor. With these two things (and the support of another programmer) the community can create the levels and content while we focus on the mechanics. Once these two systems are stable only then do we start to reuse any of the AI or peculiarities that may exist in the current demo version.

A final optional goal would be to enhance the level editor with the ability to create custom units (just punching in stat values, selecting traits, sprite maps etc) and then basic collision rules to "trigger" units spawning onto the map when a player moves to far up the Y axis (like the mummies in the final campaign mission), definitely a stretch goal, but that that hard either though, if the units can be exported/imported in XML format then other people could write or enhance the editor usability as a standalone project. With the level editor and unit creator, the community could just run with creating their own single player campaigns and we wouldnt have to worry about this at all.

With your knowledge of unreal e4.16 and the "feeling" of DO units, combined with the community, two programmers and only really two clear goals (multiplayer + level editor), I think this new project would be a lot cleaner and I see no reason why it couldnt be completely done in less than a year with the experience you already have. I have a friend who is also a talented programmer who loves chewing on complex problems, so once this is underway Im sure he would love to join in on any of the "ard bits" that are slowing us down on the finish line.

I should also mention that I could be available as early as August of this year, Im just putting early 2020 out there because I want to be sure I am fully able to commit to this project. I wish I was available right now to help you, but RL is rarely so accommodating. The fact it took me so long to get back to you (a week??) pretty much sums up how busy I am at this moment.

IN SHORT
So thats my offer and advice based on where your coming from. Finish the demo and we will start a new and improved project in the new year. Slap on a fairly standard "hey its OS and free for commercial use" licence and I see a lot of potential for the project to grow and attract more support, spinoffs and developers in the future.

I get the impression you have been working on this pretty hard and alone for awhile devast, and maybe on things that you didnt have to focus on. I have no doubt the project code is a total mess of interlinking dependencies and libs and you just want to finish and not let anyone down. Chalk it up to experience as Im sure you are far more capable a programmer now than you were at the start of the project. Kudos to you really to see it through to the end. That alone makes me confident we could make something pretty damn cool. My focus here is to try to divide up the work (and complexity) as much as possible because I can completely relate to taking on a big project alone and thinking I could do it all by myself etc.

Interesting, hopefully I can help get DOR finished. What percentage is development currently at? 50%? 80%? Is there a multiplayer build I can mess around with in the mean time?

Im surprised DO doesnt work under wine as wine has a good reputation as being very robust. At the very least I will be another tester and report back my experience with wine.

Well met olly well met.

Excellent. Cheers olly. I guess I just watch that thread for the latest updates and news? Any official update stream/website?

Working on this project does sound like fun, especially since I have played the original game to death and back again. If Devast3d needs help on the programming side just ask them to PM me on this board with some of the details regarding what language and libraries the project uses so I can brush up in my spare time.

Working on this project comes with some things to bear in mind:
* Due to real life commitments I will not be available to work on this project until 2020, but when I do I will come back to the site specifically for the project at that time.
* Will I be able to use this projects code to write my own commercial historical game? I would purchase a licence from devast (for a fair price) if I had to, to reach that goal.

It is important to me that the code in the project could be used for commercial use, as secondary goals would be to release my future project and art assets downstream as open source for use in game mods etc when sales die off or I start on a squeal etc. I would give permission to olly and the OG members to use my artwork for DO mods far earlier than that to be honest just because I love this community. And Im sure when the main historical campaign is done it wont take me too long before venturing into creating sprites for mythical creatures etc that would be great use to the DO community.

tl;dr
I think a lot of my participating hinges on if the project is open source only, or if it is open source with permission to use for commercial projects.

Wow skaven in DO I have to give this a go. My copy of DO is in my folks place, so expect another thread or reply in a few weeks when I get my hands on it!!! So frustrating to not see this game available through gog.

Thanks for the help link olly. My current machine is linux so I will have fun trying to get this running under wine and post back if I need any help.

Whenever I come to this forum there is always a new DO remake that shines as a beacon of hope to all those who have problems obtaining and installing the original DO.

What is the current hotness as far as remakes go? Wartbed looked really cool to be honest and its a shame that project didnt continue moving forward, as I would certainly of bought a licence to use the game engine for my own game dev projects. I always suspected a lack of funding to be the reason these projects struggle.

