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Topics - Dark.Revenant

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31
Bug Reports & Support / portrait_generic.png
« on: November 21, 2015, 10:53:16 PM »
Steps: Use the following portrait definition in the faction file.
Code
    "portraits":{
        "standard_male":[
            "graphics/portraits/portrait_generic.png",
        ],
        "standard_female":[
            "graphics/portraits/portrait_generic.png",
        ],
    },

Result: Officers instantly despawn when the fleet is created.  Visually, the fleet has a flagship designated, and someone to talk to on comms, but no combat officers (not even the commander's "officer").


You don't want to know how long it took to find this one.

32
General Discussion / Colors of Starsector
« on: October 01, 2015, 09:09:40 PM »
Colors of Starsector
All of these images are generated in the same manner.
1:2 scaling is used.
Color is the average of each visible pixel of the ship sprite.
All images are enhanced with a filter to better match what the eye notices about a ship's color.




Starsector




Starsector+




Blackrock Drive Yards




Citadel




Exigency Incorporated




Interstellar Imperium




Junk Pirates / P.A.C.K. / ASP Syndicate




Mayorate




SCY Nation




Shadowyards Reconstruction Authority




Knights Templar




Tiandong Heavy Industries

33
Suggestions / Alignment
« on: October 01, 2015, 05:15:12 PM »
A possible mechanic for a long term goal/statistic/trend for the player is the idea of an Alignment.  This differs from Reputation (though, I would have liked for the terms to be swapped around, since "reputation" fits this better), in that Alignment is not relative; it's your personal attitude, public reputation, and global appearance.  Alignment would describe not your friends and enemies but how the sector itself treats you.

A starting character would have no alignment: a nobody.  As time goes on, your character's actions and choices would contribute to alignment, growing the character's reputation in one way or another.  This is what would separate a peacekeeping, world-saving industrial magnate and a ruthless military commander who considers happiness to be the lamentations of the women whose mates they slaughtered in glorious battle.

No doubt you already plan for most of these choices to be in the game.  What this mechanic would do is present the player a tangible indication of what kind of person they've become, and what the public thinks of them.  Strong descriptive words would be useful: Thug, Guardian, Dictator, Made Man, etc. would show not only the nature but also the magnitude of your alignment.

Because of this, it can tie in to campaign mechanics.  Certain missions would only be readily available to certain types of commanders; other types of commanders would have look further or try harder to get work that they are not "suited" for.  Some officers would only work for certain types of leaders, leaving if you strayed too far in a direction they don't agree with.  Fleets might be more willing to surrender to someone who is not a known butcher, someone willing to let a crippled enemy go; if you don't take prisoners, nobody will leave you any.

Something to consider for facilitating content development later on, I suppose.

34
Bug Reports & Support / Hide hullmods that can't be installed
« on: February 14, 2015, 03:42:40 PM »

Note: ITU is already installed.

The hull mods "Flux Coil Adjunct", "Flux Distributor", "Hardened Subsystems", "Heavy Armor", "Insulated Engine Assembly", "Integrated Point Defense AI", and "Keshef Sensor Suite" don't appear in the list after clicking hide, even though they can be installed.  It appears that the list gets truncated when you try to wrap the hullmods into a smaller space.

35
Modding / Modding Guidelines
« on: February 11, 2015, 01:33:32 PM »
This post is meant to explain numerous observations, most of which are undocumented and discovered through analysis, trial-and-error, or word of mouth.  Feel free to discuss my findings and suggest more things to add.

Terminology
Should – A recommendation.  Not a huge deal if you deviate, but make sure there's a purpose for it.
Shall – A requirement.  You may deviate only if there is a compelling reason for it.



Ship Design
  • Sprite:
    • Ship volume should remain reasonably close to the average for its size classification.  A sprite with the visual size of a Dominator is visually recognizable as a cruiser, so the ship's classification ought to be "cruiser," to match.
    • The ship sprite should not be excessively large.  It is difficult to play the game with ships that are too large, the AI can choke, balance becomes an issue, effects can become problematic, etc.
    • Empty (full-alpha) borders on the sprite should be avoided.  However, you should leave 1 pixel on each border, to avoid texture filtering issues in some situations.  The extra pixels potentially use more video memory and can cause the AI to have trouble hitting the ship.  You do not have to edit existing sprites, however (unless it's way off), because you will potentially have to re-do the hull file.
  • Layout:
    • Weapon slot count shall not be excessively high.  Frigates do not have large slots.  Destroyers have up to one large slot.  Cruisers have up to two large slots.  Capital ships have up to four large slots.  For broadside ships, like the Conquest, only count one broadside (the larger one, if they are different sizes) for this figure.  These figures do not include built-ins, which can be balanced specifically for a particular ship.  Slight deviation is allowed in compelling circumstances, but too much of this is highly frowned upon.
    • Universal slots shall be considered significantly better than mono-type slots.  The potential for optimized or even game-breaking loadouts is much greater when universal slots are used.  Consider universal slots to be an advantage that compensates for some other weakness, such as below-average slot count/size (see the Doom for an example).
    • Weapon arcs should be kept conservative.  It is a significant advantage to have numerous converging weapon arcs; consider using hardpoints instead of turrets if the ship has numerous overlapping frontal arcs.
    • Weapon arcs shall not break the illusion of shape and depth.  A weapon should not be able to shoot "through" a section of the ship it would not reasonably have line of sight to, given the weapon's "3D" position on the sprite.
    • Universal, Synergy, and Composite slots should be used sparingly.  It is more difficult to balance these slots, and ships with these slot types are more difficult to outfit.  The fact that missiles can be put in these slots can lead to a huge alpha-strike build-up.  It helps to treat them as if they are more powerful Missile slots.
    • Hybrid slots should be used carefully.  Ships with hybrid slots are more difficult to outfit, and hybrid slots cannot be downgraded in size.  However, compared to the other mixed types, Hybrid is not as much of an issue.
    • Hidden weapons should be avoided, except on drones and fighters.  These slots tend to have more issues than other types of slots, especially if missiles are mounted on them.

