Defense Walls

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What are defensive walls?

When playing strategy games like Clash of Clans where players can attack other players, it's important to find a way to defend your village from attacking players.

429 — Example walls. Click to view larger.

The City Building Kit demo includes two types of wall examples, stone and wooden walls. (Plus lots more free bonus art for more wall themes is included in our highest package available for purchase from CityBuildingKit.com)

Unlike the defensive structures, walls don't have any actual value in offensive defense and unlike the resource or military buildings walls don't have any storage value for the player. This category of the shop is only meant for PvP battle protection like the Cloak category. (And possibly decoration value too)

Shop Menu

Here's a screenshot of the shop menu for the military buildings.

The examples seen in the image below allow the player to build long wall segments like Stone Wall NE or Stone Wall NW, or larger corner segments like Stone Tower or the flagpole Wooden End NE

Where to find the wall store menu in Unity?

Open the game scene hierarchy and locate the ScrollViewFort in UIAnchor > Anchor - Center > Shop > Main. Look at the below screenshot.

Store Item

All of the store details seen in the below screenshot are taken from the XML/Walls.xml file and loaded by Scripts/Creators/BaseCreator.cs (details below on what part of the script does this)

483 — Breakdown of the information shown to players in the store.

From Image Above	Description
Item Name	This is the Name variable from XML/Walls.xml
Time to Build	The TimeToBuild variable (in minutes) from Walls.xml. How long the structure will take to to be created. For city walls - this is set to 0 minutes so that the built is instantaneous. The player still needs an available Dobbit to make the construction as the walls still need to pass the 3 tests of VerifyConditions(). You could skip this by adjusting the last test to ignore wall elements.
# Build / Level Limit	The number of this structure already created versus the number limited by their level in XML/EvolutionBuildings.xml. See Gameplay > XP and Levels documentation for details)
Currency Cost	The Price variable from XML/Walls.xml
Currency Type	The Currency variable from XML/Walls.xml (Either Gold, Mana, or Gems) You could change this to whatever currency you will have in your game and also add additional currencies.
View Description	Shows the Description text variable from XML/Walls.xml
Prefab Image	The prefab image which you can edit from the UIAnchor: Center shop main menu. More details on how to change this under the Buildings > Part 2: Customize Menus page of the documentation

Wall Element XML Example

Here's an example of one of the wall elements from XML/Walls.xml used by the centralized creator script Scripts/Creators/BaseCreator.cs

<Wall>
    
		<Name>Stone Tower</Name>	
    <!--  name displayed in the store -->	
    
		<Currency>Gold</Currency>	
    <!-- save as 0 Gold 1 Mana 2 Crystals to buy -->	
    
		<Price>400</Price>
    <!-- amount of resource necessary to pay for the building -->
    
		<TimeToBuild>0</TimeToBuild>
    <!-- the time (in minutes) needed to create the building -->	
    
		<Life>400</Life>
    <!-- hitpoints for the building in battle  -->
    <!-- Note: the earlier City Building Kit 6.0 version pathfinding avoids  -->
    <!-- and does not actively attack walls  -->
    <!-- Later versions after this do. -->
    
		<XpAward>2</XpAward>
    <!-- experience awarded for the completion of building one wall segment -->
    
	</Wall>

A closer look at building XML

If you look closely in the above XML, you'll see the building costs 400 of of the Gold currency. You could use whatever currency you want in your game, in the demo we have two placeholders called Gold and Mana. (Plus one rare currency called Crystal Gems which you could use to upsell for special wall types)

<Currency>Gold</Currency>						
		<Price>400</Price>

Further down in the XML you'll see the TimeToBuild (in minutes) has been set to 0 in the City Building Kit demo for all wall segments.

<TimeToBuild>0</TimeToBuild>
		<Life>400</Life>

This follows popular free-to-play strategy gameplay models by allowing the player to construct large wall segments in a relatively short period of time with the only pre-req being each wall segment is expensive.

The built is instantaneous, but the player still needs an available Dobbit to make the construction as the walls still need to pass the 3 tests of VerifyConditions() in BaseCreator.cs. You could skip this last test by adjusting the last test to ignore wall elements.

