Greetings, as you may tell by my post count, I'm brand new here to ambrosia forums. Have no worries, I carry an intelligent conversation and am not the standard forum n00b.

Now, with that little introduction wrapper, I'd like to get on to my main questions. Yes, I have use the search function. I am not new to invision powerboard, we use it at a different forum I am more involved in.

Keep in mind I'm using EVNEW to edit the resources, and thus am obviously using windows (.rez files)

QUESTION 1) Okay, this is what I need the most help with the soonest-ish: How does one go about adding a sidebar theme (such as when you buy a new government ship the bar changes to fit the theme; polaris have a semi organic one as opposed to the other more industrial designs.) I know I need the png image and drop it into the PICT resource... But after that is where I get a tad fuzzy.

QUESTION 2) How do I create new scan masks? I'd like to make some new outfits that are illegal, and thus trigger fed attacks upon scan; but I don't want to be told I'm carrying illegal EMP Torpedos when in fact I'm carrying something else (e.g. automated ramship). I'm guessing it has something to do with the STR and STR# resources but I'm not positive.

QUESTION 3) I'd like to know how people discover what to enter into the "Availability" line of a new outfit... Does every planet have it's own unique tag? How may I limit the availability of an item to a single planet? I've heard about something called "special technology" fields in the SYST resource? Or something. At any rate theres some outfits and ships I've added I don't want buzzing arround in other systems.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

@match, on May 29 2008, 10:00 AM, said in I need some help please:

QUESTION 1) Okay, this is what I need the most help with the soonest-ish: How does one go about adding a sidebar theme (such as when you buy a new government ship the bar changes to fit the theme; polaris have a semi organic one as opposed to the other more industrial designs.) I know I need the png image and drop it into the PICT resource... But after that is where I get a tad fuzzy.

Okay, from the ground up: You have a PICT resource of the proper dimensions. Make a new ďntf resource and set it to use your PICT as its status background. Now make a new gövt resource and set it to use your ďntf as its interface. Finally, make a new shďp (or modify an old one) and set its inherent government to the gövt resource you just made.

For info on how to use those resources, see the Nova Bible, which should be in your Nova Documentation folder.

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QUESTION 2) How do I create new scan masks? I'd like to make some new outfits that are illegal, and thus trigger fed attacks upon scan; but I don't want to be told I'm carrying illegal EMP Torpedos when in fact I'm carrying something else (e.g. automated ramship). I'm guessing it has something to do with the STR and STR# resources but I'm not positive.

I'm reasonably certain it does this automatically. Whatever you are scanned as having is what you will be told you're carrying.

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QUESTION 3) I'd like to know how people discover what to enter into the "Availability" line of a new outfit... Does every planet have it's own unique tag? How may I limit the availability of an item to a single planet? I've heard about something called "special technology" fields in the SYST resource? Or something. At any rate theres some outfits and ships I've added I don't want buzzing arround in other systems.

Tech level is actually a property of the spöb resource. The way it works is, if the planet or station has a given tech level, then, assuming it has an outfitter and shipyard, any ship or outfit with that tech level or below will be available there, bar other restrictions. If the spöb has a special tech level, then in addition to any other tech levels it has, items with tech levels exactly matching the special tech level, but not below, will be available there, bar other restrictions. So give your outfits a tech level not used in the stock scenario and higher than the highest normal tech level used. Anything 201 and up should work, except 8000, which is Our Spiel, and 999 and 9999 which are used to represent "available nowhere" in the stock game. There's actually a lot of open numbers under 200, but there's no pattern. 22 through 31 are open. Then give your planet that same number in a special tech field.

@match, on May 29 2008, 10:00 AM, said in I need some help please:

I know I need the png image and drop it into the PICT resource.

Just to clarify the terms, PICT is a type of resource, not a resource itself. Every item you see listed under 'PICT' is an individual PICT resource, identified by its unique ID number. And PICT was the traditional Macintosh graphics format, sort of equivalent to BMP on Windows, until Mac OS X came out; Escape Velocity still uses it because it's sort of old-fashioned that way.

