Forged Alliance 16-player mod version 1.0 addon

=== Forged Alliance 16-player mod version 1.0 ===

This mod allows up to 16 players in the game Forged Alliance.

It should work on all Forged Alliance patch levels since 3598.
However I have only tested it myself on 3598 and 3603.

There are 2 mod packages:

(1) the THIN package which only contains the minimal files, but which has some dependencies on other mods.

This version requires you to already have the Sorian 2.1.1 AI and the Lobby Enhancement Mod 4.4.
However this package is more future-proof so if new versions of those mods are released you could
try them out against this mod straight away to see if they are OK.

(2) the STANDALONE version that incorporates the Sorian AI 2.1.1 and LEM 4.4 into itself.

If you already have Sorian AI or LEM then the incorporated version of this mod will actually
be used, but this depends on the ordering of mods too (the mod file is prefixed with 000 to
try and ensure that it is loaded first, you could rename the package with a different prefix).

--- Features ---

The main feature is 16 player support for maps.
The lobby screens and map filters were also adjusted to accommodate more players.

Then, also:

-number of teams boosted to 8.
-extra team colors added.
-the main menu UI has been speeded up (no more annoyingly slow navigation).
-speeded up map preview screen: caching and preloading.
-the intro "logo" movies are skipped, just the Seraphim invasion of earth clip is shown.

--- Installation ---

Only *one* of the 2 SCD files need to be placed into the "gamedata" directory.

For the THIN version which will need the Sorian AI 2.1.1 and Lobby Enhancement Mod 4.4 to be present, use:

000_fa16players.scd

For the STANDALONE version, drop in:

000_fa16players_standalone.scd

--- Known hurdles ---

(1) You probably won't have any 16 player maps. This can easily be corrected by simply editing
the *.lua files of the map, adding ARMY_9/10 etc markers.

How to do this:
Inside the "*__save.lua" file, duplicate the entries where you see the other ARMY_*
entries. There's a marker for each army's starting spot, and there's also a descriptive
record for each army usually near the end of this file.

Inside the "*__scenario.lua" file, duplicate the items where you see the other ARMY_*
entries, so there are entries for ARMIES 9 to 16.
If you see an entry called something like "ARMY_9 NEUTRAL CIVILIAN" then just rename
it to use the number 17.

I have a large set of such maps, already converted for me and my LAN's usage.
I may upload some of these eventually but it is really easy to do yourself.

Unfortunately, after adding in these markers etc, the official editors (Hazard's
and the pre-alpha one from GPG) won't be able to handle the maps anymore (due to
hardcoded expectations of no more than 8 players :()

(2) The summary screen at the end of a game is a bit ugly, but it is **still functional**.
I'm busy fixing it up to be able to fit in 8 more players' worth of data, but the
screen is navigable, just press ESC to exit after a game.

--- Contact ---

Feel free to drop comments or suggestions here (or post on the mod-db forum):
the.real.rattas@gmail.com