Ambrosia Garden Archive
    • Quasi-Total Conversion


      As some of you who still frequent the EVO webboard know, I am currently engaged in a somewhat-major low-profile EVN plug-in (tentatively termed 'Fatal Alliance').

      The topic on the EVO webboard is located here: (url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/webboard/Forum8/HTML/004896.html#")http://www.ambrosias...ML/004896.html#(/url)

      At this point, I have 100+ missions written out (out of 400 or so planned). Much of both the ancillary and major plot has been thought out, and I am preparing to actually permanently 'set' the storyline as I begin to write the final 300 or so missions. To those who would be interested, I would like to hear any suggestions you may have before I actually begin finalizing the story.

      As well, I would like to thank Mazca, double_zero, and General Cade Smart for all the help that they have provided as of yet.

      Thank you for bearing with me, and I hope that some of you out there have something to say yet.

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      (url="http://"http://www.geocities.com/ue_rd")Fatal Alliance- an upcoming quasi-TC for EVN.(/url)

    • Sounds like a great plug. So your going to start needing beta testers?

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      "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."-Albert Einstein

    • I like the term 'Quasi-Total Conversion'.

      QTC - let's make that the official term for the thinking man's TC.

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      M A R T I N • T U R N E R
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    • any screenshots of it? or any way to see any of its graphics?

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      Masterplan
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    • As of now, I am still writing content. I have not touched ResEdit yet (so there is really no tangible code available to the public as of yet). I expect to begin coding possibly around February of next year or so, depending on how much work I can get done once school begins.

      The term quasi-total conversion refers to the fact that, while this plug-in will have many of the distinguishing characteristics of a 'true' TC (missions, planetary descriptions, vessels, etc.), the plug-in is intrisically based upon the existing EVO stock campaign, and as so cannot be called a true 'total conversion (of the EV/EVO/EVN universe)'. Thanks for the compliment :).

      I implied this earlier; I don't have any screen shots as of yet. When I have finished everything else, I will start looking for a graphics artist. But may I humbly suggest this snippet of text (rough draft)?

      ...Over light drinks you and Warrejn discuss the Zidagar situation.

      “How unfortunate we are! The ravening Igadzra attackers annihilated Outpost Terrapin, before wiping out Outpost Plogok. Our brave captains were able to evacuate Neholl, but alas, the same is not true for Zidagar they then traversed the outer rim of the Crescent, attacking Filider. Neeg and Saffera have been evacuated, and our fleet is regrouping to hold Twyus.” He looks at the holo-map projected above your table in abject despair.

      “What is your occupation, Warrejn?” You decide to change the subject.

      “I am one of the few remaining military commanders in the Zidagar navy- so many of them were wiped out by the Igadzra at the beginning of the war, valiantly holding out against insurmountable odds, sacrificing themselves to stem the tide of the Igadzra advance but now that we have been scattered to the stellar winds like so much ashes, we are a pitiable race I held a minor post, I contained great potential- but not enough to lead the Zidagar people ” He looks at you intently, before slamming his glass down upon the table. “You! <player>! You are renowned among the humans ”

      “-renowned for the supposed treachery of my father ” you interject.

      “No, <player> many speak highly of your combat prowess. What this is about your father I do not know, but I assure you, I have heard nobody from the United Earth speaking about such as a despicable traitor ”

      “-my father was not a traitor ” you say to him.

      “<player>, we need you to rise up and take the role of a leader of our people! Although you are not Zidagar, you are the one who stands out among the rapidly-dwindling pool of candidates! Will you take up our cause, <player>?”...

      (ugh...too much melodrama)...

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      (url="http://"http://www.geocities.com/ue_rd")Fatal Alliance- an upcoming quasi-TC for EVN.(/url)
      Secret Project: In planning stages. (No links available)

    • At this point, I am approximately halfway through writing the missions (creative work). I sent out another document full of mission descs to my volunteers...please acknowledge via e-mail if you received them.

      Questions? Comments? I'm still taking them...

      (At this rate, I should be done writing missions by December or so.)

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      (url="http://"http://www.geocities.com/ue_rd")Fatal Alliance- an upcoming quasi-TC for EVN.(/url)
      Secret Project: In planning stages. (No links available)

    • Might I suggest a bit of a rewrite in terms of your initial offering?
      Something along the lines of the following:
      _...Over light drinks you and Warrejn discuss the Zidagar situation.

      “How unfortunate we are! The ravening Igadzra attackers annihilated Outpost Terrapin, before wiping out Outpost Plogok. Our brave captains were able to evacuate Neholl, but alas, the same is not true for Zidagar they then traversed the outer rim of the Crescent, attacking Filider. Neeg and Saffera have been evacuated, and our fleet is regrouping to hold Twyus.” He looks at the holo-map projected above your table in abject despair.