Also the Life value is not used in the earlier City Building Kit 6.0 version. Automated pathfinding for units in that version does not actively attack walls but treats them as an obstacle to avoid. Because of this, do not surround your buildings completely without an entrance. Later releases of the City Building Kit use the Life element in your XML file to actively attack wall segments.

Another example of a wall segment in the XML file

This excerpt below from XML/Walls.xml is for wooden wall ends, with a flagpole.

<Wall>
		<Name>Wooden End NW</Name>	
		<Currency>Gold</Currency>
		<Price>75</Price>
		<TimeToBuild>0</TimeToBuild>
		<Life>100</Life>
		<XpAward>1</XpAward>	
	</Wall>

You'll notice the only minor changes are that Price, Life, and XpAward are less than the stone wall example above.

BaseCreator.cs - Where the XML is loaded into

In Scripts/Creators/BaseCreator.cs the wall data from your XML file (seen above) is loaded using a common system for all the structures like resource buildings, defense buildings, walls, decorations, and other buildings. Here's an excerpt from BaseCreator.cs of the XML data load for walls:

//reads walls.xml
protected void GetWallsXML()
	{
		XmlDocument xmlDoc = new XmlDocument(); 
		xmlDoc.LoadXml(StructuresXML.text); 
		XmlNodeList structureList = xmlDoc.GetElementsByTagName(structureXMLTag);//"Wall"
		
		foreach (XmlNode structureInfo in structureList)
		{
			XmlNodeList structureContent = structureInfo.ChildNodes;	
			dictionary = new Dictionary<string, string>();
			
			foreach (XmlNode structureItem in structureContent) 
			{
        
      // For each of the XML values, it stores the information
      // to be used later in BaseCreator.cs
				if(structureItem.Name == "Name")
				{
					dictionary.Add("Name",structureItem.InnerText); // put this in the dictionary.
				}
				if(structureItem.Name == "Currency")
				{
					dictionary.Add("Currency",structureItem.InnerText);
				}
				if(structureItem.Name == "Price")
				{
					dictionary.Add("Price",structureItem.InnerText);
				}	
				if(structureItem.Name == "TimeToBuild")
				{
					dictionary.Add("TimeToBuild",structureItem.InnerText);
				}	
				if(structureItem.Name == "Life")
				{
					dictionary.Add("Life",structureItem.InnerText);
				}
				if(structureItem.Name == "XpAward")
				{
					dictionary.Add("XpAward",structureItem.InnerText);
				}
        
      // The following two are not currently used in the demo
      // but have been provided for developers wishing to expand
      // their builings with upgrades. Additional scripting required.
				if(structureItem.Name == "Upgrades")
				{
					dictionary.Add("Upgrades",structureItem.InnerText); 
				}
				if(structureItem.Name == "UpRatio")
				{
					dictionary.Add("UpRatio",structureItem.InnerText); 
				}
			}
			structures.Add(dictionary);
		}
	}

When the data is loaded, the store panels are updated with the appropriate information.

Construction limits with XP levels

Read the Gameplay > XP and Levels documentation page for more details about how the XML/EvolutionBuildings.xml file limits the number of certain structures per level. This applies to all buildings including walls, although the example below is from another item in the store.

For example:
Game players could have a maximum of two gold mines at level one until the player reaches level two, in which the maximum increases to five (or whatever value you choose -- read XP and Levels documentation for more details)

158 — 1/2 gold mines built. Maximum not reached.

