Topic: Starfleet Command Orion Pirates 2500-2563 HD (Unofficial Patch)

[Corbomite]

A note before I forget: When I was experimenting with 16:10 I noted that I kept getting an error message that cited NWMissionConfig as not having been installed properly. I have not had that problem at all with 16:9.

Corbomite, I installed your SFCOP.exe and then ran the 16:9 patch. Runs great thanks for sharing.

NWMissionConfig was an experiment by Nuclear Wessels to allow people to configure certain mission parameters w/o needing the mission API. It never worked right. The only reason I leave it in my missions folder is just in case one of his old missions needs it. AFAIK the file is set to stock out of the gate, so if you haven't touched it that message probably means nothing, unless it is stopping you from playing somehow.


That .exe (the one with altered phots and fighter HB) would have been overwritten by the patch .exe. These "patches" actually replace the whole game engine, not modify it. We are presently trying to discuss a general patch so we can release a one shot that pleases most and then we can mod it ourselves with the editor. Please join in.


Please note that the patch also contains Tar's PD Phaser fixes he made to make the AI less inclined to waste PH3/Gs on targets past range 3. This won't allow anyone to fire a PD phaser past range 3.

[TarMinyatur]

These "patches" actually replace the whole game engine, not modify it. We are presently trying to discuss a general patch so we can release a one shot that pleases most and then we can mod it ourselves with the editor. Please join in.

Please note that the patch also contains Tar's PD Phaser fixes he made to make the AI less inclined to waste PH3/Gs on targets past range 3. This won't allow anyone to fire a PD phaser past range 3.

Oops. I forgot about limiting the Ph3/G to the meaty part of its chart (i.e. tractor range). I think it is a massive improvement for the game, but it shouldn't be default for the OP folks. I thought I had reset it to normal. 

The SFC_Editor can come to the rescue...

Ph3/G brackets restored to 10.0, 20.0, 30.0, 40.0, 90.0, 160.0.
Ph3/G Maximum Range of 160.0.

That ought to do the trick.

[Corbomite]

I'm still on the fence about the whole thing. If we do finally get back to multiplayer I can just see myself 4.5 away from a rabid Lyran on my 6 with his front shield down and all I have left is two PHG hoping, just hoping that I can get just a few points into him to slow him down enough to get off the map, then I furiously mash the buttons yelling "DIE! DIE!" and all I hear is BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!

CUT TO CLOSEUP: "TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!"


 

[Corbomite]

Ph3/G Maximum Range of 160.0.

By the way, your tooltip for this reads 29.9, not the stock 159.9 (or 160, I just followed the pattern of the other entries in that tab). I manually edited my offsets file to correct it.

[TarMinyatur]

That made me laugh, Corbomite. "TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR" Heh.

In time, I may discover the functions that control the AI's fire decisions. In Community Edition, the AI is very smart with Ph-3's, but it is a drunken sailor with Ph-G's. And Bonk may have left a trail of breadcrumbs to the function because I can compare CE to EAW.

I truly want to leave all the charts and ranges alone! But in the meantime, I can't play the game as is. It is silly that a Kzinti DF can kill a Hydran DE (which has 5 Ph-G) using nothing but drones casually fired from range 9 to 15.

When I forgot to set the stats of Ph3/G to stock for 2.561, the tooltips were set to my personal version, which got passed on to the patch. It is good to have beta testers to find such inconsistencies. 159.9 would translate into the correct Maximum Range for a SFB Ph3. Thanks for finding my mistake.

[Corbomite]

The AI is a bit smarter in OP in some areas, but I haven't really analyzed the PD too closely. I know the fighter PHG tend to fire too far away.

[d4v1ks]

 

[Tumulorum Fossor]

Put in updated models and background!!!!
I'm a greedy bastard!

Oh, client/server pack due in v2562, not included yet in links at top of this thread.  Just FYI!

This is all d4v1ks work, by the way. Respect!

Also note as per Corbomite's question earlier this thread, that the CE Patch enables hotkeys:
-Fire Pseudo Plasma, Toggle Marine Raids, Convert Shuttles, Select All Weapons.

These are not enabled in OP, and are currently only a CE feature.  I'm pretty stupid when it comes to this kind of stuff, but if I understand correctly, someone using a hex editor, might be able to in brute force fashion EVENTUALLY figure out how to enable these hotkeys in OP.

[d4v1ks]

Oh, client/server pack due in v2562, not included yet in links at top of this thread.  Just FYI!

I was waiting for a more elegant solution.
But if that doesn't happen i will release as it is.

These are not enabled in OP, and are currently only a CE feature.  I'm pretty stupid when it comes to this kind of stuff

I also have no idea how TarMinyatur fixed those hotkeys.
I didn't made all of this alone, you know?

