for your gaming pleasure

It's recently come to my attention that a lot of regular members of the EVN Community don't check out other parts of the Escape Velocity section, instead just hanging around here on the Nova Board. As a result, you may not be aware of the TCs that are currently in production. For that reason, I am providing links to a few TC Status Threads.

• Delphi TC
• EVN:UGF TC
• Heart of Darkness TC Port
• HOTS TC
• First Contact TC

All of these are located in the Developer's Corner. That's also where most status threads show up, so if you want to know what's being made, how it's going, and the occasional spoiler, head over there!

This post has been edited by darthkev : 17 May 2010 - 04:55 PM

I want to know if Desprez's Paper TC ever got finished. Any idea on that front?

Balthazar! How's it going, dude?

We could ask you the same question, Shli. I didn't list your TC because the thread hasn't been updated for so long. As for the Paper TC, I've no idea what that is, never heard of it.

QUOTE (Shlimazel @ May 16 2010, 08:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Balthazar! How's it going, dude?

It's going good. You?

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 16 2010, 01:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

As for the Paper TC, I've no idea what that is, never heard of it.

Bah, that's not a good sign. Here is a thread on it. Here is the latest comment on it I can find - that was September last year.

Explanation for move: We have the division between gameplay and development forums for a reason, you know.

QUOTE

It's going good. You?

Pretty good, on the whole.

This post has been edited by Shlimazel : 23 May 2010 - 10:30 AM

Work on this is continuing, albeit slowly. Map done, storylines written, about half the human models done, and most of the rest sketched out.

sigh Just need to knuckle down and do some work now.

EVN Firefly has been about 95% complete for the last year or so.

Yep, EVN Firefly is waiting on a few side stories and graphics updates, and a handful of other 'verse niceties.

I appreciate you already adding my plugin to this thread, Darthkev. Guess I'm committed to making it now ;).

For the record, I'm not sure I'd consider what I have planned as of yet really a TC, as I doubt there will be much in the way of new graphics; I'd call it more of a large-scale plugin, but I'm not one to split hairs.

(And if you feel like editing, I've come up with a better name than Pre-Override. It'll be called First Contact.)

This post has been edited by Male_Valkyrie : 17 May 2010 - 04:19 PM

i stumbled upon: http://startrekguide.com/community/viewforum.php?f=32
might still be alive?

It seems that TC is still alive despite their status thread here apparently going dead. Last I knew they were working on graphics.

lol, don't get me wrong, graphics aren't easy, but c'mon! it's a star trek plug!

there's gotta be tonnes of free trek media and an army of people who would love to make trekky images/models/etc.
unless it's true. trekkies are lazier than EV'ers.

Actually, while there is quite a bit of Trek stuff out there, putting it into a format usable by the Nova engine is not easy. The time commitment is pretty big, and that's why a majority of TCs and plugs go vaporware. Plus, sometimes living up to an already well-known, well-established universe is actually more difficult than creating your own. I've seen a few great looking Trek plugs that have either fallen by the wayside or haven't been heard from in a while.

there are star trek ship models. sketchup, etc
nova uses 2d pictures
not difficult, as far as i can see

i see nova plugs as hobbies. not something to commit time to. it should be something enjoyable that you want to do.

as for the engine and keeping consistent with the ST universe...
nova wasn't designed for the ST universe. it would be impossible to keep it consistent.
the makers should be resigned to this fact, and do the best they can!

QUOTE (Tycho)

there are star trek ship models. sketchup, etc
nova uses 2d pictures
not difficult, as far as i can see

i see nova plugs as hobbies. not something to commit time to. it should be something enjoyable that you want to do.

as for the engine and keeping consistent with the ST universe...
nova wasn't designed for the ST universe. it would be impossible to keep it consistent.
the makers should be resigned to this fact, and do the best they can!

That's because you're thinking of plugs. TCs = Total Conversions = re-working every piece of information in the game, and essentially creating a new game based on the Nova game engine. The more someone wants to do it, the more they want to do it well, which means creating a new universe (the well-established universe krugeruwsp is talking about is all the Star Trek lore). This will also feature new stories, ships, planets, planet descriptions, timelines, etc.

As far as graphics go, while nova uses 2d images, most of these graphics need to be based off of 3d models to look good (banking). Creating these, rendering them, and putting them into nova all take large amounts of time as well.

To make a TC, time has to be committed. They are so much more than plug-ins.

This post has been edited by Razzle Storm : 24 May 2010 - 11:35 PM

ive got a couple of little progects going, ones a small expantion type thing that adds in a new govt etc and ive got a TC going thats got a little bit done to it, ive done 75% of the galactic map (that takes more time than it looks like) but as i said their only things i do in my spare time when i have some and none of it will be really going untill i probably leave school and im not the greatest dev person im just doing it to see how i end up

Even to take a 3D model and make a single ship is many hours of work, if it's going to be done well. Even starting with a pre-done model, you have to render it straight and turn that into a sprite sheet. Then you have to render banking frames, and turn those into additional sprite sheets. Then any running lights, if you want them, or weapons sprites, or engine glows. All of these things take time. Then, someone actually has to code the ship in, perhaps try to balance it a bit, or test it to make sure it works. Working with pre-done rleD sprites and an already-done interface, it took me the better part of a weekend to create a plug for the Defiant. If I was creating all that from scratch, it would add at least another several days.

That's just a ship. Start adding in missions, planets, and all the other works, and you're looking at years worth of work for a dedicated team of people, and a virtual impossibility to tackle alone.

How fast you make a ship really depends on your experience, though. I'm not as good as some of the people here, but I could make a new ship that looked pretty good in a day or two from scratch and put it into a plug to be used.

A TC can be tackled alone, as long as you have a solid foundation. The catch is, almost no one (including me) who starts a TC actually knows how to make a solid foundation (because it's usually the first thing someone tries), and so they usually don't succeed. I know I didn't figure out how to create a solid foundation for years. If you have that foundation of game balance, setting, and story theory, then the rest will come along naturally. The really tricky part is that only by experimentation do you figure out how to construct this base, and that experimentation is easiest done by making a TC. So it's really a vicious cycle.

So, my point is, if you know how to build a solid core foundation before you do anything else, then yes, you can make a TC by yourself.