Hard Light Productions Forums
Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The FRED Workshop => Topic started by: starwolf1991 on November 24, 2010, 06:53:46 pm
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Hello everyone. I'd like to take a minute of your time to show a project that me and another member of the community are working. Up until now there have been some screenshots of Dark Storm and possibly some mentions of it. But what is Dark Storm really? What is the project like? Well, I hope to tell you that right here, in this preview.
(http://www.sectorgame.com/forums/userpix/385_darkstormlogo_1.png)
Dark Storm is a two-man project, started off by a member of the community long ago. In time, it would change radically. What was originally made is now a mere shadow of what we currently have.
Dark Storm's storyline is focused on a dark conflict in Sol's history, set not too long ago after the devastating Great War.
"In the aftermath of a bloody revolution, the Galactic Terran Alliance has been shattered and divided into three sides. For over a decade, there is uneasy peace. Unforseeable events will shatter the peace between all sides and ignite a system-wide conflict. A Dark Storm looms overhead, but when it clears, Sol shall rise again......"
The story is being developed by me and ShadowGorrath.
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Dark Storm is being developed on FSOpen 3.6.12, utilising many of its features and the MediaVPs. Here are some of the features it will have:
-Wide range of famous and new spacecraft designs
-Extensive soundtrack collection
-Two character-driven campaigns, telling stories from three diverse factions
-New arsenal of primary and secondary weapons
-Savage firefights
-Custom range of graphical and audio effects
-And much more
We're aiming to eventually be able to release the prologue chapter for the campaigns of Dark Storm. It will introduce players to the Dark Storm universe and some of its recurring characters while detailing the events leading up to the outbreak of a devastating war.
As part of this preview, we would like to reveal one of these factions to you, along with some eye candy. Below is the intelligence entry for the 'Terran Reformation Alliance', one of the three great powers of Sol:
(http://www.sectorgame.com/forums/userpix/385_dslunaw4_1.png)
"When the revolution reached its climax, the Galactic Terran Alliance suspended its agenda and reorganized itself as the Terran Reformation Alliance: a single authority that would dominate the planets beyond the main asteroid belt. Over the past decade, it has regained massive momentum and power lost when the Solar Federated Worlds overthrew its former reign. While the faces and locations have changed, the inner heart of the Alliance hasn't.
The planets under the TRA's control consist of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto with two of its moons. During its early days, Pluto was chosen as the best strategic choice for capital world. The reason being was the still-weakened subspace field. Large regions of interference meant attempting access via subspace without prior knowledge was suicide. In recent years, this advantage has been completely neutralized by the field's recovery. Thus, the densely-populated Ganymede is now the TRA's capital.
Despite the recent changes in SFW society, the Alliance is considered as the most technologically advanced of the three superpowers. All TRA combat spacecraft are able to achieve sub-light speeds and maneuverability considered unnatural of their classifications. Vasudan-designed propulsion and reactor systems allow for greater energy efficiency in comparison to SFW designs. Additionally, it is the first faction to develop plasma-core beams, the second of the two beam technologies derived from the SD Lucifer. While requiring longer cool-down and cycle times between barrages, plasma beams have a far greater destructive potential.
Because of the regular ambition to preserve resources, Alliance military forces are considerably lower in fleet scale. However, TRA pilots and officers have the greatest level of field experience and expertise. They achieve this thanks to rigorous and long training regimes, as well as regular combat exercise drills. Furthermore, while they commonly-adjusted towards fighting defensively, TRA military forces excel in fighting offensively. They prefer to employ rapid-assault tactics and doctrines that maintain momentum.
The TRA seeks to achieve two goals: Reuniting all of Sol's societies and reforming the GTA is the first. Stabilizing and reopening the Delta Serpentis subspace node would be the next. They believe such an act is essential to the future survival of humanity. The node's reopening would allow Sol's descendants to reunite with the 'lost generation' and return to their former glory.
