We are doing what we can. I am sorry for the frustration. Its a bit frustrating for us as well. We want people to enjoy our work.

If you have an error in the Main DS download, all of these little fixes we're trying to give you aren't going to do anything to help you because as I stated before in a previous post, something as simple as an error in the colors.color file can have detrimental effects on the game itself, and trying to figure out why your copy is broken just plain isn't worth the effort to any of us.

Try downloading it from this alternate link, maybe the upload is corrupt: http://www.moddb.com/downloads/start/31340

1. Redownload DS 0.99B2 That's where your problem is.  Your copy of DS is corrupt.
2. Delete everything that is in the mod folder (Do not overwrite, start fresh)
3. Unzip/unrar the archive to your desktop
4. Copy/cut and paste the mod into the Diplomacy 1.2 mod folder
5. Start the game up and enable the mod.
6. Verify the game is running and it's checksum is 73571136.  (Pressing control+shift+tab will put the game in windowed mode if you don't play that way.  Makes it easier to compare the checksum when you can see both numbers at the same time.)
7. Apply the mod and wait for the screen to change.
8. I can absolutely confirm at this time since I'm doing these steps myself as I type this, that if you get a good download, YOU WILL NOT HAVE ANY GRAPHICAL ISSUES.
9. Play the game for a couple minutes send your scouts out into the universe and you will see that I am correct.
10. Quit the game.
11. Redownload Boshimi's mod if you don't still have a copy of it.
12. Add his mod (MSGM - v0.3 DS Compliant) to the mod folder.
13. Run your game and enable Boshimi's mod.  Select his mod on the right side and click MOVE MOD UP so that the order of mods is MSGM followed by DS.
14. Verify the checksum is 147142272.  Click APPLY CHANGES if it is, if it is not, then you need a new copy of MSGM.
15. I can absolutely confirm at this time that everything WILL WORK AS ADVERTISED WITHOUT ANY GRAPHICAL ERRORS.
16. Enjoy the game.

The only time anyone has been experiencing graphical errors, myself included, is due to patching which doesn't always give you all of the necessary files, rather then getting the full download.  So always get the full download whenever possible.

Um.....It works just fine for me as of last night so he is correct.

None, not sure where you got that from. Diplomacy 0.7 has all of .995 Entrenchment Entrenchment features and more.

Bugs are constantly being fixed (see regular sins game). Diplomacy 99B2 is fully compatible with Sins Diplomacy 1.2 where as Diplomacy 0.7 will give you a mini-dump as it is no longer up to date.

Yeah, you know how strict California is.

Compared to Arizona, absolutely! 

It has come to my attention after playing this mod for many months (infact its the ONLY mod I play when i bring it to lan parties and such) that their needs to be a few balance changes done.

I'll start with the TEC

56 -60 armor on a starbase? really guys? It took an entire pirate fleet (with powerful pirates) plus a supporting Cruel Computer fleet to take it down. thats ridiculous!

15 + armor on a fighter/bomber strikecraft - once again, this is stupid, either buff all anti strikecraft weapons, because anti strikecraft were doing about 2 damage to them. 2!

Nerf the damage on ALL Tec ships, they simple do too much for being Rolling walls of destruction, my friend who i play with, he just builds 7 capital ships (along with 22 armor cobolts - only about 10 though) and defeats every encounter on the map. don't get me started on how their battleships can get 13000 Hull with 36 armor. thats even more stupid. (level 7 + which doesn't take that long considering nothing can beat them in the first place)

Vasari

Buff THE PHASE MISSILE DAMAGE if you want to keep the TEC the way they are, because right now, phase missiles are USELESS (unless vsing advent, then they own). I mainly play advent and I can't expand at all and by the time I can my TEC friend already has half the planets on the map when I have only 6 (and he has 20) - also buff the armor hp/points upgrades for the advent so that the buffed phase missiles don't just roll over everything advent (considering that unfair computers and up like to spam phase swarm frigates)

and perhaps fix the kostura cannon, it got nerfed to oblivion in the 1.2 patch (its now COMPLETELY useless, building one is purely 'for the lulz'

Advent

I feel that our starbase got a nasty nerf. The Tec and the vasari starbase still do upwards of 250-300 damage for each weapon, while the advent starbase - only does about 110-140, I'm not sure if this is to make the advent more attack orientated, but it makes playing unfair computer games damn impossible. cause I have to rush them fast which is something I Don't like doing in a sins game. oh and even though i can get upwards of 85% mitigation, its only useful if focus fired, completely useless if not.

Even when it's him versus the rest of us at the same time.

good. I'm just trying to make the battles a little more fun and balanced, right now. if i play co-op with my friend, its just him...

owning

everything 

on the map. only if he's heavily outnumber does he have to 'temporarily retreat'

I'd like to say that I'm not taking any sides, but strategy games are a pain to balance.

Lonestar, keep in mind the factors that come into play with human players versus AIs. As previously mentioned, Pbhead takes us all out when it's 5-1 odds against him or better. At the same time, humans are interesting machines and I've seen some pull off tactics that just don't fit the numbers and others that just move like the computers themselves. To know where you stand, it's probably best to mix it up with players beyond the ordinary. I've played when Pbhead was not present and although I found that I survived much longer, I still suck as PvP. I can hold my own long enough for someone to save my ass, but I do okay against the AI.

On another note, the game mechanics can get tricky, especially when moving over to PvE. The AI won't use the rolling wall of destruction to its full potential, preferring to spam some normally crazy unit, ranging from escort carriers to nearly defenseless support units. And the AoE abilities (all abilities really) of the Advent are powerful, but require micromanagement, so the regular weapons are weaker. The same can be said of the Vasari, but instead of singularly powerful abilities, their abilities stack nicely, such as Shield Disruption with Phase Missile Swarm. I think the advantage of the TEC is that they are a very straight forward group, most like what we normally think of in relation to human warfare. As such, they are easier to garner effect from than the others, although all can be powerful in their own right.

Just my thoughts, but as Ryat has pointed out, there are things which we just know it's a lose/lose with the hard-coding.

I hope that is an exaggeration because they are not suppose to be that high.

If I don't, while playing the AI, I lose. Always.

The only time I have seen that is with my Flagship mod. I generally lose a capital ship or two to the AI.

Oh and I play as TEC regularly.

TBH the more I read your accounts the more I see that you are being out fought and out classed. Even in MP with DS you have to move faster on your expansions and research then you do in SP with the AI.

Possibly. I have seen artifacting like that when

a) the video card is dying

b ) the video card drivers are not up to date (this may have happened when Sins was updated and part of the enhancement/upgrade maybe use of the latest drivers)

c) overheating issues

d) other issues I may not have encountered

Of course it may be a bad download still. Once had to download DS myself about 10 times before the issue went away.