What to use

hey peoples i want to make a plug-in for ev or evo or evn but i don't know what programs to use i know nearly everone will say ResEdit but i find that really hard to use even with the bibly so any help would be appreciated.

Captain Zarvox
P.S haven't even thought of what to call it yet or put in it.

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Didjabringyabeeralong

ResEdit is the only thing out there for most resources besides EV-Edit, which is horrible. (It will corrupt your plug). Unfortunetly, ResEdit is the only way to go for most resources (shďp, gövt, dësc, flët, jünk, STR, STR#, yëäŽ, etc.)

There are alternative utilities for other resources though:
spöb and s˙st = EVO Developer's Map
mďsn, përs, düde = Schmelta-V

Remember to keep the Bibles on hand. They are really helpful when creating those ResEdit resources.

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(url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/captainz")Captain Z's New and Improved Starbase of EV Stuff(/url)

If you're developing for EV Override, I suggest you use (url="http://"http://davidarthur.evula.net/mc.php")MissionComputer(/url) for the mďsn, dësc, düde, gövt, flët, and yëäŽ resources. It will soon support Escape Velocity as well.

For spöb and s˙st resources, EVO Developer's Map is appropriate, as Captain Z said, but while Schmelta-V can be useful for mďsn on the original Escape Velocity, ResEdit is the only way to do the other resources effectively.

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David Arthur
(url="http://"http://davidarthur.evula.net/")davidarthur.evula.net(/url): MissionComputer and the Talon plug-in for the original Escape Velocity

MissionComputer is good(from what I hear :)) and you will want to use EVO dev map probably. The only problem with resedit is that sometimes the resources and resource linking can be confusing. I suggest FormulaCalc(dunno where to get it) for the organization of this. Otherwise, use the Bible and wait until whatchamacallit Tools (a real working editor) is out.

-Nat

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Lequis Design
lequis.netfirms.com
PhantoM_63ff@hotmail.com

EVO Developer's Map and EVO FormulaCalc can be found (url="http://"http://members01.chello.se/warlordpontus/ev/tools.html")here(/url)

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(url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/captainz")Captain Z's New and Improved Starbase of EV Stuff(/url)

Hm. Slightly off topic, but will Pontus release an EVN developer map, or will that be covered in NovaTools or whatever it's called?

-Nat

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Lequis Design
lequis.netfirms.com
PhantoM_63ff@hotmail.com

When I started making plugs, I always had an EV Data copy open in ResEdit. It helps you if you make mistakes, or screw up really bad in something. When I first started plug making, I viewed the best EV plugs I could find other ResEdit, just to get ideas and generally grasp ResEdit a bit better. The other things mentioned so far are good things too. Hope this helps a little.

_Wire

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He would, after all, be an ambassador; between the old and the new-between the creatures of carbon and the creatures of metal who must one day supersede them.
-a quote from Arthur C Clarke's short story, "A Meeting With Medusa"

Quote

When I started making plugs, I always had an EV Data copy open in ResEdit. It helps you if you make mistakes, or screw up really bad in something. When I first started plug making, I viewed the best EV plugs I could find other ResEdit, just to get ideas and generally grasp ResEdit a bit better. The other things mentioned so far are good things too. Hope this helps a little.

This is actually quite good advice. It is good to pick apart things and resource files sometimes to get the hang of how they work. Also, until a month or two or three ago I didn't understand a lot of the fields in the ResEdit EV resources. Most of them I know...i.e. MinCoolness, but it is fun to experiment with these. It is also wise, if you are doing a non-TC, keeping the EV Data file open is a good thing...also a backup is adviseable, in case you feel like seeing what happens with a 50 maneuver(sp?) rate...Which is, by the way, non-playable as you can only go in like five directions(they make neat geometric figures on your screen.). Heh...

-Nat

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Lequis Design
lequis.netfirms.com
PhantoM_63ff@hotmail.com

Backup -- everything, every day, every hour. Make in progress copies onto your hard disk, and make proper backups daily onto CD, and take them offsite once a week.

More big plugins have been lost through hard drive failure than any other route.

People will tell you that EV-Edit is buggy. The sad truth is that you can do as much damage to your plugin in Res-Edit by not thinking as EV-Edit can do through its bugginess.

Just don't take the risk.

