modders and shipset creators - please read

[ZeroAdunn]

Hey baron, I wanted troops/fighters to. I made em, just a troop with the ability to be luanced. They would work if it wasn't for the fact that you can only launch fighters mines and sats. Stupid code.

[dogscoff]

Thanks for all that info Andres. It will be useful when negotiating new filenames.

I've come to some conclusions:

I think I will also be using some mod-specific terminology. I see your point S_J but I have several reasons for this:

1> the naming conventions in SE4 aren't particularly logical anyway (ie carrierlight but lightcruiser)

2>I imagine the majority of additional ship sizes will be mod-specific. Shared images won't be all that common, except for fighters and infantry, which everyone wants.

3>Making the table compatible with mods rather than forcing mods to be compatible with the table means less work and restrictions for modders.

4>Imposing arbitrary guidelines may give modders the impression that I am trying to control their creativity.

5>Giving modders the opportunity to make their filename the "official" one adds incentive and character to the table.


Also I'm splitting up the battlemoons and the giant baseships because they are very different in appearance (one is big, round and planet-like and the other would probably be more spaceship shaped.) Death Stars and battlemoons could share images, since they would look quite similar (big, round),

I believe the standard, devnull, P&N and SW sizes will form a good foundation for my table - other mods are unlikely to include much that isn't included in the above, and if they do then I have left room to accomodate them.

I therefore suggest the following set of filenames:

all standard filenames (obviously)

transportcourier

carrierescort

colonyark
miningship (resource ship, remote miner)
miningstation (resource station, mining station)
barge (Stellar manipulation barge. I considered putting this under small death star, but one is a warstation and the other a contruction ship, so I decided they were too different.)

3 larger fighter sizes, not sure about the filenames yet. (These will cover all the heavy fighters, fighter bombers and TIE fighters)

troopinfantry (SW infantry and P&N drop pod)

corvette
heavydestroyer
heavycruiser
superdreadnought
supermonitor
battlemoonsmall (small death star)
battlemoon (medium deathstar, P&N battlemoon)
battlemoonlarge (large death star)

Andres - note I have used battlemoon rather than Death Star. Malfador/ Shrapnel are unable to include Star Wars/ Trek etc mods for copyright reasons. I thought it would be a good idea if I followed the same rules.

Once these filenames have been agreed on (after debate and adjustment if necessary) I will update the website and start to integrate some other mods.

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"Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
"I think so Brain but, if you replace the P with an O, my name would be Oinky, wouldn't it?"

[Suicide Junkie]

quote:

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Andres - note I have used battlemoon rather than Death Star. Malfador/ Shrapnel are unable to include Star Wars/ Trek etc mods for copyright reasons. I thought it would be a good idea if I followed the same rules.

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Just so you know, BattleMoons are from ShadowRaiders the TV show. I've also already converted my mod to the Massive_baseship filename.

1> the naming conventions:
They may not be logical, but you've got to start somewhere.
You are creating a standard... if it takes off, it may even be adopted by MM/Aaron/Classic SE4.

2>I imagine the majority of additional ship sizes will be mod-specific. Shared images won't be all that common, except for fighters and infantry, which everyone wants.
If a mod comes out with a cool new shipsize that needs a separate picture, I can pretty much guarantee that there will be many more mods incorporating it shortly after.

3>Making the table compatible with mods rather than forcing mods to be compatible with the table means less work and restrictions for modders.
True, but it also means a mishmash of picture files and a lot more work for the people who create the shipsets.

4>Imposing arbitrary guidelines may give modders the impression that I am trying to control their creativity.
I would not think so... You are only providing a guideline for the filenames, the names of the shipsizes in the game is independent of the filename, so what the player sees will be what the modder wants them to see. Your filename guideline will just ensure that their mod is compatible with the shipsets.

5>Giving modders the opportunity to make their filename the "official" one adds incentive and character to the table.
Just be sure there is a balance between 'character' and total chaos. Remember that the filenames have absolutely no affect on the game, from the player's point of view.

IMO, it is easier for modders to update their mods to reflect your shipset standards (one line in the vehiclesize.txt), rather than the shipset creators updating shipsets.

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[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 23 July 2001).]