Galaxy Forge Complaints, Concerns, and Requests

Just release Galaxy Forge to the OPEN SOURCE community and it'll happen   It can only help Sins in terms of player interest and exposure.

Make it more memory efficient. It bogs down to the point of crashing with 400+ objects. I think it's due to it copying the image file over and over instead of drawing it from one source like it should, but that just a guess. If you can add a Z-axis to that game maps add it in here as well.

And no, don't release it open source. Even though I'm for it, I think Ironclad should retain some measure of control over it.

Honestly the only thing they can really add to the tool itself is to fix a crash that happens on the IfPlayerIsRace condition and allow Pirate and RandomMilitia owners (though undo would be nice as well). Most other limitations are because of the game files it uses (an incomplete GalaxySenarioDef file and the map files themselves, which cannot support many of the features people dream of the GalaxyForge having). This means that the game itself needs to be changed to do anything more, not just change the tool.

Edit: For example

This is impossible because the map files do not support precise placing on the Z-axis, all Z-axis locations are randomly determined when the game is built (though within certain parameters so that overlaps are less likely). Anything with resource asteroids also falls in this category.

Z-axis would be nice, but really what I would love to see is an "undo / back" option. It'd be very useful when there are times where you're trying to make a phase connection... Only to accidentally move a planet and thus screw things up badly. Allowing Pirate and RandomMilita to be planet owners would be nice as well, seeing as it has been done before via the GalaxyScenDef file, and would make for some nice maps.

I also agree with goafan77's request to fix the crash that happens EVERY TIME  on IfPlayerIsRace and also add the IfPlayerIsRaceQuickstart AND IfPlayerIsRaceNormalStart.

this crash has been happening ever since the release of  version 3 to coincide with the mapformat 3

harpo

it is my understanding that the purpose of GalaxyForge is to permit individuals without programming experience to create custom playable maps. to this end GF has only made it halfway to being user friendly.

1- some form of undo.

2- a copy function, when i create maps that i want to be perfectly balanced (ie, four players start in 4 different systems each with the exact same planets in the exact same locations) i have to recreate the same system multiple times, as oppose to create it once and copy to multiple locations.

3- either create a guide/manual to actually explain this template stuff or strip it down without the boolean logic tests and programmers syntax mess. I have been searching the forums to solve one simple task and i have yet to see the answer that doesnt involve reprogramming in the txt files. I create the non-owned planets and they come with an assortment of militia fighters but i cannot create planets of colonized militia. All of the forum posts start going off about template programming and syntax pits and none make sense. I know the game is able to do it because the standard randoms have planets that i militia colonies. I dont care about specifying this unit or that unit i just want them to colonize.

4- a lock function on the planets and stars. i set up the stars and all the planets and place them precisely in the locations i want them to be in, then when it is time to add the phase lanes and you are clicking around because of mouse sensitivities the planets shift slightly and i have to go back and reposition them

maybe control over access to research and/or how far down the tech tree a player has

Make the rest of the ships and structures placeable.

Thanks for the feedback guys, we'll see what we can do to bring GF up to snuff.

this might be impossible but maybe make it so it looks in the mod file for active mods and adds the planets,races and ships to wherever they are in the editor

 make it so you can create new planets from bits and pieces of others or combine to planet such as a terran and a ice in the same system and the can both be colonized and you can add the combined amount of structures to it????

and yes make a guide please i dont know and cant figure out how to use the editor

also is rebellion going to be as mod friendly as diplomacy????

It should be, its running off of the same engine as all the others.

Copy and paste the mod's galaxysenariodef file into the galaxy forge folder. That's all you need to do.

And now that I realize this post is by a stardock employee (you should really have that stardock badge in the original post), please do expand the GalaxySenarioDef file so that mapmakers can add all the game objects without using a mod. We've already done the file work, just please put it in the official release (both in the new galaxy forge and the game). 

Holy cow--I may fall out of my chair.

This would be most righteous Stardock dudes!

Roll the new Galaxy Forge back and just figure out how to add wormhole connections.  First was fine, second sort of bleh.

Yes, setting max tech level or even starting tech level would be nice.  Would help people who want to create 'campainesque' maps.  tier 0-1 max for maps 0-2, tier 3 max for another, and so on.

Having Militias respawn after a set period if planet not colonized would be nice or setting militias to explore and colonize, but that's more of a game feature than forge.

semazralan, for the militias recolonising, all you need in the militia is a colony frigate or colony cap in the militia, but if you mean after wiping out the militia and NOT colonising the gw then the militia slowly reform, then that would be interesting

harpo

He means both. As for the Militias going out and colonzing, it has been done before. Teal_Blue did a mod that had that in there IIRC pre-Entrenchment. It got really hard on the CPU after a while.

add an undo/redo feature

make planet management easier, allow a group of plants to be selected and dragged

just make the interface prettier, make it pink, add flowers and hearts, etc.

making a valentines planet wouldnt hurt either.

Oh yeah--can you guys come up with  a simple fix to allow background images to be added and changed to the galaxy forge display?  Would be great for precisely placing map objects.

you know what would be great? make it despense bacon. that would be amazing, a baconforge. with real bacon.

On the proposed copy/paste suggestion; I was thinking a few days ago and realized, that in the GF right-clicking is unused, is it not? If so, one possible way to implement a copy/paste function, is to code it so that when a star is right clicked, the star and everything inside of it is copied, and when one right-clicks outside of a star's radius, that the copied star and it's contents are pasted.

That would help Lavo but I would rather just be able to band box and drag contents / copy and paste whole contents which includes multiple selected stars. Lets thing big here.

big like BACON!!!

I hope your bacon burns!

I already can weasel a lame image in the background and the stars use image files.  Just need one that lies in a background layer and isn't clickable.

 A text edit capability for code snippets would be great.  If a template or world  needs a tweak, being able to type it in a GF editor would be perfect.

I'd be happy with just this...and maybe animated space ponies as a background video.