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So I had a new episode up but someone was kind enough to point out that the screen just went black for part of it. I've been having an intermittent problem with that, probably another one of those lovely 'modern computers hate this game because it's so old deals'. I had fixed a number of occurences but missed a big one lasting several minutes. The weird element is at least part of that sequence was showing up fine in editing. So it'll be at least until tomorrow. I'm hoping I can eventually figure out for certain how to prevent this; otherwhise this project is going to turn in a very large PITA.
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Nov 13, 2020 16:29
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Strategic Sage posted:So I had a new episode up but someone was kind enough to point out that the screen just went black for part of it. I've been having an intermittent problem with that, probably another one of those lovely 'modern computers hate this game because it's so old deals'. I had fixed a number of occurences but missed a big one lasting several minutes. The weird element is at least part of that sequence was showing up fine in editing. So it'll be at least until tomorrow. I'm hoping I can eventually figure out for certain how to prevent this; otherwhise this project is going to turn in a very large PITA. I feel with you. poo poo like this is why I'm making videos for my MO3-LP on an rear end-old Win7 notebook plus I have to use HyperCam2, an ancient program from the far beyond, or MO3 just fucks up every attempt at recording gameplay.
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Nov 13, 2020 16:52
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That doesn't sound like fun at all  The plot stinkens by the way - I had deleted some of the source files but fortunately not the video for the affected section. Here's the fun part; it was 100% intact and fine, no black screen. For some mysterious reason that I'm really curious if any of the brilliant computer scientists on this forum can possibly conjecture at, the sound and video for that six-minute section were simply nuked by PowerDirector in the rendering process, leaving only my voice-over on a separate track intact. Plugging the original back in and re-rendering fixed it, so it wasn't a repeatable flaw. I guess I'm just going to need to check the rendered video now every time, because I haven't the first foggy notion how this is even possible, much less how to prevent it. Why would one section just seemingly-randomly get erased or whatever even happened to it, but the rest remain unaffected? I don't even know where to start on untying that Gordian knot. Anyway, I expect the new update to go live tomorrow, assuming I don't discover any additional surprises. Strategic Sage fucked around with this message at 17:14 on Nov 13, 2020 |
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Nov 13, 2020 17:11
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As a professional software engineer, I can merely assert that nearly all software sucks. Some is better, some is worse, but knowing how the sausage gets made is somewhat frightening.
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Nov 13, 2020 19:11
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the comment a lot of people make to me when i tell them i am a programmer or i majored in computer science is "oh, you must really love computers." no. i do not. i was so god damned sick of the piles of garbage not working that i made it much of my life's work to make the misfiring hunks of machinery do something useful for once in their miserable loving existences. turns out it took that level of commitment to write just a little bit of "~good code~". god help the rest of it. Coolguye fucked around with this message at 21:47 on Nov 13, 2020 |
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Nov 13, 2020 20:37
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There's no such thing as good code. The best you get is code that has been bludgeoned into doing a semblance of what it's supposed to do without burning the entire program down around it (or, more often, doing so slowly/subtly enough that the end user isn't aware of it).
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Nov 13, 2020 20:45
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Zurai posted:There's no such thing as good code. The best you get is code that has been bludgeoned into doing a semblance of what it's supposed to do without burning the entire program down around it (or, more often, doing so slowly/subtly enough that the end user isn't aware of it). Or burning down the machine. Our company builds sensors and transmitters, and as a tech writer, I always have to listen to our engineers and programmers about how a lot of our hardware code is mind-numbingly buggy. Stuff like the code taking the electric signal at the input and going through several mathematical transformations our R&D can't actually understand the purpose of, before giving the (mostly) expected output. The the programmer for that software left the company, you see. But apparently the chip doesn't work if that part of the code is removed, and since the alternative would be redoing everything and we don't have the time or people for that, welp. This leads to ongoing problems when the chip suddenly decides to not give the expected result during testing. 
