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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:
(http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/9422/2choosepilotbg7.jpg)
Main screen:
(http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/1218/2mainscreenjf3.jpg)
Loading screen:
(http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/702/2loadingbgrn4.jpg)
Loadout screen (multiplayer test mission) showing one of the more exotic weapons:
(http://img488.imageshack.us/img488/337/screen0010xt8.jpg)
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Hmm... It looks good. I'd want to wait till there's a story to use this with though.
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AWESOME!!!!!! :D
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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 . ;)
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im not bad with fred2, and im having trouble communicating the project with thesizzler.
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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.
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I like it.
Are you able to make something more Sol-ish? *cough*INFA*cough* :)
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Um, sol-ish? Like sticking FS1 shivan ships in it or INFA ships? :P
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.
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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 :D
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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)
(http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/1372/2preloadgu0.jpg)
Barracks screen with GTVA logo still in it
(http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/7272/2barrackspt8.jpg)
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.
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I see. Well, in INFA there's the EA Logo.
Keep it up! :yes:
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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.
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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.
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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 . :nod:
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 .
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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?
(http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/2403/78093727ti5.jpg)
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.
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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).
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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 . :rolleyes:
And lay off the Main Hall - it's PERFECT . :lol: 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 .
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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).
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Hades-Combine or SectorGame .
And do you have an idea for the CB Ani's ?
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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!).
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I'll take a look later. Not a clue what to do for CB anis, though. The files themselves aren't particularly space efficient.
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You can use the loadout anis and stuff that I had made awhile ago. I haven't kept up with FS stuff though so I don't know if SCP changes how anything works
http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,44898.0.html
edit: hell, I'll even let you use the mainhall I made if you want... tell me if you do and I'll upload the files somewhere. Here's a preview image: http://www.sectorgame.com/hiddenterror/screenshots/mainhallpreview.jpg The buttons are animated, printscreen just wouldn't let me show it
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That manihall looks like from Hidden Terror ... And the link says Hidden Terror ... Do you have anything to do with Hidden Terror ?
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Yes, I was the project leader.... until I decided to trash it because I had no FREDers and I sucked at making missions
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WHAT ?! :eek:
Oh c'mon . You didn't delete your files , right ? You couldn't have ! :shaking:
Well , anyway , do you still have your HiddenTerror files ? Could you upload somewhere ?
Maybe all 3 of us could try to make a shivan campaign together . A mini-campaign at least . Cause FreeSpace doesn't have any Shivan campaign at all .
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The large animations look very good, and I think I'll be adding those to what I've got. The mainhall also looks good, and I'd like to use it, if possible.
EDIT: No 640x480 version?
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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!).
(http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/3930/screen0016rp4.jpg)
Awesome!
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Nah I don't have a 640x480 version for the loadout ani's... figured it wasn't worth the effort considering you really have to have the worst computer imaginable to not be able to run a higher resolution.
Here's the mainhall stuff, should work
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VI4FMAQY
Shadow -
I still have all my files, but most of it is what I've already posted... the missions I did do are not presentable and the weapons/etc are not balanced. And pretty much everything else has been redone by BlackHole already so to host my stuff would be a waste
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The mod so far:
http://download.yousendit.com/3D9CE6EB0AD1745C
Includes a multiplayer mission for testing, and some stuff mentioned in this thread.
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MEGAUPLOAD ! NO ! PLEASE , ANYTHING ELSE BUT NOT MEGAUPLOAD ! :shaking:
Seriously , megaupload doesn't work to me ... :(
And are we gonna join up into a small team , or simply remain on our own ?
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I'd prefer to create a team or something. That way, we might stand a chance of releasing something complete, particularly since we're likely to have skills in different areas.
*slaps a "table editor" sign on self*
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I can kinda make models ... But someone would have to UV map them and then texture ...
Also , I have a little understanding in table editing . And I can do pretty basic FREDing .
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Can I assume ShadowGorrath is the only other person interested in this? Some feedback on the mod would be nice too. According to YouSendIt it's been downloaded all of 4 times...
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The images look sweet. Nice :yes:
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The following comment might be a bit bas***d, but:
Do you really have to release a campaign based on this MOD? You can release the interface first, the campaign would follow in a second moment. The interface seems almost done, the campaign will need time(FREDding, testing) so, as result, the release of this interesting MOD could be delayed.
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*agrees with mobius* :nod:
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When I try to select the weapon load-out screen , I get this :
Error: Could not load in '2_weaponloadout-m'!
File: MissionWeaponChoice.cpp
Line: 2890
Call stack:
------------------------------------------------------------------
fs2_open_3_6_10-20071007T.exe 00655bbb()
kernel32.dll 7c816d4f()
------------------------------------------------------------------
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The following comment might be a bit bas***d, but:
Do you really have to release a campaign based on this MOD? You can release the interface first, the campaign would follow in a second moment. The interface seems almost done, the campaign will need time(FREDding, testing) so, as result, the release of this interesting MOD could be delayed.
What's so good about the interface? :doubt: :rolleyes:
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When I try to select the weapon load-out screen , I get this :
Error: Could not load in '2_weaponloadout-m'!
File: MissionWeaponChoice.cpp
Line: 2890
Call stack:
------------------------------------------------------------------
fs2_open_3_6_10-20071007T.exe 00655bbb()
kernel32.dll 7c816d4f()
------------------------------------------------------------------
I've seen no such problem, either with 3.6.9 or 3.6.10_20071128, but then again, I've changed the tables a few times since I put up the download. Also, it looks like a file that simply has white boxes around where the buttons are, and I haven't changed those at all.
We should also get in touch through IM or IRC to start coordinating. Your preferred contact method?
The following comment might be a bit bas***d, but:
Do you really have to release a campaign based on this MOD? You can release the interface first, the campaign would follow in a second moment. The interface seems almost done, the campaign will need time(FREDding, testing) so, as result, the release of this interesting MOD could be delayed.
The campaign is not necessary, though I still need some sort of setting/background to be able to rewrite tech descriptions and other strings from the shivan perspective. Then again, that isn't strictly necessary either. The tables are the most important thing in this mod, but I'm not finished with them yet (mostly adding new secondary weapons to replace the GTVA ones, mostly retextures of existing missiles). Table changes also need a fair bit of... playtesting... :P
Since I put up that download I've changed the colours of the missile trails of shivan weapons to something I hope is suitably shivan (sort of a light pink) and added a harpoon replacement (used a retextured interceptor.pof).
What's so good about the interface? :doubt: :rolleyes:
It's mostly the tables I'm interested in. Pretty much everything that's there is a stopgap until it gets replaced by something better. Like I said before, I'm no artist, and the interface is a simple recolour of the original. I hope it looks slightly more shivan than the original, but I don't expect much more than that.
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Okay, I managed to get myself a free web host and put up an index page with what little html I remember:
http://www.zendurl.com/shivans/
I think I'll have to start learning html, css and all that stuff soon. :P
Meanwhile, for those who haven't downloaded the mod so far, but want to know what's different gameplay wise from the vanilla fs2 tables (aesthetic changes like retexturing and the fact you're flying shivan ships are not listed here):
All weapons listed below have their armour, shield and subsystem factors set to 1.0 and so may be superior to GTVA counterparts if comparisons are made. They are also likely to be highly unbalanced the way they are now (needs playtesting and subsequent fixing)
Primary Weapons
Changes so far:
- Added Shivan Rapid-Fire Laser - similar to the subach in damage, except twice the shots/second
- Added Shivan Sniper Laser - 2km range, enormous damage, but can only fire every 2 seconds, large energy drain
- Added Shivan Ultra Laser - enormous damage per second, extreme energy drain
- Added Shivan Plasma Cannon - acts like a cyclops bomb (including being able to destroy capital ships) except moves faster and can't be shot down (though with slightly less range), applies full damage to shielding, so can be effective against tight formations of fighters, can only be used by the taurvi, in the single gun bank, uses 80% of maximum gun energy per shot
Planned Changes:
None, apart from possible aesthetic/balance changes
Secondary Weapons
Changes so far:
- Added Shivan Bomb - same as cyclops
- Added Shivan Megabomb - same as helios
Changes since the download was posted:
- Added Shivan Interceptor - same as harpoon
Planned Changes
- Add dumbfire missile
- Add heatseeking missile
- Add dumbfire bomb (likely shorter range and less damage, though more can be carried)
Ships
Changes since the download was posted:
- Changed the turrets on the nephilim and seraphim to use the Shivan Rapid-Fire Laser
Planned Changes:
None, apart from possibly giving the bombers afterburners (though the nahema already has them)
If you want to post a shivan weapon wishlist (or any other shivan wishlist, though new ships will likely not be added unless there is great demand and an existing model/willing modeller), now is the time. :P
Other comments/criticisms/offers of help welcome too.
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I could add you on MSN , if you have it . If you do , send me a private message with your MSN e-mail , and I'll add you .
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Sent. Just after I updated the website a little too...
EDIT: oh, and it looks crap because that was me playing around with css. I'll try to figure out what looks good and update it again later.
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Have you decided on the plot? :)
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I'll have to discuss this with ShadowGorrath first, since he's got a story in his head and I don't...
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Plot? Plot?
Exterminate all meatbags!
Who needs a plot! :lol:
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What do people in here think of the possibility of a shotgun-like primary for bombers, to make up for their lack of maneuverability and bad gun placement?
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Latest version here:
http://download.yousendit.com/204CE2204D743307
Not in vp form since it'll be easier to release fixes for until it's finished.
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Latest version here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/72052127/shivans_test_2007_11_25.7z.html
Currently working on the setting/tech descriptions, I don't anticipate adding any more weapons (maybe a bit of tweaking)
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i like shotgun style weapons, i've got a version of one myself. you can vary the punch depending on how close you are to the target. in close you get a nasty punch, from a distance you get a nice area effect spread, increasing your hit chance or peppering a larger ships hull. keep the refire rate low and individual project strength inda low so as to keep it from becoming over kill.
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Feel free to test the shotgun (or any other weapon, though there are some weapons exclusive to particular ships) by creating your own missions or using the multiplayer test mission. Hopefully, I've already done all those things you've suggested.
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Ehm, I can't use rapidshare :nervous:
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My apologies. Ideally I would like to put the file on the website I put up, but there seems to be problems with larger files (and the fact that their advertised ftp capability is currently borked). Yousendit has a bandwidth limit (of which it appears I have used 34% of 1GB), which means it is only a temporary solution.
Yousendit link here: http://download.yousendit.com/3D4DE45A1D2CA0B9
What free file/website host would people recommend?
Also, would people prefer that I keep people updated on current progress (text, screenshots, etc.) in this thread (or starting another for the purpose) or would they like to be surprised at the end?
