Stargate SGC Conflicts In Space Star Fury Mod is now available for download

[rstaats10]

I made the missions have long time limits except for those that were meant to expire early (the ones that add ally ships or used to trigger other events or what not). Most of the combat missions have between 220 to 900 days to complete. To put that in perspective, the stock game has around 30 to 60 days on average. The first mission to destroy the 3 fighters does have 15 to 20 days limit but it is only 2 systems away and I have never timed out before. Maybe you spent too much time at the SGC HQ spacestation. But I will increase the time on that in the next version to help out.

For lack of more available colors, the Tollan had to be blue since they are friendly to us but are not providing any military assistance. You are right I set the Aschen at green and it should be blue. I will change that in the next version.

The blister beam was supposed to be a special new proto-type weapon the Aschen developed but was not a weapon equiped in their fleet ships yet. I made it that way on purpose.

Good job on defeating Anubis and Apophis!

Good point on the Asdchen Carriers. the AI is set on medium range. Those should be moved to long range. I will change that in the next version.

The idea of crew slots...interesting idea. How would that make it look on the Shield Layout when damage is taken though? I will have to think about that. Another idea too would be to make overlapping slots. I think it would work as well.

The Stargate Mod is probably longer than all 3 stock campaigns combined. I'm guesing by your post that your about 1/5th completed with the mod. I hope your enjoying the adventure.

Thanks for the feedback and great ideas. Keep the posts coming.

[rstaats10]

The mission to attack Baal in the P3R-636 system is supposed to time out. I have it set at 9 days. It's a decoy mission the real Goa'uld attack with Baal is at Hebridan.

text reads-

"Navagations officer- sir, I detect only 1 Besarian Dreadnought in the system. I cannot locate any other enemy ships. Strange. Maybe our long-range scanners are offline?

SGC Subspace Message
This is General Hammond go to the Hebridan system immediately. I repeat go to the Hebridan system immediately. We have been fed bad intel by the Goa'uld and Besarians.

SGC Subspace Message
Our reports show the Goa'uld and Besarains are in the Hebridan System now. It seems the Beta Site might be their actual target. Go to th Hebridan system and destroy them before they get to the Beta Site. I will inform Colonel Caldwell (SGC Fleets), Tok'ra and Aschen fleets of the situation. Hammond out."


Remember as I mentioned in an earlier post some of the mission (jobs) are supposed to time out. They are used for loading certain ships and/or activating triggers. Only worry about completing the combat missions that are important and are marked with (Failure is not an option-Repeat if Failed) or may say it another way but it will say to repeat if failed. etc. The combat missions that say (Continue on even if says fail) or don't say you must complete are just to load ships and/or for triggers.

The mission to Extract Evacuees Beta Site requires you to go as fast as you can and you will probably have to use some repair components if you can't dodge enough enemy fire. That's how I completed it.

Just to let know know how I play the mod...I almost always have engines at 100% during combat so I can move in and out of harms way. Actually I can evade a lot of enemy fire that way and outrun slower ships. Also pick your battles and let your allies help weaken a stronger enemy first then you can swoop in and finish them off. Long range attacks and fighters work well too on some targets. Dont try and square-off and duke it out without moving. It just doesn't work that way. I've experimented with that before. Also you need to keep some of the SGC Missile weps since they really pack a nice punch and have a great range. Also keep all the Rail-Guns since they auto-fire and have an attack agianst: Ship, Base, Fighter, Satellite, Torpedo, Directed Torpedo..so they in essence they function as both a a point-defense cannon and a regular weapon. Keep you Hyperdrive Engines as well. I just run circles around some of the enemies...it could be your system. I don't know though...just remember to fly at 100% engines.

You know on the players ships, I basically eliminated the need for Cargo Holds and Point Defense Cannons since I increased the player ships Base Cargo Hold Tonnage in the ship text and the rail gun weps functioning as PDC's. This saves a half-dozen or more slots. This helps you use the ships slots for other things. Also remember you have a Frigate or Light Cruiser in the early battles to start with, so it's not as if you have a super dreadnought with 120 slots to fill. But I do like your comment on adding crew text towards the interior of the ship. I could easily do this with a little time. I would just have to be careful to change the required files corectly and test so as not to add a problem to the ships.

