Author Topic: BP: War in Heaven discussion  (Read 905887 times)

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Offline -Sara-

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
@Snail:

Spoiler:
Ah right I read that, forgot about it, I remember it now. I still wonder if this will shake things up within admiral Anita Lopez. I guess all will be revealed in time!
Currently playing: real life.

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Offline General Battuta

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
@Snail:

Spoiler:
Ah right I read that, forgot about it, I remember it now. I still wonder if this will shake things up within admiral Anita Lopez. I guess all will be revealed in time!

First off you are awesome and make the whole team very happy. Second:

Spoiler:
I think Lopez knew she was part of some bigger plan that would put her beloved crews in danger, but she didn't know exactly how it was going to play out. During the events of Pawns and Delenda Est, she wasn't just acting (at least I think so), she was genuinely concerned for her crews and her own ship. She didn't know exactly how Steele was planning to run this - she probably had no idea the Imperieuse was lurking in-system - and for all she knew she was going to be left out to dry while Steele captured Earth or something. It's up to you to decide how she'd react to that, but you'll note that it's fairly rare for her battle group to actually lose many warships (fighters are another matter).

 

Offline MP-Ryan

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
Batt, more keybind problems - the jump out (ALT-J versus my actual bind) shows up in every mission in the campaign, but "The Intervention" call for help key doesn't work and I'll be damned if I can figure out what it was originally bound to.  It's telling me to press CAPS Lock (my toggle Glide key) but that isn't doing it.  I made it through without doing it, but it'd be nice to have it actually work :)  I'll take this opportunity as someone with an unusual keyset (I use mouse/keyboard, and virtually everything is remapped from the defaults) to volunteer to beta test Part 2 =)

Great work still though - that mission against the SOC fighters was tense and actually had an emotional impact.  The BP team rocks =)
"In the beginning, the Universe was created.  This made a lot of people very angry and has widely been regarded as a bad move."  [Douglas Adams]

 

Offline Commander Zane

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
Is anyone else that has show ship flags on their UEF fighters missing screen textures on the Uriel and Duraga? Making sure it's not just me now.
I see now, if you want insturment panels back on whatever fighters that have missing panels, they've been named invisible on PCS2, the panel textures are in the .VP so they can be loaded back up.

I also have a rough time with dialogue / cutscene skip (Fire or Alt + J) working, it does work once in a while but most times it doesn't. I do have the default keys mapped to the function.
« Last Edit: August 08, 2010, 11:07:51 am by Commander Zane »

 

Offline General Battuta

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
Bloody keybinds!

As well as many tiny mission tweaks we're working on slapping anti-Slammer armor on the player across more missions and (of course) fixing up those keybinds. Sorry about the inconvenience, saintly ones.

 

Offline MP-Ryan

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
Pffft, if the only problems in a release like this are a few balance issues and technical problems with keybinds, you guys have absolutely nothing to apologize for.  This mod is fantastic.

Actually, I saw Hellstryker's post there and I too have noticed some performance issues - which I find more impressive than anything as the visuals in a community mod with unpaid volunteers are bringing down the FPS on my system, which isn't exactly an old machine.  That's testimony to how much work has gone into this, so I'm pretty impressed.  The lowest FPS I've clocked so far is 29, which considering no other FSO mod has brought me below then 60 I have v-synced it at, is pretty damn impressive =)

On the plus side, the keybinds to fix your weapons in "The Intervention" worked just fine, so it's not a problem with every bind in the game ;)
"In the beginning, the Universe was created.  This made a lot of people very angry and has widely been regarded as a bad move."  [Douglas Adams]

 

Offline General Battuta

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
That's testimony to how much work has gone into this, so I'm pretty impressed.  The lowest FPS I've clocked so far is 29, which considering no other FSO mod has brought me below then 60 I have v-synced it at, is pretty damn impressive =)

Don't give us too much credit! It's a testimony to how badly optimized the models are. We really need to get Steve-O's ships tuned up; they can work a lot better while still looking just as good.

Quote
On the plus side, the keybinds to fix your weapons in "The Intervention" worked just fine, so it's not a problem with every bind in the game ;)

Awesome.

 

Offline Kolgena

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
Spoiler:
Mission where you save the Vasudan logistics vessel was masterful. First time ever that I had trouble pulling the trigger against enemies in any game. I don't think I fired a shot at all in the second half. Much more powerful than the airport level in MW2 in emotional shock, for what it's worth.

 

Offline General Battuta

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
Spoiler:
Mission where you save the Vasudan logistics vessel was masterful. First time ever that I had trouble pulling the trigger against enemies in any game. I don't think I fired a shot at all in the second half. Much more powerful than the airport level in MW2 in emotional shock, for what it's worth.

Wow, awesome, thanks.
Spoiler:
We were really worried about that one; I'm glad it paid off.

