To Lands Unknown 3.9

Discussion and development of scenarios and campaigns for the game.

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shevegen
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Re: To Lands Unknown, S9 - Siege of Mag-Magar (Normal)

Post by shevegen »

I am replaying this campaign on normal and I am having some difficulties with this scenario.

I do not mind that it is one of the harder scenarios, but there are a few annoyances IMO:

- The great djinni has a tendency to suicide-run. Would be nice if his AI could be limited
to be a bit more conservative, or be close to the main summoner ally and the living gate.

From 3-4 reloads, 2 were fine and in the other 2 he just solo suicided forward. May help
if he has more units nearby but he seems too eager a beaver. This is only a slight
concern.

- One thing that annoys me a lot more is that allied units block me. It is ok if this unit
can fight but there are some worker/fodder units that just stand in the way. This
prevents me from moving quickly e. g. to the west (where there is less pressure
normally). Can these worker units either all escape to the south east part, or
alternative a few more fighter units? I hate that low hp units that are poisoned
but can not really deal damage block my path. This is probably my biggest annoyance
with this scenario, the useless worker units. At the least womean and children
should flee to SAFETY, away from combat, rather than stand about. Yes, there
are some other units that may prevent escape, I get it, but they are literally
everywhere anyway, and the bottom right corner is by far the best place to be
at.

- In general the map is hard to navigate. I understand that this is by design
but still it would be nice if the map ever is reworked, to perhaps make it a
TINY bit bigger (1 - 2 tiles only) and to allow for perhaps 1 or 2 more ways
to go. I understand that blocking the central part is important for the storyline,
but in the early stage everything is so clogged up that one can not really
do much at all other than stand and fight.

Note that a part of the above issues come from the allied units. This is a
continuing annoyance in wesnoth that the AI has this tendency to cause
more damage to the allied player indirectly.

- Poison is also annoying on the map. I get that you should have water
elementals before going there, no issue with that, but sometimes it is
hard to reach them. Would be nice if there could be some kind of
relaxing healing fountain on one tile or so, at the least just to get rid
of the poison. Something like on the bottom right or so, then a magic
carpet could fly there, and next turn or so fly north and help.

Note that these are minor issues. It's still the best campaign by far;
all who worked on it should really plan to do a new campaign, perhaps
one that fits more towards wesnoth main story but continues to tell
more storylines. Like "old grog and many other old heros have to
go back to stand united against a common enemy once again". Anyway
that's it for now.

Edit: Again one of those 4x2 fist unit is moving forward and blocking
the path. If the AI can not be changed so they run away or if we
can not get a better unit, can we at the least kill them? They literally
cause more damage to my army trying to move than the enemy. It's
almost hilarious like being stuck in traffic.
Last edited by Konrad2 on June 20th, 2022, 11:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Moved because it was posted at the wrong topic
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inferno8
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Re: To Lands Unknown 3.6

Post by inferno8 »

Hello shevegen :)
shevegen wrote: June 20th, 2022, 10:22 am - The great djinni has a tendency to suicide-run. Would be nice if his AI could be limited
to be a bit more conservative, or be close to the main summoner ally and the living gate
Yeah, I've noticed that too. I am going to improve the Mystical Jinni's AI to make him more useful. Because it is an extremely powerful unit, he will surely make things easier for players struggling with the scenario. ;)
shevegen wrote: June 20th, 2022, 10:22 am This is probably my biggest annoyance
with this scenario, the useless worker units.
You probably mean civilians. I totally agree with that. Currently they just try to run away from hostile units, but that's not enough. I'll try to change that in the next patch.
shevegen wrote: June 20th, 2022, 10:22 am In general the map is hard to navigate. I understand that this is by design
but still it would be nice if the map ever is reworked, to perhaps make it a
TINY bit bigger (1 - 2 tiles only) and to allow for perhaps 1 or 2 more ways
to go.
I hope that fixing the issues mentioned above will result in a better overall experience. Reworking the map would take too much time, which I'd like to spend on improving EoMa.
shevegen wrote: June 20th, 2022, 10:22 am Note that a part of the above issues come from the allied units. This is a
continuing annoyance in wesnoth that the AI has this tendency to cause
more damage to the allied player indirectly.
That issue is as old as Wesnoth itself. But luckily there are a lot of customizable AI parameters which can be used to improve the behavior of units in various situations.
shevegen wrote: June 20th, 2022, 10:22 am Would be nice if there could be some kind of
relaxing healing fountain on one tile or so, at the least just to get rid
of the poison. Something like on the bottom right or so, then a magic
carpet could fly there, and next turn or so fly north and help.
Spoiler:
As for a lone undamaged fountain - I'll think about it.
shevegen wrote: June 20th, 2022, 10:22 am It's still the best campaign by far;
all who worked on it should really plan to do a new campaign, perhaps
one that fits more towards wesnoth main story but continues to tell
more storylines.
I am glad you liked it. I'd love to create more content like this in the future, but designing such visually demanding campaigns is currently quite tricky and requires a lot of hacks. But I've heard that Wesnoth developers are working on some rendering improvements, which could make things a lot easier for me.

