Rebuild Update

i know you guys are getting upset at me for asking this though, but PLEASE keep the raven claw fighter in. also when you said replaceing all ships, does that also mean the orignal fl ships like the eagl and all? if so i do admit that would be intresting, replacing ALL ships and equipment with non fl ones. maybe taking out some of the trade lanes inorder to make it more challanging for traders since they would have to fend off attackers.

Some of the tradelanes are going to have to go. Some systems are just too cluttered. Especially like New York and such.

I have compiled a todo list. I am not exaclty sure what Bejaymac is doing but I know hes working out bugs, therefore this is the list I came up with for the next release: Must be done: -Fix bugs that cause CTDs and similar things. -Fix system/station names. -Remove systems that are mostly pointless (or add more to them). -Fix system clutter such in NY and similar systems (especially with tradelanes). -Make sure existing infocards have the correct information (found alot with incorrect info). -Sort out the problems with these unknown systems. -All the prices must be totally rebalanced (except for trade routes). Should be done: -Relocate related ships to closely linked systems (not all over the place). -Advanced weapons should be taken out of the central systems (NY, NB, etc). The suntrap station in NY has almost as much as the EA system, without the danger of attack. It would be more challenging if these things were moved back into a dangerous zone. -All equipment needs to have an infocard. As I stated above, the existing ones have to be updated, but some of the equipment doesn´t even have infocards. The ships need more detail in there infocards as well. -Equipment names and specs need to be updated. Like the shield powercell names are wacked. And I noticed, the advanced nanobots are $400K but they only heal twice as much as the reg nanos....lmao thats the stupidest thing i have seen yet. However, those are easy fixes. -EA system needs to be almost entirely reworked. The tradelanes are wacked in that system. There are alot of capital ships around the planets too. Perhaps we should move *some* of these away or take them out so it won´t cause so much of a lag. However, some should remain to make it chalenging. -It is pointless to have Carolina when we have EA system. Vice versa. They both serve as a transit station to everywhere. Perhaps we should rethink how these are used. The only thing, EA has stuff in it. I think we should get rid of Carolina. Part of the game is having to explore. Not just say bam...and your across the galaxy (just my point of view). Would be nice: -Remove some of the capital ships or at least scale some down. This was a request from sabbath and I partly agree. It is nice to have capital ships but we dont want a 50/50 ration between cap ships and fighters/corvettes. Plus, there shouldnt be one all powerful cap ship. We should offer like 3-4 that are of almost the same power. People can take there choice based on there style. Ex. The Andromeda and the Assualt Frigate. However, when I do rebalancing on prices, I am not going to set cap ships at like something you can obtain within a day. -Redo some of the system graphics (space textures). I love a well made system. They are neat to explore and look at. We could maybe add a few more solar objects to systems too. Just to make it interesting. That´s really all I have for right now. Those are just things I have noticed. Please feel free to post things that you think need to be done. I have probably missed a couple things or miscategorized them. I have been learning alot the past few days. I can probably do half the things on this list as far as skill wise. Hopefully, with more time, I can be even more valuable. I am currently waiting on this DLL thing. Bejaymac wants to put them all in one or two DLLs as I understand it. Currently, the game runs from eight DLLs. I am trying to see how I can move all these things to a single DLL myself. I haven´t had all that much luck but I am still working. If anyone wants to let me know how, it would be appreciated. After the DLLs are str8, I can begin updating infocards and such. I am preparing a list of all the ships and equipment right now. I will use it to rebalance the prices (which drastically need it). Can someone please tell me that maximum price on a piece of equipment and on a ship? Thanks guys (sorry for long status update) Ross

Also on the Should be done (close to Must be done): -Is there a way to fix the capital ships so that when they get run into by like a fighter, they dont go spinning off in circles and stuff? I know it´s really annoying and very unrealistic.

