Hard Light Productions Forums

Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The Modding Workshop => Topic started by: Darkhill on March 24, 2004, 11:15:58 am

Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Darkhill on March 24, 2004, 11:15:58 am
I guess this is the place to put this.  We have been using the 3.5.5 version as a code base for our stand alone game.  There have been far to many games done from the Rebel side of things so we thought a new Imperial themed game would be good for a change.  All of the craft from X-wing have been put in the game and most of the interface has been converted over.  The HUD is about the last thing for us to do.  We have been working on this for about a month now and thought it was time to pimp it out.

Barracks:
(http://www.minos.net/~sco/IA_Pics/barracks.JPG)

Campaign selection:
(http://www.minos.net/~sco/IA_Pics/campaign.JPG)

Main hall:
(http://www.minos.net/~sco/IA_Pics/main.JPG)

Sim room:
(http://www.minos.net/~sco/IA_Pics/sim.JPG)

Tech room:
(http://www.minos.net/~sco/IA_Pics/tech.JPG)
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: karajorma on March 24, 2004, 11:27:09 am
Looking good :D
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: TopAce on March 24, 2004, 11:52:03 am
WE (http://dynamic4.gamespy.com/~freespace/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=70) buy licence!
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Lt.Cannonfodder on March 24, 2004, 11:59:23 am
Interface from Tie Fighter?!? The third best game ever! Wohoo! :D
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Darkhill on March 24, 2004, 12:26:24 pm
Quote
Originally posted by TopAce
WE (http://dynamic4.gamespy.com/~freespace/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=70) buy licence!


Eh?  People who frequent the source code fourm should remember my name.

Our fourm (http://hosting.infiltrator-wing.com/phpbb2/index.php), though it doesn't get used a lot right now since not many people in our club actually have FS2.  But we are nearing the point where we don't need Volition's data files and we look to see the beta test really take off.

We are going to release a new data pack in the next couple of days that actually has most of the screen shot stuff in it.  Anybody here is welcome to download the stuff and try it out.  Though it would be best if you installed it on another copy of FS2.  There are a lot of internal changes between ours and even the FS2 Open code.
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Liberator on March 24, 2004, 12:34:38 pm
WOW!
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: karajorma on March 24, 2004, 12:44:23 pm
Quote
Originally posted by darkchrono4
Anybody here is welcome to download the stuff and try it out.  Though it would be best if you installed it on another copy of FS2.  There are a lot of internal changes between ours and even the FS2 Open code.


Unless you've changed the way FS2 deals with the directories I see no need to do that. Why can't we simply put it in it's own sub-folder and use the -mod switch in your version of the launcher?

And if we can't you might want to consider making it so that we can. Why force your users to waste hard drive space? :)

Unless you've so completely changed all the data that you don't need to install on top of a copy of FS2 that is :D
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Unknown Target on March 24, 2004, 12:51:23 pm
Would be nice to be able to release stand-alone games with the FS2/SCP stuff :D Poo-gas to that we can't.


Anyway, lookin really good! :yes: The one thing I would suggest is take out those stormtroopers, make them smaller, or make them less grainy. Animated would also be really good (although you might also have that :))
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Bobboau on March 24, 2004, 12:55:17 pm
holy ****!

hey! if you're going to mess with the HUD, please please please please make the reagons definable via a tbl. this is something that has been asked for for years.
the way I've been wanting it was to have everything in relitive terms (sort of like UV coords) so 0,0 would be the upper/left corner and 1,1 would be the lower/right corner, you specify a floating point value of were on the screen you want the stuf to be, this way the interface code will scale corectly when useing diferent resolutions.
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Gank on March 24, 2004, 01:22:51 pm
This is for the Emperors Hammer isnt it? Hope LucasArts dont take exception to you using their stuff, given what you're releasing is a competitor for the xwing series they might.
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Bobboau on March 24, 2004, 01:37:58 pm
and given that it's a better enngine :D
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Nico on March 24, 2004, 01:52:55 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Gank
This is for the Emperors Hammer isnt it? Hope LucasArts dont take exception to you using their stuff, given what you're releasing is a competitor for the xwing series they might.


