TobiWahn,

I'd be leary of over linking the techs to each other. I'm still interested to see the corrected links from the last build. Especially vexing is having to research all parts of a multi step tech before being able to move on. In the case of EA the complete vertical linkage is also a pain. I wholeheatedly support the horizontal linkage along the timeline techs but don't much care for the degree of linkage in the 0.422 build. That said it is an incremental process and the forcing function is partly for the AI.

Agree with all other observations.

1) To the extent we know we can correct balance we should (carrier AM beam length you've alread corrected, note sure what else is ready),

2) Agree,

3) Agree,

4) I'm willing to hold off on this to fund time for 1-3 and to allow for more indepth time in the DB,

5) To the extent sure, but otherwise the cubes and SoaSE placeholders work for me.

On a change of subject we really need a 2D artist for the numerous buttons and icons. Honestly the UI is huge, the visual interface is a critical component to displaying the data. Also, the information in the string files is aging but that is a very low priority and will require near continous adjustment anyway as things are added and tweaked.

Darvroth

This is one way to force the AI to at least research a bit of the stuff we put in the research tree. We will evaluate, but the basic structure will remain, though one could make more breaks/strands or require only 1 step per 2 multisteps to be researched.

Many a things still need adjustment, but that we will see when we get there.

1 is a overtime process, 2 and 3 need to be done for a good first draft

Some might not like them (I do understand) but they minimize error PopUps while debugging A LOT!

Yes, I will do the Ship UI Icons, but other than that I do not have much time for 2D UI graphics work. We need another Mod Dev, but as of late we are alone it seems (though I know Thoumsin is still lurking around here and hope that Koobalt, Zvezdochets, SteinerX and Timmaigh still visit from time to time)

String files are easily changed.

The mod is now nearly 3 years in the making (with me starting work on the jumpgate on 28th of May 2009) so it will still take an awful lot of time to finish!

As long as you're find with cleaning up green backgrounds (Photoshop is really good for this), one can make unit pictures, for use in UI elements, using Sins alone. You don't need a whole artist for that. I'd be happy to expand on this more when I get the time, if you'd like.

Its not a problem of getting the Ships pics (I do that in Cin4D) but the rest:

Particle effects (need 2d pics as basis)
User Interface (I don't like the Sins interface that much, and the transparent one I put in there is a very bad hack job)
Ability pictures
Backgrounds for the Research/Diplomacy/Pirate/... Screens
Nice B5 Style Start menu (mine is a bad rushed job) and corresponding submenus (option, Multiplayer, Singleplayer,....)
including all UI elements and so on

this is very much work that should be done by a real good artist (I could do it, but even if I take my time I'm not stellar and I do want to do many other things concerning this mod, so no time either) so we need someone who knows his job well. And really wants to help our mod efforts. If you are up to it I'd gladly welcome you on board

Lava_2,

Your help would be most appreciated! If I had to prioritize it would have to be tech icons for the steady state effort and ability icons when the abilities are added. I'd love to do the abilities first, but they haven't all be thought of let alone implemented yet... TobiWahn may have a better prioritized list.

TobiWahn,

Vertical breaks in the tech tree are definitely needed and researching the first of a multi part tech should satisfy in every case. Some vertical linkage makes perfect sense, but more than three such links in a row really steals from player choice.

Darvroth

it does not really. The vertical links are seperate for each tech tree and you can just ignore one vertical link completely and research the next in the horizontal timeline. But there will be breaks, just not that many. As for the multistep Subjects, I will have a look at all of them, but I probably will not change all of them.

Much appreciated.

TobiWahn,

I've sent several e-mails and a bunch of files in the last two weeks ... are you in receipt?

Darvroth

TobiWahn,

Researching what might be needed to improve Stealth Mode I've hit a stumbling block and seek guidance if this is a typo or I'm missing something more fundamental.

ResearchSubject_MINBARI_SENSOR_DEFLECTOR_GRID lists the following values:

modifierType "ShieldMaxMitigationAdjustment"

modifierType "ShieldPointsMaxAdjustment"

However neither term as such can be found in the associated ability, buff, ship or starbase entity files.

The ship entity files use:

MaxShieldPoints

ShieldPointRestoreRate

maxMitigation

The starbase entity and upgrade files use:

propertyType "MaxShieldMitigation"

propertyType "MaxShieldPoints"

propertyType "ShieldPointRestoreRate"

The player entity files also do not mention the terms as such. I can only conlude that the ResearchSubject entity file is in error and uses the wrong terms to modify adjust the ship entity files. If this is not the case and the ResearchSubject entity file is correct help me with the linkage.

