Feedback of any kind is always welcome. Ideas, balance changes, and bug reporting of any kind is always useful!
Version 1.00 Released!
Make sure to ask for permission before republishing any part of this mod to the public!
Downloads
1.05 + DLC Compatible:
0.12 ALPHA Release:Full Download:http://distantstars.mmobase.com/rebellion/Distant_Stars_(R)_ALPHA_0.13_[45189661].7z
Full Download MIRROR:http://www.moddb.com/downloads/distant-stars-rebellion-alpha-013
MD5: 69486D2FCD3F35E46E6F5EF8C9F1634A
1.34 Compatible:
1.01 Release:Full Download:http://distantstars.mmobase.com/diplomacy/Distant_Stars_(D)_1.01_[45685832].7z
1.051 Compatible:
Beta 0.9951 Release:Full Download:http://distantstars.mmobase.com/entrenchment/DS_Entrenchment_Beta_0.9951_[36672852].7z
1.14 - 1.181 Compatible:
Version 1.01:Full Download:http://distantstars.mmobase.com/soase/Distant_Stars_v1.01_[453701567].7z
Multiplayer Games:We've setup a thread for everyone to organise their multiplayer games in and also setup example times and dates for most people to meet up and start games. These are what we hope to be the main times for people to be around and want to play games together.
The times are:4pm EST (9pm GMT) Saturdays & Sundays9pm EST (2am GMT) Saturdays & SundaysIf you want to organise other games please go ahead using the same topic to consolidate all the information in one place and hopefully get more games together within our community. These games are for PvP, PvAI & PvPvAIso come along and we'll get some games going!
Screenshots:We've setup a thread so you can all post your screenshots to share with us the Distant Stars team and its players. Im sure we're all intrigued to see what kinds of battles and events you've all been having on the mod aswell.
Lore:We know some of you guys love to role play whilst using Distant Stars, and here's a topic for you guys to post all of your role playing stories, character profiles and anything else you can imagine.
Maps:Some of you avid map makers out there have produced some great maps but never really had them recognised because they've got lost. Well here's a topic for you to post a link to the download (we can even provide mirrors if necessary) a screenshot or two of the map for us all the preview and if enough people like it we'll even include the map in with the actual mod!
Please visit our website and for more information, change logs, downloads, and to report bugs. Our website can be found here: http://distantstars.mmobase.com
Bug Reporting
If you want to report a bug please use the Bug Report feature on our website:http://distantstars.mmobase.com/?m=reportabug
Please include as much information as possible, if you have an error log feel free to post it on these forums and we'll take it from there. If you can reproduce the error please include the error log (read below to find out how to enable error logs) and include as much detail on how to reproduce the problem.
To enable logging:Windows Vista/Windows 7:C:\Documents and Settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\SettingorWindows XP:C:\Documents and settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Setting
Open the user.setting file (using Notepad, Wordpad or any text editor) and scroll down to the bottom 7 lines from the bottom is the line:LogOutput FALSEChange FALSE to TRUELogOutput TRUE
and from then on any Log files will be saved to the debug folder:Windows Vista/Windows 7: C:\Documents and Settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Debug or Windows XP: C:\Documents and settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Debug
If you get these log files to us (you can just paste them in to a forum post) we can hopefully get your issues sorted.
Frequently Asked Questions
All files are compressed using 7Zip to shrink the download filesize. To extract these files you must use WinRAR or 7Zip.Any Patches should overwrite the original install directory, either by extracting over the original folder, or cut/copy & pasting over the existing file/folder structure.
1) My game keeps crashing, is there anything I can do to stop it?i) Are you running the game on maximum (highest) settings? if so, lower them to High or Medium, there is a known issue with the game using up too much memory, there is nothing we can do about this, also no matter how powerful your pc is, it is affected by this issue no matter the pc it is not above this crashing issue, it is a game problem not a hardware one, so quite simply lower your settings. If you still have an issue with crashing see point two.ii) Give us as detailed information as possible about the crash, what was happening at the time of the crash, what races, ships, abilities were involved. If you can supply a Debug Log (see above for more information about logging) and post a bug report on our website.
2) The loading screens and portrait pictures dont appear properly, whats wrong?i) This is an issue with ATI based graphics cards (rarely affects Nvidia based cards) we're looking in to the issue.
3) Why dont you support converting Distant Stars in to TXT format?i) Quite simply many things can go wrong with converting your mod to TXT, we cant help you with something you've probably broken yourself.
4) Can I mod Distant Stars for myself?i) Yes you can however please do not distribute our mod or our mod that you have edited to the public. You must ask for permission to do so, we will regrettably stop distributing our mod to all if users abuse our work.
5) Your mod is in BIN format I can't edit the files, what can I do?i) You can convert the mod to TXT format however we wont offer any support to versions of the mod that have been converted to TXT.
