Hack Casual An extremely casual, hacking related weblog

Pre-alpha update

It's been awhile, but I've fixed a few bugs and added some new features.

As usual, send bug reports to hackcasual+freecivbugs@gmail.com.

For general feedback, feel free to reply to this post, or send it to hackcasual+freecivfeedback@gmail.com.

What's new:

• Added high resolution flags
• Save games overhauled
• Long press on a unit activates GOTO
• Large and extra large screens supported
• Zoomed in 2x by default on HDPI and higher density screens

How to use long press movement

Long press to activate and focus on the unit, then while still holding down move your finger to the destination. You will see a cursor along with estimated move count. Once you lift off your finger:

• Tap and release the same place you lifted off to move the unit to the location
• Tap and move to reposition the cursor
• Tap elsewhere to cancel the move

I've noticed people have had difficulty discovering how to popup the minimap. This feature has existed since the first release, but you pull it up by hitting search.

• Application file: Freeciv-AlphaR2-5b8acd5.apk
• Source: freeciv-android on github

Diplomacy Dialog

One of the biggest features missing currently is doing diplomacy. It's crucial, especially when dealing with the AI, otherwise there is no way of getting out of the state of constant war. A lot of information needs to be displayed to the player, and pretty much everything represents an action. Here's an example from the SDL client:

You can offer various conditions, or request them from your opponent. The state of the diplomatic relationship can be changed with various pacts. Should the terms be acceptable, the opponent will accept the deal.

To model this in Android, I've decided to go with a tabbed approach:

Tab #1 controls what you offer, Tab #2 controls what your opponent is offering, and what you can request from them. Tab #2 also shows the acceptance status of your opponent. This allows you to immediately see the impact of adding or removing conditions.

Tab #3 allows you to select from the available states, and in the case of an AI, see what they think about the deal. There's also a summary of the deal before accepting it.