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
Spoiler:
At least I'm not the only one who didn't shoot at that part. :nervous:

Going to try finishing up today, with the advice I got early this morning on IRC.

 

Offline Kolgena

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
Quick question concerning fury AI: What are damage reductions/refire rates/max attackers/max turrets at each level? I'm playing at medium, because I'm going for a plot run first, and I'm not sure if my survivability is due to the awesome UEF fighters or player handicaps.

I mean, if I get caught in a torrent of primary fire and can't shake it, I'm dead in 2 seconds, which is definitely not the same as in retail medium. Yet, sometimes I pass missions with 100% hull integrity because my shields somehow soak up everything. Anyways, the point is, ideally, I'd like a difficulty with 0 handicaps, but not the h4x aiming skillz that exist in retail insane.

 

Offline Fury

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
Open bp2-aip.tbm from bp2-core.vp and find out. :)

 

Offline Commander Zane

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
This is relevant to my interests.
Spoiler:
I spotted the shield.ani for the FTFx Thor, is the .pof somewhere around in the visual.vp?

And I've been wondering about these two...
Spoiler:
Little Devil and BALLS OF STEELE (Lawl)

 
Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion

wtf

It sounds like you have a borked pilot file. That is not a bug we've ever seen.

I figured it was something specific to me, but I also figured it was best to bring it up since I'm not exactly a modder and could be wrong.

If you want me to provide anything data wise I'm happy to help out, nothing else popped up the entire campaign.

No, you did exactly the right thing. We need to sort this out!

Can you launch your FreeSpace 2 install using WiH as a mod and then post the debug log? If you don't know how to generate one see the Support forum.

If you have a VP viewer like VPView (duh), could you also do me a favor and extract the bp2-15 mission file and send the text file to me via Pastebin? I need to make sure something hasn't gone wrong, because the mission file is quite explicit that
Spoiler:
the Jackknife ships will ONLY arrive once the Indus is precisely 8618 meters from the Carthage.

I'll get on it. 

Spoiler:
With regard to your 2nd post, I just tried it launching from the tech room and I got jackknife jumping in when I was about 10.5k out from the carthage, since I was behind the group at the time it seems to be coming in at the correct distance.  however this happened almost immediately after the initial 2 Tev corvettes attacked (I still have tons of trouble making the leander jump away, it never seems too, even when all it's main beams are gone), so something is definitely still screwy there.

 

Offline General Battuta

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion

wtf

It sounds like you have a borked pilot file. That is not a bug we've ever seen.

I figured it was something specific to me, but I also figured it was best to bring it up since I'm not exactly a modder and could be wrong.

If you want me to provide anything data wise I'm happy to help out, nothing else popped up the entire campaign.

No, you did exactly the right thing. We need to sort this out!

Can you launch your FreeSpace 2 install using WiH as a mod and then post the debug log? If you don't know how to generate one see the Support forum.

If you have a VP viewer like VPView (duh), could you also do me a favor and extract the bp2-15 mission file and send the text file to me via Pastebin? I need to make sure something hasn't gone wrong, because the mission file is quite explicit that
Spoiler:
the Jackknife ships will ONLY arrive once the Indus is precisely 8618 meters from the Carthage.

I'll get on it. 

Spoiler:
With regard to your 2nd post, I just tried it launching from the tech room and I got jackknife jumping in when I was about 10.5k out from the carthage, since I was behind the group at the time it seems to be coming in at the correct distance.  however this happened almost immediately after the initial 2 Tev corvettes attacked (I still have tons of trouble making the leander jump away, it never seems too, even when all it's main beams are gone), so something is definitely still screwy there.

Something is definitely screwy. Can you get a debug log up, please?

 
Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
Am currently running through the support forum trying to figure out exactly how to do that

edit: Updated with debug log.
Spoiler:
Complete with Jackknife arriving waaaay before the order goes out, and the ensuing charlie-foxtrot-

[attachment deleted by ninja]
« Last Edit: August 08, 2010, 03:18:32 pm by thedjstu »

 

Offline Droid803

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
Spoiler:
Mission where you save the Vasudan logistics vessel was masterful. First time ever that I had trouble pulling the trigger against enemies in any game. I don't think I fired a shot at all in the second half. Much more powerful than the airport level in MW2 in emotional shock, for what it's worth.

Wow, awesome, thanks.
Spoiler:
We were really worried about that one; I'm glad it paid off.


That dang bastard artillery frigate...I was gonna kill it if I had the ordinance to :<

I had problems shooting the Tevs to begin with...however, this mission is when I started shooting friendlies, attempting to kill however many I can without triggering traitor. :P
HINT: High damage missiles are good for this.

Which led me to...

Spoiler:
Attempting to kill the Elder shuttle on the moon and failing because it was invulnerable, but the suceeding in the next mission. Then I had a conversation with a dead person, and then someone said something about stealth fighters that never appear, and nothing happens for the rest of the mission.

