Monthly Mod Jam — February 2016

Freeform discussion about anything related to modding Transcendence.
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 Greetings, Transcendence players! In the interest of bringing new active modders into the community (or even reviving the careers of experienced modders who haven’t been particularly active of late), I’m launching the Transcendence Monthly Mod Jam. My goal is to start each jam on the 15th of each month and run through the end of the month. You don’t have to worry about being asked to reinvent the proverbial wheel which is George’s job, anyway ^.~ or rewrite plot of Corporate Command or anything similarly sweeping in scope. The whole point of this is to make modding more accessible by covering the basics. If anyone wants to take those basics and go from there to write whole new adventure, that just means that this whole mod jam idea wasn’t such a bad idea after all! Furthermore, I’ll be collecting the submitted entries for each Jam, compiling them into a single mod, and uploading the resultant mod to Xelerus (or whatever its successor winds up being) with credit being given to each individual modder involved. The UNID for the Monthly Mod Jam is currently registered as 0xEDCB; please use this for the purposes of the Jam, even if you already have one of your own.

 So! Right. Basics.

 We’re going to kick off the MMJ campaign with one of the first things a lot of new modders do: Make your own playership. To meet the requirements of this Jam:

» Create a playable ship with 120 facings. …Yeah, I know, it sounds obvious, but it kinda needs to be said for the sake of completeness. Or something. <.< >.> ^.^; There’s a template for the XML file included below, courtesy of Xephyr.
» Make the ship at least reasonably balanced against official playerships. This is a bit subjective, admittedly, but if your ship has a top speed of .5c, two hundred device slots, and starts with a Hyperion reactor, an Ares plasma archcannon, hierosteel armor, and several million credits… yeah, no, that’s not balanced.
» Do not use any ship graphics from any official Transcendence material or existing mods. If you want to try your hand at making your own graphics, I heartily encourage this! Otherwise, there is a collection of available ships (designed by either myself or Xephyr) being offered for you to choose from. I’ll include a image showing available ships further down, too. Only one modder per ship design, please! If we run out, I’ll put together more and be deliriously happy that we got twenty people involved in this to begin with. The list of ships already claimed will be at the bottom of this post in the following format: Row #, column # (basic description): Claimant
» Properly place the ship’s thrust effects. They don’t have to be absolutely perfect, but try to get them close, at least.
» Please use equipment from the vanilla game on your playership. Not everybody has Corporate Command, Eternity Port, or all of the various mods that add new equipment.
» At your option, create your own armor HUD instead of using the one from the Sapphire in the template below. This one can be a bit tricky, but I do have a tutorial on the subject.

 To modders who already know what they’re doing: Please don’t add anything like equipment compatibilities, linked weapon systems, or other advanced features to your playership. These are supposed to be simple playerships. …Besides, I may want to make adding nifty enhancements to these playerships the subject of a future Jam. ^.~

 Once you have your ship finished, send me a copy of it so I can give it a test drive. If you’re using any of the offered graphics, just PM the XML code to me. If you’re using your own graphics, you’ll have to upload them and send me a link (and I can help with this, if necessary). If you have any questions, ask! That’s what I’m here for. You can either ask here in this thread, via PM, or on IRC — the link is on the main page, and I’m around pretty regularly.

 …Oh right, I said I was going to include an XML template. Here ya go:

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE TranscendenceExtension
	[
	
	<!ENTITY scYourPlayership			"0xEDCB0001">
	<!ENTITY rsPlayershipImage			"0xEDCB0002">
	<!ENTITY rsYourLargeImage			"0xEDCB0003">

	]>

<TranscendenceExtension UNID= "0xEDCB0000" apiVersion= "28" name= "February 2016 Mod Jam" >

<!-- The very first thing you need to define is the Human Space Library for any extension that extends the base game. You’ll always call this unless your extension is has its own libraries. -->

<Library UNID="&unidHumanSpaceLibrary;"/>

<!-- Resource UNIDs just define what image to use - they’re called later on. Use the exact filenames of the image and its mask.-->

<Image UNID="&rsPlayershipImage;" bitmap="PlayershipImage.jpg" bitmask="PlayershipImage_mask.bmp" 	loadOnUse="true"/>
<Image UNID="&rsYourLargeImage;" bitmap="PlayershipLarge.jpg" bitmask="PlayershipLarge_mask.bmp" 	loadOnUse="true"/>

<!--
These fields are what make playerships unique. I’ve filled in the fields with the Saphhire-class Yacht’s attributes.

manufacturer=		Who manufactured the ship. This doesn’t have any effect in-game.
class=				The ship’s class. Defining anything here will have the ship name come out as "x-class type" - eg. Wolfen-class gunship.
type=				The type of the ship - eg. "gunship". If "class" is left undefined, then using this field will result in the name of the ship using just this field. 

