Nacey Nacey

[MOD] Distant Stars - Rebellion Alpha 0.13 Released! [17/06/13]

▼

[MOD] Distant Stars - Rebellion Alpha 0.13 Released! [17/06/13]

http://distantstars.mmobase.com
from Sins Forums


Feedback of any kind is always welcome. Ideas, balance changes, and bug reporting of any kind is always useful!

Version 1.00 Released!

Make sure to ask for permission before republishing any part of this mod to the public!

Downloads

Rebellion Logo

1.05 + DLC Compatible:

0.12 ALPHA Release:
Full Download:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/rebellion/Distant_Stars_(R)_ALPHA_0.13_[45189661].7z

Full Download MIRROR:
http://www.moddb.com/downloads/distant-stars-rebellion-alpha-013

MD5: 69486D2FCD3F35E46E6F5EF8C9F1634A

Diplomacy Logo

1.34 Compatible:

1.01 Release:
Full Download:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/diplomacy/Distant_Stars_(D)_1.01_[45685832].7z

 

Entrenchment Logo

1.051 Compatible:

Beta 0.9951 Release:
Full Download:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/entrenchment/DS_Entrenchment_Beta_0.9951_[36672852].7z

SoaSE Logo

1.14 - 1.181 Compatible:

Version 1.01:
Full Download:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/soase/Distant_Stars_v1.01_[453701567].7z

Make sure to ask for permission before republishing any part of this mod to the public!

Multiplayer Games:
We've setup a thread for everyone to organise their multiplayer games in and also setup example times and dates for most people to meet up and start games. These are what we hope to be the main times for people to be around and want to play games together.

The times are:
4pm EST (9pm GMT) Saturdays & Sundays
9pm EST (2am GMT) Saturdays & Sundays

If you want to organise other games please go ahead using the same topic to consolidate all the information in one place and hopefully get more games together within our community. These games are for PvP, PvAI & PvPvAIso come along and we'll get some games going!

Screenshots:
We've setup a thread so you can all post your screenshots to share with us the Distant Stars team and its players. Im sure we're all intrigued to see what kinds of battles and events you've all been having on the mod aswell.

Lore:
We know some of you guys love to role play whilst using Distant Stars, and here's a topic for you guys to post all of your role playing stories, character profiles and anything else you can imagine.

Maps:
Some of you avid map makers out there have produced some great maps but never really had them recognised because they've got lost. Well here's a topic for you to post a link to the download (we can even provide mirrors if necessary) a screenshot or two of the map for us all the preview and if enough people like it we'll even include the map in with the actual mod!

Please visit our website and for more information, change logs, downloads, and to report bugs. Our website can be found here: http://distantstars.mmobase.com

Bug Reporting

If you want to report a bug please use the Bug Report feature on our website:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/?m=reportabug

Please include as much information as possible, if you have an error log feel free to post it on these forums and we'll take it from there. If you can reproduce the error please include the error log (read below to find out how to enable error logs) and include as much detail on how to reproduce the problem.

To enable logging:
Windows Vista/Windows 7:
C:\Documents and Settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Setting
or
Windows XP:
C:\Documents and settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Setting

Open the user.setting file (using Notepad, Wordpad or any text editor) and scroll down to the bottom 7 lines from the bottom is the line:
LogOutput FALSE
Change FALSE to TRUE
LogOutput TRUE

and from then on any Log files will be saved to the debug folder:
Windows Vista/Windows 7:
C:\Documents and Settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Debug
or
Windows XP:
C:\Documents and settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Debug

If you get these log files to us (you can just paste them in to a forum post) we can hopefully get your issues sorted.

Frequently Asked Questions

All files are compressed using 7Zip to shrink the download filesize. To extract these files you must use WinRAR or 7Zip.
Any Patches should overwrite the original install directory, either by extracting over the original folder, or cut/copy & pasting over the existing file/folder structure.

1) My game keeps crashing, is there anything I can do to stop it?
i) Are you running the game on maximum (highest) settings? if so, lower them to High or Medium, there is a known issue with the game using up too much memory, there is nothing we can do about this, also no matter how powerful your pc is, it is affected by this issue no matter the pc it is not above this crashing issue, it is a game problem not a hardware one, so quite simply lower your settings. If you still have an issue with crashing see point two.
ii) Give us as detailed information as possible about the crash, what was happening at the time of the crash, what races, ships, abilities were involved. If you can supply a Debug Log (see above for more information about logging) and post a bug report on our website.

