Nacey Nacey

[MOD] Distant Stars - Rebellion Alpha 0.13 Released! [17/06/13]

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[MOD] Distant Stars - Rebellion Alpha 0.13 Released! [17/06/13]

http://distantstars.mmobase.com
from Sins Forums


Feedback of any kind is always welcome. Ideas, balance changes, and bug reporting of any kind is always useful!

Version 1.00 Released!

Make sure to ask for permission before republishing any part of this mod to the public!

Downloads

Rebellion Logo

1.05 + DLC Compatible:

0.12 ALPHA Release:
Full Download:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/rebellion/Distant_Stars_(R)_ALPHA_0.13_[45189661].7z

Full Download MIRROR:
http://www.moddb.com/downloads/distant-stars-rebellion-alpha-013

MD5: 69486D2FCD3F35E46E6F5EF8C9F1634A

Diplomacy Logo

1.34 Compatible:

1.01 Release:
Full Download:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/diplomacy/Distant_Stars_(D)_1.01_[45685832].7z

 

Entrenchment Logo

1.051 Compatible:

Beta 0.9951 Release:
Full Download:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/entrenchment/DS_Entrenchment_Beta_0.9951_[36672852].7z

SoaSE Logo

1.14 - 1.181 Compatible:

Version 1.01:
Full Download:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/soase/Distant_Stars_v1.01_[453701567].7z

Make sure to ask for permission before republishing any part of this mod to the public!

Multiplayer Games:
We've setup a thread for everyone to organise their multiplayer games in and also setup example times and dates for most people to meet up and start games. These are what we hope to be the main times for people to be around and want to play games together.

The times are:
4pm EST (9pm GMT) Saturdays & Sundays
9pm EST (2am GMT) Saturdays & Sundays

If you want to organise other games please go ahead using the same topic to consolidate all the information in one place and hopefully get more games together within our community. These games are for PvP, PvAI & PvPvAIso come along and we'll get some games going!

Screenshots:
We've setup a thread so you can all post your screenshots to share with us the Distant Stars team and its players. Im sure we're all intrigued to see what kinds of battles and events you've all been having on the mod aswell.

Lore:
We know some of you guys love to role play whilst using Distant Stars, and here's a topic for you guys to post all of your role playing stories, character profiles and anything else you can imagine.

Maps:
Some of you avid map makers out there have produced some great maps but never really had them recognised because they've got lost. Well here's a topic for you to post a link to the download (we can even provide mirrors if necessary) a screenshot or two of the map for us all the preview and if enough people like it we'll even include the map in with the actual mod!

Please visit our website and for more information, change logs, downloads, and to report bugs. Our website can be found here: http://distantstars.mmobase.com

Bug Reporting

If you want to report a bug please use the Bug Report feature on our website:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/?m=reportabug

Please include as much information as possible, if you have an error log feel free to post it on these forums and we'll take it from there. If you can reproduce the error please include the error log (read below to find out how to enable error logs) and include as much detail on how to reproduce the problem.

To enable logging:
Windows Vista/Windows 7:
C:\Documents and Settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Setting
or
Windows XP:
C:\Documents and settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Setting

Open the user.setting file (using Notepad, Wordpad or any text editor) and scroll down to the bottom 7 lines from the bottom is the line:
LogOutput FALSE
Change FALSE to TRUE
LogOutput TRUE

and from then on any Log files will be saved to the debug folder:
Windows Vista/Windows 7:
C:\Documents and Settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Debug
or
Windows XP:
C:\Documents and settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Debug

If you get these log files to us (you can just paste them in to a forum post) we can hopefully get your issues sorted.

Frequently Asked Questions

All files are compressed using 7Zip to shrink the download filesize. To extract these files you must use WinRAR or 7Zip.
Any Patches should overwrite the original install directory, either by extracting over the original folder, or cut/copy & pasting over the existing file/folder structure.