Darvroth

The verbage is consistent with that found in SoaSE entity files... I still clearly have more to learn. Also to clarify: 0.05 = 5% adjustment and 0.01 = 1% adjustment? A base value change is additive across the board, or is it also a percentage increase? I guess I could play with the values but that will be time consuming and perhaps hard to measure. Fellow modders, the answer is...?

Darvroth

If you're doing research files,  0.05 is a 5% adjustment and 0.01 is a 1% adjustment.  And increases being additive depends on what research you're modifying.  Some things like shield mitigation are a flat boost (since shield mitigation is already a percentage), while most other researches are percentage-based.

And yes, research subjects use different wordage for their effects than ability and ship .entity files.

EDIT: Check out the research float (percentage) and boolean (1 or 0) modifiers from Original Sins here.

Be sure to have actually played Sins a couple times so you can guess what modifiers are percentages and what are flat (like armor).

SpardaSon21,

Thanks, played SoaSE for years but have been a serious modder for a little over a year now and have only been diving deep into abilities for about 6-7 months. Some things are maddenly difficult to set up.

Darvroth

Hi,

Sorry for my absence. Migraine as well as private life and work have kept me much too busy. I've cleaned up my database and exchanged the commandline calls with java calls, added the ability to add base Strings and entities to the exported entity.manifest and english.str and also started to add structures for buffs and abilities. Buffs are about 55 percent finished, abilities about 7 percent. When they are in I will add all existing abilities in the DB. After that I will link all the necessary research subjects to the respective techs (for Vorlons and Shadows) and then it will be time to package another release.

@Davroth

Added you to the coders section in the header

Woot! You have been busy and I like the packaging plan for 0.43. I was going to send you another abilty but decided to test it one last time and it immediately mini-dumped. So now I'm trying to figure out why it did work and now doesn't work and how I can make it work again. Very frustrating at times.

Darvroth

Yes, abilities do frustrate me as well. We had a lot of abilities in a 0.3x build I think but always had minidumps. So now we need to go slowly, bit by bit.

Found it! Ability works like a charm. Sent via e-mail.

It's probably fairly low priority for the B5Sotyr team, but here's some more Minbari capital ship names.

Diff is from 0.422's English.str:

NewHorizons,

Every bit of help is appreciated.

If you have other easily plugged in ideas for the string file, or abilities, post. I'm slowly adding ship and structure abilities but a new stream of ideas is always appreciated.

Darvroth

Darvroth,

Thanks, I added the extra names when I had the intent of max'ing out my capital ship supply of 30+ Sharlins/Sharkaans/ Sharoos.

I think I'll stick to stings and steer clear of suggesting abilities - they sound tricky to implement.

Some time ago (p119) there was a discussion of increasing the weaponry on higher capital ship levels, however most the B5SotYRs models don't appear to have weapons on the rear.

The Sharlin model certainly has the detail, but the Omega does appear to be missing them - 2 X-ray lasers mounted out-board of, and parallel to, the main engines - Eg opening scene of Severed Dreams.

I was thinking that as a capital ship levels up, these extra weapon banks could be unlocked, is that possible?

Many thanks, added (corrected) the names.

This was a design decision. Won't easily be changed. Not in the near future anyhow.

Not possible, sorry. Starbases have this possibility but Capships don't. I'd love to have that but it is not supported by the engine.

What is supported though is, unlocking weapons with research:

     fireConstraintType "Research"
        researchPrerequisites
            NumResearchPrerequisites 1
            ResearchPrerequisite
                Subject "<Research_Subject>"
                Level 1

Thanks, didn't know that was possible!

^ This allows you to do cool things! Just think of the upgrades due to capital ship levels as ... re-fits.

boshimi336,

Not just weapons, the tech could implement a number of changes (cost, metal, crystal, etc) to account for the new capability. Initial ships would be cheaper and nerfed, later ships would be more capable but cost more. Those already built would benefit from the upgrade for "free", really the cost of the research having paid for the upgrades. This would also go along with the younger races having more and more easily replaced ships while the older races have fewer but much more valuable ships.

This would make for a clearer seperation of the time lines with respect to tech and ship capabilities but would require a complete rework of the tech tree and many models for all races (hardpoints).

Question: Is the researchable weapons for ships an on/off or is there finer control to tweak existing weapon stats?

TobiWahn,

Since we already have 0.43 already planned out, recommend we continue along that path. Implement the new research where it aligns with the current effort but save a more comprehensive reworking till 0.44. Not only will this require tweaking research but the tech pathing, and in many cases model rework to fix the hard points. Also, we'd need to scope out the work and have a blueprint, better to save the effort for down the road, unless there is a willing party... 0.43 is already ambitious enough.

Darvroth