@match, on May 29 2008, 10:00 AM, said in I need some help please:

How do I create new scan masks? I'd like to make some new outfits that are illegal, and thus trigger fed attacks upon scan; but I don't want to be told I'm carrying illegal EMP Torpedos when in fact I'm carrying something else (e.g. automated ramship).

As Qaanol says, ScanMasks aren't specific to outfits. If you want your outfit to be considered illegal by the same people as the EMP torpedo, set its scan mask to the same value, and it will work perfectly. It's if you want a different set of people to outlaw your outfit that you'll need to choose a new ScanMask, and input it in the appropriate outfit and governments.

@match, on May 29 2008, 10:00 AM, said in I need some help please:

I'd like to know how people discover what to enter into the "Availability" line of a new outfit... Does every planet have it's own unique tag? How may I limit the availability of an item to a single planet? I've heard about something called "special technology" fields in the SYST resource? Or something. At any rate theres some outfits and ships I've added I don't want buzzing arround in other systems.

If EVNEW labels its fields in a sensible way, then 'Availability' is actually the field for an expression determining whether the outfit should be available depending on the state of the game (what missions the player has completed, and so on), as documented in the section on mission bits and scripting near the beginning of the Nova Bible. If you want to control where the item should be available (as opposed to when ), the field you want is TechLevel, used as per Qaanol's description.

@david-arthur, on May 29 2008, 11:45 AM, said in I need some help please:

If EVNEW labels its fields in a sensible way, then 'Availability' is actually the field for an expression determining whether the outfit should be available depending on the state of the game (what missions the player has completed, and so on), as documented in the section on mission bits and scripting near the beginning of the Nova Bible. If you want to control where the item should be available (as opposed to when ), the field you want is TechLevel, used as per Qaanol's description.

Yes, Availability is the Test Expression. Most EVNEW fields are the same as in the Nova Bible, but with spaces, except for things that are less than or equivalent to "Kills" being changed to "Combat Rating."

sorry, This is a little off topic, but I want to take a minute to say Welcome to the boards, Match!

So sorry I didn't reply sooner. Its finals week at college and my time has been drained away pretty consistently. Alright, so lets get an update on this situation.

Question 1) Bravo folks, it works flawlessly.

Question 2) I haven't tried it YET, but I think it will work with that bit of enlightenment.

Question 3) okaaay, still struggling with this one a little, but I'll figure it out eventually I'm sure.

Okay now unfortunatly this has breeded some new questions such as:

Question 4) I'd like to make some new combat ratings, but I am unsure of how strings are created/edited. I'd like to make some past "frightening".... But I am unsure how. I am also equally curious if the number the base rating represents can be included in parenthesis eg : "No Ability (0), Competent (800), or Frightening (25600)" without nova not recognizing the 'new' ratings and crashing. Additionally, is it possible to have Nova display both that and your current kill value for comparison?

Question 5) Can a secondary beam weapon be created that either/or/and ( a ) drains an enemy ship's fuel energy (theoretically, more likely would be a conditional accelerated fuel regeneration when activated?) ( b ) pulls an enemy toward the source of the beam (and of course the real question is how)??

Question 6) How does one go about replacing a ship in EV Nova with an old ship that you want no change in function in, simply a new sprite without messing up the angle of the ship. I've had all my numbers right and for some reason the engine glow was not present (although the previous ship's remained) and the replacement sprite was at a 45 degree angle to the left or right of the original ship and it turned not. The sprite would randomly reverse direction while the phantom engines maneuvered correctly. I'm guessing the answer is more complicated than just "give the new sprites the old numbers and the SHANs the new numbers".

Again, help would be...well...helpful. Thank you for the welcome do I, Yoda.

This post has been edited by Match : 31 May 2008 - 07:35 PM

4 - from http://nevermore.uri...rceidguide.html - 138 Combat Ratings
MissionComputer should allow you to edit these.

5. To create a secondary weapon of any type (including beams), check the "Secondary Weapon) flag. Reducing enemy fuel is impossible. A negative value in the "Impact" field will make the beam act as a tractor beam. A positive value will make it a repulsor beam.

