QUOTE (Spartan Jai @ Aug 4 2010, 07:44 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So if I'm correct all SpinApp does is create the grids needed for a spin resource?

I haven't used the programme myself, but that's the task for which such applications are generally created.

QUOTE (Spartan Jai @ Aug 4 2010, 07:44 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And I wouldn't actually need a 3d image in order to create new ship?

Correct. It's customary to create such graphics in 3D, both because of the realistic appearance it creates and because animation facilities make it easy to render the necessary number of rotating frames. But the game operates entirely in 2D, and you're free to draw your frames by hand if that gives the result you want.

QUOTE (Spartan Jai @ Aug 4 2010, 03:44 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

...And I wouldn't actually need a 3d image in order to create new ship?

"3D image" is a bit of a misnomer. No image is really 3D unless it's holographic. However, in this case, all the ships are in fact 2D images (usually PICTs) arranged into grids by Spinapp or some other method (I use GIMP and the grid tools and do it by hand - a pain in the rear really), which were generated off of 3D models. You could hand draw the 36 or so frames, scan them into your computer, arrange them, and use those if you wanted though. I have seen some ships that were drawn in 2D (lin Paint or Photoshop), but they looked terrible.

With that said, it could be really cool if someone did an entirely 2D-based TC and did it well. All target graphics or something - with the premise that you are just seeing the images on a screen anyway. Hmm...

I can't draw to save my life, so I'll stick with SpinnApp. I've got a question for David Arthur. I know it is probably there so you don't take the place of a different resource, but in the instance of making a total conversion with MissionComputer, why can't the numbers go below 128? Does the Nova Engine not accept those numbers?

QUOTE (Spartan Jai @ Aug 4 2010, 11:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

why can't the numbers go below 128? Does the Nova Engine not accept those numbers?

Apple reserved those IDs in all resource types for system use. See here.

Moreover, see here for all the specifics on resources as relevant to plug-in development (and beyond).

QUOTE (Meaker VI @ Aug 4 2010, 03:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

With that said, it could be really cool if someone did an entirely 2D-based TC and did it well. All target graphics or something - with the premise that you are just seeing the images on a screen anyway. Hmm...

I'm working on all 2d graphics right now that are completely hand-drawn. I think a lot of them look pretty good and if anyone cares I could attach some of the sprites.

QUOTE (Spartan Jai @ Aug 4 2010, 11:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

. . . why can't the numbers go below 128? Does the Nova Engine not accept those numbers?

Yes, the engine ignores resources with ID numbers below 128, whether they're from a plug-in of any size, or even from the game's own data files. It doesn't really have a choice in the matter: as Qaanol says, 128 is the lowest ID that Apple releases for general use.

Everything below that is reserved for system purposes. For Escape Velocity -related functions this amounts only to the 'vers' resources that tell the system your file's version number, but the authors of things like fonts, system extensions, and control panels for the classic Mac OS also had to work in low (and indeed negative) resource IDs.

You've got to remember that the resource format is not one that Escape Velocity invented. Rather, it used the standard one which was used for almost everything development-related in the classic Mac OS, which had the advantage of bringing all sorts of organistional features for free (including the ease of replacing one resource with another by overlapping their IDs), and meant that plug-in developers could use tools such as ResEdit that they already had and understood. For many years a Macintosh programme consisted entirely of resources, and it was only with Mac OS X that it became possible to do without them.

Now, of course, it leads to a bit of a learning curve, but at the time Escape Velocity was introduced, you could safely assume that anyone remotely qualified to develop for the Macintosh had a copy of ResEdit and understood resources.

As a general rule, MissionComputer doesn't enforce my personal tastes: if it blocks you from doing something, or advises against it, it's probably either because the format doesn't allow it, or because the engine can't do it.

Thanks everyone. Really. I needed it. And by the way, if you have any ship ideas, let me know!

I take it you managed to get the përs ship to show up, then?

Yep! Apparently I used a bad resource. David Arthur accidentally made it so there was an extra resource that couldn't be used (he fixed it), and so I changed and made a new pilot! Works like a charm! I'll be uploading it soon. It'll be with my Essentials 3.1 plug. By the way, and I hate to keep bugging you guys, but can you check out my misn resource topic? I still need some help with that...