To Lands Unknown 3.9

Discussion and development of scenarios and campaigns for the game.

Moderator: Forum Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
inferno8
Art Contributor
Posts: 974
Joined: February 18th, 2008, 5:32 pm
Location: The Abyss

Re: To Lands Unknown 3.5.6

Post by inferno8 »

The year 2021 was very successful for To Lands Unknown (4 major releases!). What about 2022? it is a good time to inform you about my TLU/EoMa plans for the near future.

tlu-deco-horizontal.jpg
tlu-deco-horizontal.jpg (14.41 KiB) Viewed 4261 times
TLU TODO for 2022+ (in no particular order):
  • interactive (hybrid) mode - decide how to act in various situations, mix events from normal and badass mode by making choices, create your own unique story (DROPPED THE IDEA);
  • spectator (lazy) mode - why play when you can watch? Grab some popcorn and let the campaign play itself for you, literally (not that important - low priority);
  • major ai overhaul - implement some experimental solutions to make the campaign even more interesting to play (not that important - low priority);
  • restoration of the original 1.x ending as an optional final scenario with many improved features - turn against your allies and steal their holy relic to fulfill the promise you made to your people. But you'll have to deal with a powerful boss first! (scheduled for 3.8)
  • make fire in Mag-Magar fully animated (COMPLETED v3.5.8);
  • improve Siege of Kharos terrain (COMPLETED v3.7);
  • improve North Pole terrain (DROPPED);
  • enable custom AMLAs and summon options for Rashti(COMPLETED v3.6);
  • an official TLU trailer
  • crowdfunding? (more on that later)
What is missing from the list? A potential TLU core as well as new campaigns set in the universe of Era of Magic. Recently I've been testing the 'cores' feature of BfW and it worked surprisingly well with EoMa/TLU. It allowed me to implement my own main menu background and free the campaign selection screen of Wesnoth-related stuff. The problem is having only one campaign set in EoMa universe makes the whole idea of developing a dedicated core an overkill at this point (in my opinion). But I am going to return to this idea in the future, as I still consider 'cores' a very interesting feature of the game.

Speaking of other campaigns, I have ideas for three/four of them, one being a mini-campaign. All will require large amounts of work, that's why I'll probably be looking for assistants and maybe even crowdfund such potential projects. The latter may be especially difficult because the golden age of BfW is unfortunately a thing of the past. Times change. But it would be great to see people donate to projects they want to play from their favorite UMC creators. This could be beneficial for both sides and help the game in the long run. Creators could get additionally motivated and players could engage in supporting high quality content they love. But I am afraid we are not big enough as a community to make something like this profitable enough given the current state of things.

So what about that new content/campaigns set in the world of To Lands Unknown?
As I said, this is quite an undertaking to make something like TLU, even on a smaller scale. And it would probably require crowdfunding at some point, which I consider risky at the moment. I might reconsider this though, based on your feedback. What I know for sure is that in this year I am going to focus on improving TLU by completing things from my TODO list. And I am pretty sure, you'll love all the upcoming additions.

The good thing is that working on TLU I can test and verify various ideas, some of which might be later used in future projects. For example the interactive world map (which came with TLU 3.2) shall become a standard in all my potential projects in the future. The same goes to multihex terrain (TLU 1.0), animated cutscenes (TLU 2.0) as well as 'special' gameplay modes offering an alternate story progression (TLU 3.1). This means that if I finally decide to make a new content, it will be developed much faster than TLU.

Someone on Discord said that it is very much a commitment to get into Wesnoth and that the game lacks stuff that pulls people in. But we still have that framework, which is quite easy to master compared to (far more powerful, but at the same time far more difficult to learn) commercial game engines like Unity and Unreal. I believe that with a clever promotion of UMC and modding capabilities of this game, BfW can still shine brightly in these new times. Especially that it is a free and fun to play title.

My ultimate goal is to use To Lands Unknown to promote Battle for Wesnoth not only as a game but as a framework with which we develop our content. This may require a creation of a trailer for the add-on. To make that happen all visual improvements have to be implemented first.

I think that's it for now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Last edited by inferno8 on September 4th, 2022, 8:26 am, edited 7 times in total.
Creator of Era of Magic
Creator of To Lands Unknown

Support me on Ko-fi! https://ko-fi.com/inferno8
User avatar
inferno8
Art Contributor
Posts: 974
Joined: February 18th, 2008, 5:32 pm
Location: The Abyss

Re: To Lands Unknown 3.5.7

Post by inferno8 »

To Lands Unknown 3.5.7 is now available!
This release fixes some minor issues in the last two combat scenarios. The most notable change is that players can finally undo Mehir's moves in S22 and S23.

