This TC sounds really good. Well-planned out and the merging of existing races, ships, and characters with other existing analogs and imagined analogs seems really well-done. Despite this, however, I too feel that doing so is a bit cheap. I of course mean no offense and barely have room to talk since I'm doing a bit of the same. That said, this TC of yours looks good, StarSword. Yes, I know I said that at the beginning of this post, but it's worth saying again. Keep up the good work!

This is off topic, but does anyone know how to make Stuffit Expander 2010 (the free version) work properly with the Polycon 1.1 patch and the Star Wars galaxy thing?

It took some creativity, but I changed the "timeline" preamble to fit the removal of the Protoss, Zerg, and Chiss. Will post it this afternoon.

EDIT: Ok, it's at this link.

This post has been edited by StarSword : 22 March 2010 - 03:39 PM

QUOTE (StarSword @ Mar 22 2010, 08:02 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is off topic, but does anyone know how to make Stuffit Expander 2010 (the free version) work properly with the Polycon 1.1 patch and the Star Wars galaxy thing?

It should be as simple as dragging the files over the Stuffit application and dropping it there. Stuffit should take care of everything else. Have you tried this and it's not working?

You will need to adjust the cross-platform settings to encode the extracted files in MacBinary format if you're doing this on windows.

This post has been edited by CaptJosh : 22 March 2010 - 08:19 PM

QUOTE (CaptJosh @ Mar 22 2010, 09:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You will need to adjust the cross-platform settings to encode the extracted files in MacBinary format if you're doing this on windows.

I'm in Windows all right.

The filenames are polyconevupdate1.1.sit.bin and StarWars_Galaxy_Map.sea.hqx for the two files. How do I adjust cross-platform settings? (I typically use WinRar for compressing and extracting files; I'm a total n00b with Stuffit.)

I really don't know how it works in Stuffit 2010. I'm using a paid version of Stuffit Deluxe 9.5. Basics though, open the app, go to the preferences or options, whichever they call it. Find the "Cross platform" section. Go in to that, then make sure it's set to encode the data and resource forks together into Mac Binary.

Finished the GOVT changes; now working on ships.

Ok, I tried for the last time to unpack the Star Wars galaxy file, and the 1.1 patch for Polycon. I even went to the house of somebody who had a Mac and unpacked it there. At first it looked like it worked, but when I got home with the flash drive and plugged it in, I got a set of files that didn't remotely resemble either a BIN or REZ file that I could use in Nova: they didn't have file extensions, and half of them started out "._" .

As for changing the cross-platform settings on Stuffit 2010, nowhere on the menus does that show up. The File menu just has Open and Exit, the Archive menu has Expand All and Thumbnails, and the Help menu has the usual About, Help, etc. There are no other menus. You get what you pay for, I suppose, and I paid nothing.

For future reference, people, use ZIP files. Everyone can use those, even Linux.

Anyway, I've almost finished changing the names of the ships to the new standard (no SW or SC), but it's half past eleven and I need to go to bed. I'll work on redesigning them tomorrow.

This post has been edited by StarSword : 24 March 2010 - 10:30 PM

Shouldn't it be as simple as changing the names, dĂŤscs, and graphics? The stats could stay the same, couldn't they?

QUOTE (darthkev @ Mar 25 2010, 01:58 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Shouldn't it be as simple as changing the names, dëscs, and graphics? The stats could stay the same, couldn't they?

Haven't quite decided yet; the Protoss ships, which I renamed as Axe-tails, were stronger than the Galactic ships.

I've also added a set of Pirate ships, a la EVN's Pirate Viper, Starbridge, etc. In this case, I have a Pirate Dynacross, Starhawk, Carrack, Chevron, Shogun, Kestrel, Spitfire, AG-4400, AM-3500, AG-2550, Corvette, Enforcer, Halberd, and Saladin.

At this point I'm not even working on variants yet; that'll be for version 1.1. Right now, I want to get this damn thing up and running; it's been three years already.

Came up with an idea a couple of minutes ago that I think is clever: space mines as ships. Not playable ships, mind you, but ships that can be used in missions like "Clear Minefield at <DST>" or "Guard Minefield at <DST>". A simple explosive mine has a weapon that blows up the user when it fires. For this to work as I envision, each major faction needs its own mine GOVT to make the mines attack anything that moves except for the government that placed them. I used a "xenophobic" flag, a "can't hail" flag, and a "doesn't send distress signals" flag. Sound like it'll work?

EDIT: A question regarding reinforcements: if one were to attack these mines, given that they are of a different GOVT resource than the one they declare themselves to be, will they try to call for reinforcements from the Mine GOVT or an allied GOVT? (To clarify, do allied GOVTs respond to a call for reinforcements?)

This post has been edited by StarSword : 25 March 2010 - 10:12 AM

Reinforcement fleets are a unique matter. Every system can only have one reinforcement fleet. That fleet will come to the aid of whatever ships are already in the system of a matching gövt. So if a system has a reinforcement fleet belonging to, say, the UGF, and Pirate mines are attacking UGF ships, then the UGF fleet will come in to help, but no Pirate mine fleet will come in because it's not set to.

** Edit:** Also, I'm pretty sure allied gövt ships count, as well. So if an ally of the UGF is under attack in a system with a UGF reinforcement fleet, reinforcements will come in to help.

