[Flaming_Sword]

Okay, here goes:

I was bored and a friend mentioned that he'd really like to fly shivan ships. Though I've never modded before (for FS2, anyway), I thought it'd be fun to modify a few tables and make the ships flyable. So far, so good. Then I started noticing little things that didn't quite fit, like the interface and the lack of description strings and I started changing those. Later I'd see something else and plan more changes. Basically, it's ballooned, so here I am. A quick search in these forums found these:

http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,43546.0.html (the download doesn't work, 0.7 or 0.8)
http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,39407.0.html

But these are months old. Is work still being done on these?

Description:

Set after the main FS2 campaign (mostly as an excuse to introduce some better weapons and removing the need to make new ships), um, haven't really decided much else (may be changed).

Requires (mostly because that's what I'm using right now):

• FSO 3.6.9
• mediavps 3.6.8 zeta (mostly for effects for new weapons)

Features:

• Shivan fighters and bombers are flyable, using shivan weapons
• Recoloured interface (with a few screens replaced, mainhall partly derived from Blue Planet)
• Added some new primary weapons (mostly because I hate the existing ones)
• Added description strings for ships/weapons in the loadout screens

Planned Features:

• Removing/replacing the GTVA logo from remaining screens
• Changing wingmen and command personas
• Changing medals
• Proper shivan secondary weapons
• Rewriting descriptions in the tech room from the shivan perspective
• An actual story/campaign
• Top view images for shivan ships in loadout screen (low priority)
• Other stuff I probably haven't noticed yet
• Suggestions from others
• Bugfixes

Known Issues:

• New weapons are likely unbalanced (all but one outperforms GTVA weaponry at the expense of enormous energy usage)
• AI wingmen don't respawn in multiplayer test missions (not a clue what's causing that one)
• Must use 3d models for ship selection option in launcher, relevant images do not exist yet, may cause crash otherwise
• No current host to allow others to download what's been done so far (suggestions for free hosting?)

Current Skills:

• Table editing: sufficient (I hope)
• Image editing: only basic copy/pasting/gimp functions, no drawing ability
• Modelling: none
• FREDing: basic

Help/suggestions/criticism welcome. It's perfectly playable so far, but I've only made a few missions for testing purposes. Screenshots below (colours a bit washed out from the conversion process):

Pilot selection screen:

Main screen:

Loading screen:

Loadout screen (multiplayer test mission) showing one of the more exotic weapons:

[ssmit132]

Hmm... It looks good. I'd want to wait till there's a story to use this with though.

[Titan]

AWESOME!!!!!! 

[ShadowGorrath]

I have the Shivan data files 0.9 and I am kinda trying to make a shivan mini-campaign as well . However I need to learn a lot more about FRED2 first .

And I have to do the same things you planned up - reskin the interface , remove the GTVA CB Ani's , change the medals , shivan secondary weapons ( low priority to me ) , make a shivan tech room ( with their story , info about us , ship description , etc ) , and make an actual storyline for it ( which I have thought up about 50% ) .

Shivan data-files 0.9 have shivan weapons mostly ( but they kinda suck , though graphics for them are normal like in the mediavps ) , a great looking main menu background , and a few shivan "voices" and wingmen and command personas . They are made by Black Hole , if I remember right . He also made a 4-5 mission test-mini-campaign for them .

Anyway , good luck ! A shivan campaign/mod is something FreeSpace2 is missing . 

[Titan]

im not bad with  fred2, and im having trouble communicating the project with thesizzler.

[Flaming_Sword]

I'd be very interested in getting my hands on a copy of the shivan data files. Come to think of it, maybe it'd be a good idea for everyone who's working on a shivan mod to collaborate. We could set a common hosting site or something and stick all our files on there, then compare and decide how to move on from there.

[Mobius]

I like it.

Are you able to make something more Sol-ish? *cough*INFA*cough*

[Flaming_Sword]

Um, sol-ish? Like sticking FS1 shivan ships in it or INFA ships?

