Fractal Softworks Forum
Starsector => Mods => Modding => Topic started by: megal00t on January 24, 2012, 03:56:04 AM
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Hello everyone,
before i begin i want to tell you some things first.
i'm 16 y/o and live in holland so english is not my native language.
I'm still in school and i won't have a lot of spare time.
now... lets begin!
My name is Teun Holsbeek. 16 y/o and live in holland. i have bought the game a couple of days ago and am very interested in it. especially the modding scene. but i don't know anything about scripting, java, JSON etc. but really want to learn it and apply it in making mods. but I don't want to do it alone, i wanted to make it a kind of interactive experience, sharing knowledge about the game and its mods. so that everyone can learn it slowly and gradually. start with the basics like creating a map, mission, editing one weapon on a fighter and let them battle on a blank map. Posting the progress I make and (hopefully) get advice and help from the forum and other people. like i said i wanted to make it interactive so that other people can learn to. I will post all problems i run into, and maybe someone can show with a post how to solve it. maybe i can make like a youtube video trying to explain how i fixed things.
the things i know.
only the very basics of modding: editing mod_info files. using the *.ship/.variant editor online the basics of mission_list files icons, mission discriptions.
converting JSON files using the JSON validator, i know a bit about editing ships to ship.variants using the *.ship/.variant editor.
The Things I DONT know :( :using JSON (i think there will be people shouting GO LOOK IT UP ON THE INTERNET! but i already did aswell with java its so much information and its very hard for me to learn in a short period of time). a large part of mission discriptor files, editing all the CSV files using excel. (there must be a quicker wayto add the ship data?) will be shown with a screenshot in a sec...
questions i have.
is this a good idea? or will most of you say **** it u dont know scripting language and dont come near it if you don't know it. or will you actually be helpfull creating this 'guide'.
if you think this is a good idea i have a question already:
(http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/210/problem1p.png/)
(http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/6985/problem1p.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/210/problem1p.png/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
PS. when the first bit of my mod is finished it will ofcouse be posted here
Links:
v0.15 (custom map, total of 4 ships) http://www.mediafire.com/?zak003av2naaq26
v0.13 (custom map, new torpedo frigate, new interceptor squadron) http://www.mediafire.com/?4qekczhtd239dg6 NOTE: put torpedofrigate.pgn and interceptor.png in your /graphics/ships folder
v0.12 (custom map, new ship torpedo frigate) http://www.mediafire.com/?kv4u7nyk7u6sk44 NOTE: put torpedofrigate.pgn in your /graphics/ships folder
v0.11 (custom map, custom ship 1v1): http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?oevk45py15b6q14
v0.10 (custom map, standard ship 1v1): http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?k8ligbog4fb5q5f
My Hiigaran TorpedoFrigate sprite (pg 2): http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ns2w9aqiaxsfodc
Please comment! ;)
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oh yes another little thing. the programs i will be using:
microsoft office (ofc)
http://sseditor.dyndns.org/sse/dev/ (give him some love)
http://jsonlint.com/ (forgot to put that link here)
Paint.NET
http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=375.msg3058#msg3058(unofficial ship editor)
refrence files
ex1 and ex2 files from http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=63.0
a list of programs i need to use (hopefully suggested from you guys):
http://braincast.nl/samples/jsoneditor/ (linked by ixiohm)
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i finally finished something. i made a map. copying and pasting things from different maps into my map. editing titles and made it into a 1v1 battle.
actually it's nothing. but it's a start.
http://www.mediafire.com/?k8ligbog4fb5q5f
please comment ;)
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;D
Someone like me who decided to stumble their way to semi
completion, forsooth thy are not alone!
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currently i am trying to add a custom ship variant using the *.ship/.variant editor.
wish me luck :/
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I not very knowledgeable about scripting, but have some general programming knowledge.
However I thought I should at least try help you out ;)
Regarding your first question: If you want to avoid editing the JSON file directly I suggest you try something like http://braincast.nl/samples/jsoneditor/ (http://braincast.nl/samples/jsoneditor/).
However, the problem as understand it is that the JSON in the .ship/.variant files is not properly formatted,
but I leave it to someone else to help you out with that.
I looking forward to following your learning process, and maybe pick up a few things myself.
Good luck and Happy moding!
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i finished my custom ship. i edited it so it has some more weapons and hardpoints. but only that. and let them face off in my 1v1 map.
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?oevk45py15b6q14
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i finished my custom ship. i edited it so it has some more weapons and hardpoints. but only that. and let them face off in my 1v1 map.
