Ronin: Public Beta

Wheeee! I'm pretty excited to announce the release of my very first fairly major plug. The plug is called "Ronin." It extends the Bounty Hunter string into it's own major storyline with the addition of over 40 new missions - with more on the way. This is only a beta release. I've done extensive testing myself but there's only so much one person can do - and I'm getting too anxious to release this πŸ™‚

There are known problems. Some I've noticed and forgotten about so they have yet to be fixed. If you decided to try out the plug (which I hope everyone does), please take the time to either post any problems or spelling errors you encounter here or send them to me in an email to kame@0three0.net. Another major concern of mine is the requirements for mission availablilty. If you have suggestions please share them.

I've also included a pilot that will allow you to start the game towards the end of the original Bounty Hunter string. However, using this pilot will require the use of "PlugPack v12" I would rather people test using a brand new pilot.

Again, this is a beta release. It is by no means final. Please download it and give it a go then let me know your thoughts. I want to get through beta as quickly as possible so that I can begin another, larger project so the more that test the better.

Well, i guess there's only one thing left and that's the link to download. The total size is a little over half a MB.
(url="http://"http://www.0three0.net/RoninBetav013.sit")Beta Version 1.3(/url)

thanks everyone! Hope to hear your comments. Oh, and if you get stuck feel free to ask for help or take a peek at the resources.

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I used to jog but the ice kept falling out of my glass.

(This message has been edited by Kame (edited 03-04-2003).)

(This message has been edited by Kame (edited 03-09-2003).)

A plug that will make Bounty Hunter a real storyline? That is almost as long as Polaris (Polaris 48; you 40) Thats as original as is possible and its welcome. Only one thing to say: that is teh omg roxxor!!!1 (yes, my sometimes strange jokes come again). I want to test it, but my Mac doesnt have enough memory. It needs more. You need to wait about a week so I can have the memory and have it installed. I dont know how long it actually takes, ill keep you updated.

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I am eager to try to ansver mission questions

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Originally posted by General Cade Smart:
Snip
**I want to test it, but my Mac doesnt have enough memory. It needs more.
**

Uh oh. "Not Enough Memory" is EV:Nova shorthand for "Contradictory Information" or bugs that make Nova choke. (It's not a bug, it's a feature!)

You might want to check it for really glaring errors - there's a way built into EV:N, but I forgot how... Takers?

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I sing of Sarqueth:
May her flame never be extinguished
She who was the soul of our souls...
The Ng'anda Chronicles. Coming Soon.

I am going to try to test it if you dont mind.

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--If the human brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't--
-- --Neverness by David Zindell-- --

I can't get the second mission in Ronin. I went walking into the bar. Nothing comes up.

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Quote

Originally posted by Renyard:
**Uh oh. "Not Enough Memory" is EV:Nova shorthand for "Contradictory Information" or bugs that make Nova choke. (It's not a bug, it's a feature!)

You might want to check it for really glaring errors - there's a way built into EV:N, but I forgot how... Takers?

**

I have 64 megs of memory (system reguirements 128). It worked before last September, but then mysteriously stopped to work. It took several minutes to start, and jerked occassionally when moving around in a system, but it worked. When you stopped moving for a while, the FPS dropped to 20 and then to almost none. Moving again gave me a non-jerky 40 FPS. Was it becuase I had put a plug-in before I was registered? The plug-in was small; it was Vell-Os Fix 1.01. I had 1.01, so it was not that it was wrong version. You mean a debuglog. You need to be able to make Nova start to do that. I have tried everything from trashing pilot aliases to ugrading to 1.02 and increasing Virtual Memory to 128 MB. What do you mean by contradictory information?

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I am eager to try to ansver mission questions

I found a couple of things bits-wise: The second mission does not show up due to a prematurely set b511, and one of the other "main stream" missions has a zero in the Random box, making it never appear.

Also, does anyone here know anything about dΓΌdes and pΓ«rss that refuse to show up?

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"If you can't feel the Force, you're not pushing it." -Prof. Li on the "Force"
Got g?

Quote

Originally posted by kauthor:
I can't get the second mission in Ronin. I went walking into the bar. Nothing comes up.

Here's where the mission requirements might start to become a little excessive. Also you have to wait at least a month before the second mission will actually appear. So you might just have to be patient. This string is all about making a name for yourself and building trust.

Quote

Origianally posted bu Chuckles:
I found a couple of things bits-wise: The second mission does not show up due to a prematurely set b511, and one of the other "main stream" missions has a zero in the Random box, making it never appear.

I'll look into this. There's issues with that 511 in the Bounty Hunter string, which has been allowing people to access multiple strings. I tried to stop this by activating it once you talk to Marshal Stubbs. It shouldn't prevent any other Ronin missions from starting since none of them use it as a requirement - but I'll verify this.

