Max Starsystems

Freeform discussion about anything related to modding Transcendence.
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TheLoneWolf
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The most important question of the lot at my question thread was left unanswered. And I pretty much want it answered.

So how many star systems can the engine support at its maximum? Years ago, I heard it was 50. But I wonder if it has gone up.

I wanted to make a larger mod, like an alternative storyline in an alternative route (I'm not stealing any of your ideas, AP) which is spread over tonnes of systems. For the record, I've already planned 70 or so systems (with super mega bosses ofcourse, like the SRS Storm Dove and the SRS Vigilant) (I hope that "SRS" isn't already taken).

Anybody want to listen to the story? I can post it in Ze Drawing Board.
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AssumedPseudonym
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 Wolfy and I have over fifty systems in TSB and TBR — fifty-nine, actually. …Each. If (count (sysGetNodes)) is to be believed, then with vanilla, Corporate Command, Eternity Port, The Stars Beyond, The Backroads, the TSB/TBR Bridge, Renegade, and Cabbage Corp all loaded, the current game I’ve got running has 191 systems.

 As for SRS, it’s used in-game as the acronym for Short-Range Sensors. You know that visual enhancement ROM? What it’s enhancing is your SRS.
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TheLoneWolf
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AssumedPseudonym wrote: Wolfy and I have over fifty systems in TSB and TBR — fifty-nine, actually. …Each. If (count (sysGetNodes)) is to be believed, then with vanilla, Corporate Command, Eternity Port, The Stars Beyond, The Backroads, the TSB/TBR Bridge, Renegade, and Cabbage Corp all loaded, the current game I’ve got running has 191 systems.

 As for SRS, it’s used in-game as the acronym for Short-Range Sensors. You know that visual enhancement ROM? What it’s enhancing is your SRS.
Yes! I hope that 180 of them are randomly generated :D

SRS was going to be a series of ships that cross over from the dimensional rift.
I'm going to think of new names.
How does UEIF sound? Less dangerous than SRS, right?
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DigaRW
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I also have an Idea like that, and I plan it implemented in my Mod (Semesta Corp). Around five starsystem with St.Kathrine as an enterance.
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digdug
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Stone Soup mod had 200+ systems with a randomly generated network, in 0.99c, when we had to do stargate hacks to make random topologies.
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TheLoneWolf
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digdug wrote:Stone Soup mod had 200+ systems with a randomly generated network, in 0.99c, when we had to do stargate hacks to make random topologies.
Any code still valid for 1.7?
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This one still mostly works:

Beyond the Mainline
http://xelerus.de/index.php?s=mod&id=1340
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TheLoneWolf
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gunship256 wrote:This one still mostly works:

Beyond the Mainline
http://xelerus.de/index.php?s=mod&id=1340
Ty x256 :D
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pixelfck
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When I wrote Beyond the Mainline, I tested the number of star systems I could create without crashing the engine. It was fine up to 450 systems and I did not check any number higher than that.

Mind you, the layout algorithm is too slow to work with too many star systems, so for the Beyond the Mainline mod I would never advice to go that high.

~ Pixelfck
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TheLoneWolf
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pixelfck wrote:When I wrote Beyond the Mainline, I tested the number of star systems I could create without crashing the engine. It was fine up to 450 systems and I did not check any number higher than that.

Mind you, the layout algorithm is too slow to work with too many star systems, so for the Beyond the Mainline mod I would never advice to go that high.

~ Pixelfck
Can't it work behind the scene? I mean slowly working the layouts while we play the game? That way, it would be a seemless experience and no lags.

I'll try changing BTM's according to date algorithm to time based (if srand(time(0)) can be used.
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pixelfck
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TheLoneWolf wrote:
pixelfck wrote:When I wrote Beyond the Mainline, I tested the number of star systems I could create without crashing the engine. It was fine up to 450 systems and I did not check any number higher than that.

Mind you, the layout algorithm is too slow to work with too many star systems, so for the Beyond the Mainline mod I would never advice to go that high.

~ Pixelfck
Can't it work behind the scene? I mean slowly working the layouts while we play the game? That way, it would be a seemless experience and no lags.

I'll try changing BTM's according to date algorithm to time based (if srand(time(0)) can be used.
While the idea is nice, I don't think it could. Firstly, I think (but I'm not entirely sure) that the coordinates of star systems on the universe map cannot be changed mid game. Second, the layout algorithm moves all nodes (=star systems) around to try and optimize the layout. While I could easily modify it to only move the newly created node around, it would severely limit the options for the layout algorithm, thereby resulting in a very non pleasing (=ugly) visual distribution of the nodes.
even now, the algorithm is struggling, party due to the (lack of) raw processing power of the engine (the algorithm, unfortunately, runs in O(n³)) and partly because the algorithm is still quite naive (it was difficult to get an logarithm that is designed for floating point operations to work using only integer math, without running into too much rounding errors).

If you have a little background in graph theory, you could have a go at improving the mod. It is licence under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike.

~Pixelfck
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pixelfck wrote:I think (but I'm not entirely sure) that the coordinates of star systems on the universe map cannot be changed mid game.
 They can, actually; you can do so with (sysSetProperty nodeID 'pos '(xPos yPos)) — this proved invaluable when I was arranging systems in TBR to not overlap, intersect, or otherwise bump into other official topology.
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pixelfck
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AssumedPseudonym wrote:
pixelfck wrote:I think (but I'm not entirely sure) that the coordinates of star systems on the universe map cannot be changed mid game.
 They can, actually; you can do so with (sysSetProperty nodeID 'pos '(xPos yPos)) — this proved invaluable when I was arranging systems in TBR to not overlap, intersect, or otherwise bump into other official topology.
Did you automate that process? or did you arrange them manually?

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AssumedPseudonym
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 Manually, by bouncing between the galactic map and adjusting things on the fly in the console until I had things to my liking. Once I had my coordinates, I stuck them into my XML. On the other hand, if you have a process to automate system positioning during system generation, you can totally use it for that, too.
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TheLoneWolf
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AssumedPseudonym wrote: Manually, by bouncing between the galactic map and adjusting things on the fly in the console until I had things to my liking. Once I had my coordinates, I stuck them into my XML. On the other hand, if you have a process to automate system positioning during system generation, you can totally use it for that, too.
There isn't much space in the Galactic map (unless you can zoom out). How did you manage without not making a cobweb?
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