Helioforge

Somewhere I read that Ability Files in SINS 1.09 (Beta 1.1) don't convert with the ConvertData utility, likely because the format of those files had changed in some way... I was hoping that it's because of new Buff Types being added into SINS, but if that were why, then at least some of the files would have converted the same way... Anyway, I was wondering specifically how has the format changed for SINS abilities, and how will it affect already made

Dig into the files, read the code (yes, read it like a book, er, um, not so much like a book), back up the fileset and... (first, only mess with the TXT files located in the MOD-Directory, which you have to get from Stardock) ...start changing the variables around, one by one, or you might miss the source of a dreaded Minidump (Minidumps are usually caused by an extra space in the code, or a misspelled word, or by adding lines of code creatively before getting used to

Hey Major Stress, Would you be willing to add in a ready-made BORG faction if it were constructed independently, without you having to do any of the hard stuff???

Of course, if people were to rip off the code, it should be obvious, unless there's only one way to do a certain thing... Like when SINS was new, and we had simple mods that changed a number to give us more fighters, or a build-progress bar that could be seen on TECH build-buttons... this is making me dizzy... [e digicons]:beer:[/e]

[quote]It is. Giving expansion content to people who don't have the expansion is very not ok.[/quote] The way that was phrased opens a nasty can of worms for similar features coded independently... [e digicons]:grin:[/e] (how to say in a nice way though?) There are currently ways to do some of the features in Entrenchment in 1.05, while work-arounds have to be done in some cases, Maybe SINS 1.1 would have new buff-types and new logistics types, but then it gets complic

I just added a feature that changes it up a bit, letting you define limits in the shape of the mesh, at the time you press the button, sort of like the STORE button on a calculator... ... and it's the first step in making meshes with multiple stacked shapes, allowing you to create separate engine pods and the like... Here's a better pic of the whale base from above, compared to a similar design... <img src="http://static3.filefront.com/images/personal/h/helioforge/14304

About the ship sizes relative to a planet mesh: Most planets uss a mesh that is roughly 5000 units in radius (the Earth is roughly 4000 miles in radius, 8000 miles in diameter)... If you declare each unit to be a mile, then the KOL is over 800 miles long, and a fighter is 4 miles long On the other hand, if you made a fighter 50 feet across (.01 units), them zooming would take forever, and it would ruin the game... I think the sizes are right f

It was such a good feeling massing a fleet of Federation ships to attack the Breen, and to have their even more massive fleet explode to the approximate rythym of the 1812 overture! ...and to be able to use the deflector beam weapon the Enterprise used on the Borg... TREMENDOUS!!!

Yeah, the algorithms like to make organic shapes better than TEC style ships, probably due to the smoothing function... I've started experimenting with hull textures to see how it affects their shape... Now it's even more tempting to make those Borg ships, since Major Stress unleashed his first ship-taster version of the StarTrek universe for SINS...

I remember in school when they would serve breadsticks on this parchment paper at lunch, and we would write new constitutions on them to pass the time... My favorite was "Official Declarations may only be written on Official Parchment Paper, and only after the breadstick is finished" those were the days...

Actually, I just PM'd Kryo and suggested new buff-types to make mines easier to code in the buff-system... I'm very much hoping the developers can do better mines, I'm counting on it since they have the luxury of making the code, so my bet is with the Developers!

Danman: since Entrenchment has been announced, should I just scrap my mines altogether, or should I make it a priority to get it merged as soon as possible... Bringing it up since the Developers will make them perfect, seeing as they make the code... (also, since waiting for 1.1 to merge might be silly, because of it)...

I made a missile for bombing runs...

BOOM-DA-YADA!!!

The five stars in the reply above didn't seem like enough, so you get the Boom-Da-Yada award!

EXCELLENT!!! With the developers in on the action with content upgrades, we get DEVEL OPER QUALITY modifications!!! This means our most wanted features will be fully filled out and coded in... This means we will most likely get new Buff Types that add to the Buff System, instead of abilities that circumvent it's previous limitations... Expansions of

Great, I'll cut out a window from a piece of paper of that size so I can size the screenshots while playing SINS :) :D

Looking at those pictures you posted, it looks like I got my wish for local militia improvements. I heard that galaxy forge was updated, but I didn't realize how much! It also means I can concentrate on making races and structures and not have to worry about trying to merge all my nasty code in the GalaxyScenarioDef file... Finally, it means that this mod will have to be renamed as "Helio's Content Mod" or something like that... :CONGRAT:

thanks, I'll check it out... Heres a new starbase based on my spaceship generator: [img]http://static3.filefront.com/images/personal/h/helioforge/143042/bkhalgvlhm.jpg[/img] I'm still deciding on where to place the windows on it... Currently it looks too much like a whale :)

It's good to know about (and the formatting used), and tempting too, although I want to get things further along before worrying about trying to make my page look good... Oh, is it better for the screenshots to be of a particular size, or at least of a standard size, in order for it to look it's best?

When you say "completely new files", Do you mean you started from scratch from Notepad? I'm asking because when I create new files in notepad from scratch, the file attributes are missing something that SINS needs, and it sounds like what you're describing. To fix it, I had to cut and paste the whole file text into a copy of a stock SINS file, in order for SINS to recognize it...

Hey Alex, I like your avatar of the base with the blue glowing sections... ...mesh packs sound like a good way of getting material into use before the program is finished :) :D I might be able to add inset detail panels to the meshes for things like hangar bays and weapons ports, and for exposed hull sections that many ships have... Here's a detail of the starbase I'm working on... [img]http://static3.filefront.com/images/personal/h/helioforge/143042/qxxirkialn.jpg[/img]

Well, Apricot, I've only done enough research to change the capital ship slots... If you start in the PlayerPhase and PlayerPsi files, going down past the ships, you will see a hundred or so research entries... ...Copy all the files you want to research from these lists, and change their name to reflect your new race, and in your new PlayerFourth file, change all the research entries that you want to keep, to reflect the race name... There will be some major overlapping o

In attempting to do a Borg Sphere, I accidentally sized the infrastructure to be larger than the sphere, instead of the other way around... As it stands, it looks more like a Berzerker from Fred Saberhagen's series of books :) :D (I wonder if small frigates will get stuck in all those tiny little spaces?)

Just spent the last several minutes just looking at the pictures... (...Think I'll google it and see the rest) ******* Here's a map of EVE ships I found when googling Mass Effect Ships: I'll just hotlink it so it doesn't take up too much room [link="http://www.eve-files.com/media/10/Ship_Chart_4096_With_Big_Names.jpg"]WWW Link[/link] Has anyone seen the work or Robert McCall??? The city-scapes remind me of his work (my favorite futu