Full changelog:

Code: Select all

Version 3.5.7

- General
	* it is now possible to undo Mehir's moves in S22 and S23
	* Last Summoner's melee attacks are now magical
	* a unit equipped with the Amulet of Metamorph becomes loyal
	* fixed typos
	* updated the ART_LICENSE

- Scenarios
	> scenario 22 - North Pole:
		* fixed a bug where units acquired from leveling up Dimensional Gates wouldn't become loyal
	> scenario 23 - Ruins:
		* fixed a bug where units acquired from leveling up Dimensional Gates wouldn't become loyal
		* Fire Elementals created via Dimensional Gates are now taken into account for the Fire Elemental limit
		* widened the gates leading to the battery by removing 2 impassable hexes when Mehir enters the reactor room
		* added more illuminated hexes
		* changed the music track for the final confrontation
		* all labels are now removed when Mehir successfully teleports
		* Mehir, Rashti and Glomin move in front of the battery once they get back
	> scenario 24 - Epilogue:
		* fixed a bug where some parts of frozen terrain would remain on map after the portal's closure

- Translations
	* updated the raw translation file
	* updated the Polish translation
Creator of Era of Magic
Creator of To Lands Unknown

Support me on Ko-fi! https://ko-fi.com/inferno8
User avatar
Mechanical
Posts: 341
Joined: June 29th, 2015, 4:11 pm
Location: Russia

Re: To Lands Unknown 3.5.7

Post by Mechanical »

Many years ago I started Wesnoth ver. 1.10. Downloaded TLU. Launched it. Black screen. Inferno8 studios presents.

And suddenly a tremendous 3D city, inspiring music, a mage's intrusion, guards led by Mehir go into battle! That day I was struck by the dynamism and atmosphere of this campaign. I complete it in full several times, I admired the world created by inferno, I was wondering about every faction and I empathized with the characters. It was a wonderful consistent fantasy work in Wesnoth.

Year 2022. I turn on TLU again. Room, Mehir yawns. Goes the city, elementals are sold on the market. Rides with a girl, crashes, a great jinni begs a coin for an augury. Mehir comes to the guards, they are drunk, one even is absent. And here the story starts.

I'm confused. What is that ugly post-irony parody? Start replaying.

A girly screech of Jaffar, inflatable ducks in the pool, a falling bath, Ums juggling golems, some "funny" miraculously survived dwarf. The end.

I'm shocked. A great number of ugly post-irony gimmicks were added in the campaign. But I feel something is missing. And I start to understand - the atmosphere.

Inferno, you didn't understand yourself how you distorted TLU.

I know you want good for Wesnoth. You want to use TLU and your graphical breakthrough in order to advertise Wesnoth and make it more popular. But in the process of it you're killing your own creation.

TLU is turning into a hollow pop parody of itself. You've poisoned its content with post-irony. The atmosphere of the world is disappearing. The story is no longer taken seriously (I know that initially TLU didn't care about the story and so on, but still on 1.10 this simple story was good and interesting). This is no that feeling of a great journey to unknown lands. It gets replaced with a flavour of a pops story where everything isn't serious but very funny.

At the same time the form of TLU (revolutionary graphics) starts to retreat in itself and detaches from reality. 3D starts looking out of place in Wesnoth. Especially it concerns the episode with the hand of Nomolas. Perspective isn't good there for Wesnoth, and an animation of the hand from a good semi-2D with sound effects, which looked suitable and cool in Wesnoth, turned into a so-so-ish silent 3D, which looks embarrassing.

TLU is poisoned and mutates. With each new update it turns more and more into a hollow pops graphic-rich ad of Wesnoth for zoomers. You're trying to turn a good campaign in the whole Wesnoth 2.0 and put everything at once in there (graphics, rpg, non-rpg, jokes, post-irony, story, your world). The campaign cant hold that, turns into God knows what. And that hurts me a lot.