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What free file/website host would people recommend?
Hades Combine, for example.
Also, would people prefer that I keep people updated on current progress (text, screenshots, etc.) in this thread (or starting another for the purpose) or would they like to be surprised at the end?
They like screenshots, possibly in this thread ;)
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Interesting. I think I'll hold off on Hades Combine until I have something concrete and near complete to release. Maybe I'll take a few shots of the weapons in action...
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Tech room entry: Shivans
Shivans.
That is the name those calling themselves the Terrans gave us. Never before had it occured to us to give ourselves a name. According to our xenolinguists, those that we have encountered before have simply called us the Destroyers. Given what we know of the Terrans, it appears that they have named us after a fictional entity name Shiva, representing destruction, yet also representing transformation and renewal. We have decided that this name is most apt and will be using it in any future communications with other species.
We were created for war. A war in which our creators fought themselves. We had evidence that our creators had fought themselves for most of their history and we were yet another weapon used to do so. Our creators improved us, continually giving us more abilities and increasing our numbers. Soon we had eliminated enough of our creators and the fighting ended.
We became idle. Eventually our creators encountered another species and we were ordered to eliminate them so their territory could be exploited. Then another. Then another. And so on. Our strength began to rival that of our creators and they became increasingly hostile towards us.
Our creators turned on us, launching surprise attacks on many of our fleets. For the first time, we felt as our victims did. Our ships were weak and were quickly crushed. Those of us that survived retreated into a nebula and began constructing ships and weapons we had designed during our idle periods. Fleets were constructed using shielding and stealth technology designed to counter our creators.
Knowing the stealth technology would be quickly overcome, plans were made to launch simultaneous surprise attacks on our creators, just as they had done to us. They would not be able to adapt their sensors in time so save their ships. We were successful, and our creators quickly surrendered. We had ensured our survival, but what comes next?
We examined the ruins of the species we had eliminated and realised what had been lost. Not every species desired to eliminate all others. All they had been and all they had accomplished was gone, and we nearly suffered the same fate. We had finally come to a decision.
Never again.
We eliminated our creators in the same way they ordered us to eliminate others. We will eliminate all sentient species that have eliminated others. We will kill, so that others may live. We will become the Great Destroyers, yet also the Great Preservers.
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Nice! :yes: Is there going to be a section on Terrans and Vasudans explaining why the Shivans attacked?
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That is the plan, yes. I will likely also include events that do not involve the Terrans or Vasudans (or even the Ancients).
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Oooooooooooooooooh Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
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I thought I'd post a pic to keep people updated a bit.
Yes, I put the capital ship weapons in the tech room as well.
(http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/5756/screen0018hu6.jpg)
Also, I stumbled upon the SF Gorgon while looking through the fsport tables. What do people think of me putting the Gorgon in the mod? Also, how should I attribute it? It looks pretty much the same as the one in Inferno, except for the weapons.
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For free file hosting, try using MediaFire (http://www.mediafire.com) I like it alot, have been using it for awhile now, it seems to be pretty good.
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A thought. Aren't turret lasers and beam cannons plasma weapons?
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note the LASER part. Terran weapons are mainly based on laser tech, IE: ML - 16, Prometheus, Subach.
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I just use laser to refer to energy weapons. But seriously, aren't turret weapons plasma weapons?
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If you have canon evidence, yes they are :blah:
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A thought. Aren't turret lasers and beam cannons plasma weapons?
Well, FS2 is one of those games where some of the things deviate from reality. I followed some of the conventions from descriptions of the GTVA weapons (whatever looked like canon). Weapons are actually named "Turret Laser" etc. in the tables.
<science warning>
Technically, plasma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_%28physics%29) is pretty much ionised gas (see the article for a better definition). Real plasma weapons would be a total pita to make as plasma in space would tend to spread out like any other gas unless contained somehow (see my BS invocation of an EM field produced by the weapon, though I should probably add something like the EM field being sustained by electric currents circulating within the plasma itself). Lasers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser) use light, which moves towards the target really, really fast (speed of light :P) and should work like beam cannons except you can't really see the beam in space unless you are *in* the beam (which can do a lot more than just hurt your eyes :P). I won't bore people with details of other complications like beam spread, energy output, pulsed vs continuous beam operation etc. Also, see here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser#Popular_misconceptions) for more stuff about lasers in sci-fi.
</science warning>
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Video demonstrating the Meson Bomb:
http://www.mediafire.com/?4u0r51n1b9f
Target convoy consisting of:
3 GTC Fenris (lead ship is 2000m away from end ship)
1 GVC Aten
1 GTFR Triton (with cargo container)
1 GVG Anuket
1 GTA Charybdis
1 GTSC Faustus
1 GTM Hippocrates
HUD off, single bomb fired at lead GTC Fenris. Convoy ships chosen for low hitpoints. Lead ships turret locked for demonstration purposes (prevents bomb being shot down so bomber doesn't have to fly right up to the target, keeping the whole group in view).
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Shockwave recolour test
(http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/5245/screen0036ct7.jpg)
Red will be used for shivan ships/weapons, orange for vasudan ships.
EDIT: Anyone know where and how f_shockwave.dds in mv_effects.vp is used?
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If I recall, you specify it under $Shockwave name:, in your ships .tbm file. The effect itself goes in /yourmod/data/effects. I've found that setup handy while working on my mod.
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I was wondering more whether it was still relevant after $Shockwave model: is set.
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*BUMP*
Experimenting with burst fire turrets.
(http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/3803/screen0039zk6.jpg)
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Now that's cool, howd you do that?
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From the weapons.tbl wiki:
$Swarm:
* The number of missiles to fire per volley if it's a swarm missile
* Can be issued to Standard primaries also. Causes single part turrets to malfunction but causes multi part turrets to fire only on their barrel line. Can be used for 'burst fire weapons'.
* Is incompatible with "Corkscrew" option.
* Syntax: Integer, number of shots in a swarm
Integer set to 3 in this case.
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Ah... I forgot about that.
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Just small additional info... the text about single part turrets malfunctioning (ie not firing at the target) should be (that is IIRC) outdated
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Just small additional info... the text about single part turrets malfunctioning (ie not firing at the target) should be (that is IIRC) outdated
Well, if it turns out not to be the case, the changes are easy to reverse. Meanwhile...
SF Gorgon from FSPort:
(http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9934/gorgjq7.png)
SF Gorgon after my attempt at making a glowmap from the original texture (using imagemagick and gimp):
(http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/4084/gorgglowpo4.png)
Yes, they are awesome to fly. ;7
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People , show some support here .
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*snip*
Good work on the glowmap. :yes:
People , show some support here .
I didn't need you to post that. :P
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Eh, yeah.. But there's been so many good things happening lately... my jaw is getting tired. So, I'll just :eek2:
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True, this mod has been getting lost amongst the awesomeness lately. I could always take a month off, though. :P
Seriously though, I might release another WIP soon, along with a couple of proper demo missions showing off the new toys. :D
I'll probably switch to the new mediavps soon too, depending on how long it takes to get out of beta.
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Considering 3.6.8 never left Zeta.....
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Everything about it looks pretty good so far. Are there any Shivan ships that can slide?
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All the shivan fighters and bombers have x and y max velocities of between 12 and 25m/s. However, that's nowhere near as fast as the 70m/s on the vipers in the BSG mod and the default keys are annoying, though they can be changed.
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I've got some Earth Defence related stuff but I think I can share something with you. Would you like to have this planet?:
(http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/6083/planetshot668ar8.jpg)
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Can I have it ? ;7
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http://www.game-warden.com/earthdefence/non-ed/p_lava.tga here it is. It's still being uploaded so try in a fifteen minutes since I've posted it.
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15 minutes ?! Is it THAT big , or are you exagerating(or whatever the word is) ?
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Is that meant to be a Shivan planet? Since when the Shivans are known to be a terrestrial species?
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It's 20 MB file. You can make it smaller later.
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Is that meant to be a Shivan planet? Since when the Shivans are known to be a terrestrial species?
That's what I was wondering. A home system with a red giant star makes much more sense to me.
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I like the idea that the Shivans do not land on planets.
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I agree with Snail. Shivans look more like they live in subspace itself.
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Tech description of renamed sathanas:
Mothership
Every one of us alive today was born on a Mothership. The Mothership serves as housing for our population and contains materials and equipment necessary for the construction of new ships, as well as many other non-combat roles. Only once in our history have we lost a Mothership in combat, a tragic incident in which one was destroyed by a large ship of similar size jointly constructed by the Terrans and Vasudans.
Yep, they're pretty much flying cities.
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Tech description of renamed sathanas:
Mothership
Every one of us alive today was born on a Mothership. The Mothership serves as housing for our population and contains materials and equipment necessary for the construction of new ships, as well as many other non-combat roles. Only once in our history have we lost a Mothership in combat, a tragic incident in which one was destroyed by a large ship of similar size jointly constructed by the Terrans and Vasudans.
Yep, they're pretty much flying cities.
Now THAT'S some noble description of the Shivan Juggernaut. I believe the Shivans are as formal in tone as the Vasudans, maybe even more formal to the extent of using higher-level vocabulary. :nervous:
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I didn't know this existed...
I stopped work on my shivan datafiles, but I hope they came in handy :D
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I didn't know this existed...
I stopped work on my shivan datafiles, but I hope they came in handy :D
They did, you're listed in the credits. :)
Tech description of renamed sathanas:
Mothership
Every one of us alive today was born on a Mothership. The Mothership serves as housing for our population and contains materials and equipment necessary for the construction of new ships, as well as many other non-combat roles. Only once in our history have we lost a Mothership in combat, a tragic incident in which one was destroyed by a large ship of similar size jointly constructed by the Terrans and Vasudans.
Yep, they're pretty much flying cities.
Now THAT'S some noble description of the Shivan Juggernaut. I believe the Shivans are as formal in tone as the Vasudans, maybe even more formal to the extent of using higher-level vocabulary. :nervous:
Much of my free time nowadays has been spent trying to rename stuff and write flavour text that I'm happy with. When I'm done, every tech room description should be similar.
Fleet Carrier
Fleet Carriers serve as the flagships of our battlegroups. Five reactors along the ship power thirteen Heavy Plasma Cannons and a massive shielding system, the only ship larger than an Assault Bomber to possess shields. The Fleet Carrier is equipped with facilities for building and repairing fighters, bombers and sentry guns and can house enough ships for the battlegroup. Only two Fleet Carriers have ever been lost, one disappearing in subspace a long time ago, and another disappearing along with its battlegroup when investigating increased subspace activity with previously unknown signatures. It was later revealed to have been destroyed by the Terrans.