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?oevk45py15b6q14
a little note: all my links to my mods will now be linked to my first post.
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next thing i wan't to do is actually pretty 'big' and make a sprite. a sprite that resembles the hiigaran destroyer form homeworld 2 wich still is one of my all time favourite games.
heres a pic:
(http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/5350/hiigarandestroyer.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/813/hiigarandestroyer.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
wish me luck :/
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Good luck! :)
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in search of a program used to create sprites :/ anyone?
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in search of a program used to create sprites :/ anyone?
Paint.NET
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funny i havent thought about paint xD. even have that one installed.
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little update. i decided the destroyer project was a bit too big so i'm now making a torpedo frigate.
little image:(http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/8707/hiigarantpf.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/854/hiigarantpf.png/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
(http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/8707/hiigarantpf.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/851/hiigarantpf.png/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
criticism is welcome. (do i need to change something?) too small for a frigate? i don't really know the ratio's of frigates. so if anyone knows that and want to tell me...
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If you look at a few frigates used in the core game, the Hyperion is 76x72px, the Omen is 66x84px, the Vigilance is 63x101px, so you are round about the right ballpark ...
Looking good :)
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I like the inspiration. Can't wait to see the final. :D
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yea i compared it to a tempest so its about right. i finished the outlining.. that's the easy part. the hard part is the colouring and especially the shading of the ship.
(http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/4277/61942370.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/268/61942370.png/)
any tips on shading ships?
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finished the sprite :D
(http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/515/31611936.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/825/31611936.png/)
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nice, did you find any vaygr blue prints?
I was looking around but that seems to be the only one
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no, sorry, i did not find any.
i got it from here: http://skywalkerpl.deviantart.com/art/Blueprint-Hiigaran-T-F-v0-9-74518264
PS. i do have homeworld 2 myself i can screenshot ANY ship you want from any perspective.
if you want a screenshot just pm or post it here.
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I "have/had" HW2 but it seems that my single abortive attempt at making a
really rapid firing ion cannon mucked the files so bad that I can't even uninstall . . . :-[
Edit1: Crash log ended up at I think ~580Mb worth of plain text
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C:\program files\sierra\homeworld2
*right click delete*
*put in hw disc*
*reinstall* xD
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setting the bounds and collisons things
(http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/8284/shipeditorimage.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/213/shipeditorimage.png/)
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YES it's finally finished. it took about 6 hours of work started from complete scratch and i'm pretty proud of it as my first ever new ship
(http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/4358/screenshot005qo.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/716/screenshot005qo.png/)
download link is available in the first post. ::)
2xpilum up front
2x harpoons on the side.
hits hard, flies fast, but is made of paper.
ed1: what do you want me to do? make another ship? hiigaran,vaygr frigate,fighter?/bomber? or something completely different?
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Congratulations, man. Looks cool!
That is one fast ship ! ... I would say he needs a partner protect him from fighters, he's carrying a nice payload of missiles - but nothing else - which will make him very weak against, say, a wing of wasps.
I'm not familiar with the lore which forms the basis of this ship, but I vote for a PD-oriented frigate :)
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yea i saw the speed of the thing. it was nearly as fast as a fighter. maybe a bit too quick might dim it down. but i'm working on a interceptor now, might finish it today because the sprite doesnt take ages :p. but about the ship itself. ingame the ship is pretty slow. it's standard payload is used for taking down corvette like ships wich this game doesnt really have. i have a bit of footage of the ship. i think i might upload it to show the ship in the hw2 game :P
ED1: torpedo frigate from hw 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4ROSARsciM&feature=youtu.be
2 more ships. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LerP3lJ3tTM&feature=youtu.be
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interceptors are finished :D. i slowed down my frigate cuz 300speed is a bit high eh? i think i will begin making plasma bombers tomorrow (i do need to make a new .wpn file for that) any programs for making .wpn files? thanks.
(http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/7299/screenshot009mg.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/827/screenshot009mg.png/)
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Wow, those blue fighters look awesome! :) Keep up the great work man.
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Still figuring out what weapon i should use to mod for my bomber's dual plasma bomb launcher. Any suggestions?
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the large plasma launcher, reduce damage and size then increase fire rate
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today i'm gonna start working on my bomber.
