Hard Light Productions Forums
Community Projects => The FreeSpace Upgrade Project => Topic started by: WMCoolmon on January 21, 2006, 10:39:44 pm
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Same drill as the patch thread - post improvements, bugs, or additions here.
Right now I've got-
Taylor's DDS textures/effects
SFr Dis
GTB Ursa
SCv Moloch (But I don't think the version I have is the _final_ version)
Stuff that isn't done:
CP mentioned something about the subsystems on the Orion being out of place
The Vasudan Gas Miner's LODs are different enough from the LOD0 version that the engine thrusters are out of place.
Merging taylor's fixed-Deimos engines with the Deimos currently in the mediaVPs.
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Edit: bah, I need to read properly :/
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I can do the engine merge late tonight (though I'll have to dig up taylor's fixed-Deimos) as that should be totally trivial. The one that worries me is the Anuket; if the LOD is out of position, as seemed to be the initial prognosis, I'm going to need the whole damned thing recompiled. I'm not eager to do that. I can look at the Orion too, and while that's lower on the priority list it should also be really easy to fix. Do you remember offhand which subsystems are "out of place"? I'm guessing engines, but I can't remember.
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http://fs2source.warpcore.org/temp/deimos.zip
That includes both taylor's deimos as well as the current version in the MediaVPs. I don't know if the model is any different from the one in the Deltas, so I included it.
I think CP's main concern was engines, because it messed up a campaign mission, but I don't remember if there were any other subsystems messed up.
Edit: Also, I remember making a mental note to look into using the lower-version shockwaves for mv_effects, rather than the medium-quality version. Does anyone have the link to those?
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Yeah the engine was the main issue, but the navigation also has the same problem. They're too deep inside the model and as a result are much harder to destroy with bombs (which don't have the puncture flag). The original Orion has them near the edges of the model. I can fix this up quickly if you want.
The Hecate also has an issue with the size of three of its turrets that makes them easier or harder to hit from far away, but it's fairly minor and harder to fix.
I'm not sure if I posted this in the other thread, but here is a little thing I made some years ago that may be a useful addition to the core vp:
http://home.comcast.net/~cp5670/shieldbv-01.ani
It fixes the bug with the Bakha's shield HUD animation in the original game.
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On closer inspection, the subsystems were completely different from the original model. Fixed, along with the Deimos, but I'll wait until I can properly asses how long fixing the Anuket will take. I had to make the engine system larger so that it could still be hit from about the same angles, since it was getting hidden by the greebles even when set to its proper size.
EDIT:
I'm not touching the Hecate. The turrets (and I'm assuming these are the big deck guns most aft and on the bottom side) are not really fixable without reconversion and really should affect balance very, very little, especially on the retail campaign. So I'm not touching those, nor do I encourage anyone else to take that up.
Ok, so the Anuket. It's got a multipart turret that (right now) works completely wrongly, which I'll fix. Fixing the rest of it doesn't look as bad as I initially thought though.
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er, nevermind. didn't read it right, and i thought you gave a download xD
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3.6.8 Gamma Model Fixes (http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/gamma_files.zip) - This is not a media VP, and should only be downloaded by SCP or FSUpg staff members.
That should take care of your wish-list, WMC. I checked the Anuket out (engine glows show now) since I reconverted it; I can't promise it's turrets will be beautiful when firing but they're at least as good as what was there before. And the model is stable and will show up in the correct position, were it ever used in a mission where it's positioning on warp-in needed to be precise.
EDIT: And I don't think the Moloch is done yet. Leave it out until either it goes public or WeatherOp sends you the "final" version directly. In which case I'm still going to want to look over it just to be sure everything's in order.
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EDIT:
I'm not touching the Hecate. The turrets (and I'm assuming these are the big deck guns most aft and on the bottom side) are not really fixable without reconversion and really should affect balance very, very little, especially on the retail campaign. So I'm not touching those, nor do I encourage anyone else to take that up.
Yes, those are the ones. It's mainly in the Rebel Intercept multiplayer mission that it makes things slightly harder, as the smaller size of the rearmost large flak turret makes it a bit trickier to hit with the maxim (which is a standard tactic in that mission) under normal lag conditions. Although as you said it's not worth the trouble it would take to fix it, at least right now.
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Here (http://www.fileh.com/NelsonAndBronte/mv_turretangle-shp.zip) is the turret angle fix tbm with added support for the Ursa.