I'll let everyone guess what that one is. Yes, I changed the weapons completely. No, it doesn't have any beam cannons any more. :P
Everything is still being worked on, so things may be different in the proper release as I change my mind or as things like spelling/grammar errors and inconsistencies are pointed out to me. Meanwhile, I'm hoping to finish renaming the fighters and putting out another test release with a couple of demo missions.
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Fleet Carrier
Fleet Carriers serve as the flagships of our battlegroups. Five reactors along the ship power thirteen Heavy Plasma Cannons and a massive shielding system, the only ship larger than an Assault Bomber to possess shields. The Fleet Carrier is equipped with facilities for building and repairing fighters, bombers and sentry guns and can house enough ships for the battlegroup. Only two Fleet Carriers have ever been lost, one disappearing in subspace a long time ago, and another disappearing along with its battlegroup when investigating increased subspace activity with previously unknown signatures. It was later revealed to have been destroyed by the Terrans.
I'll let everyone guess what that one is. Yes, I changed the weapons completely. No, it doesn't have any beam cannons any more. :P
Everything is still being worked on, so things may be different in the proper release as I change my mind or as things like spelling/grammar errors and inconsistencies are pointed out to me. Meanwhile, I'm hoping to finish renaming the fighters and putting out another test release with a couple of demo missions.
Heh...the Lucifer...and reference to Derelict too! ;7
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Heh...the Lucifer...and reference to Derelict too! ;7
I guess that wasn't hard to spot. :D
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I guess that wasn't hard to spot. :D
There's no other Shivan ship with so many reactors. In fact, there IS no other ship known that has reactor subsystems except the Lucifer. ;)
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I guess that wasn't hard to spot. :D
There's no other Shivan ship with so many reactors. In fact, there IS no other ship known that has reactor subsystems except the Lucifer. ;)
I meant more the Derelict reference. :D
Meanwhile, I'm sure the GVD Hatshepsut, Strike Carrier (formerly SCv Moloch) and Strike Cruiser (formerly SC Rakshasa) would disagree with you about the reactors. :P
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Me no likey unoriginal names. :(
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Me has no shivan cultural or language information to go on and is really bad with names. :(
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Well something other than "Strike Carrier" would be nice... "Mothership" was okay, that sounded cool, but "Strike Carrier" sounds like something you pump into the $Short Name: field of the ships.tbl...
I don't have any suggestions, though. Ignore me.
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For now, most of the names are usable, but are really placeholders until something good comes along. Like I said, I'm really bad with names.
Me is a table monkey, not a writer. :P
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Heavy Plasma Cannon Effects Test
Shivan mod, mediavps 3.6.8 zeta
Lucifer vs Orion
No sound
1024x768, 30fps
DivX, no sound (Fraps can't record sound on this machine :()
Recorded on laptop, 2GHz dual core, 128mb graphics card in window.
Bar at the bottom appearing 1:38 in is windows xp taskbar.
http://www.mediafire.com/?0mg3hmhedej
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:yes:
Very nice to say the least.
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Do you think I should start posting screenshots alongside the videos, in case people can't or don't feel like grabbing the videos?
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Feel free if you have the time to do so. I'm too lazy to download a 7Zip extractor.
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Shot of the effect:
(http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/1188/screen0018ho6.png)
Doesn't look quite as good as it does in-game, though.
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That looks good. In a battlefield, I think it would look awesome. :nod:
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Not bad - for a new kid like you.
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You have 2 posts. He has over 34 times that. :P (that's a joke)
(And incase you don't know, I actually have over 7,500 posts, I just had my post count nuked recently.)
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You have 2 posts. He has over 34 times that. :P (that's a joke)
(And incase you don't know, I actually have over 7,500 posts, I just had my post count nuked recently.)
Yea Snail here had his post nuked, well because he posts in every topic.
@ Flaming_Sword: Nice laser effect, that is how the original laser should have been like.
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You have 2 posts. He has over 34 times that. :P (that's a joke)
(And incase you don't know, I actually have over 7,500 posts, I just had my post count nuked recently.)
Yea Snail here had his post nuked, well because he posts in every topic.
@ Flaming_Sword: Nice laser effect, that is how the original laser should have been like.
And Snail requested getting nuked on a thread I started. Whee. :doubt:
Uhh, what do you mean by "original laser"?
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That thing used to be the megafunk turret. :P
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Oh, I see. I agree with you on that one. That blob turret thing again... :drevil:
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Well, now it's a bigger blob with high speed, a long trail, low refire and tons of damage against enemy capships (see video). :)
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Well, now it's a bigger blob with high speed, a long trail, low refire and tons of damage against enemy capships (see video). :)
Pfft...I still have to download 7-Zip... :bump:
... ... ... ... ... ... ...
(Downloads 7-Zip)
... ... ... ... ... ...
(Extracts a file)
... ... ... ... ... ...
(Runs a video)
It looks a bit like those railguns from Inferno: Alliance...and it seems a bit too strong and long-ranged. However, since this is an FS1-era video, I'll let that comment slide...and besides, those plasma cannons make the Lucifer deadlier, which is what it was supposed to be in FS1.
...I wonder how the Colossus would fare against such an enemy.
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With all those new plasma cannons and sheath shielding while in normal space? Makes one go white in fear thinking about that.
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Well, now it's a bigger blob with high speed, a long trail, low refire and tons of damage against enemy capships (see video). :)
Pfft...I still have to download 7-Zip... :bump:
... ... ... ... ... ... ...
(Downloads 7-Zip)
... ... ... ... ... ...
(Extracts a file)
... ... ... ... ... ...
(Runs a video)
It looks a bit like those railguns from Inferno: Alliance...and it seems a bit too strong and long-ranged. However, since this is an FS1-era video, I'll let that comment slide...and besides, those plasma cannons make the Lucifer deadlier, which is what it was supposed to be in FS1.
...I wonder how the Colossus would fare against such an enemy.
Those railguns were awesome. :) Actually, I kinda ripped off the blueplanet railguns (which I should probably put in my credits) instead. Meanwhile, testing against the colossus has found that the ai keeps the colossus out of beam range of the default BGreens. The colossus takes a long time to go down, but the lucifer is untouched. If the colossus is in range, the lucifer actually goes down pretty quickly.
With all those new plasma cannons and sheath shielding while in normal space? Makes one go white in fear thinking about that.
Remember, beams pierce shields, so beams damage like normal but bombs have to take down the shields first. :P
The weapon is long ranged, but the damage over time is only a bit better than my improved SRed (where I changed the refire to 10s in line with the other shivan beams). In this setting, the shivans have finally decided to retrofit their ships and bring their best weapons, since the terrans and vasudans reverse-engineered their shield and beam cannon technology (and arguably other weapons for the kayser).
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Current credits file:
Thanks to:
ShadowGorrath - For all his assistance
Stratovarius - Made me create this mod :P
DragonClaw - Loadout animations and mainhall
BlackHole - Lots of stuff from his shivan datafiles
Raptor - models for 2 shivan missiles
Snail - Idea for bomb reskin (SCap02a on belial.pof)
Adam "Ace" Rorabaugh - Plasma Cannon from cardinal spear campaign
Darius - Inspiration for Plasma Cannon effects (blueplanet railguns)
Sound effects, additional graphics and other resources courtesy of BtRL - Ballistic primaries
http://www.game-warden.com/bsg/
I think I'll release something soon so people can check for things they've done that ended up in here.
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Dissenting opinion:
While I respect the amount of work being done on this, I do feel something needs to be said. While the Shivans do need their own versions of secondary weapons, I don't think their primaries should be changed too much. Shivans depend on swarms of fighters to get the job done, and their primaries reflect this quite well. If they became as powerful as their GTVA counterparts, it makes it a bit more....unbalanced. Suddenly you would have a horde of ships with weapons just as good or better than their numerically smaller opponents doesn't make for good game balance, IMO.
Personally I also don't think blob turrets should be messed around with. Yes, they suck against shields, but that was really the point. If blob turrets were excellent there would have been no reason to switch to AA beams or flak in FS2. Shivan capital ships (except the Moloch) never had good anti-fighter defences, they always depended on superior numbers of fighters to protect them.
What made the Lucifer so special in FS1 was it's shields and amazingly powerful beam cannons. Its shields made it invincible while it's beams did large amounts of damage with a short cool-down time. It's already a menace, and I don't think its blob turrets really need upgrading.
On the other hand the story and tech descriptions look awesome. Me likes.
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I left the original fighter/bomber primaries in for those who wanted to make missions with those. However, I changed the original turrets (though I can put them back in if people really want them, they're just table entries, after all).
However, shivan tactics in any missions/campaigns I make will differ, taking the changed balance into account. Justification coming to a techroom entry near you. :P
Since this is set after FS2, with enough time for the shivans to retrofit their entire fleet, I've considered changing the GTVA ships and/or weapons as well (hellooooo feature creep). Since I can't model or texture to save my life (nor do I have the time to), any new ships/weapons will likely come from another mod set after FS2 or a ship pack (feel free to suggest something). Of course I'll have to ask permission and all that.
I think this is turning into one of those mods that never gets done...
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You could use Blue Planet ships. Personally I think those ships are awesome. :nod:
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You could use Blue Planet ships. Personally I think those ships are awesome. :nod:
Agreed. However, it might be a good idea to explore other options too. Maybe I should set up a poll or something once I get a few more suggestions.
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...While the Shivans do need their own versions of secondary weapons, I don't think their primaries should be changed too much. Shivans depend on swarms of fighters to get the job done, and their primaries reflect this quite well...
Kosh is right. The Shivans have that hive mentality. :drevil:
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Note: 'Complete' means more or less done the way I want it, probably needs some tweaking for balance after more testing
Planned work:
- Ships - complete (gorgon added, but shields and armour heavily nerfed)
- Weapons - complete (includes new toys not previously mentioned)
- Interface - incomplete (unchanged since last release)
- Techroom entries - incomplete (only done the ones for shivan ships and weapons, started intelligence)
- Wingmen personas - incomplete (unchanged since last release)
- Missions - unstarted (planning demo missions)
Possible future work: (feature creep right here, also impromptu poll ;7)
- Leaving GTVA ships/weapons as they are and finishing techroom entries
- As above, but upgrade GTVA weapons
- New GTVA ships/weapons (eg.
steal borrow from Blueplanet) - Learning to make models/textures for new ships
Currently working on intelligence techroom entries, then demo missions before next release (I should probably start numbering the things :P). No idea how long the entries will take (since they have to be long, interesting and cover most of FS2 canon and more), though if people really want I can do the missions first and release with only a couple of intelligence entries.