1) My game keeps crashing, is there anything I can do to stop it?
i) Are you running the game on maximum (highest) settings? if so, lower them to High or Medium, there is a known issue with the game using up too much memory, there is nothing we can do about this, also no matter how powerful your pc is, it is affected by this issue no matter the pc it is not above this crashing issue, it is a game problem not a hardware one, so quite simply lower your settings. If you still have an issue with crashing see point two.
ii) Give us as detailed information as possible about the crash, what was happening at the time of the crash, what races, ships, abilities were involved. If you can supply a Debug Log (see above for more information about logging) and post a bug report on our website.

2) The loading screens and portrait pictures dont appear properly, whats wrong?
i) This is an issue with ATI based graphics cards (rarely affects Nvidia based cards) we're looking in to the issue.

3) Why dont you support converting Distant Stars in to TXT format?
i) Quite simply many things can go wrong with converting your mod to TXT, we cant help you with something you've probably broken yourself.

4) Can I mod Distant Stars for myself?
i) Yes you can however please do not distribute our mod or our mod that you have edited to the public. You must ask for permission to do so, we will regrettably stop distributing our mod to all if users abuse our work.

5) Your mod is in BIN format I can't edit the files, what can I do?
i) You can convert the mod to TXT format however we wont offer any support to versions of the mod that have been converted to TXT.

6) Why is Distant Stars distributed in BIN format?
i) Mods load faster in BIN format and are less likely to have issues in this format.

7) I'm having trouble installing the MOD, do you have any more instructions?
i) Carbon was kind enough to do some more advanced instructions out here.

8) Is there any way to make new maps for Distant Stars using GalaxyForge?
i) Within the Distant Stars Extras folder there is a folder called Galaxy Forge, Copy and Paste this folder (or its contents) over your original Galaxy Forge folder (or its contents) replacing any files if it asks you to. When you start Galaxy Forge next you'll be able to use all of our planets.

Or, the DIY approach (without custom icons):

ii) The GalaxyForge supplied by the devs will still work with our Mod, however to be able to access all of our planetary bonuses, templates, planet types and stars you will need to take our GalaxyScenarioDef.galaxyScenarioDef (found in the GameInfo folder of the mod) and place it in to your GalaxyForge folder, overwriting the original GalaxyScenarioDef.galaxyScenarioDef (if you still wish to make maps for the original game keep a backup of the original file). This will allow you to use all of the Galaxy changes included in our mod.

Note: Any maps made for Distant Stars will not work with other Mods. See #8.2 for DIY instructions for map making or take the appropriate files from Entrenchment, they're cross-client compatible.

Some statistics...

Since August 2009 to February 2011 we have had over...

400,000 Unique visits to the website
12,000GB (12TB) of data transferred from our website

That equates to over 60,000 Unique downloads of the entire mod, excluding the excess of 20,000 Patches downloaded. 

Thanks to everyone that has supported us this far and making our mod as popular as it is!

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modding
15,647,328 views 8,423 replies
Reply #626 from Sins Forums Top

steveinstructor could you disable the ds.81 forgetool extras and test again?

I ask as I use galaxy forge 3 and have had NO problems with phase lanes, but I do not use any of the individual mod addons to allow different planets as I use mostly random colonizable, so my maps work with ALL mods

harpo

 

Reply #627 from Sins Forums Top

I GOT IT....

It seems my mod path was too long. Windows XP can not see filenames beyond a certain size.

My path used to be:

D:\Documents and Settings\Steve\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Mods-Entrenchment v1.03\DS Entrench 0.82\DS Entrenchment Beta 0.82

So I removed one of the folders and remade it so the path is now:

D:\Documents and Settings\Steve\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Mods-Entrenchment v1.03\DS Entrenchment Beta 0.82

That little bit was enough. All may maps now work and the phase lanes are back.

So watch your path size, people.