Keep me posted on your adventure.

[Baron Munchausen]

But when it times out before I get to that system, the other events don't get triggered. So, it needs to allow a longer time so it is possible to get to the system and destroy that single enemy ship and set off the other events.

Anyway, I have now been to alpha site, visited the Asgard, and defended earth against Baal. I got a message to report back to the SGC HQ when the last Goa'uld ship was destroyed, but again something didn't get triggered. The "defend earth & SGC" event is still 'in progress' in my mission list and there doesn't seem to be any way to get it to end even though no enemies are in the Earth system. Can't figure out how to trigger the next event, so I am currently stuck.

[rstaats10]

I rechecked the Decoy Mission in P3R-636 that you said was timing out for you. Starting at the Beta Site and running my ship's engines at 75%, I made it to the Stargate to P3R-636 with 30 seconds extra to spare before the job times out. I think the problem you may have is running your ships engines at around 50 to 75%. You shouldn't carry more cargo than your ship will allow so as to keep your engine speed at 100%. I mean I can add to the time on this mission but it may throw off the timing and make other players wait a long time for it to trigger. I can always add a few extra days though and shouldn't be too much of a problem.

As far as the Defending Earth/SGC HQ Spacestation mission you mentioned, I checked this as well and everything works out fine. After destroying all the enemy vessels you will receive an in-game meesage check the attachment below to see what it says. You will return to the SGC HQ Spacestaiton, if all enemy vessels are destroyed. The mission box that says in progress to defend earth and SGGC HQ Spacestation are just a reminder to defend both of these objects not just 1 and will disappear from in progress to completed one you enter the site center at the SGC HQ Spacestation.

If you do not get the in-game message I have below in the attachment then there must be an enemy vessel alive. Check the system and destroy all enemies including the Goa'uld Deathgliders. It is good practice to clear a system if a combat mission that is critical to complete (must not fail type) is not showing completed.

Keep me posted.

[Baron Munchausen]

Yes, that's the message I got. But when I went to the station there was nothing in the meeting room. I played it again a couple of times but kept losing. But now I've played it again & managed to win, and this time the event worked. All I can figure is that the base being damaged but not destroyed somehow prevented the event from working. But this time the base was unscathed and I'm now moving forward again.

[Baron Munchausen]

OK, I have successfully completed the 'Lucian Alliance' stuff after having to play it twice. Apparently if you reload for any reason, whether just saving & returning later or getting killed & restarting certain events get lost & you have to start over from the beginning where they get setup. SF just does not keep track of some things in a save game.

I've also noticed a very high rate of 'fratricide' among SGC ships that get teleported into the system to 'help' in a given mission. A couple of them always seem to be on top of each other & that's two ships lost without any fighting even accomplished. Is there any way to control how ships arrive? Or is that random placement another misfeature of SF itself?

[Campeador]

I am like 10% into the game and facing the Besarian for the first time. Nice thing about the slow down weapons! By the way I really like the sounds of the weapons, and my favorite so far -firing the missiles! I cannot get tired of looking at them fly away!!
Anyway some observations and possible bugs or annoyances so far…