6. I'm not familiar with this. I'm not a graphics guy.

I figured reducing enemy fuel WOULD be impossible, however is there some clever numbering that will allow me to regain some energy if it hits a ship when I use it? Not actually reduce their fuel level, but give me some on impact. Only if it hits.

5. No, you can't tell if it hits. You might be able to use a negative energy drain for when the weapon is fired - I don't remember how nova handles that, and I suspect that you can't.
4. You can change the labels, but not the levels. And you can't display the internal number.*
*Unless you did something with a very large and wasteful set of missions, which would only allow detection of certain numbers.
Edit: replaced accidental 6 with 5

This post has been edited by Nonconventionally Creative : 01 June 2008 - 08:02 PM

What you need to do is also import the engine glow. So, just looking at the Abomination, the Abomination's rlëD is 1048. However, separate from this is the engine glow, which is 1448. So to quickly change it, you'd want to get rid of the shän of the Abomination, 152, delete both the Abomination and it's engine glow, and input the engine glow and animation from your old model. They don't need to be in the same spot as the old animations, but it's convenient. When you input the model, tell it to make a shän with ID 152, tying that to the Abomination. Open the shän, and it will have the animation already put in. Fill in the information of the engine glow, and you're done.

5: Tractor beams don't actually attract to the target. To attract the target requires a projectile with negative impact. It is possible to make a projectile-based pseudobeam. For examples, download Qaanol's Plug-ins from the add-ons page and look at Quantum Beams and Total Quantum.

6: Sounds like the number or arrangement of frames in your sprite doesn't match the shän.

Alright, update time, so far everything works as you say, but I am having a little trouble designing a new "missile" weapon.

Question 7) What value can I put in the "ammo type" field (since indeed it does use ammo) so it won't bind to another type of projectile in game?

Question Can I make a bay that carries two kinds of fighters and have them be selected as two seperate weapons without the bay actually being two versions?

Question 9) How might I go about adding a wormhole to a system, control where it is, and where it takes you?

Again, answers help allot. Thanks ahead.

7. The nova bible says just to use the corresponding value.
8. Make an invisible outfit. Maximums will cause difficulties.
9. Position is controlled in the spob resource (make a copy of a wormhole that already exists for simplicity). Then, in the syst, add that spob, generally not in the first four. Watch out for multiple copies of the system (check the visibility field). There's something like "links" in the spob that controls hypergates/wormhole's destination. In nova, all wormholes (except the one-way wormhole from Our Spiel) go to any random wormhole that doesn't specify a destination. (This is in the Nova Bible)

7. Take the ID of the wëap resource, and subtract 128. This gives you the number you should put in so it will bind to the weapon in question.
8. I'm not sure if I understand, but I'll answer to the best of my ability. Make a wëap for each of the fighters. Then make two oütf resources, one for each weapon. Set one of them to tech level 999. On the other, in the When Purchased (NCB Set) area, put gXXX, with XXX being the ID of the other weapon oütf. In the When Sold (NCB Set) area, put dXXX, again having XXX be the ID of the other oütf. This will have the result that when you purchase the first oütf, it will grant you the first weapon, and will also give you one of the other oütf, which will give you the weapon. Also, in the one you don't buy, don't put anything in the name fields except the name of the resource.
9. A wormhole is basically a type of planet. So go into the s˙st you want the wormhole in, and make the planet. Move it to wherever you want in the system. Now go to the place where you edit the spöb. Under the micelanious tab, there is a check box titled Wormhole. Check it. In one of the boxes below, put the ID of the spöb you want the wormhole to link to. If you want to pick randomly from a list, then enter all of the ones that it could pick from. If you want to be able to choose, check the Hypergate box instead of the wormhole box.
   Hope this helps!

Thanks 0101181920, the subtract 128 from the weapon value method worked perfectly. I'm still trying with the dual fighter bay, but I'm fairly certain I'll find one way or another to make it work. I don't know, no big deal if it doesn't I could just get over my "million outfit-phobia" and just make another bay... shrugs

The next two questions I have a feeling are more complicated than I'll like in terms of actually making the code work, but here they come:

Question 10) Can I designate one spöb to be an exception to an outfit's availability and mission prerequisites? (So for example making every item in the game available at 7even, regardless of which story you chose.)