FYI: Outline of missions (what you can expect)
Work for Federation (or run away to ...)
Work for Aurorans
Work for the Association
Work for Rebels (notice a pattern)
Just kill a lot
Major Rebel missions
Association Offshoot
Heraan Offshoot
Ending
Alternate Ending

Most bounties are posted in the BBS. New missions appear in either the Bar or Main spaceport. They usually have low occurance levels.

(edit) Oh, wait, I just realized what you guys are talking about. You haven't even met with Marshall yet have you? Ok, thanks. I'll see what's going on then repost the fix. btw, thank you to all that choose to test. Your help is enormously appreciated. (/edit)
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I used to jog but the ice kept falling out of my glass.

(This message has been edited by Kame (edited 03-04-2003).)

Ok, beta 1.1 is up and ready to go. (download from top of page) I believe I fixed the problem with the mission in the bar. It seems to work fine for me. I also ran a debuglog and found that there was an ID pointing to nothing so perhaps that will solve the memory problem. For a complete list of fixes see the Read Me file attached.

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I used to jog but the ice kept falling out of my glass.

Two questions. Where does the offshoot start, and after which mission? Secondly, which Pers Ship am I supposed to get the Capture Mod Kestrel from?

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Quote

Originally posted by kauthor:
Two questions. Where does the offshoot start, and after which mission? Secondly, which Pers Ship am I supposed to get the Capture Mod Kestrel from?

The offshoots happen when your pilot rating is above 10000 (I think - can't remember at the moment) and you must have access to Association bounties. For the Heraan offshoot, you have to have Auroran bounties and a legal record of 25 (or 35?) in Auroran space. The pers ship is pretty obvious. It doesn't fly around during the game though so don't bother looking for it. You'll know when it happens.

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I used to jog but the ice kept falling out of my glass.

Quote

Originally posted by Kame:
**The pers ship is pretty obvious. It doesn't fly around during the game though so don't bother looking for it. You'll know when it happens.

**

I dont want to be mean, but the last part sounds as vague as how do I get the cloaking device? question in the FAQ. "You'll know when it happens".

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I am eager to try to ansver mission questions

Ok, I think I have a bug/annoyance. Even though the string is continuing, I am still being offered other storylines (namely pirate). If you are evolving this into a major storyline, I would recommend setting the other strings not to appear. Out of curiosity, do you get transported to the ATMOS system at the end? Ive not finished the string yet πŸ˜›

Comments thus far... highly enjoyable. I wasnt sure what to do when the Join Rebels bit came up, but I decided to go with the Marshall Guy for a bit. I have noticed a possible spelling error, but Im in a Stats lecture at the moment, and will email it to you when Im back at halls πŸ™‚

Good work,
ewan

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(url="http://"http://www.evula.org/ewan/")"In this world gone mad, we won't spank the monkey - the monkey will spank us!!"(/url)

Quote

Originally posted by General Cade Smart:
I dont want to be mean, but the last part sounds as vague as how do I get the cloaking device? question in the FAQ. "You'll know when it happens".

Seriously, it's super obvious. At least if you're paying attention. It ties right into the storyline. I have yet to get that stupid Rebel cloak. This I can do easily.

Quote

Originally posted by Jules:
**Ok, I think I have a bug/annoyance. Even though the string is continuing, I am still being offered other storylines (namely pirate). If you are evolving this into a major storyline, I would recommend setting the other strings not to appear. Out of curiosity, do you get transported to the ATMOS system at the end? Ive not finished the string yet

Comments thus far... highly enjoyable. I wasnt sure what to do when the Join Rebels bit came up, but I decided to go with the Marshall Guy for a bit. I have noticed a possible spelling error, but Im in a Stats lecture at the moment, and will email it to you when Im back at halls**

Make sure b511 is set. In the last update b511 should set when you choose to Save Jack. But I may have a bit that the Pirate string likes so I'll look into it. I had the same problem in the begining but it doesn't happen for me anymore.

Glad you like it so far. You can really work for whoever you want at this point. Working for the Feds with improve your Fed legal record. The Association will lead into more of the main string. And working for the Aurorans will increase the chances for the Heraan offshoot.

At this point, no, you don't go to Se7vyn (or however it's spelled). If you get the Association offshoot there's no reason. I may add it to the normal string ending though.

(disregard problems with mission fleets. Seems I already corrected this in 1.1 :p) Also the alternate ending mission will never complete. There's no stellar for it yet πŸ˜› I was wanting it to complete no matter where you landed but this doesn't seem to work.

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I used to jog but the ice kept falling out of my glass.

(This message has been edited by Kame (edited 03-07-2003).)