Past history means the TRA usually sits on thin ice when dealing with the Solar Federated Worlds. Meanwhile, it does have some peaceful relations with the Independent Colonial States. Peaceful co-existence has allowed for the breakup of much negativity and stereotyping. However, there is still some distance to cover between both sides, and the ICS remains steadfast in terms of remaining neutral."
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Description aside, here is some eye candy for you:
(http://www.sectorgame.com/forums/userpix/385_dsborderoutpost_1.png)
(http://www.sectorgame.com/forums/userpix/385_dssfwmarsbase_1.png)
(http://www.sectorgame.com/forums/userpix/385_dstraoutpost_1.png)
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Hope you enjoyed this preview of Dark Storm, and that you look forward to seeing a released version of it!
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After asking on Sectorgame I'm told this is not the Dawn of Sol remake that has been WIP, despite the similarities.
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lvlshot ur images bro
no1 lieks theyre browser stretch to infinty
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That is correct. Dark Storm is not the same as Dawn of Sol, and not to be confused with it. To make things more understandable, I'll list some of the differences:
-Dawn of Sol is part of the End War Universe; Dark Storm is its own
-Dawn of Sol is being developed by Droid, Shadow and everyone else in the End War team. Meanwhile, Shadow and I are the ones behind Dark Storm. On that note, Shadow is also Dark Storm's founder :D
-Where as Dawn of Sol has two major powers, with one being made by mulitple smaller factions, Dark Storm has three major factions. Also, Dark Storm factions are very different (Eg. politically, architecture-style, etc....)
Edit: Images lvlshoted now. Apologies for that one -- Should be all fixed up now.
If anyone has any questions, including you Battuta (I know you're a bit confused about it), either I or Shadow can answer them.
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I'm not confused about it, I'm something more like 'bemused'. But it looks like it could be a good time, so rock on.
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Titan? Calypso? In SOL?! :wtf:
Sorry, this is obverse then that what I've expected from post-GW Sol. All of your new ships looks like post-capella... And it don't have so much Freespace feeling. Storyline is similar to Sol:A History, DoS, Inferno: Alliance - another war of a few independent fractions in Sol, after the end of GTA. This is nothing new... I like new ships and I respect that you're working hard on this mod, but it's definitly not in my style.
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Titan? Calypso? In SOL?! :wtf:
So what? It's his story, he can use whatever he wants.
Sorry, this is obverse then that what I've expected from post-GW Sol. All of your new ships looks like post-capella... And it don't have so much Freespace feeling.
Uhhh, what? Look, I know you're the "FreeSpace feeling" guy, but seriously? It's his mod, he can use whatever he wants. Just as you are free to use the models you want in your mod.
Storyline is similar to Sol:A History, DoS, Inferno: Alliance - another war of a few independent fractions in Sol, after the end of GTA. This is nothing new... I like new ships and I respect that you're working hard on this mod, but it's definitly not in my style.
Then don't comment. It's simple.
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Storyline is similar to Sol:A History, DoS, Inferno: Alliance - another war of a few independent fractions in Sol, after the end of GTA. This is nothing new...
May I know exactly how it is similar to Sol: A History, DoS and Inferno: Alliance?
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It is pretty similar to those mods, yeah, and to TVWP (which was written by the Sol A History guy), but it's not a bad story concept and I know ShadowGorrath likes S:AH a lot. So let's see what they come up with, it could be fun. Just don't make the mistakes Dawn of Sol did.
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There are many mods about what happened in Sol after the "Lucifer incident". Many of them have similar backgrounds, ie the GTA dissolves into many factions that fight for the control of Sol. Hence what will be interesting about this new mod will not be the base story, but the details of the background story and the way it is set up, including fredding, balance and visuals. The fact the topic has been dealt with by other mods doesn't alter the interest I have for it in any way.
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Titan? Calypso? In SOL?! :wtf:
So what? It's his story, he can use whatever he wants.
Sorry, this is obverse then that what I've expected from post-GW Sol. All of your new ships looks like post-capella... And it don't have so much Freespace feeling.
