-= Gametoast.com =-

Very pleased to see this still in action.

Funny you mention that. I just had a very close call. A few days ago my EIDE HDD went kaput, and I nearly lost my source files. I managed to copy everything over to the SATA drive, though I still have my fingers crossed that the files aren't corrupted. The system took multiple power outages in very short period of time.

Did everyone really think I was going to leave the map in that state?

MercuryNoodles wrote:Funny you mention that. I just had a very close call. A few days ago my EIDE HDD went kaput, and I nearly lost my source files. I managed to copy everything over to the SATA drive, though I still have my fingers crossed that the files aren't corrupted. The system took multiple power outages in very short period of time.

Did everyone really think I was going to leave the map in that state?

Sometimes we lose interest in finishing maps. Wouldn't have blamed you if you had, this is just a hobby. At the same time, I know how it feels to want to just finish a map that you start. Fingers crossed for un-corruptedness.

jangoisbaddest wrote:Sometimes we lose interest in finishing maps.

Hopefully you haven't in yours.

Time for a little update. I've been a bit too busy to do much, but I suppose this'll get one issue out of the picture.

Tada!
I tried to put them in somewhat out of the way areas, to cut down on camping next to the droids. If I remember correctly, there should be 2 or 3 sets on each cruiser now.


I've also been flirting with the idea of giving one of the Imperial units a semi-automatic DLT-19. I may actually scrap this, since the Rebels will need a counter.

Nice looking map, dude. Any new updates for the bridge, maybe you should add some consoles.

Thanks. Other than what's on the previous page, no. The MonCal bridge is slightly "extended" now, but I still have to close the ISD bridge ceiling, unless I can get a new model finished before I release the next version. I've been out of it for the past month, so I'm not getting much done. That's why the latest update has so little content. There will be consoles added to the ISD bridge for sure, and I might add a few to the MonCal.

I've spent the past week or so reading about, and trying to work with, ZE animation. It's not that difficult to pick up, considering I've done similar animation before (and ZE basically seems to work like the scene editing mode of a modeling app), but it is still a pain to get right. So, there should be some animated something or other coming to the map.

Heres an idea, what about putting in barracks? Might be a little tough, but I bet it would work amazingly for RPGs, and what about a hired mercenary, like a gungan, for a hero for rebs?

New models are a bit iffy at the moment, since I get into trouble with UVs. I plan to have some small expansions, and eventually maybe even completely replacing the interiors. For now, though, it's staying as is, so I can focus on other things.

I left heroes out for a few reasons. In general, I don't like how the hero system works, and I was planning on filling the class selection screen with "regular" units. I have at least one more class to add. If I do heroes, I have some in mind, but it's just not likely.

Oh, ok than, but what about adding barracks?

I believe Mercury Noodles has already included barracks in this map. I remember for the rebels it was the Tantive center room, and for the imps it was the conference room.

nice stuff looks great

Have you solved the problem with the lack of fighter flying around?

Are the units running around in the ships now or just staying around in hangar and barracks as it was in the beta?

Barracks = new models = I'm not good enough with XSI yet. I'm experiencing technical difficulties. I might add crew quarters once that's no longer a problem, but that'll probably only be included with a complete remodeling of the interior. That's far more work than I can handle at the moment.



The only thing I've really changed about the fighters was their "call" radius. Units deep in the interior no longer reserve fighters and try to run through walls, which seems to help that a lot. The fighters just don't really last long after they take off, and for some reason units will spawn less in the hangar over time, which I think further thins the number of spacecraft flying around.


There's still no planning, so they still stand around a lot. However, I've noticed in my current version, a few troops will try to walk into the rear CP of the enemy ship, due to whatever I did with the Imperial AI goals. The Rebels seem to gather in the rear CP and don't come out unless they either spot me, or I actually fire on them. I'll have to see what changing the Rebel AI goals does. I know it's not planning, but it's a quick edit that I should be able to handle today or tomorrow. I can't seem to concentrate on modding for more than a few minutes before I jump into something else.


Edit: Rebel AI goals are changed, but they still hang out unless something gets their attention. When they do become active, they now make a bee line for the hanger, though they tend to become a logjam of units at the last stretch before getting there.

Oh, ok than, but for a 2.0 u might want to consider it.

Alright, major news time.

I'm preparing an incremental update, which I'm hoping to release within the next month or so. I'm hoping to get something out at the end of the month, at the earliest, provided my upcoming vacation grants enough time. I've thus far dubbed it version 0.6b, and its mostly a bug fix release with a few minor new features. For a while I've debated whether I should do this, or just skip .6 in favor of .7, with which I'd planned to bring the CW era in, and I've decided to actually release something sooner rather than later. The CW era is a bit of a headache at the moment.

