Topic: OP Enhancement Pack v2.0 available now.. freshly uploaded and revised

[Tumulorum Fossor]

Any updates to report on the Enhancement Pack?  SFB-OP? Newer versions of CoOp Ace?

Just wondering.

-TF

[Age]

There isn't SFB-OP in  but CooP Ace is in it .This is good to play on a the Dynaverse with no server installed .It does have all the missions from Nuclear Wessels,El Karnak and Tracey G. .The only thing it is missing is FireSouls OP+ 3.4 .He came out with that much sooner that anticipated .It can be found in the general StarFleet Command forum to download .

     You can get it here   www.klingon.stasis.ca

     Download the Enhancement Pack  first useing getright see below  and then OP+3.4

     Read everything I said about getright and do it.

     There are several single player Campaigns to play on in here as well Empires at War scripts have all been transfered over to OP.It is a
      nice package and it make it a better game.   
      SFB OP is server being played right now. If you have any more questions please post them.

[Tumulorum Fossor]

How about inclusion (with appropriate permissions, of course) for Centauri Vaughn's FleetPick2.A and TeamStarfleetBattles as well as his WrathOfKhan mission series?

Also, naturally with Firesoul's permission, his SFC-OP mini-updater (though I think it MIGHT be redundant as the fixes might already be a part of OP+3.4 (?)) which incorporates things like the fighter fix and ESGSoundLoop fix (as well as the server fixes that are ALREADY a part of this Enhancement Pack)?  Oh, doesn't the first post in this thread imply that OP+ 3.4 is included?  If it isn't, do I install OP+ BEFORE or AFTER I install the Enhancement Pack?

Just some thoughts, because I think this OP Enhancement Pack idea is the wave of the future, consolidating the best of what's out there for people like me who just don't have the time to keep up with everything this active community puts out.  Heck, reading the opening post of this thread, I had no IDEA that there were this many fixes out here.  Amazing stuff.

If I were to download SFB-OP's shiplist&models, is there an easy way to switch between Taldren/OP+/SFB-OP "modes"? Any utilities out there for that?

-TF

Oh, one last thing.  Since Chris Jones seems to be making rapid progress on his SFCOP TNG+ - Universe At War mod, that would be cool, too. (as well as an easy way to switch from Taldren/OP+/SFB-OP/TNG+UAW modes).

Of course, this would make the mod larger than the actual base game.  But what the hey.

[Age]

This will have to be an idea put before Pestalence no doubt he will do it.It just depends on how big you want the file to be to download.It already has the The Wrath of Kahn in it but not C.V. version it is in skirmish and multi player.He will also have to include the mini updater by FireSoul.It is just that FireSoul work faster than he does.When this was released 3.4 was out a month later.If FireSoul would slow down he could get caught up.The thing is Pestalence hasn't been around for awhile and being in the same fleet as him I have no idea what he is up to.

   I guess he has more on his plate right now to think about this but you can add the missing elements yourself.This is great package even without those elements.I would download it and see what you think then download those missing elements.It is good no matter what and everyone who contributed to it deserves Thanks as well as Pestalence himself.I hope you find the Enhancement Pack as great as I do.It definitely makes for a better game.You will want to install the OP+3.4 after  The E Pack and all your ideas will keep Pestalence busy if the rest of the community can slow down a bit

   You have given him lots of ideas to work on and he will definetly take them into consideration.I hope this answers everything.

[Tumulorum Fossor]

Yep, Pestalence's E Pack is definitely the way to go.
This is what I would like to see in it:

(1) Strat's ModChooser65 ( http://www.dynaverse.net/v2/downloads.php?id=27&game=SFC2%20OP#download ).  It allows hopping around from mod to mod, but if I read his post correctly, is only limited to 4 mods.  That will have to be increased, given how much material is coming out for SFC:OP. See Strat's post ( http://www.dynaverse.net/forum/index.php/topic,163348126.0.html ) wherein he seems to suggest that expanding his ModChooser65 to allow for more mods is simply a question of  "Depending on how it [the utility] is rewritten, you can write in however many a fixed number of Mod saves supported, or write it so that it is done dynamically... As of now, it would be simpler to Copy & Paste some lines already there, change a few details, and add some buttons."  Note Strat credits for this utility: "Tar (Who Started the Whole thing), Me (Who made it simple and automatic), and Legendary(For compiling and Beta Testing)."