Uhhh, what? Look, I know you're the "FreeSpace feeling" guy, but seriously? It's his mod, he can use whatever he wants. Just as you are free to use the models you want in your mod.
Storyline is similar to Sol:A History, DoS, Inferno: Alliance - another war of a few independent fractions in Sol, after the end of GTA. This is nothing new... I like new ships and I respect that you're working hard on this mod, but it's definitly not in my style.
Then don't comment. It's simple.
Threads like that aren't only for praises, also for constructive criticism so please - don't say "Don't like - don't comment". They can use whatever they want. I know. But I can also don't like it. In my opinion, Sol next-gen should be based on Fenris and Orion-like ships, but that's only my personal opinion. They can agree or not. This is freedom of speech.
Storyline is similar to Sol:A History, DoS, Inferno: Alliance - another war of a few independent fractions in Sol, after the end of GTA. This is nothing new...
May I know exactly how it is similar to Sol: A History, DoS and Inferno: Alliance?
War of a few fractions in post-GW Sol, after the end of GTA. It sound similar to mods above mentioned. I don't cross out your mod at once, but in my opinion, good storyline is the most important part of the mod. Every mod must have something special. Demonstrate us that your mod is orginal.
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There's constructive criticism, and "it's not my style". There's a difference; If you object to something purely on "I would have done it differently", it's not constructive criticism.
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Is that an Anateus reskin I spy?
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There's constructive criticism, and "it's not my style". There's a difference; If you object to something purely on "I would have done it differently", it's not constructive criticism.
You said something that I've been trying to tell him every time he talks like that about a mod that wants to distance itself from classic FS (especially about AoA...). :)
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TVWP (which was written by the Sol A History guy)
wat
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Titan? Calypso? In SOL?!
Sorry, this is obverse then that what I've expected from post-GW Sol. All of your new ships looks like post-capella...
Sol has had a bit of a technological leap for the time, I will admit. That's not to say each side is crazy on production though. Some older designs still cling on though. Fenris' and Leviathans for example are no longer manfuctured but are still in use by one of the factions in an upgraded state.
Considering the GTVA's technological leap though, I don't see any problem with this one's
It's his mod, he can use whatever he wants
Mine and Shadow's, and he came up with it in the first place :p
Is that an Anateus reskin I spy?
Uh, nope, can't see one. Where did you see it?
The next media update on this thread will provide the background for the 'Solar Federated Worlds', second of the three factions. With luck, you might just get to see the third faction in action too. Stay tuned!
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TVWP (which was written by the Sol A History guy)
wat
Blaise Russel did come up with some aspects of the TVWP (i dont know the whole details as i joined the group post his major involvement), but the project has been added to by many other people as well.
*looks at black and blue Garm on first post*
I was going to have blackish-hulled ships with blue banding in my SOL:AH remake (when i got around to making it). Damn you for beating me to it! :lol:
But yeah, the project sounds interesting, and i look forward to seeing your take on the "Collapse of Sol" concept. Best of luck! :yes:
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Am I the only one who sees two of the same bagde on T-Man's profile?
EDIT for the right member. XP
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I see two TVWP badges on T-Man if that's what you're trying to say.
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There was, but not now :p
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speaking of blaise, where is he?
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speaking of blaise, where is he?
Away.
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Am I the only one who sees two of the same bagde on T-Man's profile?
We've decided to seperate the Unification War into its own campaign and make the T-V war actually live up to its name. :lol: There was two badges because the new U-War are used the old TVWP badge to begin with.
Anyway, shan't hijack the thread.
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Ah, all's forgiven. It happens time to time, just one of those little things. :yes:
Progress is a bit up and down atm. I'm sure some of yous can imagine how it is -- You get good streaks where everything works perfectly, and then your streaks where everything is frustrating and taking eons to work perfectly. But on the most part, everything is A-OK.
My advice: When you want to work on a Flagship for a faction, be prepared for lots of frustration. Thats what I'm facing right now, and it keeps getting worse :ick:
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Oh, so that's what happened to UW? Good to know...
