Re: Star Wars Mod
 

BTW.

Also let me know if you are in need of an SW map.
I still got all the info at hand so could help you with one (the one I made is based on the SW-rebellion propulsion system, so maybe not good for yours)

So if you need an SW-map, tell me how your propulsion system works and if you are ussing FQM or something else ??

Inti,

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Thanks Intimidator. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

I have an idea if ya want to give it a try, how about making fighters the PD weapons each ship can carry fighters that can lanch from them like Small Fighter: PD, Med fighter: fighter vs fighter, large fighter: missle lanchers

what do you think about this?

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

It is pretty close to what I was thinking about doing. Except that there are some ships that are designed with fighter management in mind. IE they are equipped with anti-fighter lasers. Good idea though about PD fighters. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Working on the Pirate Ships.

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...irateship2.PNG http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...irateship1.PNG

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Very cool looking.

They maintain the overall "Star Wars" look and feel while still being unique from anything already seen.

Nice work.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Thank you BK. The first image is used in EAW. The second is just me muking around a bit trying to flesh out a usable ship set for the pirates.

Once I have the pirates done, I will begin working on the data files. I am conflicted though. I don't know if I should go with a simplified tech tree or one that has many branches.

Simply put, Imperial Tech I - XX. As the tech level increases, the player gains access to new things like ships, weapons, and so on. No choices as to which branch to follow, the tech is progressive and locked.

Or two, branched, this would allow players to select what tech they want to research over other tech.

The pros of a simplified system are that it matches EAW, and Rebellion, is AI friendly, easy to added new tech, and makes the research file very simple. Cons- is that it becomes very predictable, there is no choices made by the player.

Of course a multi branched approach is what most SE IV players are used to and seem to prefer. But it is time consuming to set up, isn't all that AI friendly, and it doesn't really lend itself well to the addition of new tech. (requires modding of many files)

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

I say do the first, and then if you feel up to it work on the second and offer it as an alternative version of the mod.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

I agree with Kana,

And starting with the easier option first will give you an easy chance to test and work out some of your ideas.
(And knowing you just a little, you will never stop adjusting your mod, just take a look at AST, STM http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif )

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

I think I'd have to agree here, too. Go for the simplest approach first, then expand on it if you'd care to later, as time, motivation, and energy permit.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Do you want to make it more of a movie reenactment, or a sandbox with SW physics?

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

What would you prefer? I mean as one of the most skilled mod makers in the community, what do you think would be the best approach to make? I value any and all help any one is willing to hand me. Advice is something that I desperately need.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

I personally prefer things to work with the least amount of iron-fist rules.

In my preferred paradigm, a game trying to replicate movie action would be a scenario... Plenty of neutrals helping the rebels-without-a-homeworld (just a hidden, tiny ice world colony for maintaining political contact?) all while trying to avoid the planetbusting wrath of the established empire empire (who starts with subjugation treaties with everyone, and thus huge resources for huge ships and fleets with which to oppress the others).

The scenario would start out with a big fleet of movie like designs, but there would be no reason you couldn't build new custom stuff when events start unfolding. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif
Maybe the rebels could start out with a single million-organics cost fighter that has a special damage type, Deathstar-killer weapon (only planet destroyers, 64k damage?) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif Try to keep it from dying before the final battle...


On the other hand, for a typical PBW game, you're starting your own empires from scratch, and you have 5 or 6 equally strong empires. Too much canon starts to conflict with the actual game events in that case http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif


PS:
Certainly, going with a heavy handed canon approach will be the most straightforward.
Plug in a limited set of options, and set the abilities such that all of the legal tokens are reasonably accurate.

Making it work sandbox style takes a lot more planning, math, effort, more math, planning, and tuning. And free time to do all of that.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Just messing around

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...alShipYard.PNG

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

All of the ship sets are 90% done. All that is left are the weapon platforms, satellites, drone, and mine images.

I can begin work on the data files now.

Should be interesting as to how this will all play out.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

I have added two additional ship images to the Imperials. She if you can guess their names. http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...7-impship1.PNG http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...7-impship2.PNGhttp://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...560787-sd2.PNGhttp://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...787-impsb1.PNG

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Neutral Race Crap

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...tralwalker.PNG
Neutral Race walker. Neutral races like to buy out dated military equipment and these 10 year old (pre-IV) walkers are ideal and affordable.