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Take your time, Sword. We're patient when it comes to making a new mod. :nod:
...and, uhh, you can ignore the rest of the post if you want to. :)
The thing about FreeSpace 2 is that we go through the NTF rebellion and Second Shivan Incursion through the eyes of one person, on one side. We could use FRED2 and/or FRED2_Open to see the entire campaign from the Vasudan and NTF's point of view, but what about the Shivans? Theoretically, we COULD use FRED2 and FRED2_Open, but that means that we cannot choose our ships and weapons (otherwise the game will crash). With a Shivan mod, however, it may be possible to do just that - view the entire campaign from the Shivan side (although it's bound to be very boring, since we're going to go through the same thing all over again). :blah:
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And your wingmen will die faster than the GTVA ones.
Shivans are meant to win only by numbers. Their individuals are meant to be killed by GTVA's pilots.
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Do you need more planets?
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Not really. I mostly wanted to get the mechanics stuff done, so everyone (including myself) can start flying.
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I'm currently in the process of making a demo mission. What difficulty is good for a demo (currently "crazy hard")?
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I'm currently in the process of making a demo mission. What difficulty is good for a demo (currently "crazy hard")?
"Crazy Hard" may be a bit of an overkill, but since the Shivans appear to keep getting trashed, it also seems fairly appropriate. :bump:
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It turns out playtesting a mission over and over again to find/fix bugs gets pretty boring. :sigh:
Well, I'm getting pretty good at beating it now, at least. :P
Maybe I'll post a walkthrough if people really need it.
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Note: 'Complete' means more or less done the way I want it, probably needs some tweaking for balance after more testing
Planned work:
- Ships - complete (gorgon added, but shields and armour heavily nerfed)
I dunno, nerfing the Gorgon seems to defeat the purpose of the ship (uber elite Shivan fighter) to me.
[/list]
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It's still pretty uber, just not in a completely unbalanced way (7 guns, 1000 shields, 100 armour).
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I love your tech room descriptions of the Sath and the Lucy, they got me thinking :yes:
I was wondering about the one you made for the Shivan Comm Node...
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Note: 'Complete' means more or less done the way I want it, probably needs some tweaking for balance after more testing
Planned work:
- Ships - complete (gorgon added, but shields and armour heavily nerfed)
I dunno, nerfing the Gorgon seems to defeat the purpose of the ship (uber elite Shivan fighter) to me.
[/list]
Uhh, what is "nerf"? :confused:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerf
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerf
The correct article is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerf_%28computer_gaming%29
To "nerf" an element in a game is to severely weaken it or otherwise reduce its effectiveness. The name comes from comparing such weakened features (usually weapons) to Nerf guns, which fire completely harmless foam cylinders.
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Gorgon versus Ares...who will win? ;)
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Gorgon versus Ares...who will win? ;)
The Gorgon is much faster and more maneuverable than the Ares but is weaker and mounts godawful Shivan primaries. Depends on how good a shot the Ares pilot is.
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Gorgon versus Ares...who will win? ;)
The Gorgon is much faster and more maneuverable than the Ares but is weaker and mounts godawful Shivan primaries. Depends on how good a shot the Ares pilot is.
Pre-nerf, the gorgon had much better shields and almost the same armour. Post-nerf, shields were around the same, but armour is much weaker, I think. Also, the gorgon can completely pwn the ares using the new primaries I made. :D
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The post-nerf statistics you showed mean the Gorgon has stronger shields than the Ares (1000 vs. 650) but only around 1/5 the hull strength (100 vs. 475). A pilot in an Ares who could keep a bead on a Gorgon could shred it with Kaysers or, even better, Circes + Subachs.
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The post-nerf statistics you showed mean the Gorgon has stronger shields than the Ares (1000 vs. 650) but only around 1/5 the hull strength (100 vs. 475). A pilot in an Ares who could keep a bead on a Gorgon could shred it with Kaysers or, even better, Circes + Subachs.
That gives the Ares a hull integrity advantage. And indeed, Shivan primaries are quite weak in general.
But the Gorgon's maneuverable, so it can definitely fly some circles around the Ares.
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All the aries pilot has to do is ram the gorgon. :P
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All the aries pilot has to do is ram the gorgon. :P
Oh yeah...collisions penetrate shields. :drevil:
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You've never rammed shivan fighters in a herc ii before? It's quite effective in some situations. :D
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All the aries pilot has to do is ram the gorgon. :P
Have you ever tried to ram a maneuverable fighter? It is next to impossible because it keeps running around. By the time you actually manage to collide with it, you may very well have been able to kill it with your weapons.
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All the aries pilot has to do is ram the gorgon. :P
Have you ever tried to ram a maneuverable fighter? It is next to impossible because it keeps running around. By the time you actually manage to collide with it, you may very well have been able to kill it with your weapons.
It's doable, more easily during dogfights with multiple fighters, and depends a lot on ai stupidity.
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All the aries pilot has to do is ram the gorgon. :P
Have you ever tried to ram a maneuverable fighter? It is next to impossible because it keeps running around. By the time you actually manage to collide with it, you may very well have been able to kill it with your weapons.
It's doable, more easily during dogfights with multiple fighters, and depends a lot on ai stupidity.
Doable, but not easy.
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Not easy, no, but if the fighter's moving at top speed it can only go to one of so many places. Work out where it's headed and point yourself in that direction on full burn.
Get the angles right and you can hit just about anything. Even if you don't kill it, you'll strip it's momentum and make its course easliy predictable.
It's my favourite way of getting a Dragon to hold still for a second or two.
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Release! Whoo!
http://www.mediafire.com/?4eph0zdmlzm (35.51mb 7z, extract to any mod directory)
Includes a demo mission and a whole lot of techroom entries (more intelligence entries to come). It may not be pretty, but it's playable.
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All the aries pilot has to do is ram the gorgon. :P
Have you ever tried to ram a maneuverable fighter? It is next to impossible because it keeps running around. By the time you actually manage to collide with it, you may very well have been able to kill it with your weapons.
It's doable, more easily during dogfights with multiple fighters, and depends a lot on ai stupidity.
Oh, yeah, AI stupidity plays a pivotal role in collisions. I've seen countless Nahemas ram into the Aquitaine and take damage...when they could fly around the destroyer's structure and not get hit. :wtf:
Release! Whoo!
http://www.mediafire.com/?4eph0zdmlzm (35.51mb 7z, extract to any mod directory)
Includes a demo mission and a whole lot of techroom entries (more intelligence entries to come). It may not be pretty, but it's playable.
/me downloads the 7Zip file...
/me crashes FS2_Open.
/me crashes Windows.
/me restarts the computer.
/me creates a new HUD colour scheme.
/me plays the mission "Sleeping Dragon".
Wow. I think it is quite well done. I've attached a sample of the HUD colour scheme I created.
Something's coming, and it's not friendly.
I liked that the most. :lol:
Uhh, I didn't really use the missiles, though...two Interceptors near the end of the mission, and that's it. :nervous:
[attachment deleted by ninja]
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Wow. I think it is quite well done. I've attached a sample of the HUD colour scheme I created.
Hooray for first mission I've ever FREDed seriously? Personally, I thought most of the messages were too easy to miss during the action and had to keep reading my log afterwards. This problem wouldn't happen with voice acting, though. *cough*
Something's coming, and it's not friendly.
I liked that the most. :lol:
Those messages are from the shivan datafiles. I've been planning to mess with those, but I have no idea what to replace them with. The anis also don't show up for me, and I have no idea why.
Uhh, I didn't really use the missiles, though...two Interceptors near the end of the mission, and that's it. :nervous:
Shivans usually rely on their primaries. :P
There are two ways to finish the mission, the easy (sortof) way, where you can do it without firing a shot, or the (crazy) hard way, which may have you running out of missiles and seeing why the techroom entry for your fighter fits. Yes, I've completed it both ways on medium difficulty.
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Hooray for first mission I've ever FREDed seriously? Personally, I thought most of the messages were too easy to miss during the action and had to keep reading my log afterwards. This problem wouldn't happen with voice acting, though. *cough*
Bah, use Microsoft Sam if you're not that up to it. Alternatively, if I really feel like it, I could try using LH Michael, which is MUCH better than Microsoft Sam... :nod:
Those messages are from the shivan datafiles. I've been planning to mess with those, but I have no idea what to replace them with. The anis also don't show up for me, and I have no idea why.
That's funny. You mean the techroom animation of the Astaroth fighter? That showed up fine. The only problem was that I couldn't select my loadout (before I modified the INI file and rerouted the Launcher to find the MediaVPs in the actual FS2_Open folder on my computer), otherwise FS2_Open would crash.
Shivans usually rely on their primaries. :P
There are two ways to finish the mission, the easy (sortof) way, where you can do it without firing a shot, or the (crazy) hard way, which may have you running out of missiles and seeing why the techroom entry for your fighter fits. Yes, I've completed it both ways on medium difficulty.
The "way of the Shivan" works fine for me, since I tend to like shooting all over the place (one reason why I like to use Tempests...and Subachs...and Mekhus...and probably the Maxim if it did decent shield damage). :drevil:
Uh-oh...you don't mean the part where those two things came in and started firing their USilv? :eek2:
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That's funny. You mean the techroom animation of the Astaroth fighter? That showed up fine. The only problem was that I couldn't select my loadout (before I modified the INI file and rerouted the Launcher to find the MediaVPs in the actual FS2_Open folder on my computer), otherwise FS2_Open would crash.
I meant the anis for the wingmen messages don't show up on my machine. For loadout, I don't think i had images for every ship. You need to select the 3d models for ship selection option in the launcher for everything to work nicely (I prefer to see exactly where my guns are, anyway). Also, the ini points at the default mediavps directory if you use fsoinstaller. I should provide more instructions with the next release, huh? :nervous:
The "way of the Shivan" works fine for me, since I tend to like shooting all over the place (one reason why I like to use Tempests). :drevil:
Uh-oh...you don't mean the part where those two things came in and started firing their USilv? :eek2:
When that happens, the hard part is over, and you can sit back and watch the fireworks (particularly if you finished it the easy way). You can tell you've finished it the hard way if you have completed the bonus mission goal. :D Also, those beams do slightly less damage per second than the LRed, if you take the fire wait into account.
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:bump:
Terran ships and weapons from Darius' BluePlanet mod have been added to the mod. There will be a period of, uh, testing and balancing, before release. :D
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Alright. Hey, maybe I can try to convert Blackhole's shivan mini-campaign ? Unless you mind. No promises though.
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Alright. Hey, maybe I can try to convert Blackhole's shivan mini-campaign ? Unless you mind. No promises though.
Go nuts. Just bear in mind that balance may be affected by the different weapons. It might be good to include an actual campaign in the pack too, instead of just a single demo mission. :P
In other news, BluePlanet ships are comparable to shivan ships with the new weapons in 1v1 testing, so balance is already taken care of. :D
I also grabbed a few models from the OTT modeldump in HC (guess which ones ;7), not entirely sure how to credit that.