Ship Stats
  • Structure:
    • Armor shall not be excessively high.  Fights with ships that have more than twice the armor of an Onslaught are uninteresting at best, badly broken at worst.
    • Mass should represent the ship's size and perceived weight.  Excessively high or low values can cause strangeness and erroneous collision damage calculations.
    • Hull points should represent the visual size of the sprite.  Durable or fragile ships ought to have hull adjusted up or down, respectively, but the baseline for hull is essentially how meaty the ship looks.
  • Ordnance:
    • Ordnance points should be sufficient to install a baseline weapon in every slot.  The baseline minimum is 2 OP for small slots, 8 OP for medium slots, and 16 OP for large slots.
    • Ordnance points for military ships should be sufficient to install a standard weapon in every slot and half-way fill vents and capacitors.  The standard is 5 OP for small slots, 10 OP for medium slots, and 20 OP for large slots; 10 OP for frigates, 20 OP for destroyers, 30 OP for cruisers, and 50 OP for capital ships.  The typical standard is to count the slots, add 5/10/20 OP for each of them (depending on size), and then add 15/30/45/75 OP based on hull size, though some ships will differ (particularly battleships, which add more like 115+).
  • Crew:
    • Skeleton crew should not be excessively low compared to vanilla ships of the same classification, unless the ship consumes supplies at an accelerated rate or otherwise has a built-in High Maintenance hull mod.  10 crew on a destroyer is probably not okay.
    • Skeleton crew should not be excessively high compared to vanilla ships of the same classification.  1000 crew on a cruiser is not okay, especially since this makes the half-crew-requirement perk way more powerful.
  • Logistics:
    • Fleet points shall represent the ship's combat capability.  Fleet points are used for many internal calculations, especially fleet construction and threat assessment.  Vanilla benchmarks include 6+ for high-tier frigates, 11+ for high-tier destroyers, 16+ for high-tier cruisers, and 26+ for high-tier capital ships.
    • Supplies per deployment shall represent the combat prowess of the ship, compared to vanilla ships of the same classification.
    • CR recovery rate should remain close to vanilla ships of the same classification.  Adjust up or down to a reasonable degree if the ship should seem more or less reliable.
    • Supplies per month should be equivalent to supplies per deployment.
  • Flux:
    • Frontal shield arcs shall be a multiple of 2.  Otherwise, omni shield conversion will not divide into a whole number.
    • Shield efficiency shall be reasonable.  In vanilla, extremely good shields have efficiency 0.6, average-to-good shields have efficiency 0.8, poor shields have efficiency 1, and terrible shields have efficiency 1.2 or greater.  Take into account flux capacity; a larger capacity makes for stronger shields.
    • Flux capacity should trend toward vanilla ratios.  These are 12.5x dissipation for frigates, 16.67x dissipation for destroyers, 20x dissipation for cruisers, and 25x dissipation for capital ships.  Adjust depending on balance.
    • Shield arc should be a common angle.  Angles used in vanilla include 45, 90, 120, 150, 160, 180, 270, 300, and 360.
  • Travel:
    • Burn speed should fall within vanilla limits.  Fighters: burn 9 to burn 11.  Frigates: burn 9 to burn 11.  Destroyers: burn 8 to burn 9.  Cruisers: burn 7 to burn 8.  Capital Ships: burn 6 to burn 7.  Note that burn 11 is exceedingly rare, reserved for only the best and the fastest ships.  The lower end of the burn range for any given ship class, particularly burn speeds below 8, is considered a significant disadvantage.  Many players would rather have a more expensive, weaker fast ship than a cheap, effective, but slow ship.
    • Hyperspace range should be roughly similar to vanilla.  Average ships travel 40-60 light years, efficient ships travel 80-100 light years, and clunkers travel 20-30 light years.  Tankers are exempt.
    • Fuel per light year should follow vanilla guidelines.  Frigates: 1 fuel per light year.  Destroyers: 2 to 3 fuel per light year.  Cruisers: 3 to 5 fuel per light year.  Capital Ships: 10 to 15 fuel per light year.  Significant deviations can cause metagame issues in the campaign.  Tugs are exempt, but should be around 5 fuel per light year per ship towed.
  • Description:
    • All ships and skins shall have a description in descriptions.csv or the .skin file.
    • All ship systems shall have a description in descriptions.csv.
    • The first paragraph of the description shall fit in the mouse-over dialog window without being cut off.
  • Price and rarity shall not be considered important balancing stats.  If the ship is simply better than other options in anything but a very minor or superficial way, it ought to be changed -- rare or not.  Logistics stats are a better last-ditch balancing tool.
  • Extreme weaknesses shall not be used to counteract extreme strengths.  Weaknesses can be worked around or avoided by a player, while the strengths can be ludicrously maximized with the right tools.  Particularly unusual ships also confuse the AI.
  • All ships that can be piloted by the player shall have a ship system.

