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@0101181920, on Jul 4 2008, 07:22 AM, said in I need some help please:
The Raven's definitely not lacking firepower. It's got that big area where it doesn't hit on purpose, so that it isn't too OP. IMO, it doesn't need buffing. Wow, did I just use three forum/AIM abbreviations/words in two sentences? NOOOOOO!
It happens. :laugh:
They started creeping back into my internet lexicon as soon as I started looking at the Diablo III forums.
Yeah, I know, but there's no reason for it. And, looking back, something even scarier: I've started using smilies :(.
Next question is about graphics: how do sprite masks work (do they define where the edges of a sprite are to EV?) and how do I make one? Furthermore, how far apart to individual sprites need to be from their rotated counterparts?
Lastly, how do I make "group" sprites? Namely: consider a sprite such as the krypt pod's nanite attack: how does ev know that the independent "nanites" are really a part of one sprite? And could I use this technique to put say...vipers in a formation of three (as one sprite) and assign it to a single ship so that its like a squadron (assigning beam, missile, and gun exit points accordingly so it appears to be three ships shooting instead of only the center ship)?
1. A mask is black and white. Wherever the mask is black is transparent. Wherever it's white is opaque. People generally make them either by taking their standard sprite pic into Photoshop and coloring everything besides the background white, or by exporting the 32 images again from their 3d program, just coloring all of them white. For how far apart, they don't. You just need to assemble all of your exported images together. Remember how big the individual frames are, because you'll need it for when you import.
The nanities are just one sprite, with a dotted mask. No 'grouping' here. Or anywhere else.
@match, on Jul 7 2008, 01:25 PM, said in I need some help please:
And could I use this technique to put say...vipers in a formation of three (as one sprite) and assign it to a single ship so that its like a squadron (assigning beam, missile, and gun exit points accordingly so it appears to be three ships shooting instead of only the center ship)?
You could but it would look sort of strange - the three 'different' ships would always move in exact synchronisation, and shots hitting any 'one' of them would hurt all 'three', until they all blew up at the same time. Sort of like the old joke about synchronised swimmers drowning.
I think one of the most innovative uses of the shďps to represent entire squadrons was to make one shďp for, say, 5 fighters, then one for 4 all the way down to 1. Give the 5-fighter shďp a fighter-type weapon that launches the 4-ship squadron (but don't give it the bay). Mark "is escape ship." Give a short destruction time. Don't let the player see the shďps' defense status. Voila!
I'd credit that idea, but I have absolutely no recollection of who came up with it.
Oh and for added effect, you can spread the gun exit points across the ships to give the impression of different ships in the squad firing.
Let me make sure I have this correct:
( a ) 1 shďp resource for 5 fighters ( b ) 1 shďp resource for 4 fighters ( c ) .... ( d ) .... ( e ) 1 shďp resource for 1 fighter
Then,
Give ( a ) a fighter type weapon that launches ( b ) but with no fighter bay Give ( b ) a fighter type weapon that launches ( c ) but with no fighter bay so on and so forth?
And make them all "is escape ship"?
This post has been edited by Eirikr : 10 July 2008 - 01:35 PM
Except for a, I believe that is correct. A shouldn't be is an escape ship.
Ok so all the ships except for ( a ) are "escape ships". And then I've got what looks like fighters in formation?
Yeah. It should work. If you want it super realistic, then you'll need some clever way of always putting the explosion over one fighter, but otherwise, it'll work. It'll look a little weird when missiles target the center of the formation instead of one of the ships, but that's minor.
Ok so now how do I make the graphics for this?
@eirikr, on Jul 10 2008, 06:05 PM, said in I need some help please:
Rather than read all six pages to find this answer: Graphics for whut?
@eirikr, on Jul 10 2008, 10:05 PM, said in I need some help please:
Assuming you're making graphics from scratch, just render the requisite number of fighters in each frame of the sprite. If you're trying to use existing graphics, I can't help you much there since my skills with 2-d programs are pretty laughable.
Either way though, you're going to have to make a decision: do you want the gun/turret etc. exit points not to line up properly all the time, or do you want the fighters to swing around each other in a very unrealistic manner as they turn (i.e. instead of each pivoting in place, the ones in the front and the back end up flying in a semi-circle during a 180° turn)?
Alright ladysprites and gentlemasks, after my brief hiatus I have returned (for now) to inquire a few more of my nova plugin debacles.
Question A: Can I add a new button for hailing ships just below "request assistance"? or must I make it replace a current button?
Question A pt. II: The reason I ask is that I want to be able to ask other ships if I can "update starcharts" with their onboard navicomps. The effect being instead of paying for repairing or refueling, you are given 1 of the map outfit and your starmap thus updated. How might I be able to make this happen if question A (pt. I) is possible? Is it related to the "giveoutfit" area of the pers resource? Or is that only on board?
Question B: Does anyone know anyone on this board this is exceptional at creating missile/torpedo sprites for EVN? I have some rather wicked looking missiles but my artistic capabilities fail me in an any attempt to mimmick these awesome ballistics. I'm attaching a .zip with the missile cameos to be displayed in the outfitter just for people to look through if they are interested when I get home in a few hours.
Question Can a spob use multiple weapons?
ehhhh.... There was more but then I spaced. @_@
This post has been edited by Match : 14 July 2008 - 01:36 PM
A. No. C. No.
A. You have to have it replace an existing button. The labels are in STR# 150. B. Depends on how good you want them. If you want them really, really nice 3-d sprites, then if you could convince Yoda Almighty to help, that's good. If you're fine with moderately good bad 2-d sprites, then I might be able to help you. But you'll have to upload the files. You forgot. C. Yes, it is, actually. What you'll need to do is make two spöbs. One is the first in the system, and the other is the sixteenth. Make the sixteenth invisible, but give it a weapon. The first should be your actual planet, with a weapon. Give them both the same coordinates.
Yeah okay, no I didn't. I was just at work for a LONG time. The .zip containing the images turned out to be too large to attach, so I uploaded them to photobucket and provided links below. The file attached (the text doc) is just a verbal stumbling out of what I see the missile sizes approximating to.
Enveloping Fusion Torpedo Fusion Missile Nova Bomb Parallax Torpedo Passive Cloaking Torpedo Permeator Missile Sidestep Missile
Those do look fantastic indeed! Personally, I don't think you need any help. In my opinion, you can't really see the missiles you are firing in the game except maybe the general color or shape, so why would you need help to make the sprites? Just render 36 frames in a full 360 degrees at the desired angle and then just dump them into P2S or what ever you use to make sprites with and be done with it.
They look fantastic but there's no way you'll ever be able to make all that fantastic detail visible when firing. Only in the outfitter pictures.
@match, on Jul 14 2008, 02:36 PM, said in I need some help please:
I'll take a crack at it.