Lost Empires

[Keedo420]

So for the past couple of days, I've been working on the first of the buildable player stations - the Mining Station. The player starts out with a Forklift-class Constructor, a small fighter-sized craft which can build the most basic structures (currently just the Mining Station, but eventually others such as Cargo Containers, Habitats, the most basic Outpost, and possible a basic defense turret). Currently, for testing purposes, it costs nothing but eventually each structure will have a Resources cost (an economy type used for building, upgrading, and repairing). Anyway, 4-5 minutes after the mining station is built it will spawn a Mole-Class Mining Ship (aka Mole Miner), which will immediately begin the automining process.


The Mole Miner will fly around shooting asteroids until ore is spawned, which it will then dock with and collect after it has finished checking its current asteroid target for ore.


It will continue doing this until its cargo hold is full, at which point it will return to the Mining Station.


After it has dumped its load of ore, it will immediately return to the mining/collection process.


I have combined Apemant's Mining Auton and Bobby's Packer Auton, with a little extra coding by myself to make the Miner be bound to the station that spawns it and to return to that station to dump its ore when it is full before continuing to mine. The ship graphics are a 2d combination of Bobby's Packer and an image of the Forklift-class Maintenance Starfury from Babylon 5, though the overlay for when the Miner is full of ore doesn't seem to be working at the moment (this will be fixed).

And one final thing.....adding a grayscale mask to the nebula and its highlights is not such a good idea after all.....

[Keedo420]

OK, fixed the overlay for the mole miner. The problem was so ridiculous that I'm too embarassed to mention what it was... I've also got the basic refinery setup to refine basic ores into fuel. As before, the refineries will be used for two purposes: to refine ore into other things such as fuel or ingots, and to convert ore and other raw items (such as frozen liquids and gases) into Resources (the currency I mentioned last time which will be used for building, repairing, and trading). I will probably make different types of refineries (such as Metal Refinery, Mineral Refinery, etc...) but for now there is just the one type. On a related note, I have also come up with a basic "tech tree" regarding space stations. Using only vanilla station graphics, I have begun development of what I call the Post System. Using the Forklift Constructor, the player starts out by building a Cargo Container which can then be upgraded (if the player has enough Resources) to either a Level 2 Cargo Container (larger cargo capacity) or to a Base Post (same cargo capacity as the Level 1 Cargo Container, but will also increase the player's Population limit...or maybe I will call them Crew or Colonists...I haven't worked that part out yet). Here's a preliminary pic of the station upgrade tree, though it is likely to change slightly...

Any thoughts/opinions about this?

I'm also working on new "ore" types (for gaming purposes, gases and liquids are considered ores) and tables now that I've got the mining station and refinery working. I organized them into categories that are based on actual scientific categories, though in actuality, some elements fall into multiple categories and others are defined differently depending on who you ask. Anyway, since I will be coding things a little differently than in vanilla, system levels will be mostly unimportant (for example, encounters will be determined not by system level, but by the type of planets that exist in a system and those enemies/allies will get stronger the longer they are ignored). Likewise, ore will be determined first by the type of asteroids present in the system, then by consulting the tables below. If you have any opinions about how I have organized these tables, such as whether certain types of ore should be present on certain types of asteroids or how rare a certain type of ore should be on a certain type of asteroid, I'd certainly welcome them. Keep in mind though that I haven't yet made the tables for determining the individual ore types yet since I'm not finished actually making all of the ore items and I'll be adding at least two more categories (compound gases and organic compounds).

Code: Select all

<!-- Ore Table Types
		AlkaliOres (lithium, sodium, potassium, etc)
		AlkalineEarthOres (Berylium, Magnesium, Calcium, etc)
		BaseMetalOres (Titanium, Chromium, Iron, etc)
		PoorMetalOres (Tin, Lead, Mercury, etc)
		NobleMetalOres (Gold, Platinum, Silver, etc)
		CommonGasDeposits (Hydrogen, Methane, Oxygen, etc)
		NobleGasDeposits (Helium, Neon, Argon, etc)
		CommonMineralOres (Granite, Limestone, Marble, etc)
		ExoticMineralOres (Amethyst, Quartz, Emerald, etc)
		NonMetalOres (Selenium, Silicon, Sulfur, etc)
		NonMineralOres (Amber, Jet, Obsidian, etc)
		RareEarthOres (Holmium, Yttrium, Ytterbium, etc)
		RadioactiveOres (Uranium, Plutonium, Thorium, etc)
		CorrosiveOres (Ammonia, Phosphoric Acid, Sulfuric Acid, etc)
	-->