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Nov 13, 2020 21:22
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Strategic Sage posted:The plot stinkens by the way - I had deleted some of the source files but fortunately not the video for the affected section. Here's the fun part; it was 100% intact and fine, no black screen. For some mysterious reason that I'm really curious if any of the brilliant computer scientists on this forum can possibly conjecture at, the sound and video for that six-minute section were simply nuked by PowerDirector in the rendering process, leaving only my voice-over on a separate track intact. Plugging the original back in and re-rendering fixed it, so it wasn't a repeatable flaw.  Would have really sucked if the footage was completely gone.
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Nov 13, 2020 22:00
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Yeah, I saw that video, thanks, youtube algorithm. And it went black right where the plot thickened. I'm very glad that you can recover your vid Also, seeing the Thorin's interior is really cool, considering what happens later.
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Nov 13, 2020 23:38
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Libluini posted:Or burning down the machine. Our company builds sensors and transmitters, and as a tech writer, I always have to listen to our engineers and programmers about how a lot of our hardware code is mind-numbingly buggy. Stuff like the code taking the electric signal at the input and going through several mathematical transformations our R&D can't actually understand the purpose of, before giving the (mostly) expected output. The the programmer for that software left the company, you see. But apparently the chip doesn't work if that part of the code is removed, and since the alternative would be redoing everything and we don't have the time or people for that, welp. I used to work as s/w engineer for a hardware company. Everything was like this. Though the main problem was the "we don't have the time or people for that" part. We never did, so it was never made right, and never had time to do even the most basic of fixes. Plus we let EEs program sometimes, and EEs can't program, even if it looks like they can.
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Nov 14, 2020 00:09
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Torranor posted:Yeah, I saw that video, thanks, youtube algorithm. And it went black right where the plot thickened. You should be able to start right where you left off at least (for anyone else in this boat, 8-minute mark). I checked it multiple times but I'm paranoid atm so still hoping there are no other issues aside from the 'jumping' that I can't get rid of during some of the screen transitions. Coolguye posted:i was so god damned sick of the piles of garbage not working that i made it much of my life's work to make the misfiring hunks of machinery do something useful for once in their miserable loving existences. [Groundhog Day] I'm guessing you and idhrendur are the glass half-empty kind of guys, amirite? [/Groundhog Day] DTurtle posted:Would have really sucked if the footage was completely gone. It most certainly would have. In this case that would have meant starting the whole episode from scratch.
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Nov 14, 2020 13:10
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 Oh Captain, My Captain (23:33) So assuming all is as it should be now, Dante gets his first promotion - even if the game seems confused about that and other matters. The first 'boss battle' of the game is the largest engagement to date, shows fighter stacking and the weirdness that goes along with that, and some temporary friends show up if you play your cards right. By the end of this the first phase of the game is finished and we have new digs, new toys, and new responsibilities. As a teaser for the next episode, we'll soon start to see some of the trademark Imperium Galactica unfairness creeping in, along with increasing hints about how humanity stands in the greater galactic picture (Hint: not well). More could be said, but I'll save that for next week.
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Nov 14, 2020 13:17
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The map on that computer is mislabeled. It has the bridge and the captains room switched around. It's such a small and overall unimportant detail, but for some reason that amuses me greatly.
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Nov 15, 2020 14:53
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So is there a 'Commander' rank and we skipped it? We were apparently in command of a destroyer as a Lieutenant (Lt. Cmdr, presumably) and then went to having control of a cruiser (and I guess we give orders to the destroyer, too). I mean, it all makes more sense from a gameplay perspective but it would have been interesting if suddenly you had to trust the AI to control your other ship(s).
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Nov 15, 2020 22:52
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Kangra posted:So is there a 'Commander' rank and we skipped it? There will be more on this, but I don't want to spoil it just now. We do have control over the destroyer as well as the cruiser at this stage. Nuramor posted:The map on that computer is mislabeled. It has the bridge and the captains room switched around. It's such a small and overall unimportant detail, but for some reason that amuses me greatly. I never noticed that! I have a theory that I'll be getting into later, but suffice to say it actual may not be that unimportant.