You wanted your art to be up-to-date again. You wanted to attract attention to Wesnoth. But why have you chosen such a way and distorted your own creation?
My art thread
If you like my art, try The Great Steppe Era!
Also try my Rage (16+) drakes slasher campaign!
Join the Wesnoth Modders Guild community!
User avatar
inferno8
Art Contributor
Posts: 974
Joined: February 18th, 2008, 5:32 pm
Location: The Abyss

Re: To Lands Unknown 3.5.7

Post by inferno8 »

Hello Mechanical. Long time no see. And thanks for the criticism ;)
Mechanical wrote: February 9th, 2022, 12:34 pm I'm shocked. A great number of ugly post-irony gimmicks were added in the campaign. But I feel something is missing. And I start to understand - the atmosphere.
I think the atmosphere is still there, a lot of new things just got added. I am fully aware that these new additions may disturb players seeking serious stuff. That's why I've been moving all crazy things to the alternative (less serious) gameplay mode (and believe me - a lot of players think that badass mode is something really cool). The process hasn't been completed yet and your current story criticism is a proof of that. There are still some things that need to be moved. With the new "interactive" mode (hopefully coming this year), you'll be able to tailor your own kind of atmosphere for your playthrough. :)
Mechanical wrote: February 9th, 2022, 12:34 pm At the same time the form of TLU (revolutionary graphics) starts to retreat in itself and detaches from reality. 3D starts looking out of place in Wesnoth.
The art style of the campaign differs from everything Wesnoth has to offer, that's true. But if it was a bad thing or completely out-of-place, TLU wouldn't be featured in the official Battle for Wesnoth trailer ;) Some prefer pure pixel art, others play AAA 3D only games and that's completely fine. I know I can't please everyone. What matters to me, is that all those large-scale graphics (be it 3D or not) are possible in this game and they offer a unique gameplay experience. This is my take on Wesnoth, my pioneering contribution to the project and I am happy with it.
Mechanical wrote: February 9th, 2022, 12:34 pmYou're trying to turn a good campaign in the whole Wesnoth 2.0 and put everything at once in there (graphics, rpg, non-rpg, jokes, post-irony, story, your world). The campaign cant hold that, turns into God knows what
TLU has been an experimental add-on since the very beginning. This means I've been using it to test different (sometimes very unconventional) things. Despite this fact, I know many people, who absolutely love this add-on in its current form. (EDIT: Just checked the add-ons server and TLU is the second most popular campaign for 1.16, so I guess it cannot be *that* bad after all). Don't forget TLU is still under development. Your opinion strengthens my conviction that some things could be done better. Thanks for that! :D
Creator of Era of Magic
Creator of To Lands Unknown

Support me on Ko-fi! https://ko-fi.com/inferno8
User avatar
iridium137
Posts: 23
Joined: October 27th, 2013, 12:48 am

Re: To Lands Unknown 3.5.7

Post by iridium137 »

I don't know what "post-irony" means, but I just wanted to say that I had no problems with the story.
gnombat
Posts: 669
Joined: June 10th, 2010, 8:49 pm

Re: To Lands Unknown 3.5.7

Post by gnombat »

iridium137 wrote: February 12th, 2022, 7:03 pm I don't know what "post-irony" means
From Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-irony wrote:... a term used to denote a state in which earnest and ironic intents become muddled.
User avatar
inferno8
Art Contributor
Posts: 974
Joined: February 18th, 2008, 5:32 pm
Location: The Abyss

Re: To Lands Unknown 3.5.8

Post by inferno8 »

To Lands Unknown 3.5.8 is out!
tlu-3.5.8-promo.gif
tlu-3.5.8-promo.gif (732.59 KiB) Viewed 3913 times
Ever since I started modding BfW, I've always wanted to make large-scale fire animations. The goal wasn't that easy to accomplish for me back in 2010s but now this dream of mine has become a reality. I present you 24fps animated multihex fire effects. They are in fact looped particle systems rendered on selected portions of terrain. Of course Wesnoth doesn't support such advanced graphical features, so I had to convert all such effects to flat animations and it worked surprisingly well! One could even say, these fire visuals are like ...windmill animations on steroids :lol: Because they are considered terrain animations, you can easily disable them in Preferences->Display.
I currently implemented 5 large-scale fire animations. I may add more but first I'd like to know how it affects performance on your machines. If you find scrolling through the Siege of Mag-Magar scenario difficult because of lag, let me know.

Thanks to the recent feedback I moved some crazy and/or inappropriate events to badass mode. I realized it is much better to slowly ease people into TLU's strange humor instead of forcing them to witness its wild side straight up. But the inflated flamingos, swimming pools and jinn waiters stay! :lol: Summoners in al-Kamija are living in an utopian paradise, so all these things act as a way to communicate this fact to players and I am going to leave it unchanged.

Apart from the above, TLU internals have undergone a serious lifting. Most variables are now cleared when no longer needed, so this change should positively affect performance and size of save files. But some unexpected things may still happen due to that 'improvement'. If you encounter bugs, drop me a line.
Also I managed to add short descriptions to all events, so it is now easier to tell which event does what instead of studying code.