161 — 2/2 maximum reached, can't build more

This is relevant to mention now because the menu items are greyed out for buildings that the player can no longer build until they increase their base level through other ways of gaining XP. The function UpdateLabelStats()

// Excerpt from UpdateLabelStats()
// Check if the player is looking at items in the store that
// would exceed their XP level limits
buildingAllowed =(allowedStructures[i]-existingStructures[i]>0);

// Set the store item's label data
NameLbs[i].text = structures [i] ["Name"];
TimeLbs[i].text = structures [i] ["TimeToBuild"];

// Quantity - for example, 2/2 means they have reached the maximum of 2
QuantityLbs[i].text = existingStructures[i].ToString()+"/"+allowedStructures[i].ToString();
PriceLbs[i].text = structures [i] ["Price"];

// If they can build, set the normal store item background and label colors
if(buildingAllowed)
{
	NicheSprites[i].spriteName = "stone_niche";
	PortraitSprites[i].atlas = Portraits;

	NameLbs[i].color = brown;
	TimeLbs[i].color = brown;
	QuantityLbs[i].color = brown;
	PriceLbs[i].color = brown;
// If the player can no longer build this item, grey out the item in the store
} else {
	NicheSprites[i].spriteName = "stone_niche_bw";
	PortraitSprites[i].atlas = PortraitsBW;

	NameLbs[i].color = black;
	TimeLbs[i].color = black;
	QuantityLbs[i].color = black;
	PriceLbs[i].color = black;
}

What happens when the buy button is clicked for a building?

When the player clicks one of the buttons to build a building, defense structure, or wall in the store, first one of the building functions is triggered, like this example below:

//receive a NGUI button message to build
	public void OnBuild0()	 { currentSelection=0; 	Verify(); }
//when a building construction menu button is pressed

Verify() is run shortly after, which initiates the conditions checking to see if the player actually can build what they want to build.

private void Verify()
	{
		if (isArray[currentSelection] == 0) 
		{			
			VerifyConditions ();
		}
		else 
		{			
			isField = true;
			drawingField = true;
			Delay ();
			VerifyConditions ();
		}
	}

VerifyConditions()

Can the player build this structure? In Scripts/Creators/BaseCreator.cs the VerifyConditions() script takes over once the store button has been pushed to determine if the following conditions are met and canBuild is set to true.

VerifyConditions() Test #1 - Maximum structures reached?

First, we check if the player's level restricts the structure from being made. Have they exceeded the number of structures allowed by their level in XML/EvolutionBuildings.xml? (See Gameplay > XP and Levels documentation for more information on this)

591 — Maximum of 25 wall segments. Click to view larger.

In the case of walls - we've set the demo to have a maximum of 25 segments in the EvolutionBuildings.xml which shows up in the store as seen in the above image.

if (existingStructures[currentSelection] >= maxAllowed){				
      // Max already reached
    	// Fails the first test, set canBuild = false
			canBuild = false;
      
      // Throws an error message in the in-game messanger
			((Messenger)statusMsg).DisplayMessage("Maximum " + maxAllowed.ToString() + 
				" structures of type " +
				structures [currentSelection] ["Name"]+". "); 
        // Displays the hint:
        // you can have only X structures of this type for their level
}

VerifyConditions() Test #2 - Do they have enough funds?

The second test the player data must pass is their funds - do they have enough of the currency the building requires to be constructed?

// Get the building cost
int price = int.Parse (structures [currentSelection] ["Price"]);

// If the building cost is in Gold, do they have enough gold?
if (structures [currentSelection] ["Currency"] == "Gold"){

	// Finding out how much gold they have remaning if you subtract it
	int existingGold = ((Stats)stats).gold + ((Stats)stats).deltaGoldPlus - ((Stats)stats).deltaGoldMinus;

   // See if the gold remaining is less than the price
	if (existingGold < price) 
	{
  	// not enough
		canBuild = false;
		((Messenger)statusMsg).DisplayMessage("Not enough gold.");
    //updates hint text
	}
  
// Repeat the same above, but instead for the other currency (Mana)
} 
else  if (structures [currentSelection] ["Currency"] == "Mana")
{
	int existingMana = ((Stats)stats).mana + ((Stats)stats).deltaManaPlus - ((Stats)stats).deltaManaMinus;

	if(existingMana < price)
	{
		canBuild = false;
		((Messenger)statusMsg).DisplayMessage("Not enough mana.");//updates hint text
	}
  
// Repeat the same above but for the rare Crystal currency
// If you have additional currencies in your game, uncomment the //
// and repeat for each currency
}
else  //if (structures [currentSelection] ["Currency"] == "Crystals")
{
	int existingCrystals = ((Stats)stats).crystals + ((Stats)stats).deltaCrystalsPlus - ((Stats)stats).deltaCrystalsMinus;

	if(existingCrystals < price)
	{
		canBuild = false;
		((Messenger)statusMsg).DisplayMessage("Not enough crystals.");//updates hint text
	}
}

VerifyConditions() Test #3 - Do they have an available builder?

