@delphi, on 12 July 2011 - 10:13 AM, said in EVN - Delphi:

all the pirate ships except the Manticore and Carrier were unique mods of civilian and military vessels.

The Manticore is a mod of the Leviathan.

The screenshots are amazing. Can't wait to play the TC.

@king_of_manticores, on 16 July 2011 - 02:09 AM, said in EVN - Delphi:

(i.e. NDC fighters take off via a runway, while Enclave fighters are released vertically and freefall until they are outside the launching bay before they activate their engines)?

Freefalling in outer space?

This post has been edited by Evil : 16 July 2011 - 05:49 AM

@evil, on 16 July 2011 - 05:44 AM, said in EVN - Delphi:

Freefalling in outer space?

Possible if you can control gravity.

@evil, on 16 July 2011 - 05:44 AM, said in EVN - Delphi:

The Manticore is a mod of the Leviathan.

It's made from Leviathan parts, but is not a mod of the original.

Awesome work, Delphi. As for cats and dogs living in harmony, I have a cat and a dog who've been best friends since the day they met. I swear they knew each other in a past life.

@evil, on 16 July 2011 - 05:44 AM, said in EVN - Delphi:

Freefalling in outer space?

@jacabyte, on 16 July 2011 - 11:51 AM, said in EVN - Delphi:

Possible if you can control gravity.

I'm not a physics expert, but perhaps the explanation could be that a fighter drops from the bay, and the inertia keeps it "falling" even as it exits the graviton field.

@king_of_manticores, on 16 July 2011 - 01:13 PM, said in EVN - Delphi:

I'm not a physics expert, but perhaps the explanation could be that a fighter drops from the bay, and the inertia keeps it "falling" even as it exits the graviton field.

That would work just fine. Inertia is not dependent on gravity, and simple physics says that once it's in motion, it'll stay that way until something exerts a force on it (like thruster ignition).

Both NDC and Enclave ships use similar docking/launching systems. Launching runways don't make a lot of sense in space, because space vehicles don't need room to accelerate and launch in order to attain lift. Also, the movement of the main ship would make a runway a dangerous thing; if the fighter is flying straight forward out of the body of the carrier and the mothership banks to one side, the fighter could dash against the interior of the hull. On the ocean, the natural friction caused by the water can bring the parent ship to a nearly complete stop, but in space, the carrier would continue to drift, presenting a dangerous moving target for approaching craft.

The system on most NDC and Enclave ships incorporates multiple bays lining the bottom of a vessel, each housing either one or two ships. Pilots are lowered into their tethered vessels, which are protected from external fire by the bay doors beneath their vehicle. Once the pilot is in his ship, the engines are warmed up, the weapons are armed, and the ship is ejected through the bay doors using a massive electromagnetic rail system that forces them straight down and out. The speed at which the system launches them ensures that they are well clear of the parent vessel by the time they engage their thrusters and enter combat. When returning to base, the ship's appropriate bay door is opened and an autopilot leads them to their dock from behind the mothership, before the same electromagnetic system pulls them back inside.

Smaller fighters, like the Daybreaker, can also be rack-mounted, in a 45° angle forward and down out of the parent ship. Ships are launched from the front of the rack to back, being released and magnetically thrown straight out of their mooring, engaging their engines at the same time. These launcher systems are better at quickly deploying fighters and take up far less space than individual support bays, but cost quite a bit more to install, and cannot support large gunships like the Scimitar.

@delphi, on 16 July 2011 - 08:47 PM, said in EVN - Delphi:

Also, the movement of the main ship would make a runway a dangerous thing; if the fighter is flying straight forward out of the body of the carrier and the mothership banks to one side, the fighter could dash against the interior of the hull.

I can vouch. I've had that happen in X3: Terran Conflict. My preferred flagship, the Panther pocket carrier, launches its fighters vertically from platforms forward of the command tower, which works fine most of the time. Every once in a while though (usually if I'm maneuvering when my fighters launch), I'll smack a fighter that doesn't get clear fast enough.

Quote

<explanation of typical launch systems>

That sounds like you're crossing an aircraft carrier catapult with a railgun. Not a bad method of getting fighters safely clear of the mothership. Plus, it means that they don't burn as much fuel during launch.

Quote

Smaller fighters, like the Daybreaker, can also be rack-mounted, in a 45° angle forward and down out of the parent ship. Ships are launched from the front of the rack to back, being released and magnetically thrown straight out of their mooring, engaging their engines at the same time. These launcher systems are better at quickly deploying fighters and take up far less space than individual support bays, but cost quite a bit more to install, and cannot support large gunships like the Scimitar.

