First Contact

So I've run into a frustrating problem while trying to test out what I've got so far.

I put the file into the plugin folder for Override, and load the game. Everything works fine, except the outfitters of some planets insist on showing outfits which don't exist in my plugin (e.g., Earth sells plasma weapons, which don't exist in First Contact). I assume the game is reading the Override Data files, which obviously have plasma weapons, but how can I stop it from doing that without replacing those outfits' resource files with new ones in the plugin?

Umm... I don't recall plasma weapons existing at all in EVO, sans the Igadzra Plasma Siphon, which couldn't be bought nor sold. If you have plasma weapons showing up, something else is loading into the game besides your plug-in and the EVO data files. Double check the folders and the data files and make sure there's nothing extra in any of them.

My mistake, I meant Phase weaponry, not plasma.

Ah. In that case, simply remove the Phase wëap and oütf resources from the EVO data files. They aren't necessary to run the game and, if they don't exist in First Contact, there's no need to have them there.

Will I have to do that with every resource which doesn't have a replacement in First Contact? Seems more than a little inconvenient...

Well, technically, First Contact is a TC, even if you aren't calling it one. It runs on the Nova engine but doesn't use the Nova scenario. Unless you don't mind the extra complexity that is to come (or can easily deal with it) you're going to have to make your plug-in into the data files themselves. This isn't an add-on, you're removing a large chunk of the map and governments, not to mention the ships and outfits.

In short, yes, you'll need to delete any resource in the data files that isn't replaced in First Contact. Either that or make blank resources that won't shoe up in-game to replace them. Again, that's only until you start incorporating your changes into the data files themselves.

** Edit:** Don't feel discouraged by me saying this is a TC. While that's true, it's also a small TC and is a lot less work than standard* TCs. You've even gotten a head start with the map and a lot of other stuff already set out for you by EVO.

*There really isn't a such thing as a standard TC, just sort of an 'average' TC.

This post has been edited by DarthKev : 17 November 2010 - 05:19 PM

Ah, that makes sense. How would I go about incorporating the plugin into the Data Files, or is that something definitely better left until after it's completely finished?

It's up to you when you want to start doing that. As for how to do it, simply start copying and pasting resources from your plug-in into the data files. Simple as that. Just make sure that, if a resource you're pasting in will replace another resource, the resource being replaced is either obsolete or simply not needed.

QUOTE (Male_Valkyrie @ Nov 17 2010, 05:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Will I have to do that with every resource which doesn't have a replacement in First Contact? Seems more than a little inconvenient...

There's a simpler way. If you put the First Contact files into the Nova Plug-ins folder, you can block the OUTFs and SHIPs you're not using by putting a null resource of that number into the First Contact files. (Check out the Polycon data files for an example.)

I would much rather play this as a Total Conversion for Nova than as a plug-in for the EVO total conversion for Nova. Just keeps things simpler that way. Thus, I would strongly recommend you follow the route of putting your project within a copy of the EVO TC data files, and deleting any resources your don’t want.

Of course, for yourself during development, you should do whatever is most convenient and most conducive to your development process. I’m just saying when you get to release, if you haven’t already before then, at that point you should wrap it all up into a coherent total conversion.

Yeah, I'm going the TC route, makes more sense given its size. Means I have to keep swapping in and out the First Contact and regular Override files, depending on which I feel like playing, but oh well.

Though, when release time does come (knock on wood), I'll need advice on how to package the whole thing as a TC, rather than a regular plug-in... but that's for another day.

Got a bunch of standard missions put in today, gonna get serious about writing the missions for the first of the major strings pretty soon (probably tonight, actually).

EDIT: I'm an idiot. I just now remembered that I can simply create a separate TC folder for First Contact, and put the files there, rather than swapping them in and out with the Override files. In my defense, I was trying to figure out how to use SketchUp today, and it made me feel significantly dumber, so I think I'm still recovering from that...

This post has been edited by Male_Valkyrie : 17 November 2010 - 09:26 PM

Will the OnShipDone desc display the text on the player's screen in the way a message buoy does, or will it not be shown until the player lands?

For background, I want a specific mission to have the player hyper into a system, and the moment he observes the enemy ships, have a message from them appear on the player's screen. What's the best way to make this happen, if it's possible?

Either put Qxxx in OnShipDone do display an STR# message at the bottom of the screen, or give the mission some cargo (could even be zero tons) and have it be loaded OnShipDone with the dësc you want as LoadCargoDesc.

For future reference, OnShipDone text displays in a text box in space, pausing the game until the player proceeds. It's better for longer descriptions of events. For example, if you wanted to have the player destroy a special mission ship and then have a lengthy back and forth of banter as the enemy ship is engulfed in flames, OnShipDone text should be used for that with the mission's special ship objective set to 'destroy'.

Excellent, thank you both.

Making decent process on the missions for one of the strings. It's fairly slow going, because of the way I'm structuring three of the strings and how they interact with each other (I'll explain later... probably), but I think I've almost got it all worked out, so things should start moving faster before too long.

So I'm looking for feedback from the community here. I'll try to avoid any spoilers.

There will be four major strings in First Contact, but the first three are mutually exclusive (they all deal with the Voinians). Essentially, I'm going for what PAC did in Override; all the events of all the strings are assumed to have happened by the end of the game, whether or not the universe reflects that (one fun aspect of this I'm incorporating will be the ability of the player to meet "himself," or other characters, from the other strings).

But what would the community prefer: for every event of all the strings to take place, no matter which string one ends up in (i.e., the player makes some changes happen, but other changes happen because the other strings are going on at the same time, just behind the player's back, and the universe ends up the same at the end of the game in all the strings); or for only some of the universe-changing events to happen, depending on what string the player ends up in (thus forcing the player to play the game multiple times to see all the possible results).

I'm leaning towards the first one, as I like the idea of the universe changing without the player's direct involvement; I think it enhances the feeling of a non-player-centric universe, while still encouraging the player to try out the other strings. But I'm open to persuasion, if the community has strong feelings on this.

Non-player-centric is the way to go, IMO. All three EV games had a more-or-less player-centric universe, and many TCs are the same. I'd find it refreshing to play a TC that makes the player feel more like a common individual instead of the one person the universe revolves around.

Well, large portions of the universe will still revolve around the player, depending upon which string he ends up in. But yeah, I think I'm gonna go for a more dynamic universe, with more emphasis on the actions of NPCs.

I have at least one mission where I want the player to be accompanied by a specific përs, but the "special ship" field only allows for düdes. Is there a way around this, or will I have to just settle for a düde with the same name as the përs I want?

QUOTE (Male_Valkyrie @ Dec 16 2010, 01:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have at least one mission where I want the player to be accompanied by a specific përs, but the "special ship" field only allows for düdes. Is there a way around this, or will I have to just settle for a düde with the same name as the përs I want?

One way to do this is to make a custom shïp with the outfits and stats identical to the përs, make a one-off düde for this mission, and use a bit that's set OnAccept and unset when the mission completes and set the përs not to show then that bit is set.

There may be a way to cause the përs to follow the player, but I don't know about having actions towards the përs affecting missions without using some convoluted method.

I can help you easier if you describe exactly what you want - is it just the player being followed, or does the player need to defend this ship, or does the ship escort and defend the player - does a certain mission or bit need to trigger or not trigger depending on whether this ship lives or not?