Yeah, even tho they prbably won't release another instalment of the series, they very well could. I remember with much anger the story with the SW mod for Doom2 :doubt:.
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Hippo on March 24, 2004, 02:19:16 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Gank
Hope LucasArts dont take exception to you using their stuff


Yeah, you're approaching a major conflict in copyright... Lucasarts has told the SW staff on repeated occasions that the interface, models and textures found in their games are copyrighted, and that they will press copyright charges if we use their artwork and such...
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: kasperl on March 24, 2004, 02:24:58 pm
also, consider this:
If you keep the whole thing SCP compatible, you could easily use SCP stuff in your game, and you would be able to use the SCP bootable CD Taylor  is making using Knoppix Linux.
Put a CD/DVD in your drive, put a boot floppy in, reboot, play the game without installing anything, remove the floppy, reboot, and have your originall OS with untouched HD's again. Prefect for use in schools, library's and LAN parties.

edit: and, if you make sure you use no copyrighted artwork (:V:, Interplay or LucasArts) at all, you could easily freely distribute this whole thing, in combo with the bootable CD, as an easy-to-use game requiring no installing at all. Free games  are always good, especially if you can get even the tiniest bit of coverage over at GameSpy or something like that, it only takes one link to this place to create an influx of interest.
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Darkhill on March 24, 2004, 08:24:45 pm
The X-wing mod community (which the Emperor's Hammer bascially came from) has been recycling LA stuff for years and have never had any kind of copyright problems.  The club owner had a problem because the original logo used the imperial cog and he was asking money to help pay for the server.  We also are going to make this 100% to anybody who wants to take the time to download it.  The graphics we have now are more or less placeholders.  We want to have 1024x768 res graphics for the final.

At this point you really don't have to have another copy of FS2 to run the game.  But it will copy over all your tables and quite a bit of your interface graphics.  In the end you won't need anything from FS2 to run our project.

About the HUD, I'm not sure what we are going to do with that yet.  We plan on removing a few things like the wing icon in the upper right.  Want to bump that four per wing up to 12 so its more inline with a Imperial squadron.
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Bobboau on March 24, 2004, 09:02:30 pm
well if you could do the table thing before you start seriusly modifying it, it would be a big help for the rest of the FS comunity
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: karajorma on March 25, 2004, 04:50:54 am
Quote
Originally posted by darkchrono4
At this point you really don't have to have another copy of FS2 to run the game.  But it will copy over all your tables and quite a bit of your interface graphics.  In the end you won't need anything from FS2 to run our project.


Don't take out the -mod switch and it won't :D I've I've only got one install of FS2 and can switch from standard FS2 to a total conversion like TBP with the click of a button. I really can't see any reason why this should be any different.
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Setekh on March 25, 2004, 05:53:37 am
This is outstanding! Welcome to the highlights, sir. :)
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Ypoknons on March 25, 2004, 05:54:22 am
Well very very good stuff !

But certainly ask the XWAU crew whether they wouldn't be interested in a shiny, new, HTL engine! I mean, XWAU models are nice.
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: pyro-manic on March 25, 2004, 07:01:06 am
Whoa! This looks a bit good! Excellent work, people. I look forward to seeing more of this.....

:):yes:
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Darkhill on March 25, 2004, 11:37:26 am
We haven't taken the -mod flag out.  But I did get Random Tiger's permission and I have modified the launcher for our project.  I have moved the registry settings among other things.  I guess if you slapped it in your mod directory and ran our launcher once to set the registry up then ran it as a mod from the FS2 Open launcher everything would be fine.

We don't deal with the XWAU.  Certain members have a hair up their ass about something that happened five or six years ago and won't let it go.  And the guy that basically holds the group together by doing most of the models is a prick unless you agree with him 100% of the time.

Thanks for the link on the front page.  Didn't expect that at all.
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: deep_eyes on March 25, 2004, 12:33:13 pm
you know technically this is the first OFFICIAL (wether it is star trek, or starwars or a totally original concept) utilization of the Freespace 2 Engine (SCP only) to be used for another Universe involving Space Combat having nothing to do with FS2?