Ok, I have figured out the DLL thing. I found a tutorial at http://lancersreactor.org/t/fo…_ID=21695&amp;Forum_ID=29. In it, it was stated: &quot;UNSETH notes that changing the order of the original resources in this file will &quot;mess&quot; up FL. Apparently... It is possible in the freelancer.ini to put your own resource DLLs in the file to get a better overview. The DLL numbers will become logically 7,8, 9 etc.&quot; I have seen the forumla for how the DLLs process the IDS numbers and if we removed any of the original DLLs I BELIEVE we would have to redo almost all of the IDS numbers (in all the INIs and everything). It´s hard to explain. The &quot;DLL numbers&quot; become part of the IDS code. Changing that would change the IDS codes. You can read part of that tutorial to see how FL does its DLL resource coding and such. But, I am unsure if you guys are aware of this and I am totally wrong or what the thing is here... I figured I would bring this to your attention. Perhaps this is why MD didnt compile them all into a single DLL in the first place. However, I think we can put all the new stuff in a single DLL, ModInfo.dll. Apparently, we can add DLLs (MD already added this one for us), but we just can´t take the originals (without LOTS of work). It already contains almost all of the info (for the new stuff) anyways. I can move the stuff from rbmod.dll to this ModInfo.dll and change all the IDS codes for it. There aren´t many entries in it (only like 1 or 2). Btw, I am on AIM most of the time if anyone wants to talk to me there <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>

Ugh, these system names are a mess. I found how the systems are named and where they are in the DLLs but...its just terrible. It looks like the new systems that were added just used other system names...instead of creating it´s own. Thats why programs like DS and FL Explorer call them Omicron Minor and such things. I am going to try to sort these out. However, it would be helpful if we had some creative names for these places. Anyone want to help out (lol im not that creative)? Btw, I know i have posted A LOT, however, I have just been going over all of this and just been posting things I have come across.

About the above post, I will try to get a list of all the added, unnamed systems and a description of each. People can post suggestions or you guys can come up with names or what not but I am just terrible with that kinda thing. I never realized there were so many of these new systems. Some may just have to be taken out, especially if they are pointless. I´ll try to get a list tonight. I have to login a server or create my own and get some descriptions. Btw, do you guys want me to setup a seperate forum for all this junk? I know we just have one topic here at TLR. I can easily setup some dev forums for us on a site if you want them. I dunno, just might help communicate. This topic is going to get very huge if we keep going the way we are. (I think I will go ahead and set something up and you guys can choose to use it or not). Btw, TLR is great...we just need room <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>

So are you saying you don´t want help to fix alot of these problems?

In addition to that, these are things that aren´t changing the mod. Updating information and setting prices so you dont get a Balistner in a day is not chaning what Rebalance is. Not to sound like an a$$, but RB needs quite a few fixings. We have been given a good mod and now it´s like its just dieing. Well thats why I got involved in this. I am not making my own mod. I am a RB player just like all of us. Now I am offering to help with these updates and help take RB to it´s full potential. I have been learning more on my own to try and help you guys fix these bugs, etc. No offense Bejaymac, but people can´t wait forever. Which again, is why I wanted to help...to do things so you don´t have to worry about them. Who is the Rebalance Mod team? Aren´t we the only ones working on it (the people who post here)? I need to know exactly who I need to work with because I am not just stepping out of RB and its development. As far as the ship replacement...that was just an idea for consideration that I had and sabbath mentioned. It doesn´t mean we have to do it. I am one to have things put straight forward, so what exactly are you saying? You don´t want to work on RB all that much or you just don´t want other people to? Now I don´t mean to sound cocky here and have nothing against you Bejay, but I want to actually participate in RB, not a bugfix. I am the new guy but I seriously want to help RB. It´s not that hard to mod some of this stuff and I can help the project. However, I need to know who is going to actually work on this mod, and continue its existance. Not just stop 3.5 from crashing and then say I´m done. There are alot of things that need to be done to RB and the RB community has alot to say about it. I was just talking to Sabbath the other day about some of these things. So, dev team, who are you?

Hmm, Regarding &quot;Dev team, who are you&quot;... The Core Rebalance Mod Team are as follows... Michael Dan (retired for now) Ro9ue (Co-Lead Developer, for Rebalance 3.5 + SirEx) ArchKaine (Co-Lead Developer for Rebalance 3.5 + SirEx) Bejaymac (Stability Guru + Developer) Darquies (Developer and Trade-Route Guru) awts0c (Co-Lead Developer for SirEx + Rebalance 3.5) There may be others, if I have left you out, let me know and I´ll add you to this list. A few things that need to be noted here. Taking an assumptive tone while talking about Rebalance may be not the best way to speak to those who have been working on it for a long time. Make suggestions, not assumptions. That being said, The Rebalance Mod Team welcomes any help that is offered, as long as you know what you´re doing, and can WORK IN A TEAM!!! If you can´t be a PART OF A TEAM, we don´t need you. Now stop b****ing at each other and start coding. And for all our sakes, try to get along guys, really! If we can´t work together, I´ll simply leave Rebalance´s coding to myself and the Core RB Mod Team. Now, please work together guys, this Mod is yours too, but I won´t tolerate dissention amongst my team, so cool your jets. Anyway, I didn´t just drop in to beotch, but due to some unexpected emails, I´m here to nip any problems in the bud before they get out of hand. Guys, you´re doing well, please continue to do so, and remember that we´re all a TEAM here. We´ll go much farther if we maintain that attitude. Also, if help is offered, please remember to accept it, especially if you´re under a load and something crops up. That all being said, thanks for listening, and happy modding people <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> ArchKaine Some say ignorance is bliss, I say they´re just too blissful to know better. Edited by - archkaine on 7/15/2005 12:18:46 PM Edited by - archkaine on 7/15/2005 12:20:14 PM

