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X² The Threat
Fireball
Trainee
hey all, been a while since I posted here (last time was about Buda1).
this maybe a lil offtopic, but *shrug*.
I got X² 2 weeks ago. Really nice game. Comes pretty close to classics like Privateer 1 or Elite 1.
The graphic engine is very state of the art as far as I can tell and like in Elite you can fly anything from a small light fighter to a really big carrier.
Now, with the latest patch (1.3) egosoft (devs of X²) also threw out modding tools.
they contain guides of using the ingame galaxy editor (you can create your own galaxy with star systems and everything and stuff) and a 3DSMax exporter plugin (for 3DSMax 5) + reference on how to make the meshes work properly in X².
well, I myself have zero time and no 3DSMax 5 either, but I figured the Buda crew got most if not all Babylon 5 ships done for Buda2.
so if you got X² or can get it you should check it out for modding possibility.
Imo X² is the best game until now in terms of the possibility of a B5 total conversion.
-you can create the B5 universe
-you can add the B5 ships (X² natively supports large ships, fighters, carriers etc with multiple gunports, turrets etc and rotating sections, particle cannons, rockets as well as beam weapons)
-you can add space stations (we could finally really land on B5 and fly arround inside, trade there, get new missions, equip your ship...).
- you could prolly make a station look like a planet and therefor allow players to land on planetary spaceports too.
- the sectors in X² are connected through Jumpgates too. replace them with B5 Jumpgates should be easy to do and there is no more work to do to make Jumping between systems possible.
- you can create new items and features for the game with scripts (after creating Buda1 and 2 missions those should be piece of cake for the crew ;) )
- you can create a story or campaign with the mentioned universe generator + scripts.
- there are space cloud effects and other things to make the universe not look as empty as in other similar games. wondering if you can use those to create a shadow cloud ^^
opinions? :p
edit:
--> [url]http://www.egosoft.com[/url]
this maybe a lil offtopic, but *shrug*.
I got X² 2 weeks ago. Really nice game. Comes pretty close to classics like Privateer 1 or Elite 1.
The graphic engine is very state of the art as far as I can tell and like in Elite you can fly anything from a small light fighter to a really big carrier.
Now, with the latest patch (1.3) egosoft (devs of X²) also threw out modding tools.
they contain guides of using the ingame galaxy editor (you can create your own galaxy with star systems and everything and stuff) and a 3DSMax exporter plugin (for 3DSMax 5) + reference on how to make the meshes work properly in X².
well, I myself have zero time and no 3DSMax 5 either, but I figured the Buda crew got most if not all Babylon 5 ships done for Buda2.
so if you got X² or can get it you should check it out for modding possibility.
Imo X² is the best game until now in terms of the possibility of a B5 total conversion.
-you can create the B5 universe
-you can add the B5 ships (X² natively supports large ships, fighters, carriers etc with multiple gunports, turrets etc and rotating sections, particle cannons, rockets as well as beam weapons)
-you can add space stations (we could finally really land on B5 and fly arround inside, trade there, get new missions, equip your ship...).
- you could prolly make a station look like a planet and therefor allow players to land on planetary spaceports too.
- the sectors in X² are connected through Jumpgates too. replace them with B5 Jumpgates should be easy to do and there is no more work to do to make Jumping between systems possible.
- you can create new items and features for the game with scripts (after creating Buda1 and 2 missions those should be piece of cake for the crew ;) )
- you can create a story or campaign with the mentioned universe generator + scripts.
- there are space cloud effects and other things to make the universe not look as empty as in other similar games. wondering if you can use those to create a shadow cloud ^^
opinions? :p
edit:
--> [url]http://www.egosoft.com[/url]
Comments
thanks for the hint. I've followed the developement of X² for a long time already (played X: Beyond the Frontier) and wanted to post in the dev forums b/c I've thought about modding for X² also and wanted to get feedback of the people and infos, how good or bad the editing is and so on.