I am a software developer by trade and writing my own historical wargame in medieval Europe has always been on my bucket list. It would be great if there was a project here I could use or buy to springboard that project. Upon fruition I would enjoy releasing the artwork to olly and other OG members for use in DO mods etc. A massive exploration of a Bretonnia DO mod through my pixel art knights and peasants would be cool to see.

[*a stranger wanders in from the shadows*]

*a stranger wanders in from the shadows*

Hi guys, havent been active here in almost a decade but it brings a smile to my face to see olly active as ever.

How many people are still playing and what version/mods do I need to play? Any general news I should know also?

Wouldnt mind playing a couple of games but what really has my attention is the Wartbed and DAR projects, but I will create a separate thread for that. Also, since my last post, I am officially a dad now of a 2y/o boy.

I would recommend XP. had a hella of time getting it working on Win7

greeting sas,

I got my copy on ebay afew years back, but taking a look now its becoming very hard to find for PC. Even myself I play from a ripped iso for fear that my old disk might break.

I dont condone piracy but seeing as EA doesnt make any more new copies of DO I see little alternative for new players. I have little knowledge of torrents hopefully another member will be willing to help and post a solution.


currently I know Mika has been developing a free version for about a year now http://forum.dark-omen.org/omg-wartbed/whats-being-worked-on-at-the-moment-t675.0.html and Olly has been working hard on the new Fortress Map with the help of existing Mods http://forum.dark-omen.org/3d-scenery-models/new-beta-fotress-siege-map-t1001.0.html

As I am also new to the community I dont know if this question has already been asked/resolved in the past. can someone direct sasigns to a copy of the game? as well as sothr for good luck 

Comment: I have taken several notes in what things to change... despite being a Beta Conquestday, it was more entertaining than I thought. Fighting vs Darkmancer to have Worldmap control was a new experience.
Write your ideas and opinions please.

gg had by all. congrats Jero for being such a good host and also making a ruleset playable within a day!

my suggestions for goblins and orks would be to swap Trolls for Lobber. the goblins desperately need artillery and the orks have little defense against monster and ogre mobs. Then again, maybe all factions could do with having motor/catapult as standard as no one has played Dynasty. Item Lists also need to be updated. The goblins only have one magic sword (storm) which was not enough to counter two or three wraith units. considering goblin low leadership the storm sword had little impact in battle with this faction. all other factions have at least two swords.

also, a winner could have been declared in round 3. I found the amount of battles in round 4 drew things out quite a bit longer than expected. a final showdown rule between the top two players (based on most territory held) as the only match in round 4 would have been interesting.. and also means that players who have been eliminated but still have enough territory worth taking to win the game (such as myself and olly in round 3 - 4) dont have to wait a half hour or so for multiple declarations between the top players to resolve.

some kind of rule to tidy up the closing rounds and player defeat would be a benefit to Conquest Day.

yes I think a 5k army will be a very tactical one in terms of cost. the Wizard is good at off setting the price of 9k armies but not without risk!


look forward to reading the update on player defeat.

[The only solution to bring in a new player would be balancing territories with an Invasion rule at the end of a Conquest Day (gold round).]

well in a standard last-man-standing style tourny if you werent online at the time to fight you would be eliminated and your opponent advances, without really impacting the game. Conquest Day though is a bit different........


In older Conquests which spanned weeks it wasnt unusual for people to 'take over' armies but CD is much faster so I dont think it is feasible. there is also no alliances so a player cant really control two factions.


The only solution to bring in a new player would be balancing territories with an Invasion rule at the end of a Conquest Day (gold round). For example, as most boards have a limit of 20 regions why not roll a D20 to decide on which regions are Invaded?

