Topic: FYI: work in progress: OP+ 4.1

[FireSoul]

Heads up, whoever's still paying attention to SFC-OP! I'm currently working on an OP+ 4.1.

Background
I've been busy these last 5 years since the OP+ 4.0 release. I'll admit it bluntly, I dropped playing or doing anything for SFC completely. I was addicted to a large Korean MMO called Lineage 2 for a while (3 years?), then went through a huge life change when I (and my family) moved from Ottawa, Canada to Palo Alto, California in 2007 (I accepted a Sysadmin position for IMVU, located in the Bay Area aka Silicon Valley). I stopped playing Lineage in 2008 or so, but got hooked into other games. (ie: Dragon Age).

I recently (July) found myself looking for something to do.. so I looked up what was new in the SFB world. I found that 2 modules have been released: X1-R and R11. I ordered these modules from ADB (I think my brain was somewhat overloaded from dopamine from the anticipation when I received the packages).  .. There are rules in X1-R to refit just about ANY SHIP to partial X technology.

Scope
To give you an idea of what these few pages of rules mean to SFC players, this is a new refit for virtually all ships that exist in late era. These ships would be able to function better in 'later' Late era and Advanced era against the Advanced Technology already in SFC.

I've been working on a OP+ 4.1 since July. I'm a bit beyond 1/2 way to the completion of the project. I am currently recreating ALL the pirates (crazy work, that) to both correct all the misshapen BPVs and to make them more accurate and interesting. They too will be getting the Partial X Refits.

Playtesting
I recently played coopace with old Ottawa buddies of mine, 5 of us with an "alpha release" of OP+ 4.1: all the primary races' ships have received a partial X refit. The plan was for a couple of hours of SFC-OP and then they would move on to StarCraft 2 or whatever.
We ended up saying "screw StarCraft 2" and played SFC for 10 hours straight ... and we didn't run out of material.

The point of this post
I'm very likely to complete this mod revision. This isn't about SFC, this is about me having fun creating something again. I'd probably still be doing this even if I didn't have other people to play with, but it's WAY more fun if I do get to play it with others.

However, the 'LAN party' was a huge and complete success. Therefore, I decided to let people know. I want to get in touch with SFC-OP players who are curious enough to try this out. I use Facebook and MSN. I want more people I can tap for feedback and playtime, maybe privately bounce ideas on them and see what they think.

Let me know.
-- FireSoul

PS. The work is so documented that it might give you headaches if you try to absorb it all.
Wiki: http://pet.dhs.org/mediawiki/index.php/OPPlus_4.1_project_wiki
Blog part of wiki: http://pet.dhs.org/mediawiki/index.php/OPPLus_Project_Blog

[The Postman]

count me in...
I am on FB as well

[Dizzy]

Id like to get the rehardpointed planet meshes thrown in too to correct the oldest and laziest bug out there if we can do that, FS. And glad to see u messing with SFC.

[Roychipoqua_Mace]

I don't have the time or connection to play except for the summer, but I am interested to hear about the progress that you make.

[FireSoul]

Id like to get the rehardpointed planet meshes thrown in too to correct the oldest and laziest bug out there if we can do that, FS. And glad to see u messing with SFC.

Can you give me details and pointers to these corrections? I've been completely out of touch for the 5 years mentioned. Besides, you sound like someone already did this work somewhere.

[FireSoul]

count me in...
I am on FB as well

Cool. facebook/FireSoul for me. Who are you?

[FireSoul]

Added the following to my original post above:

PS. The work is so documented that it might give you headaches if you try to absorb it all.
Wiki: http://pet.dhs.org/mediawiki/index.php/OPPlus_4.1_project_wiki
Blog part of wiki: http://pet.dhs.org/mediawiki/index.php/OPPLus_Project_Blog

[FoaS_XC]

Firesoul. I would like to volunteer to make any sort of models you may need for this new rendition. I am currently looking for something to do with my spare time and I would love to get back into SFC modelling.

If you take a look at the my thread in the Modelling forum, you can see how far I've come in skill. Obviously, the items in that thread are very much my own style. I wouldn't mind doing a style more in-line with what you see in main-like trek (though, I'm sorry, but some of the designs you see in SFB suck).

If you'd rather keep your models, thats cool - but I have a request. The way you have the batch file set up, you have it so that a model can act for many ships (albeit, more than the stock shiplist). How hard would it be to make it so that each ship has its own model?

EDIT: Btw, If you'd like I can toss together a quickie model to illustrate an updated, but more main-stream trek look than what you see in my thread.

[FoaS_XC]

BTW: are there any plans to add the Y modules in? it looks like Y3 is primed to be released.

[FireSoul]

The installer would get too big if each ship had its own model. Additionally, I'm trying to remain fully compatible to the old game as if it was 2001 again. That means 8 bit textures, and 3 LODs (levels of details). Crappy stuff. On purpose.

