Gravity Engine - dev blog

[annikk.exe]

Following some careful testing with the new orbital debugging tools I created, I have determined that I am either making far far too fine adjustments to have any effect on the 7th interaction, or I have reached the limit of Lua's precision ability at 16 digits.

Pondering my next move...

[annikk.exe]

Well, here's the magic number.


0.606709620171838


That's it.  Found through trial and error.  As accurate as it's possible to be.

[annikk.exe]

So since I can specify with at maximum 15-decimal-place precision the course that the comets will take, I was forced to consider 2 different options to extend the orbital lifetime.

1.  I could make course adjustments each time the interaction counter increments.
2.  I could store the comet gravity variables at one interaction point, then restore them at a subsequent, very similar interaction point.


Both of these methods kind of feel like cheating, but after giving it some thought I have decided to try option 2 first, as it offers the quickest solution.  Hopefully I can make it look good enough that nobody but the most anally anal will notice the tiny jump the comets make in order to have an endless orbit...

If I can't make it look awesome, I will try course adjustments...

[annikk.exe]

Added the rest of the asteroids last night, and introduced a few more key level-specific mechanics.  Unfortunately for some reason it's crashing at the moment, I am not yet sure why.  Troubleshooting shall occur this evening.

Then I will add Infected AI..
Then I will modify it to use the comets..
Then I will fix all the bugs
Then I will balance it
And then it's finished :>

[annikk.exe]

All asteroids are in, all map-specific mechanics are in, Infected AI is in....just bugfixing and balancing to go.  :>

The map is currently 61kb.

[annikk.exe]

At 2600 lines, this new map will be the largest Eufloria level ever made.  Again.

I've been playing it a bit for testing, and it is really fun!  Good to see that element wasn't lost beneath the mountain of pioneering mechanics.. :>


Due to be released this weekend or next.

[annikk.exe]

I am tinkering with the AI engine to optimise it for moving asteroids.  Substantial beta testing will take place tonight.

Inhouse beta testing only.  Sorry would-be beta testers... I will do a public beta for the next map.


I am really proud of how this one is turning out.  I hope that you guys will love it!

[annikk.exe]

AI possibly sorted..

Beta testing in progress.  Wildly unbalanced but the AI just successfully wiped Smokey out, using huge armies carried from distant galaxies...  so that shows the AI works in one scenario, at least... :>

[Nightcro]

Wildly unbalanced but the AI just successfully wiped Smokey out, using huge armies carried from distant galaxies

GJ
Keep going!!

[annikk.exe]

I am now satisfied with the AI's ability to move seeds from galaxy to galaxy, via comets that fly past.

One aspect I am still not happy with is the AI's tendency to immedietely attack a second player asteroid, the moment he has captured the first.  He will not stay and defend his new acquisition even if the player has a huge seedling army there.

The desired behaviour would be for him to play more defensively once he's established a beach-head in a new galaxy.  He need only survive until the next wave of reinforcements arrive.


Some thorough beta testing last night helped to fix a few more bugs, or just aspects of the level that were annoying.

[annikk.exe]

Much more AI-tinkering last night.  Now displaying Correct Behaviour™  :>
It's so close to being finished!

[annikk.exe]

All the mechanics - AI included - work perfectly now.
We're doing final balancing and beta testing now, I am working closely with Smokey on this map - he has been beta testing like crazy and we have discussed the balancing of the map at length.  As I type this, he's playing the latest rebalance of the level.

Going to aim for a Medium-Hard sort of level of difficulty.  Level will be released very soon, tonight or tomorrow!

[annikk.exe]

So, now it's released and the first dozen or so people are playing it.

I am very tired.  I also have been neglecting my various other creative projects for a while now, and I'm about to move house...
In short, it will probably be at least a couple of months before I start work on a new map.  It would take something pretty impressive to top this one, at any rate..

Also I thought I would share with you guys, the original concept drawing for Infinity, which I sketched out late one night in MS Paint.  :>

[annikk.exe]

Also here is an extract from a log I kept whilst fine tuning the orbital path of the comets:

594 minimum on interaction 4 at 630 sec

it was about 240 on the wrong side.  i increased the density from 75 to 95


reduced it by 2


it was close, but didn't curve round far enough.


increased it by 3... now it's 966, up from 963.


that time it flung it too far round.

was 966, now 9659


that time it was _just_ on the wrong side


uhh..... ok, guess i'll try 9659 again

no change, new variable works good.

trying 96595


no big change.
need to try something drastic to get an idea which direction to push in.

i will try 96610


badly wrong direction.

trying drastic in the opposite direction then.  96580


no big change.  trying 96570


still no big change...weak....  trying 96550


STILL no big change... they might be a bit closer together though.
Trying 96350

oooh!! That made them collide!

Just a bit more...  trying 96330

Getting there now.  Need a little bit more tho.
Trying 96270

looking very good now.  but it's still a bit too much.
trying 96220


right, that was good.  4th interaction WORKS!!
after 2 more suns, the asteroid goes spinning up to the north-east asteroid instead of heading to the middle.
i have thought about it and reducing it further should fix this.  however, the increments must become small now.

trying 96210

ok that time they went more diagonal instead of straight up, so we are going in the right direction :>
maybe try reducing by roughly the same amount again...
so.... trying 96195

uh... i reduced it too much, i think...
trying 96205

still too much.  trying 96201

They collided!
Still too much.  96199?

