Hard Light Productions Forums

Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The Modding Workshop => Topic started by: Cniinc on March 08, 2004, 10:36:05 pm

Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Cniinc on March 08, 2004, 10:36:05 pm
This is for anyone who just got to Hard Light Productions, and, considering the release of the 2000 20th anniversary FS2 boxes from Interplay, I'm sure there are many more new guys than me.

What i'm asking for is a list of beginning, easy mods that are as good as the campaign in the original FS2. Please post anything currently available or coming soon, with links to a website, so that we new guys know where to sift to get the goodies.
Thanks,
J
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Omniscaper on March 08, 2004, 10:49:09 pm
Greetings!!! You should start here I believe.

http://dynamic4.gamespy.com/~freespace/fsdoc/index.php/LatestVersions

That should get the installation stuffs out of the way. From there you should keep up with the latest builds which are here:

http://dynamic4.gamespy.com/~freespace/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=97


If you want to get involved with the modding aspect:

http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,19514.0.html
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: phreak on March 09, 2004, 12:12:02 am
i think he's looking for simple campaigns for the time being.  but please check out the source code forums.  its fun in there

Inferno Chapter 1 (http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/inferno/infv5/index2.htm)
Warzone (http://freespace.volitionwatch.com/warzone/)
Derelict (http://freespace.volitionwatch.com/derelict/)
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Liberator on March 09, 2004, 12:33:25 am
:welcome:
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Knight Templar on March 09, 2004, 02:18:40 am
teh w0rd in campaigns thus far is Blaise Russel

http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,19306.0.html
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Cniinc on March 09, 2004, 03:23:35 am
Yeah, I am primarily looking for the "classics" of user-made campaigns, then would like to venture out to the new ships, etc., and then fs2_open. But right now, are there any campaigns i can do ?
Also, The Derelict campaign isn't on the Volition watch! I don't know where to get it? :(
Finally, is there a vibrant multiplayer community? I'd be interested in some of the co-op missions.

Thanks
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: kasperl on March 09, 2004, 04:24:37 am
If you have any other questions, please click the link below my name.

And Derelict, it's on someones FTP, forgot who.

and multiplayer, in ordinary FS2, there is some, though not much. in the SCP FS2, there is testing to get it to work, and quite a lot of people are interested.
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: karajorma on March 09, 2004, 04:36:51 am
Cniinc I very much reccomend getting FS2_Open for playing new mods if only so that you don't have to go through that whole constant renaming of directories you'd need to do otherwise.

As for campaigns I'll agree that homesick has set the new standard. :) Have a look at my FAQ (or the campaigns thread) for a link to Skippy's campaign list. There are a few more links there.
Title: Don't Forget
Post by: Star Dragon on March 09, 2004, 08:49:01 am
INFERNO - Be Afraid...

  Also (though NOT FS2 universe) The Babylon Project

Both are A++! :yes:
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Gloriano on March 09, 2004, 09:49:01 am
.Zzzzzzzzzz!

DERELICT (http://archives.volitionwatch.com/fs2/missions/campaigns.php3?Cmp=Derelict)  
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Arculis on March 09, 2004, 06:59:15 pm
Homesick and the Sol History campaigns are the only long campaigns I can remember that were worth playing. Inferno's main campaign cuts you off at the end, and feels more like a demo than anything.

I wish more people would just hide out for a few months and pop up with big campaigns. And I wish more people would focus on building campaigns instead of replacing all the models. New models are cool, but they don't offer much in the way of entertainment.

...although, shouldn't this be on the campaigns forum?

(I couldn't get Derelict to install for me.)
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: jdjtcagle on March 09, 2004, 07:56:46 pm
:welcome:
(http://smilies.jeeptalk.org/contrib/owen/newbie.gif)
:D
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: .::Tin Can::. on March 09, 2004, 08:31:49 pm
Not only welcome, but also:

There's a flamethrower under the seat. Unfortunately, its empty. If you see a Shivan, dont worry, it's just Carl. Give him your lunch and he should leave you alone. Any weapons could be in spare stashes of the members. Just relax and enjoy.