You didn't say specifically, so I'm taking a wild guess: these systems are used for carrying fighters externally?

If so, the Nova engine has a useful trick that lets you make them visible in the model, then disappear after launch. Add an extra rotation of frames showing the external fighters, set the SHAN resource so that the extra frames are used when the vessel is carrying its KeyCarried ship, and make the fighter the KeyCarried ship in the mothership's SHIP resource. It's been done in SFA with the Ptolemy -class freighter and its cargo pods (not that anyone ever flies the Ptolemy -class), and I'm doing it in EVN:UGF with the Corunian Falchion -class battleship and Klatuan battlewagon.

It's these little nifty tricks ATMOS gave us that make it fun to mod for the Nova engine.

Sounds somewhat similar to the Battlestar Galactica launch system. I like it.

I decided to start going around the various Nova TC's and offering a little help. Getting a bit bored in RL while I wait for classes to start again. Anyway, I don't really have any technical skills, but I'm a fair writer. For some reason or another, I'd particularly like to write the descriptions of planets. Not really sure why, but it's something that appeals to me.

Yes, I'm copying and pasting this post in several threads. Trying to be visible.

Love the latest screenshot. I want!

I just updated my laptop to OS X 10.7, so several of the PPC-based applications I use (Sound Studio, m2s, Photoshop CS) don't run any more. Fortunately, I'm also in the process of making the computer dual-boot between Lion and a small Snow Leopard partition, so that I can combine the powerful features of one system with the compatibility of the other. Someone even pointed out that a copy of Parallels is capable of running either Windows or Mac in an emulation mode, so I might try that so I can run both systems at the same time.

Anyway, there'll be a short downtime while I get things back together.

@delphi, on 25 July 2011 - 03:55 PM, said in EVN - Delphi:

I just updated my laptop to OS X 10.7, so several of the PPC-based applications I use (Sound Studio, m2s, Photoshop CS) don't run any more. Fortunately, I'm also in the process of making the computer dual-boot between Lion and a small Snow Leopard partition, so that I can combine the powerful features of one system with the compatibility of the other. Someone even pointed out that a copy of Parallels is capable of running either Windows or Mac in an emulation mode, so I might try that so I can run both systems at the same time.

Anyway, there'll be a short downtime while I get things back together.

Yeah, I remember I had Classic on my g5 imac, and then to my disappointment it stopped working in an update. Fortunately I still have my 700mhz iMac g4 which runs classic great.

@insomniac, on 27 July 2011 - 03:02 AM, said in EVN - Delphi:

Yeah, I remember I had Classic on my g5 imac, and then to my disappointment it stopped working in an update. Fortunately I still have my 700mhz iMac g4 which runs classic great.

Have you tried SheepShaver? All you have to do is find a Mac OS 9 ROM image (easily googled) and you can make your Intel or PPC Mac run the classic systems. The handy thing is that it runs them at full speed, instead of sort of emulating them as they did in the past under Classic. I've got Star Wars Podracer, Marathon Infinity, Anvil, and Forge running beautifully under OS 9.

P.S.: I'm now able to boot from any one of three systems on my MacBook Pro: OS X Snow Leopard, OS X Lion, and Windows 7.

This post has been edited by Delphi : 02 August 2011 - 08:06 PM

The biggest thing that has been foiling my attempts to balance the existing Delphi ships is my shoddy test weapon values. I sat down and tried to do a bit of a balancing act on weapon abilities, and would like to present them to the forum for review. You guys will know weapon characteristics from Nova better than I, so I'd love some input. I know I've not included any speed or accuracy values, but for most of the scenarios in Delphi, those values will only affect player and AI strategy, not so much the straight damage-absorbing values of the hull and shield. No, these values will be used to directly calculate how long the average ship can survive under continuous fire from a given weapon (or several), so that both factions' armadas can be balanced accordingly.

Electromag I Shield: 5 Armour: 5 Delay: 15f DPS: 10 / 10
Electromag II Shield: 8 Armour: 10 Delay: 20f DPS: 12 / 15
Electromag III Shield: 12 Armour: 15 Delay: 25f DPS: 14 / 18

Missile I Shield: 0 Armour: 20 Delay: 60f DPS: 0 / 10
Missile II (Fast) Shield: 0 Armour: 22 Delay: 40f DPS: 0 / 16.5
Missile III (Capital) Shield: 0 Armour: 50 Delay: 60f DPS: 0 / 25
Missile IV (Shield) Shield: 100 Armour: 15 Delay: 150f DPS: 20 / 3

