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Hosted Projects - Standalone => Wing Commander Saga => Topic started by: Tolwyn on August 01, 2006, 04:42:34 pm

Title: NEWS: Cloaking
Post by: Tolwyn on August 01, 2006, 04:42:34 pm

In todays update we have some exciting news to report. Thanks to modifications done in the SCP-Engine (some older and some newer ones) we are now finally able to make a full-blown cloacking effect like in the original WC games. The technical side requires the usage of a few simple scripts for each cloaking ship, but those are easy to create and the effect for the player will be just like what we are used to in WC gameplay. Even better than that, the final animation will be very close to what we saw in the original CGI movie sequences of Wing Commander 4.

To celebrate this new development, we would like to share a few rendered pictures of our version of the infamous Strakha. Through centuries of conflict, the Kilrathi have gained an obsessive appreciation for strength. Many Kilrathi fighter designs, such as the Jalthi or Vaktoth, give expression to the Kat's sadistic infatuation with sheer brute force. However, the Kilrathi also have an appreciation for the more subtle forms of strength, such as stealth and cunning. The Strakha is the techological culmination of this facet of Kilrathi philosophy. Capitalizing on the element of surprise, the Strakha strikes from the shadows without warning. Although relatively lightly armed, its ability to move undetected provides it a tactical advantage that the Kat's capitalize on without mercy. As such, the Strakha is a veritable tactical nightmare for Confederation pilots.

While you sleep, they'll be waiting...

(http://www.wcsaga.com/media/news/preview/strakha1.jpg) (http://www.wcsaga.com/media/news/strahka1.jpg)                (http://www.wcsaga.com/media/news/preview/strakha2.jpg) (http://www.wcsaga.com/media/news/strahka2.jpg)

(edit)  Here is a video of the finished effect :

Now you see him . . . now you don't (http://www.wcsaga.com/downloads/movies/cloak.avi)

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Mancubus on August 01, 2006, 04:46:09 pm

Strakha looks great. good job SAGA team.
BTW not so long ago I posted that I'd like to see Strakha, and here it is :) maybe ishould now write that i'd like to see a release tomorrow :D

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Sphynx on August 01, 2006, 05:50:19 pm

Wishful thinking! :) But I can't blame you for it. ;)

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Stone48420 on August 01, 2006, 09:23:33 pm

Great post Mancubus  :nod: can't wait to see the Strakha in action is this going to be the only cloaking ship in game?  (yeah im trying to weasel out info) Im wondering because in Armada the kilrathi had the ShoK'lar which was a salthi looking ship that could cloak.  Could be interesting to see some of those babies in the mod (possibly in deep kilrathi space) only prob I see is that the guns don't match up with wing commander 3.

Does cloaking work for player craft also?  Could be tons of multiplayer fun ;7.

Just trying to get some variety when it comes to cloaking ships.

Later

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Darklord42 on August 01, 2006, 10:10:40 pm

Great job guys. It looks great. I don't care what anyone says about you, keep it up! and I know alot of people that would agree! :)

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 02, 2006, 07:30:25 am

:yes2: Sweet as a glazed cherry, :yes:

Bring on the F-107.........................*Peace through Power*

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Sphynx on August 02, 2006, 08:13:10 am

I think I can safely say that the Strakha is the only cloaking Kilrathi ship that will be featured in the WC Saga campaign.

And, Starman can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that cloaking can in fact work for a player's ship. I haven't tried it myself yet, but as I recall I think that is what was said about it.

Thanks for the interest and the support. We appreciate your feedback, and as I hope we were able to show, we will always do our best to respond to request of interest, like Mancubus' request for more info on the Strakha. To tell the truth, we had already been working on an update, and I just didn't want to spoil the surprise when you first asked, Mancubus. :)

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 02, 2006, 08:35:16 am

The F-107 isn't kilrathi,  *cough* possibility of the Lance being a playable fighter then  ;7

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Sphynx on August 02, 2006, 09:52:37 am

Well, this is during the WC3 timeline... ;) As far as I know, the only Confed fighters with cloaking during the Kilrathi war were the Excaliburs of Lancelot flight.

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 02, 2006, 10:06:09 am

OK, i'll make do with that then :D  :nod:

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Mancubus on August 07, 2006, 09:59:43 am

Thanks for all your good words about my post i'm glad you liked it. Personally i belive that SAGA will be worth every second we are waiting for it (and I know some people wait much much longer than me), but onthe other hand..;)
you know what

I will however like to return tu my question from the bloodfang topic - what guns will Strakha carry. now i'm sure that "victory streak" is right - it had 2 meson 2 laser - it can be seen clearly in Qeeg's movie. this armament made Strakha really superior to Darket and probably the most dangerous Kilrathi fighter in WC3, save for Bloodfang. leaving only two meson guns will make it somewhat teethless

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Sphynx on August 07, 2006, 11:46:39 am

Thanks for refocusing the question. :) I seem to remember the moddeler guys giving it the full armament out of the "Victory Streak" manual. Starman or Tolwyn, can you confirm that?

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Starman01 on August 07, 2006, 12:03:03 pm

I'm not 100% sure yet, but I'll aim for 2x laser and 2 x meson. With just 2x meson it's to weak IMO (like the darket)

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: IceFire on August 07, 2006, 12:19:07 pm

Keep in mind that some of the manuals are extremely wrong for armament.  But yeah I believe the duo laser and meson combo was correct for the WC3 Strakha.

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Mancubus on August 07, 2006, 03:51:02 pm

yep, i know. The biggest error in VS is the description of hellcat's  guns- 2 ion 2 lasers, BTW dumbly copied in the CIC  :D.
But i remeber strakha firing both mesons and lasers, so I'm ABSOLUTELY sure that this time it was correct

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: IceFire on August 07, 2006, 10:19:16 pm

Another is the Sorthak.  Various sources cite all sorts of things but the real armament was 3 Mesons in the turrets at the back and 4 Reaper cannons (!) in the front.  I do forget if there was another set of guns on the front but I think that was it.  You can easily tell the Mesons because of the colour but the Reapers in the front was a harder thing to figure out.  Ultimately I figured it out because the Reapers made a different sound and fired more rapidly.

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Tolwyn on August 10, 2006, 03:20:23 pm

Previously, we showed you the renders of our exciting new feature: cloaking. Now, we're able to show you the actual in-game footage of a cloaking Strakha. Now you see him . . . now you don't (http://www.wcsaga.com/downloads/movies/cloak.avi)

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: DaBrain on August 10, 2006, 04:13:57 pm

Nice work. Looks great!

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Mancubus on August 10, 2006, 04:30:59 pm

to say great is not enuogh :nod:

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 11, 2006, 03:22:34 am

Revolutionary (in FS engine terms), Awesome.........Once polished it will be EXEMPLARY

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: SadisticSid on August 27, 2006, 02:05:03 pm

Wow. Is this a new SCP feature that they haven't yet published, or is it done via scripting?

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Starman01 on August 27, 2006, 02:25:46 pm

It's some sort of a hack, combined usage of SEXP, 4 pofmodels and a custom animation, but works quite well  :)

See here for more detail :

http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,40783.0.html

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: SadisticSid on August 27, 2006, 03:17:34 pm

It looks very polished for a hack... I'd hoped it would be possible to do without extra artwork for each POF though. Hope you make good use of it in your campaign. :)

Title: Re: Cloaking
Post by: Starman01 on August 29, 2006, 12:27:23 pm

You can count on that :)