Wasn't Raa showing of an in game cockpitted Myrmidon? That would be nice to have for the first few missions of the new Derelict... :)
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Wow, We have now a gamme version ! :shaking: Then we'll have the Epsilon version to Zeta version until the final :ick:
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Well patches have been a pain b/c people don't remove them when they upgrade to a new set (and then complain about errors), and Inquisitor hasn't complained about server bandwidth yet.
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IIRC the rearmost turret of the hecate was always smaller than the others.
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Wasn't Raa showing of an in game cockpitted Myrmidon? That would be nice to have for the first few missions of the new Derelict... :)
I was, but the cocpit struts completely obstructed your view. It was like a really really tiny window to look out of in front of you. If you like that sort of thing, I can find the file when I et my laptop back from repairs, but I didn't really like it.
Edit: but I do have an idea about what I can do to fix that... hmm..... Ideas! Wee!
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I did think the Myrmidon looked good externally anyway... :)
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IIRC the rearmost turret of the hecate was always smaller than the others.
no, check the original model.
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Ah, youre right.
What a dumb place for a turret though...
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I figured I'd better post this here instead of in the Beta thread because this may affect future vp's, not the current one's.
I finally got hosting for my DDS VP's (Thanks Backslash :D )
www.qeyleb.net/files/dds_vp's.exe
These are fully working vp's in case anyone wants to use them as is, I do.
WMCoolmon: will these work or do I need to get you just the DDS files?
Steel01
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I think these were lost due to the rollback..
i) species_defs.tbl, so that SCP thrusters would be used ingame.. for example like this (http://koti.mbnet.fi/vekkup/FS2/Species_defs.tbl).
ii) Thruster radius of the HTL trebuchet is far too small.
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Note: found a couple errors in the dds_vp's. We're working on it. The ones I've tracked down are corrupted because the TGA/PCX versions are non-power-of-2 sizes.
Some of the culprits, which might be good to fix in the TGA/PCX versions also:
thruster02-03 -- 510x128 (?!)
thruster03-01a -- 400x400, whereas all the other thruster03* files are 512x512.
Prometheus_Glow -- 166x166
Vapula_Glow -- 166x166
Kayser_Glow.pcx -- 166x166. This is an odd one, because Kayser_Glow.tga is just fine at 256x256. These three weapon glows look all identical, so correcting them is easy: duplicate Kayser_Glow.tga, overwriting the others, and convert to pcx to fix those too.
Also, a couple ideas:
1. There is a typo (?) in the mv_effects-wep.tbm file under Terran Turret. The Laser Bitmap is 2_laserglow03. Is this not supposed to be LaserGlow03, or Terran_Turret? This currently has the effect of most Terran turrets firing odd but boring white blobs.
2. The animated glowmaps; wouldn't they look better with a slower animation speed (fps)? Most of them are currently > 30fps, some at even 60. So you see the full animation in less than a second; the repetition becomes quite noticable in such a short amount of time. I say they'd look better at 15fps or so. Hmm, would this also improve performance any?
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These files should fix the washed out problem with the Arcadia's install01-02 texture that I brought up a few months ago:
http://home.comcast.net/~cp5670/install01-02a.dds
http://home.comcast.net/~cp5670/install01-02b.dds
Also, I would suggest taking another look at the Maxim graphics. Does anyone else find that the new Maxim (and to a lesser extent the Circe as well) looks like crap compared to the original one?
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Darkload42, you may be thinking of alpha?
Back to topic :p ...Another odd thing I notice, this time in the existing gamma vps: in mv_effects.vp\maps there are two DDS files: thruster02-03.dds and thruster02-03a.dds . They are 583x256, and corrupted. Not only that, there are files of the same name in mv_effects.vp\effects , and yet they look completely different! :confused:
Anyone know what these are for, or have the originals?
The ones in effects are Lightspeed/Bobboau's effects, but I have never seen the ones in maps before.
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- Couldn't fix up turret indices in spline path
- Warning: EFF: No frame images were found. EFF, fighter2t-01a-glow.eff, is invalid. Possibly change the texture name in the model, since the textures are different?
- According to taylor, some of the models could use some work (http://lore.maxgaming.net/~scp/mantis/bug_view_page.php?bug_id=0000811).
- I'm getting extreme slowdowns with the Herc 2, GTFr Triton, GTC Aeolus, and SD Lucifer models...but not so much with the Perseus, Myrmidon, and Fenris models. Is there something fundamentally different about the way they're modelled/mapped that's causing the slowdown?
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- Couldn't fix up turret indices in spline path
Which ship? I've fixed a bunch of these before but can easily do it again.