Hull Files
  • Bounds:
    • Ship bounds shall represent a polygon.  Non-polygonal shapes (such as an hourglass made from only four points) cause undefined behavior.  Vertices or edges that overlap are allowed only if the edges do not fully cross over each other.
    • Ship bounds should be simplified in shape to avoid unnecessary points.  Collision detection can be slow if there are too many points on the bounds.  See the Aurora hull file for a good, if somewhat overzealous example.
    • Large hollow areas should be carved out of the ship bounds.  See the Paragon hull file for an example.
    • Overall ship bounds should be convex.  Large concave sections can cause AI issues.
  • Radius:
    • The center of the collision radius shall be reasonably exact to the ship's center of mass.
    • The collision circle shall encapsulate the entire ship bounds.
    • The entire shield circle shall be encapsulated by the collision circle.
  • Weapons:
    • Modular weapon mounts shall be centered on the graphical slot sprite, except where doing so causes awkward visuals or poor overlaps.
    • Built-in weapons with a painted-on sprite shall have an arc of 0 degrees.
    • Weapons of the same size and type shall not overlap.
    • Hardpoints should have an arc of 5 degrees.  For certain ships or situations with widely-spaced hardpoints, larger arcs (such as 10 degrees) may suffice.
    • Weapon overlap shall have larger weapons placed visually higher on the sprite than smaller weapons.  Larger weapons always render on top of smaller weapons.
    • Weapon overlap should be avoided where possible.  However, sometimes this is unavoidable or is visually acceptable due to the ship's "3D" shape.
  • Engines:
    • Custom engine styles shall be defined in engine_styles.json.  Defining inline engine styles causes confusion and is hard to support.
    • Engines should be 1 pixel out from the edge of the sprite.  However, some situations exist where a different distance (typically, towards the ship) is desirable.
    • Engine quantity should be minimized.  If multiple thruster trails could be combined without visual issue, do so; engines are computationally expensive.
  • Ships should not use TwigLib.  Use it only when there is a good reason to do so, because using it is a lot of extra work, can cause problems, and is hard to support.

Weapons
  • Description:
    • All modular weapons shall have a description and role classification in descriptions.csv.
    • All weapons with the SHOW_IN_CODEX flag shall have a description and role classification in descriptions.csv.
    • All built-in weapons that appear on a ship that can be piloted by the player shall have a description and role classification in descriptions.csv.
    • The first paragraph of the description shall fit in the mouse-over dialog window without being cut off.
    • Built-in weapons that appear on a ship that can be piloted by the player should have the SHOW_IN_CODEX flag, except in situations where this would not be useful (such as for redundant entries, e.g. mirrored weapons, or utility weapons, e.g. those used for TwigLib).
    • System/utility weapons that don't show up in a visible weapon slot and are not otherwise visible or useful to the player shall not have the SHOW_IN_CODEX flag.
    • Weapon role classifications should be standard.  Standard classifications include Assault, Close Support, Fire Support, Strike, Anti-Fighter, Point Defense, and Special.
  • Sprite:
    • Non-built-in weapons shall have a turret and a hardpoint version.  The hardpoint version may be the same sprite as the turret version, just aligned differently.
    • Weapon sprite alignment and barrel locations shall be correct.  Remember, the "origin" of a turret is the exact center of the sprite (50% from the bottom and left), and the "origin" of a hardpoint is a quarter-length up the sprite (25% from the bottom and 50% from the left).
    • Weapon sprites shall not be unusually small or large for their slot size.  Deviating from this causes overlap issues in many cases, and can just look silly.  Built-in weapons are exempt.
    • Empty (full-alpha) borders on the sprite should be avoided, except to enforce correct alignment.  However, you should leave 1 pixel on each border, to avoid texture filtering issues in some situations.  The extra pixels potentially use more video memory.  Do not edit existing sprites, however, because you will have to re-do the alignment and barrel offsets.
  • Range:
    • Unusually long-ranged ballistic and energy weapons shall have significant drawbacks.  For example, the Gauss Cannon has a elevated OP cost and is inefficient.
    • Ballistic and energy weapons should fall within vanilla range tolerances.  Small weapons are considered long-range at 700-800 range, medium weapons are long-range at 900-1000 range, and large weapons are long-range at 1100-1200 range.
    • Small missile weapons should not be LRMs.  Exercise extreme caution with small LRMs, because they are far more easily massed than other types of missiles.
  • Balance:
    • Price and rarity shall not be considered important balancing stats.  If the weapon is simply better than other options in anything but a very minor or superficial way, it out to be changed -- rare or not.  Ordnance Points are a better last-ditch balancing tool.
    • Armor penetration shall be considered an important stat.  Remember: higher damage per shot (or damage per second for a beam) means it penetrates armor better.
    • Burst damage shall be considered an important stat, especially for small and medium weapon slots that one might find on faster ships.
    • Weapon OP costs shall fall broadly near vanilla levels.  Small weapons: 1 to 9 OP.  Medium weapons: 8 to 15 OP.  Large weapons: 16 to 32 OP.  Exceptions may be made for top-tier weapons that are not usually available for purchase.
    • Extreme weaknesses shall not be used to counteract extreme strengths.  Weaknesses can be worked around or avoided by a player, while the strengths can be ludicrously maximized with the right tools.  The AI is also generally incapable of working around the limitations of weapons.
    • Weapons should use vanilla stats as a baseline.  Significant deviations from vanilla weapons should have a corresponding penalty elsewhere, such as slot size, OP, flux cost, range, and so forth.
  • Markets:
    • Weapons shall not have tier above 3 or below 0.  The only exception is if the weapon is not intended to be able to be purchased anywhere (except a custom market, presumably).
    • Weapon tier shall reflect how desirable the weapon is.  A top-tier weapon should be tier 3 while cheap/knock-off/degraded/inferior hardware should be tier 0.
    • Weapon prices should be within the same ballpark as similar size/tier/OP vanilla weapons.