Question 11) Any player familiar with EV Nova knows once you capture a unique ship like a developer (shadeofblue, catz, etc...) they are slagged for a common form. For instance shadeofblue becomes a boring grey zephyr instead of his hyperactive, blue self. Is there any way to make Nova use the ship as it is instead of forcing it back to a common ship model? If I capture Arando, I want to be told I have Arando in my fleet. If I get a dev, I want to see the fruits of my labor. Is it completely hardcoded that Nova converts rare ships into standard ones upon capture?

10. you'd have to modify every outfit, probably add "|bxxx" where xxx is a bit that is somehow set when entering 7even.
11. you'd have to make a new copy of the ship for each pers.

@match, on Jun 3 2008, 08:09 PM, said in I need some help please:

Can I make a bay that carries two kinds of fighters and have them be selected as two seperate weapons without the bay actually being two versions?

What you're describing is , quite simply, two bays - trying to make them act like one will just confuse things to no great purpose, I'm afraid.

Match said:

Can I designate one spöb to be an exception to an outfit's availability and mission prerequisites?

I can't think of any way to do so, short of something strange like setting all the necessary mission bits when the player lands, and somehow clearing them again on take-off (and how you would know which ones to clear and which to keep I can't say).

Question 11: Yes, it's totally hard-coded. However, it can be worked around. All you have to do is open up the përs resource for each person in question. Take a look at what outfits and shield strength they have, then make a copy of their ship (so in the case of TomWoozle, the Manticore), give that ship all the outfits and shield/armor upgrades that the përs has, then go back into the përs, set their shield strength to 100%, delete the custom outfits, and make their ship type the copy you just made. It sounds complicated, but what you're doing is just making a ship that's exactly like the përs, so that the përs doesn't actually change anything. That way, when you capture them, they will stay the same.

Question 10: I'm pretty sure I've got a solution that requires minimal effort. Give the spöb that's supposed to ignore the require bits/tech levels/mission bits a unique tech level (like 500). Then, make a copy of the outfit you want to appear there. Keep most everything the same, like cost, weight, max number, etc, but change the availability, tech level, and most importantly, make the outfit not do anything (set all the ModTypes to "None"). You'll also want the picture and description to be the same as the original weapon you copied. Then, give the new outfit gXXX where XXX is the original outfit, and give it dXXX on sell.

Now, of course, you're going to have to make the relationship work both ways (so that you can't max out the outfit normally and then max it out again using the special availability place). So open up the original outfit, and make it grant XXY (the new outfit) on buy and delete XXY on sell.

Now, we're left with one problem: buying either outfit is going to take up twice the space (and/or gun/turret slots) that they would normally. To get around that, you're going to have to make a second, one that gives back a number of tons equal to the outfit's weight, and gives back one turret or gun slot if applicable. This will be XXZ. Set both the original and new outfit to grant this outfit on buy and delete it on sell. So if it's a Medium Blaster you're talking about, you'd give outfit XXZ -8 tons and grant one extra gun slot. Hope that makes sense.

There's an easier way to go about this, but it involves the sometimes-finicky business of invisible missions (since they either take up a mission slot on the character or interfere (and are interfered with) by other missions available from the same planet's spaceport). If you wanted to do that, you'd just make a mission available from the spaceport of whatever planet you wanted the outfit to be available at and give it the appropriate tech level. Then, add to the end of the outfit in question's availability: " | bXXXX". Have XXXX set when you land there via invisible mission, and make a crön that runs if bXXX is set that will clear it. Also, if you don't want other outfit of the same tech level to be available from that spöb when/if they become available normally, you'll have to go into each of them and add to their availability " & !bXXXX" so that they don't show up at that spöb.

This has a slight possibility for interference with and from other missions, but if you're not expecting any missions to pop up where you have the outfit, it shouldn't be a problem. This way is much easier and less resource-intensive, but if you want a sure-fire way of going about it, use the first suggestion.

I don't think he wants something that complicated. Although you could just go into the nova data file that has all the outfits, and go through, recording all of the bits so you could set them later. It'd be annoying, though.

I think my solution was easier.