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Starsector 0.97a is out! (02/02/24); New blog post: Simulator Enhancements (03/13/24)

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Messages - Digganob

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 5
1
Mods / Re: [0.95.1a-RC6] More Combat Terrain Effects 1.1.4
« on: January 15, 2023, 04:46:25 PM »
Hm, I have not seen any junk in the debris fields I've fought in thus far. Looking at the mod settings for lunalib, it appears that it's not currently implemented at all. Are you intending to add them later?

2
Modding / Re: Help modifying, not creating.
« on: January 15, 2023, 03:59:53 PM »
How to replace a base game class depends on which class in particular it is (e.g. replacing a hullmod works differently from replacing a skill, or an intel screen item).

In this case, the battle creation plugin is selected on demand by the campaign plugins, e.g. com.fs.starfarer.api.impl.campaign.CoreCampaignPluginImpl.
So to use the new battle creation plugin, your mod needs to have a campaign plugin (easiest way is to extend BaseCampaignPlugin and add it to the game in the mod plugin). The campaign plugin has a pickBattleCreationPlugin method; return your new BCP with a higher priority than the vanilla plugin.

Here's an example of the plugin pick, and how the campaign plugin is added to the game.

Hm. So I've realized I do not know everything I need just yet.

How do I extend a plugin? I have attempted to research this feature of Java, but I have failed to figure how to do this.

3
Mods / Re: [0.95.1a-RC6] More Combat Terrain Effects 1.1.4
« on: January 13, 2023, 09:44:38 AM »
Hot damn, this is exactly one of the mods I've wanted for so long, and it turns out, it just wasn't in the index. The forums have a lot of hidden gems like this, don't they?

Also, you've added junk to debris fields! I myself was planning on implementing something of the sort once I got a handle on more basic modding, which you might already know if you remembered commenting a little while ago on my topic. I'll have to see how you've implemented the debris in this one, and see if I want them to be a bit different. Studying how you did it should help me do so, as well!

Though, I suppose there may be incompatibility. I'll have to be careful of that, I suppose.

4
Modding / Re: Help modifying, not creating.
« on: January 13, 2023, 09:32:21 AM »

Thank you very much! I should be able to get by, now.

5
Modding / Help modifying, not creating.
« on: January 12, 2023, 11:23:33 PM »
I am attempting to increase the spawn rate of asteroids in combat, and I have found what I believe to be the bit of code which will allow me to do so (the loaders which spawn asteroids in BattleCreationPluginImpl.java), however, I am at a loss on how precisely to modify that code through a mod.

I have looked at other mods which modify already-existing things, such as rebalances, and they seem to make a copy of the path and file of the data they wish to modify, and then simply write the code, for instance for a weapon, using the same name and ID and such, and then changing up some of the stats. I suppose that mods are loaded after vanilla data, which then allows the mods to overwrite anything that needs to be overwritten?

Do I do the same if I wish to change the BattleCreationPluginImpl.java file? Would I for instance write in  "loader.addAsteroidField(0, 0, random.nextFloat() * 360f, width, 20f, 70f, numAsteroids);" with "* 10" added after "numAsteroids", into a file named "BattleCreationPluginImpl.java", which is held in the same folder path as the original?

I am not very experienced with programming as you all can probably tell, but after looking through the tutorials on how to do even more advanced modding, I am still confused as to how to go about modding vanilla mechanics.

6
Modding / Re: More and Larger Asteroids + Debris Fields in Combat
« on: December 21, 2022, 11:37:33 PM »
The hulk of a once mighty battleship drifting across the battlefield or the now derelict frame of a station could make great cover or a top-tier annoyance for those trying to get a good shot.

Exactly the idea I had in mind! Sorry I haven't gotten to working on this yet. Life stuff gets in the way, and other interests take precedence. But, I am still planning on working on this! Simply making asteroids more common should by itself be any easy mod to implement, and as I learn more I do still hope to add in combat derelicts to one degree of complexity or another. Hopefully it's possible and practical to implement them in those ways you mentioned, with it being based on surroundings. I'm especially interested in debris fields being a factor in the number and type of debris that show up. It would be awesome to have been fighting several fleets of some faction, and a couple battles in, the battlefield is riddled with hulks from that faction! It would also really give a chance in those last-stand type battles where every tool at your disposal could make a difference, including derelict hulks.

Anyways, I should have a bit more free time in the coming weeks, so hopefully I'll summon the discipline to maintain some progress on working on this project.

