Author Topic: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I  (Read 204944 times)

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Offline Goober5000

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
I don't see any obvious problems, and it works fine for me on 3.8.0.  Try a recent nightly build.

 

Offline Antares

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
Running on a nightly from late April (for reasons) throws this error when the first Mjolnir spawns:

~

Warning: Dockpoint dock01 could not be found on model Mjolnir.pof
File: missionparse.cpp
Line: 1759

EDIT: It doesn't look like the Triton is actually docked with the Mjolnir at all; it's physically pushing it into place, little by little, and damaging it in the meantime. When I fly close to it, I can actually hear the metal-on-metal 'you're rubbing against something' sound effect.  :wtf:
« Last Edit: November 27, 2019, 06:24:47 pm by Antares »
We have returned to continue our purification of this galaxy. It is again your turn to be crushed beneath the great force that is the Antaran army. All your petty squabbling with the other beings in this galaxy is meaningless. The Antaran fleet will destroy you all, one by one. You may not surrender. You cannot win. Your only option is death.

 

Offline Solatar

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
Running on a nightly from late April (for reasons) throws this error when the first Mjolnir spawns:

~

Warning: Dockpoint dock01 could not be found on model Mjolnir.pof
File: missionparse.cpp
Line: 1759

EDIT: It doesn't look like the Triton is actually docked with the Mjolnir at all; it's physically pushing it into place, little by little, and damaging it in the meantime. When I fly close to it, I can actually hear the metal-on-metal 'you're rubbing against something' sound effect.  :wtf:

This is what happened to me when I tried to play Scroll using the new 2019 Mediavps, I think the new hi-poly Mjolnir has its dockpoints named differently. I changed the name of the dockpoint in PCS2 and the mission worked fine. Probably needs a fixed mission file to make it compatible, though.

EDIT: I put this .pof into my scroll/data/models folder as a temporary fix.

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« Last Edit: November 27, 2019, 06:49:31 pm by Solatar »

 

Offline Antares

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
This is what happened to me when I tried to play Scroll using the new 2019 Mediavps, I think the new hi-poly Mjolnir has its dockpoints named differently. I changed the name of the dockpoint in PCS2 and the mission worked fine. Probably needs a fixed mission file to make it compatible, though.

EDIT: I put this .pof into my scroll/data/models folder as a temporary fix.

That did the trick. Thanks much!
We have returned to continue our purification of this galaxy. It is again your turn to be crushed beneath the great force that is the Antaran army. All your petty squabbling with the other beings in this galaxy is meaningless. The Antaran fleet will destroy you all, one by one. You may not surrender. You cannot win. Your only option is death.

 

Offline Goober5000

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
Ack.  I didn't see this earlier because I didn't have MVPs 4.0 installed, so "newest" meant 3.8.

We use a modified Mjolnir model, but the MVPs 4.0 overrides our ship.tbl entry and changes it to their version.  I'll need to figure out how to change it back.

In the meantime Antares, I may have figured out why newer builds don't work.  I'll PM you a test build.

 

Offline Antares

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
You could do what we did and install your version in data/models as part of the mod. That's kind of hack-ish, but it would serve until you come up with something more permanent.
We have returned to continue our purification of this galaxy. It is again your turn to be crushed beneath the great force that is the Antaran army. All your petty squabbling with the other beings in this galaxy is meaningless. The Antaran fleet will destroy you all, one by one. You may not surrender. You cannot win. Your only option is death.

  

Offline Goober5000

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
That is what we did.  Then MVPs overrode it.  So I need to override the override.

 

Offline Goober5000

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
Ok, figured it out.  New version is on FSO Installer and uploading to Knossos.

 

Offline Antares

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
Finished the campaign last night. A few thoughts:

- One of the hallmarks of a good campaign is how cohesive the story is, and Scroll does that quite well. I completed a playthrough of FS2 earlier this week. I hadn't played the game from start to finish in years (there were several missions that I couldn't even remember, so it was like playing the whole game fresh), and I was struck by how many missions seemed nonsensical or poorly designed (although this may be a side-effect of playing on a game engine that is significantly different from the 1999 retail version). In contrast, most of Scroll's missions are tight and clean, and the story never seems to drag. There are a couple of exceptions, but I'll get to those.

- I love little touches and small details that show how much care and polish have gone into a project. Scroll is Vasudan-centric and written from a Vasudan perspective, and it shows: they call the Alliance the GVTA rather than the GTVA, and I believe there's also mention of the "Vasudan-Terran War." The tech room entries are rewritten from a Vasudan point of view. It's interesting to get a detailed look at things from the other side, and it goes a long way toward helping see the Vasudans as real characters with their own sense of morality and justice as opposed to generic aliens. Because everyone is Vasudan, this allows the campaign to get away with entirely synthesized voice acting, which is kind of a cheat but never feels like it (although some of the synthesized voices used are the same ones in those "Xtranormal" videos on YouTube, which will provide you with a whole other level of entertainment). Also, the briefings use absolutely gorgeous, retail-quality CBanims. Mjn.maxael is to be commended.

