Posts by Ro9ue

Hey, yeah, thanks! This is one of those things that seems very small and even obvious, but I can´t tell you how much it´s going to help balance the game. Whew, I was thinking that I was going to have to remove all the bribes in my mod ... glad to see that I don´t have to do that <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Thanks again. ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________

Er, okay, this is starting to go the wrong way here. I think some people are seeing things that arent there or that I do not mean to imply at all. Lemme see if I can make some sense ... First off, the topic is pretty much, uh, what it says - weapons that deal extra energy damage in the weapon_equip file, meaning that the &quot;energy_damage = &quot; a number other than the deault &quot;0,&quot; also cause powerplant drain on targets when they impact the hull. I don´t know what more to say about that ... Yes, these are facts - if you want a weapon equip file, I can send it to you to prove it. Go piss off some Rheinlanders, Liberty Navy, or Bounty Hunters, all of whom have weapons that will drain you powerplant. And the reason I posted was because I was wondering if there was a way to <b>prevent </b>weapons that have such stats from doing this, from sucking away power when the hull is impacted. This was all I was asking. I didn´t start it up to see if we could develop a new cheat or something - besides which , even <b>if </b>someone were to get the bright idea to try to hack their files and go drain all theor buddies´ powerplants in MP, servers would kick them because their files would be different, would they not? So that´s not really an issue, is it? In any case, thar isn´t what I meant to do - cheating and lame abuse of the system is quite annoying and n00bish, IMO, - so that´s what mods are for, altering the game in an organized and uniform manner, not secretly ubering up your own files and running rampant on servers <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> So, I hope I didn´t give someone the wrong impression here - I was simply asking if anyone who might´ve messed with this type of stuff knows about this and if they have a way to fix this. I did not think that I´d made a new &quot;discovery&quot; - no, I just was surpirsed that some seasoned people actually asked acout whether it´d work - as in they´d not messed with it. I just figured all of ya had done this, that´s all ... ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________

Uh, say what? I mean, you haven´t tried negative numbers before? Well, I actually find this surprising that nobody´s messed with this ... Nah, surely someone´s already figured this out ... But, since they haven´t spoken up, I´ll tell what I´ve found so far. Yes, negtive numbers work for weapons. Let me clarify - from my testing, negtive values work fine for energy damage, but the total energy dmg dealt must be greater than or equal to 0 -- no, you can´t have a &quot;medic&quot; gun that does negetive shield damage on your target (like targeting a friend/ally in MP and pumping energy into his shield with yout gun). And total energy damage values less than 0 seem to just do the absolute value of the negtive number - that´s where things get all hairy and messy. But I don´t think anyone would really want a medic gun anyways - there is no logical or reasonable explanation of such a ridiculous thing <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Negative values do NOT work for hulls, however. I have tried numerous things, sorta like making powerplant augmentors that have negative power drain, which FL interprets as energy boost. But hull does not work that way apparently. I once tried to make a healing bay, which would be an area near a base that you could fly into (a little zone that had negative hull damage in it) and repair without having to dock and do it manually. But negative hull dmg doesn´t work to repair. But I don´t think that it does what neg energy dmg does, either (the thing with the absolute value, basically ignoring the negativity of the number). And about the sapper-gun idea - it´s a cool one, and one that´s in some other good games (Freespace, anyone?), but this is not possible in FL. The gun has to deal a lot of shield damage to sap power. <b>Oh, </b>well, I take that back -- it is possible, but you will have inaccurate stats in the info screen. You´d have to make a gun that deals very little hull dmg and a lot of shield dmg, then make a modifier type (W_Sapper01 or something) that only does 0.001 the shield damage for all shields. This would mean that it would do the amount of hull specified in the ammo entry, then one-thousandth of the total energy dmg dealt, and then, <b>theoretically, </b>a large amount of energy loss by targets. I guess you might be able to test this by taking a Tizona and adding a new modifer for it, making it a sapper ... And let me tell you - it sucks having 8 <i>Banshees </i>firing 3 Tachyons apiece at you - your shield goes down, then your power just goes <i>zzzpf </i>- and you´re constantly trying to get off accurate and damaging salvoes at one of your harassers... So yeah, it works very well, but it is not something tha I want ALL of the weapons in the game to do. I guess I could scale the powerplant stuff and weapon usage by 100 or something, making the powerplant capacities/recharge a lot larger, numerically speaking, but then everything still draws the same ratio of energy ... that way 500 energy amage is next to nothing for a 250000 cap/25000 rchrg poweprlant. Well I guess I´ll try that idea. Heh, hope that cleared up some stuff, for anyone who dind´t know ... <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________ Edited by - Ro9ue on 7/16/2005 12:14:08 AM

