Author Topic: RELEASE: Transcend  (Read 175624 times)

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The game will still run without backgrounds.

I thought I was doing that....I guess not, maybe I missed a launcher flag.

 

Offline Hellstryker

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I suppose you could always FRED out the nebula/stars  :blah:

And ruin the story for yourself, brilliant. 

Just wait a bit for someone who knows what they're talking about.

So what? its still an option, and dont judge a book by its cover asshat, i HAVE played Transcend

 

Offline Jeff Vader

  • The Back of the Hero!
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thought I was doing that....I guess not, maybe I missed a launcher flag.
There isn't a flag for toggling backgrounds on or off. At least not to my knowledge. Gimme a minute and I'll try to run Transcend with LS Nebulae removed from my mediavps folder. If it works, it merely means that you have installed either Transcend or something else the wrong way, and have therefore brought about a rather annoying problem.

Edit: Works like a charm. You might want to tell us a few things.
1. How did you install Transcend? With Turey's Installer or manually?
2. Have you installed any other mods or additional things and if so, how?
« Last Edit: December 21, 2007, 03:46:17 am by Lobo »
23:40 < achillion > EveningTea: ass
23:40 < achillion > wait no
23:40 < achillion > evilbagel: ass
23:40 < EveningTea > ?
23:40 < achillion > 2-letter tab complete failure

14:08 < achillion > there's too much talk of butts and dongs in here
14:08 < achillion > the level of discourse has really plummeted
14:08 < achillion > Let's talk about politics instead
14:08 <@The_E > butts and dongs are part of #hard-light's brand now
14:08 <@The_E > well
14:08 <@The_E > EvilBagel's brand, at least

01:06 < T-Rog > welp
01:07 < T-Rog > I've got to take some very strong antibiotics
01:07 < achillion > penis infection?
01:08 < T-Rog > Chlamydia
01:08 < achillion > O.o
01:09 < achillion > well
01:09 < achillion > I guess that happens
01:09 < T-Rog > at least it's curable
01:09 < achillion > yeah
01:10 < T-Rog > I take it you weren't actually expecting it to be a penis infection
01:10 < achillion > I was not

14:04 < achillion > Sometimes the way to simplify is to just have a habit and not think about it too much
14:05 < achillion > until stuff explodes
14:05 < achillion > then you start thinking about it

22:16 < T-Rog > I don't know how my gf would feel about Jewish conspiracy porn

15:41 <-INFO > EveningTea [[email protected]] has joined #hard-light
15:47 < EvilBagel> butt
15:51 < Achillion> yes
15:53 <-INFO > EveningTea [[email protected]] has quit [Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client]

18:53 < Achillion> Dicks are fun

21:41 < MatthTheGeek> you can't spell assassin without two asses

20:05 < sigtau> i'm mining titcoins from now on

00:31 < oldlaptop> Drunken antisocial educated freezing hicks with good Internet == Finland stereotype

11:46 <-INFO > Kobrar [[email protected]] has joined #hard-light
11:50 < achtung> Surely you've heard of DVDA
11:50 < achtung> Double Vaginal Double ANal
11:51 < Kobrar> ...
11:51 <-INFO > Kobrar [[email protected]] has left #hard-light []

 
Since I don't want to start a new topic. I'll resurrect this old one. . .


Anyway, I've started playing this. But . . . where's the backgrounds? I'm on like mission 7 or later . . .and I haven't seen a single background. Just stars and a white sun everywhere I go. Like the 2nd mission the guy's like "see that planet?" and I'm like "no, what planet? I thought maybe he was talking about the debris field. . . " but later nothing else. I figure Ransom would've at least put some nebulas somewhere since he bothered to put a nice one into the load-up screen.

Neither the documentation (readme) nor the post in this thread say anything beyond using FS 3.6.9 (which I am) and the the MediaVPs (which I am). So what's going on? I've seen a bit just looking back about Lightspeed's nebula? Is this some thing I have to install but wasn't told to or what? (And yeah, I know about lightspeed's nebulas. But it wasn't mentioned anywhere).