2) The loading screens and portrait pictures dont appear properly, whats wrong?
i) This is an issue with ATI based graphics cards (rarely affects Nvidia based cards) we're looking in to the issue.

3) Why dont you support converting Distant Stars in to TXT format?
i) Quite simply many things can go wrong with converting your mod to TXT, we cant help you with something you've probably broken yourself.

4) Can I mod Distant Stars for myself?
i) Yes you can however please do not distribute our mod or our mod that you have edited to the public. You must ask for permission to do so, we will regrettably stop distributing our mod to all if users abuse our work.

5) Your mod is in BIN format I can't edit the files, what can I do?
i) You can convert the mod to TXT format however we wont offer any support to versions of the mod that have been converted to TXT.

6) Why is Distant Stars distributed in BIN format?
i) Mods load faster in BIN format and are less likely to have issues in this format.

7) I'm having trouble installing the MOD, do you have any more instructions?
i) Carbon was kind enough to do some more advanced instructions out here.

8) Is there any way to make new maps for Distant Stars using GalaxyForge?
i) Within the Distant Stars Extras folder there is a folder called Galaxy Forge, Copy and Paste this folder (or its contents) over your original Galaxy Forge folder (or its contents) replacing any files if it asks you to. When you start Galaxy Forge next you'll be able to use all of our planets.

Or, the DIY approach (without custom icons):

ii) The GalaxyForge supplied by the devs will still work with our Mod, however to be able to access all of our planetary bonuses, templates, planet types and stars you will need to take our GalaxyScenarioDef.galaxyScenarioDef (found in the GameInfo folder of the mod) and place it in to your GalaxyForge folder, overwriting the original GalaxyScenarioDef.galaxyScenarioDef (if you still wish to make maps for the original game keep a backup of the original file). This will allow you to use all of the Galaxy changes included in our mod.

Note: Any maps made for Distant Stars will not work with other Mods. See #8.2 for DIY instructions for map making or take the appropriate files from Entrenchment, they're cross-client compatible.

Some statistics...

Since August 2009 to February 2011 we have had over...

400,000 Unique visits to the website
12,000GB (12TB) of data transferred from our website

That equates to over 60,000 Unique downloads of the entire mod, excluding the excess of 20,000 Patches downloaded. 

Thanks to everyone that has supported us this far and making our mod as popular as it is!

dyMRNwSFh9gw
modding
15,658,034 views 8,423 replies +31 Loading…
Reply #4051 from Sins Forums Top

Haha just won my first match in the distant stars mod! Creamed that advent. This mod is insane, the updated graphics add a whole new feel, as well as the massive content boost for planets and such.

Really good work guys, i'm excited for future updates! I hope with SOASE being listed in the top 25 strat games, we get an influx of noobs that I can game with.

Good friggin' stuff.

Reply #4052 from Sins Forums Top

Glad you liked it. Hopefully with the next update we can get the thing running better.

Elemental: Reforged
Reply #4053 from Sins Forums Top

Creamed that advent.
End of quote

 

You sir, have earned -Ue_ Credit!! *cue FF lvl up music*

 

You may redeem your credit at any -Ue_ Station!

Reply #4054 from Sins Forums Top

Meh, the UE is in turmoil.  Their credits aren't worth as much as they used to be.  ;]

Reply #4055 from Sins Forums Top

the UE might be the -Ue_ are perfectly fine.

Reply #4056 from Sins Forums Top

Same difference.  Your credits are still devalued.

Reply #4057 from Sins Forums Top

web of lies.

Reply #4058 from Sins Forums Top

I was going to invest my credit, though I don't think I should with the economy and all.

Out of curiosity, can you add new ships in a mod? Or just re-model/change the abilities of existing ones?

Reply #4059 from Sins Forums Top

You can add more.  Many mods, including this one, already do add ships.

The issue is the memory limit.  Some mods are already pushing the limits allowed by current laws of coding and adding more just makes them crash repeatedly.

Reply #4060 from Sins Forums Top

Hmmm? May be my lack of game knowledge but what ships have been added in this mod? And thats unfortunate... Maybe this new patch for 64 bit operating systems will change that for the better?

Reply #4061 from Sins Forums Top

As for as ships, its more in the strike craft variety, gunships (anti-strike craft vessels) and electronics warfare strike craft.

And its not to a 64 bit operating system which would be way to costly and take far too long (so say the devs and various computer programmers) but they are attempting to build a much better memory usage concept into the game. And yes we are hoping it will make things better.

If you want more ships added try the Hidden Alliance mod with has been developed to work with DS.

