Yah. I've got a suggestion.

PLEASE DON'T! (hysterical cry in the distance).

I'm going to be working on the same idea (or should I say dude5432's idea). I REALLY am into this, and have a burning desire to build the plug (as I'm sure you do).

Although, it probably would be better if two people did it (two heads are better than one). I certainly don't want to be in competition with you(or anyone else) on this.

Tell me what you think.

Sincerely,
Zeta

(This message has been edited by Zeta (edited 02-04-2000).)

Zeta - I don't know if you were talking to me but I would be glad to help. I never really was going to do it, I just thought it could be fun. Also, I never did register my copy of Ares, mostly because I'm only 14 so I don't have much money or a credit card. However, if you wanted my help I would, but otherwise I'm not competing with you at all. And please ask for ASW's permission before trying to distribute it. And you can get Make Spin at EV.com and Its a really simple program to use.

Raddy

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Why would Ambrosia care? YOU ARE NOT PORTING ARES TO EV/O. What you are doing is taking ships from another game and putting them into a plug thats LIKE Ares. It would have none of the features of any of the other cool Ares stuff.

In fact, I wish Ambrosia would do it, or someone professional...
it would get alot of Ares-hating EVOers (like me) to perhaps give Ares a second chance after playing the plug...

And perhaps vice-versa, Ares players might play EV/O with the plug....

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Unix for business
Linux for development
Mac OS for productivity
Windows for solitaire

Actually, Raddy, I was adressing Admiral Sargatanus. But, I would definetly appreciate your help. The past few days, I've been recruting my friends to help. I certainly wouldn't mind another hand (seeing as though I really need them). So yes. Definetly, I would like your help.

Write me at ChipEnterprise@yahoo.com and I'll discuss the needs with you.

Again, to Admiral Sargatanus, I don't want to be an oppisition with you. I hope you don't see me as a threat.

To: Mikee J

Are you saying that you don't like Ares, and that you would much rather play it on EVO? Just curious.

Sincerely,
Zeta

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Sleep?! Oh yah... I did that last week!

I hate Ares, it is NOTHING like EV/O which I love so much.

I hate games in which an author pulls you in there plot line, EV/O has no plot line, its a plot 'tree'

You determine all sorts of aspects of the game, with the simplicity of an arcade game. Ares HAS A FREAKIN tutorial at the beginning. Ugh! Its control and game play suck, you have ...what is it 6? levels of 'maps', you know where you havta toggle your screen view to see ships or see them as triangles or whatever you... EV has on map level...

The ships are pretty cool, but thats about it....

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Unix for business
Linux for development
Mac OS for productivity
Windows for solitaire

So, no matter how hard I try to make an EVO plug of Ares, You wouldn't mind me copying everything about the game because of how the games were programmed.
Hmmm... I might agree to that.

Ok, then! I'll be underway.

P.S.
Is 26 posts a record?

Sincerely,
Zeta

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Sleep?! Oh yah... I did that last week!

About the technical issues between Ares and EVO:

1. Sure, EV/O THINKS it supports sprites other than 6x6 for ships, but if you try it it inserts black frames if it's less, drops frames if it's more. I've tried. Therefore, Ares for EVO is nearly impossible.

2. Makespin's spinning function creates terrible looking graphics. Spare me, please.

3. Ares has some things EVO doesn't such as weapons firing from sides of the ship (x-displacement). This can be simulated as 2 simultanious bolts in EVO but alternating fire, as in Ares, is impossible. Also Ares' guidance is different: it has acceleration. Just watch a Gaitori Gunship sometime. On that note, just try to make the Salrilian Carrier's T-Bolt Space Rod in EVO!

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Actually, I think you could.

Re: X-displacement: Create a sprite with two bolts in it, like you suggested. However, make them so that one lags behind the other, and make the SND resource have the sound of two bolts firing in immediate sequence.

Re: T-Bolt: Use a big ass sprite? The animation problem can be dealt with due to the fact that the T-Bolt is a turret. It'd look like it was animating as it tracked its target.

Re: Accelerating Weaponry: Just do without.