DynaSector Compatibility
  • Weapon mounts that are intended to be mirrored shall have exactly identical arcs and exactly inverted angles.  For example, if one mount has angle 50 degrees and arc 120 degrees, the angle should be -50 or 310 degrees and the arc should be 120 degrees.  Otherwise, the randomizer will not mirror weapon assignments.
  • Non-mirrored weapon mounts (such as the middle of three medium ballistic hardpoints, two different pairs of small missile hardpoints, etc.) should have different angles or arcs.  For example, if mirrored pair A has angle 50/-50 degrees and arc 120 degrees, mirrored pair B should have angle 50.01/-50.01 degrees or arc 120.01 degrees.  Otherwise, the randomizer will mistakenly mirror weapon assignments to these slots.

36
For weapons that reload with clips, there is no (Sustained DPS) indicator, yet the flux indicator uses the actual sustained rate of fire, leading to confusion and inaccuracy.  It should only use the sustained flux statistic if it also shows sustained DPS.  IMO, any weapon that reloads should have a Sustained DPS indicator.

37
Bug Reports & Support / Buff does not update CR tracker
« on: January 22, 2015, 02:23:25 AM »
A Buff (the kind you use with BuffManager) that modifies the MutableStat from getBaseCRRecoveryRatePercentPerDay() does not update the CR tracker, but shows in the ship's stat card.  As a result, it's quite confusing and also makes stations overcharge you for repairs.  The ship does gain CR at the new rate, to clarify, but the UI does not represent this.




38
Bug Reports & Support / Phase Teleport bug
« on: January 21, 2015, 07:35:42 PM »
Phase teleporting does not point in the correct direction sometimes.

To produce:
1. Fly a Hyperion.
2. Target a ship and teleport near it.  You will point toward that ship.  Remember the angle you exit the teleport in.
3. Destroy the target ship.
4. Teleport into empty space.  Instead of pointing in the direction of travel, you exit the teleport facing the direction from step 2.  This continues until you teleport near an enemy ship.

This bug is especially bad for larger teleporting ships, as one can find in mods, since they cannot turn as quickly as a Hyperion (though it's still annoying even with the mobile Hyperion).

39
Bug Reports & Support / Size-one fighter wings can't be replaced
« on: January 20, 2015, 04:51:30 PM »
A fighter wing of size one (one member only, such as Citadel's Mako), regardless of replacement chassis, cannot be replaced in battle.  When the fighter dies, regardless of carriers on the field, the game reports it as having no combat-capable craft remaining.

This is not behavior that one would expect from a fighter wing, so it should be fixed for consistency.

40
General Discussion / Starsector Ship Tiers
« on: January 14, 2015, 11:54:22 PM »
Starsector Ship Tiers List
This is a resource and an ongoing effort to categorize ships, both vanilla and modded, on a scale of general usefulness.

Be sure to comment if you feel that certain ships should be in a different tier!  Please post your own tier lists (especially for mods I missed) and explain why you think that way.

Modders: Aim for Tiers 2-4, and try to keep the majority in Tier 3.  Avoid creating Tier 1 ships, unless the ship is extremely hard to come by or NPC-only.  Tier 5 ships are actually okay, but try to limit the amount.  Nobody wants to play a mod where everything sucks, after all.



Tier 1
Best of the best.  A no-brainer option better than anything else for its role.  Potentially versatile, filling many possible roles well.  Usually performs well even outside of its role.

Fighter: Teuton WingTem

Frigate: Hyperion • Tempest

Destroyer: AsuraBR

Cruiser: PaladinTem

Capital: Paragon • MimirSRA



Tier 2
A very good ship, typically one that performs one role very well and can hold its own in other situations.  Not as versatile or all-performing as a Tier 1, but still competitive.

Fighter: Broadsword Wing • Dagger Wing • Thunder Wing • Wasp Wing • Claw WingSS+ • Claymore WingSS+ • Lightning WingSS+ • Trident WingSS+ • Xyphos WingSS+ • Skinwalker WingSRA • Angha WingMay • Heak WingCit • Serket WingBR • Vespa WingBR • Azata WingExi • Naxos WingExi

Frigate: Afflictor • AlastorSS+ • DecurionII • MaximusII • ConduitCit • PorterCit • ImaginosBR • Mod SilverfishBR • ScarabBR • SilverfishBR • Silverfish-BBR • HammerJP • JesuitTem • MartyrTem • MegaeraSCY • Stymphalian BirdSCY

Destroyer: Enforcer • Gemini1 • Medusa • MorningstarSRA • DesdinovaBR • MorpheusBR • ScorpionBR • CrusaderTem • Komondor (CB)PACK • Pitbull (CB)PACK • RidgebackPACK • Lamia (Armored)SCY

Cruiser: Dominator • Doom • Eagle • Heron2 • ZenithSS+ • DictatorII • Charybdis2SRA • ScyllaSRA • TartarusSRA • Del AzarchelMay • AdumbralCit • NovaCit • TorusCit • Convergence2BR • NevermoreBR • Gigantophis2ASP • Erymanthian Boar (Armored)SCY • Manticore (Carrier)3SCY • Stheno (Armored)SCY • ShourenTHI

Capital: Onslaught • RenegadeSS+ • VictorySS+ • Matriarch7II • RavanaMay • Sierra2Cit • KarkinosBR • Irithia2Exi • Archbishop3Tem • Nemean LionSCY



Tier 3
A solid ship.  Either acts as a jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none, or specializes very well for one role at the cost of being sub-par at everything else.