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Nov 16, 2020 22:17
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So do you keep the pirate fighters that joined you for that one fight? Because if you don't, I'm surprised you didn't go with plan 'Pirate Meat Shield' in that last fight.
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Nov 17, 2020 01:12
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Nuramor posted:The map on that computer is mislabeled. It has the bridge and the captains room switched around. It's such a small and overall unimportant detail, but for some reason that amuses me greatly. Clearly the ship dates from a more decadent time, when captains had huge luxurious penthouses (by spaceship standards) and commanded from there while the plebes were all squeezed together on a tiny bridge. Then the designers figured out that this was silly and inefficient, so they tore down the penthouse and set up a larger bridge while jamming the captain in a bunk nearby. They just forgot to update the map. I think some of the promotion-wonkiness may be a mixup with earlier versions. It wouldn't surprise me if in earlier drafts of the script/game design plan, each promotion sent you to a new 'level' entirely, instead of expanding on what you have. So sector "B2, near the Garthogs" would actually be sector B2 and be near the Garthogs. The player would lose access to Achilles etc. but in return get a new set of planets to work with. Possibly even the fleet would be swapped out entirely. (it would have made balancing easier because each new promotion would have the player start with a predetermined set of assets.) From a thematic standpoint I prefer what we ended up with, where the ranks zoom out and expand on your options, with the past mattering. There are other quirks I've noticed regarding Dante's rank. For example, He's supposed to answer to the governors of the planets but the moment he arrives he gets full authority over taxation, defense, construction and demolishing of everything he sees. And ah, the Thorin. Now there is a beauty of a ship. Much prettier than the two bricks glued together that is Dante's new flagship. It showing up is a reminder that you are still just a small fish. On the other hand, 1 antique, not even fully outfitted destroyer and a handful of fighters have no business even slowing down any fleet capable of threatening the Thorin and its escorts. Unless every ship was full of holes and on fire on the side not facing the camera. I counted at least 1 destroyer and 2 cruisers. Fortunately the Admiral overestimated the Garthog's willingness or ability to pursue in force.
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Nov 17, 2020 10:01
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We're returning from a GLORIOUS VICTORY against the Garthogs. In unrelated news, our everything is on fire and there's a Garthog fleet in pursuit, go deal with them and don't ask stupid questions.
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Nov 17, 2020 18:43
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my dad posted:We're returning from a GLORIOUS VICTORY against the Garthogs. In unrelated news, our everything is on fire and there's a Garthog fleet in pursuit, go deal with them and don't ask stupid questions. Now I'm getting flashbacks to playing Nexus: The Jupiter Incident and having to watch my superior gently caress up massively before we were asked to go in and save his bacon.
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Nov 17, 2020 18:47
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Libluini posted:Now I'm getting flashbacks to playing Nexus: The Jupiter Incident and having to watch my superior gently caress up massively before we were asked to go in and save his bacon. Are you implying that Rear Admiral Norton does not posses the most brilliant tactical mind of his generation? It is a shame that Herpicle's lp of the game kind of died before the end.
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Nov 17, 2020 19:23
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GothSheep posted:do you keep the pirate fighters that joined you for that one fight? Because if you don't, I'm surprised you didn't go with plan 'Pirate Meat Shield' No, their part in the game has ended. I could have used them as meat shields but it wouldn't have done much other than make the battle a bit easier. End result is the same. maninthesuit posted:He's supposed to answer to the governors of the planets but the moment he arrives he gets full authority over taxation, defense, construction and demolishing of The 'answering to the governors' is apparently limited soley to the fact that they can give Dante game/plot-critical missions that he is required to complete. As noted, in all other senses he has effective carte-blanche to completely ignore them. They will become even more useless later. my dad posted:We're returning from a GLORIOUS VICTORY against the Garthogs. In unrelated news, our everything is on fire and there's a Garthog fleet in pursuit, go deal with them and don't ask stupid questions. maninthesuit posted:1 antique, not even fully outfitted destroyer and a handful of fighters have no business even slowing down any fleet capable of threatening the Thorin and its escorts. Unless every ship was full of holes and on fire on the side not facing the camera. You're not wrong. Esp. on the 'don't ask stupid questions' part. That is such a very Imperium Galactica theme.