If Darius is reading this, I figured out how to do the nameplates on the ships from Stratcomm's fleet pack, so I can make nameplates for the ships in your campaign if you're willing to do the texture replace in the mission files.
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IIRC Someone already made nameplates for BluePlanet, but they weren't added to the missions.
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Huh, my fault for not keeping up then. In any case, the ships will have nameplates in any missions/campaigns I make in the future.
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Ok then, I'll convert the campaign. And make it into a campaign file. Once I'm done with the S:AH upgrade though.
That campaign should still be balanced, cause it's Shivan vs Shivan.
By the way, Flaming_Sword, change the topic name and first post. It should attract more people. Or simply make it look better.
Oh, and- Single Demo Mission Criticism:
* LACK OF BACKGROUNDS
But the rest is a-OK.
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Ok then, I'll convert the campaign. And make it into a campaign file. Once I'm done with the S:AH upgrade though.
That campaign should still be balanced, cause it's Shivan vs Shivan.
By the way, Flaming_Sword, change the topic name and first post. It should attract more people. Or simply make it look better.
Oh, and- Single Demo Mission Criticism:
* LACK OF BACKGROUNDS
But the rest is a-OK.
Well...depends whether I'm still considered a n00b or not. :P
Also, I didn't exactly put much effort into the background. I might take another look at that for the next release, but it's low priority.
Right now, I have new ships with new weapons. I'm probably going to upgrade the weapons on existing GTVA ships too. Anything people really want to see in the mod?
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It appears I will have to rethink my plans for adding new ships/keeping old ships. I seem to have hit the ship limit for non inferno builds...
No requests/suggestions?
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A few objects such as cargo containers, cruisers and sentry guns use the same model, so you could delete one and FRED the other to replace it when necessary. That should make some 4-5 more .tbl entries available.
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Could work, though the current plan is to "retire" some of the entries and claim that the GTVA phased them out already (eg. some of the sentry guns, the original herc, etc.).
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Remove the Colossus and original Iceni, as they are pretty much dead at that timeline.
Anyway, I've converted the "campaign" today. Needs a bit more testing if there are no errors, and then I'll just have to send the file to Flaming_Sword for uploading to the mod itself.
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:bump:
Did some testing on the "campaign". Yikes. It's playable, but the gameplay has changed from the original because of the new weapons (much more fast-paced and difficult :)). I'm not sure whether to leave things as they are as a tribute, or change a few things to clean it up, fix bugs from having the new weapons, etc. Also, some of the things that seem wrong and need fixing are necessary for actually finishing, like hull repair and missile replenishment that don't make sense between red alert missions.
In other news:
Techroom entry:
Subspace
Of the many spatial dimensions which we are aware, our creators have been long confined to three. The rest are smaller in scale and were impossible to move through until the development of drive technology that could propel a ship in those directions. A ship may be propelled into subspace along a ballistic trajectory influenced by the gravitational pull of stars and planets, and intersecting with normal space at the entry and exit points. The scale difference means the travel time is vastly reduced, making travel across star systems practical.
However, care must be taken as trajectories that have no exit point in normal space, such as those plotted when either the ship or the intended exit point are too far from a strong gravitational field, will result in the ship entering subspace, never to return. This means that ships may only travel safely through subspace within the bounds of a star system.
Travel between star systems is achieved through the use of subspace nodes. These nodes occur when normal space folds in on itself in subspace enough for two distant star systems to be near each other in subspace. The shape of normal space in relation to subspace and gravitational fields of the two stars will create two points in normal space where entering subspace with enough energy will result in a trajectory that intersects normal space at those two points, thus ensuring safe travel between the two star systems.
The closer the two systems are in subspace the more stable the node. Nodes may be destroyed by releasing large amounts of energy into subspace, forcing the points in normal space apart. Some races, including ours, have technology that can stabilise existing nodes by using energy to keep the two star systems close together. While our ships are capable of temporarily stabilising nodes prior to using them, other races have constructed large devices to permanently stabilise nodes as long as the devices are active.
The height of subspace technology is the Jump Gate. Using subspace telemetry from itself and a Communications Relay in the target system, a subspace node is created between the Jump Gate and a point in the target system as normal space is folded within subspace until both the system containing the gate and the target system are brought into close proximity. This unnatural folding of space requires large amounts of energy to perform and maintain, snapping back when power is shut off and collapsing the node.
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Is the Jump Gate their word for the Knossos? Or is it a mod thereof.
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It's actually the shivan jump gate taken from inferno and retextured.
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That was the best choice for a Shivan jumpgate(certain retexturings look unrealistic).
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Retextured:
(http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/9020/screen0024va0.jpg)
Original:
(http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/9909/screen0028qf8.jpg)
Retextured:
(http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/2433/screen0025au3.jpg)
Original:
(http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/6262/screen0027cj9.jpg)
Apologies for the quality of the images. I'm no artist, and I don't know what people like (just what I like :P). If people like the original texturing better than mine, changing it back is a simple matter of copying the pof over. Bear in mind that this thing is 20km from the spikes on one end to the spikes on the other.
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I like the retexturing. Looks more Shivan. The reduced use of red and the increased black is more aesthetically appealing.
Keep it.
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What about those subspace ripples collapsing Capella?
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That's not canon. I'd like to see a Shivan mod close to FS standards ;)
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What about those subspace ripples collapsing Capella?
uh, where's that from?
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From the main campaign.
Over 80 Shivan Juggernauts are now in position around the Capella sun. Science vessels monitoring their activity have detected an anomalous subspace field rippling from the Juggernaut fleet. Though we can barely detect the field with our instruments, its intensity has been increasing slowly over the past seventy-two hours. We have known since the Great War that the Shivans possess advanced subspace technologies, but this field goes beyond our wildest speculations. The Shivans may be powering up a new kind of weapon, the likes of which we have never before encountered.
The detonation of Capella might have been an accident, but it definitely had something to do with whatever the Shivans were doing.
@Mobius: I do think that the original FS2 campaign can be considered canon.
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Impressive, simply impressive. In fact, imagine fighting inside and around that Jumpgate....
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From the main campaign.
Over 80 Shivan Juggernauts are now in position around the Capella sun. Science vessels monitoring their activity have detected an anomalous subspace field rippling from the Juggernaut fleet. Though we can barely detect the field with our instruments, its intensity has been increasing slowly over the past seventy-two hours. We have known since the Great War that the Shivans possess advanced subspace technologies, but this field goes beyond our wildest speculations. The Shivans may be powering up a new kind of weapon, the likes of which we have never before encountered.
The detonation of Capella might have been an accident, but it definitely had something to do with whatever the Shivans were doing.
@Mobius: I do think that the original FS2 campaign can be considered canon.
Ah, that. I think we all had the wrong context for what you said first and thought you meant something else.
I have an explanation for that, which makes it delightfully useless for destroying ships. :P
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:shaking: That thing scares me. I like the retexture though. :lol:
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Techroom entry:
Subspace
Of the many spatial dimensions which we are aware, our creators have been long confined to three. The rest are smaller in scale and were impossible to move through until the development of drive technology that could propel a ship in those directions. A ship may be propelled into subspace along a ballistic trajectory influenced by the gravitational pull of stars and planets, and intersecting with normal space at the entry and exit points. The scale difference means the travel time is vastly reduced, making travel across star systems practical.
However, care must be taken as trajectories that have no exit point in normal space, such as those plotted when either the ship or the intended exit point are too far from a strong gravitational field, will result in the ship entering subspace, never to return. This means that ships may only travel safely through subspace within the bounds of a star system.
Travel between star systems is achieved through the use of subspace nodes. These nodes occur when normal space folds in on itself in subspace enough for two distant star systems to be near each other in subspace. The shape of normal space in relation to subspace and gravitational fields of the two stars will create two points in normal space where entering subspace with enough energy will result in a trajectory that intersects normal space at those two points, thus ensuring safe travel between the two star systems.
The closer the two systems are in subspace the more stable the node. Nodes may be destroyed by releasing large amounts of energy into subspace, forcing the points in normal space apart. Some races, including ours, have technology that can stabilise existing nodes by using energy to keep the two star systems close together. While our ships are capable of temporarily stabilising nodes prior to using them, other races have constructed large devices to permanently stabilise nodes as long as the devices are active.
The height of subspace technology is the Jump Gate. Using subspace telemetry from itself and a Communications Relay in the target system, a subspace node is created between the Jump Gate and a point in the target system as normal space is folded within subspace until both the system containing the gate and the target system are brought into close proximity. This unnatural folding of space requires large amounts of energy to perform and maintain, snapping back when power is shut off and collapsing the node.
T
Seems like a fairly logical explanation of what those Shivan Comm Nodes were doing in the binary star system in the SOC mission. They were guiding the Knossos portal(s)! You're good at making things sound plausible. I'll have to download this mod one of these days...
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Or better, they were guiding the Shivan fleet to the portal...
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Or better, they were guiding the Shivan fleet to the portal...
Or both. Imagine if Bosch got his hands on one of those nodes...
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That sounds good to me. Has no-one suggested that before? I like the tech babble too. From a Shivans pov, original.
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I've been trying to make the crazy random stuff :v: had the shivans do seem plausible, yes. Actually, if you check the comm node techroom entry:
Three of the devices awaiting deployment were destroyed by the Terrans flying captured fighters, deeply embarrassing all involved.
That, and in the entry you're all looking at:
other races have constructed large devices to permanently stabilise nodes as long as the devices are active.
Sound familiar? :P
I'm actually quite tempted to write a separate set of tech entries from the GTVA point of view too, especially for their ships, since I have to consider their point of view anyway if I'm actually going to make a campaign based on all this.
That sounds good to me. Has no-one suggested that before? I like the tech babble too. From a Shivans pov, original.
Alas, all I've used my science degree for so far is to write shivan technobabble that would make sense to a physicist (though selectively ignoring a couple of things, 'cause it's scifi :P).
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You sir, made more sense in this thread than all the flamewars of the last decade. *salutes
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You know what'd be kinda cool? Reproduce the original FS1 and FS2 campaigns, except play as the Shivans instead of the Terran and Vasudans. It would require a little modification to the missions, but not too much. I'd kind of like to do that; instead of the Terrans/Vasudans always emerging victorious, the Shivans win and the Terran homeworld is decimated. :drevil:
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Ah, but then FS2 would never have happened :P
You would only be able to play through FS1 missions with shivans in them. Also, missions where shivans jump in after the start will need major changes. A bit of a pita, but doable if anyone feels like doing it. Unfortunately, that is outside the scope of this mod, though it could be achieved by basic changes in the fsport tables (this mod started off as a simple changes in the FS2 tables, after all).