 

Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #628 from Sins Forums Top

actually you had also nested the mod inside another folder the \DS Entrench 0.82\ which also would have caused the mod to not activate the changes

also windows xp,v*********ta & windows 7 have a maximum path length of 260 characters INCLUDING the file name

 

harpo

 

Reply #629 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting -Ue_Carbon, reply 23



Quoting Ryat,
reply 20
Had a serious mini-dump. Blew up a ship, while the pirates sent out a fleet, was also playing the game with several applications going. Error statement from windows saying not enough virtual memory.



Yeah, the memory useage for DS is skyhigh. With all the new planets, and mass of new graphics. You can very very easily push your memory usage to max.

Nothing we can really do about that, other than suggest if you dont have alot of RAM best beware of DS.

 

And to the rest of you who are experencing the Random-Mini Dump, please know that it being addressed as best we can. Due to Real Life, progress is slow, like 56K slow.

Or better yet just run the game without any other apps going.

Reply #630 from Sins Forums Top

ROFL, yeah that would work too. ;P

Reply #631 from Sins Forums Top

I fixed the random mini dump issue, atleast for my system. I used the .82 full download file and i copy+pasted "Bailknight-Entrench" particle, particle effects, texture animation and texture files into the .82 mod folder. Been working 100% since w/o mini dumps unless its from my own doing. I attempted the same procedure starting with the .7 full DL files patched to the newest version but had no success. With the working files, can run a match flawlessly w/ all the entity files converted to text (entity files in binary seem to run smoother than being in text in my experience).

Also note that within the PlanetSwampMoon.entity, i have located typo.

typeNameStringID "IDS_PLANETTYPE_SWAMP_Moon"   should be typeNameStringID "IDS_PLANETTYPE_SWAMP_MOON"

Just wanted to point that out.

Reply #632 from Sins Forums Top

I don't think Sins is case-sensitive

Reply #633 from Sins Forums Top

mooster I have some bad news for you. it IS EXTREMELY case sensitive in that a single character in the wrong case WILL cause problems, and even one character in  the wrong case in a filename or command does cause crashes

harpo

 

Reply #634 from Sins Forums Top

Is there a way to open the minidumps to see what caused it, I think there's some specific action that's triggering mine but I can't pinpoint it.

Reply #635 from Sins Forums Top

Harpo,

Thank you for pointing that out to me, at least, next time, if I fail to get a string, I'll just remember the most basic rule in programming, It'S ALL CaSe_SenstiVE.

Quoting EdisonStricher, reply 9
Is there a way to open the minidumps to see what caused it, I think there's some specific action that's triggering mine but I can't pinpoint it.

check the buff and the ability of the mine, if not, use the developer.exe

BTW did Nacey delete the title Pic?

Reply #636 from Sins Forums Top

I'm not understanding the first half and I can't find the developer.exe.

Reply #637 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting EdisonStricher, reply 11
I'm not understanding the first half and I can't find the developer.exe.

O, You need to download the developer.exe from the Downloads section of the site and then paste the program into the sins program folder and then run it. It tells you the potential errors that you have...

Reply #638 from Sins Forums Top

He is reworking his server for RL things. He might not even know pic link went poof. I will tell him Monday when I talk to him.

Reply #639 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Mooster, reply 12



Quoting EdisonStricher,
reply 11
I'm not understanding the first half and I can't find the developer.exe.


O, You need to download the developer.exe from the Downloads section of the site and then paste the program into the sins program folder and then run it. It tells you the potential errors that you have...

Would that be the Sins main directory in Program Files or the mod under the Documents, etc folder?

Reply #640 from Sins Forums Top

edisonstricher, it is in the program files sins folder ONLY

harpo

 

Reply #641 from Sins Forums Top

Yeah, when I say main directory I'm saying Program Files -> Stardock Games -> Sins of a Solar Empire.

Okay, I have a log. What next?

