[Unknown Target]

Hey guys, this is an idea I had. It would require a WHOLE ton of source modifications, so I don't think it'll work, unfortunately.


(all taken from Moddb)

 Hey guys! Big Grin! I just thought of a pretty nifty mod, based off a model I just made...how about a mod where you race...in space! Hehe, I know it sounds dumb, but imagine--all those space-fighting movies, you see ships darting in and out of asteroids and stuff...why not have it in space? You pick your ship, customize it, maybe add guns (not sure if that should be put in), and blast at top speed through crowded asteroid fields, decaying space stations, and rocky caverns and valleys on the planet's surface!

It's simple (just a few models with the ability to be edited/damaged), fast, and fun!

Anyway, who would play this? And does anyone have any idea on how to do it fast and simple? I can do the models for spaceships EASY as long as someone wouldn't mind texturing them.

I'm just testing the waters, hell, I didn't expect anyone to be interested in the mod..."too simple"
Oh, and embers, in response to one of your previous posts: I  noted that I would provide the models, because most indie "game designers" sit on their asses and don't do a thing. I just wanted to let people know I'd actually work. Plus, I already have about five ship models left over from a previous project, so including this one, that's six. Including one or two capital ships from two seperate projects, that's eight. Eight models and I havent' even started


Anyway,let's see what I can think of off the top of my head:

Engine: Unknown, but if someone's willing to spend a lot of time, Freesepace Open.

What I need: Texturers and programmers. If Freespace 2 then I will also need some convertors to fiddle with the models to get them in right.

Summary:
Ok...let's see.
Situation: It's about 100-200 years in the future, and humanity has colonized space, yadda yadda yadda. For once, none of that matters in a space game.
 
Premise: Citizens in the fringe sectors of space began looking for activities to fill their pasttime. Since they are some of the older, less governmentally-controlled sectors, spare parts and decaying ships abound throughout the systems.
It started innocently enough: a couple young poor kids looking for a past time stumbled upon two ancient pre-war mining craft. These miners were quiet small, and quite fast, at least, for their time. Running out of ideas of what to do with them, they soon decided to race them, and the sport of Air Racing was reborn anew.

Racing locations: Too various to list right now.

Playing:
Simple race formula, first, second, third. Any place below them doesn't get any points. For these three places, you get money, which you can spend to upgrade your ship, both aesthetically and...forgot the other word. Engines, paint, decals, instruments, performance, etc, can all be upgraded.
The player must first advance from his home sector, where he races against his friends and pals. If he wins enough races,  a sponsor will pick him up, or he can buy his own way into the main races. Each way has seperate advantages and disadvantages.


Visuals: I just want speed, that's it. Have you ever played Ballistics? I want that in space. I want the player to feel like the only thing seperating him from space is a thin sheet of metal and a massive engine.

Race modes:

Pylon race: Reminiscent of real-life racing, you have to zip around a certain number of pylons, either in space or on the ground. In space, the pylons are giant, um, pylons, that stretch up and down for a good 1000 feet or so. On the ground, it's the same thing, except the pylons are about 100 feet high and sticking out of hte ground. Throughout the entire race you have a limited "fuel" supply (aka time). Once you run out, you drop out of/lose the race.
In space, the closer you are to flying around the center of the pylon, the more time bonus you get. If you fly around the pylon about 500 feet from the center, you start to lose time. You have to stay within the set course, or else you lose the race.
On the ground, the closer you are to the ground, the higher time bonus you get. If you fly over the pylons, you lose a huge amount of time.

Drag: This one I'm predicting to be the most popular, or at least for me the most fun. You start at the beginning of the course, point A, and must beat your opponent(s) in a race to point B. Simple, and with no time limit, it offers plenty of time for exploration and different routes.

Grand Prix: The regular old-fashioned lap-race. Race around a pre-set track a certain number of times, the fastest racer wins. No time limit.


Upgrades:

Each ship can be upgraded almost to infinity. Each engine can support a certain amount of weight, and so can the frame. Since the engine can be upgraded limitlessly, the frame is what limits your craft. Lighter frames go faster and are more maneuverable, but can't carry a heavy engines. The opposite is true for heavier frames. Frames can be upgraded only minutely structure-wise, however, you can add almost any sort of paint job, decal, what have you, to your interior cockpit and exterior craft.


Money:
Money's pretty simple. You get it for winning races, and you use it to purchase new upgrades for your craft, or, if you're independent, you may choose to buy into a different race that you normally wouldn't fly in. You get a big sum for first place, which gradually decreases in second and third places.
There is also another way to earn money: Daredevil points. These include flying kneck and kneck with another craft to the finish line, barrel rolling over the top of another ship, crashing through things, dodging through narrow areas, etc. The harder the stunt, the more cash you get, and the happier your producers are (which means you get more races).


I think that's it, more updates as I think of things

I was judging between HL2 and Freespace 2 for the engine. I'd do it for FS2 if some bored coder was willing to do some big modifications.

