RebED: Galaxy Mapper Question

[R2-Opus2]

Most of whats on this screen in RebED seems self explanitory to me, however in the upper left where you select between viewing sectors or individual systems, there's a checkbox for a "move mode".

 

What exactly is this for?

[the_mask]

Moving the planets and sectors around

 

According to what you selected, you can drag either a planet, or a whole sector to a new location. We used this function for the TC to make the StarWars galaxy look more like the charts in the NJO books and the DeAgostini Fact files series.

[Jahled]

Wow! That sounds very exciting Mask! There's no chance of peak of the remodelled game play galaxy for us guys not involved in making the TC is there?

 

Or do we have to be patient....mumble...

[R2-Opus2]

Ah ok so its about layout and placement. For some reason I thought that maybe that disabled the Rebel's ability to move their HQ or something like that.

 

So does this mean though that you could go over the 10 planet limit for sectors, or does this mean the total has to be at 10 only your just swapping out one system planet for another?

[the_mask]

Nope, currently we know of no way to add more planets to a sector. I guess adding another entry to the ...sd.dat files would be a minor problem, but there interdependencies, like the encyclopedia entries and such, that will simply get in the way. Also the game would've to reckognize the new planets as usable...

[Trejiuvanat]

Wow! That sounds very exciting Mask! There's no chance of peak of the remodelled game play galaxy for us guys not involved in making the TC is there?

 

Or do we have to be patient....mumble...

 

I did it a while ago, and I send it to mask to review it, I'll send it to you as well Jahled.

[Jahled]

 

WOOOO!!!

 

Oh dear Trej! That's rather good, and transforms the game virtually beyond anything else i've seen, besides RebEd itself.

 

All my Imperial fleets have moved. Everything has moved. Gosh, it looks like the DeAgostini map....

 

You're d'man!

 

Edit: Upon closer inspection i've just been noticing you've actually edited the planet images, even in the encyclopedia entries! Excellant, though your choice for Tattooine and Mon Calamari do seem...a little....odd...

[Trejiuvanat]

The encyc entries... Yes... I have to update those, I didn't use any new pics though, except for a blown asteroird pic, for the remains of Alderaan, I'll mail it to you if you want. you have to install it in RebEd.

The system names I changed, but I suppose you'd need the TEXTSTRA.DLL for those...

[Jahled]

Very curious...because if you didn't change the planet image pictures, how come I got over six Kessel-like lumps of coal, Tattooine looking like Earth, and Mon Calamari looking like there is quite a bit more land mass than a system 'almost entirely covered by water?'

 

Is it possible your original files were some how corrupted when I replaced the two GDATA files (or whatever that folder's called) you sent me? I zoomed in on Tattooine and Mon Calamari because they seemed such obvious and quite frankly, stunning oversites for anyone reworking the planetary images to make!

 

If i'm reading your last post wrong, then the game files themselves are replacing the planet images; despite the fact that Coruscant remained gloriously...urban.

 

The new shape of the galaxy, and the sectors, does get my thumbs up. The resulting galaxy looks more like the DeAgostini version that I already said, but also has a more random and authentic appearance; not as uniform as the orginal game lay out. Am I right in thinking this has had an effect on travel times between systems, now that the inner-core is bunched together, for example?

 

Alderaan as an asteroid field, but with system energy and resources; yes! This I would love to view!

[R2-Opus2]

As much as I hate random disasters, I DO wish for a random event type deal...ones that don't exactly destroy resource slots necessarily, but like things that effect efficiency such that the smuggling thing does when a system is taken by force (but diplomatically still in your favor w/no enemy defense).

 

Ya know, something akin to match some of the descriptions of key worlds I'm seeing. They could have introduced random acts of piracy (either of ships lightly defended and/or without high enough detection ratings in your fleet), as well as affecting resource loss the same way smuggling does. One or two planets did specify pirate activity in the region so in that sense those events don't have to be "random" since you can expect stuff to go wrong there. Maybe those worlds should be tougher to sway diplomatically to end those events.