- Warning: EFF: No frame images were found. EFF, fighter2t-01a-glow.eff, is invalid. Possibly change the texture name in the model, since the textures are different?
If the animated glowmap in mv_adveffects is removed, then the fighter2t-01a-glow.eff file can be removed as well. This is an artifact only of the EFF used to override that map as it doesn't align properly with the new model, and not a bug with the texture name or the model
- According to taylor, some of the models could use some work (http://lore.maxgaming.net/~scp/mantis/bug_view_page.php?bug_id=0000811).
The Herc 2 is the one at fault here, and I'm aware of it. Max isn't working so I can't do much about it now, but I need to reformat in the near future anyway which will fix the problem. A list of other models that this is an issue with (aside from it just not being high-poly in the target box) would help, as I'm not sure if anything else falls under the category of incompatible mapping
- I'm getting extreme slowdowns with the Herc 2, GTFr Triton, GTC Aeolus, and SD Lucifer models...but not so much with the Perseus, Myrmidon, and Fenris models. Is there something fundamentally different about the way they're modelled/mapped that's causing the slowdown?
Maybe the size of the maps. The Herc 2 map is much larger than it really needs to be especially. They haven't caused me any issues personally, but you might try downsizing the 2048 maps just to see if that might be causing it. Otherwise, those ships are mapped as optimally as they can be.
[/list]
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science01.pof (Faustus) is the faulty turret indices ship.
I don't see the point in removing the animated glowmap if there's nothing actually wrong with it...if it's just an 'alignment' issue wouldn't it just be an issue of moving parts of the texture?
I don't think anything has as drastic a mapping change as the Herc 2.
That's odd, I 'spose if it is the maps I'll just have to move the big ones to adveffects.
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I figured I'd be able to answer all of those questions pretty easily. The texture thing I'm not sure about, but if your card doesn't support something that large then there may be major issues with downsampling on a per-instance basis (I'll bet the game stores it full-size and downsamples when feeding it to the videocard, which in your case may be happening every frame). This should actually probably be treated as a bug if it hurts performance that drastically, though I'm no expert on that. I don't know what to tell you about the Herc 2; I'd say remove it until I have time to fix it if I didn't know that everyone would then post errors about it being missing. The Faustus though I can definitely fix. I believe I actually know why we're getting those stupid errors, so I should probably take another look at the Leviafenris too and see if there isn't a pattern. Am I correct in assuming that it doesn't happen with the retail model?
As for the glowmap, this is my take on it: the old map is useless, as no one in their right mind would use adveffects without mv_models and mv_models disables the glow. So you can get rid of an ani and the eff, and the error dissapears. Yes, it could be fixed, and I asked Turambar to do an animated glow when he redid the maps (he hasn't yet). No, it's not as simple as shifting things around a bit, but it should be close. I could probably do it if I had the original photoshop file for the glowmaps and had a large enough amount of time to hammer away at it, but 2d art is not my specialty. But as of right now, it would be easier to base an animated map off of the static glow than to rework the ani to fit the new lines so there's no reason to keep the old animated map around as far as I can see.
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I think that the Herc2 is the only hi-poly model with a real issue. The Orion model has a floating turret or something with LOD1. I haven't looked at exactly what it is all that closely, I just know that you can see it in the hud targetbox. Also I'm 100% sure which Orion model I'm using (should be the MediaVP one) so give it a check and if it's ok then just ignore me. I have never seen the Orion issue in the techroom or the lab, only in the targetbox, which is rather strange (is there a special HUD only model?). Just start up "The Sicilian Defense", target the Vindicator, and look at the hud targetbox model just behind the engines, it should be obvious.
Pretty much every other model is one that is still retail, but with Lightspeed's texture upgrade. Most of them are fine but some of the models have a new, higher detail, LOD0 texture and the retail LOD1 texture which can look a bit different. The Dragon is about the only one which has this *really* bad so I've just been waiting for the new hi-poly version.
@WMC: Check the MVPs you got from me and you should find textures for most of those ships that are already resized (I hate big textures like that for small ships). You could use mine in the normal VP and put the higher res version on adveffects or something.
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I've seen the floating Orion turret actually. Ugly, ugly mistake there. The conversion I did had other issues, but Galemp's has that more obvious problem. Unfortunately, consulting the lab, the turret isn't actually out of position by default, it's rotating out of position. Which means I can't do anything about it.
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Not sure if this is true for everyone, but it seems that the GVC Aten is missing a shinemap...
