The Altaz Mariners (2p pirate RPG) now with French translation!

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Raket
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Joined: February 9th, 2012, 5:38 pm

Re: The Altaz Mariners - MP Campaign, out now!

Post by Raket »

This looks fantastic! :D
I can't wait to play it on Wesnoth 1.10.

Bob, I'm a fan of many of your work
(Labyrinth of Champions, Fall of Trent, Galactic Empires, Brotherhood of Light, The High Seas, and the one where you have to find a Dwarf mage)
and I have to say that you are truly a talented man, I and many others have enjoyed these RPGs so much and have spent many hours on them.
Just wondering, will you be releasing this older work on the 1.10 addon serverlist too?

Greets
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Bob_The_Mighty
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Re: The Altaz Mariners - MP Campaign, out now!

Post by Bob_The_Mighty »

Thanks, Raket. I will try and update the older stuff when I get the time. I updated Save The Village already. Just for the record, Altaz Mariners isn't a solo effort. Although I seem to make all the postings, jb has a big role in designing and testing the campaign. We've also had bera doing portraits and some testing by FAAB.

However, there's still several issue that need ironing out before we can release it on 1.10.
My current projects:
MP pirate campaign: The Altaz Mariners
RPG sequel: Return to Trent
MP stealth campaign: Den of Thieves
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jb
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Re: The Altaz Mariners - MP Campaign, out now!

Post by jb »

Bob_The_Mighty wrote: However, there's still several issue that need ironing out before we can release it on 1.10.

I know it's been a while since we've updated, but I think everyone will be very pleased with the new release. It is a massive update. It contains about 20 new scenarios, a new upgrade system, several new side quests, and an epic ending.

It's coming soon, we promise!
My MP campaigns
Gobowars
The Altaz Mariners - with Bob the Mighty
Prince_Pwnly
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Re: The Altaz Mariners - MP Campaign, out now!

Post by Prince_Pwnly »

So how's progress on this? And, for Bob, how is the High Seas doing?
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Captain_Wrathbow
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Re: The Altaz Mariners - MP Campaign, out now!

Post by Captain_Wrathbow »

@Prince_Pwnly: This project replaced The High Seas. THS is no longer being maintained.

Last post in The High Seas thread
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Bob_The_Mighty
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Re: The Altaz Mariners - MP Campaign, out now!

Post by Bob_The_Mighty »

Yeah, I stopped maintaining The High Seas. Elvish Pillager made a nice mod of it, maybe he will continue with that.

Anyway, we haven't given up on The Altaz Mariners. It has swollen to over 80 scenarios. We created an evolutionary upgrade system and an inventory. We added more subquests, puzzles and a branching plotline. We basically got carried away, which accounts for the time since the last release. We were inches away from a new version when jb's computer gave up. Still, we plan to get it out there soon. Watch this space.
My current projects:
MP pirate campaign: The Altaz Mariners
RPG sequel: Return to Trent
MP stealth campaign: Den of Thieves
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Bob_The_Mighty
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Re: The Altaz Mariners - MP Campaign, out now!

Post by Bob_The_Mighty »

I'm very excited to announce that after three years in the making, The Altaz Mariners is finally finished. It's on the 1.10 add-ons server right now. Go get it!

The Altaz Mariners is a non-linear two-player campaign following the swashbuckling adventures of two brothers on the open sea. Players can navigate their own path through the story - trading goods, boarding ships, solving puzzles and completing subquests. Combat ranges from RPG-style fights and squad skirmishes to full-scale battles.

The campaign is complete and contains over 80 scenarios, 30+ islands, 20+ subquests, 10 random encounters variants, 5 audio voice-overs and 2 alternate endings.

There has countless changes and additions to the campaign over the last year. Here's some of the main features:

Attack Upgrade System
We've gone for a 'learning' system that allows a leader's attacks to improve the more they are used in combat. Upon advance, the leaders gain a special attack - but the damage of the attacks do not improve unless they are used offensively. This system is clutter-free and lets players develop their character over time in a novel way.