And Also To Newbies:

Dont try and get online and challenge random people: you will get your ASS BEAT if you try it. Believe me, with 5 people online, it's hard to imaging the guys havent been playing the game for a long time. I almost snapped my friends joystick off the keyboard pulling up on it so hard because that bastard somehow got instant lock on me with the usual Harpoonz...
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Cniinc on March 10, 2004, 02:23:13 am
OK I'm going to reinstall FS2 because i think i have too many junk files in it and it is screwing it up. However, I have played extensively into the single player campaign (well extensively enough :P), and I don't want to lose my savegame and medals. How do I do this? what do I put in a separate folder for when I reinstall? Finally, if I install fs2_open, how would I not have to worry about the renaming of files that Kajorma asked about?

BTW, I'm glad you guys are so helpful in answering my newbie questions... I'm glad to see this isn't a group of over... well, you know what I mean.

And I agree with Arculis about the campaign vs. model thing 100%

Speaking of which, I couldn't find Skippy's list of campaigns in Kajorma's site...


Thanks,
Cniinc
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Cniinc on March 10, 2004, 02:24:53 am
Oh, and if I install fs2_open, can I uninstall it or revert to the old fs2 original? i've looked at some of the changes and am not sure if i'd like it...
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: .::Tin Can::. on March 10, 2004, 03:22:41 am
Alrighty. For your saved games, just go dig around the "Data" folder until you come across "Players" and then go to "Single" and you should find a few documents. Copy anything in there and then bring it to my documents or something to save it. Then, just uninstall Freespace 2 and reinstall it.

fs2_open is easy to uninstall. You just get rid of the fs2_open files. There should be

01_20_2004_fred2_open_r
01_20_2004_fs2_open_d
01_20_2004_fs2_open_r
Launcher
fs2_open356.vp

These are here if you have the latest version. (Kudos to karajorma for helpin me out) fs2_open just allows you to open up the game without using the CD. However, it is also a powerful tool you can use to work up mods. The best one, is media.vp. This has all the shinemaps, as well as thruster mods and 32-bit effects. I would recommend you INSTALL fs2_open, and then get media.vp and ask karajorma how to run it. He helped me in my time of need.

And yes you are right, all the guys on here are deffinately not stuck up bastards. In fact it's been a while since a newb has asked question, and I am the one in particular. Good luck with FS2.
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: karajorma on March 10, 2004, 04:49:05 am
Wow. I seem to be popular all of a sudden :D

Tin Can's advice was generally correct. In fact if you want to uninstall FS2 the only thing you need to remove is the fs2_open356.vp (also known as the media.vp) and any 32 bit art effects you installed (Pretty much anything by Lightspeed :D). The rest of the FS2_open install can sit in your folder pretty harmlessly and won't interfere with your regular game(of course you may want to delete it to save disk space :D )

@Tin Can :  Those builds are a little old now. Check the Latest Builds Forum. There are about 5 newer builds in there. All of them released since I helped you set up FS2_Open :D

Quote
Originally posted by Cniinc
Finally, if I install fs2_open, how would I not have to worry about the renaming of files that Kajorma asked about?


I'm not certain what renaming of files you mean as I reccomend it as the cure to lots of problems. If you're on about installing Mods I reccomend following the advice I gave here (http://dynamic4.gamespy.com/~freespace/fsdoc/index.php/Installing%20Mods%20Under%20FS2_Open) Since you're installing on a fresh install you won't have the problem of having a data folder with anything in so you won't need to do any renaming.
 The advice in my FAQ is for FS2 Retail (I really need to do some work on the FAQ as a lot of stuff needs changing now). FS2_Open has a much better system for managing mods.


Quote
Originally posted by Cniinc
Speaking of which, I couldn't find Skippy's list of campaigns in Kajorma's site...