Re: Sprites: For the top-down sprites (most of the lower Ishiman navy, for example) Just use photoshop to splice in the remaining angles with some rotations and transparencies. For the perspective sprites, just duplicate them every other frame or so to make up the gap. Sure, it'd be jerky, but ares is like that anyway.

Really, all you need is a little brainpower. Engine-torquing comes rather easily.

The major problem is not related to physics, though. What are you going to do about missions? And what about the map? Those 20-odd systems are only the ones you happen to have missions to. There must be TONS elsewhere. And how do you intend to setup jump links? How'd you set up a gateship? What do the rest of the Bazidanese, Eleejetian and Obish militaries look like? What about freighters are civillian craft? Mull over THAT. Physics is really pretty trivial in comparison.

-reg

(This message has been edited by Regulus (edited 02-06-2000).)

First off, I don't think that an exact replica of the Ares game is favorable. Why go to all the hassle of making it in EVO when you can get the same ships, the same storyline, and not all of the same tricky items when they are already made in the original?

This is why the EVO version will have to be slightly different. The plotline will probably intermingle with the original, or it could go on where the Ares version never explored.

The civilian crafts would, unfortunately, have to be designed by myself (and my friends). I'm sure it isn't that hard to extrapolate what an alien cargo vessel would look like since almost all of the Ares ships follow the same style (in each individual race)

As for the turning sprites, I've been using a LOT of technique in order to get the right spins. So far, Photoshop has served me best in that. But, if I wanted to spin the civilian crafts (that we would do), I'd naturally do it the virtual way.

Sincerely,
Zeta

P.S.
Weepal 884: Did you say something about working on porting Ares?
What were you doing?

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Sleep?! Oh yah... I did that last week!

That's "weepUl" 884.

No, I hadn't tried porting Ares (beyond concept). I had the idea, and checked, but alas the number of frames were different. What I'd tried was creating ships with less than or greater than 36 frames per spin.

Your (someone's?) idea about using Photoshop might work, but it'd be a pain in the cough since each frame would have a different angle than the 10° per in EVO. Some would have to be duplicated and re-spun, and all would have to be modified besides the 90° step ones.

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Quote

Zeta wrote:
I'm going to be working on the same idea (or should I say dude5432's idea).

I had that idea a long time ago, long befor any talk of ASW re-releasing Ares, and im sure a lot of other poeple did to.

Quote

mikee J. wrote:
Ares HAS A FREAKIN tutorial at the beginning.Ugh!

ASW added that.

Quote

Its control and game play suck,

huh? just set up your controls like EV. its game play sucks??? why?!?!

Quote

you have ...what is it 6?

no, it's 22 or something levels

Quote

of 'maps',

i like them more than EV/O systems, its just you can't hyper into others :frown:

Quote

you know where you havta toggle your screen view to see ships or see them as triangles or whatever you...

I, personally, like that more than a fixed veiw, it alows you to see where everything is, and you CAN have it just fixed ya know! i like "zoom to closest hostile" it lets you see the closest enimy with out having to adjust your zoom.

Quote

Zeta wrote:
Is 26 posts a record?

No, the council station post went to 103 or something.

Quote

Chamrin wrote:
Am I a "veteran" yet?

andrew(?) got rid of the vet/scrub status, so now its just "member" for registerd poeple, and, of course, "unregisterd" for unregisterd poeple.

Well I would like to see this plugin, very much so, i woulda made it but I don't know how to get the graphics out of ares (if there is a way), and im "to lazy" to take screenshots of all the ship frames.

P.S. if you use the (IMG ) tag for UBB in your sig/post (aside from the bant/brawl board), does it just not show up, or does your acount get deleted or something?

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• Mordon
  Nothing is fool-proof to a
  talented fool....
  (url="http://"mailto:harding2@home.com")mailto:harding2@home.com(/url)harding2@home.com

Oh yes... Weep u l.

Your (someone's?) idea about using Photoshop might work, but it'd be a pain in the cough since each frame would have a different angle than the 10° per in EVO. Some would have to be duplicated and re-spun, and all would have to be modified besides the 90° step ones.

(someone's?)- Did you mean that you didn't think I had come up with it on my own? I have ( really ) done it several times. I wonder if you were implying that it was someone elses or your own. If it was... WOW We must be geniuses (humurously noted).