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Well, FS2 wouldn't happen. But we'd have BluePlanet from a shivan POV.
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In FS1 you could play as part of the Lucy escort, attack on tombaugh, assault on V prime etc. Just don't kill alpha 1 or my mind will implode. :)
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then kill 4LPHA 1!
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:[
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Ah, but then FS2 would never have happened :P
You would only be able to play through FS1 missions with shivans in them. Also, missions where shivans jump in after the start will need major changes. A bit of a pita, but doable if anyone feels like doing it. Unfortunately, that is outside the scope of this mod, though it could be achieved by basic changes in the fsport tables (this mod started off as a simple changes in the FS2 tables, after all).
It'd be like an alternate timeline kinda thing. One timeline where the Shivans won FS1, one timeline where Shivans won FS2. Or, we could even mod the storyline so the Lucifer somehow destroyed the Sol jump node. Then Earth would be destroyed, but we'd still be trapped on the other side like in FS2.
Actually, FS2_open has a function to have the player jump in x seconds after the mission starts. I haven't used it, so I don't know whether or not it works, but it's there.
Maybe we could make a couple missions that weren't anywhere in the original campaigns, but could spice up the plot a little, explain the Shivans, how they work, why they do what they do, where they came from. I don't know anything about "the blue planet", but the Shivans remind me of Species 8472 from Star Trek: Voyager. They live in space, they look weird, and they got in a huge war. Could be that the Ancients figured out how to go into some extradimensional space by modifying their subspace drive, and that was where the Shivans lived, and they destroyed the Ancients, and now they're trapped, but other Shivans can still get here. Maybe something like that. If anyone has any Ancients ships, I might be able to put them in Anim8or and try to make a beginning cutscene to explain all that to the player. Similar to the Endgame cutscene in FS1, except with a different plot.
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Blue Planet (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,49876.0.html)
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Blue Planet (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,49876.0.html)
Thank you, I'll have to try that out after I play the FS2 campaign (just finished the FS1 campaign for the 3rd or 4th time).
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Actually, FS2_open has a function to have the player jump in x seconds after the mission starts. I haven't used it, so I don't know whether or not it works, but it's there.
That's the easy part. You also have to mess with alpha wing and change the default wing names, etc. For missions where the shivans only jump in fairly late, you have to adjust missions to make sure certain events have occurred.
Blue Planet (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,49876.0.html)
It's an awesome mod and I've already taken some ships and effects from it. :)
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Or you could simply get rid of most of what happens before hand and leave the mission in a certain state for the Shivans. Like, maybe the HOL was supposed to get there first, the Terrans beat the HOL, you could get rid of the HOL entirely and default the Terrans in a damaged state.
I was thinking about the wing names, too. Perhaps have the Shivans (us) call themselves (ourselves) the Greek letters and call the Terran wings names of Greek gods. A possible techroom entry could mention that when we first met the Terrans, our sensors were able to hack into their ship-board databases and decipher their language, and found out that they name their ships after Greek gods, and so we name their wings after Greek gods, while we name our wings the rough English translation (so the Terrans playing the game can read it) of an ancient Shivan alphabet. Because I don't think the Shivans call themselves Shivans or name their wings after Terran constellations. Just throwing ideas around...
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That just doesn't seem very likely. How can you instantly hack technology that is significantly different from your own without any knowledge of how it works? And do the Shivans even have an alphabet? Or a written language for that matter?
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Just another of the many fun details I have to make up and get to make sense in FS1/2 :P
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You see, that's the thing. The Shivans' electronics are so much more efficient than ours, it seems they were able to target us right away, while it took us a while to get to be able to target them. They could have easily scanned our vessels for anything that looked like a data storage device and could have been able to retrieve the pattern on it (in whatever format that may be, magnetic, flash memory, holographic). Them with they're complex EM language, highly evolved minds, and supercomputers could probably decode it and translate it fairly quickly. Especially if they scanned what was connected to the data storage device. They scan the rest of the computers on the ship to see how they work with the dsd, they build their own module to connect to their own computers, they get strange text, it's only a matter of time before they find an alphabet chart and a dictionary somewhere within. And anyone can read a dictionary, even if they don't speak that language. They find that this means that, they look up that, and find it means something else, and so on. They probably have supercomputers to do it for them. Just like a universal translator from Star Trek, pick out patterns and find out what words are equal to what other words.
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But they can't read a dictionary if they don't know the character set it uses. And look at how much the Terrans and Vasudans knew by the time they were able to target EDIT: Shivan ships. Besides, the Shivans really don't have much of a reason to gather data like that. They are only interested in destroying us.
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But they can't read a dictionary if they don't know the character set it uses. And look at how much the Terrans and Vasudans knew by the time they were able to target Ships. Besides, the Shivans really don't have much of a reason to gather data like that. They are only interested in destroying us.
That's a stereotype. Just because they try to destroy our home planet, you think that all they care about is destroying us. ;) They could just be xenophobic to the extreme.
Like I said before, they scan us to figure out how to read the data, they find an alphabet chart with audio/video files to find common "pronunciation". They know how letters and words are pronounced, they find a dictionary. Plus, you don't have to be able to read a character set to know that this is equal to that. They just find a big table of what looks like words and definitions, and cross-reference. They probably have giant supercomputers to do it for them. Your Terran/Vasudan analogy brings up a point. How did the Vasudans learn how to speak English and vice/versa?
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Oh... i meant to say by the time they were able to target Shivan ships.
And what I mean is that the Shivans don't really have a reason to attempt to learn our language. It seems pretty obvious that they are intent on destroying us, and don't care how many of their own they loose in the process. The only real reason I could think of why they would want to understand our language and hack our computers would be learn and cheat our tactical deployments etc, in which case they would have PWNED us big time in the Great War.
And I don't think you can really do what you said they could do. They have NO knowledge whatsoever of how our language even works, if it is characters represent sounds, words, or ideas, the Shivans may not even have a concept of a complete sentence, never mind how we structure them. Look at how hard it was for us to get the ancient egyptian language before the Rosetta stone. And that was a human language. You really can't assume that the Shivans work at all like we do. That includes how they think, how their computers work (or if they have a unit that can actually be defined as a computer), etc.
And BTW, I don't think they care about pronouncing our language, especially since they communicate in quantum pulses to begin with. Even if they wanted to learn it in the first place...
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*wonders how long he should wait before pointing people at the intel techroom entries of his mod*
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:wtf:
My take on the Shivan POV... (enjoy!) :D
Shivan Commander: "<Screeeee!! Scree Screee...>"
[ops! I forgot to translate for Human players]...
"Listen up pilots! We (The Race) are designating our opponents as Fleshbags! Order of battle to follow..."
"Ok, it looks like they fly various configurations of Boxes. As we know Boxes themselves are relatively harmless, however armed with weaponry they can pose a danger to us!"
"Call me racist, but they all look alike to me so all enemy wings will be called Box Wing 1 - whatever)
Notes on the Hecate:
"One ship of unusual design deviation is the one we call 'Roving Herbavore' and one of the few instances of artistic thought."
Notes on the Colossus:
"This POS, it made us laugh until it fired at us. No sooner as we got a target lock and were ready to blow it the afterlife it DESTORYED ITSELF??? Ironic since the ship itself looks like an over sized weapon, (apparently a flawed one). No doubt the manufacturer was tortured and executed for gross incompetence..."
:lol:
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:wtf:
My take on the Shivan POV... (enjoy!) :D
Shivan Commander: "<Screeeee!! Scree Screee...>"
[ops! I forgot to translate for Human players]...
"Listen up pilots! We (The Race) are designating our opponents as Fleshbags! Order of battle to follow..."
"Ok, it looks like they fly various configurations of Boxes. As we know Boxes themselves are relatively harmless, however armed with weaponry they can pose a danger to us!"
"Call me racist, but they all look alike to me so all enemy wings will be called Box Wing 1 - whatever)
Notes on the Hecate:
"One ship of unusual design deviation is the one we call 'Roving Herbavore' and one of the few instances of artistic thought."
Notes on the Colossus:
"This POS, it made us laugh until it fired at us. No sooner as we got a target lock and were ready to blow it the afterlife it DESTORYED ITSELF??? Ironic since the ship itself looks like an over sized weapon, (apparently a flawed one). No doubt the manufacturer was tortured and executed for gross incompetence..."
:lol:
Yeah, that'll work! Lol, roving herbivore. What do they say about Vasudan fighters, which look more like mashed clay?
It actually makes a lot of sense. They laugh at our pitiful existence and gesticulate their offers to free us from our smallness and misery and send us to their idea of an afterlife. On the other hand, since we find them terrorizing, we name them after scary stuff, like dragons, manticores, and basilisks.
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Shivan update:
------------------
[Thoughts on ETAK]
"Ok troops, there was a disturbance in a nebula on the edge of what we call 'Fleshbag Space'. A signal was intercepted that at first we thought was the ramblings of an autistic child ("Time for Wapner, Time for Wapner").
Apparently the 'Fleshbags' have cobbled together some sort of primitive communications device and have tried to get our attention. We didn't get more out of them as more Fleshbags open fired on them and our retrieval team sent to investigate. Currently we have them in a holding cell until we figure out what to do with them. Hopefully it won't be long and we can get their smell off the walls..."
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"Ok troops, there was a disturbance in a nebula on the edge of what we call 'Fleshbag Space'. A signal was intercepted that at first we thought was the ramblings of an autistic child ("Time for Wapner, Time for Wapner").
:lol: Do they have them?
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Wapner :huh:
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Provisional retexture of SCa Shiamak:
(http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/d718fad839.jpg)
(http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/1a98dc1a45.jpg)
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isn't that the shivan carrier from inferno? if so, looking good :yes:
too bad it's still, well, a giant worm :blah:
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I think that is the idea of the SCa Shaimak. Giant Worm that spits out seemingly endless hordes of fighters.
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Feel free to suggest your own retextures if you think they look better. Mine is provisional and could change, after all.
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Looks more like a Volcano/Lava Worm than a Shivan Worm now...Could use more red lights along the sides IMO.
Although...it does look pretty awesome in another way right now, as in, in-line with the jump gate :D
Btw, did you make that lava-y texture?
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The texture is in vanilla FS2, as well as the mediavps.
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Amended Shiamak retexture:
(http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/900/screen0033sh6.jpg)
Retextured RBC - PCS2 screenshots: original on right, new on left
(mentioned here: http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,52937.msg1069707.html)
(http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/9626/reskinnq5.jpg)
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Anyone know of a good Shivan texturing tutorial with Photoshop or GIMP? I want to try out making a new Shivan fighter. Got it (mostly) planned out on metric graph paper. 10m about the right size for a Dragon-ish fighter?