I was never *****ing at anyone. I was just trying to say that I wanted to do some things with RB. Anyways, I setup a dev forum at http://rebalance.blue-ion.net . You guys can decide if you want to use it but I will be to post whatever I do. It´s an easy way for use to exchange what we are doing with the mod, etc. TLR likes to get lagged up alot and email would be a hassle.

with reguards to the ships in the game, it was not surgested that they be replaced or removed, but moved around the systems a bit to add balance to ship locations, still use the ships as listed, maybe just tone down the cap ships, theres too many of them, and in my opinion disrupt the balance. the only ships that should be removed are any that are too buggy. Remember this mod was designed to rebalance the game out and make it fun, if ppl are gona ***** at each other and climb out of there prams over this and not agree on anything, then wats the damm point of rebuilding the mod. Now everyone play nice and work together on this, there can only be 1 RB and that will wat is rebuilt by all involved in the project, even those, who like myself cant mod but can surgest ideas as to make the mod great and hopefuly workable, and less of a nightmare for players and server ops alike. BLACK SABBATH RB SERVER ADMIN all of my questions are answers to my sins.and all of my endings are waiting to begin

Ok, I have made several threads on the dev forum that I setup. Devs, you need to register and I have to give you access to be able to view the dev section. The forum is also open to the public for suggestions, bug reports, etc. Once again, the link is http://rebalance.blue-ion.net . Devs, I left some questions there that I need a little help with.

To fix the problems with System/Planet/Solar names... go get Warriors of the Sky, Beta 1, where I did so with XML... WOS Beta 2 has a more elegant implementation, but I´m not releasing it at this time, as the codebase is still very messy and several technology steps aren´t finished yet, but basically, aside from new Factions (which must be named in a DLL according to very strict numbering conventions- there´s a thread about this in the Tutorials, I believe), you can name / describe just about anything with XML. In WOS, I basically process the entirety of Universe and a lot of Mbases.ini... Oh yeah... last note: if you do this <i>correctly </i> - see the notes that come with the XML Toolkit mod for information about how to implement parsed XML/FLMM scripts correctly (basically it has to do with code execution order issues) then the DLL entries created by FLMM will be the same for every client and the server- names will be right. This has been tested and re-tested in MP, so don´t believe the naysayers who say that XML mods screw up names in MP... they just didn´t code things correctly <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Edited by - Argh on 7/15/2005 11:53:44 PM

Hey people, Just to let you all know. I´ve gone ahead and setup an account on Ross´s Forums, and I´d like to ask all of you to do the same, as it is a bit more reliable than TLR for maintaining an accessible forum (sorry TLR Ops, but there have been a lot of times that I can´t access this site). There´s still no better place to get Modding information for Freelancer or what have you, but maybe we should start to slowly offload some of the Dev related stuff to another location, so that the guys who need access to this sites information can access it. I only ask that you all remember that the new forum is provided by Ross, and as such, please respect his generosity in doing so. Anyhoo, the address is listed above, so I won´t repeat it <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> I look forward to seeing you all there, and hope that this doesn´t cause any major inconveniences to anyone, but I´m probably going to move the newest Dev stuff there, as long as it proves stable. Thanks for reading, ArchKaine Some say ignorance is bliss, I say they´re just too blissful to know better.

Well do de do...things going on...only three people registered at new forum..including myself. Don´t be afraid to signup and post and stuff. <A href=´http://rebalance.blue-ion.net´ Target=_Blank>Click here</a> There, I made it a click away <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>

I don´t have much to contribute, but I can Beta test. Good Luck on your efforts!