[TarMinyatur]

Also note as per Corbomite's question earlier this thread, that the CE Patch enables hotkeys:
-Fire Pseudo Plasma, Toggle Marine Raids, Convert Shuttles, Select All Weapons.

These are not enabled in OP, and are currently only a CE feature.  I'm pretty stupid when it comes to this kind of stuff, but if I understand correctly, someone using a hex editor, might be able to in brute force fashion EVENTUALLY figure out how to enable these hotkeys in OP.

The game uses a so-called map to assign hotkeys to actions. Using IDA, you might see something like "Engage Cloak" followed by an action code of, let's say, 13 01. If I overwrite the action code with, let's say, the one from Emergency Deceleration then my ship will come to a screeching halt when I press the cloak hotkey. Yes, this isn't very useful.

However, there are unassigned actions, such as Fire Pseudoes, Toggle Marine Raids, etc. Their action codes (18 01, 19 01, etc.) can be used in place of less useful hotkeys, such as Yellow Alert, Self-Destruct, Orbit Target, etc.

The process is a bit more complicated because the hotkey menu will overwrite your custom data every session. To overcome this annoying problem, you have to edit the default map which is nearby. And finally, it helps to update (via aaStrings.txt) the labels on the hotkey menu for your custom assignments...so "Yellow Alert" is replaced with "Fire Psuedo Torps" or whatever.

[d4v1ks]

Hi all,
I was able to add 2 layouts, to the sprites.q3, that were missing when playing with the Orion race.
The other races seems to not have that problem when playing with lowres=2 or lowres=4.
lowres=0 still crashes, as in the left side the feature that enables us to switch panels doesn't seem to be implement in the Orion race...

That will enable us to add more wider resolutions. Which is useful to merge the 2 HD patches in 1, as when playing in a multiplayer environment, the server needs to check the exe's CRC.
So, i'm aiming to include in the next HD + Gamespy patch:

640x480 (4:3)
800x600 (4:3)
1280x800 (16:10)
1366x768 (16:9)
1440x900 (16:10)
1600x900 (16:9)
1920x1080 (16:9)

[TarMinyatur]

Merging the two HD patches into one is a good idea. Alternativeley, maybe I could hex-edit the server software to not do a CRC check on the .exe. But it makes sense to have everyone use the same .exe on a particular server to avoid conflicts.

[d4v1ks]

The exe has to be checked, and most likely the sprites.q3 too, as people can cheat now with all this hexediting around.
There is a folder on the server where we can drop the things we want to CRC. So no changes are needed for that.

[TarMinyatur]

Agreed. Sneaky people may cheat.

I think anyone playing SFC these days is beyond cheating. What is much more likely to occur is an unintentional difference in weapon or system specs.

Carlos and I did a skirmish in which I had speed-32 Plasma and he had speed-36 Plasma. It was weird -- we each saw the "correct" speed. It wasn't good for synchrony to say the least.

[RazalYllib]

Tar that is very clever to test that plasma speed mis-match on the clients....very clever.

I have located my OP disk, have not re-installed, my current version is frankenmoded (from a modified old SFB mod many years old) and i should reinstall clean.

Having a unified update solution w/ all the fixes and enhancements, I did fire it up after the post about the circumvention of the gamespy issue with DV on OS greater than XP.

Would this "split" a potential player base for DV?

CE would get some and OP would get some...theoretically.

[d4v1ks]

I updated the SFC OP patches!
Take a look into the first post of this topic!
You can now run and join a multiplayer campaign like in the past! 
The HD is more stable now and it should not crash like before! 

If you find any issue, feel free to drop a line here.
Anyone has a spare machine to host a server? 

[d4v1ks]

Patch 2562 includes:

SFC_Editor 1.4.0.2
Q3_Editor 1.6.5.4

To install this you just need:

1. Install game from CD
2. Install patch 2562

I will update the tool's topics later...

[d4v1ks]

Thanks for fixing and improving OP. 

You say that because you didn't saw yet that this patch has not a 1920x1200 resolution by default!
But fear not, i added a youtube video into the first topic.
It is a tutorial on how to replace an existing resolution...

[Corbomite]

Got mine! Thanks for all the work. I always keep a fresh stock install handy for just such an occasion. Now I just have to get it on a computer that is on the internet.

This may take a few months. I don't want to play OP/EAW on a laptop. Either that or I have to hook my XP machine up again and I don't think that's a good idea anymore.

[RazalYllib]

I scrubbed my install (had 3 different versions), got a fresh 2500 on - patched up....then...black screen....synapse fired and adjusted back to 16 bit...worked fine.

Jumped into a Sparrowhawk A and crippled a stock NCL...felt much better about life in general to have that occur in glorious HD.

HOWEVER, no DV listed and i cannot remember what ports I should open.

Can some one post the current router port information?