 

I just wish planets were lended the same importance by the AI that some of their descriptions present. i.e. Ukio is supposedly this mega foodstuff producing world...it ought to have the max number of energy slots all the time (yea I think some should be fixed high always/immune to natural disasters)...so not only would the planets be programmed to be one way, the AI should always treat such places as high value despite how you've set the sector at large based on those descriptions. Some places ought to be fought over such as those.

 

Mon Cal is also one I think ought to have high slots always (mainly due to its notation of being a good spot for tons of shipyards).

 

Sorry to get off on a rant, but this talk of placing the Alderaan astroid field got me thinking. It'd be nice to see events crop up that were not always catostrophic...such as maybe having an event from the books that addresses that ship they sent out with all their weapons after the Clone Wars, or even discovering the location of the Katana Fleet (an addition of a new mission type for characters might also be nice for such forms of "detective" work, rather than just espionage).

 

Why couldn't random events be fun and interesting/potentially beneficial rather than always obliterating my production base? I mean seriously, I've seldom seen any of those events that are +s to my economy. I don't care if I am winning the game, I'd rather not "expect" disasters more than any other type of event.

 

Ok, so maybe this ought to go in the wishlist thread for the next reb game heh

[the_mask]

Jahled, did you have time to review the map ? Is it sync with the DeAgostini one ? I don't know, cause I didn't have time yet to check it out.

[Jahled]

R2-Opus2: I think all of us would love to see the ideas you've discussed! But it all boils down to something to do with the game's progaming called the Source Code, which Mask; above, knows more about than me. We've been battling in vein to get the bloody thing of Lucasarts so the techs amongst us can really get into the game and create all the cool stuff you've outlined and so much more. Lucasarts don't want to play ball, won't explian why, and remain steadfastly aloof from the little place is in the Outer Rim swrebellion is in their larger Universe! It's a great shame, because the game, as we all know, has got a great structure just begging to be blown apart and made into the 11/10 title it should have been.

 

Mask: I'm slightly confused by what Trej sent me. The layout certainly had the general appearance of the DeAgostini one, with respect to how the sectors were laid out, but as I stated in my previous post on the subject, I think switching the DAT files caused some corruption; I had numerous Kessel shaped planets, and planet appearances so far removed from the planet descriptions, there's no way our man Trej could or would have over seen it!

[Trejiuvanat]

now I know what happened.

Actually there is no corruption. The names of the systems and sectors are not in the GDATA dats, instead they are in the TEXTSTRA.DLL. I'll send you, if you wish, a TEXTSTRA.DLL with the correct names for the systems, as well as the asteroid field picture, you'd need to replace in REbEd's DLL viewer to have Alderaan showed properly.

One of the many Kessel shaped planets is Bilbringi and yes, there are others. Just they won't appear until you have the correct TEXTSTRA.DLL.

But replacing it will alter all the other name changes. Char names, troop names, Ships names, all names... Unless Mask knows otherwise how to replace only certain strings, without doing it manually....

[the_mask]

As it happens I just had an idea. Remember what I wrote about an installer for the TC ?

 

-Scripting

 

You have to save the entries, that are needed and create a ResHack script file for them. Then, along with the files start ResHack from the command line with the parameter for scripting (-s or -script, can't remember at the moment) followed by the name of the script file.

 

After a while it should be done and the rest of your dll should be fine. If not, you'll be glad that you made a backup first

[Jahled]

now I know what happened.

Actually there is no corruption. The names of the systems and sectors are not in the GDATA dats, instead they are in the TEXTSTRA.DLL. I'll send you, if you wish, a TEXTSTRA.DLL with the correct names for the systems, as well as the asteroid field picture, you'd need to replace in REbEd's DLL viewer to have Alderaan showed properly.

One of the many Kessel shaped planets is Bilbringi and yes, there are others. Just they won't appear until you have the correct TEXTSTRA.DLL.

But replacing it will alter all the other name changes. Char names, troop names, Ships names, all names... Unless Mask knows otherwise how to replace only certain strings, without doing it manually....

 

Please do send that Trej!