But well, I never got a reply from an admin (wrote a pm to BurnIt) for my request about give my account on the egosoft boards (Roi Danton, too) the rights to post in the dev forum. :(
:confused:
[B]hm if you have an X-Devnet Account you should be able to post in the dev forum.[/B][/QUOTE]
hm ... what I was frightened about that. Do you have connections to the dev team there? I'm just too busy to do such circumstantially things like creating an X-Devnet Acc.
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Warlord II [/i]
[B]First turnoff for me is the system requirements. I have a friend who have computer between the recommended and optimum (listed in game's homepage) and it still won't work well. My computer is somewhere between minimum and recommended. [/B][/QUOTE]Well, you can set down the quality settings, so you can play it good on older systems, too. :)
think it was when applying for the Beta of X Online
--> [url]http://www.online-universe.net[/url]
".../L/ Story files. This is the core of the game. Storyfiles can be compiled online on the X2 Devnet for level 5 developers"
I guess the hardcoded stuff like the different star empires/races can be found there.
now what is a level 5 developer :confused:
[B]now what is a level 5 developer :confused: [/B][/QUOTE]You have to send your personal data per Post to the Devs and you have to sign and send an agreement.
could use the current races as placeholders for the moment.
Argon = Earth Alliance
Borons = Minbari Federation
Paranids = Centauri Republic
Split = Narn Regime
Teladi = League of Non-Aligned Worlds
Khaak = Shadows :p
Xenon = Vorlons ^^
[B]Xenon = Vorlons ^^ [/B][/QUOTE]Soso Feuerball, should it tell me smthg about the story? ;) (didn't played X² very much - little time)
Well, [i]currently[/i] there are no capacities of our modellers to do this due to different reasons (i.e. personal matters, logistics reason, .. ) - so keep up-to-date.
The Xenon are the enemies from X1. Basically they were autonom terraformers from Earth, but are now kinda self aware and sentient. they still attack anything that enters their space, but from their point of view you could say they try to enforce their understanding of order on the whole galaxy. A lil bit like Vorlons, but of course alot less interested in other races.
then there is an even older alien race. they keept the Argons from destroying the Xenon in X1 like if they would be needed in the future. didnt see them yet at all, guess they are a bit like the first ones.
university starts next week again (*joy* not), Iam gonna check with someone who held a seminar about 3D Graphics last semester. perhaps he has 3DSMax or knows someone who has. I doubt I could do much, but you learn alot from playing arround. doubt that I have much time for it though. :(
Been trying to add a ship to it with not much luck so far but it would be nice to see B5 ships in it with bump mapping and all. And like you said, land go inside B5 and fly around it would be cool.
[B]doubt that I have much time for it though. :( [/B][/QUOTE]Well, that's always the problem for modding :/ .
[[b]X² Progress[/b]] [size=1]7. Apr 2004[/size]
[list][*]fully upgraded [i]Argon Discoverer[/i]
[*]nearly complete upgraded [i]Argon Merkur[/i][/list]Currently I'm just a Trader but I will have a look at mining asteroids the next time.
I then worked up to about 300K and got me an Argon Energy Plant (Sector: Roter Schein in german, just ensure you drop it in a sector with 150% or more solar power (see galaxy map)) .
Used the Argon Express for import and export until I had cash to get a 2nd Express. Then 1 bought crystals and the other sold the energy cells.
from then on it went all up pretty well. I now have 10+ stations, every station has 1 cargo ship for each good it needs or produces.
Got a fully upgraded Argon Nova (took me a while to find 25 MW shields though. Split sell them sometimes). With the Nova you can advance into the story missions alot better hehe.
I dont have any guards at my stations yet, but attacks on stations are rare. It happens often though that Khaak attack your transports. Good to have a jumpdrive then. ;)
The last thing I got me was a Corvette. A Split Dragon. Only 125 MW shield and 1 front cannon, but the 2 turrets with 2 weapons each up top and buttom of the ship kick ass. With 300+ clk/s its faster than the Nova too. Just hard to trade with it at all cause it can only dock at shipyards and supply depots.
at least you can carry your discoverer arround with it.