It was on the general Freespace page. Anyway, here's a link. Skippy's Campaign List (http://fs2.kissifrot.com/) It's drastically shorter that in used to be cause people don't seem to have realised that Skippy wiped the whole list and started again. It's pretty sad that almost all the HLP campaigns are missing.
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: HotSnoJ on March 10, 2004, 07:29:28 am
Anyone know where that comedy campaign about the NTF and bosch beer is and what it's named? I can't for the life of me remember.

I didn't see anyone mention it, but then I coulda missed it.
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: karajorma on March 10, 2004, 11:57:34 am
Deus Ex Machina. It's Goobers work so he's bound to have a link in his sig to it.
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Goober5000 on March 10, 2004, 03:29:26 pm
:)
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: HotSnoJ on March 10, 2004, 03:42:39 pm
Dude that was hands down the funniest FS2 campaign ever! One of my favorites too. ;)
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: .::Tin Can::. on March 10, 2004, 09:15:52 pm
LOL! I'm going to download that.
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Setekh on March 12, 2004, 04:36:27 am
Wow, new folks! Welcome to HLP, Cniinc and Arculis. :) Where do your nicks come from? Hope you find your stay helpful and long.

:welcome:
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Cniinc on March 14, 2004, 12:52:15 am
Hey, this question is for the Freespace 1 port. Can any of the missions and mods made for FS1 be run in the fs1 port? Case in point: Fortunes of War by Goober. It isn't finished, but when it's done, is it usable in fs2? There are mods to FS1 within Fortunes of War, so when it's done, will it run in the FS1 port to FS2?
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Cniinc on March 14, 2004, 02:26:45 am
1/20/04 is the latest build of fs2_open, right?
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: karajorma on March 14, 2004, 02:36:06 am
Not by a long way Cniinc. Check the SCP recent builds forum for about 5 builds newer than that one :D

As for FS1 mods they don't run on FS2 but apparently fromwhat I hear porting them isn't too extensive a problem so the new FS1 campaigns like Goobers and Hippos will probably get ported.
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Cniinc on March 14, 2004, 05:10:26 am
Quote
Originally posted by Setekh
Wow, new folks! Welcome to HLP, Cniinc and Arculis. :) Where do your nicks come from? Hope you find your stay helpful and long.



Well, FYI, Cniinc is short for CinEye_Inc (say "cniinc" slowly). That is because i like movies, and like to analyze directing (though I am by no means good at it :p ), so i like to say that I have a "cinematic Eye." (of course, I got that name itself with the MSN Gaming Zone's random name generator, but it fit). "Cinematic Eye" shortened to CinEye, and I like Business, so it's incorporated. CinEye_Inc. And that's shortened to a word that can be read forwards or backwards, Cniinc. woof.
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Setekh on March 14, 2004, 05:55:31 am
Quote
Originally posted by Cniinc


Well, FYI, Cniinc is short for CinEye_Inc (say "cniinc" slowly). That is because i like movies, and like to analyze directing (though I am by no means good at it :p ), so i like to say that I have a "cinematic Eye." (of course, I got that name itself with the MSN Gaming Zone's random name generator, but it fit). "Cinematic Eye" shortened to CinEye, and I like Business, so it's incorporated. CinEye_Inc. And that's shortened to a word that can be read forwards or backwards, Cniinc. woof.