That's why I'd like to encourage all TLU fans to support Battle for Wesnoth development by donating here: https://liberapay.com/Wesnoth/donate
or by downloading the game through itch.io :)
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TAICHIHERO
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Re: To Lands Unknown 3.6

Post by TAICHIHERO »

i like to know what happens after this story line. if anyone has any problems defeating something. or if you're stuck use command debug. go use command next_level that will complete this scenery. or you can click a unit and use this command unit advances=100. or even click on empty hex next to your leader and create unit by right clicking. also, you can click on an enemy by right clicking on them and click on kill unit. this only works if debug is activated.
Viviziz
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Re: To Lands Unknown 3.6

Post by Viviziz »

Hello! I just registered in this forum, and my first message is for you, the great man!
(Sorry for my uncorrect language, im from Russia, and eng is not my mother language, but i prefer not to use any online translators)

THANK YOU for this campaign! I was playing it since the early wersions (by downloadind in the add-ons wesnoth list), i was growing up, getting mature with this campaign, this story always made me feel... like i want to live and like the life again? Don't know how to express that, even in russian.

THANK YOU! I'm really happy that this story continues its development (thank you for that!!), and really hope that one day i could touch the new story, where this universe (and Mehir, maybe?) will continue their journey!

No matter how long - i will watch through that story (that is wery important for me) and hope that it will never ends! No need to reply, just.... THANK YOU, and i hope you will accept my gratitude...

Wish you the best (more importantly - strenght and power and the mighty will to handle and achieve all the goals you want to achieve!)
saxo
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Re: To Lands Unknown, S5 - Ka-gatta (Badass)

Post by saxo »

Hi !
I'm unable to free my units trapped.
Some hints ?
Thks
Last edited by Konrad2 on August 22nd, 2022, 11:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Moved because it was posted at the wrong topic
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inferno8
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Re: To Lands Unknown 3.7

Post by inferno8 »

To Lands Unknown 3.7 has been released!
tlu-3.7.jpg

This major update includes a completely overhauled multihex visuals for one of the most iconic TLU scenarios: "Siege of Kharos". I spent month and a half working on special effects and details. I am pretty sure all reworked cinematic sequences will blow your minds. Here are some samples:
Spoiler:
This was probably the last large multihex terrain overhaul for TLU. I am very satisfied with the current look of all maps now.

Another cool feature of 3.7 is something I call an "interactive portrait". In short, if you let Mehir equip some of artifacts he finds during his journey, they will become visible on his portrait - his outfit will change to reflect that. Currently two such artifacts are supported: a magical cap and an enchanted armor. If Mehir equips them, you will see him wearing these items from now on. Here's an example:
Spoiler:
The code which allows this hasn't been thoroughly tested, so if you encounter any bugs, let me know.

Since the beginning of 2022 Era of Magic has received a ton of new units, that's why I decided to use these new EoMa units in TLU 3.7. This change is most visible when facing Tharis. They can now recruit Bladefuries, Mistresses of Pain and Frontliners all of which will make your battles much more interesting, diverse and fun to deal with.

The AI in Siege of Mag-Magar scenario has been improved based on the feedback I got from the community. Now civilians flee to safety and the Mystical Jinni tries to be more useful ("tries" is a very fitting word in this case :lol: ). Oh, and there are wells on the map, so healing poisoned units should be much easier now.