Neutral Army
http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...alRaceArmy.PNG

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

VERY, VERY cool. Can't wait for this to come out !!!

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Thanks bk. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

I have to figure out what ships to give them now. I don't think they will get that many as the neutral races in the mod don't colonize, and won't have any need for huge fleets. There primary protection will be ground based weapons, ion cannons, fighters, and troops.

Right now I am considering making troops that kinda look like the races they belong to. That would take some time to do, but since I have already worked out the neutral races and have their files all made (Say for data) it shouldn't take but a day.

What I need now is to get the combat images done. Torps, beams, and such. There will only be four beams, one broken up dash dash beam, a bit larger dash dash beam, a solid beam, and singe dash beam. Torps about the same. However there will be five colors for each beam set. This way the empire will have green, rebels red, pirates orange, syndicate yellow, and a blue beam set for neutrals, smugglers, and bounty hunters.

Smugglers and bounty hunters will basically be separate monster races. I have five ships for each, yes slave 1 is included as is a YT-1300 Corellian Transport.

I am in the process now of setting up the imperial ships. Each ship will have built in fighter launch bays, extra built in cargo space for troops/fighters and some other basic stuff like multi-tracking, combat support, and such. Via weapon mounts each ship will also have a preset number of spaces available for weapons like laser, ion cannons, turbo lasers, and such. Players will be able to add upgraded systems of course as they become available, they would work, I hope, in tandom via stacking, with the built in components abilities. The players will be able to add cargo or extra fighter bays to their designs as well. There will be engine upgrades and such as well as weapon upgrades.

Ships will have their own hull mounts - one of SJ's mods as the inspiration behind this.

Right now I am not going to do much with systems, I doubt I will include FQM at this point. I love FQM but I find that using FQM results in a lot of asteroids, useless planets, and ugly systems. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif I don't know if that would be a good match for a star wars mod.

I might still do a squardant based fighter system. I simply don't know yet if that would work as intended or just piss people off.

Squadrant system is you add fighters as components to a "Squadrant." Each fighter component would have its own abilities. Tie fighters would be cheap and do limited damage. Tie Advanced would give a combat bonus and be limited to how many could be added to a squadrant. Tie Interceptors would be do more damage, tie bombers would basically be bombs, etc. There are advantages and disadvantages to a system like this. One you can name the Squadrants but then the human factor about designing your fighters would be taken out of the equation. I will try both systems to see which one works best. I might even give the player a choice during race set up to choose which system they want.

Drones... basically spy bots. Can be deployed from a ship and basically have a limited cloaking ability that allows them to "spy" on a system. For the empire it would be probe droids. For the Rebels either modified y-wings, or droids. For the other races, spy satellites or cloaked drone-ships.

I am also thinking about making a 20kt to 40kt fighter. This would not be a "fighter" that can be added to ships, but a really small ship that can travel warp points and look like a fighter. For the Rebels this is going to be that modified B-wing and Modified Y-wings. For the Empire, Tie Defenders, the other races, I don't know yet. Probably a fighter looking small 20kt ship with stealth ability.

The purpose to this would be to give players the option to launch fighter attacks from remote bases. (I might even throgh in some x-wing variants and tie variants to spice this up.) They would be NO stronger than their true fighter counter parts.

I am also considering the option of removing Resupply Depot from the game. Make the supplies for ships large. Give each ship the ability to regenerate supplies. This would force players to consider "down time" for their ships. They would need to stop over for resupplying and would then be taken out of use while they built their supply inventory back up. I really like this idea but fear the AI would just go bonkers with it so the AI again would get to cheat their way out of it by having greater resupply and supply advantages.

I am worried as to how I would set things up for planets. I want Rock oxygen worlds to have the most facility slots, and Oxygen Gas worlds to have but only one. Bespin Gas Mining Base for example. Ice planets would have limited spaces about 1/4 the size of a rock world of the same size. I sincerely lack the modding ability in this area to understand how I would do that or if even it can be done.