attributes=			
characterClass=		These two fields are used by adventures to tell which ships they can use. For vanilla, they’ll always be the same.

size=				Size of the ship, from head to tail, in meters. Doesn’t have an effect in-game.
mass=				The ship’s mass, in tonnes. Playerships are usually 30-150 tonnes. This has some effect on the ship’s inertia.
thrustRatio=		Thrust to mass ratio. Determines how fast the ship accelerates.
maxSpeed=			The ship’s starting max speed, in percent of light speed. This is usually between 15-25.
cargoSpace=			Ship’s base cargo space, in tonnes.

reactorPower=		Base reactor power. This is used if you don’t define a reactor in the <devices> section.
fuelCapacity=		Reactor fuel capacity. Same as above.
maxArmor=			The maximum mass of armour that can be installed on the ship - 1000 = 1 tonne.
maxCargoSpace=		Maximum cargo space after being expanded

maxDevices=			Maximum amount of devices that can be installed on the ship.
maxWeapons=			Define this to limit the amount of weapons that can be installed, like on the EI500 freighter.
maxNonWeapon=		Define this to limit the amount of non-weapon devicess that can be installed, like on the Wolfen gunship.

-->

	<ShipClass UNID="&scYourPlayership;"
			manufacturer=		"Zubrin Systems"
			class=				"Sapphire"
			type=				"yacht"

			attributes=			"00200000_PlayerShip"
			characterClass=		"&unidPilgrimClass;"
			   
			size=				"31"
			mass=				"30"
			thrustRatio=		"6.6"
			maxSpeed=			"20"
			cargoSpace=			"50"

			reactorPower=		"150"
			fuelCapacity=		"37500"
			drivePowerUse=		"20"
			maxArmor=			"6000"
			maxCargoSpace=		"150"
			maxDevices=			"8"
			>

		
<!-- 
Armor
armorID			The type of armour the ship starts out with.
count			The number of armour segments - eg. the Manticore uses 6 segments, rather than 4.
-->
			
		<Armor
			armorID=			"&itReactiveArmor;"
			count=				"4"
			/>
<!-- 
Devices
The devices the ship starts out with.
-->		
		<Devices>
			<Device deviceID="&itRecoillessCannon;"/>
			<Device deviceID="&itClass1Deflector;"/>
			<Device deviceID="&it15MWReactor;"/>
		</Devices>

<!-- 
Manueverability stats:
 maxRotationRate is how fast your ship turns
 rotationAccel is how quickly your ship reaches its maxRotationRate
 rotationStopAccel is how quickly your ship stops turning
-->				
		
		<Maneuver
			maxRotationRate=	"12.0"
			rotationAccel=		"3.0"
			rotationStopAccel=	"12.0"
			/>

<!-- 
Items the ship starts out with in the cargo hold.
"4d6" is a dice roll stat - that means the game will roll a six-sided die four times and add those values to determine how much fuel rods you start out with, in this case. You can substitute that with an integer if you want.
-->					
			
		<Items>
			<Item count="4d6" item="&itHelium3FuelRod;"/>
		</Items>

<!--
Image and Effects
This is where you define the image the ship uses in-game.
imageWidth		The width of each frame, in pixels.
imageHeight		The height of each frame, in pixels.
rotationcount	The number of frames the ship image uses. This will pretty much always be 120.

If your ship image is not a filmstrip-style image, but rather uses several columns, then you need to define rotationcolumns here, too
rotationcolumns= "12"
-->	
		<Image imageID="&rsPlayershipImage;" imageWidth="72" imageHeight="72" rotationCount="120" rotationcolumns= "12"/>
		
<!--
Thrust Effects
This can be hard to do if your ship render uses a strange projection or has odd engine placement.

type			Type of thrust effect. Don’t worry too much about this one.
posangle		An angle measured from a forward-facing bearing that indicates how the engine effect faces.
posradius		A line, measured in pixels, drawn from the center of the ship, that places where the thrust effect is.
posZ			The "height" of the image effect. You don’t need to worry too much about this, but you can experiment with positive and negative integers here.
rotation		The rotation of the engine effect. 180 means it’s facing directly away from the back of the ship.

-->			
		
		<Effects>
			<Effect type="thrustMain"		posAngle="180"	posRadius="7"	posZ="0"	rotation="180"/>
		</Effects>

<!--
AI and Behavior

This effects how NPCs handle the ship, and how it appears on the intro screen. No need to worry too much about this.

-->
		
		<AISettings
			fireRateAdj=		"30"
			fireAccuracy=		"90"
			perception=			"4"
			/>

<!--
desc=				Description of the ship, for the ship select screen.
largeImage=			The large image, for ship select.
initialClass=		Don’t worry too much about this.
startingCredits=	The credits the ship starts out with. Works as a dice roll or integer.
-->	
			
		<PlayerSettings
			desc=				"The versatile Sapphire yacht strikes a good balance between a gunship and a freighter."
			largeImage=			"&rsYourLargeImage;"
			initialClass=		"true"
			startingCredits=	"10d100+1500"
			>
<!--
HUD Elements 

I won’t touch too much on these here.

