Author Topic: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)  (Read 84316 times)

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Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
As a Linux gamer, usually when a game breaks on Linux it's "too bad, hope you can find a workaround". Having a dev not just listen but then help fix the problem is a fantastic experience!

Thanks!

 

Offline Darius

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Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
Until I put through an update with the fixes, today's nightly 20211230 should let you load the mission and continue.

 
Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
Yup, works great! Thank you for the quick turnaround!

 

Offline Darius

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Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
Build from the 29th December also picked up a sexp error in mission 9 so I've fixed that up as well. I'll put through an update today.

 
Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
Thanks for fixing that! Was able to finish the first 9 missions. Loving it so far!

 

Offline Darius

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Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
Awesome! Glad to hear it  :yes:

 
Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
Hi,

I just completed the initial Solaris campaign for the first time and wanted to register my appreciation.

It's very ambitious, looks beautiful, and once my brain got over its automatic 'this isn't my Freespace!' reaction, an awful lot of fun.

What it reminds me of in an odd way is actually the 2000 PC game Starlancer, with its Cold-War-In-Space setting, kinetic weaponry, partial auto-aim, and its regular gameplay mechanic of using supercharged afterburners to intercept barrages of big, capital-ship-killing missiles. I wonder if that game was any sort of inspiration?

Anyway, thanks for the great work. Looking forward to trying the second campaign!

 
Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
I am finding the second campaign to be absolutely brutal in terms of difficulty! I know I'm not the best Freespace pilot around, but I was able to beat the retail FS2 missions on Medium difficulty, and also completed the first Solaris campaign on whatever the Solaris equivalent of Medium difficulty is. I'm still trying to get through the second campaign without bumping the difficulty down.

Not really a criticism, more of a warning: you need your big-boy flight suit for this one  ;)

 

Offline Darius

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Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
Hi,

I just completed the initial Solaris campaign for the first time and wanted to register my appreciation.

It's very ambitious, looks beautiful, and once my brain got over its automatic 'this isn't my Freespace!' reaction, an awful lot of fun.

What it reminds me of in an odd way is actually the 2000 PC game Starlancer, with its Cold-War-In-Space setting, kinetic weaponry, partial auto-aim, and its regular gameplay mechanic of using supercharged afterburners to intercept barrages of big, capital-ship-killing missiles. I wonder if that game was any sort of inspiration?

Anyway, thanks for the great work. Looking forward to trying the second campaign!

Awesome! Glad it was a fun experience. And it definitely isn't Freespace :P

I did play a bit of Starlancer back in the day but it didn't particularly inspire the gameplay. There were some moments which stand out which may have influenced some of the Solaris set pieces (such as two huge ships broadsiding each other with missile salvos, or Basilisks cloaking into invisibility while I'm desperately trying to keep them in my sights).
The Expanse point defense effects definitely inspired some of the weapons, as well as the copious smoke trails from Project Wingman. Gameplay and flight mechanics were inspired by Diaspora viper combat.

I hadn't thought the second campaign was particularly more difficult than the first. but you do need to change your approach since you're no longer using top of the line military hardware and the millstones you're flying will lose out to swarm fighters in a dogfight. If you burn in a straight line you should be able to get some speed up so making heavy use of glide once your speed is up, and firing missiles from range should give you more success.
« Last Edit: January 11, 2022, 01:43:25 pm by Darius »

 
Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
The problem isn't really me dying, it's that the dang Hoshikuzu appears to be made out of glass...

There also seems to be a bug when restarting Mission 18 from the checkpoint causing some both friendly and enemy ships to spawn about a billion klicks away, so I have to start the mission from the beginning each time only to have the Hoshi take it to the chin while I'm trying to disarm the battlecruiser. It is a bit frustrating, to be honest, and I don't think the problem is just that I'm not firing enough missiles.

 

Offline Darius

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Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
That mission 18 bug is concerning  :blah: I suspect the checkpoint script isn't loading the ship positions properly, let me see if I can fix that.

 
Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
I have to say, I love the checkpoint system in general, and I think it's quite impressive that you've managed to add it on to a game that doesn't natively have such a system (and believe me, a couple of the retail FS2 missions could seriously benefit from checkpoints!).

 

Offline matta

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Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
Is there anyone who can provide a VP file for scripts & tables? I am running fs2open on FreeBSD and am running into the same problem mentioned earlier that appears to have something to do with the order that certain files are loaded from data/scripts and data/tables (e.g., order in which Lua scripts are parsed). Thanks!

 

Offline Darius

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Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
Have you tried using a recent nightly FSO build? The script loading order issue seems to have been patched not long ago

 

Offline Darius

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Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
2.0.10 is now up!
The biggest change is the implementation of Admiral MS's Checkpoint Save/Load script which replaces the previous Axem Checkpoint Save/Load script. This should prevent LUA errors popping up when loading checkpoints.
Tweaks were also made to mission 18 (King's Oath) to make ship positions more consistent (a lot of mission event timings were contingent on ship positions making for wildly inconsistent results on playthroughs).

 
Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
Woot! Thanks for addressing that problem with mission 18!

  

Offline Darius

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Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
Update 2.0.18 overhauls the specular maps of Solaris assets, a facelift that was well needed which should make the assets pop in high-contrast lighting.

 

Offline Mobius

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Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
I've just completed my playthrough of the first Solaris campaign and I must say this is a great TC under all points of view. The fact that it's set in an entirely new universe, totally unrelated to any other continuity we are all familiar with, speaks for itself. The atmosphere, plot and battles all contribute to consolidating Solaris' role as one of the most memorable mods even created using the FSO engine.

Now that the Wiki portal on Solaris lore is expanding, I'll use it to learn more about the various factions involved and the stories behind them. Oh, and I now have to play Black Sun, too.  :)
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Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
Part 3 release date?

 

Offline Darius

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Re: Solaris (A FreeSpace Open Total Conversion)
No firm part 3 date yet, but planning some sort of release in a couple months. Progress has been good 👍