Fighter: Gladius Wing • Talon Wing • Trident Wing • Warthog Wing • Xyphos Wing • Dagger WingSS+ • Halberd WingSS+ • Sentinel WingSS+ • Draconarius WingII • Scutum WingII • Vicarius WingII • Kobold WingSRA • Neriad WingSRA • Raksasha WingSRA • Inanna WingMay • Raad WingMay • Arrowhead WingCit • Firewall WingCit • Mako WingCit • Dipteron WingBR • Krait WingBR • Kaivor WingExi • Naithyr WingExi • Tarujan WingExi • Azazel WingAA • Cleat WingJP • Splinter WingJP • Constrictor WingASP • Bite WingASP • Dadao WingTHI • Hefei WingTHI • Yiling WingTHI

Frigate: Brawler • Hermes • Monitor • Omen • Shade • Vigilance • Wolf • ExcelsiorSS+ • HecateSS+ • LasherSS+ • PhalanxSS+ • ScytheSS+ • TigerSS+ • VenomSS+ • Venom-XSS+ • BasileusII • Basileus-FII • InvictusII • AshnanSRA • EnlilSRA • InannaSRA • SeskiSRA • ShamashSRA • LilithMay • TiamatMay • AuralCit • RondureCit • ParticleCit • StableCit • LocustBR • MantisBR • ElhiurExi • IndraExi • YriaExi • RauwelAA • ClamJP • SickleJP • StoatJP • Bedlington (CB)PACK • SamoyedPACK • SchnauzerPACK • WirefoxPACK • DiamondbackASP • AlectoSCY • LealapsSCY • TalosSCY • TisiphoneSCY • NanzhongTHI • WujunTHI

Destroyer: Condor1 • Hammerhead • Mule • Sunder • Tarsus • AlbatrossSS+ • ArcherSS+ • ArchonSS+ • BeholderSS+ • CamelSS+ • Construction RigSS+ • RevenantSS+ • SharkSS+ • Sunder (U)SS+ • VanguardSS+ • CenturionII • InterrexII • LynxII • PraetorianII • Princeps1II • Sargasso1SRA • SolidaritySRA • CimeterreMay • Foraker1May • SafirMay • Safir BMay • Ayre1Cit • CometCit • ModemCit • TacitCit • CetoniaBR • GonodactylusBR • Typheus1BR • Nasir1Exi • ZephosExi • AzryelAA • Kafziel1AA • BoxensteinJP • BoxerJP • LangoustineJP • Octopus1JP • TurbotJP • BRTPACK • KomondorPACK • PitbullPACK • Ridgeback XPACK • Shar PeiPACK • Copperhead1ASP • Argus1SCY • EuryaleSCY • LamiaSCY • OrthrusSCY • GuanduTHI • HanzhongTHI • HujingTHI • Tianshui1THI

Cruiser: Apogee • Aurora • Falcon • Venture1 • Castle1SS+ • CirceSS+ • KestrelSS+ • PunisherSS+ • StalkerSS+ • SummitSS+ • VindicatorSS+ • Vindicator (O)SS+ • VultureSS+ • Eagle (I)II • Falcon (I)II • JupiterII • MalleusII • Sebastos1II • ElysiumSRA • Jamaran1May • DriverCit • Inland1Cit • Knight1BR • StenosBR • PergonExi • HarinderAA • DugongJP • GoatJP • MagpieJP • MastiffPACK • Erymanthian BoarSCY • KhalkotauroiSCY • ManticoreSCY • Siren1SCY • SthenoSCY • Dingjun1THI • WuzhangTHI

Capital: Astral6 • Atlas • Conquest • Odyssey1 • Cathedral4SS+ • CronusSS+ • CaesarII • Dominus1II • LeviathanII • OlympusII • Eschaton1BR • KurmarajaBR • Gehenna1AA • KrakenJP • Orca2JP • Keto4SCY • XiakouTHI • XuTHI



Tier 4
A situational ship.  Not the best in any category, but can hold its own in its area of specialization.  Usually performs poorly outside of its role.

Fighter: Piranha Wing • Longbow WingSS+ • Flamen WingII • Proton WingCit • Glynado WingExi • Saraph WingAA • Shard WingJP • Spike WingJP • Venom WingASP • Armored Mining Drone WingTHI

Frigate: Cerberus • Dram • Hound • Lasher • Ox • Shepherd • Wolf (D) • Avalon1SS+ • NautilusSS+ • TickSS+ • TorchSS+ • TundraSS+ • AurigaII • SouthpawSRA • RobberflyBR • BedlingtonPACK • Samoyed (Base)PACK • CentaurSCY • LaohuTHI • LuoyangTHI

Destroyer: Buffalo • Buffalo Mk.II • Enforcer (D) • Mule (D) • Sunder (D) • Tarsus (D) • Phaeton • ArachneSS+ • BoarSS+ • BullSS+ • LocomotiveSS+ • Rook1SS+ • SloopSS+ • ValkyrieSS+ • VistaSS+ • LambentSRA • PotniaSRA • Potnia-bisSRA • ScytheJP • BaliusSCY • HydraSCY • TelchineSCY • Chengdu1THI • TuoluTHI

Cruiser: BarbarianSS+ • Dominator (D) • ThresherSRA

Capital: Prometheus • Dragon1SS+ • InfernusSS+ • MonolithCit • XanthusSCY



Tier 5
Just bad.  Mediocre on a good day, terrible on a bad day.  Can't hold its own even in its area of specialization, if it has one.  Possibly a trap option.  Avoid.

Fighter: Longbow Wing • Mining Pod Wing • Neutron WingCit

Frigate: Cerberus (D) • Hermes (D) • Hound (D) • Lasher (D) • Mercury • Mercury (D) • SidecarSS+

Destroyer: Buffalo (D) • Construction Rig • Hammerhead (D) • Valkyrie

Cruiser: Eagle (D) • Falcon (D)

Capital: The Reaper1JP



Legend
Number in subscript: Number of flight decks

SS+: Starsector+
II: Interstellar Imperium
SRA: Shadowyards Reconstruction Authority
May: The Mayorate
Cit: Citadel
BR: Blackrock Drive Yards
Exi: Exigency Corporation
AA: Ahriman Association
Tem: The Knights Templar
JP: Junk Pirates
PACK: P.A.C.K.
ASP: ASP Syndicate
SCY: SCY Nation
THI: Tiandong Heavy Industries

41
Mods / [0.8.1a] Save Transfer 1.11.8 (DEAD)
« on: January 12, 2015, 03:15:51 AM »

We also recommend Version Checker to notify you when an update is ready.