(https://webspace.utexas.edu/maa945/www/screen0067.jpg)
I remember seeing an exotic shine to that bar in the previous media vps. This shot was taken in OpenGL, and this effect occurs with mipmapping on or off. I have also noticed that some ships are missing shinemaps as well. I know that these models, including the GVB Bakha, some turrets and containers, were low on the priority list, but I just wanted to verify if there was something missing in the current vps. Thanks.
(https://webspace.utexas.edu/maa945/www/screen0068.jpg)
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That Bakha has very hidious looks, I've had it like that for ages. Was it ever touched by Lightspeed's magic. To me, it's retail to its' worst.
Quite radical, but in my opinion, oh'so true...
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I agree. I just wanted to make sure that no one else was missing any shine maps or new textures on ships like those. I'm sure every FS1 and FS2 ship, turret, or whatever it may be will get their updated models, maps and textures in the future. But I am having some trouble with the Aten still. That bottom plate just seems to be missing its shine. It used to reflect colors of gold and orange if I remember correctly, and the scales were much sharper. I might have seen this in FSPort, so I am guessing the FSPort vps has a file that the 3.6.8 Media vps don't have. I'll double check in a little bit.
EDIT: The fixed Anuket has not been added anywhere to the new media vps, correct? Just wondering, because I am still getting no thrusters.
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bump, any planned release date for this media VP revision?
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Not really. I'm generally out from 8 am to 11 pm each weekday. So the earliest I can see it getting done is this weekend, motivation pending.
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Sorry, I know things may be just about done, but I thought I'd bring up an issue/possible improvement. So Taylor has added the converted DDS textures/effects [:yes: :yes:], but I have a question: are the already-existing DDS files in mv_effects getting replaced too?
If so, probably disregard the rest of this post :p ...
I'm just wondering whether the DDS files that are already existing in the Delta mv_effects vp might get overlooked (since they're already DDS). For example, the planets... as I mention in this post (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,38831.msg791664.html#msg791664), I figured out a way to increase the quality (less compression artifacts), even with the same format (dxt5).
If this hasn't been done already for the Gamma project, it'd be nice to reconvert the rest of existing DDS files... I volunteer to help do it if it needs doing. (And it would be even better if we reconverted from the originals, which I'd have to ask for...) I'd also be glad to postpone this idea until Epsilon if you just want to get Gamma out sooner.
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I apologize for the delay in getting to the problems I was assigned earlier (the spline index, the Moloch) but I'm just getting my main PC back up after a reformat. I'd like to request the oppertunity to get those fixes in if they haven't been done already by someone else.
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Max is back!
HTL Moloch (http://www.game-warden.com/fusionstorm/corvette2s-01.zip). I'll get to the Faustus and see what the Orion wants me to do to it in the next couple of days.
EDIT: Link changed as of the last edit timestamp since WeatherOp had a texture change to make.
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OMFGZZZ!! *downloads*
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:bump:
Pretty much everything in the thread has been done, aside from merging some of the other DDS files back into the mediaVPs.
If you created an effect or model or fix and it's not in this thread...it probably won't be in the mediaVPs. So get it in now. :D
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Well, I'm hoping the DDS stuff has already dealt with this, but if not...
I fixed the files thruster02-03.tga and thruster03-01a.tga to be power-of-two sizes (they were formerly 510x128 and 400x400, respectively). I also fixed Prometheus_Glow.tga and Vapula_Glow.tga which were both 166x166 (by copying Kayser_Glow.tga which was 256x256).
Zip attached. Let me know if you need them converted to DDS, and if so which type (DXT1 or, being gradients, perhaps u1555 or u888).
[attachment deleted by admin]
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Make sure Sandwich's 'roids have DDS textures, as there's been some complaints about that recently. Otherwise, I don't have anything ATM.
Oh, and I'm sure you have this but it's not in this thread. VA's latest iteration of the Leviafenris, here (http://webzoom.freewebs.com/twisted-infinities-va/HTL%2DFenris/HTL%5FFenANDLev%5FLs%5FFinal.zip)
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Just in case you haven't already - can you make sure that all files from that zip Strat linked to replace the old ones in the media VPs? Sorry to nag, but with the last version, the wrong glowmap got left in, meaning light from the rear windows spilled out where it shouldn't have, and looked a bit silly. ;)
(actually, you can see it in the wikipedia's FS_Open screenie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Freespace2Open_Screen01.jpg) :( )
Also, you should be able to remove most of the previous versions redundant maps:
- Fenris-HTL-glow.pcx (the new one's dds, so the pcx one will need to be removed to prevent it having a higher priority)
- Fenris-HTL_b.dds (this lot are now handled by mipmaps)
- Fenris-HTL_b-glow.pcx
- Fenris-HTL_b-shine.dds
- Fenris-HTL_Subs.dds (the subsystems now all use the main texture)
- Fenris-HTL_Subs-shine.dds
Make sure to leave the trim ones in though, because the Sobek uses at least one of them. :)
Other than that, I can't remember anything. :)
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looking good, thanks for posting that ^^
Well, my mediavps 3.6.8 Delta are so modified now. Isn't it almost time for a new MediaVPs release or are we still waiting on a few more models ?