In the City Building Kit each building under construction takes one builder. Players get a certain number of builders to start with (default is 1 in the demo) and you can adjust this for your game. It costs extra rare gems to get additional builders like games such as Clash of Clans. (The builder hut is called a dobbit hut in the demo, read the Shop Menu > Resource Generators section on builders for more details.)

For walls, the built is instantaneous, but the player still needs an available Dobbit to make the construction as the walls still need to pass these 3 tests of VerifyConditions(). You could skip this last test by adjusting the following lines to ignore this test for your wall elements.

//builder available?
if (((Stats)stats).occupiedDobbits >= ((Stats)stats).dobbits) 
{
	canBuild = false;
	((Messenger)statusMsg).DisplayMessage("You need more dobbits.");
}

VerifyConditions() - If all tests pass, greenlight construction.

If the player's data passes all 3 tests and canBuild still is set to true, then the script adjusts the player data awarding the XP they get from the building XML (if any) and deducting the costs involved from the building currency and price.

if (canBuild) 
{
	((MenuMain)menuMain).constructionGreenlit = true;
  //ready to close menus and place the building; 
	//constructionGreenlit bool necessary because the command is sent by pressing the button anyway

	((Stats)stats).experience += int.Parse (structures [currentSelection] ["XpAward"]); 
  //increases Stats experience  
  // move this to building finished 

	if(((Stats)stats).experience>((Stats)stats).maxExperience)
	{
		((Stats)stats).level++;
		((Stats)stats).experience-=((Stats)stats).maxExperience;
		((Stats)stats).maxExperience+=100;
	}

	//pays the gold/mana price to Stats
	if(structures [currentSelection] ["Currency"] == "Gold")
	{

		((Stats)stats).SubstractResources (price, 0, 0);

	}
	else if(structures [currentSelection] ["Currency"] == "Mana")
	{

		((Stats)stats).SubstractResources (0, price, 0);
    

	}
	else //if(structures [currentSelection] ["Currency"] == "Crystals")
	{
        
// Repeats the same above but for the rare Crystal currency
// If you have additional currencies in your game, uncomment the //if(structures
// above and repeat for each currency in your game

		((Stats)stats).SubstractResources (0, 0, price);

	}

	UpdateButtons ();//payments are made, update all

	((Stats)stats).UpdateUI();
  //tells stats to update the interface - otherwise new numbers are updated but not displayed

	if (!isField || buildingFields) 
	{
		UpdateExistingStructures (+1);
    //an array that keeps track of how many structures of each type exist
		InstantiateStructure ();
	}
} 
else 
{
	((MenuMain)menuMain).constructionGreenlit = false;
  //halts construction - the button message is sent anyway, but ignored
}

ConstructionGreenlit = true is sent the MenuMain script which then deactivates the store panel the player was just on and waits for the building to be placed.

((MenuMain)menuMain).constructionGreenlit = true;
// ready to close menus and place the building; 
// constructionGreenlit bool necessary because the command is sent by pressing the button anyway

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What are defensive walls?

Shop Menu

Where to find the wall store menu in Unity?

Store Item

Wall Element XML Example

A closer look at building XML

Another example of a wall segment in the XML file

BaseCreator.cs - Where the XML is loaded into

Construction limits with XP levels

What happens when the buy button is clicked for a building?

VerifyConditions()

VerifyConditions() Test #1 - Maximum structures reached?

VerifyConditions() Test #2 - Do they have enough funds?

VerifyConditions() Test #3 - Do they have an available builder?

VerifyConditions() - If all tests pass, greenlight construction.

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