Calling all programmers! New SEIV project needs you!

[Shadowstar]

Hello everyone. I have decided to make this official and see if I can get any programmers to respond. What I want to do is create a total conVersion for SEIV based on my Starscape universe, with the ultimate hopes of transferring it over to SEIV from Stars!, where it is now.

In order to do this, however, some major changes to the game code will be neccessary. This will involve alterations to the game on a level that most mod's dont touch. Therefore, I need programmers capable of this sort of thing. I'm no programmer, but I believe I make a good project leader, as well as an artist and sound effects designer (I've done work for the Starflight 3 project).

Here's a basic idea of what I want to do with Starscape:

Essentially, the entire game will revolve around the Hyperdrive, a component whose creation will require fundamental changes to the game's design.

The basic idea is that it is a component which will allow the ship to create a temporary warp point that leads into a sort of alternate reality of the game. The idea is that once your ship enters this alternate reality, it can travel across the map by going through the empty spaces between stars, and when it enters a system space all you see is a cool background graphic (something I can create with my artistic skills) and a warp point in the middle. Going through the central warp point would have the ship emerge from hyperspace in a random location in the system.

The alternate reality could be generated by the game based on the minimap (or the same data anyway). All it needs to do is have a bunch of empty areas that can be moved between simply by flying the ship off the edge of the screen. Areas with systems in them would use the custom graphics and have a single permanent warp point in them that leads to the corresponding system in the "real" reality.

It should also be possible for ships to encounter each other in the hyperspace reality and fight it out in deep space. Also, it should be impossible for ships with "open warp point" abilities to open warp points in hyperspace. It should also be impossible to close warp points in hyperspace (doing so would render a system completely unreachable).

Starscape games would run in maps without warp points and the hyperdrive tech would be available at the beginning of the game, or possibly with some research (different grades of hyperdrive would make the ship move faster when it was in the other reality).

Simply altering the game to allow ships to create temporary warp points to other systems won't do what I want, because I don't just want to have an alternative to warp points, I want to allow ships to travel through deep space itself (or do so by traversing hyperspace). This will no doubt require a good deal of entirely new code to be written into the game. This is why the project needs capable programmers.

For now, I'm focusing on accomplishing this task. If we can get that far, then we can focus on developing the mod in other areas (if neccessary). I will be creating most or all of the new components, but the programmers/other project members can help if they wish. What I'm thinking would be best is if the hyperspace feature can be accomplished by using a component ability (something like "enter hyperspace"), so that I could easily create a variety of hyperdrives using the component editor.

Different hyperdrive engines would allow the ship to travel at different speeds in hyperspace (this is seperate from normal system travel). This way, I can have hyperspace propulsion set up as a researchable technology field.

There are alot of ways to approach this, I'm sure, but at the moment the most important thing is simply to find at least one programmer out there capable of modifying the game code.

As always, credit is given where credit is due. All contributors will get credit on the Starscape website and in the final release of the mod.

Either reply on this thread or send me email at:
shadowstar@inficad.com

If you send email, please include "Starscape Mod" in the subject line to ensure that I get it.

[geoschmo]

Um, I am not a lawyer, but aren't there some copyright issues or something when you start messing around with the game code? You might want to run this idea past Malfador/Shrapnel.

Just a friendly suggestion.

[Wardad]

Really, the pesky copyright issue can be a real show stopper. You can soup up your car, but don't touch that program!

my personal beef: copyrights are forever! should be a time limit, like patents.

OOPS, I'm definitely airing this out in the wrong place. I really can't complain about SEIV and mod support.

Yes, I program some, and enough. I certainly would not want to do a major revision without source code, good documentation, and consultations. SEIV is a one man show and if he were not totally buggy about documentation, I would not want to jump in his shoes.

[ June 12, 2002, 00:54: Message edited by: Wardad ]

[disabled]

Acutally, I would think this steps on the reverse engineering laws, copyright, and many others...

i suggest getting in contact with Shrapnel & Malfador

[Suicide Junkie]

What you might want to consider first, is doing almost the same thing within the current SE4 system.

Check out my FTL map.

"The basic idea is that it is a component which will allow the ship to create a temporary warp point that leads into a sort of alternate reality of the game."
This one is tough, but you could either ignore it, or you could mod ships into fighters, and then have massive jumpships as true SE4ships used to carry the fighter "ships" into hyperspace.

"The idea is that once your ship enters this alternate reality, it can travel across the map by going through the empty spaces between stars, and when it enters a system space all you see is a cool background graphic (something I can create with my artistic skills) and a warp point in the middle. Going through the central warp point would have the ship emerge from hyperspace in a random location in the system."
That is pretty much what the FTL map does. Each sector in hyperspace corresponds to one galactic map square. Where a normal space system intersects a hyperspace sector, 12 warppoints lead down to positions around the edge of the starsystem.

"It should also be possible for ships to encounter each other in the hyperspace reality and fight it out in deep space."
This happens. I also have random movement ability on the hyperspace systems to prevent blockading of the jumppoints, but that can be removed at will.

"Also, it should be impossible for ships with "open warp point" abilities to open warp points in hyperspace. It should also be impossible to close warp points in hyperspace (doing so would render a system completely unreachable)."
Simply disable those components, and remove the random events, and no worries.

IOW, combine a mod with my FTL map (or similar), and you've got what you want.

[ June 08, 2002, 04:07: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]

[Jmenschenfresser]

Copyrights, as far as written works go, aren't forever...well, unless you consider 70 years after the author's death forever. If code copyrights are the same, that puts all game code out of reach until sometime late in the next century.

[PDF]

IMHO the first problem encountered won't be legal... but technical, as H Aventine said, you can't modify a program without source code, reverse engineering is possible but it's VERY difficult and tricky to make other than minor change !
For me it's a no-go as long as source code is not available ... Great idea though !

[oleg]

Yes, if you are really serious about this, it is best to contact MM and work out all the details with him. Otherwise there must be a legal problem since officially you buy only a licence to use his product, not the program itself.

[capnq]

I can't seem to find the SE IV EULA, but depending on how it's worded, and if you live in a state that has passed the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA), reverse engineering the program may be illegal, as well.

[Instar]

Um, you'd have to get the source code from MM if you wnat to seriously edit it. Since it is a commercial product, you'll have to shell out some money or do some reverse engineering (baaaaad idea) to get it
if your idea can be done with modding then it should be ok, but otherwise forget it