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Nov 18, 2020 00:18
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Maybe the governors just handle the administrative work, the day to day stuff and of course very accurate and up to date reports to the glorious protagonist.
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Nov 18, 2020 01:42
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Crisis on Achilles ... Again (19:10) After raising some cash with some of our new expendable assets thanks to Production access and taking a run through the new colonies, we get our first taste of ground combat on Achilles. In so doing we discover something troubling - the Garthogs are significantly more advanced than we are, which complicates matters. A somewhat similar strategy to space combat is employed, in which it is important to get the enemy to focus on what we want them to focus on, but it's a little trickier on terra firma. More pirates show up a while later, as we discover that the scripted nature of our duties hasn't changed yet with the promotion to Captain. Next up, focus switches from combat here back to matters of colonial and economic management, as we will face more difficult decisions and begin investing in higher-level planetside buldings. New types of missions not yet seen will also be on the agenda.
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Nov 21, 2020 15:10
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That population loss after every invasion is some bullshit. It is a flat rate or does it scale with invasion size and damage caused?
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Nov 21, 2020 17:11
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It's a flat rate. The only issue at hand is 'did this planet get attacked by ground troops'. There's a building later on that reduces the loss, but there's no way to eliminate it.
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Nov 21, 2020 17:23
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Hey, that mechanic is in Master of Orion 3, too! I just never talk about it in my LP because in most cases, the background-sim is constantly changing the population of a colony from turn to turn, so pop losses due to ground combat only gets obvious if you start flinging nukes and germs around while fighting high-intensity combat with multiple armies. At the same time, the game is stealthily calculating immigration, emigration, loss due to hunger/blockade, loss due to combat, pop growth and probably some more variables hidden somewhere and you aren't exactly told what makes population grow or shrink. You have to take a lot of wild guesses in that game. Imperium Galactica is quite refreshing in that it at least tells you that you're losing/gaining people. I'm more accustomed to MO3's fait accompli pop display, where you have the end result and have to go back from there to find out what happened. 
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Nov 21, 2020 17:23
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It's quite cool seeing you really abuse the game mechanics, thought I could never bring myself to do so. Just switching the space port on as needed is so obvious, I don't know why I never thought of it. Still, it's too cheesy for my taste. At least the lack of radar coverage, which is low key driving me insane, will soon be remedied by the game. The population loss is such a bullshit, but thankfully, there's a cheesy tactic you can use (and which I definitely abused horribly) to prevent the enemy from ever starting ground assaults on your planets.
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Nov 21, 2020 19:57
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Libluini posted:Imperium Galactica is quite refreshing in that it at least tells you that you're losing/gaining people. I'm more accustomed to MO3's fait accompli pop display, where you have the end result and have to go back from there to find out what happened. I also know how much is in the treasury at all times instead of not being able to trust what the game tells me on that at any point. A number of the in-game descriptions of what things do are misleading if not flat-out wrong, but when it comes to population, cash, morale, etc. I do always know what is going on and can plan based on that. It's helpful for sure. Torranor posted:thankfully, there's a cheesy tactic you can use (and which I definitely abused horribly) to prevent the enemy from ever starting ground assaults on your planets. I'm nearly certain what you're talking about here I'll be using quite a bit. FWIW, that's my personal ugh, this is cheesy abuse of the game that I feel guilty about doing and wouldn't contemplate under more normal conditions. It just feels wrong ... but we'll get to that later and breaking the game is breaking the game, doggone it.
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Nov 22, 2020 02:25
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Strategic Sage posted:It's a flat rate. The only issue at hand is 'did this planet get attacked by ground troops'. So with that guaranteed population loss, is it a viable tactic to send your own invasion forces in one at a time with the cheapest ground force possible, with the goal of dealing no actual damage but bleeding the enemy's population to nothing?