(2) Taldren's Model Viewer ( TaldrenModviewer.zip ).  Might as well put it in.  Not a big file, and an "official" Taldren work (at the same link as above).

(3) OP+ 3.4 / SFB OP 4/ TNG+U@W shiplists integrated and easily switchable (presumably via ModChooser65).  Note Chris Jones' TNG+U@W is still beta right now ( http://www.frost-works.com/cjmods/sfc2optng.htm ).  But won't be forever

(4) FireSoul's miniupdater ( http://www.dynaverse.net/forum/index.php/topic,163347781.0.html ).  The D2 directory updates are already part of the EPack, but this also incorporates the ESGSoundloop fix, missing fighters, and a model missing damage textures.  It's also a FireSoul utility.  Good enough for me.

(5) Centauri Vaughn's FleetPick2.A  AND his TeamStarfleetBattles ( http://www.12omega.com/sfc.html ).

(6) Centauri Vaughn's version of the Wrath Of Khan (same link as above) mission, which in his case are actually a series of 4 missions.

(7) Bonk's SFB-OP 4 Missions ( http://members.lycos.co.uk/mastersarena/SFBOP.html ).  If you're gonna have the SFB-OP shiplist, you've gotta have the missions!

I think you get that, and you have one MEAN EPack v3.0 on your hands.



-TF

[Age]

  Yes Pestalence can do this and he will if the community wants it done.This will be a big file like 300megs or more.That is ok I have seen bigger files.There would be 2 exception though and that is Strat Shiplist Chooser the only way he will include this and agian if the community wants it and it is fully tested by Strat himself with Enhancement Pack installed on his computer.The secound thing is Chris Jones mod is another mod altogether and it is 250+ mb big.This would big a huge download and not everyone is on broadband.

   This what Pestalence take into consideration when putting these Enhancement Pack together.That is why he make them a small as possible for 56kers.He would but mostly what you are asking for but would want Strat to do the testing on the chooser as for Chris Jones mod that is separate mod altogether I doubt he would but that in there.This is really meant for the Dynaverse 2 as a stock server if there was one or aviable.I hope this answers most of what Pestalence would do.I may not be him and no I can't speak for him but I have gotten to know him really well.That is why we are in the same fleet.

   He has been a big help to me not that others haven't.I will let Pestalence answer the rest of what you are asking for.That is when he clears his plate.Please if there is anything other than what you are asking for I will answer them for you.

  The Elite Federation Force is not just a Fleet it is here to help those in need.Being one of the oldest SFC fleets around. 

[Tumulorum Fossor]

Well I'll let you know how I just configured things tonight, and I'm still trying to find out if everything's okay (so far so good).  And YES, Pestalence's Enhancement Pack has been a massive timesaver.  It rocks.

MY SFC-OP INSTALLATION SEQUENCE:

(1) Installed OP from CD after totally clean uninstall of EVERYTHING OP related.  Including Taldren and Taldren Software Inc folders.  Including fan created content.

(2) Ran Pestalence's OP Enhancement Pack 2.0, following his instructions CLOSELY (including deleting the OP shortcut on desktop before even starting, and creating a new desktop shortcut via StarfleetOP.exe from the Orion Pirates program folder) (NOTE: Actually, given that FireSoul's miniupdater, further downstream in this sequence, is supposed to fix this link anyway, this step of creating a new desktop shotcut to StarfleetOP.exe instead of the erroneous initially-installed shortcut to SFOP.exe is probably unnecessary).

(2a) When Pestalence's Enhancement Pack got to the OP+ shiplist, and started OP+'s own installer, CANCELLED out of OP+'s own installer (but continued with the rest of the installation in the DOS window from the Enhancement Pack).

(2b) Cleaned up the Startmenu, which is kind of messed up at this point (Modviewer links to nothing, for example) and desktop icons to my preferences.

(3) Ran Firesoul's Mini Updater ( SFC-OP_mini-updater-20041026.exe ).

(4) Installed Centauri's FleetPick2a;TeamStarfleetBattlesv3.0; StarTrekII Missions.