Well, first off, that´s not a typo -- that entry <i>is </i>negative for the Plasma weapon. The reason for this is that it is not supposd to be as effective against shields as it is against hull. If the energy_damage were positive, then I´d get a weapon that is the other way around, like Stunpulses, dealing more shield damage. So when the game deals the damage, it deals <b>0.5 * hull </b>(which is 105 in this case) and adds -33.5, giving a total of 19 shield damge. This is the ratio I was aiming for, and the game properly recognizes this, showing 105 hull and 19 shield in the info screen. The effects are the same for positive and negative energy dmg values - whether or not the value is negative, my powerplant drains from enemies hitting my hull. But so long as this is what the Pulse weapons in the original game did (as I apparently don´t remember correctly <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Don´t suppose I ever got shot by a Pulse), then I don´t guess there is an issue. I do find it annoying that the addition of any energy dmg, be it negtive or postive, can render you unable to fight when you probably <b>need </b>to be able to ... Anyways, thanks. ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________

Ah, ok - home sweet home! Sorry it´s been a while, but had to get resettled after getting home. And my moding side just couldn´t wait - after 11 days of deprivation, I had a pile of sketches and layouts for new weapons, ships, and other goodies <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> So, the first thing I did once I turned on my comp was to implement <b>awts0c </b>´s new Rheinland fighters - 2 LFs and a hefty HF. After getting these up and going, I decided that I couldn´t wait any longer to make something - anything <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> So, I sat down, started trusty (or sometimes not-so-trusty, heh) Milkshape, and after about a day and a half, the newest Rheinlander machine of war was born <img src=smilies/icon_smile_cool.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> The <i>Fenris </i>VHF can carry some nasty firepower, very heavy armor, and a lot of cargo. I also have destructible components partially working on it - w00t! But for now, the only way that they work is if they are blown off by a missile or mine explosion - gunfire and impact damage doesn´t effect them yet. I am presently trying to figure out how to make this work, but I´m not making too much progress yet. Anyways, Rheinland Police and Military ships have new loadouts with the new Rhein weapons. Try not to piss off House forces - when all´s said and done, they´ll be quite deadly <img src=smilies/icon_smile_evil.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> The BHs have some serious revisions to .. well, to everything about them <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> New engines, thrusters, weapons, and ship stats. But I won´t spoil it for now <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Hmm, there´s more to tell, but I have to run for now <img src=smilies/icon_smile_sleepy.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Hey <b>Bejaymac, </b>I´d love to see some new .thns! I actually hate them myself, as they make no sense to me and I´ve spent hours pouring over uncompressed lua´s .. ugh. But yes, so long as I don´t hve to edit them myself <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> ´Cause that´d mean it would woun´t get done. Oh, as for new ships, still not sure yet. Heh, sorry to be indecisive, but we still have a very long road ahead of us <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Lots and lots of new stuff that will be unique and one-of-a-kind (courtesy primarily of good ol´ <b>awts0c </b>and the new cmp exporter <img src=smilies/icon_smile_cool.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Custom ships, complete with destructible components and custom cockpits; custom weapon models, new oridinance models ... w00t w00t, eh?) I´ve gotta run here, apparent;y need to pick up sister on spur-of-the-moment. So be back later. ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________