A little preview
(http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/6207/homeworld22012012614170.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/202/homeworld22012012614170.png/)
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sprite finished:
(http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/6968/bomberimage.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/28/bomberimage.png/)
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yay my bomber is finished... a YT video will be uploaded shortly
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VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l3HG6rBL0w&feature=youtu.be
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(http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/7856/screenshot002eq.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/39/screenshot002eq.png/)
(http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/102/screenshot003dh.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/202/screenshot003dh.png/)
Pew Pew ;D
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I think i want to continue making HW2 ships... maybe the FLAK frigate is up next. bit of a challenge because of turret sprites...
(http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7151/homeworld22012012614250.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/215/homeworld22012012614250.png/)
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VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l3HG6rBL0w&feature=youtu.be
Those are awesome! Nice work!
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wow the bombers annihilated it
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yea. they might be a little overpowered, i think you need to think a little more about balancing...
LOVE the sprites though! ;D
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i already balanced them :P 450 dmg was a bit to much i lowered them to 100 and then added another sound to the burst :D
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are you just gonna continue this as a Homeworld2 mod, would love it if you do :P
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yea but making hw2 sprites in paint.net is a pain. and all the shading is done by the pencil tool. quite some work
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another sprite skeleton finished... an ion cannon frigate... ofc gonna oversize the cannon big time in the mod... just because the ship itself is built around the weapon
(http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/20/ioncannnonfrigate.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/822/ioncannnonfrigate.png/)
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Use the Hil and increase damge and give it burst firing w/ a decent burst length
hidden im gonna guess aswell
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Use the Hil and increase damge and give it burst firing w/ a decent burst length
hidden im gonna guess aswell
wasn't the HW2 Ion Frigate's weapon a continuous fire type? My memory could be rusty.
If so, the HIL might work just as it already is in game.
Either way, this should be a cool ship. :D
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nope it fired in bursts about err 5 s long with 5-10 second cd :/ do the damage must be pretty high to compensate for the cooldown
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ioncannonfrigate is finished. now that i have got some ships in my mod i think i want to get cracking on some missions... buuuuuuut missions are pretty difficult to code properly. I will try my best. and as always the download link will be available in the first post... + bomber (forgot to upload)
PS how do i set the burst time on a beam weapon.. just the regular way? (editing the burst number in CSV?)
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working on something different this time.. you'll see
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So you are not a coder I assume? The missions so far have seemed pretty easy to me. I can help you out there if you need.
I am planning on making my own mod, but it will take a loooong time since I'm super busy at work/school. :/
Plus I have to figure out how to sprite as well, haha.
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Its not that i can't make missions.. im just to lazy.. i enjoy making ships and sprites more..:)
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Ah, haha.
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(http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/1875/smscreen03.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/826/smscreen03.png/)
my ship i'm making in the battleships forever ship maker.
i'm using ship parts made by another person but the thing i put together myself...
it's not finished yet it just needs some colour :D.
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that looks like.. a carrier? hmm LRMS....
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You can classify it as a medium or large carrier...yes
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guuuuunshiiiiippssss!
excited cause i got photoshop xD
(http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/5839/gunshipd.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/191/gunshipd.png/)
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hardlines vs softlines
hard lines:
(http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/1672/gunship.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/513/gunship.png/)
soft lines:
(http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/4144/gunship2.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/826/gunship2.png/)
any prefs?
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hardlines vs softlines
hard lines:
(http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/1672/gunship.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/513/gunship.png/)
soft lines:
(http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/4144/gunship2.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/826/gunship2.png/)
They both look epic, I'd say hard lines though, don't know why xD You buy photoshop? O.O
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yea kinda. my fathers company uses it and bought a copy for my pc...
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yea kinda. my fathers company uses it and bought a copy for my pc...
That's somewhat a massive win lmao
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yea i don't have to pay €175 ;D
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yea i don't have to pay €175 ;D
If you're a student you can get it at a discount price? But that's only for the student version, the licence doesn't let you use it commercially or anything like that o.o
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no its euro's not dollars so its a bit less :-X
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when you finish this mod are you going to make it available on the forum?
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Offcourse some versions are downloadable on my first post
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I prefer soft lines, also, how to do soft lines?
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Just make them a softer colour not black lines
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(http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/4725/hiigbc.png)
For the lulz. Figured you might be able to put it to use.
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WOW :o i'm just shocked.. u had that one lying around or something? its amazing!
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(http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/4725/hiigbc.png)
For the lulz. Figured you might be able to put it to use.