      “What is your occupation, Warrejn?” You decide to change the subject.

      “I am one of the few remaining military commanders in the Zidagar navy , so many of them were wiped out by the Igadzra at the beginning of the war, valiantly holding out against insurmountable odds, sacrificing themselves to stem the tide of the Igadzra advance but now that we have been scattered to the stellar winds like so much ashes, we are a pitiable race I held a minor post, I contained great potential- but not enough to lead the Zidagar people ” He looks at you intently, before slamming his glass down upon the table. “You! <PN>! You are renowned among the humans...”

      “ R enowned for the supposed treachery of my father ” you interject.

      “No, <PN> , many speak highly of your combat prowess. What this is about your father I do not know, but I assure you, I have heard nobody from the United Earth speaking about such as a despicable traitor ”

      “ M y father was not a traitor ! ” you say to him.

      “<PN>, we need you to rise up and take the role of a leader of our people! Although you are not Zidagar, you are the one who stands out among the rapidly-dwindling pool of candidates! Will you take up our cause, <PN>?”_
      Also, I suggest that you use the various replacment tags instead of a more generic from, i.e., using <PN> instead of <player>.

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    • I like the idea of the plot UE. I humbly offer my services as a beta tester, even though it won't be ready for ages, and maybe a graphic artist. 400 missions! Guh! Good luck...!

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      "Now He Belongs To The Ages"
      - Edward Stanton on Lincoln after his death.

    • II agree.

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    • Hey UE, I thought I was going to help you with the graphics... 🙂 Sounds good though.

      ~A~

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      "How can I make it go faster?" -Me-

    • Quote

      Originally posted by kauthor:
      **II agree.

      **

      kauthor, may I most humbly suggest that you stop posting pointless crap? A search of all your Dev corner posts in the past month reveals you haven't said anything at all helpful.

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      (url="http://"http://www.mazca.com/")Mazca(/url) , Moderator, (url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/ubb/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number;=9&SUBMIT;=Go&urgaylol;=yes")EV Developer's Corner(/url)
      Go get your knife.

    • (quote)Originally posted by Azdara:
      **Hey UE, I thought I was going to help you with the graphics...:D. (The <p> tags are my private shorthand- before I code, I'll find and replace all of them with the standard EVN tags).

      I have 140 pages of written material (whether it's of any quality is something only the proofreaders know). I will be sending out another file soon.

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      (url="http://"http://www.geocities.com/ue_rd")Fatal Alliance- an upcoming quasi-TC for EVN.(/url)
      Secret Project: In planning stages. (No links available)
      **

    • Oh, the <p> and <s> tags are a shorthand? Oops, I replaced all of them in my file...oh well, it saves you work.

      By the way, I made a (really) simple (url="http://"http://bri_code.tripod.com/cannon-gun-type-thingy.html")cannon-gun-type-thingy graphic(/url)...it isn't that great, I'll admit, but I'm just glad I was able to even understand enough of Strata 3D to do it...anyway, I wouldn't mind some input as to how well I did for my first time and whether or not I should give up graphics entirely...

      (sorry it's a little fuzzy, one too many blends while editing, and it was too late by the time I realized it, as the application I was using only supports undoing of the previous action and redoing of that which was just undone...)

      (This message has been edited by orcaloverbri9 (edited 09-03-2003).)

    • Sounds like an interesting plug. Do all your characters talk like that, or is it just that Captain's way? Because a tone like that could get old if everyone talks that way. If it's only that character, then cool.

      And orcaloverbri9, don't give up graphics if you want to keep doing them. You'll learn. Everyone does.

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      (url="http://"http://www.adventuredog.net")Adventure Dog(/url): Everyone's favorite little black and white dog.
      In a fight for peace, you must fight for equality, not revenge.
      "I am against evolution being taught in schools. I am also against widespread literacy and the refrigeration of food." - The Onion

    • UER&D;: Yeah, I'm having some real email problems. I resent mine to you in case you were getting the email adress confused. Sorry about all this crap... Wow! I typed all this while looking at the dog over my shoulder... freaky. Mind you, I had to change all the semi colon's to L's. 🙂

      Overcomplicatedname9: Just keep at it. You may want to get into some more complicated objects, and combinations thereof. Keep refering to the online manual when you get stuck.

      Personally I don't think strata 3d is a great first program to use. I think mechanisto is better for people starting out, not because of it's capabilities, which are actually pretty cool, when you get really into it, but because of the way it forces you to think. Strata doesn't force you to think in the right way, but it easilly allows you to utilise it... It's a kind of modelling imagination I'm talking about. Coming up with a concept in your mind and then telling the program how to do it, or rather knowing how to do it with the program. The whole idea of "Transforms" makes you use this imagination.

      Anyhoo...