Hey warrior, Well, I think I can safely and accurately conjecture that the <i>Ravencalw </i>is one of your personal favorites, given your numerous requests and inquiries regarding it <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Ha, just messin´ with ya. Hmm, well, at the moment, <b>ArchKaine, awts0c, </b>and I are pretty much the mod team. We just felt torn between a mixture of a couple different feelings after Rebal hit the iceberg - chagrin and disappointment, that such a huge amount of work, testing, and really great work went down the drain just like that; anger (heh, for me, at least <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> ) that all the work would not likely see the light of day simply because of a friggin power-surge; and a kind of ... optimistic relief and hope, that we could start again from a clean slate, hopefully building a new, stable, and unique mod/universe. So, I don´t suppose that another mind could hurt. If you´d like, we can start communicating via email; you can start feeding us some ideas and suggestions, and we´ll see what we can cook up. I´ll give you some more info in email ... As for the <i>Ravenclaw, </i>I have not asked Firebase yet about it. However, we are considering making it a mercenary ship, should he give a green light and it be included. There are going to be several merc factions throughout Sirius in the mod, allowing interested freelancers to find a merc guild that offers the type of ships, weapons, gameplay-style, allegiance-requirements, and - most importantly <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> - payment that fits their tastes. However, aside from some select ships that are already borrowed with authorization from their creators, we are trying to keep all of our ships more-or-less original, unique to <b>SirEx. </b>I guess we´re aiming for a type of mod in line with <b>Asylum </b>and <b>Epsilon, </b>offering mainly ships, weapons, factions, and other elements only available in <b>SirEx. </b>So, long answer in short form: it´s a definate maybe, though just that for the time being <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Hmm, well, I have 2 new Liberty LFs sketched out, as well as a new Liberty (V)HF. The last Rheinland VHF on the list is also laid out in my pile of scribbles/stay-awake-during-seminars material <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> I have a new shielding system hewn out, ready to be coded. And about 10 new weapon models and new types to be implemented when I return to my nice, comfy, caffeine-stocked modding HQ <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Ah, man, they´re closing the computer lab on us here soon, so gotta run. Happy ID4, fellas, and I´ll check back in tomorrow. _______ - <i>Ro9ue </i>out --- ___________________________ Edited by - Ro9ue on 7/4/2005 10:48:55 PM

Ah, yes ... <i>Tachyon. </i>A great game <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Yeah, as ol´ Jake Logan, you could hire different wingmen and order them to do different things, such as form up on you, attack nearest hostile, protect your target ... And if you got a good one, they´d deliver <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> There are <b>so </b>many aspcets from <i>Tachyon </i>that I have longed to implement in FL. And the thing that sucks is that my comp now doesn´t run the game anymore ... <img src=smilies/icon_smile_disapprove.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Plus, the crazy Novalogic people pretty much disowned the game, removing servers and the whole reference part of their site - there´s no links or home pages for The Fringe anymore on NovaWorld... <img src=smilies/icon_smile_sad.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Ah, reminiscences ... <i>Tachyon, </i>how I miss you... ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________

So, instead of replacing/importing the exisiting textures and having to replace a buunch of LOD images, would it be theoretically possible to simply make a sphere in Milkshape, invert the faces, apply a custom texture to them, and export it as a cmp? Oh, well also add the flat panels for the nebulae/phenomena stuff, and maybe leave those as separate groups, like in the original starshperes...? Might this work? Or are there complications that I am not thinking of? When you are talkig about the radius of the files, does this mean htat you could make a starshepere that is as large as a planet and FL would still know how to render it the correct disatnce, so that it appeared behind everything else (planets, asteroids, ships, etc.)? Sorry, I´d be testing this on my own and not posting a bunch of questions/specualtions if I were at home - but since I am away, I can´t test anything yet <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> So it´s just my curious and deprived modder-side that´s itching to know. Thanks. ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________

Well, you guys have some pretty accurate aim <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________

Ah, hey there, I have the same question. I have been very interested in making new starspheres for a long time, and the most I´ve been able to do with importing/replacing the existing texture files was changing the color of the &quot;bottom&quot; of the Tau 37 system´s swirling nebula background. (even though I replaced all of the files in the whole .CMP ...) Are .tga files the ones to use, or are .dds? And is there a way to just use Milkshape to make a huge sphere (custom-made with custom nebulae/features/phenomena, too), export it to CMP format, and use the FLModelTool to rezise as appropriate/ if needed? Thanks a lot. ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________ Edited by - Ro9ue on 7/1/2005 5:37:52 PM