Picking Traits
The campaign now begins with two mini scenarios recounting episodes in the protagonists' past. The decisions made in these 'formative years' affect the traits your leader has in later life. All the mainline traits are available.

Inventory
The inventory is less a menu of super weapons, more a list of items that can be used to solve puzzles and complete quests. This gives some scenarios the feel of a 'point & click' adventure game.

Captain's Log
A simple right-click allows you to access a log containing info on islands you've discovered, characters you've talked to and quests you've been set. The subquest section of the log displays a percentage of quests completed. The log also records the prices of cargo at every trading port you've visited, allowing you to plan a trade run for the maximum profit. The log is very useful for hints about what to do next.

Followers
During the course of the game players will attract followers which are auto-recalled for no cost. There's about a dozen followers in the campaign, and they are extremely valuable. Some you can befriend, others you have to hire - some you may not find.

Random Encounters
As you travel around the world map there is a chance you'll be intercepted by an enemy ship or hailed by a friendly vessel. There are around ten of these encounters, providing randomised interludes in the main story. There are also some special encounters which come up less often.

Training
Your leaders can learn new abilities - if you can find someone to train you. Certain NPCs will teach you their tricks for a price, others might want something else in exchange. Some trainers are harder to find than others.

Multiplayer OR Single Player Mode
The Altaz Mariners can either be played as a multiplayer or a single player campaign. The campaign will show up in the list when you host an MP game - and also in the SP campaign menu. It's the same campaign effectively, but you control two sides. If you're playing it in multiplayer mode, please remember to take manual saves and to reload properly. Read How to safely reload MP campaigns to avoid the problems Wesnoth has with MP campaigns.

Alternate Ending & Easter Eggs
There are tons of things in this campaign that are tucked away just waiting to be discovered. One of these is a large branch to the story, resulting in an alternate ending. There are numerous other hidden bonuses, subquests and fun stuff. There's also a few random islands, so each game should be somewhat unique.



jb and I have been sitting on this for quite some time, polishing it up and making sure it is exactly how we wanted it to be. We've raked it through for bugs, but we'd be very happy if people wanted to playtest it for us now it is stable. If you notice any bugs, please leave a comment here.

I hope it is as much fun to play as it was to make.
Last edited by Bob_The_Mighty on February 4th, 2013, 3:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
My current projects:
MP pirate campaign: The Altaz Mariners
RPG sequel: Return to Trent
MP stealth campaign: Den of Thieves
Prince_Pwnly
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Joined: June 15th, 2012, 12:08 am

Re: The Altaz Mariners - finally finished!

Post by Prince_Pwnly »

Yessssss, thank you! :mrgreen:
marvalis
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Joined: August 16th, 2010, 3:56 am

Re: The Altaz Mariners - finally finished!

Post by marvalis »

There are tons of things in this campaign that won't are tucked away
Something might be wrong with that sentence :P.

And a bug: Unknown unit type
bug.jpg
Some quick feedback:
* Recalling units
This just didn't make sense to me. You need 100g to buy a better boat. Gold is hard to get, at least in the early game. If I recruit or recall a unit, then I just lost all that gold (quite a bit too).

* When turns run out on a map, you are defeated
This was a real disappointment. Leveling up your units is slow! You get two companions at the start, but they die easily. I suggest that when turns run out you loose the scenario, but not the game! Starting over again is just not that much fun. If a scenario fails you should still be able to escape and continue the game.
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Bob_The_Mighty
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Re: The Altaz Mariners - finally finished!

Post by Bob_The_Mighty »

I can't work out why that error message appears as I double checked and the Khalid unit file is present and correct. Did it mean the game crashed? What else happened beside the message?
* Recalling units
This just didn't make sense to me. You need 100g to buy a better boat. Gold is hard to get, at least in the early game. If I recruit or recall a unit, then I just lost all that gold (quite a bit too).
Most of the battles in the early game give you a bunch of loyal units to fight with - as well as AI allies. It's up you if you recruit or recall additional units. Gold is handled differently in this campaign, mainly because you don't get any income from villages. This means watching your purse is part of the gameplay. Did you find it too difficult?
* When turns run out on a map, you are defeated
This was a real disappointment. Leveling up your units is slow! You get two companions at the start, but they die easily. I suggest that when turns run out you loose the scenario, but not the game! Starting over again is just not that much fun. If a scenario fails you should still be able to escape and continue the game.
I thought it was quite usual to lose if your turns run out. Why would you not reload from a manual save game rather than starting over? Can you tell me which scenarios this happened to you on? We'd like to balance the turn limits.