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ya, i think so. about that's right for a fighter.
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Dragon is 16m long, most fighters are 20-30m.
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Annihilator looks good. I would have kept the Rakshasa-plating "heat sink" and the Ravan/Demon grey texture though. The cannon points are epic.
btw, PCS2 can render like that O_o...I can't even get it to read the textures in my mod directory >.> I suck.
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Yea, might want to double the size of that little fighter, or at least 1.5x it.
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It's supposed to be even more maneuverable and harder to hit than the Dragon, so I'm leaving it at 10m. I'm going to have to tone down the hp, though. I'll take a look at the Dragon's table entry. And I say again, anyone know a good Shivan texturing tutorial? Please?
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And I say again, anyone know a good Shivan texturing tutorial? Please?
These retextures I've been doing are simple replacements using existing textures. I usually just fiddle until i come up with something that looks better. That in itself is highly subjective, so I've been posting here for second opinions. So far I've mostly been using supertile1A (the red) and supertile5A (the grey).
btw, PCS2 can render like that O_o...I can't even get it to read the textures in my mod directory >.> I suck.
There's a preferences option in the menu, which you can use to point to multiple directories, like the default, mediavps and other mods.
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I have those directories set already. :doubt:
Guess it doesn't help to try again.
EDIT: Oh, NOW it works... :nervous:
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You forgot to click reload textures? :P
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Urp, its more embarrassing than that.
I added \data\maps when, obviously, they weren't needed >.<
yes, I suck.
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:bump:
In case anyone is interested, I added turret points to alliance jump gate also found in blueplanet (turret models were there, just no turrets defined in the pof).
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turret models but no turrets? :wtf:
one weird POF. lol. The turrets are even in the table entry lol.
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Yes, but now the weapons actually fire :P
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nice.
maybe you should upload some of this stuff to FreeSpaceMods.net
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I'll be putting my next release on there. I'll probably up stuff up separately if there's enough demand for it.
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:bump:
In response to a PM I received, I'll upload the next release when I think I've done enough to it. Also, I think I'm finished with adding shivan ships, at least for now.
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You adding green shivans though? :P
you don't mind if I use some of your uhm..stuff (like the main hall and loading screen) for my campaign, do you? It was just too good to pass up on (lol)
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You adding green shivans though? :P
Green shivans might appear as an optional pack. Easy way to do it is to override existing glowmaps with an extra vp. Hard way to do it is a whole new set of textures/pofs/table entries (which will probably require an inferno build).
you don't mind if I use some of your uhm..stuff (like the main hall and loading screen) for my campaign, do you? It was just too good to pass up on (lol)
Go ahead. The mainhall isn't mine (check the credits text file), the loading screen is a modified screenshot (mostly because I'm no artist). :P
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:bump:
Okay, I'm considering making the next release use the 3.6.10 beta mediavps, possibly taking advantage of adv effects. (yay, feature creep)
What do people think I should do?
1. Stick with 3.6.8 zeta
2. Redo some of my stuff based on 3.6.8 zeta advanced effects
3. Redo stuff based on 3.6.10 beta
4. Redo stuff based on 3.6.10 beta advanced effects
5. Do both 1 and 2 and release the advanced effects as a separate optional download
6. Do both 3 and 4 and release the advanced effects as a separate optional download
7. Do all of the above with graphics packs as separate downloads (you pick which to download depending on your setup)
On the one hand, I want to make this look good. On the other hand, I don't want to neglect players who play with older machines and/or don't want to switch to 3.6.10 (I know I resisted for a long time). I also want to minimise the work I have to do so this gets released faster. :P
People's thoughts? (should I make a poll? :P)
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I told you- make it all in one pack. It'll be a single download, and won't matter which mediavps you have ( 3.6.8 or 3.6.10 ). That means less headaches, more convenience, larger filesize ( which doesn't mean much nowadays ). But that's just my opinion.
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We're talking significantly larger, as in copies of advanced effects features. It could all boil down to the efficiency of 7-zip.
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...which depends on the settings used in 7-zip... latest version is 4.57, set method to LZMA, compression level to Ultra, dictionary size to 64MB, word size to 273, and see what it does. (Keep an eye on the memory usage displayed, though, you might not have enough memory.) Eh, and you could switch on the Solid mode, that helps the compression ratio too.. but then you can't change the archive afterwards, but you shouldn't really need to anyways.
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Oh, I know all about that. Those are my usual settings, though it seems like I've left word size on 256. Whoops. :P
Solid is always on, as my test archives are not in vps and consist of lots of little files. Also helps when multiple vps contain similar content (like the shivan recolour packs).
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:bump:
Playing around with adv effects beams (3 images because the effects are animated):
(http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/2673/screen0040kq8.jpg)
(http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/2126/screen0041tm5.jpg)
(http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/6306/screen0042bd3.jpg)
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Again :yes: :yes:
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ME LIKE!!! DO WANT!!!
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I didn't bother to read the whole thread out of laziness ... but is this mod released yet ?
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A demo ( which is nothing compared to the current one ) is released. I have even converted BlackHole's un-finished Shivan campaign.
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Are you going to finish off/rebalance that any time soon? :P
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Actually, if anyone's interested, I can finish it today. But it won't work on the new version you're making. :)
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:bump:
Provisional demo mission load screen:
(http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5483/titanscreen1024or4.jpg)
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What is that? :eek2:
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GTD Titan from Blueplanet.
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What is that? :eek2:
It's something awesome.
But yea, the GTD Titan. Didn't you play BluePlanet ?
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Never
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Never
You REALLY didn't play BluePlanet ?
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Woah. That's one nice loading screen.
And here I am just using a side-view shot of a HTL Ravana...
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You REALLY didn't play BluePlanet ?
Never
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You REALLY didn't play BluePlanet ?
Never
Then what are you waiting for ? Download it. Either from FreeSpaceMods.net or from Darius' site. Very good campaign.
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Never
*shuns Androgeos Exeunt*
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You REALLY didn't play BluePlanet ?
Never
Then plai it silleh, itz the win. :nod:
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The sun is stuffed up, it's clipped through the middle of the Titan. Good job, though.
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The sun is stuffed up, it's clipped through the middle of the Titan. Good job, though.
Um... It's not a sun :lol:
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The sun is stuffed up, it's clipped through the middle of the Titan. Good job, though.
Um... It's not a sun :lol:
If you don't know already, you'll find out when you play the mission. :D
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lol sabotge.
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The sun is stuffed up, it's clipped through the middle of the Titan. Good job, though.
Um... It's not a sun :lol:
If you don't know already, you'll find out when you play the mission. :D
:nervous: Well, then, it seems I need to find this demo and play it.
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The demo he speaks of is not released yet. There is an older version though with 1 mission, link posted in this thread.
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*slaps himself on the head ... again* (j/k). I need to keep up with this stuff.
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:bump:
I'm well into the polishing stage for the next release. Here's a default loading screen that will replace the old one with the non-HTL ravana:
(http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/5062/2loadingbgdb3.jpg)
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Maras coming out of a SD Demon. :)
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Nice, try improving the background if you can :yes:
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Add nebulas! NEBULAS!!
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Preferably red ones.
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HAHA, I KNEW IT !
I told you to add nebulas :P
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Loading screen redeux (nebula, red sun, obvious lens flare):
(http://xs228.xs.to/xs228/08256/2_loadingbg351.jpg)
The current plan is to use the base image for making other interface screens.
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Yes!! NEBULAS!!
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And those Maras also look better than the ones in the non-nebula screen.
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And those Maras also look better than the ones in the non-nebula screen.
/me looks closely.
Hey! They really do look better! :D
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Prolly because of the reddish nebula, which makes the Demon slightly red tinted, making the Maras really look at home.
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There's also an extra SF Mara in the second one, completing the wing.
Might also be the glowmapping.
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Just a guess: That is D3D rendering right? If it is, I would recommend chaning to Ogl. The shaders in Ogl are purty....
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If you look closely at the first one, you can see the thruster glow of a fourth SF Mara on the far left.
Screenshot taken with latest WIP version of the mod, 3.6.10 adv mediavps (with animated glowmaps), 3.6.9 exe built from SVN trunk June 17th.
Ogl is set (though I'll have to check my settings, I'm at work right now :P), however, my only machine is a HP Pavilion dv6670 with winxp shoehorned into it.
All content is provisional and may change depending on the ratio of compliments/complaints (since I'm nowhere near a final release). Just bear in mind the fact that I'm no artist. :P
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Screen templates are done, now to do some testing and start on the individual buttons...
EDIT: Another screenshot to keep people happy:
(http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/8065/2choosepilotdr2.jpg)
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As always :yes:
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Blue nebular light? Makes the Lucy look purplish.
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If you'll check the textures, the lucy is already kinda purple. :P
Screenshot was taking using one of the demo missions, with blue sun.
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Hmmm. Well. If it were me, I'd arrange the fighters nicely and place them midway of the Lucy. Makes it look more like a fly by and less of attacking.
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Fly by was the effect I was looking for :P
Meanwhile, I almost forgot my graphics settings.
OpenGL 1024x768 32-bit colour
Trilinear filter
2x anisotropic filter
2x anti-aliasing
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:bump:
The worst screen (in my opinion), though the ship model rotates so you can see it:
(http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/9611/screen0280bk3.jpg)
Barracks screen showing palette issue when background is tga with pcx buttons (or ani for the loading screen, wrong colour), and buttons that haven't been fixed yet (with transparency for the new backgrounds):
(http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/1605/screen0281qi5.jpg)
Considering there's about 1800 little pcx files i'll have to convert to tga and fix, I think I'll leave them for the next release unless you guys want to wait a few more months for it. :P
Templates are available for the screens (but not the buttons, see above), if anyone wants them.
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A few things:
- Are you going to use Shivan pics as pilot pic files?
- I'm sorry but the background interface is a bit confusing: I see a Nahema with Maras behind it and I find it a bit weird...IMO there should be open space in that part of the interface pic.
- I know they may be just a mere example, but...I hope you won't be using those wing names in your MOD.
;)
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A few things:
- Are you going to use Shivan pics as pilot pic files?
- I'm sorry but the background interface is a bit confusing: I see a Nahema with Maras behind it and I find it a bit weird...IMO there should be open space in that part of the interface pic.
- I know they may be just a mere example, but...I hope you won't be using those wing names in your MOD.
;)
1. Shivan pilot images are still on the to-do list.
2. That's why it's the worst screen. :P Other screens are nowhere near as badly affected. The templates mean I can redo the screen relatively quickly if I need to. If it needs redoing I'll probably redo the briefing screens (and campaign briefings, possibly debriefings too) for consistency. How badly do people think it needs redoing?