6) Why is Distant Stars distributed in BIN format? i) Mods load faster in BIN format and are less likely to have issues in this format.
7) I'm having trouble installing the MOD, do you have any more instructions?i) Carbon was kind enough to do some more advanced instructions out here.
8) Is there any way to make new maps for Distant Stars using GalaxyForge?i) Within the Distant Stars Extras folder there is a folder called Galaxy Forge, Copy and Paste this folder (or its contents) over your original Galaxy Forge folder (or its contents) replacing any files if it asks you to. When you start Galaxy Forge next you'll be able to use all of our planets.
Or, the DIY approach (without custom icons):
ii) The GalaxyForge supplied by the devs will still work with our Mod, however to be able to access all of our planetary bonuses, templates, planet types and stars you will need to take our GalaxyScenarioDef.galaxyScenarioDef (found in the GameInfo folder of the mod) and place it in to your GalaxyForge folder, overwriting the original GalaxyScenarioDef.galaxyScenarioDef (if you still wish to make maps for the original game keep a backup of the original file). This will allow you to use all of the Galaxy changes included in our mod.
Note: Any maps made for Distant Stars will not work with other Mods. See #8.2 for DIY instructions for map making or take the appropriate files from Entrenchment, they're cross-client compatible.
Some statistics...
Since August 2009 to February 2011 we have had over...
400,000 Unique visits to the website12,000GB (12TB) of data transferred from our website
That equates to over 60,000 Unique downloads of the entire mod, excluding the excess of 20,000 Patches downloaded.
Thanks to everyone that has supported us this far and making our mod as popular as it is!
Well, Old Faithful is better then Old Yeller. I had to put my original PC out of it's misery by shooting it repeatedly with a nail gun.
Happend to me for while too - new Mainboard, CPU & Ram now, nearly 300€ ...
And the Problem was a Bug in the old MB ...
If you're advent and are in a multi system, stick 4 starbases with full culture at the closest sun, spreads to all systems =3
But I'd go with at least 1 broadcasting station at each planet,like he said, 2 if I had the extra money and no need for the longistics slot for anything else (that or another tradeport)
Hooray for Advent culture spreading!
Surely they should just outright state that the Advent just sit there brainwashing neighbouring planets?
They could, but why would you bother telling gamers the obvious? I supposed the really stupid could use the help, but then they shouldn't be playing as a difficult race to master, aka the Advent... Maybe they should stick to the easy one, aka the Vasari.
TEC are a no brainer, but they kinda fit the usual thought process of warfare.
Err, i play Vasari - and its much much easier for me as Advent (and a bit easier as TEC but i think they will have the same Culture Problem).
Depends on your own playstyle in my opinion. Somebody who likes to play defensive while building up a game-ending force would probably find Vasari difficult to play as.
I didn't say play as, I said master. If I was talking ease of play, I'd say the TEC is. They have the hard, early game hits, and the late game super economy.
The Vasari is the easiest to master because everything revolves around mobility and attack. Most gamers of today are already accustomed to the tank rush style of play so there really isn't anything new to learn. Harass, tech up, harass, tech up, harass, tech up... Eventually, their phase missiles kick the crap out of everybody. They don't really have any other options. Are they difficult to play as? Sure, but they're easy to master.
The TEC has a small learning curve to it. You can use the tank rush strategy, so there's that familiarity in play, however, if that fails to gain you a victory early on, you have to take some time to sit back and build up your planets and consequently, that econ so you can put the Trade Order's industrial might to use and spam build ships. Adapting one's game play mid stream isn't one of today's gamers strong points, and as we all know, currently, late game TEC is a little on the weak side. So if you don't have that econ going for you, you're kind of in a losing battle.
Then you have the Advent, the hardest to master. Yeah, that's right, I said it again. Hardest to master. Should I say it a fourth time? They can't beat the TEC early game, and they can't beat the Vasari late game. Tank rusher gamers, the most common type there is, don't have the patience to sit back and culture spam because it requires a lot of base building and patience and willpower to resist sending your fleet in to die. It also requires knowledge to know to go after Vasari first and TEC second. It also requires one to know that to field a good fleet, you need to field a diverse fleet and you have to use your culture to boost your fleet's capabilities and make them into a force to be reckoned with... There's a lot more to learn with the Advent then the other two.
TBH I've never managed to master harrassing or rushing gameplay. What I have managed to pick up from RTSes is securing important locations and keeping them locked down. It's difficult to harass an economy that's well defended.
However, SOASE always presents problems for me. My mobile force usually tends to be minimal in "normal" RTSes, and I put a lot of value on stationary defenses and choke-points. However, in SOASE, even the most heavily-armed starbase is a sitting duck to a smart player.
So build bigger fleets.
Thats the Point wich i like, on Big Map there can be just one Planet who can secure a big Part of your Empire.