EDIT: Nevermind, I added the Nebulas to the MediaVPs directory and there are backgrounds. I guess people _assume_ that this is standard or something and doesn't need mentioning, but it would be nice to have it listed in documentation.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2008, 12:58:39 am by Akalabeth Angel »

 

Offline Ransom

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Well, but they are standard, really. But I suppose you're right. I've updated the OP.

It's strange that you didn't see the planet, though, since that's included with the Transcend VP. Are you using the -mod command with the Transcend folder?

 
Well, but they are standard, really. But I suppose you're right. I've updated the OP.

It's strange that you didn't see the planet, though, since that's included with the Transcend VP. Are you using the -mod command with the Transcend folder?

       Hmmn, I think I had a stars.tbl in my fsopen/data/tables directory. I'm guessing that might screw things up. I'm still used to using those directories rather than strictly the mod directories from FS2 retail, but I've moved all of the tables out of there now . . . . But I'll play the mission again maybe in the uh . .. simulator/techroom thing just to see your pretty planet :)

 

Offline qazwsx

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I'm getting a problem, no weapons on the first mission (haven't played past it yet so I don't know If this problem continues)
I'm using the fs2_open_3_6_10-20071028T.exe build with lightspeed's nebulae installed, anyone know what the probem could be?
<Achillion> I mean, it's not like he's shoving the brain-goo in a usb slot and praying to kurzweil to bring the singularity

<dsockwell> idk about you guys but the reason i follow God's law is so I can get my rocks off in the afterlife

 

Offline Jeff Vader

  • The Back of the Hero!
  • 212
  • Bwahaha
1. Your pilot file is corrupt. Try creating a new one.

2. You either have extra vp files / table files somewhere, or you are accidentally using a non-related mod.
23:40 < achillion > EveningTea: ass
23:40 < achillion > wait no
23:40 < achillion > evilbagel: ass
23:40 < EveningTea > ?
23:40 < achillion > 2-letter tab complete failure

14:08 < achillion > there's too much talk of butts and dongs in here
14:08 < achillion > the level of discourse has really plummeted
14:08 < achillion > Let's talk about politics instead
14:08 <@The_E > butts and dongs are part of #hard-light's brand now
14:08 <@The_E > well
14:08 <@The_E > EvilBagel's brand, at least

01:06 < T-Rog > welp
01:07 < T-Rog > I've got to take some very strong antibiotics
01:07 < achillion > penis infection?
01:08 < T-Rog > Chlamydia
01:08 < achillion > O.o
01:09 < achillion > well
01:09 < achillion > I guess that happens
01:09 < T-Rog > at least it's curable
01:09 < achillion > yeah
01:10 < T-Rog > I take it you weren't actually expecting it to be a penis infection
01:10 < achillion > I was not

14:04 < achillion > Sometimes the way to simplify is to just have a habit and not think about it too much
14:05 < achillion > until stuff explodes
14:05 < achillion > then you start thinking about it

22:16 < T-Rog > I don't know how my gf would feel about Jewish conspiracy porn

15:41 <-INFO > EveningTea [[email protected]] has joined #hard-light
15:47 < EvilBagel> butt
15:51 < Achillion> yes
15:53 <-INFO > EveningTea [[email protected]] has quit [Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client]

18:53 < Achillion> Dicks are fun

21:41 < MatthTheGeek> you can't spell assassin without two asses

20:05 < sigtau> i'm mining titcoins from now on

00:31 < oldlaptop> Drunken antisocial educated freezing hicks with good Internet == Finland stereotype

11:46 <-INFO > Kobrar [[email protected]] has joined #hard-light
11:50 < achtung> Surely you've heard of DVDA
11:50 < achtung> Double Vaginal Double ANal
11:51 < Kobrar> ...
11:51 <-INFO > Kobrar [[email protected]] has left #hard-light []

 
     Eh . .. . so I finally played through the campaign, sort of . .. here's my comments such as they are:

     EDIT - This is some MAJOR spoilerage . . so don't read if you want to actually play through the story for yourself.  :nod:
Spoiler:
     For some reason, the last mission would after one point continually crash whenever I killed Saya. I don't know why. Since I played past that point numerous times before that. Incidentally it was kind of annoying have them purple, instead of red, because Select nearest hostile no longer did anything and using the N key only works so far. In the end I just extracted the mission and made it complete after 10 seconds or whatnot. (then the movie didnt play so I extracted that too . . etcetera). I was honestly getting annoyed with the last mission anyway . . . maybe I'm not flying right, but when I can't even get a shot at either the Horus or the Pegasus because I'm in a crappy Herc 2 and they fly circles around me, well I was loosing patience. I like the Herc, but fighting two interceptors with no shields was not a winning proposition.

    On the positive side of things:
    I liked uh, the atmosphere that you were going for. It was nice to see someone try to add much more of a horror element. Some of the little cut scene sequences were quite well done, etcetera. So good job on that. (I think it was probably even a better job when these features first came out???? but I didn't play it  back then).
    A lot of the dialogue was quite well written, though I didn't really care for the briefings at all. The logs . . .well, I found them lacking in a lot of ways. Some of them were cool, but some them were just a few lines, etcetera. Seemed more like placeholders. But yeah, the in-flight was for the most part pretty darn good.

    On the negative side . . .
    Well, after about the 30th mission consisting of either:
    1. Move from Point A to Point B and jump
    2. Wait around before you can Jump.
    And meanwhile, kill 2-4 wings of fighters while avoiding pursuing capitals. Yeah, after about the 30th mission of that . . I just got fed up and didn't care anymore. I mean, I don't mind the whole . . . fighters going around with an unlimited supply of missiles and health and what not, but playing the same mission over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, just meh . . . didn't care. To point out the precise moment, I think it was the mission where the Generation was just destroyed and you jump out . . .and then in the next mission an Aeolus and a Levy jump in and a bunch of Perseus come at you. And there I am in a slowass Herc fighting a whole wing of Interceptors AGAIN, meanwhile my wingmen are doing nothing at all to help me, they're just flying around the cruisers getting the **** kicked out of them. That's when I just got fed up. It's oh, yay . ..  7 harpoons coming my way. And man, it drove me nuts. I'd throw out countermeasures, I'd get "EVADED" on my screen, and then the fricken missile still hit me? What the hell is that **** about? (not your fault of course, but man that was annoying). Well, actually I probably stopped caring before that. I know in the previous mission I just sat around a few kilometers from the battle, and proceeded to watch the Generation kick the crap out of a Hecate because the latter didn't bother to launch any fighters (save a few token ones to start). And basically neither ship manouevred, the Hecate had one beam bearing, the Deimos had 3 bearing and had some turrets in range. So . . the Hecate exploded, the mission didnt work and I started it over of course.

   And some of the missions were honestly . . . kinda stupid. I mean, the capital ship battles in particular. Like the Generations, is being pursued by a Leviathan. Okay, that's fine. But in the next mission, the Leviathan jumps in front of the Generation and makes no attempt to turn around. So it gets the crap shot out of it. Then a Mentu jumps in, again IN FRONT of a Deimos and flies in a straight line. Taking it up the ass and not doing anything about it except the occasional AAAf? It's like as if I'm in a mission, where's there's a Ravana. And Command sends in a Sobek, and the Sobek jumps in front of the Ravana facing the wrong direction so the Sobek fires at nothing because its beams are the wrong way and the Ravana blows the crap out of it because the Sobek jumped right where the Ravana wanted it. That would be a dumb mission. Or like in that same mission, the Aeolus jumps _right_ in front of the Deimos? I mean, the Deimos ramming through the Aeolus is cool and stuff, but why would the Aeolus jump so damn close in front of the Corvette to begin with??? It might've been better if the Aeolus was trying to block the node, and the Deimos had a bit more time to shoot it before it finally decides to ram it. As the mission was set up, the ram was sort of unavoidable so it was less cool imo.