This post has been edited by darthkev : 25 March 2010 - 01:54 PM

Giving the mines very high combat odds, like say 32767, will pretty much ever prevent them from calling reinforcements. Handy if you don't want a reinforcement fleet to come running because their explosives are exploding.

I've got about half the DESCs rewritten.

I don't know if I mentioned it, but in EVN:UGF, fighter bays and fighters are also marines-type outfits. If you add, say, a Black Knight bay, you'll also gain 36 crewmen (the bay's support staff); each Black Knight adds an additional crewman (the pilot). Any thoughts?

I've had the same idea for HOTS, and have been implementing it. Basically, each fighter/shuttle gives the player a number of marines equal to the crew of the craft. Certain craft, like shuttles, also give a higher chance to capture a ship because they can carry boarding crews to multiple places on the enemy ship for an added 'element of surprise' and multiple vectors of attack.

So yeah, I think it's a good idea.

I've almost finished the DESC changes. I've also updated the EVN Wiki page to match the new, sans-copyrights UGF universe.

A challenge for modelers out there:

_ Manto Aerospace Industries HF-98A Durandal_
Primary Light Attack Craft, Corunian Planetary Alliance Navy

The Durandal is a rather unconventional type of starfighter. It is a fighter-bomber with a tailgunner who is specially trained to shoot down incoming missiles and starfighters. The ship is relatively slow for its class, but its thick defenses and heavy armament more than compensate. Ordinarily it would be classified as a gunboat.

The Durandal also comes in a second form, the HF-98R. This variant has had much of its weaponry stripped out in favor of better handling, more range, and an advanced navicomputer. The "Durandal Snoop," as this craft is known by pilots, is used as a recon craft, much as is the Black Knight-R. The crew often practices meditation or plays word games to alleviate boredom on long patrols.

The three-triangle insignia has nothing to do with The Legend of Zelda. Yep, that's right. Nothing.

The original image is posted at the DeviantART gallery (link is in my signature) with what little other concept art I've finished.

Anyone want to take a stab at a sprite for it?

This post has been edited by StarSword : 04 April 2010 - 01:02 PM

Status Report:
I just need to write the escort DESCs for the pirate and Anz'kalarad ships, and design the SHIPs, then I'll be done with ships.

In addition to the missions that move the storyline forward, each main faction, once you become part of them, will have day-to-day duty missions a la Starfleet Adventures , involving such jobs as search-and-rescue, search-and-destroy, escort duty, VIP transport, resupply, base defense, recon, and raids.

I've got a rough outline of the Axe-tail storyline. It's attached as a TXT file if anyone wants to look at it.

Attached File(s)

• Storyline_Plan__Axe_tails.txt (859bytes)
  Number of downloads: 7

So if that's an outline, is that from start to finish? So far looks a little short, but outlines usually do, I guess. Just one other question: what's a 'catspaw'? Is that a term for an aide to an Admiral or something? I remember an episode of the original Star Trek named 'Cat's Paw', but that had nothing to do with this as far as I can tell...

QUOTE (darthkev @ Apr 5 2010, 08:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So if that's an outline, is that from start to finish? So far looks a little short, but outlines usually do, I guess. Just one other question: what's a 'catspaw'? Is that a term for an aide to an Admiral or something? I remember an episode of the original Star Trek named 'Cat's Paw', but that had nothing to do with this as far as I can tell...

QUOTE (Dictionary.com)

cat's-paw – noun
1. a person used to serve the purposes of another; tool.

A couple of good examples: the private investigator who works for a law firm, or a "special agent" of a government. The second volume of the Alien Blood series by Joan D. Vinge, featuring a half-human, half-Hydran telepath who goes by Cat, is named Catspaw partly as a pun, but mostly because that's the role Cat takes in the story.

As for the outline, yes, it's from start to finish. I had a brainstorm while taking a walk and quickly wrote it down before I forgot it. It's still rough, but it at least gives me a place to start.

A bit of background:

• "The Ministry" is shorthand for the Axe-tail Ministry of Intelligence. High Admiral Lord Valdor Kurrukh of the Axe-tail Imperial Starfleet, though he values their assigned duty (gathering and analyzing foreign and domestic intelligence), believes the Ministry has become too powerful, and doesn't trust Minister Parrakh Du'rona as far as he can throw him (which isn't far, considering how fat the minister is). Du'rona, somewhat of a paranoid, sees the military might of the United Galactic Federation as a threat, not only to the Empire but to him personally. By contrast, Kurrukh has studied the Galactics much in the scant seven years since First Contact, and recognizes that the UGF prefers to talk first, then shoot. Which is good, because, as proud as he is of the AIS, he knows that a full-scale war between the two superpowers would cost billions of lives at the very least.
• Renegade warriors are those who have been stripped of honor and rank and exiled from the Empire, much like the Houseless in original EVN.
• The "Klavarese" are the most prominent race of the Klavar Republic, which neighbors the Axe-tail Star Empire to the east. Unlike the warlike but honor-driven Axe-tails, the Klavarese are largely motivated by greed; corruption is a perennial problem in the Republic. The Klavarese and the Axe-tails have been enemies for almost seven hundred years.

This post has been edited by StarSword : 05 April 2010 - 11:36 PM