Neo Standard for SE V?

[President_Elect_Shang]

Well since there are three calls for the model name in VehicleSizes.txt I didn't consider backward compatibility to be an issue. If you do though please explain since we should address and resolve that issue before proceeding. May I make a suggestion to kick it off please?

Vehicle Portrait Primary = NEO++
Vehicle Portrait Alternate = NEO+
Vehicle Portrait Default = Stock Standard

That is a good enough resolution. So long as there is a manner in which any modder can come along and easily tell which hull is larger than which. So Warship1 would be the smallest and Warship9 the largest, for example that is. And continuing along with the same example:

Warship1 = NEO++ = NEO+ = *Frigate
Warship2 = NEO++ = *MP = *MP
Warship3 = NEO++ = NEO+ = *Destroyer
Warship4 = NEO++ = NEO+ = *Light Cruiser
Warship5 = NEO++ = NEO+ = *Cruiser
Warship6 = NEO++ = NEO+ = *Battleship
Warship7 = NEO++ = NEO+ = *Dreadnought
Warship8 = NEO++ = NEO+ = *MP
Warship9 = NEO++ = NEO+ = *Baseship
*XXXX = Current Stock Size
*MP = Modder Picks one above or below.

Now clearly this is a rough draft of sorts but I think it conveys the basic idea right? Which is each "step" should be a little higher standard than the one before.

I thought you were disagreeing with me? That Destroyer (et el) isn't a size. Edit 2: I changed my previous post to make it clearer.

Edited: My chart was vague about stock, just trying to make it less confusing.

[Suicide Junkie]

What I meant was, you can't name the file warship3, since that would not work in a stock game.

[President_Elect_Shang]

I'm still confused; why not? Unless I understand something wrong or just misunderstand what you are calling the "file" won't the following happen when SE5 runs?

Name: Big Freaken Ship
Short Name, Description, blah, blah, blah
Vehicle Portrait Primary: [%EmpireName%]_Portrait_Warship3.bmp (Oops can't find it next line)
Vehicle Portrait Alternate: [%EmpireName%]_Portrait_Warship3.bmp (Oops can't find it next line)
Vehicle Portrait Default: [%EmpireName%]_Portrait_Destroyer.bmp (Ah there it is I found that bmp)

Primary = NEO++
Alternate = NEO+
Default = Stock

Why won't that work if all the modders and shipset makers know that the agreed upon standard is Warship3 for the third largest hull size which is also the Destroyer in Stock.

Now if you are saying because "Stock doesn't use that name so Stock games won't be able to use that shipset" I say no problem. Either (1) we can get Aaron to change Primary and leave the rest in Stock alone; which would cover both NEO++ and NEO+ makers. Or (2) we can stipulate "This is a NEO# set and requires the instillation of the modified Stock file located at www_blahblahblah_blah.". Or finally (3) we can do both and be doubly covered.

[President_Elect_Shang]

Just to avoid confusion I am suggesting we ask Aaron to include an altered Stock file one of us makes for him. The new Stock would look like this, still using the DD as our example.

Name: Destroyer
Short Name, Description, blah, blah, blah
Vehicle Portrait Primary: [%EmpireName%]_Portrait_Warship3.bmp
Vehicle Portrait Alternate: [%EmpireName%]_Portrait_Destroyer.bmp
Vehicle Portrait Default: [%EmpireName%]_Portrait_Destroyer.bmp

Now we have a NEO shipsets covered for Stock. Heck I'll make the file myself once we agree on what we want. I need a break from this AI anyway!

[Phoenix-D]

Half the point of the neo-standard is stock (and the Balance Mod) don't require modification. I mean, what if you've got half neo-standard ships and half stock?

Besides, what the image FILE is named really doesn't have that big of an impact on how the image is used..

[President_Elect_Shang]

Phoenix-D said:
Half the point of the neo-standard is stock (and the Balance Mod) don't require modification. I mean, what if you've got half neo-standard ships and half stock?

Besides, what the image FILE is named really doesn't have that big of an impact on how the image is used..

I'm sorry PD no offense but I honestly don't understand any of what you are trying to say here?

[Fyron]

All we need to do is clearly indicate the relative positioning new sizes should have compared to the stock sizes. Is this one the biggest warship? The smallest? Between cruiser and battlecruiser? For a mod, you can arbitrarily remap the model names to whatever hull class names you want. Don't have an escort, but want to use all the hulls? Ok, start your mod's destroyer using the "escort" hull, light cruiser using the "destroyer" hull, and work your way up from there. If someone uses a non-neostandard set, they get the two smallest hulls using the destroyer model, rather than the two largest hulls using dreadnought.

I don't think that we should suggest that shipset modelers completely rename the stock sizes. That will just sow confusion.

I don't think we should insert extra hull sizes in the middle of the progression anyways. Maybe one at the small end and one at the large end (not counting a worldship). That would increase the range of warship hulls from 7 to 9 (counting the baseship hull as a standard image, since it is called for by stock, though most stock sets don't include one).

[President_Elect_Shang]

So we are back to square one, what are the new suggested sizes. Sizes not classes or roles! I think Explorer and Escort are sizes but both have been tossed back as roles/classes. How about Corvette then on the low end and Juggernaut on the high end? That's two more for nine.

[Phoenix-D]

I'm sorry PD no offense but I honestly don't understand any of what you are trying to say here?

Any neo-standard should not require modifying stock or changing the names of any of the stock files.