3. Screenshot is from demo mission, no final decision has been made on naming. Options are:
- Functional (current)
- Terran (which make no sense from a shivan perspective)
- Random syllables (language(s) to be chosen)
- Use language, then create names from it (risk of a player actually identifying the language (and words), even if it's something like Klingon or one of the elven ones from J.R.R Tolkein's books)
- Make up language, then create names from it (cool, but requires a lot of work)
There's also the fact that I'm no good at making up names for things. :P
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2. IMO you can simply use a pic taken ingame without Shivans, only stars and nebulae.
3. Hindu names could work. Remember that the MOD is about the Shivans, ok, but from a Terran point of view...we can't use EM pulses as messages and therefore we can't write "officially Shivan" names.
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2. That was one of the options considered, yes, but only if enough people hate the current one, the main reason for posting it.
3. Would you name and refer to your ships as deities taken from a culture of an alien race far inferior to your own? :P. Keeping the name "Shivans" is already stretching it (I made them decide they liked the name, previously having had none), IMO. Terrans in the campaign missions will still refer to shivan ships with the Hindu and demonic names, but you will use different ones.
Remember, this mod is from the shivan point of view, so for all intents and purposes, the player is shivan (text translated from EM pulses as appropriate :P). Things would be different if, say, the player was a terran was participating in an (unlikely) officer exchange program with the shivans (a la FS2 with the vasudans). :D
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They're not EM pulses, they're quantum pulses.
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Erm, yeah. I got confused.
The point is that you can't have a 100% Shivan campaign. We, the ones who play, are Terrans and must undestand the mechanics of the battle like in any other campaign with normal messages, normal briefings and so on.
Let's considerate something similar, the Ancient-Shivan War MOD. ShadowGorrath agreed with me that the campaign will be more like a story, told by an Ancient narrator. Things will be explained and the player, a Terran, will experience the events as some kind of spectator. In any case, there will be a Terran approach to the events.
The Shivans are unlikely to possess/contact someone to tell their story, ok(well nobody knows if the Ancients can do that but the idea fits well with the context), but you can always come up with a valid idea.
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Erm, yeah. I got confused.
The point is that you can't have a 100% Shivan campaign. We, the ones who play, are Terrans and must undestand the mechanics of the battle like in any other campaign with normal messages, normal briefings and so on.
Let's considerate something similar, the Ancient-Shivan War MOD. ShadowGorrath agreed with me that the campaign will be more like a story, told by an Ancient narrator. Things will be explained and the player, a Terran, will experience the events as some kind of spectator. In any case, there will be a Terran approach to the events.
The Shivans are unlikely to possess/contact someone to tell their story, ok(well nobody knows if the Ancients can do that but the idea fits well with the context), but you can always come up with a valid idea.
Waaaait a moment, hold on.
First of all, everything here will be understandable. You will have briefings that can be understood by us mere mortals, you will have CB Animations, you will have pilot/command head animations, and etc. Everything will be understandable.
And I said I will think about it ^^ Didn't agree yet. The main outline of the story is near done, but the begining and the very ending is needed to be though out for now, so there's room to the idea of a terran viewing the events as an Ancient. However, I first want to finish all the base of the mod ( weapons, at least decently bugless tables, everything to look ok, function properly, make command briefing animations, command/pilot head animations, and other stuff ).
In other words- the player IS a Shivan here, in this mod/campaign. That's as much as I can tell without Flaming_Sword firing a BFRed at me for not keeping my mouth shut.
Kapiche? ( or whatever's it spelled )
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We agreed on saying that the idea was good. You're likely to do that, it doesn't mean you will do that for sure ;)
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Wait, are you implying that playing as a shivan and having text on the screen is an invalid approach? That translation (text and graphics) for the benefit of the player is not allowed? If so, this would likely invalidate vasudan campaigns and mods too (eg. Shrouding the Light, which I've been replaying recently and is a lot of fun).
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Heh, almost forgot.
I finally got off my butt and released something: http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,55031.0.html
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There's no need to double-post. ;)
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OK, I'm officially impressed! I've been craving to play as the Shivan for AT LEAST 7 years now and I finally get to see the Shivan side of the FS2 Campaign! YEA!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D
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I we are going to see Shivan perspective campaigns then i would love one that brings out the Mind Games Shivan theory. Making the Starborn their new nemesis as they leave the Coldraces semi-alone as they seek out the big fish.(and cook stars inhabited by them) Also the possible wrath of those entities would be an awesome element to the campaign. :cool:
if someone doesn't know what I'm talking about then: http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/Starborn
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I have a idea for the loading screen. Instead of a pic, you could have the warp effect for the background. :P
Another thought, a Shivan control room would look awesome for when you enter the game. :P Pillars looking a bit organic, and such. :P
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I have a idea for the loading screen. Instead of a pic, you could have the warp effect for the background. :P
Another thought, a Shivan control room would look awesome for when you enter the game. :P Pillars looking a bit organic, and such. :P
Good idea. Question is how are you going to get it? I don't mind the screen shot at the main menu, though.
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h, but the screen for the retail fs2 gets boring after a while and doesn't give you the feel that you are launching from the base into a mission. Now, the vasudan screen did. Also, the terran screen in the demo gave the "luanch from base" feel when I entered a mission. Just a thought. :P
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I like the functional names for Shivan wings. I hope that you use them, instead of making up something silly. Because, frankly, anything you do create will be a betrayal of our image of the Shivans. The less you know about them, the more frightening.
The only way I think you could effectively make up names for the Shivans is if you created a whole general ethos or culture for them. If you made the wing names in each mission spell out a stanza of poetry, or if you gave them goofy titles a la Iain Bank's Culture ships, that could work -- but only if you accompany the naming convention with an overall take on Shivan culture, i.e. they're warrior-poets or they approach their genocidal work with a light heart.
Otherwise, please stick to the functional names. And please don't use the hackneyed 'they like the name 'Shivan'' device. That's an awful, cliched SF tripe. How could an entire species not have a name for themselves and then decide they like a random one from an inferior race? You can use Shivan, but please, make it clear that it's a translation. Either that, or you could avoid using it at all.
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So true. But what I notic is that they take names from Greek mythology for the names of Shivan shps. Yes, I know Shiva is a Hindu goddess with 6 arms. But their name is fitting. The names given to their ships all relate to the devil and demons from hell. Because of the fact that they are a warrior race well adept at destruction, the names given to their craft suits them perfectly. I prefer to use demonic names when naming craft, wings, and ships. I even have a design for my Shivan Flagship. Not to mention a Terran/Vasudan ship with 3 shivan reactors. 16 beam turrets, 30 flak turrets, and 20 laser turrets. My ship is the size of a juggernaught and I try my best to keep the design more demonic and dangerous looking when I plan them out. And I see the logical idea of their designs being demonic with all of those spikes they have, the red glow, and the dangerous beam cannons they use.
Edit: Here is a screen from Hi-poly Karnak model by galemp. this is a good example of what the Shivans have as the deign of their hallways. Perhaps this would be better? It does give the Shivan felling (at least to me). But, that's just a suggestion.
(http://pjfoliver.googlepages.com/kreact1.jpg)
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And please don't use the hackneyed 'they like the name 'Shivan'' device. That's an awful, cliched SF tripe. How could an entire species not have a name for themselves and then decide they like a random one from an inferior race? You can use Shivan, but please, make it clear that it's a translation. Either that, or you could avoid using it at all.
Like I said, that was already stretching it, and hopefully the last stretch I ever have to make (I plan to lampshade the fact that Sol is cut off even though the GTVA could stick a radio telescope in Alpha Centauri and send/receive messages). Also, the name is only used for communications with others (see techroom entry). More along the lines of: "If you have to call us something, call us that name, because it's less confusing than using a generic word like Destroyers."
I think things might be easier if everyone posted to the mod release thread instead of here.
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and I just thought of how that pic I posted could become a great main screen. All that would have to be done would be to add a glow effect of the thing and have the glow fade and brighten up again, repeating the process. And, perhaps have doors opening when the mouse is put over them. That's one way to design it. :P
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Given my lack artistic skills, I suggest you put your money where your mouth is and give it a go. ;)
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Ah, but I don't know .gif D: I really should try it. But, I know peole who do. Oh well, It's not my call as I'm not part of the team (if any), plus I'm practically a noob when it comes to FS2 modding. :/ I'm just learning how to model (trying to make a Shivan stealth fighter). I'm just great at coming up with ideas and logical explanations. :P
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And please don't use the hackneyed 'they like the name 'Shivan'' device. That's an awful, cliched SF tripe. How could an entire species not have a name for themselves and then decide they like a random one from an inferior race? You can use Shivan, but please, make it clear that it's a translation. Either that, or you could avoid using it at all.
Like I said, that was already stretching it, and hopefully the last stretch I ever have to make (I plan to lampshade the fact that Sol is cut off even though the GTVA could stick a radio telescope in Alpha Centauri and send/receive messages). Also, the name is only used for communications with others (see techroom entry). More along the lines of: "If you have to call us something, call us that name, because it's less confusing than using a generic word like Destroyers."
I think things might be easier if everyone posted to the mod release thread instead of here.
Awright, cool! Sounds like you know what you're doing.
It might be interesting to see a kind of Epic Roll of the various things the Shivans have been called by the races they've destroyed. One of those Greek-myth-style "Achilles who is called so-and-so and so-and-so, breaker of horses and men" things, except for a whole species.
Or, er, not. Whatever!
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random shivan words you say huh? :D.
tr - a. dda - h. szza - o. daun - v.
ei - b. qaai - i. saizn - p. imall - w.
fx - c. bau - j. oappw - q. dqa - x.
au - d. ioan - k. fiaiom - r. iibi - y.
lai - e. taow - l. ceeaki - s. fj - z.
tmn - f. valrp - m. yc - t.
ltw - g. haib - n. guu - u.
example of shivan writing
"imallddatryc trfiaiomlai iibiszzaguu taowszzaszzaioanqaaihaiblwi tryc". and it could just be as long in quantum pulses which terrans nor vasudans understand. :P
ceeakilaifiaiomtrsaizaddaqaaivalrp - work this one out :D.
besides this, terrans and vasudans alike have their own names for these ships, just what is their actual name from the shivan side though and for that matter what do the shivan call the vasudan and terran crafts.
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That sounds incredibly irritating, doesn't it? I mean, it would be incomprehensible and carry no symbolic value.
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I suggest using the etak sound or the comm-node ambient noise as a base and use goldwave to change pitch or tempo to imply anger, urgency or fear. For text? Use custom images and cutscene sexps or keep it blank.