Reply #642 from Sins Forums Top

Hello again Nacey just want to report on a copule issues

first is one that has been bothering me for a while- TEC gets 26 caps but Vasari and Advent only get 24

Next is the issue is about the shield mitigation for the advent- a level 9-10 cap gets 78-80% shield mitigation plus full tech of culture and shields equals 22%. Therefore a level 9-10 advent cap can have a maximum of 100-102% shield mitigation. This renders them invulnerable. I have had 3750 fleet points of ships firing on one of these caps and it lost no shield points. I have even sent one into a pirate base and it cleaned it out (took forever to take down the starbase but again no shield points lost).

I recommend reducing the culture mitigation down to half (12% to 6%) and reducing Raised Shield Harmonics from 10 points of research to 8 points of research (10%-8%). This will render a level 10 Advent cap to a maximum mitigation of 94% which I have found to still be a tough nut to crack (as should a level 10 cap should be) it is not nearly as OP.

hope to hear from you soon and thanks for the good mod

PS I am currently working on checking the planets (a very time consuming process) and will give a report when I can

Reply #643 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Ryat, reply 17
Hello again Nacey just want to report on a copule issues

first is one that has been bothering me for a while- TEC gets 26 caps but Vasari and Advent only get 24

Next is the issue is about the shield mitigation for the advent- a level 9-10 cap gets 78-80% shield mitigation plus full tech of culture and shields equals 22%. Therefore a level 9-10 advent cap can have a maximum of 100-102% shield mitigation. This renders them invulnerable. I have had 3750 fleet points of ships firing on one of these caps and it lost no shield points. I have even sent one into a pirate base and it cleaned it out (took forever to take down the starbase but again no shield points lost).

I recommend reducing the culture mitigation down to half (12% to 6%) and reducing Raised Shield Harmonics from 10 points of research to 8 points of research (10%-8%). This will render a level 10 Advent cap to a maximum mitigation of 94% which I have found to still be a tough nut to crack (as should a level 10 cap should be) it is not nearly as OP.

hope to hear from you soon and thanks for the good mod

PS I am currently working on checking the planets (a very time consuming process) and will give a report when I can

I think the things you said are intended or already known to Nacey and the dev team.

Reply #644 from Sins Forums Top

pssst....he is consitered part of dev team in my book and Nacey. He is the master bug finde\o/ r.

Reply #645 from Sins Forums Top

didn't realize, but couldn't he just pm Nacey?!

Reply #646 from Sins Forums Top

I love this mod

I love this mod

I love this mod

:D

Reply #647 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Mooster, reply 20
didn't realize, but couldn't he just pm Nacey?!

He could, and does for all I know. lol, most of my working with Nacey is on MSN. Its much faster and efficient.

Reply #648 from Sins Forums Top

Very nice mod, I'm getting back into Sins after a year and alot has changed. All the old mods that i used to have joined forces now :D . The mod is great but the research tree is way too long imo. Is there a way to revert them back to default that includes the new colonizing research or perhaps tone it down a bit from like 10 > 4..etc. Also in vanilla, i would see more trade ships per trade port, now there is only 1? Anyways thx for reading my 2 cent.

 

Regards

Reply #649 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting -Ue_Carbon, reply 22



Quoting Mooster,
reply 20
didn't realize, but couldn't he just pm Nacey?!



He could, and does for all I know. lol, most of my working with Nacey is on MSN. Its much faster and efficient.

I tried PM but never got any responces so I stayed in public format. Sorry Mooster if that offneds you but Im just doing my job.

Breaking things:rofl:

Reply #650 from Sins Forums Top

Hey all,

I know it's been a long time since I've posted it's been a hectic few weeks for me irl just thought i'd let you all know im still alive and we're still working on the mod.

Apologies for the lack of updates recently but there will be one in the near future now my work load has decreased somewhat. Sorry about not replying to my PM's I hadnt even realised I had so many lol I'll get around to replying to all of those asap although Ryat im sure your's now somewhat void due to you talking to me on msn ;)

Anyhow, lot's of bug fixes and updates to come soon thanks for all of your continued support guys n gals!