*back on topic*
First of all, best of luck with Dark Storm. I see all the effort behind this project, and I wish it will be released soon. Looking forward to it. :)
About some of the comments I read - it's kind of funny how people find Post-GW Sol campaigns unoriginal while most Post Capella campaigns aren't. There should be more campaigns focusing on what happened to Sol.
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Cheers Mobius -- I wish for it to be released soon as well. :P
The sooner I can nail this classified flagship, the better. Retexturing three UVMaps of sorts is not my cup of tea, I can say that much :doubt:
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You should hire texturers! ;)
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Heh, retexturing is just the tip of the iceberg with this one. I've got that covered though -- At least I hope so.
It needs a good returreting too -- And the implementation of nameplates wouldn't hurt it either. This flagship is meant to fit the style of a ship we all know well (won't say which), and that is no simple task. But I guess I will deviate from it in the process.
Fingers crossed, I'll post a pic of it in the next media update. And since I'm handling update postings atm, might be pretty soon. It'll take a lot more than my long hours of retexturing for me to call it finished though.
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Little development update:
It's pretty chaotic on here atm. Refining our table code to make it less messy, fixing up technical problems with certain assets, removing unnecessary junk -- You name it, we've got our hands full. Every little fixup we make though is looking positive, and every bug is being crushed like we've got a guerrilla's hammer -- At the current rate of progress, the prologue chapter should be looking bugfree.
Now for some media! I did say the next update will showcase the second faction, the Solar Federated Worlds, but I've been asked to reserve it for now -- So I've got something else for you that I'm proud of:
(http://www.sectorgame.com/forums/userpix/385_zagpreview_1.png)
Cheers to shadow for suggesting I use the model, to End War team for refinements on model/allowing us to use it and inferno/FSF who originally made/htled the Zagreus :p
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and every bug is being crushed like we've got a guerrilla's hammer
heyyyy
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Literally -- I could always use a sledgehammer instead, eh ;7
'Looks around for response from the End War team or Shadow' :nervous:
Don't hunt me down nows
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I'm of the persuasion that the Zagreus looks like ass with any texture other than the fenris-styled ones due to significant differences in tiling factor.
This one is no exception.
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Repeat from Sectorgame:
The FEN textures do look great, but they seem a tad bit low res and detail for my liking. And I actually reckon this reskin turned out wonderfully -- Meant to be orionish, and so it is.
Btw, there is a reason for that green turret texture, but I'm keeping tight-lipped about it for time being.
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The problem is that this has too much tiling and too much stretching, making the resulting look be too "busy".
Plus, there are "windows" in absolutely retarded places like in the thruster cone (LOL WTF)
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Those black 'windows' aren't exactly windows, but point noted about the thruster section. That was a bit of an oversight, now fixed. And don't see how you can exactly call that stretching, looks perfectly fine to me.
Fine if you don't agree with reskinned Zagreus', but please -- More 'positive' criticism in future. At least its better than copying someone else's style :ick:
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Looks really cool, a nice ship :yes:
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God damn it, a certain someone must have rubbed off on me more than I realized :P
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I think it looks pretty good.
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I love Zagreus, it looks good in this textures. I also like new turrets. Sirona ones?
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The post-Capella texture palette looks great on the Zagreus, but the specifics of the textures feel off, in the broad sense. There's just something about the overall arrangement of the textures that looks odd, but I just can't put my finger on it, even if the textures themselves are nifty.
Oh, and to echo Droid a bit, check where the "window" textures show up a bit, such as around the forward guns. That particular spot looks cool, but doesn't make a lot of design sense.
On the other hand, you're aware of (and fixing) the awkwardness of some spots, so maybe this is old news.
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There's just something about the overall arrangement of the textures that looks odd, but I just can't put my finger on it, even if the textures themselves are nifty.
That's because the Zagreus is mapped to the FENxx textures, designed to be tiled a bit more than regular textures (also, some have a different pixel ratio, meaning they're not square textures), so if you use "normal" square textures you end up with stuff that's way too busy (overtiled) and stretched because its got the wrong pixel ratio.