Help in this area would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

I have decided to combine the bounty hunter and smuggler races into a new major neutral race... the Hutt Syndicate.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

That makes sense, in many ways. Keeps things very thematic too. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Your breakdown of ideas sounds very well thought out and detailed. Overall, sounds good to me.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Anymore gems from the source material provided?

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

I am conflicted about something. If I make the bulk of all fighters small kt sized ships, say from 4 to 12kt in side, then they would be able to move with the fleets, much like we see in star wars, but then would I also need to make them standard fighters too?

If they are ships then players can build actual squadrons of fighters and name them, like Red Squadron. They won't be able to be loaded to ships, but there would be more benefits than simply loading them into ships. I am thinking that perhaps make Tie fighter and Hammer Heads and A-Wings standard fighters, but everything else small ships.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

A redo Scout speeder bike.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

yes, that is a pure Doga model.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Some characters
http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...3085-thawn.PNG http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...-dsgeneral.PNG http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...3085-veers.PNG http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...almilitary.PNG
http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...outtrooper.PNG http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...atatdriver.PNG http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...erttrooper.PNG

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

VERY impressive, one and all. Very nicely done.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Thanks man. Took some work but I like how they came out. Thanks for your PM's too. Sorry I didn't get back to you about what you said. I am ok, just having some health issues, same old same old. I will try and get the work updated so I can pass it along to you.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Damn good to hear you're okay. No worries about getting back to me, though.

I have something more for you now as well.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Blasters have a really short range but usually a high fire rate to compensate. They are older tech and aren't used much anymore. Laser Cannons are your typical light weapons, with a short range. Turbo lasers are massive weapons, easily 5x the power of a laser cannon (and up), with a long range. Still, all of them use the same basic technology, just ever-larger and more refined versions of it. I'd stick 'em all in the same tech area of Laser Weapons, with blasters topping off early in the progression, laser cannons ending about halfway up the tree, and turbolasers going all the way to the max level.

Note: In the Star Wars universe guided ordnance (proton torps and concussion missiles primarily) have a shorter range than energy weapons, but can skip ray shields.

The power output of a turbolaser isn't really dependent on the size of the barrel, but on the output of the ship's reactor, which can't be accurately modelled in SE4/5. A classification system based on output in Megatons/Gigatons/Teratons of firepower would be an acceptable compromise.


This is the method used in the existing SW mod. It makes using hyperdrives on ships in a fleet a real pain, so much so that I stopped bothering. Much like the reactor output issue, a VERY fast strategic/slow-medium tactical movement dynamic isn't really feasible in SE4.

Nitpick: The Nebula-class Escort Frigates are produced by Kuat Drive Yards; in other words, it's an Imperial ship, not a Rebel one. The Rebel's only manage to get their hands on them through theft/desertion/capture.

The importance of fighters fluctuates depending on which sources you examine. If you use the original trilogy or any of the games (which are at the lowest level of canon) you get the impression that fighters are the end-all be-all of space combat. Parts of the Expanded Universe, particularly the Clone Wars material, emphasize the importance of capital ships (rightly, IMO). Think about: if it only takes a few squadrons of hyperspace-capable fighters armed with proton torpedoes to blow up a Star Destroyer, why would anyone build capital ships at all?

I'd suggest swinging by stardestroyer.net's Pure SW tech debates sub-forum. Anything and everything you need to know about SW has probably been discussed there. How "realistic" you want to make the mod is up to you though. My feelings are that Empire At War and Rebellion, while fun, are horrible simulations of the SW universe and overly "gamey". Part of the problem is that SW canon is convoluted and oftentimes contradictory. Combine that with the huge variances in scale (from 15-meter fighters to 20km capital ships) and making an all-encompassing mod that possessess any degree of accuracy, realism, and continuity becomes insanely difficult and frustrating.

Good luck.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Thats not right. Missles are fired in a range up to 2,5 km and Lasers are fired up to 1,5 km

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Only in the X-Wing/TIE Fighter series flight simulators. Games are at the lowest level of Star Wars canon, and are therefore superceded by any other source that conflicts with them (i.e. novels, technical books like the Incredible Cross Sections, etc.).

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

so how's the mod coming along?