      Quote

      Originally posted by Mazca:
      **kauthor, may I most humbly suggest that you stop posting pointless crap? A search of all your Dev corner posts in the past month reveals you haven't said anything at all helpful.

      **

      But Mazca, his higher post count will make us respect him more! Despite the fact that he posts nothing of any value, the fact that he has a greater number of posts is essential to gaining respect in this webboard situation we're in. It's like at a party, the guy saying the most, even if it is a bunch of crap, is the most loved and respected.

      ~A~

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      "How can I make it go faster?" -Me-

      Edit date: My very own nineteenth birthday:

      (This message has been edited by Azdara (edited 09-04-2003).)

    • I'm beginning to hate the e-mail system myself. (If the address had been wrong, I would have gotten an e-mail from one of the central servers informing me that the address was non-existent, but I've received no such e-mail).

      Do you have an account on the ev-nova.net webboards? I believe those have the 'private message' option, so I should be able to send you a message via that system. My answer was basically an enthusiastic 'yes, if you're willing', and the e-mail was explaining more about the concept and miscellaneous information.

      Oh, and happy birthday, by the way.

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      (url="http://"http://www.geocities.com/ue_rd")Fatal Alliance- an upcoming quasi-TC for EVN.(/url)
      Secret Project: In planning stages. (No links available)

      (This message has been edited by UE_Research & Development (edited 09-04-2003).)

      (This message has been edited by UE_Research & Development (edited 09-04-2003).)

    • Quote

      Originally posted by Azdara:
      But Mazca, his higher post count will make us respect him more! Despite the fact that he posts nothing of any value, the fact that he has a greater number of posts is essential to gaining respect in this webboard situation we're in. It's like at a party, the guy saying the most, even if it is a bunch of crap, is the most loved and respected.

      Oh, sorry, I forgot that! Thanks for reminding me! 😄

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      (url="http://"http://www.mazca.com/")Mazca(/url) , Moderator, (url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/ubb/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number;=9&SUBMIT;=Go&urgaylol;=yes")EV Developer's Corner(/url)
      Go get your knife.

    • Quote

      Originally posted by Azdara:
      **Overcomplicatedname9: Just keep at it. You may want to get into some more complicated objects, and combinations thereof. Keep refering to the online manual when you get stuck.out. Coming up with a concept in your mind and then telling the program how to do it, or rather knowing how to do it with the program. The whole idea of "Transforms" makes you use this imagination.

      **

      Well, actually, your new name for me is more complicated. Broken up it makes: orca lover bri 9 (I signed up at Neopets using that name when I was 9, and have used it ever since, everywhere I sign up).

      Anyway, I technically did use Mechanisto first. I guess I'll keep trying with it, despite the fact I know around as much about how to use it as I know about building a Saturn V rocket (I have yet to discover how to change camera angles)...I really would appreciate some input on how it is for a first-time thing...

      I guess you're right that I shouldn't quit, but the only problem is, I hate graphics. But it's hard to make an appealing TC (regardless of how invredibly wonderful the coding is) without graphics (I have found that if you advertise more graphics, you get more downloads). So far, in all my life, my best drawing was a dragon that I drew for a pop-up thingy in 3rd grade (I had problems keeping it up :D). And that wasn't that great. That's problem A. Problem B is that all the weapon ideas I can come up with have been used, so it's not much use making graphics for those anyway...I can make some interesting top-down things; I just need a way to rotate them on the computer without completely screwing them up, and a way to view them in the shipyard.

      I had a cool idea for an add-on type plug-in, all I was missing is graphics; of course, now, with the things I planned to use (cubes and spheres, heh heh), that wouldn't be much of a problem with Strata now that I've discovered half of it...hmm...maybe I should try that again?

    • UE R&D;: Though I am currently just proof-reading missions (my file doesn't include the UE Navy/Special ops., does it? That's my specialty, and it would suck to spoil it...), I would be gald to do any part that is not affiliated with graphics. Hell, I wouldn't mind just making the whole thing according to your instructions myself. If there's anything you think you will have (or, more importantly, WILL have) trouble with, I wouldn't mind doing it. (Better get credit for more than a proof-reader, though ;)) yes, I like Smilies (Graemlins?)...

    • Mazca: Acltually that's kinda ironic, since you're engaged in a post race with Mrxak right now... 😉 Which one do I respect more! I... can't... figure it... out! Not to mention my brain lumping you two guys into one for some reason.

      UERD: Yeah, screw this. I got so sick of my dad's email service that I got a damn yahoo account. Try this one: deadholt-at-yahoo.com.au

      Just remember to replace the -at- with an @... It screws up spam spiders that way, means they can't pick up the email adresses, and you get less spam. Everyone should do it (except then the spiders would pick up the new things too. What can you do though?)

      And thanks! It's wierd as all hell to be nineteen... I think I might be getting responsible.

      ~A~

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      "How can I make it go faster?" -Me-