----Timing
To get the timing right when you want it you need to understand a couple of lines:
On the “Campaign.txt” this are the settings:
Job Time Scaling Factor := 2.5
Now on the “Job.txt” we have two lines (the numbers is usually 0 for no limit time out, but to have a time limit it can be any number (no decimal places) on this example a 5.
Time Limit Days Min := 5
Time Limit Days Max := 5
--This means that on the “Job.txt” 2.5x 5 = 12.5 (the game do not follow decimal places so it only uses 12)
So it is really at a time of 12 ticks the time expire.
If you want the action to trigger at 15, then 15/2.5 = 6. So 6 is the number to use on the Time Limit Days line. Try this and you will have perfect timing.
====================================
Small bug – a little detail not much to worry about.
Medium Bug – An annoyance but the game can be played and the action will move on.
Large bug – Game crash or cannot move on the game due to action not triggered or something like that.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------Small bug:
Main_DisplayText.txt
General Hammond 7
Error: %CaptainName%
Should Be: %Captain Name%
-----------------------------------
Mission:
“Destroy the Goa'uld Station and all Goa'uld ships in the P3R-636 system. Also search for SG-2 who's last transmission was from this system. Report to the Beta Site planet in the Beta Site system when completed (Failure is not an option-Repeat if Failed)”
Problem: The message is too long to be seen on the mission panel: "Destroy the Goa'uld Station and all Goa'uld ships in the P3R-636 system. Also search for SG-2 who's last transmission was from this system. Report to the" – The rest is cut off and unable to be read.
---------------------------------
Mission:
“Find SG-2 in the P3R-636 system. Remember to get within 70 range of the planets to get a lock on SG-2's I.D.C.'s. Return SG-2 to Beta Site planet in the Beta Site system”
Minor issue
The “Return SG-2 to Beta Site planet in the Beta Site system” should be done as a different mission. As it is, once the part of finding the SG-2 and scanning the planet is completed it should complete the mission. At the end of the mission you get this message - “Sg-2 is safely loaded onboard, sir. Hyperdrive engines are online sir. Setting a heading for Beta Site, sir” but the mission still shows “in progress” … but wait the mission is really completed once you return to the Beta base… a little confusing.

============================================
------Medium bug
Problems due to “Search And Destroy” command on the Job.txt.
Mission:
Destroy the Goa'uld Station and all Goa'uld ships in the P2C-257
Settings: Starbase orbiting Planet 1, Planet 1 set to appear random on map.
Colonel Ronson's SGC Fleet set to - Search And Destroy
Problem: If the space station appears north on the map, Colonel Ronson's SGC Fleet may never go up due to "Search And Destroy" setting command. Instead it may remain close to the warp point south where it came from.
-----------------------
Search and destroy command should search the whole map for enemies, but in reality they stay pretty much at a radius of around 300 from where they showed up originally - unless they detect an enemy. (This is a Star Fury original bug)
------------------------
Simple Fix (without restarting game from the beginning): Since the Starbase is orbiting a planet, set Colonel Ronson's SGC Fleet to "Planet To Planet". That way the allied forces will get there… eventually (The ships may still wander a little bit since each map is full of planets).
Compounded fix (will need to restart game from beginning): Make the Goa'uld Station fix on the map close to the warp point where Colonel Ronson's SGC Fleet may appear (if keeping "Search And Destroy" command).

Same again:
Mission: Destroy the Gaul Station and all Gaul ships in the P3s-452 system - Gaul Station north of the center map- none of the allied ships venture north. Since it is a station it cannot be teased into following you like you can do with the Gaul ships.

Note: The same situation repeats on most missions... the thing is that sometimes the scenario works as intended but sometimes it does not work due to combination of random objects on map generation and job orders. I know that it is a lot of work to manipulate planets, warp points and job orders to try to make all the ships allies and enemies do as you desire… Once I finish a mod I have my brother try it – believe me he play totally different than me and he really knows how to screw up my game - this is how I discover that I have to plan for every contingency… well I try.

My possible fixes are just suggestions. There may be better ways to do it.

[Campeador]

