"Trade Captain" Plug-In Development Questions

You need the STR# resource that contains the cargo names. There's more than one, actually, for different places you'll see the cargo listed. You'll need IDs 4000, 4001, and 4002. They can be found in Nova Data 5. Barry's listing, because of how the whole thing works, is actually gonna be 74 in the list instead of 73. Again, this is how it appears in Mission Computer, at least, because the mïsn resource lists the first cargo type as 0 while the STR# resource lists it as 1. Not sure if EVNEW works the same way in that respect.

Thanks again DarthKev! From what you've told me EVNEW and MC seem to work pretty similarly.

I'm wondering if at this point I should release what I have so far just to get some feedback. Make sure I at least have a decent concept. Right now.Fed space is done & I've added more interceptors to most Syst resources, it's just tedious work and I want to make sure it's worth it before I do Polaris & Auroran space.

Should I just upload it to the Plugin directory and request beta testers? Or is there a better place to ask.

If you try uploading to the Plug-In section of the site, it might never actually get added. Each upload has to be reviewed by Ambrosia before it's allowed for download, and Ambrosia is a little short-staffed right now from what I hear. Try Dropbox instead.

Thanks

https://db.tt/azrVwLhn

I just want to know if the concept (smuggling junks) is fun for you. I kept the original junk routes (Guiness Barrels from Tuatha to Kerella for example). It probably needs some tweaking,,I just want to know if it's worth doing.

Lots of the work is unfinished...,,please excuse the mess. This is a .rez file so Mac users will need to assimilate - I mean convert.

I've decided that there is so much work to be done I may as well re-do everything. Right now I'm starting from scratch with 9 systems (similar in size to Colosseum). More systems will be added later (I have a KILLER idea that will be easy to.implement... lets just say you may have done this plenty of times as a kid, but never in EV) No plans to redo any graphics at this time.

Now a really important question: how do you feel about "Midnight Express" or "Contraband" as a title?

Midnight Express sounds better for an actual title. Contraband is just a summary of the game.

Thanks DK you're very helpful. work is progressing slow and steady. I decided to change gears a bit and explain why the player is in a new place in the galaxy (the "second sector"). I wrote a bit of backstory, which will be revealed to the player in bits and pieces as they play missions and explore.

edit: answered my own question! back to work

This post has been edited by Sklent : 08 November 2013 - 05:03 PM

Just want to give you guys a "hey, still working.on it" real quick. I now have most of the groundwork done, I just have missions to write. I have composed an outline for a Smuggler storyline and have begun working on that. I'm going to write at least two more storylines, a Federation storyline and a Pirate one. You'll be able to choose which storyline you want based upon a series of moral, legal and compassion tests. Basically, if you act like a jerk you'll wind up doing the Pirate string. If you show that you're willing to help others even if they can't pay you, you'll be in the Smuggler storyline. The Federation storyline requires you to more or less follow regulations, even when it is inconvenient to do so.

That shouldn't be too hard for the average player to figure out, I don't think. When I feel.ready (ie 100% certain this project will be completed) I will see if anyone is willing to do some graphics. This plug will be successful without any new graphics, but I feel that it will be a better experience for the player.

Not many of us remaining actually have the ability to make ship graphics. I could make some fairly mediocre ones for you, if you really want, depending on how many ships you have. On the other hand, you can try Meowx's Shipyard or EVula's Shipyard for some decent sets of ships. None of them are quite Nova quality, but all are quite nice.

Also, when I say any ships I make would be mediocre, I only mean that I don't have a way to properly render or texture them, so they'll look somewhat plastic-y.

yes, but where is the forklift?

My graphics really don't need to be fancy - in my scenario, the Federation has run to a new galactic sector and is low on resources. I have a couple ideas for some really ugly ships, but I'm not sure if I'm going to implement them. (might be best to leave those ideas for Chapter 2)

Here is my total graphics wishlist:

-A Fed Cruiser that looks like it's been beat to hell.

-A shipyard picture depicting said Carrier firing its weapons, trying to escape through an open hypergate.

-Various station and planet graphics. The station graphics can be ugly. after all, they were built on a tight budget

-A deadly stellar

Like I said, none of these graphics are really necessary. that's just my wishlist

Unfortunately I can't do planets. I also can't really do weapon shots in shipyard images very well, nor can I make a Hypergate. The best I can do is your beat-up carrier and a few stations.

The good news is, those are probably the two most important graphic images. The rest are really just icing on the cake. I can re-use existing images for planets, and for the deadly stellar I may just use a wormhole with a different color... call it a black hole or something.