	<ItemTable unid="&tbRockyAsteroidOre;">
		<Table>
			<Lookup chance="20" table="CommonMineralOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="15" table="BaseMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="15" table="CommonGasDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="12" table="NonMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="10" table="NonMineralDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="10" table="AlkaliOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="10" table="AlkalineEarthOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="5" table="RareEarthOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="2" table="RadioactiveOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="1" table="ExoticMineralOres"/>
		</Table>
	</ItemTable>

	<ItemTable unid="&tbFrostAsteroidOre;">
		<Table>
			<Lookup chance="20" table="CommonMineralOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="20" table="BaseMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="20" table="CommonGasDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="15" table="NonMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="15" table="NonMineralDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="8" table="NobleGasDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="2" table="ExoticMineralOres"/>
		</Table>
	</ItemTable>
	
	<ItemTable unid="&tbIceAsteroidOre;">
		<Table>
			<Lookup chance="25" table="CommonGasDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="20" table="CommonMineralOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="20" table="BaseMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="10" table="NonMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="10" table="NonMineralDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="10" table="NobleGasDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="5" table="ExoticMineralOres"/>
		</Table>
	</ItemTable>
	
	<ItemTable unid="&tbMetallicAsteroidOre;">
		<Table>
			<Lookup chance="20" table="BaseMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="15" table="CommonMineralOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="15" table="PoorMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="15" table="AlkaliOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="12" table="AlkalineEarthOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="12" table="CommonGasDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="8" table="RadioactiveOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="3" table="NobleMetalOres"/>
		</Table>
	</ItemTable>
	
	<ItemTable unid="&tbTreasureAsteroidOre;">
		<Table>
			<Lookup chance="25" table="BaseMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="22" table="PoorMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="22" table="CommonMineralOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="15" table="NobleMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="10" table="NobleGasDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="5" table="RadioactiveOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="1" table="ExoticMineralOres"/>
		</Table>
	</ItemTable>
	
	<ItemTable unid="&tbVolcanicAsteroidOre;">
		<Table>
			<Lookup chance="15" table="BaseMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="15" table="CommonMineralOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="15" table="PoorMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="12" table="CorrosiveOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="10" table="CommonGasDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="10" table="AlkaliOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="8" table="AlkalineEarthOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="5" table="NobleGasDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="4" table="RareEarthOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="3" table="RadioactiveOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="2" table="NobleMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="1" table="ExoticMineralOres"/>
		</Table>
	</ItemTable>
	
	<ItemTable unid="&tbRadioactiveAsteroidOre;">
		<Table>
			<Lookup chance="15" table="BaseMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="15" table="PoorMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="15" table="CorrosiveOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="12" table="CommonMineralOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="10" table="CommonGasDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="10" table="RadioactiveOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="8" table="AlkaliOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="5" table="AlkalineEarthOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="4" table="NobleGasDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="3" table="RareEarthOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="2" table="NobleMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="1" table="ExoticMineralOres"/>
		</Table>
	</ItemTable>
	
	<ItemTable unid="&tbRainbowAsteroidOre;">
		<Table>
			<Lookup chance="20" table="CommonMineralOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="20" table="CommonGasDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="15" table="BaseMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="12" table="CorrosiveOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="10" table="NobleGasDeposits"/>
			<Lookup chance="10" table="ExoticMineralOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="8" table="NobleMetalOres"/>
			<Lookup chance="5" table="RadioactiveOres"/>
		</Table>
	</ItemTable>

[RPC]

I love the tech tree
Does this mean players can build empires? >:D

[Keedo420]

That's the eventual goal, though I don't have all of the details worked out just yet. Player empires will be more detailed, but I think the expansion of npc empires will be more challenging to code. My initial idea for the npc empires is to start with planets. Whenever a planet is created, an OnCreate check would be run and there would be a small chance that an appropriate npc faction's builder ship would be spawned at the nearest stargate. That ship would then move to a position near the planet and create a basic station. That station would then run a timer event or two to handle the spawning of new ships, eventual upgrading of the station, and sending ships to attack enemy factions (including the player) in the system.

[Keedo420]

OK, so it's been nearly 3 months since my last post. I've not given up on the mod however. I merely lost interest for a while, but I have not been idle.

• I got all of the new ore types ingame and tested that they were being mined properly, though I have not yet set their values.
  
  I added two new ships, the Vesta (a.k.a. the Aventine) and the Merian, to the Federation comparison.
  
  
  I've added two new factions based (mostly) on Star Control races. The Hegemony (based on the Hegemonic Crux from Star Control 3) is comprised of most of the "bad" races from all 3 games. The Star League (the name of course is taken from the Last Starfighter, but was chosen because I needed a faction to use the Gunstar in and because the good races of the Star Control games are called The League) has recruited you to defend the Frontier against... ...The Star League is comprised of most of the "good" races from the Star Control games, but also includes one that was part of the Crux in SC3, and of course the Gunstar from The Last Starfighter. There are a few races I haven't decided what to do with yet (such as the Xchagger) and so weren't included in these comparisons.
  