THAT LOOKS AWESOME! Could be some kind of super freighter :D
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naahh its a hiigaran battlecruiser. :P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG_NQ2B6u6s&feature=related
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NOW THAT is the battlecruiser from the game :P
qnd while i say that they alrdy been said :P
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look what this guy has been working on.... 2008 ish graphics on a 2003 game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-EQmybAaqo&feature=related
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WOW :o i'm just shocked.. u had that one lying around or something? its amazing!
It was a quick test to see if I could get something decent from Cold Fusion .hod editor--a modding tool for Homeworld 2 that lets you add hardpoints and textures to ship models. It only took about 5 minutes in Photoshop to go from a simple screenshot to the sprite I posted.
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ah yea i got that program on my pc so that will function aswell?
instead of using all the 3d studio stuff...
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That looks awesome, it would take a huge amount of time, but if all the ships were rendered like that, then painted over pixel by pixel, they would look amazing.
Starfarer's no doubt going to be popular enough that eventually someone's going to come along who'll be mad enough to do it!
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ah yea i got that program on my pc so that will function aswell?
instead of using all the 3d studio stuff...
Yeah, definitely. I just rotated the goblin mesh and the LOD 0 mesh by 90 degrees on the x axis, and took a screenshot. Since the view isn't anti-aliased, you can just select the black background in Photoshop and delete it, leaving a crisp result (though I duplicated the layer and did a small Gaussian blur on the bottom one so the edges weren't too sharp). Then I just threw a few filters on it and called it good, but I'm sure if you spent more time on it the ship would look amazing.
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gunships are finished... turrets a bit misplaced but will be fixed...
(http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/6854/screenshot001pf.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/851/screenshot001pf.png/)
weapons are hvels modified to fire 2 shots with half damage.
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wondering if you still have a .big extractor on your pc.. those things arent findable anymore... atleast i can't find them...
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nvm i found a file on moddb. editing a carrier in photoshop atm...
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sooo kinda like this?
(http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/479/carrierl.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/23/carrierl.png/)
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Looks good. A shame it isn't possible to do orthographic projection in CFHodEd though, the perspective looks kind of strange.
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Its... SO BEAUTIFUL :'(
MAKE A HW2 MOD NAOW
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Its... SO BEAUTIFUL :'(
MAKE A HW2 MOD NAOW
lol i'm trying xD
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sooo kinda like this?
Excellent!
Looks like a torpedo magnet ...
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its actually kind of out of proportion..
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nope its not its 1:1 scale ish
and psy if you read this... hod did you remove a turret. the front turret on the BC for example?
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when fighters try to dock....
(http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7910/naamloosyd.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/215/naamloosyd.png/)
anyone knows what's happening?
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nope its not its 1:1 scale ish
and psy if you read this... hod did you remove a turret. the front turret on the BC for example?
In the ship meshes tab, remove everything that isn't called root_mesh, unless it seems important.
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I am forced by code to eat cheese infront of you.............. sorry, had to do that. Any-who's I think this is a very good mod, and my friend and I thank you for this.
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sorry that you aren not hearing from me that much... i'm very busy with school atm got lots of tests bladibla :/ hope you understand...
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hiigaran carrier finished. currently balancing some other ships...
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summary of ships atm:
(http://img860.imageshack.us/img860/3053/ioncannnonfrigateedit.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/860/ioncannnonfrigateedit.png/)
(http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1162/gunshipv.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/9/gunshipv.png/)
(http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/4476/bomberg.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/600/bomberg.png/)
(http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/488/torpedofrigate.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/269/torpedofrigate.png/)
(http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/9352/interceptor.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/13/interceptor.png/)
(http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/3600/carriern.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/826/carriern.png/)
(http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/1747/flakfrigate.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/252/flakfrigate.png/)
bottom flak frigate sprite will be a bit smaller and is not in the mod yet. i'm working on it
on a sidenote. does anyone have a finished map.. i'm not very good at it so can i get one from someone?
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test week finally finished. will get back to modding stuff soon. hopefully make some more progress... i also have an idea of remaking all the ships exept the gunship and carrier. because they look so different. the first ones are hand drawn and the other are rendered sprites. maybe make them a bit more sprite ish and less render like... you decide..
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battlecruiser is finished i still need to make some missions... then my mod will be uploaded again
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on a sidenote. does anyone have a finished map.. i'm not very good at it so can i get one from someone?
What do you mean by finished map? If you meant a plane with objectives to capture and such, you could always just use the random battle's files as a template.
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Yea like that kinda
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Is this available for 0.5
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nope 2 bad my harddrive crashed :((((((( so now i dont have any files anymore... have to get the rest from rapidshare and start over again