Having problems?  Visit the Mod Troubleshooting Guide!

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What is this?
Save Transfer is a mod that lets you transfer your levels, reputation, credits, storage, cargo, ships, and weapons to another save file.  This allows you to continue characters that would be broken by an update.  For example, if a Starsector+ update breaks save compatibility, you can use Save Transfer to keep your progress instead of starting anew.  Save Transfer is even mod-safe; incompatible ships/weapons will be removed from your fleet upon load.

Mission/event progress (aside from specific exceptions, like bounty progress), and other campaign-specific items will not be transferred.  Everything that was in storage submarkets will be thrown into your fleet or dumped out into a special storage area.

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This is pretty life-changing.

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It works like a charm.

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Resupplying my weaponry has proven to be quite the adventure!

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So uh, what's up with the giant middle finger?

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Before Save Transfer™ every update I was in the dog house, my monument of destruction the Onslaught "Seeker of Dat Atlass" ran away from home. Now with Save Transfer™ me and my Onslaught can Conquest to Victory, Thanks Dark Revenant!


How to Use
Step 1: Load up your old save (make sure you do this before updating!)

Step 2: Open up the console (default: control-backspace) and enter "copysave"

Step 3: Paste your save data from the clipboard into Notepad or a similar program to keep it safe (control-v)

Step 4: Create or load a new save (after updating!)

Step 5: Make sure your save data is in the clipboard (copy it with control-c)

Step 6: Open up the console again and enter "loadsave"

Step 7: (Nexerelin) Enter "SyncFactionRelationships" into the console


Change Log
Version 1.11.8 (August 5, 2018):
- Nexerelin 0.8.3f compatibility

Version 1.11.7 (April 23, 2018):
- Fixed bounty-related bugs

Version 1.11.6 (January 10, 2018):
- Nexerelin compatibility

Version 1.11.5 (October 1, 2017):
- An attempt to fix a hullmod-related crash

Version 1.11.4 (June 19, 2017):
- Clamp XP after loading a save to the XP necessary for the maximum level

Version 1.11.3 (June 11, 2017):
- Support for new IBB staging system

Version 1.11.2 (June 10, 2017):
- Fixed typo that broke the mod

Version 1.11.1 (June 10, 2017):
- Fixed a variety of minor bugs

Version 1.11.0 (June 4, 2017):
- Compatible with Starsector 0.8.1a

Version 1.10.0 (September 17, 2016):
- Started change tracking
- Crash fix

Version 1.9.1 (April 22, 2016):
- Support for Ship/Weapon Pack
- Saves player fleet location

Version 1.9.0 (March 26, 2016):
- Saves Nexerelin market capture states (for all factions)
- Saves Nexerelin inter-faction relationship levels
- Saves Nexerelin alliances (except names)

Version 1.8.0 (March 3, 2016):
- Support for Starsector 0.7.2a
- Attempt to save player-faction Nexerelin markets

Version 1.7.3 (January 30, 2016):
- Added options flags to the LoadSave command, allowing customization of what is saved

Version 1.7.2 (January 1, 2016):
- Fixed officer portrait saving when switching mods

Version 1.7.1 (December 31, 2015):
- Bug fixes

Version 1.7.0 (December 18, 2015):
- Ship variants are now transferred
- Officers are now assigned to the ship they were originally placed in
- Bug fixes

Version 1.6.0 (December 5, 2015):
- Now saves player and officer skills
- Bug fixes

Version 1.5.0 (November 24, 2015):
- Now saves officers (does not save skill choices though, just the XP/name/portrait/etc)
- Miscellaneous improvements
- Bounty and Famous Bounty states saved (SS+ compatible)

Version 1.4.4 (April 23, 2015):
- CR is now saved
- Ship health is now saved

Version 1.4.3 (April 1, 2015):
- Fixed various major bugs

Version 1.4.2 (March 28, 2015):
- Fixed missing cargo

Version 1.4.1 (March 27, 2015):
- Storage now gets erased when you transfer in, to avoid duplicates piling up

Version 1.4 (February 14, 2015):
- Nonessential cargo (anything but ships, supplies, crew, and fuel) gets dumped into the console storage instead of the player's fleet on load
- Some miscellaneous improvements you probably won't notice

Version 1.3.3 (February 7, 2015):
- Bounty levels now transfer (works for vanilla and SS+; does nothing otherwise)
- Hopefully fixed rare error that caused some items to not transfer

Version 1.3.2 (January 27, 2015):
- Omnifactory is now saved (hackish approach, but works in most cases)

Version 1.3.1 (January 24, 2015):
- Fixed a bug where repeated use of "copysave" would duplicate storage items

Version 1.3 (January 14, 2015):
- Player-owned storage is now saved

Version 1.2 (January 13, 2015):
- Save output is now compressed

Version 1.1 (January 12, 2015):
- Fixed saving fighter wings

Version 1.0 (January 12, 2015):
- Initial release

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The CombatEngineAPI.spawnProjectile() function does not transfer every stat from the source/weapon every time.  Some stats, such as damage, remain default in some situations.

All tests were done with a cheated character with max stats, using the flagship only.

When testing in the simulator in the campaign, spawned ballistic projectiles from a ballistic weapon were faster, but did not have a damage bonus.
When testing in the simulator in the campaign, spawned ballistic projectiles from a missile weapon were faster, but did not have a damage bonus.
When testing in a campaign battle, spawned ballistic projectiles from a ballistic weapon were faster and did inherit a damage bonus.
When testing in a campaign battle, spawned ballistic projectiles from a missile weapon were faster, but did not have a damage bonus.