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Make sure to leave the trim ones in though, because the Sobek uses at least one of them. :)
Other than that, I can't remember anything. :)
Yeah, I picked up on that - looks like the size went down by a fair bit, almost half. :)
Only thing is that I'll need to put the trims back in for the Sobek.
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Please check Mantis 877 (http://lore.maxgaming.net/~scp/mantis/bug_view_advanced_page.php?bug_id=0000877) as it seems rear-side laser turrets in ATEN (mv_models 3.6.8. delta) are nearly always hidden even if you are just in front of them. (You have to move and move and move till you find a good line of fire).
[attachment deleted by admin]
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If you mean the targeting reticle showing a diamond instead of a square, that's a POF bug that I honestly don't know the cause of. The aten has gone through its share of revisions, and the turret issues have been common to just about all of them.
If it's actually dissapearing, then something should be done. However, I don't know how to fix what I think is happening.
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If you mean the targeting reticle showing a diamond instead of a square, that's a POF bug that I honestly don't know the cause of. The aten has gone through its share of revisions, and the turret issues have been common to just about all of them.
Yes, it's target reticle appearing as diamond, (it's hidden as if it were in the other side of the craft), so, as an example, missiles don't damage the turret.
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Hey, where's my Dis? :(
I'm also having significant problems taking out the button turrets on the Aten, and some of my shots pass right through the Satis. I suppose the Aten is my responsibility (since I created it) but I don't know about the Satis.
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If you mean the targeting reticle showing a diamond instead of a square, that's a POF bug that I honestly don't know the cause of. The aten has gone through its share of revisions, and the turret issues have been common to just about all of them.
That might be a code bug. Some TBP models show the same behaviour in recent builds, but worked fine in older builds. I remember that the diamond/square subsystem brackets were accidentally flipped at one point. Maybe it's a bug relic of that ?
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Actually, this problem with the HTL Aten has been there since it was added and is NOT an SCP bug. If it is, its been there for a LONG time... at least a year and a half, as I encountered it while playing STL before I joined up with TBP.
Hey, where's my Dis? :(
Somewhere in the vicinity of Dat and De Oder Ting. :p
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Hey, where's my Dis? :(
Somewhere in the vicinity of Dat and De Oder Ting. :p
Good one, but as I'm Spanish I must correct you: "Dat and di oder Cing". ;) HLP is great for language learning...
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Another consideration for the next set of MediaVPs, since I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this publicly, is that interface graphics can be uncompressed DDS. This means that the splash screen and logo, along with loading screens, can be DDS so that you don't have to include both PCX and TGA versions of those screens. Uncompressed DDS will work regardless of whether or not you can use compressed DDS, don't have to be power-of-2, have multiple image formats, and you don't need -jpgtga (or any other option) to use them.
With uncompressed DDS you can have 16-bit images with 1-byte alpha, 24-bit images with no alpha, or 32-bit images with full 8-bit alpha. This gives full flexibility to show just the amount of color that you need. Since uncompressed DDS images don't have to be power-of-2 (only compressed DDS do) they will work well at any size. Just remember to not make mipmaps for them. :)
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Here's the tbm fix for weapon_expl which makes sure only the new flak effect gets used, since it doesn't appear to have been posted here yet...
[attachment deleted by admin]
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Oh and here is the fix for the SF Dragon which will make it use LOD0 for the hud targetbox, so it doesn't look so crappy until the new hi-poly can be completed...
And I'm attaching the tbm I'm using for Lightspeed's improved nebula. This does require a CVS build though (nothing released so far will work with this) so no one should try using this until the next CVS build gets released, unless you already build from CVS yourself...
[attachment deleted by admin]
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Ask and you shall (eventually) recieve :)
Orion (plus Galatea and Bastion) with that pesky turret fixed (http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/Orion_models.rar)
If anyone wants a laugh, open the old HTL Orion in modelview, go to LOD 2, and turn rotation on. Oops. :nervous:
The dragon, on the other hand, may take a little longer.