Reply #4062 from Sins Forums Top

Well, there's the EWS and gunship strike craft, granted, they're mostly recycled models but they're separate models none the less, same with 4 of the 5 pirate capitals.  The pirate battleship is completely all new...  The icon got remade for the next release so it actually looks like the pirate battleship rather then a Kortul.

Granted, this mod doesn't add in a lot of new ships, but that's because of the memory limits and everything else that got added.  If we didn't have those limits, we'd probably have a lot more added in by now.  The new patch for 64bit systems said to be in the next release of this mod is just LAA (click back through this thread for my more detailed explanations) and it will not change anything in the arena of what can be included.  The only thing it will do is allow someone who is playing on a 64bit OS to have a slightly better experience by taking advantage of a 2gig chunk of otherwise unused RAM, the game will still be limited to the 2gig limit that is native to all 32bit programs.  It also excludes you from playing with anyone who doesn't have it enabled, as a few people have openly admitted.

My personal experience with it is that the gains are slight and the losses mean it's not worth the effort.  Currently, I can play single player with all settings on high and mow through an 8+ hour game and not crash.  So for me, the insignificant gains in performance, and the loss of the ability to play multiplayer from time to time makes it so that I cannot recommend it for anyone.  So it all boils down to your system and personal preferences.

Reply #4063 from Sins Forums Top

Yeah, the loss in MP will be the only gripe I can predict.

Meanwhile, don't forget the Planetary Defense system, which uses an old model, but lo and behold, I found a couple of incomplete renders for new structures. I can always hand these off or something and see what others can make of them.

meanwhile, the biggest contribution would be the SC and new abilities with inhibitors and mines. The additions are all over the place.

Reply #4064 from Sins Forums Top

Oh wow absolutely fantastic, It's a shame there is the memory limit because you guys have been adding great content to this game for a long time coming now I can tell. And okay, I see the new ships now, I definitely did recognize the new bombers, those were awesome :)

Going to start up another game and see this planetary defense...

Also you're all very active on the forum here, which is really cool!

Reply #4065 from Sins Forums Top

Yeah, it helps that it's the weekend and that we're all anticipating the next official patch (beta next Thursday) which has the potential of reducing memory demands, sending us modders back to work at a frenzied pace updating our stuff.

Reply #4066 from Sins Forums Top

That Hidden Alliance mod, its not the agenda one is it?

Reply #4067 from Sins Forums Top

Yes it is. We are not incorporating into DS currently but he has done work for us and we gave him permission to use our mod with his.

Reply #4068 from Sins Forums Top

btw, I've tried to explain to a few people on the boards that they wouldn't be making a 64 bit .exe, but no one believes me, citing ambiguous statements from the devs as proof. Apparently it's too much to believe that the devs would use LAA or some other form of optimization over the massive project that would be a 64 bit .exe.

Reply #4069 from Sins Forums Top

Picture is up of first map. Go be over critical of it. :P

Reply #4070 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Draakjacht, reply 4068
btw, I've tried to explain to a few people on the boards that they wouldn't be making a 64 bit .exe, but no one believes me, citing ambiguous statements from the devs as proof. Apparently it's too much to believe that the devs would use LAA or some other form of optimization over the massive project that would be a 64 bit .exe.
End of Draakjacht's quote

Are you saying that we can't play it on a 64 bit system?

Reply #4071 from Sins Forums Top

you can play it on a 64 bit system..... >_<

Reply #4072 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Pbhead, reply 4071
you can play it on a 64 bit system.....
End of Pbhead's quote

I know, that's what I do currently, it just made it sound like they're about to stop that..

Reply #4073 from Sins Forums Top

A 64 bit system can play 64 bit and 32 bit programs. A lot people are claiming that the devs are creating a 64 bit .exe (the game is currently a 32 bit .exe). This is not true because it would require them to rebuild the coding from the ground on up. Instead, they will be using LAA (Large Address Aware). This will make those with 64 bit systems use an isolated chunk of memory rather than share the same 2 gigs with all the other programs. It will appear that the game works better (in some ways true) but does not enable modders to add more than they would be able to otherwise (cause you eat more memory and plop back to square one). It will, unless someone here knows of some sort of work around, make it so that 64 bit players will not be able to play MP with 32 bit players because the .exes will not be the same.

Better?

Reply #4074 from Sins Forums Top

Can't find many people online to play with anyway, let alone people who aren't seasoned vets. So okay this patch will improve performance for 64 bit users, I understand the principle of isolating the 2gig chunk. Does it add anything for you modders?

Reply #4075 from Sins Forums Top

Not really.