That's quite a story. Woof. :)
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Goober5000 on March 14, 2004, 03:54:14 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Cniinc
Hey, this question is for the Freespace 1 port. Can any of the missions and mods made for FS1 be run in the fs1 port? Case in point: Fortunes of War by Goober. It isn't finished, but when it's done, is it usable in fs2? There are mods to FS1 within Fortunes of War, so when it's done, will it run in the FS1 port to FS2?
Sort of.  Porting FS1 missions to FS2 isn't very hard, but mods are slightly different so they need to be updated.  On the other hand, the icculus guys have reengineered their version of fs2_open to be compatible with FS1 stuff, so you might see that in the SCP in the future. :)
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Cniinc on March 20, 2004, 08:00:00 pm
OK, so i've downloaded the build of fs2_open and launcher 4. Do I put these all in the FS2 folder or in their own folders each?
Title: OK, Ignore that last question
Post by: Cniinc on March 21, 2004, 01:30:59 am
Yeah, I got my answer to that last question. However, i'd like to point out a problem, in the form of a picture. I took this pic playing Russel's KICK@$$ mod Homesick, but it happens for whatever I play.
(//C:\Games\FreeSpace2\Screen00.bmp)
(Did it come up?)
It's not supposed to do that white outline thing, right?

And does Homesick have its own voice animations, because Alpha 3 is GREAT!
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: jdjtcagle on March 21, 2004, 01:47:25 am
You need a image hoster to post picture although you have the right idea on how to post them
Image Hoster (http://www.fattonys.com/images/)
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: kasperl on March 21, 2004, 03:17:21 am
Quote
Originally posted by Cniinc
OK, so i've downloaded the build of fs2_open and launcher 4. Do I put these all in the FS2 folder or in their own folders each?


click the link under my name, go to the SCP section, and find a complete, very recently updated guide on insalling FSO.
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Cniinc on April 13, 2004, 07:56:03 pm
Hey, can fs2_open be run withoug media.vp? i'm having a big problem with the updated graphics, because if you look at something from one angle, it's stark white and without any skin, and then fly around it a little, and you get it to work a little. It kills the immersion, you know?
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: StratComm on April 13, 2004, 08:05:14 pm
That sounds bugish, though it also sounds like you aren't using all of the features the VP takes advantage of.  I'd be 99.9% sure it isn't the media vp that's causing the problem, it's most likely something in your setup that hasn't been completely fixed.
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: karajorma on April 14, 2004, 01:50:14 am
Quote
Originally posted by Cniinc
Hey, can fs2_open be run withoug media.vp? i'm having a big problem with the updated graphics, because if you look at something from one angle, it's stark white and without any skin, and then fly around it a little, and you get it to work a little. It kills the immersion, you know?


It's a bug. Which version of FS2_Open are you using?

Until you fix the problem though you can run FS22_Open without the media.vp. It's completely optional.
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: kasperl on April 14, 2004, 02:36:19 am
it might be a good idea to read the scp manual

[scp][/scp]

after that, please post the build you are using and the specs of your computer.
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Setekh on April 14, 2004, 09:01:46 am
That's a bug with its rendering of specular highlights. You definitely don't need the media.vp. :)
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Black Wolf on April 14, 2004, 12:54:09 pm
*Pimps NTV Emergence a bit*

Click my NTV Avatar - it should be fairly simple to grab it from the site.
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Cniinc on April 14, 2004, 05:35:49 pm
i'm using the 1/20/2004 build, because i was told it was more stable. I have an old computer, with the

ATI Rage Fury card (back when radeon was probably just coming out if at all)
1.2 ghz CPU athlon
640 mb sdram
and some other stuff.
Is there something else you'd like me to include?
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Turambar on April 14, 2004, 07:39:33 pm
Check out taylor's build, it's fast as a (insert racist joke here)
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Knight Templar on April 15, 2004, 12:46:03 am
Quote
Originally posted by Turambar
it's fast as a (insert racist joke here)


:wtf:
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Cniinc on April 15, 2004, 11:45:58 pm
Taylor's SCP build or his PC? and do you have a link? i mean, is this an SCP thing?
Title: For Those New to Hard Light
Post by: Unknown Target on April 16, 2004, 06:33:44 am
Check the latest versions thread in the SCP forum. You'll find a more supported build there ;) (this probably was already said)
You'll generally be able to find more help if you use one of the standard SCP .exes, rather than someone's custom exe.