7
Oh, your labelling Hellbores as Anti-Ship Batteries gave me an idea: Why not make an actual Anti-Ship Battery weapon?

In FTL it was supposed to be something only the largest ships can carry, so it would make sense as a large slot weapon. It could be extremely inaccurate as it is in FTL, and have slow projectiles, but with a ludicrous range, making it good only for anti-cruiser/capital artillery, and would be beat at closer ranges by more accurate, more efficient weapons. Given that it pierces shields in FTL, you could maybe make it do kinetic damage, but with a very large damage per shot, making it blast through them instead.

I'm not insisting or anything, but I think it's doable as a weapon.

8
AWESOME update! I really like the new variants added, the art is very well done!

Do you think you'll add more pirate variants? Specifically, for some of the cruisers? One of my favorite ships was always the Kestrel C with its pirate colors, also the Fed Cruiser C with its red and black. Regardless, I'm glad we can now see some pirates using FTL ships, very nostalgic.

Also, quick question, what does "breaks saves" mean precisely? Could I update the mod and go back to a save where I haven't significantly interacted with the Star Federation, and everything (except for market changes) be updated just fine? Or what?

If it REALLY messes with saves, I'll be sad to have to start over my current run, but I couldn't live without these new additions, they're really cool!

9
Modding / Re: More and Larger Asteroids + Debris Fields in Combat
« on: August 30, 2022, 12:45:52 AM »
I'm not sure bigger asteroids are possible without generating fake not-actually-asteroids. CombatEngineAPI.spawnAsteroid only provides three sizes.
(But as the existence of the method implies, you can generate an arbitrary number of asteroids with your own script)
Automated asteroid generation volume needs to be set before entering combat, in the game's BattleCreationPlugin.

For ship wrecks, you can add ships in combat with CombatEngineAPI.getFleetManager(side).spawnFleetMember, then call setHulk(true) on the resulting ShipAPI.
Not sure if there's a particular method to break them up into pieces, maybe just apply damage to the hulk? Or you might have to blow them up while they're still alive.

Oh, thank you! As I am still learning how to use Javascript right now I have only a limited idea of what you mean, but I know enough to see that this information is very useful. I'll have to see if I could identify what ships are in a debris field, which would then determine what ship hulks spawn in combat. If I could, that would be very cool!

10
Modding / Re: Shield piercing weapons: Are they possible?
« on: August 23, 2022, 04:19:13 PM »
One dirty way to do that is to run an every frame script that checks if the missile will collide with something shielded on its next frame. If it does, change its collision type to NONE and make it explode after N frames, where you calculate N based on the shield radius. You will have to decide how to handle glancing hits, where the missile would have connected with the shield, but not the ship behind it.

My, that does sound quite dirty. If I don't find a better way to do it, I think I'll just have to have an on-hit effect that applies to ship hull even if it hits the shields, as the first guy said. It might look odd but I suppose it would work for my purposes. Though, thank you for the suggestion, I might be able to work out something good from doing it that way.

11
Modding / Re: Shield piercing weapons: Are they possible?
« on: August 22, 2022, 09:45:25 PM »
it does require programming but it's pretty easy (for a basic piercing effect), CombatEngineAPI.spawnEmpArcPierceShields() will summon an emp arc (like the ion beam or tachyon lance's) that pierces shields & deals damage centered around a nearby weapon / engine slot.

Alternatively (and much more complicatedly), you could use CombatEngineAPI.applyDamage() & some fancy maths to deal damage in the "correct" place on the enemy ship's hull, given the current projectile's trajectory.

either way you'll need an onHitEffect for your new weapon, the vanilla game has some simple examples that you can draw on for setting that up.

Sounds like I could make a missile that practically pierces shields, but could I make one that actually looks like it pierces? Like, it just goes over the shield the same way a fighter does, but hits the hull?

12
Modding / Shield piercing weapons: Are they possible?
« on: August 22, 2022, 12:57:32 AM »
I am planning on making a mod which would involve a special missile weapon that can pierce shields, asking more experience modders (I have no experience myself), is such a mechanic possible to implement? Would it require any special programming a rookie like me wouldn't know how to do immediately?

13
Modding / More and Larger Asteroids + Debris Fields in Combat
« on: August 21, 2022, 12:52:29 PM »
I'm beginning to take my first steps into learning how to mod this game, and a couple of ideas I had in mind were to 1. Make asteroid fields more significant in combat, by first allowing bigger asteroids (for which there are already sprites, I have found), and second by increasing asteroid spawn rates in combat significantly. Like, enough to reduce the practical range of a gauss cannon, for instance.