There are also some minor tweaks to other things. If you want to know all the details, see the full changelog below:
ChangeLog

Code: Select all

Version 3.7

- General
	* overhauled multihex terrain for S17 "Siege of Kharos"
	* Mehir's equipped artifacts are now visible on his portrait (the Ka-Gattan armor and the Cap of Power)

- Scenarios
	> scenario 12 - Siege of Mag-Magar
		* Tharis forces recruit new types of units now
		* civilians now try to flee to the lower right part of the map
		* Mystical Jinni tries to "cleverly" assassinate one of enemy leaders now instead of rushing into the battle mindlessly
		* added two wells acting like villages for convenience
		* fixed a glitch with incorrect fire animation playing in the upper left corner of the map
	> scenario 17 - Siege of Kharos
		* Tharis forces recruit new types of units now
	> scenario 19 - Sky Kingdom
		* made the crater in badass mode passable for flying units
		* the crater is no longer a halo, but a proper terrain_graphics map element
	> scenario 20 - Enlightenment
		* added a custom sound fx for globe animations

- Code
	* added the 7th art placeholder terrain ^Yyyx
	* renamed spear.png to spear-rhami.png to prevent conflicts with core

- Structure
	* moved the "sounds" folder from Resources 2 to the TLU base directory

- Translations
	* updated the raw translation file
	* updated the Polish translation
What's next? With all multihex maps overhauled, I am one step closer to finishing development of the add-on. Not gonna lie - I want to move forward, begin something new. I decided to scrap some ideas planned for 2022 like interactive (hybrid) mode because they are not that essential. You can check the updated TODO list here: viewtopic.php?p=671236#p671236

There will be one (and maybe the last) major TLU update in 2022. It will include the restored original ending (which will be available in form of an alternative ending for the badass mode). Then I'll start working on the official TLU trailer. When it's ready, I'll consider TLU complete and think about starting a brand new project. So yeah, wish me luck! ;)
Viviziz wrote: July 8th, 2022, 4:33 am THANK YOU! I'm really happy that this story continues its development (thank you for that!!), and really hope that one day i could touch the new story, where this universe (and Mehir, maybe?) will continue their journey!
Hello, Viviziz and thank you for the kind words :) I am glad you liked the story. I too hope we will soon have a chance to dive into this universe again. In the meantime I advise all TLU fans to spread the word about Battle for Wesnoth. Show this game to others, encourage them to try and play it. And if they aren't convinced enough, show them TLU and other UMC creations to change their minds. :eng:
saxo wrote: August 22nd, 2022, 7:13 pm I'm unable to free my units trapped.
Some hints ?
Hi saxo, you need to place units on all three "levers". Here are their locations, just place your units there:
Spoiler:
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Re: To Lands Unknown 3.7

Post by Lord-Knightmare »

I decided to scrap some ideas planned for 2022 like interactive (hybrid) mode because they are not that essential
I do suppose the game engine is not capable for the auto-play feature you mentioned earlier. Anyways, maybe with image-track and pyautogui in Python...it might be possible but it would require scripts for every level/outcome and recursively complex algorithmic code. So, I do agree with you on scrapping this ideation. It's not worth the 1000 hour code effort.
It will include the restored original ending (which will be available in form of an alternative ending for the badass mode).
FInally! Thank you for considering the restoration of the original ending.
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Heindal
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Re: To Lands Unknown 3.7

Post by Heindal »

So after a while I played this masterpiece again, two times - Normal and Bad-Ass. I played on used easy and if you don't have a problem with losing units seems manageable, even so the changes and plot twist sometimes makes it hard to predict things. It was still somewhat challenging. And yes, unfortunately I forgot some parts of the story and it was fun to discover them again.

I love the story and would like to compare it with at least Final Fantasy VIII.
The new artwork and animations worked smoothly and are a real improvement to this add-on.
There are still some story parts without pictures :eng: :P.

The bad-ass mode was fun. Especially when a scenario plays completely different. First I was shocked by the gid - gut joke, but it turned out to work smoothly reloading the game.


I also found some smaller bugs / odd behavior:

1. The message "WML array length changed during [foreach] iteration" appears several time. In the final battle with the generator it appears when you summon fire elemental. You can also have more fire elemental by recalling them.

The message appears in the bad-ass mode in the rescue mission (Fire Canyon), when the goblin leader is killed by his own minions at the end.
Both messages don't break the game, so it has just a small priority.

2. It appears that when you have an allied partner, that this ally needs a lot of time to make his move (even so when the game speed is set to fast). In "Defense of Saffaros" it at least helped to deactivate the rainfall. But I had the same problem in "Siege of Kharos" and especially in the endgame in "Ruins" (which was smoother when I played it a second time). Maybe it has something to do with animation of the destroyers. Overall it seemed that the bad-ass mode ran smoother than the original.

3. Odd behavior caused by rainfall? When having rainfall activated I attacked a hydra with a neutral summoner wielding the magical blade.
The attack took quite long to execute and it seemed that I could give orders to the other units, while the animation was still going. I may have found a specific combination, which causes this problem.