   And I didnt get some of the other plot points either. I mean they get some wierd transmissions, so they go and get this Karl guy because he's got a neat gizmo. But then, they go back to the Nebula? Why do they go back? All they want is for the guy to use his gizmo on the stuff they received. Going back wasn't really explained. I mean, the stuff in the nebula tended to be the cooler part of the story . . .but they'd go there, and then they'd leave go some place else, and then come back, and leave again, and then come back again. All the meantime being chased by "enemy of the moment" (insert here: "pirates, deimos, GTVA cruisers") and having to kill X # of wings over and over and over.

  So yeah, I gave up on the campaign. But just played it through so as to finish it and not have to come back to it if I wanted to know the ending.
  It's like in that one mission with the huge battle . . . Rikas says "let's save the civilians!!!" and my character says <why?> and really, that hit the nail on the head at that moment. Because I didn't care, and thought "who cares? Let's just go to the node". Then from the dialogue I got the impression that I was supposed to care, so I killed some bombers, and then went to the node.
  I liked some parts, but on the whole . . . not my favourite unforunately. But Sync seems to get pretty good reviews, so maybe I'll try that out pretty soon.

  And btw, I didnt mind the mission structure at first. I mean, the whole initial part where they're chasing the freighter and it calls in support, that was cool. But then it didn't end. It just kept going on and on and on and on. Oi. But for my part, I seem to be the exception since most people seem to love this campaign.
« Last Edit: March 30, 2008, 02:53:12 am by Akalabeth Angel »

 

Offline Cobra

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     Eh . .. . so I finally played through the campaign, sort of . .. here's my comments such as they are:

Spoiler:
     For some reason, the last mission would after one point continually crash whenever I killed Saya. I don't know why. Since I played past that point numerous times before that. Incidentally it was kind of annoying have them purple, instead of red, because Select nearest hostile no longer did anything and using the N key only works so far. In the end I just extracted the mission and made it complete after 10 seconds or whatnot. (then the movie didnt play so I extracted that too . . etcetera). I was honestly getting annoyed with the last mission anyway . . . maybe I'm not flying right, but when I can't even get a shot at either the Horus or the Pegasus because I'm in a crappy Herc 2 and they fly circles around me, well I was loosing patience. I like the Herc, but fighting two interceptors with no shields was not a winning proposition.

Biggest. Spoiler wall. EVER.

Anyway.

Spoiler:
It's a model bug in the Kelpie's debris generation process. Dunno why it's doing that. We all blame the 3DS Max converter.
To consider the Earth as the only populated world in infinite space is as absurd as to assert that in an entire field of millet, only one grain will grow. - Metrodorus of Chios
I wept. Mysterious forces beyond my ken had reached into my beautiful mission and energized its pilots with inhuman bomb-firing abilities. I could only imagine the GTVA warriors giving a mighty KIAAIIIIIII shout as they worked their triggers, their biceps bulging with sinew after years of Ivan Drago-esque steroid therapy and weight training. - General Battuta

 
Biggest. Spoiler wall. EVER.

Anyway.

Spoiler:
It's a model bug in the Kelpie's debris generation process. Dunno why it's doing that. We all blame the 3DS Max converter.

      Eh, personally I wasn't a huge fan of the
Spoiler:
Kelpie
. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a cool looking design but I think it would be better situated in a Star Trek MOD than a freespace one. Those gunports look like Nacelles to me and the glow maps don't help.

     
      If my post is too spoiler-ish it can be edited/deleted. Though . . . I think I'm probably the last person on these boards to play this campaign, and if any noob reads up to page 25 or whatnot and sees my post they've already got most of the spoilers from the last 25 pages I think.

 

Offline Ransom

  • M. Night Russel
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[review]
No, you're right on all counts. In retrospect I think the campaign got a much better reception than it really deserved. And I'm afraid Sync suffers from the same repetitive mission design issue toward the end, although perhaps not to quite the same extent.