Nope.  96198?

wrong side now.

trying 96208

correct side, but still far from each other.

trying 96207

still quite far from each other.  699 distance away

trying 96206

like 560 that time.  they got closer!

trying 96204

they got even closer that time, it seems.  started bending more.

trying 96203

ok they were only 100 or so away from each other that time!

962025

nope, needs to bend further.

96202

dude!! almost there!!!

trying 962015

looking good, that's a successful 5th interaction.  good job druids!
it comet is going the wrong way around sun #2 after the transitition, lowering a bit more to curve it around
trying 962005

that was too far - try 962014 next


they basically bounced off each other that time
14 is still bringing them too close together
so gonna try 149

trying 9620149


wrong!"!!! seedingn n00b druid

trying 96201495


trying 1520


stupid druid!!

trying 1510


nope, still landing on the wrong side of sun #2

trying 1503


ok i think i have been going in the wrong direction
now i will try 96201600


yeah i was indeed going in the wrong direction.  gradually increase the density to
bring the comets closer and closer to the first sun's corona

trying 96201675


that was good - first time with 5th interaction 2nd sun correct side!!

need to increase it slightly more
trying 96201705


today i will try 96201725

that seemed to work pretty good... but watch this one again when i wake up.
i'm not too sure whether need to increase or decrease at this point...too tired

ok.  it's morning now.  i have watched the interaction.
it sends it successfully around both suns, and into a 6th interaction!  This is
great news.  Good job druids.

Now I should set Fish Time to 1150.  that should wake me up just before the 2nd sun
prior to interaction 6.

Now, as to the value.  That time, they were slightly on the wrong side of each other
96201725 = slightly wrong side
lets try 96201721 and see if decreasing it slightly works well.

ok, that time they collided!  so that's going in the right direction, it seems.

Trying 96201713

ok, that was on the right side...but they didn't pass close enough to each other.
So I've gone a little too far.

Trying 96201717

they were close to each other that time... but need to be very slightly closer..

Trying 962017185

that produced a successful interaction.  watching the orbits...
ok it flung them a bit hard
they came a bit too close together i think

yeah

Eh, we need a new convention.
17185 before

they were being flung too hard, not getting close enough.
So i need the suns to make them cling closer, to prise them slightly further
apart during the interaction.  so i'll increase to 17188

still flings them rather hard.  lets see... yeah... he goes WAY round the first sun
he's not coming back anytime soon.

um, it's this counter-intuitive thing again... i need to decrease it
isntead of increasing it...

lets try 17182

this time they come a bit too close to the sun...
going straight through the middle of the corona, very close...
ok so i took it a bit too far.

try 171835


this curve looks more like it :>
went round the first sun nicely.  lets see how it lands on the second...

that makes it go all the way around, but they are comets fly on the wrong side
of one another on the next interaction.

lets try decreasing the value very carefully

try 171833

they were still on the wrong side from one another.  782 from the center at y = 0

trying 171838

woah.  OK.  that time they practically collided.  increasing seems the way forward !
still on the wrong side, sligthyl...
uh... setting a new fish timer of 1200
lets try 1718385


they were on the wrong side of each other by about 248


lets 1718405

that time they were over 2000 apart!
but on the right side, i think...
so lets try a much smaller increase...

1718388

ok, they were like 150 on the wrong side.

trying 1718394


ok...that time the interaction BEFORE didnt work... :S
they seemed to come on the right side, but far far too close
trying 1718388 again, just to confirm they have a successful first
interaction and come 150 on the wrong side on the second one


ok...yeah...it worked as described before.  hmmmmm....

guess i will try 1718389

that time it was 209 on the RIGHT side...

trying 17183887

was a little way on the wrong side

17183889

they pass close to each other on the right side, but not close enough...

171838885


they got within 206 of each other, in the right side...


ok, so seems like im reducing too slowly.

trying 171838865

that time they were wrong side

ok...
17183879

wrong side, by like 50...

171838881


that time they were on the right side, by like...tons...

so ah... 1718387925


wrong side, by about 50... >.<

171838798

wrong side, by bugger all, again.

giving up for tonight.



read over notes.  trying 171838883
also added interaction counter
proved game pausing doesnt affect asteroid orbits

interaction 5 works
interaction 6 seems to work..
interaction 7 fails - they are on the correct side but a bit too far
apart

ok, now should be easier to troubleshoot :>  try some new values when i
get back and lets see how we can steer it at interaction 7...


trying 171838888

interaction 6 works fine...
interaction 7

they were on the right side of each other, but 206 apart

need to find the distance after a change

trying 171838898

i have increased it by 10 basically
looking to see whether they are further apart than 206 this time
to figure out which direction to change in


....ok, that time they were 206 apart as well :/

trying 1718389

maybe i can get 1 more interaction to work...

correct side, 206 away...AGAIN

trying 171839

that causes them to be wildly too far apart, on the right side though.

so im guessing if i try 171837, which is the other side of the "most accurate
so far", it's going to be too much on the other side.

ok i haven't actually tried 171837
i guess i should try it, just to see what happens
this appears to be the very limit of the accuracy possible
good job all druids who participated in this project
we're at the end now.  lets confirm it.

Yes, I was going a bit crazy at the time.  :P

[annikk.exe]

Had an idea for a new level.