4. The allied Ai is aggressive and attacks without regret. Which isn't bad, but can cause some problems in higher difficulties.
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Re: To Lands Unknown 3.7

Post by inferno8 »

Lord-Knightmare wrote: September 4th, 2022, 3:29 am It will include the restored original ending (which will be available in form of an alternative ending for the badass mode).

FInally! Thank you for considering the restoration of the original ending.
The scenario will undergo some changes in order to make it more interesting and fun to play. For example I plan to make a very spectacular lvl5 boss battle. The multihex map is 80% complete. I'll post some screenshots soon. :)
Heindal wrote: September 18th, 2022, 10:15 am There are still some story parts without pictures
I am going to add more story pictures in the next major version which should hopefully arrive before Christmas.
Heindal wrote: September 18th, 2022, 10:15 am 1. The message "WML array length changed during [foreach] iteration" appears several time. In the final battle with the generator it appears when you summon fire elemental. You can also have more fire elemental by recalling them.
Hmm, I thought I'd fixed the fire elemental bug. :hmm: I'll investigate that soon. Thanks for reporting.
Heindal wrote: September 18th, 2022, 10:15 am 2. It appears that when you have an allied partner, that this ally needs a lot of time to make his move (even so when the game speed is set to fast). In "Defense of Saffaros" it at least helped to deactivate the rainfall. But I had the same problem in "Siege of Kharos" and especially in the endgame in "Ruins" (which was smoother when I played it a second time). Maybe it has something to do with animation of the destroyers. Overall it seemed that the bad-ass mode ran smoother than the original.
You are probably talking about the infamous EoMa/Wesnoth AI lag. Unfortunately I couldn't find the source of the problem. It might be related to the number of units present on a map or the way some unit abilities mess up AI calculations.
Heindal wrote: September 18th, 2022, 10:15 am 3. Odd behavior caused by rainfall? When having rainfall activated I attacked a hydra with a neutral summoner wielding the magical blade.
The attack took quite long to execute and it seemed that I could give orders to the other units, while the animation was still going. I may have found a specific combination, which causes this problem.
This sounds like a Wesnoth animation bug. I'll check it soon.
Heindal wrote: September 18th, 2022, 10:15 am 4. The allied Ai is aggressive and attacks without regret. Which isn't bad, but can cause some problems in higher difficulties.
Thanks for reporting. I will change that for the next version.

And thank you for the kind words Heindal. Once I have more time, I will definitely try your Strange Legacy! :D It has been on my list of things to play for some time now. And the current list of features is truly mind blowing. ;)
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Re: To Lands Unknown 3.7

Post by Pho »

Hello! I just got back into The Battle of Wesnoth and tried some fan-made stuff. I'm in love with this campaign! The art is so unique and everything feels like a breath of fresh air
Today I encountered a problem though, after the written intro the scenario Defense of Saffaros doesn't load and directly crashes the game. I'm playing on version 1.16.8 and I'm doing it on Steam
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Re: To Lands Unknown 3.7

Post by inferno8 »

Pho wrote: February 9th, 2023, 5:05 pm Hello! I just got back into The Battle of Wesnoth and tried some fan-made stuff. I'm in love with this campaign! The art is so unique and everything feels like a breath of fresh air
Thanks, I am glad you liked it!
Pho wrote: February 9th, 2023, 5:05 pm Today I encountered a problem though, after the written intro the scenario Defense of Saffaros doesn't load and directly crashes the game. I'm playing on version 1.16.8 and I'm doing it on Steam
That's strange. I just checked it and it works for me. Try disabling map animations in preferences before loading your last save:
display-preferences.jpg
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Re: To Lands Unknown 3.7

Post by Pho »

Sadly it did not work, I also tried eliminating all To lands unknown related add-ons and reinstalling them, but it did not solve the issue. Thank you for your fast reply, I really appreciated it!
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Re: To Lands Unknown 3.7

Post by gnombat »

Pho wrote: February 10th, 2023, 10:56 am Sadly it did not work, I also tried eliminating all To lands unknown related add-ons and reinstalling them, but it did not solve the issue. Thank you for your fast reply, I really appreciated it!
You could also try disabling sound (click "Sound" in the preferences and uncheck all the checkboxes) - that scenario does some strange things with audio.
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Re: To Lands Unknown 3.7

Post by Pentarctagon »

Checking the logs might help.
99 little bugs in the code, 99 little bugs
take one down, patch it around
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Re: To Lands Unknown 3.7

Post by inferno8 »

Good idea.

@Pho: Iirc, logs are stored in \Documents\My Games\Wesnoth1.16\logs (on Windows). There might be a few files there. Just send us the most recent one, if gnombat's solution doesn't work for you.
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