Hey there, Glad you got the file <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Yes, the Outcasts are now fully decked out with some new stuff, and all the other factions are still being worked on, slowly but surely. The new Series 0 ships (the Outcast modified Border World ships) are pretty mean as far as loadouts go, and all are very fast for their classes (double thrusters and engines 5 m/s faster than other criminal ships, which means about 10-30 faster than most other (House and such) ships. You can´t run ... <img src=smilies/icon_smile_evil.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> I ´ve tried it, and it doesn´t work, heh) The Hessians are going to be equipped similarly, pretty fast and mounting some mean weaponry, though sacrificing armor for all the meanness. They´ll have laser cannons and new blast cannons, long-ranged shells that tear up armor in a hurry <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Hmm, well right now I´m in Calififornia at a forum on technology, so I can´t work on the mod at the moment - going freakin nuts! Gah, I really really want to work on some new weapon models, new cockpits, and I also just received some new Rheinland ships from <b>awts0c </b>that need to be inserted ... Oooo, I hope the 6th comes quickly! Anyways, I´m still not fully satisfied with the handling of ships - I have <i>way </i>too many NPCs crashing into blasted planets after returning from patrols and stuff. That´s annoying. And yes, autopilot is more of a risk than a help now - well, mainly in asteroid fields - it´s okay everywhere else. So, still some tweaks to be tried there. As for the new keys and stuff, that´s on my list, though I fear that I might have to replace the resources.dll, which contians all the changes that I´ve made to alter the weapon class system. This is mainly a simplified version of the older version, with <b>Light, Medium, Heavy, </b>and <b>Very Heavy </b>classes for guns, and <b>Missiles/Cruise Msls/Cruise Disruptors </b>and <b>Torpedoes/Nukes </b>as the guided ordinacne classes. Oh, Arch, what do you think of that? How is that? I persoally kinda prefer it, once all the weapons are converted to the system. But I was wondering what you think of it. Anyways, if I remember correctly, I have to replace the resources.dll in order to add the keys and moves ... So I´ll get to that before I get too far in the mod. Well, I have to run here in minute. But for the future, I am planning on finishing Liberty´s weapons and ships, though we still don´t have any new ships for any of Liberty (just the <i>Liberator, </i>Juni´s ship of choice, now an advanced Heavy Fighter - pretty nice, IMO <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>). But also <b>awts0c </b>also was finishing Bretonian ships, so looking forward to that. Got their weaps in the list next. Then Kusari (still need to make an Adv. LF for the Police, though), and Rheinland after that. So We´re looking at fixing up the Houses first, then we´ll mve on to other factions. Once the factons and equipment and stuff is set, we´ll move on to actual modding, making new systems, new factions, new bases (maybe new station models ... note the <i>maybe </i>in there). Well, keep me posted on what you unearth, Arch, and lemme know what you like/dislike, and what you´d recommend. I´ll be eager to get back on hte horse when I get home - arg, can´t think about that right now! Okay, well, I have to go to some boring seminar - get this: &quot;Innovative Technology Seminar: The Power of the Customer Focus&quot; ... what the f-? Who thought of that? Anyways, I´ll check my mail later tonight, so unti then, later. ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________

W00t!1 Aha, ok, well I ended up needing to make new LOD meshes for my guns for them to appear properly in the game. I made some lower-poly versions and imported those for my lod1 and lod2 LODs. I didn´t really even need to edit the LOD lines in the weapon_equip.ini or anything - FL took care of it automatically. So now I have my cool new guns up and blazing in-game <img src=smilies/icon_smile_big.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Thanks, guys, for such a great tool! ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________ Edited by - Ro9ue on 6/30/2005 12:30:41 PM