That's all for now. The next major 3.6 update will probably feature the restored original ending along with the interactive mode I mentioned in one of my previous posts, so stay tuned for more news! :D

Code: Select all

Version 3.5.8

- General
	* blue dots are now used to visualize 'teleport movement' on the world map
	* fixed spelling of 'rashti
	* added a description for Citizen
	* improved the Last Summoner's description
	* fixed typos

- Scenarios
	> scenario 01 - Highest Tiers:
		* made Alib dialog badass mode exclusive
	> scenario 04 - Southern Nations:
		* added 24fps waterfall animation
	> scenario 05 - Jungle of Life:
		* Jaffar screams like a girl only in badass mode
	> scenario 08 - Ka-Gatta:
		* renamed Semir (the first master of Rashti'rhami) to Samir
	> scenario 12 - Siege of Mag-Magar:
		* implemented 24fps animated fire fx for Mag-Magar
	> scenario 14 - Tar-Tabar:
		* renamed Samir (the Instructor) to Semir
	> scenario 21 - Sky Dock:
		* move a portion of a dialog to badass mode
	> scenario 23 - Ruins:
		* fixed units being visible on top of the battery after the circle activation
		* Ums playing with a golem appear only in badass mode 

- Code
	* added short descriptions to all events
	* removed unused events and duplicates
	* dropped support for older BfW versions
	* removed unused terrain
	* project-wide code cleanup
	* most variables are now cleared when no longer needed

- Translations
	* updated the raw translation file
	* updated the Polish translation
Creator of Era of Magic
Creator of To Lands Unknown

Support me on Ko-fi! https://ko-fi.com/inferno8
Baerchna
Posts: 1
Joined: February 21st, 2019, 9:19 pm

Re: To Lands Unknown 3.5.8

Post by Baerchna »

Hello inferno8 (&Team?),

I just played TLU for the very first time. It's been like 10 years since i've touched Wesnoth for more than one playsession. Normally i just install it for a few quick shot of nostalgia every other year, play a short campaign or a few skirmishes. But this time i felt adventurous and installed just the first custom campaign that sprung into my eye - which happened to be TLU.

I am completely blown away by your work. For me, this campaign has elevated Wesnoth from that little nostalgia itch, that i'll scratch for a bit and then not think about for years, to something i've actually looked forward to playing all week. And when i finished my first playthrough, i jumped right into badass mode to see what that was about.

Thanks for your work, i'll definitely keep an eye on this and other releases that may come.
Major_Swampy
Posts: 175
Joined: June 26th, 2019, 2:20 pm

Re: To Lands Unknown (1.14 Branch)

Post by Major_Swampy »

Finally, I just finished this campaign on Wesnoth 1.14.16 and also I will miss Mehir and Rashti. Now I'm bringing my overall stats:
Spoiler:
But my actual complaints is:
- Some of the scenario objectives lacking defeat condition details athough can be triggered.
- IDK if it's just me or in last two scenarios; when recruiting or recalling units, everytime freezes for a while (but not having crashes the game). Maybe that was caused by Summoning Circle Animation from Lvl 5 Mehir.

But lastly, thanks for this great campaign, TLU creator. I really like this one. :D
Sorry for my english, I'm not english native.
Regards, Swampy.

(Already mastered the LotI as 4 times until the end, so wanna me to play it again!?)
User avatar
inferno8
Art Contributor
Posts: 974
Joined: February 18th, 2008, 5:32 pm
Location: The Abyss

Re: To Lands Unknown 3.6

Post by inferno8 »

To Lands Unknown 3.6 has been released!
...together with To Lands Unknown - Resources pt.1 (v.2.0), which is essential for this update to work.

The biggest feature of this update is the unlocked summon ability for Rashti. Yes, she can now summon some elementals and Rhamis! :D This small change should make TLU battles even more interesting.

To Lands Unknown - Resources pt.1 v.2.0 despite the big version number change, doesn't bring anything huge, but I changed the internal structure of this dependency add-on and renamed many of its files, so be sure to download it too. Otherwise most terrain images won't load.

I haven't thoroughly tested this particular version (I usually play full runs to verify all changes, but didn't have enough time for this one), so if you find any bugs, let me know.

Major_Swampy wrote: April 14th, 2022, 5:33 pm - IDK if it's just me or in last two scenarios; when recruiting or recalling units, everytime freezes for a while (but not having crashes the game). Maybe that was caused by Summoning Circle Animation from Lvl 5 Mehir.
Yeah, this is a known issue and that circle animation is partially responsible for this. In 1.16 the performance should be slightly better.
Major_Swampy wrote: April 14th, 2022, 5:33 pm Finally, I just finished this campaign on Wesnoth 1.14.16 and also I will miss Mehir and Rashti.
Congratulations! You should definitely try TLU on 1.16 one day - it got a few massive massive updates in 2021 + new content. I highly recommend it, you won't be disappointed. :)
Baerchna wrote: March 26th, 2022, 1:40 am For me, this campaign has elevated Wesnoth from that little nostalgia itch, that i'll scratch for a bit and then not think about for years, to something i've actually looked forward to playing all week.
Thanks! I'm glad you liked the campaign :D Someone said to me not so long ago, that TLU was like playing another game, but in the same time, playing the old Wesnoth. I think it best describes the add-on in its current form.