  
  I also added in a third new faction based on the Chmmr/Chenjesu/Mmrnmhrm from the Star Control games. These three races are encountered randomly at crystalline planets such as Emerald Worlds, just as the Mycon are encountered near Shattered Worlds. I have done rotations for all of their ships and tested them ingame.
  
  
  And finally, I did 4 facings for the Syreen.

[Jay2Jay]

Damn your avatar pic is freaky.

[Keedo420]

All Glory To The Hypnotoad!! Also, if any of you are Star Control fans and have any opinions on the sizes I made the various ships in comparison to non-Star Control ships, I'd be glad to hear them.

[Keedo420]

I redid the Slylandro Probe facings. Previously it was 32 facings since that was how many frames it was originally designed for. However, 32 facings is quirky in Transcendence as the game only seems to like 20 and 40 facings. 32 worked OK for an NPC since the player usually won't notice the odd turns and slightly off weaponsfire. I was fine with that at first since the Slylandro Probe was never intended to be used by the player. However, I changed my mind last night after I added a unique exhaust animation for the Probe. The Probe now has 40 facings. It was a minor pain figuring out how to turn 32 facings (each one slightly different) into 40 without ruining the animation of the ship, but I managed to make it work. I REALLY wanted to make a video of this showing not only the animated Slylandro Probe and its animated exhaust, but also the rotating asteroid I posted the other day. Unfortunately, I my home computer is crap and my processor isn't compatible with Fraps, and the computers at the local library won't let me install anything on them. So for now, I must settle with these two screenshots showing the new exhaust for the Slylandro Probe. The exhaust has 5 frames and appears to fluctuate whether you are flying straight or turning. It is a resized version of Digdug's Anomaly Test. Here are the screenshots:

[Keedo420]

Well I finally managed to get a video made of the Slylandro Probe/Rotating Asteroid. Hypercam was the only program I could get to work. The video isn't very smooth unfortunately. A framerate of 6 is the highest my computer would allow, but it was good enough to see how the Probe changes as it rotates. The rotating asteroid is only visible for the first 5 seconds or so, but it is enough. Anyway, here is the link for the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gneBEPExtnM

[RPC]

Have you tried Camstudio? I used that to get some videos.

[Keedo420]

Yeah, I tried Camstudio, Fraps (both new and old versions), and a few others. Fraps wouldn't work because my processor doesn't have SSE instructions or something like that. Camstudio I think was the one that worked up to the point I hit record and then it would crash. The others won't even load without crashing immediately.

[Keedo420]

Time for another progress report:

I've done rotations for three more pirate ships, and one civilian fighter. Also, I have begun working more on the upgradeable player structures. The player can now build a Level 1 Cargo Container and upgrade it to a Level 2 Cargo Container or Base Post. The level 2 container can be upgrade to level 3 and the level 3 container can be upgraded to level 4. The Base Post begins the player civilian traffic. And finally, I have replaced the Stargates with "Warp Points", using an extended animation of the Gate Out effect. Oh, and I also did a little more tweaking of the Slylandro Probe. It's still ridiculously overpowered at this point, but I've reduced it to two armor sections and created a custom shield for it. I have created another video to showcase the Warp Point and upgradeable structures. You can see the beginning of civilian traffic after the Cargo Container has been upgraded to a Base Post (though I have yet to see any civvies dock with the post). Here's the link for the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPkp-ATo5JQ

[Keedo420]

So it's been a little over a month since my last progress report. Here's what I've been up to:

For starters, I have done the facings for all 20 civilian non-SW ship fighters (7 light fighters, 6 medium fighters, 7 heavy fighters). So I'm now ready to move on to the civilian freighters and transports.

Next, I have added a lot of variety to the planets. And I mean a lot. I am working on sheets of 24 varieties for each of the 50 or so planet types. Some planet types will have more than one sheet. Below are the completed sheets. I have already started on second sheets for some, but I'm only posting the completed sheets for now. Dust Worlds are currently the only type of planet with two complete sheets.

Dust Worlds 1&2, Magma Worlds, and Pellucid Worlds (a.k.a. Ice Worlds)


Water, Telluric, Organic (the only incomplete sheet I am posting), and Hydrocarbon (recolored Water planets)


Selenic, Azure, Iodine, Urea, Plutonic (these are all simply recolored Selenic planets...except of course for the Selenic planets...)

[Jay2Jay]

Keedo, looks awesome.

[Keedo420]

Thanks. Some of the planets you may recognize from Worlds 3, 4, & 5 and some of the other graphics resources found on Xelerus. Many however I found on deviantart and a few other sources that had planet graphics that were "free for non-commercial use". A few of the water worlds I had to add clouds to myself with some cloud overlays I found. The ones I added clouds to are probably fairly easy to spot.