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

I have finished working on the troop components and have finalized the ships. I should have the empire basic crap done very soon. Once I get the empire working I can start on the rebels. Its slow going but I am getting there. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

I should have a alpha by the end of the month.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

So hows the mod coming along????

if ya need a tester I'll do it

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Slowly. I have been under the weather as of late and haven't gotten much work done. I am sorry but it looks like its going to be another week beyond my original estimate. I just haven't been able to concentrate on it like I want too. But regardless of what I have done I will post an alpha in two weeks.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Ya I got a cold as well... thats why i'm sitting here playing se4 and se5 (not at the same time) and trying mods.

I got my butt handed to me playing AST http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

That is good. I still have to finish the update for AST as well. I just lost interest in everything when I got sick. I haven't been able to shake this damn thing since I got it.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

I hit a snag called information overload. I was able to put in some work today on the mod. I have fleshed out the ship sizes for the Empire, as that is really all that I am working on at the moment.

I went through the information that was provided regarding books and such, and I have to tell you there is really no way in hell that SE IV will ever allow any one to make a true Star Wars type mod. There simply isn't a way.

That being said of course, we must improvise a solution. So that is what I have been doing since September.

There is so much going on in my head that I am finding it hard to get it all down. Get it all to work. So please keep in mind that when the alpha is posted, it will be a very basic version of what I hope to expand upon.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

well thats good that your trying to make it as close to StarWars but remember it's still SE4 game

just like Startrek, Babylon 5, and that Fantasy Empires Mod... close but still se4 game

ok so don't be to nit-picky on the true Star Wars type, just make it close as ya can ok... we don't mind http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

The more you tighten your grip, the more players slip through your fingers http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Well I cannot say much for my accomplishments with this mod but I am getting the empire done.

What I have done:
Made all Empire images
Made all Rebel Set images
Made all Underworld Set images
Made all Separatist Set images
Made all Trade Federation Set images
Made over 100 new Star Wars component images
Added over 50 new facilities images
Made all neutral race portraits (Collected and set up)
I have most of the imperial ship size file done.
I have 50% of the imperial facilities set up.
I have the Empire Research file completed
I have the Empires Tech file completed

I am working on the mounts and components now.

I still need to finish the Empire files, then move onto the rebels and other races.

I need to construct Intel and Events files.

The hard part has been to try and get what is in my head done. I have remade the ship size file at least 20 times over the last week. I have gone from having all the ships have their own abilities to limiting them and adding more components. Components can be destroyed, built in abilities cannot.

I am working on the mounts right now. I hope to have them pretty well done by the end of tomorrow. As I work on the mounts I am also working on the base components for the empire. You know engines, weapons, and specialty items.

I have set it up so that some fighters are both fighters and equal size ships. This way players can make squadrons to roam with the fleets, and still have fighters to pack into those star destroyers and carriers. TIE fighters are just fighters though.

I should have the rest of the facilities for the empire completed tonight. That is if I can keep working. My shoulder and neck are killing me.

When I release the alpha of the empire I hope that some of you will take some time to help me out. I will need feed back on how the economic system works. Are things too expensive, or cheap, did I miss any components? Do I need to add more mounts, fix things, tweak things, spell check things, add better descriptions and such?

The AI is going to be a real PITA. But hopefully I can just get it to work well with some work around's.

Economics in the mod are a bit different now. Minerals now represent ship and facility income. You need these resources to build ships and facilities.

Organics have become Troop income needed to build troops.
And radioactives have become Fighter Income needed to build fighters.

Additionally now that they have been separated, there is a construction facility needed for all three. (AI has conventional construction yard that can build with all three resources.) The Planetary Construction yard can build with all three but has limited organic and radioactives building capabilities.

The reason behind this is to force the player to consider how and what they elect to build. Also it will allow the player to concentrate construction of each type on different planets.

It may not work but it seemed interesting to me so I gave it a whirl.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

sounds good so far can't wait to give it a try.

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

If you need help testing anything, feel free to drop me a line.

Sounds like you're up to you're usual High Standards in all aspects again !

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

Right now I am still working on the comps. I am trying to get it so that small ships are cost effective and larger ships cost a [censored] load to build and take a long time to do so and cost a ton to maintain. Unfortunately it looks like when you add the ability maintenance to each hull and give it a huge handicap, it doesn't work. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Re: Star Wars Mod
 

hehehe THATS why there's only 1 Deathstar