That all adds together to why the Zagreus (and the other ships mapped this way in INFA such as the Tyr and Magaera) do not work with other textures.
This is not a baseless assertion that it just "looks bad". I know why it looks bad, and you can fix it by either Re-mapping the Zagreus so it uses more "normal" texture ratios (but then it won't work with the FENxx textures its supposed to have), or by altering your textures to fit the tile/pixel ratio of the FENxx textures.
Neither are ideal - one is horribly inefficient with regards to having extra textures everywhere and another requires significant reworking of the model. Thus, I suggest that people just stick to the original textures, which is a much simpler solution.
I don't have an issue with the style at all (aside from the quirks such as the windows in the thruster cone which are silly). The model theoretically works fine with any texture set, but in practice it does not.
I'm only saying this because I like the Zagreus and I don't like seeing it being marred by its quirks.
I also like new turrets. Sirona ones?
Yes, those are Sirona turrets for the multiparts and the main guns. The green ones are stratcomm turrets that are supposed to go with a cool special texture but got turned into green things.
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Post-capellan, Ironbeer? Naw, this is post Great-War and post-revolution. Nice guess though, and yeah the odd texture placements are old news. They have been fixed already, but thanks for the reminder.
Sounds like you don't like green-looking turrets, eh droid? ;7
If you must know, those are not beam cannon spots. They are instead laser turret spots -- The ICS have a version they made which is slightly improved over the former GTA's turret systems. Standard armament really.
Focusing on plot development atm, and clearing up some issues with fightercraft of the ICS. Annoying stuff dealing with fighters sometimes :ick:
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Most of the DS's Zagreus's textures are recolored Mediavp ones from Arcadia and Orion. Shape of that ship and textures makes that ship nice post-GW next-gen ship [in the difference to some previous ones].
And I can't agree with Droid in retexturing INFA ships and Zagreus HTL. It's possible to do good retexture - if you know how to do it, these models can looks very good. Only Fen05 can make problems.
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Yeah, Fen05 does cause problems actually. Fen05 is crucial on the Zargeus because the black bit is used to line parts of the ship and serves as an engine texture. Without it, you're doomed unless you make a separate texture for it by hacking the model. I have used fen05, but instead of using the original, I replaced the yellow stripe with a hacked version of capital01-06.
You can see it in the pic. Not too great upclose but it does the job and brings the Zag closer to an Orion than the Fen or Levy. That was the main aim after all; An orion-looking Zagreus.
Oh, in case you're wondering about the name on the nameplate, here's the meaning: Tsukuyomi is a Japanese God of the moon. Typically, he is depicted as as a winged warrior or ninja. I picked it because it just felt right and seemed to have a powerful emphasis to it. ;)
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Retexturing the Zagreus can be extremely difficult unless you know what you're doing. Anyway, the Tsukuyomi looks very nice... keep it up! :yes:
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Howdy ho HLPers! Next update with a media upload requested by Shadow. Here we are:
(http://www.sectorgame.com/forums/userpix/385_screen0321_1.jpg)
You can ask Shadow about how the famous Claymore ended up in Dark Storm. :D
Now, changes on the development front; With Shadow occupied as of recent, it's temporarily up to me to continue current development of Dark Storm. And I'm pleased to say that Dark Storm is in its 'Prelude to War' phase -- In other words, with most problems dealt with, focus on the prelude chapter of the story is now more possible.
Prehaps the biggest part of this development phase is a major overhaul of the Independent Colonial States faction -- In earlier phases, they seemed to be disconnected to the whole post-Great War scenario in my eyes. Now it is no longer the case. And thanks to talks with FSF, more is yet to come. So hopefully, many will find the ICS likeable.
That's it for now. Enjoy the claymore :p
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God it's about time the sexy Claymore model appears in more mods. :)
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Isn't it Moonred's model made for Inferno? If yes, that's a good news :). Looks cool.