This affects a variety of modded weapons, particularly shotgun scripts and custom-AI MIRV weapons.

43
Bug Reports & Support (modded) / [Important!] Modded System Requirements
« on: November 19, 2014, 04:27:20 PM »
To play mods with Starsector, you need two things:
  • Sufficient system RAM (System RAM) - (Action required!)
  • Sufficient video RAM (VRAM)


RAM

Starsector, especially with mods involved, can use a lot of System RAM when saving or loading games.  By default, the 64-bit version of the game allocates 1.5 GB of memory for the JRE Heap.  However, this is not enough if you want to play with lots of mods.  To increase the Heap beyond 1.5 GB, you must allocate more memory.


Step 1: Verify that you are on a 64-bit operating system.  If not, you're out of luck!

Step 2: In the vmparams file, replace the text "-Xms1536m -Xmx1536m" with the memory you want to allocate to Starsector.  These numbers should be the same value.  For example, "-Xms4096m -Xmx4096m" allocates 4 GB of memory for the game.
Or
Download one of the premade vmparams files listed below.

Finish: Run starsector.exe as usual to start the game using 64-bit Java with newly-increased memory limits.  Enjoy!


How much should I allocate?
Unfortunately, an exact prediction of Heap usage isn't possible.  Here are some rough estimates:

1.3 GB Heap: The most you can get on a 32-bit OS.  Having a bunch of faction mods will cause crashing, especially when saving the game.  Avoid using DynaSector.

2 GB Heap: This is good enough for perhaps two or three medium-size factions (e.g. Blackrock Drive Yards, Scy Nation), but is liable to crash when saving the game if you use more than that.  If you have only 4 GB of System RAM, this is the best you can do.

3 GB Heap: Sufficient for a mix of a couple large factions (e.g. Interstellar Imperium, Shadowyards) and several medium-size factions.  Don't go overboard, though.  Recommended for people with 6 GB of System RAM.

4 GB Heap: Most combinations of mods will work with a 4 GB heap; only some of the craziest configurations (a dozen or more factions, plus Nexerelin and DynaSector) will overload this.  Recommended for people with 8 GB of System RAM or more.

6 GB Heap: Even if you activated every single mod at the same time, 6 GB would still be enough.  Not recommended unless you have a ton of mods, and you happen to have 12 GB of System RAM or more.


What if I don't have enough RAM?
That's okay.  Most of the System RAM requirements from mods are the result of additional markets and fleets in the game world.  You can add factions without increasing the number of markets or fleets by using Nexerelin's Random Sector feature.  Just set a sector size appropriate to your machine, and you can add as many factions as you can fit within that limited-size sector.

Edit by Thaago: Below is a snippet of a post by Tartiflette, with links to premade vmparams files made by MesoTronik.
How much ram you can allocate is determined by your system specs:

- You should never exceed 8GB or you will experience stutters, freezes or even crashes.

- If you are closing other applications, especially ram-hungry ones like Internet Browsers, you can allocate as much ram as Total System Ram MINUS 2GB
 
- If you keep your browser and other applications open, you should only allocate HALF of your Total System Ram

- 32BIT SYSTEMS CANNOT ALLOCATE MORE THAN 1.3GB OF RAM

If you can allocate 1.3GB:
https://bitbucket.org/MesoTroniK/1300-meg/downloads/vmparams
This should be OK for a handful of faction mods plus your QoL mods and ship packs.
 
- If you can allocate 2GB:
https://bitbucket.org/MesoTroniK/2-gig/downloads/vmparams

- If you can allocate 3GB:
https://bitbucket.org/MesoTroniK/3-gig/downloads/vmparams
By that point you can have a decent sized mod list of 6+ factions and/or ship packs.
 
- If you can allocate 4GB:
https://bitbucket.org/MesoTroniK/4-gig/downloads/vmparams
This should be safe to use if not all at least a large amount of mods.
 
- If you can allocate 6GB:
https://bitbucket.org/MesoTroniK/6-gig/downloads/vmparams
Your computer should be able to handle every current mod you throw at it.
 - If you can allocate 8GB:
https://bitbucket.org/MesoTroniK/8-gig/downloads/vmparams
WARNING: SOME SYSTEM CONFIGURATIONS THAT SHOULD ALLOW 8GB CAN EXPERIENCE STUTTERS AND FREEZES WITH THAT AMOUNT. If that is your case, fall back on a 6GB allocation. This much allocation is currently safe to run an arbitrary number of mods.

VRAM

Starsector can use a lot of VRAM (video memory) because all of the game assets are uncompressed sprites that are (by and large) always loaded into your video card.  If you aren't running mods, you can squeeze by with just a 512 MB video card.  However, this is not enough if you want to play with mods.


How much VRAM do I need?
First off: if you run out of VRAM, Windows (and probably most other operating systems) will claim some System RAM to use as emergency video memory.  This can cause slowdowns, decrease stability, and - most importantly - eat up the memory you allocated to Starsector for your mods!