-->
			
			<ArmorDisplay>
				<ShipImage imageID="&rsArmorHUDShip_Sapphire;" imageWidth="136" imageHeight="136"/>
				
				<ArmorSection name="forward"
						segment="0"
						imageID="&rsZubrinArmor;" 
						imageX="0" imageY="0" imageWidth="52" imageHeight="29"
						destX="42" destY="15" hpX="55" hpY="14"
						nameY="8" nameBreakWidth="200" nameDestX="0" nameDestY="10" />

				<ArmorSection name="starboard"
						segment="3"
						imageID="&rsZubrinArmor;" 
						imageX="52" imageY="0" imageWidth="22" imageHeight="59"
						destX="92" destY="45" hpX="95" hpY="60"
						nameY="30" nameBreakWidth="360" nameDestX="12" nameDestY="0" />

				<ArmorSection name="port"
						segment="1"
						imageID="&rsZubrinArmor;" 
						imageX="142" imageY="0" imageWidth="22" imageHeight="59"
						destX="22" destY="45" hpX="15" hpY="60"
						nameY="52" nameBreakWidth="200" nameDestX="0" nameDestY="8" />

				<ArmorSection name="aft"
						segment="2"
						imageID="&rsZubrinArmor;" 
						imageX="74" imageY="0" imageWidth="68" imageHeight="14"
						destX="34" destY="103" hpX="55" hpY="105"
						nameY="74" nameBreakWidth="360" nameDestX="12" nameDestY="0" />
			</ArmorDisplay>

			<ShieldDisplay shieldLevelEffect="&efShieldHUDDefault;">
			</ShieldDisplay>

			<ReactorDisplay>
				<Image imageID="&rsZubrinReactor;" 
						imageX="0" imageY="0" imageWidth="256" imageHeight="60"/>

				<PowerLevelImage imageID="&rsZubrinReactor;"
						imageX="0" imageY="60" imageWidth="202" imageHeight="14"
						destX="54" destY="9"/>

				<FuelLevelImage imageID="&rsZubrinReactor;"
						imageX="0" imageY="74" imageWidth="194" imageHeight="14"
						destX="54" destY="37"/>

				<FuelLowLevelImage imageID="&rsZubrinReactor;"
						imageX="0" imageY="88" imageWidth="194" imageHeight="14"/>

				<ReactorText x="62" y="22" width="154" height="14"/>
				<PowerLevelText x="62" y="0" width="154" height="9"/>
				<FuelLevelText x="62" y="51" width="154" height="9"/>
			</ReactorDisplay>
			
			<WeaponDisplay>
				<Image imageID="&rsZubrinTargeting;" imageX="0" imageY="0" imageWidth="360" imageHeight="120"/>
			</WeaponDisplay>
			
		</PlayerSettings>
		
	</ShipClass>

</TranscendenceExtension>
 …Aaand the ships you can choose from:
Image

 Ships chosen so far:
» Row 1, Column 3 (green with brown wings): Shrike
» Row 2, Column 4 (“thin silver ship”): relanat
» Row 3, Column 3 (“purple dream machine”): gunship256
» Row 3, Column 5 (“flying cargo hold”): Kacy
» Row 4, Column 1 (“liquid-fuel-tank-with-bracings”): Astraltor
» Row 4, Column 2 ("the base killer with two guns"): Artemisfowl333
» Row 4, Column 5 (black and grey with two engines): IronParrot

 Submission status:
» Artemisfowl333 — Complete
» AssumedPseudonym — Complete
» Astraltor — Complete
» gunship256 — Complete
» IronParrot — Complete
» Kacy — Complete
» relanat — Complete
» Shrike — Complete
» Xephyr — Complete
Image

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My mods on Xelerus: Click here!

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 I would like to clarify a couple of issues that have been brought up on IRC:

» Yes, Xephyr and I are providing the full 120 facings. We don’t expect you to have to make your ship graphics from the selection image shown above.
» Ships can be rendered anywhere from the size of a Hammerhead to the size of a Manticore — sprite sizes of 32x32 to 80x80. Minor changes to color and/or model are negotiable, such as Kacy having requested a different color than the bright orange used on the detail work on his selection. (Note this might not apply to the last three on the bottom row, which are Xephyr’s. You’d have to take that up with him.)
» Yes, I am available to ask for help on how to do something, whether here or on IRC. My job here is to be helpful and make this whole thing work.
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My mods on Xelerus: Click here!

Of all the things I’ve lost in life, I miss my mind the least. (I’m having a lot more fun without it!)
gunship256
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This is great. I'd like to request row 3, column 3 ("purple dream machine").