My second idea, and one I'd imagine is much harder to implement, is causing ship wrecks to show up in combat when your fleets are in a debris field.

The asteroid idea I'd imagine wouldn't be too difficult, all I really need to know is where I can change variables for asteroid spawn rate, and where I can add additional asteroid types to allow them to also spawn in. If anyone would know where/how I could access such variables, that would be helpful.

For combat debris, I'd imagine I'd have to somehow use the combat asteroid mechanic to spawn in ship wrecks, but as far as I know wrecks can only be made through destroying a ship in combat, so I'd have to program something to make pre-destroyed ships in combat. That's the thing I would need more help and pointers for.

Also, tell me what you guys think about this idea! I saw another post made a long while ago, debating whether larger and more common asteroid would be too difficult for the AI to handle maneuvering around, as it already has trouble with ship wrecks, and making what is practically very similar to a capital-sized ship wreck much more common may cause some issues.

14
General Discussion / Modifying various visual effects.
« on: August 18, 2022, 10:22:18 PM »
I would like to decrease the intensity of fires and other effects that happen upon damage to ships, is there some multiplier somewhere to affect the intensity of those effects?

Edit: To clarify, I do not mean the whiteout explosion that occurs on bigger ships. I mean the mass of molten metal that a reaper torpedo creates upon contact with your ship. I would like to reduce that to some extent.

15
Modding / Re: Looking for a survival/roguelike mod
« on: August 18, 2022, 02:50:44 AM »
I second this idea. It's funny, I was considering such an idea myself, as I both enjoy those elements of time sensitivity and resource management, as well as the combat and ship building aspects of Starsector, and it would be a joy to see both of them working in tandem.

I have considered challenge runs with specific rules I set for myself: With the Nexerelin mod you can [SPOILERS]: start with the teleporter, and thus use gates you come across. Using that, I could, for instance, explore the outer worlds in an attempt to find gates, which would act as a rest stop, allowing me to return to a friendly system to restock on supplies and buy ships and weapons and hullmods, and in between each gate, scavenge and fight for resources and discoveries which would help me later, and, after a set number of gates, I would then attempt some "final boss" of a challenge: Maybe to invade some specific, tough system, which could then maybe lead into another challenge.

That's the thing that almost draws me away from Starsector, though the sheer enjoyment of the different mechanics still draws me in; There's no set goal. The only thing you could consider the objective is to conquer the galaxy, but even that is hardly a good goal; At some point you reach the peak of difficulty, and after that, it's a simple task of taking your massive amount of resources, and crushing the remaining 40% of the galaxy with it. Before then is interesting, as you're defending your systems against multiple factions, while attempting to invade and take their systems. But there's no showdown, no "final battle" you're preparing for.

Maybe, the closest thing would be the strongest invasion fleet they throw at you, before you are finally able to deliver that finishing blow to their main system, whichever faction you're fighting. But, it's hardly as climactic as something like the Rebel Flagship from FTL, though it's far more realistic for the hardest battle to be the one in the middle of a war.

Anyways, I'd imagine a true roguelike experience would require a Nexerelin amount of effort to make it happen. It is in essentiality an overhaul. It would require a complete redoing of how the factions interact with each other and the map, and you. It would require some level of scripting, like set pirate/enemy patrols and encounters and such, in order to give a somewhat consistent level of difficulty. And then, it would require an increasing level of difficulty, as you get closer to whatever goal is set. And then, many balance patches.

It's not impossible, but it would be a project, no doubt. It would require someone with talent, someone akin to the creator of Nexerelin, and someone with the desire to make such an idea a reality, no less. I would be very interested in such a project myself, and if I already had experience with modding I might take it up myself. But alas, that's quite the time sink, learning how to do such a thing.

I would not hope for such a project to ever be made. I would say, set up an interesting challenge for yourself. You can make your own faction with Nexerelin: Go ahead and try to defend its colonies for as long as possible after declaring war on the rest of the sector. Set yourself a time limit for eliminating every other faction. Make a trade convoy, and with the proceeds over some set time, make a warfleet that you'll attempt to take a system with. There's all sorts of different options and ideas for good challenges that might tickle that fancy we share for roguelikes. Maybe, you'll figure out an idea that's actually good. A good candidate for a good mod. And then maybe someone will pick that idea up, and make something of it.

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