A couple of stacking-related questions

[ijthompson]

Hello guys,

I’m merrily working on my module, and have hit a couple of snags; maybe you can help me out. Mine is a card game, with decks composed of cards that both do and don’t stack. The non-stacking cards are laid down as ‘terrain’ in the game, upon which the other cards move. So, here are my problems:

• When drawing cards into a hand, the stacking cards form themselves into a nice, neat line. However, the non-stacking cards place themselves directly beneath the stacking cards, making it impossible to select them. In fact, you’d never even know that they are there, until you move the stacking cards off of them.
• I love that the mouseover stack-viewer works in the overview window. However, when it comes to my non-stacking terrain cards, it doesn’t seem to! The other cards pop up in the overview window just fine, but these ones just don’t.

I’ve looked for information on this, but can’t find any. Any ideas?

[mycenae]

-Are you using the Player Hand for the card hands? It’s really designed for card games where the cards would be spread out for the player to see, like poker. You might try using Private Windows instead of Private Hands–the cards won’t automatically spread out and may be easier to work with in this case, and since they are private, other players won’t be able to get to them.

-In the mouse-over stack viewer, in the editor, there’s a checkbox for ‘Show Non-Stacking Units’. Select the box to show the cards you can’t see.

[ijthompson]

Thank you very much for the advice, but… it don’t work.

@mycenae

In the mouse-over stack viewer, in the editor, there’s a checkbox for ‘Show Non-Stacking Units’. Select the box to show the cards you can’t see.

I had certainly done so, that option wasn’t hard to find. It is selected, and I’ve tried every combination of the ‘show only layer x’ options. Still, the non-stacking cards don’t pop up in the Overview window. I think this may be something I have to live without, but I’d sure like to know why.

@mycenae

Are you using the Player Hand for the card hands? It’s really designed for card games where the cards would be spread out for the player to see, like poker.

This is exactly what I want - all cards drawn to be spread out side-by-side in the hand window, for the player to see. As it is now, the non-stackable cards are placed under the stackable cards, where they cannot be seen. When I select ‘disable stacking’ in the editor, strangely, all cards drawn form a single stack in the player hand. Is this a bug?

@mycenae

You might try using Private Windows instead of Private Hands–the cards won’t automatically spread out

Again, if all the cards would spread out, my problems would be over.

[mycenae]

Sounds like you have all the bases covered. If you can post the module someplace, I can take a look under the hood.

[ijthompson]

Thank you for the offer - I’d be very grateful for your help!

My module is in the very early stages, so there are some elements I haven’t even touched on yet… like, how to save the module in a format I can put on the web for you to see!

I’ve searched the numerous design articles here, and I must be blind, because I can’t find a single word on it. Could you give me the jist?

[mycenae]

Save the file as a .vmod file.

I think the Vassal forum only allows small attachments (IIRC, the limit is something like 256k), so if it’s over that limit, you’ll need to post the vmod file someplace that allows bigger files.

[ijthompson]

Thanks! I’ll PM you when I get off work and get it uploaded.

16MB… and I’ve barely begun! Lucky I’m already expecting to have to redo the graphics…

[ijthompson]

Thank you for the PM, mycenae. As we discussed, I’m gonna quote it and reply here so that any other interested people can contribute their wisdom!

@mycenae

Interesting, I haven’t noticed that ‘non-stacking’ cards always appear to be beneath stacking ones. This doesn’t happen only on the Player Hand window; it happens on the main board too and even on other map windows. I can’t explain this behavior and haven’t encountered it before. This isn’t how it works with regular non-stacking pieces, btw, only cards seem to have this issue.

In some instances (like, when the cards are on the table), this ‘issue’ is exactly what I’m after - since my non-stacking cards are ‘locations’ that the other cards move around on top of.

@mycenae

I did not notice the problem with the Overview window that you mentioned, however, they all seem to be displaying correctly for me, stacking or non-stacking.

Oh, the non-stacking cards display in the Overview for me, too; but they don’t pop up in the Mouseover view in that window… only the stackers do (but all cards -stacking and non-stacking- on the main map pop up in the Mouseover view just fine). But if this is the way it has to be, I guess I can live with it.

@mycenae

I did manage to sort of ‘fix’ the non-stacking issue by making Private Windows instead of Private Hands, and setting up a rectangular grid on each big enough to hold the cards (cells were 400x300, but I guess they could be smaller). You could also set up an Irregular grid and choose the setting that makes the pieces “snap to grid” locations. Then whenever you place a card in the window, it will automatically snap into place on the grid. It’s easy to get them to all line up side by side like this. I think the grid solution would work with Private Hands, too.

I like your idea of having a grid to keep cards in place, even if it means they each have to be plonked into their places manually. I guess my problem was with the (awesome) feature of being able to draw x number of cards from a deck, drop them in, and have them all spread out in a neat line, which doesn’t seem possible when non-stackers are in the mix. But at least if you’re drawing one-by one, you’re instantly aware if the card you drew has vanished under another one.

@mycenae

However, that does prompt a question: why would some cards stack and others not? If they are all drawn from a hand, it seems like you would want them all to behave similarly. Generally non-stacking pieces are special in some way, different from ordinary pieces. Markers of some kind, or immobile units, or like that. You can get them to show up on the mouseover viewer, but they won’t show up in stacks of cards. You wouldn’t be able to tell they were ‘piled’ with stacking cards with a glance because they don’t form piles with other units…you will always need to drag the stacking pieces away from them to tell they are sitting there. I’m also not sure they will even show up in a deck correctly. Is there some game-related reason?

Yes, the non-stackers are location cards, upon which the other cards move. Having them non-stacking saves them from being accidentally grabbed and moved along with the other pieces. Incidentally, all these location cards are rotated into landscape orientation on the board, which means their sides stick out from under the other, portrait-oriented cards. This way, they can be moused-over or selected as needed.

So, what do you think - have I hit a brick wall? All opinions are welcome!