I will take individual suggestions, but you have to understand that I might turn down many just because it's.. too good.
Note: The low res and poly count paid off on Saturday when Coopace 4.0 decided to generate a fleet of Lyrans against us. Since we were playing X-tech era, the script generated X-tech only X-tech Lyrans. There were at LEAST 20 PFs after us, not counting the 6-7 ships.  Low rez matters! ;p

Firesoul. I would like to volunteer to make any sort of models you may need for this new rendition. I am currently looking for something to do with my spare time and I would love to get back into SFC modelling.

If you take a look at the my thread in the Modelling forum, you can see how far I've come in skill. Obviously, the items in that thread are very much my own style. I wouldn't mind doing a style more in-line with what you see in main-like trek (though, I'm sorry, but some of the designs you see in SFB suck).

If you'd rather keep your models, thats cool - but I have a request. The way you have the batch file set up, you have it so that a model can act for many ships (albeit, more than the stock shiplist). How hard would it be to make it so that each ship has its own model?

EDIT: Btw, If you'd like I can toss together a quickie model to illustrate an updated, but more main-stream trek look than what you see in my thread.

[FireSoul]

BTW: are there any plans to add the Y modules in? it looks like Y3 is primed to be released.

Y1 is in 4.0 and thus 4.1 as well. Was there a Y2? Is there a point to add Y3, really? It'd be like.. a pre-early era. Also, I already ran out of space for ships with 4.1. I tossed out the now-hated 'n' variants and many of the 'F' variants are now automatically assumed. Even then.. the thing is just about FULL.

[FoaS_XC]

Sorry, i wasn't clear - I'm not saying that I'd like to see a different model for each individual ship included in the download, but rather a different directory created for each model and have the installer copy the original into the new. Example (BSing the designation just to illustrate it): Currently, the F-CA and the F-CAR point to the same model, "FECA\FECA.mod". Instead, have the F-CA point to "FCA\FCA.mod" and the F-CAR point to "FCAR\FCAR.mod". During the installation process, the installer copies the "FCA" folder to the "FCAR". The installer size doesn't change because its making multiple copies of the same source model, but people (like me) who want to have different F-CA and F-CAR models, can do so. The directory size inflates a boatload, though...
Just an idea, really.

Btw, I can do way lower-res models than what you see in the thread. In fact, low res tends to be easier for me. Take a look at my Fed-PF, for example:

[FoaS_XC]

Oh thats right, there's a limit to shiplist entries... damn.

Y2 is basically more Y-era and W-era ships, and ships of the races that became the ISC before they became the ISC. Y3 I think will just add more on top of this.

[FireSoul]

Sorry, i wasn't clear - I'm not saying that I'd like to see a different model for each individual ship included in the download, but rather a different directory created for each model and have the installer copy the original into the new. Example (BSing the designation just to illustrate it): Currently, the F-CA and the F-CAR point to the same model, "FECA\FECA.mod". Instead, have the F-CA point to "FCA\FCA.mod" and the F-CAR point to "FCAR\FCAR.mod". During the installation process, the installer copies the "FCA" folder to the "FCAR". The installer size doesn't change because its making multiple copies of the same source model, but people (like me) who want to have different F-CA and F-CAR models, can do so. The directory size inflates a boatload, though...
Just an idea, really.

Btw, I can do way lower-res models than what you see in the thread. In fact, low res tends to be easier for me. Take a look at my Fed-PF, for example:

It turns out I already branch out a lot of my models just like you described. In that very same way. However size-on-disk IS the problem here. The size-on-disk of models that OP+ adds, or copies just like above, is currently 670MB (path: opplus\models.) SFC OP's own Assets/Models is 170MB (Assets\Models\). SFC-OP's total size is around 1.6GB on my system.

I think it's big enough!

[FoaS_XC]

Fair enough. Let me know if you need more or newer models, though

[FireSoul]

Fair enough. Let me know if you need more or newer models, though

Right now, the Fed BB, DNG (including the DNF and other variants) and BCE have this different-looking warp. Do we want to keep that? Change them?

[FoaS_XC]

I would change them to something like you see on the Ulysses class - how the warp grill wraps around the back of the nacelle.

I don't have X1r, but if the nacelles on 1x-refits are supposed to be different I would use the nacelles that are currently on the BB/DNG as your 1x-refit nacelles, then go into p81-style for the full-blown X ships.

[FireSoul]

I would change them to something like you see on the Ulysses class - how the warp grill wraps around the back of the nacelle.

Do you have a link you can show me of the Ulysses?

I don't have X1r, but if the nacelles on 1x-refits are supposed to be different I would use the nacelles that are currently on the BB/DNG as your 1x-refit nacelles, then go into p81-style for the full-blown X ships.

Warps on Partial X Refits are actually untouched. The refit is all about APRs, X-Batteries, Ph1/2->PhX, Drone and Heavy weapon upgrades.
See: http://pet.dhs.org/mediawiki/index.php/Partial_X_Refit_Rules

[FoaS_XC]

Sorry, Ulysses is model-grognard for the stock F-DN

[FireSoul]

Oh man, I forgot how ugly the stock F-DN mesh is.. (that and your textures are messed up?)
-- FS

edit: no wait.. it's a photon arch. Right?

Sorry, Ulysses is model-grognard for the stock F-DN