Something else:
General information on game mechanics: If ships are ordered to either “Planet To Planet”, “Warp Point To Warp Point”, or “Search And Destroy” the moment the mission ends either accomplish or failure or timed out – any previous command will be cancelled and the ships will behave as if commanded to “System Circuit” (if no enemies are close).
For example, on a scenario I made the settings were like this:
Mission: Destroy all the enemies and defend the Starbase. Starbase located at center of the map with one warp Point far at each extreme of the map.
The player: The mission is to protect the Starbase, but there are far too many enemies to protect alone.
Enemies: A group of enemy ships already attacking the Starbase as the player enter the sector.
Allies: A little later the cavalry is coming to the rescue. A group of friendly ships coming from one of the warp points with orders “Warp Point To Warp Point”. Since the Starbase is between the two warp points the allies have to pass close to the Starbase in order to reach the other warp point, but the idea is that it will looks as if they are coming to help the Starbase and once they detect enemies close by they will postpone the “Warp Point To Warp Point” command, engage the enemy and revert to the previous command once the enemies are destroyed.
The problem: If the Starbase is destroyed really fast (or the allies are too far away close to the warp point) the job ends. The allied ships command of “Warp Point To Warp Point” is cancelled and instead of coming to your rescue they just drift moving around the warp point were they just came from (if no enemies are close). You are left on the middle surrounded by enemies and your allies are doing nothing, going in circles at the other side of the map picking flowers and waving at you from far away while the enemy is trying to kill you!
On missions involving a single job command this is not an issue, but it could be on missions involving multiple actions job commands. Most big missions use two or three job commands (the limit is three jobs simultaneously). So keep an eye to this.

[rstaats10]

Thanks for the comments and feedback Campeador! I am glad you're enjoying the missiles. They are actually my favorite wep in the mod too.

Thanks for the timing formula. That would save time as I had to do everthing by testing each job out and coming up with the numbers manually.

Thanks for reporting about the mission text being cut off...I can reduce the amount of text to fix that.

You're right I could change the job of “Return SG-2 to Beta Site planet in the Beta Site system that still shows in progress until you reach the Beta Site since I have mission text that reads "SG-2 is now safely aboard. Take SG-2 to the Beta Site Planet in the Beta Site system. General Hammond wants to speak with you at the Beta Site Planet SGC conference room)" I guess I just wanted the player to make sure he knew where he was going if he did a save game and came back to the mod the next day or 2 and couldn't figure out where to go. That was a major annoyance I had playing the SF stock game...trying to remember where to go when I came back from a previous save from the previous day. That's why I made a lot of missions with text to expalin where to go after each Job, or sets of jobs were completed. Both the jobs and missions from the job text and the mission text show up in the mission box to help the player along...and by using missions I could still have 3 jobs at once plus use a mission to have 4 total in the "mission box".

Thanks for the info about the SF search and destroy bug..the 300 radius...I will change the allied ships jobs from planet to planet or warp point to warp point depending on the situation. The allied ships are usually a job that says "to continue even if says fail", set at a small days number but it will be better to have the allied ships involved earlier in the battles by how you mentioned. This should help the allied ships become "smarter" and more involved while still placing the many ships in different parts of the system to avoid ship collisions and game slow-downs from too many ships in one area. (a SF limitation as well)

Campeador, your insight into everything is very helpful. I appreciate the feedback from you and Baron Munchausen and I will make a version 2 when you guys have completed the mod. This mod took me 1 years & 3 months to make so hopefully I will have some time to "re-charge my batteries" to make a ver 2 and test and then release.

[Baron Munchausen]

OK, I've played through the Replicator missions. That is a lot of stuff to destroy. Especially all of those systems in a row. I don't think it's balanced at all. You might want to break these missions up somehow instead of having them all in a row. Maybe insert the first Atlantis mission in the middle? It's an excuse to go back to Earth for a bit. And then award the cruiser when the player gets back from the Atlantis mission? The more powerful ship would also help with those very challenging missions.

And since the "Replicator systems" are given the Asgard color, I take it that means these were conquered recently by the Replicators? So why are they called "Replicator systems"? Shouldn't they have regular names like the other Asgard systems?

The powerful Asgard ships that are supposed to help tend to go into a corner and keep patrolling that corner. Sometimes you can lure a Replicator ship into the corner where they will attack it. But usually they just sail back & forth doing nothing useful. Maybe Campeador's suggestions could help you improve their patrol behavior. Failing that, I think many more of those deployable SGC ships would be a good thing to make those missions manageable. I resorted to setting myself invulnerable and ramming the planets just to get things over with.

I had noticed the mission text getting cut off, too, but was more concerned with game mechanics on a first play through. I'll try to go over the jobs file and give you a complete list of typos and possible sentence improvements.

BTW, I've been told to deploy "Tealc's special fighter" a few times but I've never had one in my cargo. How is that supposed to appear?