Author Topic: DS9FX - Xtended  (Read 22737 times)

Offline DJ Curtis

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #40 on: December 26, 2008, 12:25:28 PM »
very nice.  though I would seriously consider trying to reduce the polycount.

Offline limey BSc.

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #41 on: December 26, 2008, 12:44:41 PM »
though I would seriously consider trying to reduce the polycount.

Why? This is the main ship in the pack. The most looked at, and thus the most scrutinised. So it needs to look as good as it can, and I think Cord has done a fantastic job keeping it perfectly smooth for that poly count!
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Offline JimmyB76

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #42 on: December 26, 2008, 12:55:49 PM »
ya but some of us do still have mid-range 4-yr old crappy computers lol  :P

Offline limey BSc.

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #43 on: December 26, 2008, 02:12:06 PM »
ya but some of us do still have mid-range 4-yr old crappy computers lol  :P

Bet you're computer could still handle it with relative ease though.
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Offline Villain

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #44 on: December 26, 2008, 02:18:34 PM »
So? Maybe with permission they can just have an extra folder for "Low detail" DS9 or something if it were ever a problem.


"The design is clearly ancient... Launched hundreds of thousands of years ago."

Quote from: JimmyB76
der-ner-ner-ner-ner ..... der-ner-ner-ner-ner .....
---
Quote from: Rick Sternbach, on the topic of the Galor Class' length
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Offline Mario

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #45 on: December 26, 2008, 02:40:25 PM »
An appropriate alternative will be done in some way. Either as using the old model or a scaled down version.
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Offline Villain

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #46 on: December 26, 2008, 04:59:50 PM »
See? There you go.


"The design is clearly ancient... Launched hundreds of thousands of years ago."

Quote from: JimmyB76
der-ner-ner-ner-ner ..... der-ner-ner-ner-ner .....
---
Quote from: Rick Sternbach, on the topic of the Galor Class' length
...Probably not, but the number I get(379.6m) could be considered ?original intent,? a term that I think I will be using from now on, and ?canon? be damned.

Offline cordanilus

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #47 on: December 26, 2008, 05:26:13 PM »
Ya, it's possible that I'll do a cut down version of it.  There's the version that DS9FX currently has, which could be considered the low poly version.  So, once I'm done this one...I can make a mid-ranched poly version.

Offline DJ Curtis

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #48 on: December 26, 2008, 07:30:06 PM »
though I would seriously consider trying to reduce the polycount.

Why? This is the main ship in the pack. The most looked at, and thus the most scrutinised. So it needs to look as good as it can, and I think Cord has done a fantastic job keeping it perfectly smooth for that poly count!

I would try to cut it down because for BC, 40k is a lot of onscreen polys to spend on just one mesh.  Plus the fact that DS9 is frequently surrounded by many other ships.  I'm not trying to be critical in a negative way, if 40k is what it takes then go for it.  I guess what I was trying to say was that I hope you do your very best to take every last un-needed polygon out of the thing to keep the count down.

I used to be a big proponent of having high poly ships in the game, but it really is not that advisable.  A good mesh is still one that has as few polygons as possible.  It's just so much easier on the engine.

Offline cordanilus

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #49 on: December 27, 2008, 12:37:12 AM »
Well, poly count is much easier on an object that is stationary since the geometric engines don't have to calculate as much.

And let me tell you, I had 12 (or so) objects in bc which tallied up to a whopping 800k polys.  The framerate was probably about 8fps but that's because of the amount of texture's it had to load.  It's a good thing I'm using a 512 mb vid card.  Or my pc would have exploded.  lol

But I do understand you're point about the polycount, not every computer out there is a powerhouse.  Which is why, a selection is good.  The user can decide what their computer can handle.  Thanks for your input. :D

Offline DJ Curtis

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #50 on: December 27, 2008, 01:26:57 AM »
no problems.

Offline limey BSc.

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #51 on: December 27, 2008, 06:15:48 AM »
Well, poly count is much easier on an object that is stationary since the geometric engines don't have to calculate as much.

And let me tell you, I had 12 (or so) objects in bc which tallied up to a whopping 800k polys.  The framerate was probably about 8fps but that's because of the amount of texture's it had to load.  It's a good thing I'm using a 512 mb vid card.  Or my pc would have exploded.  lol

But I do understand you're point about the polycount, not every computer out there is a powerhouse.  Which is why, a selection is good.  The user can decide what their computer can handle.  Thanks for your input. :D

How about using the underused level of detail? That way, when its further away, its taxing the computer less, and if the user has lower graphics settings, it defaults to a lower poly version.
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Offline Mario

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New DS9FX - Xtended Updates
« Reply #52 on: July 03, 2009, 04:36:03 PM »
This thread is kind of out of date so it is time to post a short overview of what has been done and I was encouraged to post a new update here.

-11 new systems
Badlands is what we are proud of. As always you can customize all systems via configuration options. So Badlands vortex's can be tailored to own taste i.e.

