Helioforge

YES... The SINS buff system can be considered a high level programming language (or a part of one, since you don't get to directly declare new variables or make new buff types)... You get to stack the buffs in various ways to make new "code" which lets you do all sorts of different things that were unexpected by the developers, or even seemingly against the way a "buff system" works. As powerful as buffs are, they are really just combinato

3D GUI FTW! (standard since 1987)...

Here's a pic I found while browsing, it's the guy from "300!" In developing games in C++ or assembler, you have to make choices that affect the game later on, and those first choices become the core of the game. for example... In the beginning, you may use a linked list or an array to store data... Each data structure has different properties, abilitie

Look into "Apply to targets in column" as a buff type, forgot the rest of the details though...

Thanks! Currently the project consists of two separate programs: ...a generator with a bad display, and a display with no generator (OOPS) ...and I'm learning how to use the new language, and its formatting... ...hopefully it can be finished before the next RTS comes out (otherwise it would need to save meshes in some new format (D'oh!)

Here's the plan: Shapes will be created with the mutation engine (first version done: to be rewritten incorporating variable data-sets) you can have separate shapes: copy, paste between them, or adjust them individually, including the size of their data-sets... Spore had an interesting way of attaching parts, but it was limited to preset attachment points. Shapes should merge at overlapping or close points, and detect whether the triangles should flip to prevent a

There is no way of making sure things go your way without "really-pissing-off" everyone who needs things to go another way... Gamers need to protect their investment... ...and Developers need to protect their assets These two alone are not in conflict, but when you add the Pirates... (who aquire and/or distribute assets illegally), then the situation is complicated for everyone, and it becomes a Zero-Sum game...

Having found a programming language that supports meshes, the program is getting a complete rewrite... (The new program is currently just a display, where you spin the mesh around in 3D space) ...as soon as all the features are transferred, the generator will make good use of the interface, allowing much faster math and instant display... The old language was just interpreted, (oops), and was running out of ways to optimize the math, and it wouldn't make an executable, wh

In order for it to work, you have to type them in EXACTLY, and there are no out-of-game examples for the alternates... "GravityWell" "LocalArea" "None" Just type these into the entity files, and they will work...

I went ahead and coded the program for variable data sets for each mesh component, but doing so breaks most of the data for the functions... The spheres still work (in all sizes), and the cones will be easy to fix, along with the cyllinders, after that, fixing each function will be progressively more difficult (so far I didn't have to rewrite the program...yet...) Actually, just the cubes will be difficult, as most of the other functions rely on data relative to the size of the data-s

Oh wait, my "smooth" function was already supposed to do this, but it had the unfortunate side-effect of making the whole thing smooth, so I just need to make the points move to their new positions in polar coordinates, and overlay those new positions on top of the original iteration of the algorithm...

What I just wrote may look contrary to your suggestion, because of UV stretching and a declaration of variable-sized data-sets for meshes... The main reason my UV maps stretch is that the proportions of the triangles don't match the proportions of the texture map. I would move the points around to fix those proportions rather than to move the reference points on the UV map (of course, I am in a unique position to do it this way, given the algorithmic nature of the program

Thanks Mansh00ter... (I know a lot of people's Anti-Troll filters have been set to HIGH because we are all waiting for 1.1 proper, and waiting causes frustration, so the disclaimer is understood)... Actually, I was considering rewriting the program from scratch, because one never thinks of the best way to do something the first time... Right now, the program simply uses polar coordinates to wrap a sheet of points 41 across and 21 high. In a rewrite, the sheet nee

Alex: Since I've put considerable effort into programming it from scratch, I'll be claiming at least the first race's worth of ships and bases for the race I'm designing... All the local militia work (and a hundred minor experiments in modding SINS) have given me the experience to assemble a race with original designs, powerful features, and careful balance, with strengths and weaknesses that change the nature of the game, without breaking it... Since my

A rotating satelite dish on top would be more doable though, as the turrets would have to actively point at their targets (in my experiments, the mesh-overlay drained too much processor power to be worth it on my turtle system, it's not that it took up rendering time, but it took up extra buff time, so it should be saved for the major effects)...

Sorry, I ripped a hole in the space-time continuum! Setting the phase-lane speed to big numbers is so much fun (I made the friendly lanes ten times faster to symbolize jump gates... -without having to actually build them)...

Very nice LCARS display! How about if the crystals were blue for Dilithium... (lots of gfx files to change though) the program PIXIA could be used to change the color balance of the asteroid meshes...

WOW, massive thanks for the pointer to those Borg Ships... MMMMMmmmmmmmmm.......

You can disable module functionality, but getting it to only target tradeports would be the trick

In order to facilitate the creation of the Borg for SINS and 7 Deadly Sins, I'm declaring this thread, and backing it with meshes, particles, and abilities . First, this thread is a feeler to draw support for the Borg together in a thread specific to the Borg. (Borg mods previously declared should consider this as support, with the goal of putting the Borg into 7 Deadly Sins). I'm hoping to make the capital fleetyards look somewhat like Unimatrix-0, or have all

So that's why there was a slice of cake on your profile yesterday! Happy birthday...

Alex: I put out the semi-offer to make a Borg faction to see where Major Stress stood on his mod, thinking that such an offer would make it clear as to whether to pursue such an addition... Major Stress's 'No' said to me that it wasn't a time issue, or a work issue, but a design issue, and it's his mod, so that's it... (I found myself in a position to fix the time and work issues, with my mesh-generator, so that's why I asked) ...you are right that ge

Actually, I was expecting you to say "LOL, use the code you just typed"... After posting the reply, I thought, gee, that would do it! In converting the numbers, I can read them efficiently as they all take up 4 bytes, and I don't have to think about variable sizes in the file, or where each number begins and ends...

Sorry, I need a good measure of both, and was thinking I could just use the SINS number conversion methods for binary files, since my mesh-generator uses numbers in the same range as SINS for the "Save-Place" file... My Mesh-output already truncates to 6 places (4 really, for cleaner, smaller files), but it would be for saving numbers exactly: If I remember my CSE classes correctly, it was hotly debated which bytes should save data on which side of the decimal poi

Last night I added a group of "Spare Mesh slots" to the coding, which will let me save meshes with mulitple shape sets, allowing for engines and other complex details to be added to the designs (so it can make Babylon 5 jumpgates)... It's sort of like the mesh-lego experiments, but with the mesh components still like putty, so the parts can grow together in some fashion... Also, I'm going to make a "Save Settings" file, so you can save your place when you quit the program (as