New WOK4 Game

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Egbert
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New WOK4 Game

Post by Egbert » Thu Jul 10, 2003 4:06 pm

Well, I said that I would open a new WOK5 game, but Nick just opened one, so I don't want to steal any customers. So, a new WOK4 waitlist is hereby opened. :D I figured I would go back to the "good ol' days," and use the Colonial WOK4 map, where I first learned how to be diplomatic, and how nice it is to be on an island. :wink:

http://www.angelfire.com/dragon/egbert/group3.html

Please email me to sign up.
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Post by Dameon » Fri Jul 11, 2003 12:49 am

If I didn't know that Gaz was planning on opening a WOK 5 group soon I'd be rather frustrated with this particular logic. :cry:
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Post by Aussie Gaz » Fri Jul 11, 2003 6:08 am

You will just have to wait a bit longer Nick.

Sorry.

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Post by Egbert » Fri Jul 11, 2003 2:25 pm

8 spots filled in less than 24 hours --- not bad. 2 spots left, and then we begin! :popcorn:
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Post by Dameon » Fri Jul 11, 2003 10:22 pm

That's OK I have Mike's game to keep me busy in the interim. 8)
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Post by Egbert » Mon Jul 14, 2003 8:34 pm

Turn #00 is out! Good luck to all!

There was a delay, because the Colonial WOK IV map is apparently not compatible with the new WOK5 manager --- so I had to redo the entire INI file. :x Oh well. I've found that other maps don't work that well either --- I'm talking about the auto map coloring system of the WOK5 manager.
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Post by Dameon » Mon Jul 14, 2003 9:59 pm

Regarding the auto-coloring thing, I have to say here that I for one don't write my INIs to be compatible with it. I used to, but frankly, it's a royal pain in the ass. I would guess that manually coloring the maps for a full game would take about as much time as figuring out all the coordinates for the auto-color option to work with. Now, if anybody really WANTS to use that option, then they can easily rewrite the last two lines of any INI to be compatible with it- it'd just take them a while. It's not difficult, just time consuming, and if you really want to do it but don't know how, just contact me and I can tell ya. But the moral here is don't be surprised if my maps, espcially more recent ones, don't work with that option. 8)
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Post by Egbert » Mon Jul 14, 2003 10:03 pm

Aha! That explains it!

FYI, Bryk created a WOK Map Assistant which has been a godsend to me. You don't have to worry about the colorfill coordinates. You just click on the province, and it does it for you! Once you set up a map that way, you can use the WOK5 mapmaker (also designed by Bryk, I believe) to automatically color the map, saving a ton of time. I guess everyone has their way of doing things.
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Post by Dameon » Mon Jul 14, 2003 10:48 pm

I never knew that Bryk's Map Assitant did that- pretty cool. I don't suppose it does all your neighboring data for you too eh? :P In the future I will use that when I create new maps. Oh, and in the case of my OLD WOK 5 INIs, well, IIRC those came out before Al invented the auto-color tool, so those might not have coordinates either. So if you are a GM and want to use one of my INIs with the auto-color thing, download Bryk's Assitant and it can fix the INI right up for ya. In the future I will use it but I don't want to take the time to go back and update all my old INIs accordingly- although if anybody is feeling ambitious..... :D
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Post by gm_al » Mon Jul 14, 2003 10:54 pm

Uh, Nick getting lazy...? :roll:

MapMaker had Bryk helping by giving me the routine to do quick coloring of areas and JPG transformation, so I guess it was a good co-operation (I keep asking him to code some WOK game together with me, I just hope one day he will jump on that train and then the sky is the limit muahahahaha) :P

Seriously Nick, an INI without the coloring coordinates is just.... unfinished. I certainly will not go back to do that work by hand. :?

*writes down: INI checker update needed to fail on Nicks INIs....*

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Post by Dameon » Mon Jul 14, 2003 11:02 pm

Well that is your opinion Al. As the person who has done more INIs than anybody, by far, I am telling you that the work required to make your auto-color thing work was not worth it, as it only takes 5 minutes or less to color the maps manually. I DID use it for some INIs- but found it to be just silly. That is my opinion, and the INI works just as well if there are garbage coordinates there as the real ones. If there is an EASY way to make the auto-color thing work, as there is with Bryk's Assitant, I'll certainly use it, but otherwise, I'd just be making work for myself. INIs take enough time as it is without adding that extra stuff on- especially considering that it's not really a necessary tool.