Regards

Martin

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M A R T I N • T U R N E R
(url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/vftp/show.pl?product=evo&category;=plugins&display;=downloads&file;=FrozenHeart104.sit.bin")Frozen Heart(/url)
(url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/vftp/show.pl?product=evo&category;=plugins&display;=downloads&file;=FemmeFatale.sea.bin")Femme Fatale(/url)
(url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/vftp/dl-redirect.pl?path=evo/plugins&file;=Frozen Heart - the No.hqx")Frozen Heart - the Novel(/url)

Hm...I can't say that I've ever had my hard drive erased through a third(or fourth) party's devious schemes... but I must also say that EV-Edit will CORRUPT your plug-in, while it is merely easy to delete and change things in ResEdit.

-Nat

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Lequis Design
lequis.netfirms.com
PhantoM_63ff@hotmail.com

Quote

Originally posted by Martin Turner:
More big plugins have been lost through hard drive failure than any other route.

I dispute that. Developer malaise is easily responsible for more failed plugins than EV-Edit.

-reg

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"Oh crap. I'm going to hell - I put the Bible next to Mein Kampf again."
-Her Holiness, Pope Jenne "Kirby" Hubbs

A moot point.

On EV-Edit, I used it, and I still use it. QuarkXpress crashes as well sometimes, and so does StrataPro, Emagic Logic, Illustrator, Photoshop and Word.

I actually used and use EV-Edit because it's easier for a lot of things than ResEdit. I certainly would never have finished anything if I had taken the hard ResEdit way.

Every time we have this kind of conversation, I end up saying: are there any developers out there who have released a major piece of work without using EV-Edit at all, or using only ResEdit.

So far, no-one has come forwards...

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M A R T I N • T U R N E R
(url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/vftp/show.pl?product=evo&category;=plugins&display;=downloads&file;=FrozenHeart104.sit.bin")Frozen Heart(/url)
(url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/vftp/show.pl?product=evo&category;=plugins&display;=downloads&file;=FemmeFatale.sea.bin")Femme Fatale(/url)
(url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/vftp/dl-redirect.pl?path=evo/plugins&file;=Frozen Heart - the No.hqx")Frozen Heart - the Novel(/url)

Thank you ppl i will download a lot of that stuff soon and when i come up with a really good plug-in i will let put it up here on the EV develepers weboard.

Captain Zarvox

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Didjabringyabeeralong

Nobody has mentioned Shipwrite. I find that useful, but it doesn't work with EV-Edti or Res-Edit. I'm using RV-Rdit for a plug I am making and I have found no problems yet, althoughprevious plugs I've tried to make have been destroyed in EV-Edit, but that was only because I didn't know how to use EV-Edit properly and I was just mucking about.

Word of warning: When you change ship or outfit resources in EV-Edit, the Desc resources and Sprites dissapear.

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Do you want to know my signature?
really?
well...
Tough!:p

Thanks guys i just got me a copy of the latest version of Mission Computer version 1.3.0 since it now does EV and EVO and EV and EVO dev map all i need is a pretty good ship editor...

Captain Zarvox

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Didjabringyabeeralong

Apparently there are some ship editors out there, but I've never tried them (I think one of them is called "The Docks" or something) as they are PPC native.

I think the people here have offered some very good tips, but I'll add my own opinion to this.

Personally, I'd work with EV or EVO Developer's Map for the systems, Mission Computer for the missions, and ResEdit for everything else. If you think you can use EV-Edit, go ahead; apparently some people have been fine with it. However, in my experience, I've had far more trouble with it than with learning ResEdit, and it's not as hard to learn as it seems.

I'd sit down and take it one step at a time. Take the first resource you want to edit; say, the governments. Start your plug-in file, keeping backups along the way, copy the templates in, and start playing around with the fields. Often the best way to learn ResEdit is to make a copy of EV and mess around with that first.

Basically, if you feel inclined to learn ResEdit, you'll have less problems in the long run, but I guess it is a big task to learn in the first place. In any case, I wish you luck, and if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask here.

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Mike Lee (Firebird)

Thanks guys i started work ona plug-in last night for Ev it is called the Human Alliance
I will have the Yuman Aliance instead of the Confeds and the "Movement" instead of the Rebels. It will have new ships for both governments and it will have aliens but i can't think of a name for the Aliens can anyone help me please..

Captain Zarvox

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Didjabringyabeeralong