* At the end of the Conquest Day begin Invasion rolls.
* Any player who loses a region from Invasion immediately adds its gold worth to their treasury.
* Any player with 3 regions or less cant be Invaded so roll for another random region.
* Invaded regions cant be defended against.
* The amount of Invasion rolls = total regions / players. In a 3 player map of 20 regions with a 4th Invader, this would be 5 Invasion rolls.
* Any region Invaded more than once is considered in starting gold again (accumulative) and towards the Invasion rolls limit.
* Starting gold is calculated on these taken regions.
* Victory condition is modified to less regions to allow for more players.
* CD continues as normal with Invader going last in this round.

on my most recent 4 player map the 20 regions break down like this:

2: 1k
7: 2k
8: 3k
3: 4k

there is 75% chance you will get 2500 gold per region so the lowest amount of starting gold with 5 regions would be 25k. your odds would be pretty good. this is the easiest way I can think of a territory based solution.

heres some results:

H:2k,Q:3k,C:3k,S:2k,M:4k = 14k * 2 = 28k
G:3k,D:4k,M:4k,C:3k,E:4k = 18k * 2 = 36k
R:1k,A:2k,T:2k,O:3k,T:2k = 10k * 2 = 20k (T is counted twice for Invader and he lost a region)
F:2k,K:3k,D:3k,M:4k,P:2k = 14 * 2 = 28k
P:2k,D:3k,N:1k,P:2k,P:2k = 10k * 2 = 20k (P is counted three times for Invader and he lost two regions)

there is a 1:3,200,00 chance of rolling the same single region and starting with 10k. sucks to be that guy. It is entirely possible however, that the Invader may take alot of other player regions bringing them down to 3, and then with the modified Victory condition of less regions a strong player unaffected needs only grab a single region and wins the game?

dont forget Zoko, CD is meant to be fast so we might have a chance to play a second round of beta game changes (such as the above) with so many players around.

[Goblins]

ARMIES
Before starting a Conquestday, Players choose their Faction and elaborate 4 Base Armies (1 with 3k-5k-7k-9k).
You can create later during event more Armies to replace any of your Initial ones.

as you can see Zoko, you can change your army list as often as you want. The only requirement is to stick with your chosen faction and item list and to deploy a wizard.

Im thinking of going with Goblins which have item list 1 and morks banner. might be worth printing that section off just for easy reference when compiling new lists. they have some seriously cowardly units monsters included which might cause problems against undead.. but no list is perfect and there is no requirement to fight what your weak against to win Conquest Day.

There is no Diplomacy, no Building, no Armies Maintenance/Continuity... all gone [...]  Once Battle finishes, they write results in the chat-room and the Gold both spent is subtracted from their treasuries.

I actually had a question of my own about army deployment. I take it from the reading above about no army maintenance and gold subtraction that if I create a 9k army and win the battle... that I lose the 9k gold regardless of victory and that the real reward is holding onto the region?

sign me in for either goblins or orks.


I am lost somewhere on the ring of kerry atm and not at my usual station. I am back from my hols on Sat 25th Aug. so traffic allowing I should be online in time for this beta game.

Jeronimo I had some free time today and created a new 6 player version of the map as well as a 4 player version. feel free to use them or create your own.

I decided to update my original map to look more natural and in theme with conquering a landscape. This is inspired from the DO campaign of how bernhardt moves his army around. There is alot more detail to take in at once from the original although nothing new rule wise has been added.

* map resolution increased to 1900x1400
* lines have been replaced with DO style 'dots' following natural lines in the map such as going into ports and heading around mountains. I think it creates a great feeling of actually moving your army across the world.
* old routes/regions re-positioned closer to map choke points and cities for added realism
* skulls used for gold level
* banner marks region
* letters removed from region marker for better colorization
* faction key added for dropper
* gold key added
* parchment map look to board
* seal added for the heck of it

There are three versions of the map for 4,6,* players. the starting regions were chosen carefully.

MAP1: 18 regions, 6 players, start with 7 - 8 gold with no adjacent regions held.
http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/3311/docdoldlight.png

MAP2: 20 regions, 4 players, all start with 13 gold with regions broke into territories of 2 and 3 regions. territories are not adjacent.
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/2906/docdoldlight8.png

MAP3: 20 regions, free for all, player chooses placement. <-- great for printing and adding coloured pins in local games
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/8373/docdoldlight7.png

here is a snapshot of MAP2 my personal favorite, the rest can be viewed in the links above. I like the idea of fighting over the islands and making your way through to the South Lands via boat.. avoiding any conflicts in the North. anyway what do you guys think?