The only concern I have is not that of making the necessary 36 frames, but that of having the shadows. Although, I doubt Ares does have shadows for their ships. If they did have them, it would be pretty silly of the sunlight to always revolve around the ship so that the shadow stayed on the some spot.

Sincerely, (show me your work sometime... please?)
Zeta

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Sleep?! Oh yah... I did that last week!

I wasn't talking about taking the up-pointing sprite and rotating it about the full 360°; that'd be just plain lame.

For everything but the up/right/down/left sprites, you'd have to average intermediate sprites together using transparency. It'd be grueling as hell, especially if you dont' have a head for math, but the results might be worth it.

-reg

I was thinking a couple of things. First off, there's a constellation called "Aries" and I think that Aries is correct spelling. "Ares" may be a misspelling. Just a thought. I'm probably missing something really obvious anyway.
Another thing: Porting Ares to EVO and vice-versa is a GREAT idea, because they complement each other. Whereas, Ares has advanced combat AI and an overall good design for a shoot em up game, EVO has a strong "open-ended" engine that allows you to do anything you want, except that the AI sucks and the engine's not good for combat. You could play in the Ares universe, where you start out in a transport or something and you join the Cartharans or the Ishimans or even the Salrilians! And you could have a military-style space shooter of EVO where you can do 4 different plotlines, each focusing on a strand or the humans, and you'd achieve a number of tasks for them. Except that you wouldn't be able to explore, land, or upgrade your ship, much less betry your allies. That would be cool!

Quote

Luca Rescigno wrote:
I was thinking a couple of things. First off, there's a constellation called "Aries" and I think that Aries is correct spelling.

Ares was the greek god of war.

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Andrew Meilstrup / JAE / Coruscant Software, unInc.

(url="http://"http://www.blackrockmac.com/ajm/")My website(/url), (url="http://"http://www.blackrockmac.com/ajm/corusoft/")the Coruscant Software website(/url)

(url="http://"mailto:ajmeilstrup@mac.com")mailto:ajmeilstrup@mac.com(/url)ajmeilstrup@mac.com

Quote

Mordon wrote:
P.S. if you use the (IMG ) tag for UBB in your sig/post (aside from the bant/brawl board), does it just not show up, or does your acount get deleted or something?

It just doesn't show up.

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Andrew Meilstrup / JAE / Coruscant Software, unInc.

(url="http://"http://www.blackrockmac.com/ajm/")My website(/url), (url="http://"http://www.blackrockmac.com/ajm/corusoft/")the Coruscant Software website(/url)

(url="http://"mailto:ajmeilstrup@mac.com")mailto:ajmeilstrup@mac.com(/url)ajmeilstrup@mac.com

If ares is the Greek god of war, then Mars must be the Roman god of war?

I have my graphic, development, and writing teams ready. I, however, do need a universal plotter. It would be as sticky and slow as molasses if I did it.

I'm open to use people over the net, but I would really rather it be someone that I know. And of course, they need to have played Ares, and be very familiar with the enviroment. Someone who is more down to earth on the ares universe, I think, would be more likely to make good creative 'liberties' on new stellars.

And PLEASE, no first timers. ( sorry )

Sincerely,
Zeta

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Sleep?! Oh yah... I did that last week!

Quote

Zeta wrote:
**If ares is the Greek god of war, then Mars must be the Roman god of war?

I have my graphic, development, and writing teams ready. I, however, do need a universal plotter. It would be as sticky and slow as molasses if I did it.

**

okay i emailed you (zeta) before getting to this bottom message. but anyway, i don't know if your graphics team is recreating the ships in 3d or not, but i could. let me know if you need any help, because i can render the ships in 3d in the right angles (no need to use makespin or photoshop for choppy animations). send me an email if you're interested; i don't check this board too often.

-kain

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I just realized that my e-mail adress might be a troublesome task to find. In which case, here it is:

ChipEnterprise@yahoo.com

P.S.
Our group is rounding up the idea of redoing the main ships.
I'll be off for Valentines this week. So, so long amigos!
See ya next week!

Sincerely,
Zeta

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Sleep?! Oh yah... I did that last week!