Would it be all right to make two versions - a simple one for the mod collection and one with custom equipment to publish as a separate mod?

How should we go about requesting size and color changes for the ship graphics?

If I wanted to try creating graphics from scratch, should I start with this tutorial that I found through a search of the forums?

https://forums.kronosaur.com/viewtopic. ... ams#p51786

Thanks for taking the time to help us get better at modding!
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gunship256 wrote:This is great. I'd like to request row 3, column 3 ("purple dream machine").
 Done and done.
gunship256 wrote:Would it be all right to make two versions - a simple one for the mod collection and one with custom equipment to publish as a separate mod?
 I’m cool with that, sure.
gunship256 wrote:How should we go about requesting size and color changes for the ship graphics?
 Either via PM here or on IRC. The latter tends to be less cumbersome.
gunship256 wrote:If I wanted to try creating graphics from scratch, should I start with this tutorial that I found through a search of the forums?

https://forums.kronosaur.com/viewtopic. ... ams#p51786
 That’s probably as good a place as any, and almost certainly a better place to start than just having a rudimentary knowledge of POV-Ray (which is where I started off).
gunship256 wrote:Thanks for taking the time to help us get better at modding!
 And thank you for pointing out that post, heh. I’m probably going to spend some time poking at some of that stuff, now.
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relanat
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AssumedPseudonym wrote: Yes, Xephyr and I are providing the full 120 facings. We don’t expect you to have to make your ship graphics from the selection image shown above.
That is what was stopping me. Graphics savant, I am not. I would like Row 2, Column 4, the thin silver ship, thanks.
Stupid code. Do what I want, not what I typed in!
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relanat wrote:
AssumedPseudonym wrote: Yes, Xephyr and I are providing the full 120 facings. We don’t expect you to have to make your ship graphics from the selection image shown above.
That is what was stopping me. Graphics savant, I am not. I would like Row 2, Column 4, the thin silver ship, thanks.
 You got it. Just let me know how big you want it and I’ll have graphics ready by tomorrow sometime.
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relanat
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80 x 80, please. No hurry, I don't expect to be back online unitl Tuesday. Thanks.
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gunship256
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A forum member's account is pending approval but wants to get started on the ship. His user name is homsclass.

He's requesting Row 4, Column 3 ("Koning van alle"). He'd like for it to have the same length and width as the EI500 if that'a okay. He likes the ships color the way it is.

You can PM the graphics straight to me if that's easier than waiting for his account to get approved and then sending him a PM.

Thanks for doing this for us!
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Another forum member's account is pending approval, but he wants to get started. His user name is artemisfowl333.

He's requesting Row 4, Column 2 ("the base killer with two guns"). He'd like for the length and width of the ship to be 20% larger than the Sapphire's if that's okay. He likes the ship's color the way it is. (I know that the Row 4 ships may not be available for graphics customization, so we'll take whatever you're willing to provide for us.)

Again, you can PM the graphics straight to me if that's easier. Thank you!
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Apologies to those two members, we missed your signups amid a bunch of duplicates (if anyone else has an inactive account that's been a round a while, let us know somehow and we'll deal with it. And don't just sign up to more inactive accounts because that means we won't activate any of them because they look like bots). I've activated both accounts now. :)
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gunship256
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Thanks for taking care of that! They had trouble signing in, so they may have tried to make multiple accounts in an attempt to get around the problem.
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 I have Xephyr sending the link to the graphics to Homsclass, and I’ve sent a PM to Artemisfowl333 to see at what size he wants the ship rendered. Thanks for relaying that on their behalf.
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 Notice to this month’s MMJ participants: I’m going to be about 75% unavailable from Thursday through Sunday due to a convention. I’ll have minimal internet capabilities, but I won’t be able to do any playtesting. I’ll be back on Sunday night and I’ll be available for the majority of Monday, but if you want to either submit playerships for testing or ask questions before Sunday night, I’ve deputized Xephyr to keep things running here in my absence.
 Also, don’t forget that Monday is the last day of the month. I’m willing to fudge submissions as far as Tuesday, what with scheduling issues and whatnot, but I do want to get this wrapped up more or less on schedule if at all possible.
 And finally, I’ve added a list of participants and their submission status at the bottom of the first post. If you have a “???” by your name, it means I haven’t heard any sort of progress report from you yet. Could y’all send a PM my way or Xephyr’s way to let us know what’s up?
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My mods on Xelerus: Click here!

Of all the things I’ve lost in life, I miss my mind the least. (I’m having a lot more fun without it!)
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 Also, Xephyr wanted a deputy star if I’m going to deputize him. Being the irrepressible smartass that I am, I decided to give him exactly that:
Image
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relanat
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Post no longer needed.
Last edited by relanat on Thu Mar 03, 2016 4:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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