Seriously though, INFA was awesome.

Almost forgot, I might want to look at cursors (minor detail) and music (no talent whatsoever in that area) as well.

[Mobius]

INFA had the GTVA logo in its interface and INFA SA is basically the same under that point of view. I proposed the Inferno Alliance team to accept a new interface, I'm waiting for their response.

Uhm, no FS1 ships...just a new interface 

[Flaming_Sword]

So far most of the interface is simply recoloured, and I have yet to decide on what, if anything, to replace the GTVA logos with.

Again, apologies for washed out colours in the jpg conversion.

Preload screen (SCP logo goes in top left corner)

Barracks screen with GTVA logo still in it


I was thinking of taking all those screens, extracting the boxes, then slapping them on top of more screenshots of shivan ships and therefore removing the need for logos altogether, but I don't know how to do that quickly and easily (the screenshots shown previously were a total pain to do). There is also the matter of the shivan data files which I should probably look at first.

[Mobius]

I see. Well, in INFA there's the EA Logo.

Keep it up!

[AllStarZ]

I'm not too sure about the premise of the mod. Plus the interface isn't exactly what I would expect of Shivans.

Still, its a good first attempt and everyone has to start somewhere.

[Flaming_Sword]

Most of the interface so far is a simple recolour, and will likely be replaced when I (or somebody else) figure out something better. As for the premise, well, there isn't much of one, apart from "Wouldn't it be cool if you could fly shivan ships?".

Frankly, I'm a code monkey, not an artist, so the only thing that'll probably survive until the end are my table changes.

[ShadowGorrath]

You can get the Shivan data-files 0.9 from BackHole's site , which can be accessed from his signature . Which you can see from one of the links with the un-downloadable 0.7 . 

I would be interested in joining up with someone to make a Shivan campaign ( MINI-campaign at least ) . So far I have an idea for the story .

Also , if you can make good table edits , maybe you could make INFR1 shivan ships and weapons also working for the player ? However , my shivan campaign idea is during FS2 , not Inferno or FS1 .

[Flaming_Sword]

Thanks for the link. Was just messing around, managed to use the pof viewer to retexture the harbinger bomb model to look a bit more shivan. Added glowmaps, just too see how they'd look. These any good?



I was planning something shortly after FS2, where a lot of information is gained from the Iceni, so there can be new weapons, but no new ships. I'll take a look at the download first, though.

[Flaming_Sword]

Okay, I had a look, and will definitely put some of the elements to my own work. The wingmen personas and some of the strings look good, as do the loadout icons and other images. Not *too* sure about the mainhall, looks a little too red. I should really find some free hosting for my files too.

I guess I could make the INFR1 shivans playable if enough people wanted it. For me, simply making the ships playable is easy, it's all the extra polish needed to make everything look good and play well that takes a lot of effort (as I have discovered over the past couple of weeks).

[ShadowGorrath]

Well , what the Shivans need is missiles . And a weapon that works like a Shivan version of the Kayser or prometheus . Actually - better shivan weapons all in all . Cause only the mega lasers do descent damage , but they are very slowly refiring . 

And lay off the Main Hall - it's PERFECT .  If seriously , I like the red , shivan-ish system background . And a Lucifer fits very well with my FS2 mini-campaign idea .

A simple ship is good too , but needs a background .

[Flaming_Sword]

Well, my tables have a weapon that has much better damage output than the kayser, at the cost of high energy usage, so you can only use it in short bursts. Missiles might be better if I could model, but so far I'm stuck with retexturing current ones (the bombs were just an experiment to see if I could do it and how difficult it'd be). I'll try to find a place to host the files and put up a copy for people to play around with (unless somebody suggests a place).

[ShadowGorrath]

Hades-Combine or SectorGame .

And do you have an idea for the CB Ani's ?

[Snail]

If you need shivan missiles, try changing the map on belial.pof (cyclops model) to SCap02a, it gives for one of the coolest reskins I've seen (and it's on a frikken missiles model!).