Transcend's really more of an experiment in storytelling than a proper campaign, I think. That doesn't excuse it, but it's why it is what it is. I just didn't put any real effort into the gameplay. And I had some strange compulsion to stretch it to full-length, when really it would have worked far better as a shorter narrative.

I like to think I learned from the mistakes I made in designing these two campaigns, though. That's the main reason my next is taking so much longer to complete. So I guess that's something.

 
Transcend's really more of an experiment in storytelling than a proper campaign, I think. That doesn't excuse it, but it's why it is what it is. I just didn't put any real effort into the gameplay. And I had some strange compulsion to stretch it to full-length, when really it would have worked far better as a shorter narrative.

I like to think I learned from the mistakes I made in designing these two campaigns, though. That's the main reason my next is taking so much longer to complete. So I guess that's something.

       Hey, you don't need to excuse it. A lot of people enjoyed it so it was worth the effort and worth releasing regardless of your current opinion of it. I think one of the hardest parts of storytelling is building tension and maintaining it. While I don't think you really pulled it off (personally) . . . you certainly built on some of the story-telling techniques of past campaigns, and those can be applied to upcoming releases in some form. Like I said, even for me the campaign had its moments. Experiencing some of the cut-scene type things in campaigns such as Transcend and Blue Planet has given me ideas for my own.
     And your characters were pretty solid.
     As with any project, it's important to build upon successes and learn from shortcomings I think (whether real or perceived).

 
I do recommend you try out Sync, Akalabeth. There's a bit more focus on gameplay and a LOT more variety throughout much of the campaign, all still with that atmosphere of "WTF is going on???" that made Transcend so creepy.
"You need to believe in things that aren't true. How else can they become?" -DEATH, Discworld

"You can fight like a krogan, run like a leopard, but you'll never be better than Commander Shepard!"

 

Offline BoOReD

  • 23
GREAT CAMPAIGN, I couldn't sleep until I finished it...i go crazy when i play fs..but this rarely happens,i got hooked by those missions,it's 5:30 am in my country  :D
Great job man...i realy liked it  :yes:

 

Offline Rodo

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Good campaign, wish I could come up with something like this...

well... seems pretty difficult when its been like 5 years since i´ve last TRIED to fred something jojo

maybe i`ll start building up some thoughts...

anyway, good work! I enjoyed playing it.
el hombre vicio...

 

Offline Ashrak

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this is a perfect example on how to tell a story interactivly :)
I hate My signature!

 

Offline General Battuta

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Yeah, Ransom, I have to disagree with Akalabeth Angel and say that I think this is a great success from a storytelling point of view.

While it needs some padding cut, I think it deserves the reception it got, since it was such a tremendous leap forward for campaign storytelling and atmosphere. I loved it.

 

Offline NFSRacer

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Man, this mod has got to be the freekest mod I have ever played for FS2, but, over all, the most well deveolped and thought-out mod I have ever played, FULL STOP!!!  Plus, one thing that I can agree with is the choice of using a Pegesus-Class Stealth Recon fighter to resemble the Trancendend in his nebula.  The reason why I say that is because when I first saw that fighter, I thought, "What the heck is that?!"  I mean, seriously; the fighter's slim design, unique shape, and also the way the developer of this mod made the Trancendend fly and act really gave this mod a spooky feel!  Hey, if you want to know something else, after beating that mod, I'm some-what afraid of flying in ANY FS2 nebula without a cursier-to-crusier battle off in the distance!!!  I'm serious about that!  Wouldn't you guys agree?
"Said 'It was up to us.  Up to us, to decide.  You've become a virus that eating up it host.  We've been watching you with all our eye, and what you seem to value most.  'So much potential'.  Or so we used to say.  Your greed, self-importance, and your arrogance, you p*** it all away.'" - NIN from Year Zero

  

Offline Stormkeeper

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:necro:

Yes, Transcend is freaky. Just shows you how damn good Ransom is.
Ancient-Shivan War|Interview Board

Member of the Scooby Doo Fanclub. And we're not talking a cartoon dog here people!!