Nichron I Shield: 30 Armour: 40 Delay: 60f DPS: 15 / 20
Nichron II Shield: 50 Armour: 80 Delay: 85f DPS: 18 / 28
Nichron III Shield: 75 Armour: 120 Delay: 110f DPS: 20 / 32

The first two Electromags are the generic outfitter weapons, while the third is a gunship-grade military variant. Each increased version fires more slowly, but packs a heavier punch, typical of the conventional blasters in Nova. However, all the Delphi weapons are designed more for individual, well-placed shots. Most fighters can only survive a few sucessive rounds, so expertise of the pilot is essential. As you already know, though, shields recharge frighteningly fast on all of the Delphi ships, so you really have to make sure you keep your guns trained on the enemy. Simply auto piloting and holding the spacebar won't win most fights. The higher-end artillery weapons are also quite a large amount more powerful, but remember that they decay over distance (except for a few terrifying and expensive newer models). Capital ships love to get nice and close on an enemy's aft, because they are shielded from artillery while delivering painful volleys of their own. This allows massive capital ships to remain in place and simply rain loads of fire onto enemies from range, while faster cruisers and destroyers can close distance and deliver nearly equal power at closer range. Again, auto pilot plus spacebar doesn't win every battle, even when you have loads of artillery at your command. You need to pick your optimum safe - but lethal - distance during a fight, and try to maintain that while protecting your own blind spots. Screening fighters and turrets are a must in most cases.

I think the desired strategic result is sound, but once again, I defer to your experiences with plugs for guidance.

Oh, and the missiles are all specialized for certain things. The first is your typical fighter/gunship missile, firing at a slow rate but passing through enemy shields and giving you the occasional hard punch with a good strong impact. It's powerful against larger ships than yourself and can help ward off a pesky light cruiser, but missiles are expensive and the launchers/racks are heavy. In larger ships, these tubes simply appear in greater number. The second is seen mostly on missile-based fast cruisers, which swoop in, deliver a nasty volley, and then dart back out again. The firing rate is higher, and they do slightly more damage. They also fire in volleys, enabling the hit-and-run tactics mentioned. The third is a capital version of the first one, with big heavy missiles. The launcher is obviously quite a large amount heavier though, as are the missiles. The fourth and last is a specialized missile carried by almost any ship capable of hauling it, designed to fire very slowly but to cripple shields upon impact. A small ship can deliver actual damage to a capital hull by bombing it with one of these and then opening up on the guns.

Not pictured is the continuous Electromag, which pulses at a high rate of speed but a low DPS. It's carried most effectively by the NDC Scimitar fighter, which likes to get in really close and pummel a ship to death in a frighteningly personal manner. These are ships you do not at all want getting close to you. If you can destroy them from a distance, then all the better your chances for survival.

@delphi, on 10 August 2011 - 06:08 PM, said in EVN - Delphi:

...

My only real comment is on missiles; I'd set it up so that if a ship can equip the launchers (which could be simple racks and thus light) and missiles (which could be 1-X tons each depending on the system) they can unload the missiles at an extraordinary rate. Of course, you'd have heavier systems that take longer to fire, but use missile bays or complex racks to load large numbers of missiles. Mounting missiles shouldn't be a problem for undersized ships, but mounting enough of them to do damage should be. Larger ships should have systems to prevent missile damage and should mount larger, regenerative weapons (your fancy lasers) that require massive generators and reactors to operate.

So say my shuttle craft has 10 tons of space available, and I can fit a pair of 3 ton missile spars, which each hold 2-1 ton missiles; for a total compliment of 4 missiles. I should be able to unload those within a second or two, doing pretty impressive damage but forcing me to retreat if I don't win in that first second. The alternative is that I can load a pair of light blasters, each shot doing 1/20th the damage, but can fire forever; or a single medium blaster doing 1/10th the damage, but firing forever at a slow rate (set it up so the fire rate will do the intended damage with 2 weapons, not just 1); making it so I can stay in the fight as long as I am willing to play chicken with death.

That's my $.02

Has it really been more than a month since my last reply? Geez I've been busy. The project is still alive and well. I've just not done a whole lot of work on it. I keep putting off designing the ships' stats, so I think perhaps instead I'll spend some time making landing graphics and creating universal trade and commerce. Beyond that I need to create a graphic for the NDC Dedicated Impeller Network (DIN) - the "hypergate" system in Delphi. I figured out a good way to create a unique balance in hyperspace capabilities between the NDC and the Enclave. The NDC have access to their own internal hypergate system through the use of fixed-point impeller focal points allowing massive fleets to quickly jump between two locations instantaneously, while the Enclave, which lacks this system in their space, makes up for it with much longer range on their multi-jump engines.