So, you should always avoid using more VRAM than is actually installed on your video card.  Fortunately, we can gauge how much VRAM each mod needs.  Refer to the data below:

Estimated VRAM Usage

(Note: none of these figures except Unknown Skies counts the Unknown Skies shared textures)
Starsector 0.9.1a: 413.5 MiB (approximately)
GraphicsLib 1.4.2:  267.4 MiB (not including ~97.5 MiB for various shader buffers, depending on settings & resolution)
    small ripple:   207.4 MiB
    no distortions: 182.1 MiB
    no shader maps:  85.4 MiB
    fully disabled:   0.1 MiB
Tyrador Safeguard Coalition 1.6.1c: 259.0 MiB
    no shader maps:                 186.9 MiB
Ship and Weapon Pack 1.12.4: 203.5 MiB
    no shader maps:           57.6 MiB
Exigency 0.7.2:     194.2 MiB
    no shader maps: 180.7 MiB
Interstellar Imperium 2.4.0: 191.1 MiB
    no shader maps:           71.2 MiB
Shadowyards 0.9.1 RC3: 164.8 MiB
    no shader maps:    100.7 MiB
ApproLight Plus 0.3.7 RC2: 146.2 MiB
    no shader maps:        122.1 MiB
ApproLight 0.8.4 RC1: 144.9 MiB
    no shader maps:    98.8 MiB
Tahlan Shipworks 0.3.16: 124.6 MiB
    no shader maps:       88.5 MiB
Dassault-Mikoyan Engineering 1.18a: 123.4 MiB
    no shader maps:                  54.5 MiB
Blackrock Drive Yards 0.9.5: 119.5 MiB
    no shader maps:           62.4 MiB
Unknown Skies 0.42: 117.5 MiB
Junk Pirates / PACK / ASP 3.4.0: 104.2 MiB
    no shader maps:               63.4 MiB
Underworld 1.5.0:   100.4 MiB
    no shader maps: 29.9 MiB
Sylphon RnD 0.9.10: 75.3 MiB
    no shader maps: 56.2 MiB
Seeker 0.3:         74.4 MiB
    no shader maps: 46.3 MiB
Scy Nation 1.60:    63.1 MiB
    no shader maps: 50.9 MiB
Knights Templar 0.9.8f: 59.4 MiB (not including shader buffers)
    no shader maps:     40.1 MiB
Karlsson Heirloom 0.12: 49.5 MiB
    no shader maps:     31.8 MiB
Legacy of Arkgneisis 1.7.1: 45.4 MiB
    no shader maps:         31.7 MiB
Mayasuran Navy 8.3.0: 41.7 MiB
    no shader maps:   39.7 MiB
Kadur Remnant 3.1.2: 40.6 MiB
ICE 0.4 RC3: 36.3 MiB
Tiandong Heavy Industries 1.2.1a: 33.3 MiB
    no shader maps:               15.6 MiB
Vayra's Sector 3.1.5: 31.7 MiB
Diable Avionics 2.51: 31.2 MiB
    no shader maps:   20.2 MiB
Outer Rim Alliance 0.88: 26.8 MiB
    no shader maps:      16.4 MiB
Xhan Empire 1.7:    21.2 MiB
    no shader maps: 13.8 MiB
Metelson Industries 7.2.2: 21.2 MiB
Torchships 0.11:    20.2 MiB
    no shader maps: 10.4 MiB
Kingdom of Terra 0.9.5: 19.7 MiB
Vayra's Ship Pack 1.1.4: 16.2 MiB
Disassemble Reassemble 1.6.9: 13.4 MiB
Upgraded Rotary Weapons 1.41: 7.5 MiB
    no shader maps:           4.5 MiB
Luddic Enhancement 1.2.1f: 6.5 MiB


Add to this about 200-500 MB depending on operating system, video drivers, Starsector's render buffers, screen resolution, number of monitors, other applications, etc.  Typical users will see around 550 MB of VRAM usage with vanilla alone, and about 1070 MB with GraphicsLib and Ship/Weapon Pack enabled.  With lots of mods enabled, it's not uncommon to see 2 GB VRAM required for Starsector.


What if I don't have enough VRAM?
Aside from strategically removing mods based on the amount of VRAM you'd save (see the above table), disabling GraphicsLib features can save a lot of VRAM.  Setting "useLargeRipple", "loadSurface", "loadMaterial", and "use64BitBuffer" to false can save big, especially if you're running a lot of mods that use shader maps, at the cost of some visual fidelity.



Having other problems?  Visit the Mod Troubleshooting Guide!

44
Bug Reports & Support / Despawned Fleets Remain in Save Files
« on: November 18, 2014, 02:16:56 AM »
I'm willing to bet that a pretty large chunk of the save file size is used up because of this bug.  You'll see a lot of 0-sized fleets sitting around after "despawning" if you look at a save file.  I am not sure when those fleets eventually get flushed, but in long games they build up pretty far, like several hundred empty fleets sitting there with all data intact (variants, memory, etc).

On a new save in pure vanilla, about 44 empty fleets are found in the save file.  This number is more like 112 in a modded scenario, such as when using Starsector+ with all of its integrated mods.  It quickly balloons afterwards.

I also believe that this causes issues with fleet spawning down the line, as Tartiflette reported that the Templars stopped spawning fleets after a while, even though they use exactly the same fleet management setup as the vanilla merc fleets.  The problem seems to exacerbated by combat to some degree, or at least a secondary problem has to do with fleets being destroyed in combat, based on how the Templar raids influence save files.  However, it does apply to all types of despawning, as many of the empty ghost fleets despawned naturally at planets.

45
On line 96.

It seems to happen only from the Starsector+ variant randomizer's hullmods picker (and even then on vanishingly rare occasions), which can have fairly unpredictable and often quite low (like 0.02 or so) coefficients.  There is no algorithmic error in your code, so I'm thinking that due to the fairly low precision of single-precision floats, especially with small values, a rounding error can be created, which (on very rare scenarios where the random number generator picks nearly the maximum number) leads to this crash.

I believe this can only happen when using .remove() or .pickAndRemove(), due to compounded float rounding on the total variable as it is added to and subtracted from.

A simple change to line 96 would fix this:
Code: java
return items.get(Math.min(index, items.size() - 1));

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