Thanks for giving it a try and commenting. I realise that it may be a little tough.
My current projects:
MP pirate campaign: The Altaz Mariners
RPG sequel: Return to Trent
MP stealth campaign: Den of Thieves
gnombat
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Re: The Altaz Mariners - finally finished!

Post by gnombat »

Bob_The_Mighty wrote:I can't work out why that error message appears as I double checked and the Khalid unit file is present and correct.
But shouldn't they be included in _main.cfg? That file has

Code: Select all

#ifdef MULTIPLAYER
and

Code: Select all

#ifdef CAMPAIGN_TAM_SP
and the khalifate units are not included in the single-player branch.
marvalis
Posts: 40
Joined: August 16th, 2010, 3:56 am

Re: The Altaz Mariners - finally finished!

Post by marvalis »

Bob_The_Mighty wrote:Most of the battles in the early game give you a bunch of loyal units to fight with - as well as AI allies.
I loved this, it helps balance the game and fighting along the AI feels good. Especially when his units die not mine ;).
Bob_The_Mighty wrote:Did you find it too difficult?
Not really. Difficulty is ok. The problem in the early game was that I did not really now how to make money. There is one quest you can get to get to the saurians, and that guy also gives you a loan. Finding this NPC really makes a big difference and it took a while for me to figure that out.
Bob_The_Mighty wrote:Why would you not reload from a manual save game rather than starting over?
I got in the habit of never ever reloading or restarting. The berserker in the dwarf town learned me a valuable lesson. Now I liberally use the reload button. I guess it is ok, but it required me to change my attitude. All part of learning to play the new game, I suppose.
Bob_The_Mighty wrote:Can you tell me which scenarios this happened to you on? We'd like to balance the turn limits.
The first time I went to Farrow, I lost due to turn limit. But I was under-leveled and did not have any followers. When I went there with money to recall a healer, a follower and much stronger heroes I could beat the scenario really easy in about half the max turns. Now I know how difficult the scenario is and I will never run into trouble there again.

So yeh, most of the 'issues' I had where from inexperience. I now know how to make money buying/selling items etc.
Now I am on the black blade quest :P.

Oh and one last thing: The nagas don't attack most of the time. They just sit there in the water and I have to press end turn a bunch of time till I can continue. Probably the AI that is not tuned for these scenarios (traveling the world map and getting interrupted by nagas).

About the bug:
On line 65 of main.cfg this line is missing:

Code: Select all

		{~add-ons/The_Altaz_Mariners/units/khalifate}
klein_atuin
Posts: 27
Joined: March 28th, 2009, 1:42 pm

Re: The Altaz Mariners - finally finished!

Post by klein_atuin »

great one, lucky You finished it!

now i'd like to finish ist too, but...

besides i finished only about half of the subquests (obviously i often miss some detail. it's pretty dungeon styled with some of the strange effects i don't like about dungeons. like one even has to move to points / npc following the correct order, otherwise items simply don't appear).

...the point is: i got totally stuck in solent's tower. thought the key might unlock another door, but like your keys often do, it simply vanished after using once (strange keys indeed, mine don't, i always put them back into my pocket).

i hope i don't miss an item, i should have picked years before ;)
marvalis
Posts: 40
Joined: August 16th, 2010, 3:56 am

Re: The Altaz Mariners - finally finished!

Post by marvalis »

klein_atuin wrote:stuck in solent's tower.
I kinda looked at the code to figure that one out, I got stuck there too.
Spoiler:
klein_atuin
Posts: 27
Joined: March 28th, 2009, 1:42 pm

Re: The Altaz Mariners - finally finished!

Post by klein_atuin »

Spoiler:
:)
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