Adding units and the GUI ...

[Kurukaze]

While I'm sadly still stuck with the TACTICAL.DLL and finding the pointers between units in the "main part" of the game and their images in the DLL, I started thinking about difficulties that may ocurre when adding additional types of units.

 

Facilities:

Facilities don't get transported on star ships so they don't have any bitmap in there. Further, the only way to search them via the GUI is the galactic display. If this display works via the family-pointer in the .DAT files, there is NO limitation for additional facilities. Advanced Mines and Advanced Refineries are coming to mind instantly, advanced ion cannons, Laser batteries level 3, a shield system looking like the one the rebels used at Hoth, maybe rebel only etc ....

Future by now, but it's prolly the unit type that can be added without interferring with the GUI at all. Sadly, it's also the most "boring" one ....

 

Star Fighters:

Fighter squadrons as well don't have references to special "finders" as facilities. However, they are "very" hardwired into the TACTICAL.DLL - 4 fighter groups per side in the GUI there. So more than 4 types of star fighters within one fleet could lead to seriuos problems. Further, additional models would be needed. I haven't done any model-exchanging yet, so any help from people with experience doing that would be great. The most important questions:

Are there pointers within the DLL? Is there a way to point from a 3d-mesh resource to the according texture-resource?

Anyone out there who tried playing with 5 types of fighter squadrons using RebEd exchanging one of the existing types or have one type of fighter squadron work for both factions?

 

Capital Ships:

Starcruisers etc don't have a problem with finders in the "main game" as well. The fleet finder either brings up references to fleets or single ships, ordered by name, not type. Additionally, ships get assigned to task forces in the tactical game which do not have problems with mixing ship types. So to successfully add a starship, just the 3d-model problem - adding a model to the TACTICAL.DLL is simple using Resource Hacker, again we need that pointers location - needs to be solved.

 

Troops:

The troop finder is limited to 5 types of troops per side. When using more troops, these simple do not get displayed there, rendering the troop finder useless when heavily adding troop types. Not that this would be much of a problem - it's just not a "100%" implementation.

Additionally, troops have the same problem I'm trying to solve in the character-patch by now: An image inside the TACTICAL.DLL that leaves system sturcture of the main game, thus is wired into the game via some sort of pointer-table.

 

Special Forces:

As the troops, the personal finder is limited when it comes to special forces units. While characters are just presented in an alphabetical list, the special forces are displayed with a static table limited to 4 types of special forces. Thus, the personal finder would be useless as well when heavily adding new units of special forces.

And of cause, the problem with the TACTICAL.DLL comes up here as well.

 

 

So the following types of units have no GUI problems within the "main game" :

Facilities

Characters

Star Fighters

Capital Ships

 

These types of units have no GUI (images, buttons.... ) problems inside the tactical display:

Facilities

Capital Ships

 

These types of units have no 3D-Model problems inside the tactical display:

Facilities

Characters

Troops

Special Forces

 

Anyone thought of other problems? Other suggestions?

[Slocket]

Anyone out there who tried playing with 5 types of fighter squadrons using RebEd exchanging one of the existing types or have one type of fighter squadron work for both factions?

 

A quicky, I added a total of 5 fighter types to the Empire using one of the Rebel fighters OK until, the game crashes upon Tactical engagement.

 

old post reply, but so am I.

 

However, they are "very" hardwired into the TACTICAL.DLL - 4 fighter groups per side in the GUI there. So more than 4 types of star fighters within one fleet could lead to seriuos problems.

 

Yes. Indeed. Use auto resolve to make it work?

[Kurukaze]

Anyone out there who tried playing with 5 types of fighter squadrons using RebEd exchanging one of the existing types or have one type of fighter squadron work for both factions?

 

A quicky, I added a total of 5 fighter types to the Empire using one of the Rebel fighters OK until, the game crashes upon Tactical engagement.

 

old post reply, but so am I.

 

However, they are "very" hardwired into the TACTICAL.DLL - 4 fighter groups per side in the GUI there. So more than 4 types of star fighters within one fleet could lead to seriuos problems.

 

Yes. Indeed. Use auto resolve to make it work?

 

Nonetheless, I check back on my questions. Thanks.

 

And yes, I think "autoresolve" could be the workaround for all remaining problems, as the TACTICAL.DLL sorta starts a game within the game. For a complete MOD-project with more units, maybe the "take command"-button should just vanish. "Take command" starts a game within the game so to say. This "second game" is the key problem, as I have not found files/tables/entries that specify the communication between these two game-parts.

[Moribundus]

Nonetheless, I check back on my questions. Thanks.

 

And yes, I think "autoresolve" could be the workaround for all remaining problems, as the TACTICAL.DLL sorta starts a game within the game. For a complete MOD-project with more units, maybe the "take command"-button should just vanish. "Take command" starts a game within the game so to say. This "second game" is the key problem, as I have not found files/tables/entries that specify the communication between these two game-parts.

 

I'm afraid there's no such thing. Both "games" are hardcoded in the REBEXE.EXE file, hence both are probably communicating directly within their own hardcoded limits