I also took over a couple pirate ships. most I sell tho. too expensive to repair them. ;)
while trading in the beginning. Always check the bulletine boards for trade missions. Stations with a high demand of supply goods often offer trade agreements (like get us 500 energy cells real fast, we pay 23 credits each and 30000 credits when you are done).
that helps alot in getting cash.
Simon, for the specular textures I think i know how they did it. My card can give a odd graphic glitch when I want it to, on models with 1 texture overlaying a second I can make it show the base texture through the overlaying one. I was watching one of my capships with a shiny texture under the nose fly overhead and saw the base hull texture through the shiny one. I think the specular textures are added ontop of the base ones, probably not but its worth a look eh?
My X2 fleet :angryv:
1 M1 Colossus: EAS Warlock
2 M2 Titan's: EAS Sorcerer and EAS Sorceres
3 M3 Centaurs: EAS Hyperion, EAS Ardent, EAS Zeus
The Warlock has a squadron of 12 Nova's as bombers, 8 Buzzards heavy fighters, 6 Mamba's as interceptors and 5 Discoverers as scouts.
Stations:
3 SPP
2 Crystal Fabs
3 Silicon Mines
4 Ore Mines
:D
[B]
Simon, for the specular textures I think i know how they did it. My card can give a odd graphic glitch when I want it to, on models with 1 texture overlaying a second I can make it show the base texture through the overlaying one. I was watching one of my capships with a shiny texture under the nose fly overhead and saw the base hull texture through the shiny one. I think the specular textures are added ontop of the base ones, probably not but its worth a look eh?
[/B][/QUOTE]
Hi DarkestVorlon.
This is how it is done in normal texturing. The only problem is that when you export an object from max to bod it only exports 3 image mapping types: Diffuse (main colour), Bump and Self Illuminating.
It would be easy enough to add a specular texture but it won't be exported which means that the way the specular on the ship uses the colour image (which looks like it does) must be done somewhere else.
If there was a way to look at the full information on the original bob files then we would be (possibly) able to see how it is done but you can't read the bod files like you can with your own made up ones. (a lot of information doesn't get shown allthough someone has posted about this on the X2 forum so we shall see if anyone replys to it.
[B]The only problem in X2 is yuo can only repalce existing slots, you cant add new slots.[/B][/QUOTE]Yep, but what I've heard at the X² board there are many still unused slots.
@Fireball: Thx for the hints.
@DarkestVorlon: Thx for the motivation. ;)
My current small X² company (playtime 1d 2h 32min):
M5 Argon Discoverer, fully upgraded
TS Argon Merkur, all ups besides the 25MW shields
TS Teladi Geier, w/ Mining equipment
So far, my fleet has grown considerably too :D
I now have 1 Teladi Condor (flagship, EAS Executioner)
3 M1 Colossus CV's (group command, identicle fighter loads as the first one)
4 Titan DD's
7 Centaur corvettes
5 Harriers.
All are split into 3 seperate battlegroups that are patrolling half the known system map. Even sent em into one of the unknown enemy sectors on a khaak killing expedition, aftera 1 hour trip I had taken out a khaak CV, 3 destroyers and inumerable khaak clusters.
1 Ion DIsruptor and 2 PPC's on a titans foreward, port/starbaord turrets is nasty to the clusters :D:D:D
2 TL, each with a fighter squadron of 10 M3
Several M3 squadrons patrouilling my main trade systems
1 M6, patrouilling the Sector "Black Sun" ("Schwarze Sonne" in the german version)
25 stations from all races, placed overall the X² galaxy (also in unknown sectors ... nice asteroids ;) )
~200 TS and TP as transports for my stations
Story Progress: Beginning, just got a Jumpdrive from Elana. ;)
Uses anybody additional scripts e.g. for trading or for patrol?