Excluding Babylon 5 mods, and the Star Trek Mods which are constantly being changed to use the latest scp technology.

A pure Original USE of the FS2_SCP and it looks divine.


Imagine:

"Powered by: Freespace 2 SCP Technology"
:ha:
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Petrarch of the VBB on March 25, 2004, 12:52:07 pm
Ownage
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: aldo_14 on March 25, 2004, 06:02:13 pm
Neat.  

Reminds me a bit of old mid-90's Lucasarts adventures, tho.
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Gank on March 25, 2004, 06:28:03 pm
The graphics are mid-90s lucasarts ;)
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: aldo_14 on March 25, 2004, 06:32:58 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Gank
The graphics are mid-90s lucasarts ;)


Oh yes.  I now read the actual post and see.

****
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Darkhill on March 25, 2004, 08:53:34 pm
When you only have three people in three different countries in the development team you aren't going to have super duper everything. Our point is not to be able to choke a Raedon 9800 with a screen full of effects. But to have an all around decent game with an Imperial theme. The chances of TIE Fighter 2 coming out are slim to none at best. Besides, IA is being targeted straight for the Emperor's Hammer (though we hope that people outside like it enough to download and play it). The club still uses TIE Fighter regularly for internal comps, so having the newest gee whiz effects is not neccessary.
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Setekh on March 26, 2004, 04:38:44 am
Quote
Originally posted by darkchrono4
Thanks for the link on the front page.  Didn't expect that at all.


My pleasure. I always love seeing great quality work like this. :)
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Ypoknons on March 26, 2004, 09:31:12 am
Quote
Originally posted by darkchrono4
We don't deal with the XWAU.  Certain members have a hair up their ass about something that happened five or six years ago and won't let it go.  And the guy that basically holds the group together by doing most of the models is a prick unless you agree with him 100% of the time.


Yes, I do understand. Actually, I did some work for the XWAU team a while back, so I know the crew. It's a shame, but well, in any case, good luck with this stuff.

The progress so far has been pretty good, although there is the local FS2 Star Wars conversion... Oh, here I go again! Oh well!
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: KARMA on March 26, 2004, 11:35:17 am
I'm the leader of the SW conversion for FS2, you can reach us here: http://dynamic4.gamespy.com/~freespace/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=70

What you have is nice and interesting. I really think that you should work with the SCP team if you want to modify the code, so everybody (like us:D) will be able to use your modifications.  

I also think it'd be a waste to share resources for 2 mirror projects instead of working together, we surely could share stuff, but I don't want copyrighted stuff like original artwork taken from the LEC games and we are using some XWAUP stuff too, so I'm not sure how much we can do together. At least we could share some tables and some artwork.
I'm at military service these days, so don't expect an immediat reply, but I should return home soon.
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Darkhill on March 26, 2004, 02:16:23 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Ypoknons


Yes, I do understand. Actually, I did some work for the XWAU team a while back, so I know the crew. It's a shame, but well, in any case, good luck with this stuff.

The progress so far has been pretty good, although there is the local FS2 Star Wars conversion... Oh, here I go again! Oh well!


I thought your name looked familiar.  I used to frequent the board a lot.  But between Darksaber's tirades and everybody kissing up to him I don't go back much anymore.

To do what we want with the game its about impossible to keep it compatible with the SCP.  Even if I put all the interface stuff in a table I've still either added or removed buttons from just about every part of the interface.  The barracks in the picture I posted works nothing like the original.  Though I do think with some time and effort you could fix the button definitions and the check for a button pressed to read values from a table instead of #defines.

We use the graphics now because thats all we have.  Though not that it makes much of a difference but all of them have been modified from the LA stuff.  We would have the same problem if we used the stock FS2 graphics.  So why not use something that has a Star Wars theme?
Title: Imperial Alliance screenies (56K beware)
Post by: Johnmike on March 27, 2004, 07:30:52 pm
Show this to [V] or Interplay and maybe they'll be interested...  In what, dunno.  =P  Keep it in mind.  [/useless]