[Solatar]

Not a bad idea...but that's one hell of a lot of code modifications.

[Grimloq]

you could do something like this with MODs and a few hours FREDding

[Unknown Target]

But not properly or well.

[Bobboau]

what?... this could be done with waypoints and fredding already, all it needs is someone to make the mission

[Unknown Target]

Like I said: not properly or well. One: You would need to switch up a bunch of stuff, like add the money system, add all of that. For a straight race, sure, you could do that, but there's no time system---unless you want to use the supernova cue.
Also, I hate to say it, but Freespace 2 has a pretty lousy sense of speed, and the turning is way off for the gameplay I had.
Not to mention FS2's capabilities fall way short when it comes to internal courses. For instance: I want an abandoned asteroid mining facility. In one scene, near the end of the race, I was planning for you to race through the mess hall, and above you is a skylight--the mess hall is a dead end, so an arrow tells you to go upwards through the glass. The arrow isn't possible, nor is the destruction of the glass.

[Grimloq]

actually, with MODs you can do the arrow, mess hall, etc.

but, yes, you COULD do this, but not properly or well (whoa! deja vous!)

im for it if someone does it sounds fun!

[Singh]

and yet...nobody remembers the race vid I made so long ago.

*runs away and hides

Doing a race in FS2 with just one player alone is difficult. It takes a hell of a lot of SexPs to keep track as the player goes through the waypoints, so much that I decided to scrap it.

I was going to release a multi-version, but gave up as I kept hitting the SexP limit on status messages saying that either Alpha 1 or 2 are in the lead.

However, with Goober's new SexPs (especially any-of), I'd say its pretty possible to FRED it.....

[Anaz]

hmm...a goofy technical solution came to me for the "who's in first" solution. Have a sexp for each player that determines if they're the closest to the "finish line" (would work best in a mostly linear race). Then use that to add them to the escort list.

I'm thinking something like
when
- and
--and
---<
----distance
-----alpha 2
-----end waypt
---distance
-----alpha 1
-----end waypt
--and
----etc...
-add to escort list
--alpha 1

Then if you had 4 players, you'd only need 4 sexps (assuming 4 racers) and then just have it repeat a lot.

[Singh]

thats the thing. You're looking at ~40 nodes PER player there. And that's only with a race from point a to point b.

have it with waypoints, and you'll have to increase it directly proportionaly to the number of waypoints. Even if you want it to update only once or twice, you'll still have to do more sexPs for those.

[karajorma]

Originally posted by Singh
thats the thing. You're looking at ~40 nodes PER player there. And that's only with a race from point a to point b.

have it with waypoints, and you'll have to increase it directly proportionaly to the number of waypoints. Even if you want it to update only once or twice, you'll still have to do more sexPs for those.

With Goobers new Conditionals you could probably do it for as may players as you want in exactly the same number of events.

Simply change the

When
-<
--Distance
---Alpha 1
---Waypoint x

to

Every-Time-Argument
-Every-Of
--Alpha 1
--Alpha 2
--etc
-<
--Distance
---
---Waypoint x

And you're pretty much good to go.

[WMCoolmon]

You've been pretty vague about what you want...can you put it into list form? Some of these requests (Like a buying system) sound like things other people have requested.

[Unknown Target]

What I want:

Buying system.
Destructable objects (as in you crash into them, they shatter).
A free-form race selection system, incorporated with the buying system.
Destructable sub-objects/deformable ships/terrain.
Upgradable, continuing ships.
Ship selections.
Different handling for collisions: 25% of your speed, you get 25% of the amount of damage you get from colliding (which is very large), 50%, you get 50% of the damage, and so on.
Dffferent physics: No turning on a dime. You pull back on the stick, and you'll keep going forward as you go down, just like a modern figter today (except tighter).


That's just what I can think of now. Like I said, this TC would require so many changes, it would take a really dedicated coder(s) to make this come about.

[Grimloq]

what is it with people bashing the physics? i always thought they were pretty good. you SHOULD keep going, but maneuvering jets make sense.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by Unknown Target

Not to mention FS2's capabilities fall way short when it comes to internal courses. For instance: I want an abandoned asteroid mining facility. In one scene, near the end of the race, I was planning for you to race through the mess hall, and above you is a skylight--the mess hall is a dead end, so an arrow tells you to go upwards through the glass. The arrow isn't possible, nor is the destruction of the glass.

Arrow is easy; just use a map with alpha channel and glow.  Modelling a mess hall; possible, just need to bee precise with polys and use the natural occlusion to reduce how much has to be drawn.  Destroying glass; fudge it with a distance-based sexp to destroy it and some live debris.

That sort of thing is doable... but to be honest i think this sort of mod is moving away from the strengths of FS (blowing **** up).

It'd be nice to have some form of standalone TC we could distribute as a freeware game, though (as well as Bab5, WC, etc, which i think already are or will be); but the amount of people and commitment youd need makes it really unlikely with the current spread of projects.