- There are a bunch of other little things that I'm sure I'm forgetting. How some missions end with actually returning to your mothership rather than just jumping out, the custom Vasudan comm channel animations, etc. The use of non-standard cockpit controls like the proximity sensor and the "calculating current location" thingy are great touches that show what can be done with the game engine.

- It's refreshing to see the Alliance kick some ass, for once. The Shivans take a beating throughout the campaign and never really give one back, although this may not mesh well with canon, as both FS1 and FS2 involve overwhelmingly large Shivan fleets; the Shivan forces in Scroll seem to be spread pretty thin, and that never really changes throughout the campaign except for the last couple of missions. (Also, I don't think there's a canon example of Shivan ships ever retreating from battle, although they may depart if their target manages to escape.)

- The soundtrack is good, but the quality is a little uneven. The calm, atmospheric music that plays the first time you jump into Marnakh, for example, is a gorgeous track, but I'm not sure you ever hear it again. I think I would have preferred more of that over the OMINOUS LATIN CHANTING that plays during "Irkalla Passes."

- All that being said...

- Scroll appears to be ignoring my resolution settings in Knossos; I have huge HUD icons and message windows, some of which overlap with each other, and when there's a special effect going on (like the location finder), it blocks some of my text. This may be a problem with the 4.0 MVPs, as the FS2 main campaign is also doing this, but none of my other campaigns are.

- Certain missions feel "gimmicky" or are difficult for the wrong reasons. You might be penalized for selecting a loadout that excludes weapons you don't know you'll need, or you'll have to take a "trial-and-error" approach and replay a mission several times because you don't know what specific thing the game wants you to do in order to proceed. (This is especially true of "Arachnaphobia," which has to be played in one very specific way in order to succeed.) All of the stealth/infiltration missions play out this way, requiring you to scan something (or several somethings) in a specific order (but you don't know which), or go to a specific location (but you don't know where) while avoiding a dozen sentry guns and patrolling fighters. The checkpoint system helps to alleviate this somewhat, but sometimes you have to just throw up your hands and replay the mission (or the previous mission!) from scratch in order to get a better outcome. There's something to be said for innovative mission design, but there's a difference between "innovative" and "frustrating."

- FS1 and FS2 usually required you to fully perform a task (blow up x targets, scan x objects, etc.) before an objective or mission was considered "complete." Scroll is less consistent about this, with new tasks popping up before you complete the old ones, and you may receive orders to jump out while you still have things to do. This may be more realistic (or more subversive) mission design, but it leaves you with the sense that you've left things unfinished.

- Some missions are very "chatty" and contain a lot of exposition; you may simply sit around for five minutes or longer just listening to people talk to each other before getting to the action. Time compression is your friend.

- Other missions are short and end kind of abruptly. "Thor's Hammer," for example, is very brief for a warship blockade mission; the whole thing is over in a few minutes.

- The new Vasudan fighters simply aren't needed. I played through the entire campaign using Taurets and Seths and was better off for it; every time my wingmen were assigned Shus, without exception, the AI wiped them out. (The ship selection art for the Shu also looks out-of-place, as it lacks the detail of the other fighters; one glance at it immediately tells you, "I AM A FAN-MADE SHIP.")

- The Vasudans have a very muted reaction to both the Shivans' return and the appearance of a certain destroyer. No one seems to make a big deal out of it, and considering the kind of existential threat that the Shivans have posed in the past, you would think they'd show more concern.

Spoiler:
A number of plot points are left unexplained, presumably to be addressed in Part II. What were the Shivans running from in Alpha Nareasi? Where did that Shivan debris field come from? Why did the Shivans attempt to steal that Vasudan cargo? Why were their freighters carrying "organic material"?

Overall, however, I enjoyed this campaign, and it left me wanting more, which I guess is the whole point. My compliments to the entire project team. I eagerly await Part II!

A couple of other things I noticed:

- In the tech room, at the bottom of the list, there are five craft with a "PT" prefix. One of these, the Herc, has an actual description; the others simply read, "Tech description. Write me!"
- There doesn't appear to be an entry for the SD Demon, even though one appears in the campaign. (This may be because I played through the "GVTA" half of the campaign last.)
- There's some non-regulation behavior going on aboard that Ra...  :eek:
We have returned to continue our purification of this galaxy. It is again your turn to be crushed beneath the great force that is the Antaran army. All your petty squabbling with the other beings in this galaxy is meaningless. The Antaran fleet will destroy you all, one by one. You may not surrender. You cannot win. Your only option is death.