Ok, well this has been my experience wih tractors and scanners: You can edit the length of a tractor to be pretty much as long as you like, though I don´t know how practical the 250 Km-range is <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> However, I have made many tractors that have ranges of 5000 m or so that work (and yes, the legnth is in <i>meters, </i>reach_speed is in <i>m/s, </i>and ship speed is in <i>m/s, </i>too. You´d be able to travel across a system in a matter of seconds at regular sublight speed, no cruise or TLs required, if it were Km/s <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> ). Now, when I say this, I mean that your tractor can have a max range of 5000 m or something, though your &quot;Tractor all items&quot; key will only work for the 1000 (or maybe 1500, can´t remember for sure) range. BUT what does still work is the &quot;Tractor item&quot; key, beaming stuff in one at a time. So so long as your scanner can read things out as far as your tractor can reach, you can target an object over 1000 m away and use the &quot;Trtactor individual item&quot; key to tractor that in. Sure, it´s a hassle, more so than the lazy automatic way anyway <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> but it does work. And for the reach speed, I usually use a speed that is 4/3 times the tractor´s range, giving the time to tractor in something about 0.75 seconds. Or you can make it slower to see the beam. And one more thing on scanners: I´m not sure how changing the range on them affects the lag or resources of a server, but I would guess that making the range too long will negatively affect the performance online. Just somethign of note for modders <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> I´m not sure about this, though this is what I guess, as it means the server has to spawn and then keep track of many more ships and items than usual. Hope that helps. ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________

Ah, heya bro <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Crap, I´m checking this as I am about to leave for California for 10 days. I would be more than glad to send you a nice update -- complete with some new ships, new icons for all equipment and ships in the game, custom cockpit models, .dds textures, and .... *drumroll * custom weapon models <img src=smilies/icon_smile_cool.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> W00t, yeah, I said new weapon models. Oh man, words just don´t express the excitement I had to punch the air for a few minutes because the wall would be too noisy (at 4 am, with parents asleep <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>). Anyways, yes, you are in for an uber update <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> However, I can´t send it to you right now. Hmm, I can try to call my sister and have her email you ... Well, that is a definite maybe, though it´ll probably have to wait until I get back <img src=smilies/icon_smile_sad.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> (July 6th) Dang, sorry, but I will try to walk my sis through it sometime in the next few days. But I can´t make promises about that. So I´ll mail it to you for sure on the 6th - rather, upload it for you via SendThisFile - it´s about 43 MB right now, with another batch of ships coming in from <b>awts0c </b> soon... How ´bout that, will that work? Can ya survive that long, now that I have told you of the goods? <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> I know I´ll have a hard time, being away for 10 friggin days .. ay, ok, not tihnking about that right now. Anyways, I have to beat it here, so I´ will talk to you guys later. Brian, I´ll try to get the file to you ASAP. And since I´ll be gone for the day, happy 4th of Juky everyone <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> For now, <i>Ro9ue out. </i> _______________________ ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________

No, he´s not nuts - this is what I do a lot. It´s how I´ve been doind stuff for a long time. This is how Rebalance got spinning planets (looked and saw what Chips did in the spinning planets mod, then opened up my files and edited them myself instead of doin the FLMM-activate-the-mod way. Yeah, sure, one mistake <b>will </b>mess your game up -- but that´s how everything with computers is <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Most modders do everything themselves by hand, and they usually avoid creating big typoes. And when there is a crash, it usually IS because of a typo from doing it by hand <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> It´s just a necessary evil of modding really. ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________

