There hasn't been an update regarding Hydra in a while, so I figured I'd post the latest projections and talk a bit about what the new version will entail. As a reminder a more in depth look is available on my wikidot:
http://pr0nogo.wikidot.com/sc-hydra-ngsHydra's new version will ship with the first three campaigns of the game completed and sport at least a semi-balanced melee mode, though it'll be driven more towards team games than typical ladder and isn't designed to replace BW 1v1s. More info on this is discussed later on.
iquare has been exceptionally helpful throughout the past 9 months and beyond with custom aiscript commands and other useful engine improvements, and has volunteered to do the bulk of the coding that Hydra requires. His PC is out of commission now, which has slowed our progress somewhat, but that should be resolved shortly. The two of us will be continuing development of the underlying systems and functions that this project needs in order to meet my own standards and expectations. Our list, in no particular order:
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Data extender: uncap number of unit, weapon, flingy, sprite, image, upgrade, tech, sfxdata, portdata, and order dat entries the game can support. Basically everything we'll require to add entirely new techtrees and environments without breaking compatibility with aise and other plugins.
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New aiscript commands: most notably, we've drummed up concepts for AI kiting/stutter stepping, reaver harassment, lurker handling, cloaked raids, and other exciting features for AI players that will help contextualize them as competent 'players' of Starcraft. Some of this stuff is also necessary for the AI to properly use units like the Terran Shaman. A number of other important functions will follow soon after this tactical AI system is implemented.
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New AI basebuilding algorithm: without significant improvements to the AI's building algorithm, modders are required to manually place every structure for every possible base area in order to avoid dysfunctional bases. A new algorithm has already been conceived of, and will begin production as soon as is feasible.
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Engine fixes: from fixing freshly-morphed AI guards (and guards with subunits) not moving to their posts, to increasing the maximum map size, to increasing the unit, sprite, bullet, tooltip, and player limits, this will be a significant undertaking that will likely take the most time.
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Hydra's techtree: we've already been able to add the Shaman, Medical Bay, Vorvaling, Basilisk, Basilisk Den, Legionnaire, Hierophant, Principality, and Warp Anchor. Before any other new units are added, we're going to work on making all the changes to the default game and the vanilla/expansion units in a standalone mod that will serve as a framework for other projects, which will be developed in the interim until the other tasks on the above list are completed.
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After all that: we'll continue development as planned, with Rebel Yell taking center stage and hopefully seeing some form of completion by the end of 2019.
Regarding melee and continued co-op support, though I do have every plan to continue shipping a 2player-compatible project (and even have some clever workarounds for player limits should we fail to uncap those in a reasonable timeframe), 1.16.1 doesn't have the luxury of easy hosting that 1.2+ does. As such, I'll be working with some other tooldevs closer to Hydra's release to develop a client that will serve to connect players of mods (and of vanilla 1.16.1, should that be desired) without relying on ports being forwarded. The technical details are still TBD but I believe this is a necessary step if any multiplayer experiences are meant to be supported, especially considering iCCup is woefully inadequate for the purposes of connecting players. If anyone has particular suggestions, let me know. I'll post what I have so far below. At some point I'll probably open a new thread specifically for this, when the tool's development has begun.
Client Ideas
On first time startup: ask for 1.16.1 directory
If SC:R/otherwise-invalid directory is selected, warn user & fail to proceed
Tabs: Play, Settings, Hotlaunch
PLAY
Plugin tickbox (for e.g. windowed mode, fast menus) {clicking 'add plugins' brings you to SETTINGS -> Global Plugins}
Play Starcraft (unmodded)
Lists installed version of 1.16.1 {clicking it brings you to SETTINGS -> Change Version}
[mod icon] - mod name - mod version - (compatible version of Starcraft) {clicking icon/name launches the mod}
Dropdown menu with links and info from the developer {reads from Client\info.txt and Client\icon.png}
example:
[Hydra icon] Project: Hydra 2.3 (1.16.1)
A large-scale redesign of the original campaigns and techtrees. Supports 2 player co-op and 8 player melee. Info:
http://pr0nogo.wikidot.com/sc-hydraSETTINGS
Standard Starcraft settings (sound/graphics/gameplay)
Change brood war directory
Change/clear mod directories
Change/clear hidden mod list
Change brood war version
Change/clear global plugins
HOTLAUNCH
Fields to specify local map and mod files. Push a button to clone the selected files and launch the user's specified mod directly into the specified map. The user can then edit the mod, map, or both, and push a button on the client or a (global?) hotkey to quickly close, refersh, clone, and relaunch the specified files. Should work over multiplayer as well, by syncing map/mod files to all connected players (host would control when to relaunch, a mock lobby would control which players are in which forces).
TL;DR we don't have much to show right now, and the next month or so will be spent improving our tools so we can develop the project in a timely manner. I'll continue updating the wikidot as time goes on, and post updates when we've completed a significant chunk of work.