 

Offline Goober5000

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
Thanks so much for the kind words, and comprehensive review! :)

- We took particular care with the polishing and the aspects of Vasudan culture, so it's great to see that appreciated. :)  Especially the tech room database; I'm not sure how many players read that nowadays.

- We were very pleased to get MjnMixael to do the command briefing animations.  Hopefully he'll be willing to do some for Part II as well.

- There are a few examples of Shivans retreating, but this is rare, and mostly seen in FS1.  Sesquipedalian has a particular reason for this, but I think it's supposed to be explained mostly through fiction viewer entries, and he hasn't finished all of them yet.

- The soundtrack is supposed to set the mood.  When you first arrive in Marnakh, there is a sense of wonder and expectation.  When the Irkalla arrives, the defecation is about to hit the ventilation.

- The HUD gauge wonkiness is probably due to the MediaVPs.  We'll have to take a look at it.

- Hopefully you didn't find the stealth missions too frustrating.  You blasted right through Through the Looking Glass without posting about it, so the modifications based on feedback from previous players must have paid off. :)  That mission and Arachnophobia were intended to be "puzzles" in a sense, where you take a break from shooting to sneak around and use your brain rather than your brawn.

- Strange to hear about the balance of the Shus.  What difficulty were you playing at?

- I think the Vasudans would have had a greater reaction to the Shivans in FS2; by the time of Scroll the shock may have worn off a bit.  You make a good point though.  This might be another thing that's fleshed out more in the fiction entries.

- The PT craft are Pirate, aka NTB.

- You're right about the Demon; we never tech-added it.  I'll fix that.

- The Ra was like that in the original model too, it's just much easier to see in the MVPs. ;)

 

Offline Antares

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
I generally play on Medium unless I have a reason not to, though there were a couple of times when I had to scale things back to Very Easy for the sake of completing the mission. One of these was Arachnaphobia (because I knew that one would be a chore), but I don't recall the other one offhand.

That was something else I forgot to mention. When the campaign started out of the gate with the NTB, I was bummed because it seems like rebels and pirates are a recurring theme, both in the canon and in fan-made campaigns (Derelict is just one of many examples). My first thought was, "Oh, great, this again." I was glad to see them fade into the background after the first couple of missions, because all of the real action and story is over in the New Systems.
We have returned to continue our purification of this galaxy. It is again your turn to be crushed beneath the great force that is the Antaran army. All your petty squabbling with the other beings in this galaxy is meaningless. The Antaran fleet will destroy you all, one by one. You may not surrender. You cannot win. Your only option is death.

 

Offline Goober5000

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
Indeed.  Although... will you be disappointed if the NTB return in Part 2? ;)

 

Offline Goober5000

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
Also, I've uploaded a new version with tech entries for the pirate/private ships, tech-add sexps for the missing Shivan ships, and a couple of minor tweaks.

 

Offline starlord

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
It would be great if someone made a longplay of this.

 

Offline Thisisaverylongusername

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
In "Through the Looking Glass," Zeta 1 tells you that your computer will tell you when it has recorded the necessary data, but I'm not seeing anything like that. Is that for individual ships, ship wings, or for the whole cargo depot?
If the opposite of pro is con, then is the opposite of progress Congress?

 

Offline Goober5000

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
It would be great if someone made a longplay of this.

I agree. :)


In "Through the Looking Glass," Zeta 1 tells you that your computer will tell you when it has recorded the necessary data, but I'm not seeing anything like that. Is that for individual ships, ship wings, or for the whole cargo depot?

It's for individual ships.  When you target the ship and get close enough, your HUD will display "<shipname> recorded" above your target view.  This is persistent, i.e. for the remainder of the mission, any time you target a ship you have previously recorded, it will display this indicator.

 

Offline Colt

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
It would be great if someone made a longplay of this.

I agree. :)
I'd love to do one for Scrolls (including the two branch paths), but I'm a bit skeptical because of youtube's copyright system since Scrolls uses music from TSFH and Firefly among others. I don't want to wake up one morning to find my channel taken down

That's actually why I never continued my Exile playthrough after the first part, since I got demonetized for that video, and I kinda don't want risk seeing how far I could push it.

 
Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
Would it be possible to create a different music.tbl that features FS1/FS2 tracks instead of the copyrighted ones instead?

 

Offline Goober5000

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
That's actually a pretty good idea.

 

Offline Goober5000

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Re: RELEASE: The Scroll of Atankharzim, Part I
Attached are all* the missions with new music tracks, modified to use existing FreeSpace music.

*Not quite all.  There are two remaining non-FreeSpace tracks, Calantha and Subterfuge, but I highly doubt they would get flagged - they fit extremely well but are also extremely obscure.  If they do get flagged I can make further edits.

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« Last Edit: December 01, 2019, 02:38:00 pm by Goober5000 »