Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste

[tkzv]

To be very concise, every map consists of blocks. Blocks are either 10x10 or 20x20 (theoretically can be bigger, but it's hardly ever used, except for UFOs). The map size is specified by deployment (for example, per UFO, per mission, etc.) - for example, 50x50. Map blocks are picked randomly to fill the map.

What about the walls between blocks? Some blocks are separated by a wall (for a farm those can be a fence, a hedge, a building wall), some aren't. Is there a command that makes walls appear? Is it random? Or are there just identical 10x10 blocks — one without walls, several with walls on different sides?

If you spot something like this, please let me know (with a screenshot). This is a map design problem - when such tight spots have spawn nodes, they should be specifically unavailable for large units. But sometimes this special limitation may be missing from a node - I fixed many, but possibly not all.

Every cave mission has none but those. I'll post a save and screenshots next time I get such a mission.

[ohartenstein23]

What about the walls between blocks? Some blocks are separated by a wall (for a farm those can be a fence, a hedge, a building wall), some aren't. Is there a command that makes walls appear? Is it random? Or are there just identical 10x10 blocks — one without walls, several with walls on different sides?

Walls are part of the mapblocks, and rarely are made to continue outside the block, unless more complex mapScripts are used.  Walls also only exist on the north or west side of a tile; this is why, for example, most farm buildings have a 9x9 floor plan with 1 tile space around them on the south and east sides.  To ensure accessibility between mapblocks, it's on the modder to design the scripts and blocks generate properly, no pathfinding is used at that level of map generation.  In vanilla xcom, it's possible for s UFO to be completely blocked off from the Skyranger by water on polar terrain, so this has been an issue from the beginning with randomly generated maps.

[tkzv]

Walls are part of the mapblocks, and rarely are made to continue outside the block, unless more complex mapScripts are used.  Walls also only exist on the north or west side of a tile;

Does that mean there are identical mapblocks with and without walls?

In vanilla xcom, it's possible for s UFO to be completely blocked off from the Skyranger by water on polar terrain, so this has been an issue from the beginning with randomly generated maps.

Thanks. This is what I wanted to know. Has any solutions been proposed? And what about the original UFO: Enemy Unknown, was it a problem there?

[Solarius Scorch]

Does that mean there are identical mapblocks with and without walls?

Eh? No. Why? I'm kinda lost.

Thanks. This is what I wanted to know. Has any solutions been proposed? And what about the original UFO: Enemy Unknown, was it a problem there?

Exactly what Oharty described.

[tkzv]

Eh? No. Why? I'm kinda lost.

There seem to be identical map blocks, e.g. wheat fields, sometimes with fences on some sides, sometimes without fences on any side.

If you spot something like this, please let me know (with a screenshot).

Do you need the savegames? They are kind of big — approaching 2.5M. I'll stop posting them if you don't need them. Also, do you need the battlescape view, the map, or both?

Here is the most common case. The staircase on the bottom level is too narrow, and there is a narrow squeeze in front of it. Together it creates a perfect place to gun a melee monster in its lair point-blank from a safe distance at leisure. The spider queen is stuck in her lair.

[Solarius Scorch]

There seem to be identical map blocks, e.g. wheat fields, sometimes with fences on some sides, sometimes without fences on any side.

In this case yes, it's very possible. Farm has many variants of similar blocks.

Do you need the savegames? They are kind of big — approaching 2.5M. I'll stop posting them if you don't need them. Also, do you need the battlescape view, the map, or both?

Screenshots are fine, thanks.

Here is the most common case. The staircase on the bottom level is too narrow, and there is a narrow squeeze in front of it. Together it creates a perfect place to gun a melee monster in its lair point-blank from a safe distance at leisure. The spider queen is stuck in her lair.

Ahhh, THESE caves! I kept thinking about caves inside hills!
All right then... I'll see what can be done. Not even sure if it's bad.

[tkzv]

Ahhh, THESE caves! I kept thinking about caves inside hills!
All right then... I'll see what can be done. Not even sure if it's bad.

Worms offer some challenge, because they can at least spit, but shamblers and big spiders are sitting ducks.

Another round of screenshots then, and I stop until you make up your mind if you want to make caves harder or not. Maybe there should be a separate tileset "Big monster caves", where most corridors are wide enough for them. I can clean those up, if there are some kind of ASCII source files for map tiles.

Worm 1 is stuck in a short corridor.

Worm 2 is stuck on the middle level, because the stairs down are too narrow (same as with spider queen above), and it cannot go beyond the stairs up. Is there too little place?

Worm 3 is stuck in a fairly large hall. Note that entrances to the starting/evacuation area are too narrow, making it completely safe.

[tkzv]

Hit the attachment limit Continuing.

[Solarius Scorch]

Whoa, you overdid it a little.

OK, I'll rethink these caverns...

[mumble]

To be honest, for the mother spider I found it to match up and be realistic : often in bug nests, the "queen" is typically in a locked off chamber while the drones ferociously defend it.

For other animals this doesn't work, but I find it very fitting for spider hives, or similar bugs.

South wing of the dragonfly does not cast a shadow, but the north wing does.

[Solarius Scorch]

To be honest, for the mother spider I found it to match up and be realistic : often in bug nests, the "queen" is typically in a locked off chamber while the drones ferociously defend it.

For other animals this doesn't work, but I find it very fitting for spider hives, or similar bugs.

My thoughts exactly.

I'm not touching the "queen chamber", but have already adjusted some other nodes.

South wing of the dragonfly does not cast a shadow, but the north wing does.

I haven't noticed it despite hundreds of missions. you have good eyes!
I think I know why, but if I'm right then it's not easy to fix.

[Lohland]

Another problem

[tkzv]

Another problem

Same here. "A fatal error has occurred: Map generator encountered an error: no xcom units could be placed on the map." I get it when I try to start Hybrid Infiltrator mission. It worked fine in the previous version.

[Meridian]

Another problem

STR_VAN is overridden to STR_XCOM_CAFE in the mapscript (URBANALASKA)

Code: [Select]

  - type: URBANLASKA
    commands:
    - type: addCraft
      craftName: STR_XCOM_CAFE

and STR_XCOM_CAFE has no deployment... so there are no starting tiles for xcom to deploy on the whole map

[Solarius Scorch]

I think the problem was in one of the Cafe maps. Now I have tested all of them - attaching a hotfix.