Current changes from the original beta (the ones I can recall, anyway):

- Filesize has been reduced. It's only a few MBs smaller, but it's a start.
- Nebulae have been removed from the skydome. (For me, this looks a lot better, and much more like space.)
- The "sun" has been altered to appear as a somewhat different star.
- Warlord28's T-21 model has been added. (in place of t551's)
- I've managed to replace one gap patch with a new model. (more replacement models are planned)
- The MonCal bridge is now fully enclosed.
- Several collision issues have been resolved. (No more falling through floors, or invisible barriers in the middle of the corridors. I hope. O_o)
- Basic planning is now in place. (I'd originally typed "not in place". )
- Missiles and grenades have been tweaked in various ways. (They now push living beings, thermals are no longer sticky, etc.)
- Thermal detonators no longer have a trail effect. (It'll save a fps or two, and overall it looks better, in my opinion.)
- ISD bridge is now in a more proper orientation.


Changes I plan to make before release:

- I should have teleport exits from the bridges placed, though perhaps not in their final positions.
- Filesize should see a further reduction as I cut unnecessary things out and optimize the setup. (Even if I don't finish, there should be a significant difference.)
- Several of the tasks on my old worklog should be complete before the release.
- The ISD bridge will get some kind of ceiling, even if I just do a hack job for the time being.
- Misc. alterations (These will be mostly invisible changes, like realigning corridors, editing memory pools, etc.)


The AI landing issue really slowed progress for a few months. For now, I'll leave landing to the player. So far, any experiment in which I try to coax an AI controlled craft to land has not met with any success. I've tried setting all manner of relevant odf parameters, path properties, and even went so far as to try to get the carrier classlabel working for use with landing hints, all to no avail. This is going on the backburner for a while.

The CW era is being a bit of a pain. As it turns out, an object group doesn't guarantee the individual parts won't import as a shipwide game of Jenga. -_- The Venator does now have an interior nearly identical to the ISD, but I'll have to reposition everything by hand. Also, I'd begun work on altering the Providence's skin, using the Invisible Hand as a reference. It's not a great alteration currently, but it holds enough potential that I'm going to try to do what I can with it. So far, I've only tried adding the CIS emblem, but this appears to be the most difficult part. Other than this, the CW is still an empty level, hence why I won't be adding it in the upcoming release.

Lately, my schedule has been somewhat chaotic, resulting in sleep deprivation, and difficulty concentrating. In addition to work being an increasing source of..well.."ARGH!", and being physically exhausting, I've picked up a new hobby. XD The upcoming vacation from my job should help remedy the problem a little. Since I haven't been able to concentrate for hours on this, I've made small tweaks whenever I'd get the urge to open my source files. I would've posted something months ago, but I've really felt I had nothing to write about until now, since I finally have an idea as to when I'll have a new release.

Wow, nice to see that you are still working on this map, this has been one of my favorite maps, and its great that you're updating it!

Brilliant! I had hoped this map wasn't dead. I look forward to your next release!

As for the landing, I do have one possible solution (though you may not like it): you could create a destroyable command post with a ship geometry that spawns in each hanger (and respawns when it gets destroyed). Then, after a little while, you play each ship's ZE animation, which has them slowly cross over and board the other ship. Then when it lands, you can tell the LUA to set the object's spawn path to the one you have in the hanger, but since it can be destroyed, fighters can take it out before that happens. Or, you can make it an armed building, thereby allowing players to enter seats that are NOT pilot seats in order to defend the ship with turrets, etc. Then when it lands, just respawn an invisible CP. Just a thought, but it would make the boarding part (well, specifically the "landing" part) completely automated and not subject to hideously stupid AI.

Thanks for the support, heh.

As far as landing goes, that's what I had in mind next. However, I was thinking of starting the automated transports somewhere in space, and keeping the normal transports for player use. Truthfully, I haven't really given it much thought yet, since I still want to be sure I've left no stone unturned with using splines or hintnodes before moving on. I've just decided to put it on hold while I prep the map for the upcoming release, so that my focus stays in the right place.

You could also simply make the landing ships into turrets, which you animate along a path. You could programm it so that it takes of when it's full (or when the player enters, or even on a timer). Then, when it's landed, it will have a stamina count (it's a turret, after all) You would have to make sure to make an exitregion where the dropship lands. Now, when it's destroyed, you can programm a short timer that, when it runs out, lets the ship (turret) respawn on its original location in the other hangar.
If you don't want it to be in a hangar, you can force the player into it from the start of the level (first let the player spawn (in preferably a black box) and then force him in the turret)