Is there a Way to "deactivate" the whole Culture thing? Yeah, its nice that u can do it with Advent but its stupid when u cant beat a big map when u play Vasari or TEC just because u cant capture all Planets. The only thing wich i can try to handle a bit more is to move my Home Planet more to the Center (if the Culture goes not only over the "Lines") but i think it wont be enough (would be easier if my stupid allied NPC Vasari would be living).
Sorry for my English atm, not my native Language and its late atm.
Actually, you can win with Culture with any faction, it is just much easier to do so with the Advent. The key is to gain a foothold in every solar system, build a Culture Center (Broadcast Center/Media Hub/Temple of Communion) there, and raid enemy systems for their Culture Centers, Starbases, and Capital Ships if possible. Culture does travel between solar systems, it just loses its effectiveness fast.
My favorite strategy with any faction is the turtling rush. Build up an army while moving slowing towards your enemy and once I have strong enough fleet attack, make sure I capture whatever my goal is with overwhelming force and start the process over again.
I turtle at the beginning. Especially easy with the proportionate supply (versus the more sensible flat rate). Once I have a mobile force worth trying out, I go with the flying schiltrom, which is kinda like Mooster's idea. Defensively capable fleet that comes in, moving slow and destroying things that approach rather than intercepting or pursuing. Once a place has been beaten down, I quickly mop up dangerous elements and max out planetary defense and build a starbase. I keep my fleet in position (a fleet being 1/3-1/2 of my capital cap broken into two wings) until the build up is complete and then I continue on. That means it's hard for someone to slip in behind without my having reaction time and the constant fleet presence slows culture loss to where I can analyze and correct any such weakness.
My Fleet is big enough to Capture the Planets (the only problem are the Mines wich i handle with Scouts or Replicas if they are on the other side on the Planet). And i build up everytime one or more Culture Center but it seems that they dont do anything now, i will give u a Screenshot .
With a bit Luck i can capture one of them in the middle an set one to my Home Planet and my Culture Spread Radius is big enough but im not sure and the Advent Culture is strong so its hard to hold a Planet if i cant capture them.
Yeah, fighting the Advent can be rough due to their culture but just keep pushing. You will eventually break it. Remember it takes a while for a planet to go neutral, plus it still removes them from play altogether. So your enemy will still be weakened and you can back fill if you have too.
Oh, and cut back on your Empire Tree. You have to unpin the Starbases manually but it will help your FPS.
The Point is that i dont want to kill the Enemys directly and fast, i like long Games and holding Planets isnt realy possible, anyway i will try to capture some on the left wich isnt that far away from the Home Planet and then i go more to the middle of the Map and set my Home Planet here.
And maaaaan.
After some Minutes i checked what u mean and how it works.
Only Fleets now and it runs much smoother. Not perfect but way better (and again, no difference between low and highest Settings).
Thanks.
Edit: I was taking a little long so you beat me to it, but I'll leave the ideas here anyway.
If you clump units into fleets, then whittle down to just fleets being pinned. That allows you to micromanage your vessels from afar without too much clutter. Smaller vessels can also be stacked (which looks like you're doing).
If you go into the menu, look around for pinning preferences. Starbases should be the only ones requiring a manual unpin.
As for culture, it would help to have your home planet more toward the center and to overbuild comm centers on your rim worlds seeing that you have a good economy and all. Caps will be a powerful force in pushing back their culture both in their culture negation and in their ability to quickly skip across multiple worlds, destroying their comm centers.
Playing leap frog with your fleets to dig in two or three worlds deep would be devastating. They might put enough pressure to force you back a step, but if you withdraw your farthest fleet and move forward the closest (assuming that the world has been successfully bombarded) you can make a combined effort to hold 2 of 3 of the planets you just assaulted. Patton would hate it, but it's better than nothing. If that becomes a trend, move in minelayers with the third forward assault group to drop mines in your potential retreat path. You may still abandon the planet, but they lose a lot coming after you and that makes it easier to survive the encounter and even retake planet number 3.
And yes, free up fleet elements with heavy fortification. Mine like no tomorrow. As Vasari, you should be able to mine the nebulae and all.
In case someone hasn't seen or heard of this yet...
https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/405918
or here
https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/405917
Why it got posted twice is beyond me, but whatever...
Enjoy SoaSE Rebellion.
Nice. Many hopes. Many fears.
Yep, time to for the DS crew to unite.
Hasn't that already happened? But the full expansion is still a year off or longer if it takes longer, so really no need to get all excited about it start planning the next phase of DS.
There's still lots of work to be done with the current patch. ;]
True, but things are already whirling in my head as is.
I like how they introduced "Super-caps" when there were loads of threads between people who said it'd never work and those who said it would.
So... Rebels and Loyalists.
Carbon and Iron
Thenos and the High Psintegrat
They've been reading the Lore page haven't they...
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