DarthKev, I'm mentally drafting my list of "thank you" acknowledgements and of course you belong in there. The thing is, (once I get his permission), Terrivel is going to be the name of a tough, charismatic leader of the Smuggler group. I don't know if he'll lend me his permission to use his name, but I figure you deserve similar consideration seeing as how you've helped me with the majority of my questions. May I use you as a) a pers ship, />/> a hero, c) a nasty villain, d) an ancillary but memorable character ("You land on a mostly.barren planet. It is uninhabited except for one man wearing a coonskin hat and little else. He identifies himself as 'Darth Kevin' in a British accent and seems to spend most of his time arranging rocks into groups that he calls 'rock bands'. His giddy behaviour and inability to finish a sentence without giggling.makes you uncomfortable and you leave as soon as you can.")

...or some other fashion? Just asking your.permission (and Terrivel's too, btw) And if you do so choose to be a hero/villain, is there another name I can use?

This post has been edited by Sklent : 19 November 2013 - 11:14 PM

I guess you could use me as a Fed captain, but only if he's allowed to be a bit of a loose cannon and risk-taker. I don't do well with regulations, but I prefer to be on the right side of the law. Perhaps I could be a Fed contact for the smuggler player. Use the name Francis Kovacich.

Also, did you decide on a British accent because you think I have one? I spell some words using British spellings, but I'm actually American.

I could've sworn you said you were a Brit... ah well. I think the "smuggler contact" Fed Captain bit is something I'll definitely put to good use. I may take some liberties with your character but I'll make sure you're cool & respectable.

OK I just drafted a character profile for Captain Francis "Frankie" Kovacich. You are in command of the N.F.S Freedom, one of the few Destroyers still in optation. Your crew is often out of uniform and things are a mess, regulationwise, but you know that they would follow you to hell and back. Federation HQ sends in someone to "clean out up" every so often, but these officials rarely last more than a couple weeks. If it weren't for the fact that the crew of the "Freedom" is just so darn good and saved the day so many times, they'd all have been demoted and discharged years ago.

There's a story in there about how you decided to break formation and take on a fleet of pirates head-on, ignoring direct orders, military convention and common sense. You were court-martialed but all charges were dropped.

You rose quickly to the rank of.Captain and while you have the capability of becoming an Admiral or more, both you and HQ.agree that would be a disaster. You have no desire to leave your team and be taken out of the action. And HQ has no plans to promote such a maverick any further.

This post has been edited by Sklent : 21 November 2013 - 08:32 AM

Well, so far I have roughly 12 pages of text devoted to Smuggler storyline text (intro, briefing, quick brief & refusal text). I estimate I will.have 30-40 at least when I am done. I have faint ideas for Fed and Pirate storylines at this point, but the Smuggler storyline is just pouring out of me.

I also have another HUGE project almost finished. Yay!

Is there a way to have an "escort ship to xyz" mission WITHOUT being able to give commands? (formation, hold position, attack, defend, etc.) Normally for those missions, I simply press "hold position" and it takes all the challenge out of it.

What I'm thinking is a "kill the enemy fleet" mission, while simultaneously trying to keep your escort from getting himself killed. (it would.be challenging and reinforce the plotline)

Work is still progressing. I may only write one storyline and then release more "chapters" later. I sorta hate coding missions.

Of course you can do that. In the mission, set the Ship Objective to Protect and the Ship Behavior to Normal. That way the player fails the mission if the mission ship dies, but can't give the ship orders, either.

Thanks DK. I'm working 2 jobs at the moment & have a toddler & a host of other family issues to boot. My plug in development is an outlet/distraction at the moment, but I'm lacking time to figure things out. I come to you when I need a shortcut

20 missions set up so far (I'm just setting up intro text at the moment) and then I'll go back and finish coding them. Seems to help build momentum doing it that way. I should have about 40-50 missions when I'm done.

So I just tested a really cool (or at least, what I think is cool) concept. Fighting planetary ships with planetary weapons has been done before; what I DIDN'T know was possible was to set the mass or energy damage to 0.

I set IR missiles to be planetary weapons with 0 energy damage and regular mass damage (10 I think). Then I set a heavy blaster to have 0 mass damage and regular energy damage.

What you're left with is a ship that requires 2 special weapons to take down. My idea is for the player to have the "armor only" outfit and for an escort to have the "shields only" outfit.(or vice versa) I think this would be interesting because you'd have to protect your escort, at least until the shield comes down.

Here's my question: how do I explain this to the player? The best I have so far is:

"The ship we're going after has planetary weapons and defenses. This means it hits hard and your shots will appear to go straight through it, due to its special point defense system. We've developed a weapon that can penetrate these defenses, but it is too large to mount on a single ship. We've essentially split it into two seperate weapons... the only drawback is, one is only good for damaging shields and the other only damages the armor."

But that feels clunky to me. Any suggestions?