I viewed the auto-color thing in the same light as I did the Mail Manager- a nice tool, but something that I don't think is worth it in the long run. Good options for GMs, but not something that's required- at least not in my book.
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Post by Brykovian » Mon Jul 14, 2003 11:28 pm

Dameon wrote:I never knew that Bryk's Map Assitant did that- pretty cool. I don't suppose it does all your neighboring data for you too eh
But ... of course!! :D It even makes a distinction in WOK5 maps between "normal" neighbors and bridge-connected neighbors.

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Post by gm_al » Mon Jul 14, 2003 11:50 pm

Well maybe an update can add the two lines of coordinates Nick is too lazy to do for his INIs ?? :? Like 'point and click Province by Province and in the end the code is added to the INI'..... :P

You know Nick, just because you dont use those options doesnt mean you should keep others from doing so.... thats my opinion of course.

(And if I remember right when the MapMaker came out it was someone else then Nick and me who did the tedious work to add all those coordinates to all maps that existed by then - was it you, Goat Herder ?)

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Post by Brykovian » Tue Jul 15, 2003 12:41 am

gm_al wrote:Well maybe an update can add the two lines of coordinates Nick is too lazy to do for his INIs ?? :? Like 'point and click Province by Province and in the end the code is added to the INI'
That's exactly how it works :| ...

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Post by Dameon » Tue Jul 15, 2003 1:32 am

Whoa there, I am not keeping anybody from doing anything. Any GM who wants to use a map of mine and desperately loves the auto-color feature is welcome to add coordinates to make it work. It's not like it personally offends me or anything.....I just didn't feel it was worth the effort. Anyway, I never knew somebody else updated all those older INIs with coordinates, and no, it definetely was not me. As for all my "broken" INIs....well, like I said, any GM who really needs the auto-color thingy is welcome to "fix" them if they like.

BTW Bryk, I downloaded your Assistant, and that's pretty darn cool. I kinda felt like it was "Map Making for Dummies".....but hey, it's bound to fix ALL those really annoying "Input past end of file" errors that crop up with INIs, so I am sold!
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Post by Egbert » Tue Jul 15, 2003 2:14 am

See, I told you it was a godsend! Al, I see Nick's point. He did a ton of work creating all the INIs and maps in the first place. What GMs can do is that when they run across an INI that doesn't fit Bryk's toy, they can take the time to run it through, and then send the new revised INI to Al. I will do that with the Colonial WOK IV INI.

BTW, I did basically a cut and paste job with the names of the provinces, and the population. Then I used Bryk's toy to do provinces #1 & #60. Once I figured out which part of the INI it was, I cut and pasted the other provinces. It took about an hour in total.
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Post by Brykovian » Tue Jul 15, 2003 3:20 am

Or ... you can re-name the BMP and the INI so that they have the same exact name (except for their .bmp and .txt extensions, of course). Then use the File>Load Map>WOK4 Map (or WOK5 Map) menu option to load the INI as it is right now. Then you can just go through each province to pick a flood-fill starting point ... re-save ... re-name back to the standards expected by the game manager -- and you're in business.

That's how I'd do it (and have done it) anyway. ;)

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Post by Aussie Gaz » Tue Jul 15, 2003 5:20 am

Bryk

Tried your method with WOK5 map 4 but got an end of file/data error.

Any quick solution on how to fix?

Nick - Island Hopping will be the next game I run so shall I put you down as Player #01?

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Post by Aussie Gaz » Tue Jul 15, 2003 6:05 am

Bryk

Never mind. I figured it out.

AL - attached is the revised ini file for WOK5 Map 4 Island Hopping.

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Post by Saladin » Tue Jul 15, 2003 8:18 am

Dameon wrote:Well that is your opinion Al. As the person who has done more INIs than anybody, by far, I am telling you that the work required to make your auto-color thing work was not worth it, as it only takes 5 minutes or less to color the maps manually.
5 minutes each turn...that adds up. Plus it's very prone to mistakes, i've seen several GM's make mistakes with this which is very confusing for the players.

Having said that...still apreciate all the map making Nick, especially your latest addition, will definitely make an X-game out of that one some day. :D
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