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Nov 22, 2020 04:10
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Gothsheep posted:So with that guaranteed population loss, is it a viable tactic to send your own invasion forces in one at a time with the cheapest ground force possible, with the goal of dealing no actual damage but bleeding the enemy's population to nothing? No. Most planets have space defenses to protect them, and space battles are usually tougher than the ground battles. If you can actually invade a planet, you're better off just taking it. Even if you don't succeed at the first try, you can just resupply at the nearest base and try it again. I've never failed to take a planet in a second invasion.
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Nov 22, 2020 07:15
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Just to add on to that, generally speaking you don't want to reduce the population any more than you need to. It's to your benefit to leave as much of it intact as you can - we will see this in action later.
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Nov 22, 2020 13:50
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Many Questions, Fewer Answers (26:14) Parks and Police Stations make an appearance, as well as the more advanced housing options - though only one of them actually matters. Smugglers show up, more bad instructions from Dante's superiors ... and it appears everything might not be fully ok with our protagonist either. A conversation with one of the other officers on board the Terminator only muddies the waters. Is this due to changes during the game design process ... or is this universe more screwed-up than it appears?
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Nov 28, 2020 18:46
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Do the inconsistencies like that actually play into the plot?
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Nov 28, 2020 19:32
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Did you know that you can just press + and - to cycle through your planets, Strategic Sage? I found this especially useful in the early stages when you have few planets, because it's quite fast. You can... fail the test? Mind blown! I think the 24th/34th century thing is a mistake by the developers/script writers. Randalor posted:Do the inconsistencies like that actually play into the plot? Watch and find out
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Nov 28, 2020 19:54
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How does something as advanced as a spaceship not have refrigeration? Did someone buy an old super cheap bulk freighter, load it up with perishables and that's somehow legal (the "police" blockade didn't fine them or anything)?
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Nov 28, 2020 20:19
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 I would have answered that test like a huge space rear end in a top hat the first time around and definitely would have been escorted out the next airlock
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Nov 28, 2020 21:58
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Libluini posted:
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Nov 28, 2020 23:38
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My problem with weird mysteries in plots like this, is I never know if something is intended or just someone messing up. I would have totally written off the inconsistent map and date as having been something that got changed in development but they forgot to rerecord the lines and redraw the map. When Dante mentioned his dream to her and that he was sure he'd been in the room before, I'd expect her to ask where, or at least ask him to describe the room. But again, I just wrote off her not doing that as the writing being not particularly great.
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Nov 29, 2020 00:11
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Gothsheep posted:My problem with weird mysteries in plots like this, is I never know if something is intended or just someone messing up. I'll echo what Torranor said; there's some of both going on. Best I think to let people decide for themselves as the story unfolds, for those who don't know it, so I'll not say any more about that. Poil posted:How does something as advanced as a spaceship not have refrigeration? Lame excuses/cover stories never go out of style. Torranor posted:Did you know that you can just press + and - to cycle through your planets, Strategic Sage? Nope. I need to get used to doing that. I thought there was probably some control along those lines but didn't know what it was.
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Nov 29, 2020 00:50
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Strategic Sage posted:Nope. I need to get used to doing that. I thought there was probably some control along those lines but didn't know what it was. The way this works is actually a bit funny. By pressing +, you go to the next planet further "down" on the galaxy map. Depending on how big you are, this can mean going from a planet on the left side of the map to one on the opposite end of the map, because that planet was a just a few pixels down. You can use this on any colony screen. It's not so good on the colony map itself, because the game needs to load the map, and so it's rather slow. But you can use it also on the colony overview, and the buildings overview. Late game, I used it to see whether there were any yellow or red numbers in the overview, and reacted accordingly. I'm really impressed by your colony micro, but I imagine that will become hell with bigger empires.
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Nov 29, 2020 09:23
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