(5) Installed Strat's ModChooser65 (in violation of the instructions which recommend actually starting with a clean install.  But at this point in the installation, I have SFC-OP at a good restore point: new scripts and utilities, fixes pre and post patch, and the basic SFC shiplist.).

(6) Installed FireSoul's Opplus_34_models.exe (OP+ 3.4 with models), followed immediately by running ModChooser65 (as per Strat's instructions for ModChooser), assigning OP+3.4 to slot #1 on the ModChooser.

(7) Using ModChooser, "restored" SFC-OP back to "Taldren" (which, I think, is how my SFCOP was as of completion of step 4).

( 8 ) Installed Bonk's SFB_OP_04.exe then SFBOPmissions.exe (you cannot install SFBOPmissions.exe without having SFB_OP_04.exe installed first), followed by once again immediately running ModChooser65 and assigning SFB-OP 04 to slot #2.

That's about where I'm at.  I'll let you know when my computer melts down.

If ModChooser works okay, as it stands, I now have means of hopping between SFC, OP+3.4, and SFB-OP.  What's more, I still have two slots left on ModChooser for Chris Jones' upcoming TNG-U@W mod when it's passed the beta stage, and for one further mod, TBD.

Just wanted to pass on my strategy for installation so I can refer to it later on when I realize just how badly I f#$ked it up.

-TF

[Age]

   I don't know how you did it but the site is down as my sig is being hosted on it.Sorry.

[Tumulorum Fossor]

Oh, I downloaded it a few days ago.  I just wanted to figure out what I ULTIMATELY wanted with my SFC-OP before I installed anything.  So far so good, by the way, with the above installation.

-TF

[Tumulorum Fossor]

Hey Pestalence!

Okay, so my megainstall went great, and your OPEnhancementPack2.0 saved a boatload of time.  Thanks a lot.

Some totally trivial issues to fix:
(1) After installation, there is a shortcut to "Taldren ModViewer" but the ModViewer is not included in the pack, so it is a dead link (which would be best fixed by the inclusion of the Taldren ModViewer).

(2) The Batch file for restoration to Storyline Mode is missing an "echo" on one of the lines should one choose to execute the batch file, but ALREADY be in Storyline Mode (an echo in the text before the word "to" at the bottom of the file).

(3) After the EnhancementPack2.0 finishes all the installation, it would be great to find a way to automate the mess of start menu links under a single consolidated folder.  For me, under Computer Games>Starfleet Command Orion Pirates> I have 2 folders: Taldren and Fan Created Content.  The "Taldren" folder has all the released OP stuff, and the Taldren Mod Viewer.  The "Fan Created Content" folder has everything else in subfolders.

(4) (Obviously) upgrade to OP+3.4.  But, on second thought, I think it MIGHT be better to just remove OP+ altogether, but better incorporate OP ModChooser 6.5.  Why? Because anyone who is devoted enough to download the Enhancement Pack is going to be devoted enough to download OP+ anyway.  OP+ gets updated fairly frequently, and it's  a huge ass file.  So this will reduce the size of the pack to just all the significant patches, utilities, and mission scripts.

Besides, for OPModChooser to work, it needs to be installed first, THEN OP+ installed, THEN OPModChooser has to be RUN to flag the Mod.  I'm not sure you could automate that (but I could be wrong).

(5) Incorporate Firesoul's recently released automated post-patch fixes file.  Note that this Post-patch fix file should make the desktop icon link for SFC OP link to the proper "StarFleetOP.exe" file automatically and hence one doesn't need to manually change it as is described in your readme IIRC.

That's about all I can think of.  So actually with the removal of OP+ from the pack (unless you can automate it's proper installation as a recognized mod via OPModChooser65) should bring the size of the pack back down and focus its scope.  So the Enhancement Pack won't contain MODS, but it will, in one quick step, do all the post patch fixes, integrate all the dominant 3rd party mission scripts that have become de facto standard, AND integrate all the most important SFC OP utilities.  While it WON'T install SFC OP+, it'll provide the means for easy switching around with it via ModChooser, and you won't have to update the EnhancementPack everytime anyone updates their Mod (though the enhancement pack would have to be updated when anyone updates an included UTILITY).


Just a thought.


Thanks for the pack again.  Works great!

-TF

-TF