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I don't recall Moonred making a Claymore Mk. I model, if it is then it's an updated model of an older version with the same shape.
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*Stumbles into thread and looks at pictures*
Nice Claymore. Zagreus model... mmmhhh... dunno.
No matter what kind of texture it uses or etc, it just looks... "off" to me. Maybe it's the design of the model itself or... something, who knows. Whenever I put it into a table for whatever-next-mod-experiment-that-I'm-working-on-again-that-might-never-finish and compared it to everything else in the table I end up getting rid of it all the time.
Not so sure about Dark Storm itself (that said, your Zagreus texture is cool and serves its Orion-ish purpose :D), but in the INF sense yes it is supposed to look really old, more Fenris-ish less Orion-ish but somehow it looks more like "zomg im so old i come from like the year 2000 with my duuuh textures and i belong to some lame owner who lacks technology" instead of "im old but what I have in myself would later be upgraded and end up on the Orion" and... yeah that kinda stuff.
I reckon if I ever finished something and forced myself to use the Zagreus model I'd probably say "screw it" and throw in the rest of INFA's "old ships" together as one faction and keep the tiled textures, yes that old Fenris thing and the Maegara even. Somehow my brain or whatever else prefers it that way since the styling (to me) looks kinda... having a singular purpose, almost unusable for anything or anywhere else, or...
meh. :doubt: :nervous: :sigh:
*Ends his banter and walks out XD*
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It is not the latest version of the Claymore that is in use by Inferno. This is a much older version, which was kindly given to Shadow by a certain someone. And while it inst the latest or high-poly, I must say it is a beautiful model :p
asyikarea51, that's your opinion. If you like INF stuff, that's fine -- I'm sure lots of people love Inferno's wonderful designs. But save that kind of banter for another thread, ok? Last I checked, this wasn't an INF thread. No offense.
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Inferno uses Zagreus as a pre-GW destroyer, but others can use it as a newer design. In ED Demo it's ship based on plans of pre-GW destroyer. In one of my mods, it serves as a light carrier-destroyer designed by Han-Roland Corporation 60 years after the Great War and it's fine in this role. Zagreus is cool for various roles and you shouldn't colligate this model only with ultra-old destroyer from INFA.
BTW. I used modiffied version of Zagreus even as a secret NTF destroyer, a few months after Capella. It was fine too :), but I've lost this mod :/ .
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colligate
Wow, I had to go look that up. Good one. :yes:
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colligate
Wow, I had to go look that up. Good one. :yes:
So did I. Whee, a new word I can use! :p
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Eh, I'm using poor translator :P.
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You can ask Shadow about how the famous Claymore ended up in Dark Storm. :D
Yeah, I'd really want to know... :nervous:
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My guess is there isn't enough fighters that look sleek or streamlined enough to where a person could go, "Hey, that fighter looks like it could run circles around some **** and mess them up." :P
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Hey Starwolf: what's the status of this one?
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This project makes me realize I should really learn to mod...
Retextured Reyena looks fantastic.
edit: woah, that's a big necro there
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Hey Starwolf: what's the status of this one?
We're working on it...
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:bump:
Fkin necro
Where is this mod? You have an interesting storyline and a lot of awesome stuff, and now this project is just dead? Ah... I see. You don't care :doubt:
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:necro:
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Well, that a nice plot! better than mine! xD
So, this project still active?
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Hello all after so long.
Yes, Dark Storm is still alive and being worked on. We've had our fair share of RL events and study getting in the way. At the moment, we're in the process of updating what we currently have with improved content and restructuring a few elements for better quality. There's also functionality on the current 3.6.14 to account for - So far so good however.
Additional stuff's on the way. So, if anyone's still interested - stay tuned for updates.
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So... I can't wait for updates! :yes: Glad to see you still alive guys
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hows going
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Same as before and plenty going on here, but at the moment nothing worth putting in media. Writing is big on the list aside from bringing assets to acceptable standard. I can say there are some good things already written or cooking here. Perhaps down the track I'll get to post something, but tight-lipped for now.