(This message has been edited by Kame (edited 03-07-2003).)

I recall if you set the negative of the flet resource in a dude field, it will show a that fleet as if it were a dude. I'm not positive if it works in all dude fields, though.

SP

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Eat blazing electric death!
(url="http://"http://www.evula.org/infernostudios/ept/")Unofficial EV Port(/url) Beta

Ok, thoughts so far...

  1. You should make the missions have higher combat ratings, as I found I needed relatively low ratings to get access to the missions (for example I think I was still on worthy of note when I had to save jack. Cant remember exactly though.
  2. Personally I think you should increase the probability of the strings, it wouldnt be so bad if you hadnt made it into the main storyline, but when I have to fly around for ages just waiting for the mission to show up gets really slow and boring.
  3. I dont like how the missions are all over the place. I think they should be available on only one planet. ie, all the earth based missions are available only from Earth, all the Auroran ones only from Aurora, etc. However, I would like to see the save jack one only available from Viking, it just fits better in my mind πŸ˜›
  4. I like it πŸ™‚ a lot πŸ˜„

Spelling errors so far...

  1. When you meet Marshall Stubs, you have "thereof" in the second or third paragraph. This should be "there of".
  2. When you get asked to go and meet the Polaris, there is a paragraph that starts "You grin waiting to here what...". The highlighted "here" should be "hear". Not a mistake, just wrong context.
  3. I cant remember where/when this was but there was a bit where an "alk-obot". That just doesnt look right to me. I think it should be "alco-bot".

Thats about it, good work πŸ™‚ I will post any more mistakes or ideas I have...
ewan

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(url="http://"http://www.evula.org/ewan/")"In this world gone mad, we won't spank the monkey - the monkey will spank us!!"(/url)

Thanks for your comments Ewan. You actually mentioned a few of the things I've been concerned about so I'll address you first.

The combat rating is a major concern of mine (although I think I have it worked out well enough now) so I'm glad you brought it up. However, the 1000 rating that you're talking about is the rating given by the game. The Save Jack mission is actually the Bounty Hunter > Rebel link so I haven't changed any of those requirements.

Probabilities have been tweaked slightly (another major concern of mine). They may be still slightly low though. We'll see how it works out.

Addressing your third comment: I don't want the player to get stuck in some little routine of going between the same planets taking a bounty, making the kill and returning to the same planet. Each major bounty has a home, but because the bounties are for regional governments, it makes ore sense for that government to provide bounties within it's whole borders. I.e: the Association trades all over Federation space, therefore traders are going to have problems with bad guys all over Federation space. If you're finding Fed bounties in Auroran space and vice versa please let me know so it can be corrected.

Lastly, the spelling errors you mentioned aren't mine πŸ™‚ They come before the Ronin string. And "thereof" is correct as a single word. But I know there are plenty of mistakes that are mine so stay on the lookout.

Ok, moving on. Version 1.3 has been released. Yes I skipped right over 1.2. You can download the new version from the top of the page. There have been a ton of corrections again, but it should be fully functional at this point with everything in working order. I've also included another pilot file for your use. This new one does not use any plugs and places you in a kick butt Pirate Valk IV with 6 Ion cannons. Finally, if you download, please remember to email or post your comments. All are welcome to test. Thanks again to everyone helping out.

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I used to jog but the ice kept falling out of my glass.

Quote

Originally posted by Kame:
**

I've also included another pilot file for your use. This new one does not use any plugs and places you in a kick butt Pirate Valk IV with 6 Ion cannons. Finally, if you download, please remember to email or post your comments. All are welcome to test. Thanks again to everyone helping out.

**

Another pilot file? I didnt know you had pilot files at all. What was the first? A Pirate IV Valk? Sweet! Ive always heard of how good they are, but have never been able to fly one. And 6 sounds even more sweet. Kick but indeed! I will be able to test on Saturday, when my Mac gets to a shop to get 128 MB more memory, and installed by shop personnel so I save the bother.

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I am eager to try to ansver mission questions

The final version of my Bounty Hunter plug, RONIN, has just been submitted to the Add Ons page! Many thanks to everyone that helped beta test. If you simply can't wait to get started using this phenominal addition to Nova you can download it from it's permanent home at (url="http://"http://www.0three0.net/evn/RONIN.sit")http://www.0three0.net/evn/RONIN.sit(/url)

Hope you all enjoy plug! πŸ˜„

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I used to jog but the ice kept falling out of my glass.
(url="http://"http://www.0three0.net/evn/RONIN.sit")RONIN(/url) - A new breed of Bounty Hunter

REMINDER-KAME, Post a progress log update and inform Upcoming Plug In that you are done at EV-Nova.net

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