I may have just broken a mission with my (sucessful) traitorous attempts!
In my defense the my supar secret was about to be busted. :nervous:

I'm just gonna replay the mission and not do anything that is obviously not intended for me to do, but a heads up anyway :P
« Last Edit: August 08, 2010, 03:21:50 pm by Droid803 »
(´・ω・`)
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Offline Tantalus53

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
War In Heaven...

Spoiler:
When I just joined HLP, heard about and played inferno, i was waiting patiently for Inf. SCP. I was disappointed. When I heard it was finally released, I had my faith restored in Freespace. That big sequels /were/ possible.

Ill admit i had a bit of Sequel syndrome when i first started, figured it was gonna be on the over-glorified side, like i did with Halo 2.. I had unreal expectations of this mod. Then it went around and /fulfilled/ these unreal expectations. And even surpassed them. Darius and Co. you all have done it again. Though If you ask me, I personally prefer AoA (More or less, I only say that cause I cant admit that I enjoy killing Tev Pilots >>... GTVA FOR THE WIN.) Im at one of the best missions though, says Genny B and Nighteyes, so ill probably change my mind. DOESNT MEAN I LIKE UEF THOUGH. Cant wait for Part 2.

I<3 Admiral Steel, by the way.

 

Offline Droid803

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
Ok, now my stupid wingmen went ahead and nuke the Norfolk when I gave them all the order to friggin ignore it, after smacking into me in a retarded series of collisions for the past five minutes and preventing my rearm :/
Thank you for failing the mission for me, worthless bozos.

Gotta do this one again too and pray they don't get any stupid ideas :/
(´・ω・`)
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Offline IronBeer

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Re: BP: War in Heaven discussion
This is the finest FSO campaign I've ever seen. Full stop. No quantification.

Now I'm just dying for part II... "join the club", I suppose.

Anyhow, specifics:
Spoiler:
Oh, man. Where to start? Meh, no specific order needed.

1. The characters. This is what made AoA good, and it's what makes WiH legendary. I felt for pretty much everybody involved, except the GTVA asshole COs. Them I wanted to see pasted, but that can't a unique feeling. Speaking of which- during the last few moments of the "Delenda est", as the UEF battlegroup is getting slaughtered, I was legitimately upset, venting my frustration and impotent rage on the forces attempting to block the Indus' escape. No game, and only a few works of fiction, have ever stirred that kind of response before.

Laporte I found especially compelling, not particularly because of her sensitivity to "Ken" (and thus her existence as the protagonist), but because her personality (and transformation) were believable. Beginning with the first mission, her thoughts when scoring a kill: "Sorry mate, better you than me", "Hey, this is kinda fun"; then everything else from that point forward (the diary entries, the things she says during missions and briefings) created somebody that I could almost cross paths with in reality.

To degrees consistent with their significance to the story, all the other characters were done just as well, and to expound on each would take way too long.
Moving on...

2. The writing. Brutal. The plot to me was nightmarish, especially when emotional investment with the characters was so well done. There were two moments in particular, when rescuing the Vasudan logistics ship, and the first part of "Delenda Est", where the writers actually allow us to feel a glimmer of hope. Which is promptly shat upon, viciously in the latter case. I'ma go out on a limb and guess that General Battua had a pretty big hand in crafting the plot. Regardless of whether that's right or wrong, major kudos to whoever developed the plot- it was pretty much unpredictable, and really jerks the player around by their heartstrings.

3. The music. This deserves its own section. AoA's soundtrack impressed me so much that I include it on my everyday iPod lineup, and WiH will have that honor as well. Once I get around to extracting the thing, that is. One case that particularly stands out in my mind was the use of Apocalyptica's "How Far" during the SOC fight. Ditto with the use of "Lacrimosa". Don't get me wrong- all the music was spot-on, and kick-ass.

4. The Graphics. Beautiful to a T. Granted, a lot of that was probably the 3.6.12 MediaVPs- hats off to the MediaVPs staff, by the way- but all the Blueplanet-specific assets were all amazing, especially the Luna sequence. Atmospheric flight, here we come?

5. The Ugly. I want to say this campaign was perfect. I really do. But even legends can have flaws, and here are a couple that stood out for me. The dogfight at the conclusion of "Intervention" kicked my ass several times. Figured out how to win eventually (the trick is to not get shot), but the process frayed my patience a bit too much to be fun. But don't get hung up on this complaint- maybe I just kinda suck with the Kentauroi,

The only other "low" was the closing cinematic following "Sunglare". I could hear my computer crying, and it maintained playable framerates throughout the rest of the campaign, even the soon-to-be-storied "Delenda Est". On the other hand, the graphical assets are due for optimization, so this prolly won't stay a problem. By the way, do all the scenes in that closing cinematic exist in one "mission zone"?
Whew. Congratulations, Blueplanet team. I think you lot have made history.
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