Full changelog:

Code: Select all

Version 3.6

- General
	- Rashti and True Rashti can now summon elementals and Rhamis

- Scenarios
	> scenario 04 - Southern Nations:
		* restored Jaffar's line of dialog about hearing voices
	> scenario 23 - Ruins
		* fixed a bug where the teleportation circle would not require all of its points to be connected with each other to auto-complete itself
- Code
	* changed terrain paths to match the new folder structure of To Lands Unknown - Resources pt.1 (v2.0)
	* renamed terrain macros and image paths to match the new numbering of terrain images in To Lands Unknown - Resources pt.1 (v2.0)
	* added the TLU abbreviation to all terrain macros
	* removed unused parameters from map files
	* added the immortal trait for True Rashti and her halves

- Translations
	* updated the raw translation file
	* updated the Polish translation
Creator of Era of Magic
Creator of To Lands Unknown

Support me on Ko-fi! https://ko-fi.com/inferno8
User avatar
CodingJellyfish
Posts: 1
Joined: March 24th, 2022, 10:00 am

Re: To Lands Unknown 3.6

Post by CodingJellyfish »

I’m making a full Chinese translation but I found it hard. I only translated 25% after 10 days of hard work. I need help.
https://www.transifex.com/pcpss/TLUC/dashboard/
User avatar
inferno8
Art Contributor
Posts: 974
Joined: February 18th, 2008, 5:32 pm
Location: The Abyss

Re: To Lands Unknown 3.6

Post by inferno8 »

CodingJellyfish wrote: May 4th, 2022, 3:20 pm I’m making a full Chinese translation but I found it hard. I only translated 25% after 10 days of hard work. I need help.
https://www.transifex.com/pcpss/TLUC/dashboard/
Hello CodingJellyfish :) The most recent Chinese translation was made by Xara in 2015 for TLU v.1.7.1 so it is *very* outdated. But you may want to contact Xara directly to ask for help. He was last seen here in 2021, so there is still a chance you might contact him successfully.
Creator of Era of Magic
Creator of To Lands Unknown

Support me on Ko-fi! https://ko-fi.com/inferno8
User avatar
inferno8
Art Contributor
Posts: 974
Joined: February 18th, 2008, 5:32 pm
Location: The Abyss

Re: To Lands Unknown 3.6

Post by inferno8 »

It's been some time since TLU got a big update. The reason for this is that I've been busy working on new content for Era of Magic for the last few months and didn't have enough time to work on the campaign. Since the beginning of 2022, EoMa has received a lot of new units and more are on their way. This is actually a great news for us all, because the world of EoMa/TLU is becoming more diverse than ever before! :D

Speaking of TLU I am planning to release it on 1.17.x add-ons server soon to help BfW developers test new rendering features planned for 1.18+.

Also, I have something very special for all Rashti fans out there. A person going by the nickname Vekinet gave me permission to share with you some really cool fanart! Thanks Vekinet! :D
You can get the high-resolution versions of these two absolutely awesome images by clicking on their thumbnails below:
Attachments
true_rashti.jpg
rashti.jpg
Creator of Era of Magic
Creator of To Lands Unknown

Support me on Ko-fi! https://ko-fi.com/inferno8
User avatar
Heindal
Posts: 1343
Joined: August 11th, 2011, 9:25 pm
Location: Germany, Karlsruhe
Contact:

Re: To Lands Unknown 3.6

Post by Heindal »

Yeah, this fan-art is awesome.
The future belongs to those, who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Developer of: Trapped, Five Fates, Strange Legacy, Epical, UR Epic Era
Dungeonmasters of Wesnoth, Wild Peasants vs Devouring Corpses, Dwarf Dwarfson Dwarvenminer
User avatar
Tezereth
Posts: 45
Joined: February 20th, 2021, 12:45 pm
Location: Somewhere in Ruald

Re: To Lands Unknown 3.6

Post by Tezereth »

That's easily the best thing I saw today
It's just so awesome!
Occasional Sprite animator, and maker of the following add-ons :
Warfare of far lands (1.16)
Post Reply