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Me and Wanderer found a few problems with the high poly Deimos. First, the right dock is on the left side, and the left dock is on the right side (That messed me up real good today).
Second, the path ships take to dock with it are very broken.
http://www.game-warden.com/narfin/campaigns/adockingtest.fs2
Here's a sample mission showing how an Argo gracefully docks with a Deimos. I tried messing around with the radius of the Deimos' docking points, which didn't look right (they went 31, 9.5, 9.4, 12, 0.9), but I didn't notice much difference. In FRED the paths look fine, but obviously there is something wrong.
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Unfortunately whatever you're seeing is a retail bug and not one with the high-poly Deimos in particular. I took special care not to alter things like that when I did the most recent conversion, and in fact everything that would be a factor in docking was directly imported off of the :v: model. And now here's the problem: we are mandated to not break retail behavior, and like it or not the Deimos and whatever docking bugs it might suffer are equally retail behavior (and there may exist campaigns that actually use the old behavior). Sorry Axem.
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If you are so determined not to fix retail bugs.. then why are doing HTL or otherwise improved models at all? :wtf:
For example HTL Aeolus has its top front turret currently functional multipart turret which differs from retail behaviour. Same goes for all (singlepart/non-functional multipart -> functional multipart) turret fixes that have been made as they break the retail behaviour in exatcly similar way (= fix a retail bug). Also with that logic there is no point of fixing Charybdis turrets (or Mentu, or Typhon) even though the some firepoints are separated far from the hull or shoot only through the hull (as some one may have done a mod that may utilize that 'feature') even if it is clearly not the desired behaviour even in the retail.
Fixing a broken dockpoint paths seems relatively minor compared to those.
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If you are so determined not to fix retail bugs.. then why are doing HTL or otherwise improved models at all? :wtf:
And now here's the problem: we are mandated to not break retail behavior, and like it or not the Deimos and whatever docking bugs it might suffer are equally retail behavior (and there may exist campaigns that actually use the old behavior).
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Then why have they (you) fixed the turrets?
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Not touching turrets, I can understand, those will affect the balancing of missions. But what campaign would use a transport diving halfway into a Deimos as default behaviour (excluding DEM or JAD)? If anything it completely breaks the mood of the whole atmosphere.
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Not if the docking transport is an Elysium, and the extra minute it takes to get in to position and traverse the longer docking path may affect the way the mission plays out. The dockpaths were done with certain ships in mind, and so have particular characteristics that limit their functionality in a general sense but allow those smaller ships to dock more easily. You wouldn't expect a Hippocrates to dock sanely with anything, would you? It's a timing thing rather than a graphics thing, an important factor in mission balancing that people often forget.
If it's a problem, add another dockpoint or two for argos. But you can't alter the ones that are there for reasons previously stated. If the paths were backwards, or the docking point inverted, or something else obviously stupid (see Iceni) then you'd have a case for changing the existing ones, but that doesn't apply to those with paths that are just too short for the cruiser-sized Argo transport.
That also doesn't address the backwardsness issue, but the reason that can't be changed should be more obvious.
And turret changes are a little different (particularly with the Aeolus) because the change made was actually purely cosmetic. Those firepoints already had huge firing cones IIRC, so making it true multipart only made it actually turn like it was supposed to.
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All true - except that multipart and singlepart turrets have very different behaviours. Swarm type weapons or type 4 beams for example have very different behaviour with single and multipart turrets. So changing singlepart or nonfunctional multipart to functional multipart turret can drastically alter the balance regardless of the turrets fov setting.
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Not if the weapon being fired is flak though. You have to keep it in context. I'm not responsible for the Aeolus, but you'll find that most people doing HTL models know not to mess with things in a major way if they could alter balance.
If the turret complaint is something you've actually run in to then that may be a valid discussion. Using it as an example of why it's ok to change things since it's already been done is not within the scope of the point you originally brought up. In general, altering the location of a firepoint (but not so much its normal) is not a problem; it's extremely rare (read: never) that the few meters here or there would affect aim in any way, and that change would be purely graphical in nature. Normal changes are obviously more serious and need to be avoided wherever possible, and for the most part they have been. (It should be noted though that the problem turrets, with the exception of the Aeolus main guns, are all silly little things like terran weak turrets that really couldn't affect balance if they tried. Not that it's an excuse for doing them, just needs to be pointed out.)