Heh, well, about those two bases - I never liked them, really ever. I found them and was thinking what the heck? what´s the Liberty Police doing out here? So I checnged them to LSF just to sell different ships, thought about removing them altogether, dedcided people might actually want them,. so left them. But I always thought they were ridculous -- the elite Corsairs and Outcasts simply would not allow such a presence in their <b>home </b>systems. If it was some 1337 outpost that withstood initial sorties to root ´em out, then the Dons and the .. Corsair Godfathers <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> would send massive waves of Sabres and Titans to decimate them. There is no resisting a system-full of the most elite pilots in the game. So anyways, it was things like this that made me more and more inclined to strting from scratch, keeping crazy random things like that from popping up. But The Order is at least as uber as the Outcasts and Corsairs, so they make a bit more sense. Though it would make the most sense to put thme on the OTHER side of the jumpholes, just outside of the ´Cast/Corsair home systems. In my opinion <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Ah, well, the ´site is still rather abismal. So don´t judge the mod based on that <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> As for a minor update, the Outcasts now pilot the <i>Rapier </i>LF, the <i>Cutlass </i>HF, the <i>Claymore </i>VHF, and the <i>Bactrian </i>Freighter. They use Tachyon and Particle weaponry, like usual, except that these guns have new effects (ships, based on orig Border World ships, have bluish silver armor with gold vents. Guns have blue and yellow effects, and engines are Bret blue with golden cruise. Look cool <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> ). And the Tachyon weapons are long ranged, fire 2x/sec, do a lot of shield damge, and use a fair amount of energy. Particle guns are shorter ranged, fire 3x/sec, do a lot of hull damage, and use only a moderate/medium amount of energy. They are quite deadly when paired <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> ANd the Outcasts know how to use them. Heh, the BH Hammerheads last about 15-20 seconds ... Of course, the BHs themselves are quite crappy at the moment and are going to be receiving an overhaul of their own eventually. All factions will. (( EDIT : this is 15-20 sec for a <i>group </i>of them, b/t 3-5 of them. Individually BHs last about 3 or 4 seconds. The other day when I was testing loadouts, a pair of <i>Cutlasses </i> and I (in a <i>Rapier </i>) took a flight of 6 <i>Hammerheads </i>in about 40 sec or so. We pwned all who stand before us <img src=smilies/icon_smile_cool.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> )) I have some brand new cockpits made, I think a total of ... 6 or 7 right now. I want to make them for all ships we make, so it´s just an added touch of professionalism <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> I have a new working gun model (a big blast cannon ... BOOM <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> ), though I am still working on the one minor bug (disappears when I land, leaving an open mount .. <img src=smilies/icon_smile_question.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Don;t know what that´s about yet). Might be the LOD... And awts0c is almost done with some brand new ships for Bretonia, Rheinland, and Bretonian crimanls (Mollys and Gaians). Muhaha, can´t wait for those babies <img src=smilies/icon_smile_big.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Next on the list is probably Liberty. Anyways, been enough yakkin´ from this here ´lancer, so for now, take care, all. Be back in a few weeks (going out of town Monday until July 6). Oh, oh, what in the workd am I gonna do - no modding for that long?! <img src=smilies/icon_smile_tongue.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Bah, gonna be hard. Anyhow, I´ll be back later. ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________ Edited by - Ro9ue on 6/25/2005 1:47:18 PM

Ah, okay, well I thought that testing different ships with different speeds (consequesntly different drag ratios) would make this more clear. But, strangely, even my zippy <i>Patriot </i>that had a crazy cokcpit (looked like I was being pounded by a capship gatling gun or something the other day!) was seemingly normal a little while ago. It wasn´t vibrating like crazy or anything. I looked at a HF cockpit, and then a VHF cockpit - all of which look the same today ... Man, thought I made´ve had it pinned <img src=smilies/icon_smile_disapprove.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Hmm, so it almost seems like it´s random. The other day it was <b>bad, </b>then today it´s almost unnoticable. ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________

Ah, okay. Well, on that subject, I would conjecture that between the two, it is the ratio - as I never remember having it in regular FL. For my mod, I have left all the engine max_thrust values at default (48000), and all ship linear_drag at default (1). Then I just altered the linear drag of engines to get different speeds. So my engines look very much like default ones, except that thy all have different drag values, resulitng in several different divions of speed: 170-190 for LFs, 140-60 for HFs, 115-135 for VHFs, and 90-105 for freighers. Hey, lemme go check something - I bet that VHFs will have this less than the LFs do ... a larger ratio for LFs. Be back shortly. ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________

Ah, okay, thanks for clearing up that. That makes sense now. Oh - okay, duh, the lowest setting (the one I used in 2.1) was 1 - the .000001 threw me for a loop though. Okay, that´s better to know. And about LODs - yes, I have those set. I just replaced the archetype line in the weapon_equip and weapon_good .ini files with the correct directory to my model - didn´t change anything else. What do regular models have to have as a minium LOD - 0, 20, in that range? I just don;´t remember because I´va cahnged all LODs in my mod (all the orig stuff works fine with edited LODs) and can´t remember what the orig min values are. Thanks, and great work again <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________

Ah, I was just wondeirng abot that last night. I know that if you have 2 custom icons that are derived from the same original .3db (like two icons made from [icv_starflier.3db), these will weird out on you in the ship purchase screen (both are on same screen) However, I wasnt sure about having a weapon with a commod icon base and a commod with a weap base - I thought that the F7 Inventory screen would make them weird out, too, since you have weapons and commods on the same screen - no, make that the same window. I thought I rememebered having this happen to me before, but maybe not. ________ <i> - Ro9ue </i> ___________________________