-New Campaign
10 instead of 5 missions like in the first campaign (v3.0 campaign), so that's 10 more missions

-New mini missions
I aim to go over 30 mini missions, since they are very easy to do. So that should be +40 missions in total
People said there were too few missions in v3.0, so we listened.

-Entering wormhole manually
People wanted to fly into the wormhole, so we listened. Don't worry you can still press the button for the auto sequence to take you in.

-Easter Eggs
Some are meant for fun but some actually will unlock new content ;) what that is, you will find out when it comes out...

-Fixed fully to work like it should
v3.0 issues are no more, the core has not been rewritten but totally redesigned to fix all the issues v3.0 had.

-Sets have custom music
Music is not static anymore (to be more precise one music piece won't be replayed over and over again, unless you want it to). When you enter a system it is mixed and when battling custom battle music starts. Minor detail worth mentioning. Although including the music in not a option nowadays.

-Life Support
Something I haven't mentioned much before but what is it... And old idea which was planned to be developed for Immersion. Generally it has been toned down and adapted for DS9FX. Ships have crews generally which can be defined in the ships plugin (BCUT already has the feature support).

So is it just for show or it does something?

Ship which has 80% of crew capacity won't be as nearly as effective as ship with 100% crew capacity. In combat this effect can be seen and noticed.

If you kill the life support system on a ship (if it has one) the ship is dead in water.

Ships can be taken over by transporting teams to fight for control over target ship. Ships with no crew can be salvaged, this is particularly useful in some missions which you will undertake. Not just in missions, using it with GC 2.0's war simulator can be most amusing.

I believe somebody will ask this, so I will tell this right away: Yes docking to a starbase will replenish any ships crew and yes crew does die in combat also.

- No Damage Through Shields
Actually developed for Life Support this, if enabled, will simply prevent any damage from going through shields if they are operational. Something that I noticed bugs most people. This does make battles more interesting.

-All about customization options
I don't think I need to talk about this, but anything which is featured in DS9FX can be customized.

-Minor touches to the systems
These are aesthetic options but seemed like they add more depth to the mod and overall experience. Every planet, every system can be scanned which will provide some background information about the system or planet.

-Automatic backup/restoration of Mutators
Some people experience mutator "deactivation". This, if enabled, will simply keep track of all enabled mutators and restore them when needed automatically so you will never experience such a thing ever again. Minor detail worth mentioning.

These are some of more noticeable features, but there are a lot more.

It is difficult to summarize all the work done so far.
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Offline Vanguard

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #53 on: July 03, 2009, 06:03:10 PM »
Awesome.

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Offline Tuskin38

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #54 on: July 03, 2009, 07:57:19 PM »
This sounds awesome.

Offline Kirk

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #55 on: July 03, 2009, 09:05:32 PM »
Trust me folks, this is awesome. Sovvy and SMBW have really out done themselves. Not only has the code been upgraded, but there are some very nice graphical upgrades as well (namely the wormhole.) I think this one will be MotY. :D

Offline X_TheUnknown_X

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #56 on: July 04, 2009, 05:36:48 AM »
My response to reading the update:
 :|  :?  :shock:  :o  :)  :D  :mrgreen:
I'd begun to wonder what was happening with DS9FX. All these new features look great! But I assume they will add some weight to my already bloated 4.41GB Bridge Commander install. Still, I had a look at the gallery on the BCS-TNG website and I was astonished at the scope and detail of the XTended project. Can't wait to hear more.

Offline JimmyB76

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #57 on: July 04, 2009, 10:39:33 PM »
sorry guys, i killed the last few spam posts...

but ya - wait til you see what DS9E has instore :D

*cookied to sovvy*

Offline CptBenSisko

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #58 on: July 06, 2009, 06:12:41 PM »
How will this affect the Delta Quadrant pack? Will they all be compatible along with Galaxy Charts? It would be great to have the Alpha, Beta, Delta and Gamma Quadrants all in one game and be able to explore the Galaxy...

Offline Mario

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Re: DS9FX - Xtended
« Reply #59 on: July 06, 2009, 06:33:15 PM »
How will this affect the Delta Quadrant pack? Will they all be compatible along with Galaxy Charts? It would be great to have the Alpha, Beta, Delta and Gamma Quadrants all in one game and be able to explore the Galaxy...

Partial compatibility exists.

Partial as in not all DS9FX features can coexist with GC 1.0 or GC 2.0 features. To be more precise, Galaxy Charts simply interferes with systems via War Simulator or Random Defense Force and thus you cannot play missions which come with DS9FX how they are meant to be.

So in order to play the missions you must disable RDF and War Simulator. This is the only thing which cannot be usable at the same time.

If Xtended detects that these features are enabled it deactivates the missions in DS9FX.

But this is all one or 2 clicks away.

For the rest Xtended supplies GC plugins for systems. Galaxy Charts makes full use of Life Support features.
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