Question: what kind of hyperspace capabilities do other factions have? I realize the NDC and Enclave are the major powers in Delphi TC, but there's still minor groups to think of.

Also, do you have any advice on how to make a hypergate animation using only Sketchup? I'd like to make my own for Legacy rather than reuse EVN's. I mean, EVN's hypergate sprites are awesome, but I'm just looking for that special feeling I get when I manage to make something myself.

Lastly, you once mentioned that 'Delphi TC' might not end up being the final title but rather a working title. Have you given any more thought to that topic? I'm curious what other names you might have come up with.

@darthkev, on 20 September 2011 - 10:23 PM, said in EVN - Delphi:

Also, do you have any advice on how to make a hypergate animation using only Sketchup? I'd like to make my own for Legacy rather than reuse EVN's.

I'd recommend using the same camera you're using for ships; then making the hypergate and rendering only the frame you want the hypergate to be in (so it's at a good angle or whatever). For your moving parts, move the parts on the gate (using components is a great idea here), then render again. For the freeze frame; render it open with some kind of effect going on inside - you might need to make the effect in Photoshop or place it in post to get something that looks right though.

I sat down in front of Garageband again and got to work trying to crank out a sound. It's more difficult to create good-sounding effects than you might think. I'm trying to avoid any and all samples for my work, thus making it entirely unique. I made this little sample for a heavy weapon, while the original intention was to create a Nichron cannon sound effect. I'll import it into the game and see how it "feels" when used on the weapon, and if it doesn't work, I'll use it for something else, or blend it into a different sound. It's comprised of 19 audio tracks, all made by Garageband instrument generators.

Nichron.mp3 (27.67K)
Number of downloads: 12

I'm sorry if the quality is low; I needed to make sure it came under the 100KB board limit.

@darthkev, on 20 September 2011 - 10:23 PM, said in EVN - Delphi:

Question: what kind of hyperspace capabilities do other factions have? I realize the NDC and Enclave are the major powers in Delphi TC, but there's still minor groups to think of.

The Pariah use standard impellers, with about a two to three multi-jump range. Their ships don't use energy when firing weapons, which can make them lethal in combat, but they also recharge energy at a fairly slow rate, giving them less range without the use of extended fuel tanks. NDC and Enclave ships have highly efficient reactors, causing them to regenerate energy at a very high rate. Balancing this out, though, is the fact that their guns use a lot of energy to sustain fire. If just regular hyperspace is the meter by which we measure, the NDC are technically at the largest disadvantage, with a relatively short jump range and a high rate of energy consumption. That's where the Impeller Network comes into play: a tightly-knit series of permanent impeller channels through space held together with graviton launchers that double as "slingshots" as well as navigation beacons between star clusters. So in short, where an Enclave ship can jump across four systems in two days, an NDC ship can make a two system jump to the nearest beacon (1 day), launch themselves to the neighbouring beacon (0 days), and then make the last two system jump to their destination (1 day). The NDC relies on a well-maintained transit infrastructure, typical of their sprawling civilization, while the Enclave ships are largely independent and far-travelling under their own power, leaning on and toward the EC's use of guerrilla tactics.

Civilian and independent vessels are usually more typical of the traditional Nova vehicles, with single-jump engines, regular fuel tanks, and slow energy recovery (unless upgraded).

Quote

Also, do you have any advice on how to make a hypergate animation using only Sketchup? I'd like to make my own for Legacy rather than reuse EVN's. I mean, EVN's hypergate sprites are awesome, but I'm just looking for that special feeling I get when I manage to make something myself.

Meaker's suggestion is perfectly sound. I've found that unless you're using a custom light setup for your renders, you can technically just render the hypergate in any direction it looks good from, and let the universal light make everything look good. If you are using placed lights, then just rotate the model until the same effect is achieved. Remember that hypergates can have a default exit angle set, so for an immersive design, try to work that into the model and the angle you render it from. Just also remember that ships always spawn on the center of the hypergate sprite, so if you want them to appear at a given point, make sure that point is the middle of the final image.

Quote

Lastly, you once mentioned that 'Delphi TC' might not end up being the final title but rather a working title. Have you given any more thought to that topic? I'm curious what other names you might have come up with.

I've not given too much thought to it yet, but it's definitely something I'll have to address eventually, I suppose. The original fiction I developed was centered on the journey of the NDCV Delphi, an event which doesn't occur until far later into the new story the TC is built around. When I started writing things back in 2003, it was actually the event that kicked off a whole new chain of events. This war between the NDC and the EC is entirely new material developed for the plug.