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!
Ugh, forum errors, sorry if this double posts.
Yes, it will be.
GODDAMN KADESHI
I know it's OT for DS, but I love seeing those old comics again. Homeworld has always been my favorite RTS, and it pisses me off that it hasn't gotten the love it deserves.
Indeed, blobness, Homeworld is also my most favorite RTS. It has never really been matched in the twelve years since it first came out.
Nevre really matched ? Was there ever any other 3D-RTS ?
The two images are the only of their kind and made by a contributor to the Relic site. They are now on Deviant art under the titles of Homeworld Tribute. As for truly 3-D games, I was really hoping Sins of a Solar Empire or Genesis Rising would be such, but it turns out not. One was a great game in spite of it and the other blew chunks. I'll let you guess which is which.
Okay, sorry for going OT. I have some images I hope to show tonight, maybe getting approval on a couple of them.
I sit here in anticpation.
Just got on... haven't been able to get to any computer work today. Is sad. But I do have the framework for Oranos' pic.
Still trying to figure out the font Nacey used for you, Carbon.
Okay, got my old friend Photoshop running and not one of the annoying new ones. Old school PS7. Meanwhile, I made a few icons for Stant and Oatesy. I'll get to Oranos next. I had made an icon of a skull enveloped in flame and shaded apart from the fire, but the comp deleted it. I can recreate it, but not in the mood this moment. Will do it if requested.
So, let me just give you what I got.
The RFT icon with highlighting and partial level lines.
The RFT icon with the same highlighting and level lines cut all the way across. Minor difference really unless you want me to remove the highlighting all together.
Custom gradient to make it look more like other icons, but the shade changes where the levels would be. Just something I figured to toy with. Tried a solid version and hated it.
Flames of Vengeance concept icon. No major change except for the beveling.
Again, Flames of Vengeance concept icon with no major change but beveling.
Flames of Vengeance concept icon with lower flame tail deleted and fingers cleaned up. Might still level off the top edge of the closest finger if desired.
Flames of Vengeance concept icon taking a different direction. Went aggressive and took Stant's unorthodox use of detail. Top edge of skull had some problems during file conversion. Not sure why, but I would smooth out top right and add brow definition.
Tell me what you guys think and anything you want me to change.
Don't care for the third RFT one all that much, I'm gonna have to dump the first two into the game and see what they look like. I'll let you know as soon as I get a chance to do it.
I like the first FoV icon the best, though the fourth has some real potential. Like you said, the top right needs some work and so does the brow. Maybe just slightly darker over the eye sockets or lighten up the rest of the forehead. Also I'd look to get a better flame to put on top or superimpose behind it. With the added definition to the skull, the flames look a little flat.
*yawn* Hour till I have to get up for work, I might get to bed tonight.... Probably not.
To be honest my favourite of the FoV icons is either the second or the third.
The hand in the second one kills it for me. The third is okay, but I'm not happy with just okay.
That's really why I gave up working on my own and passed it off to Draak. I thought my results were okay, maybe even good, but I got the feeling I was settling so I handed it off to see what someone else could do to make it better, at least visually in game.
Stant, yours are already about the right scale for use in game. It's easy enough to catch all the black in a selection, invert, and make an alpha. If you need me to get down to any pixel by pixel editing, it's no problem.
Well, the FoV are more up to Oatesy than anything. Besides, I assume he'll be the major user of the icon. Hell, I could dump more than one in there just to be sure. I'll definitely keep in mind that you like 2 and 3, Oatesy.
As for the skull, the flames started as a flat template, hence the effort to transition from the skull. If I did anything, it would be to add the same definition over the brow that you find along the jaw, subtle yet definitive. I might even throw in a lighter spot to define the forehead a bit. As for the flames, I could go with something more/less busy; larger/smaller; etc. It would be a matter or putting together a template of options and letting whoever vote on it.
Hoping tonight to get Oreo v1.0 up tonight.
The flaming skull would go great with the Pirates.
Arrrrrr!
Well, that itself can be changed. Now we can have flaming pirates running around trying to get some booty.
Maybe they don't actually want booty but ... water to put out the flames!!! Hmmm ... maybe they need to buy more bottled water for that reason ... would explain the desire for money I suppose.
Have you checked out the Stars mod by Aplos? The newest release now allows pirates to travel between stars (instead of being stuck in system.)
Okay, I've got time now, so I'll elaborate a bit.
First off, I have to say that I don't feel that the skull icon fits the Advent. I've always thought of skull decorations even in a military setting being somewhat unofficial, ie something that a single platoon or company would use as their unofficial symbol; you know, paint a small skull-and-crossbones or whatever on their tanks and stuff. I don't think that skulls are so suitable for a whole state, or whatever the FoV could be considered. For small pirate or military groups, yes, for large political entities, not so much.
The fist I am not so keen on either. Again, it doesn't seem (to me) to fit the feel of the FoV, though could work for, say, the Unity's Fist faction, because they are a military nation, and it fits the name.
And now for the remaining icons. I have to say that I like the third one of the bunch the most, but is it possible, if it wouldn't be too difficult or time consuming, to make it more clear that two hands are cradling the flame? Then I think that it would be perfect.
It's not actually two hands, just one finger off the z axis from the other. I can however make it two hands. Shouldn't be too much of a pain.
And I thought it was the Unity's Hand?
Nope, there's a Unity's Fist as well. That or the faction map is wrong. The Unity's Hand is a paramilitary FoV-based organisation which combines terrorism, espionage, insurgency, and just general special forces-ness into one eclectic mix. I stole it from somebody, as well you know.
Okay, but they can have their own emblem. I mean, CIA and MI6 have their logos.
It might include a hand, I'm guessing. Less fire though perhaps.
Unity's Fist I would imagine has a fist without necessarily having fire. Unity's Hand I imagined would have something similar to the eye in the open palm idea. Not kabbalistic necessarily, but maybe something more like the Native Americans used with a modern twist.
Seeing as I've already stolen so much from Westwood's C&C, how about something similar to the Black Hand of Nod?
And that is all. And, before the accusations fly, I did not create the Unity's Hand, so its creation had nothing to do with the Black Hand in C&C. It just rapidly became similar to it.
^ This? Apparently you can just give the pirates the research ... It would help a lot in large multi-star maps so you don't have to have a pirate base in every star system.
You can also (for non-random maps) link pirate bases together with a phase lane connection... The pirates will use that to jump between systems.
I've requested it before and given it to them on my own version of DS starting before the 0.7 release. It's been requested on and off for a long time. On random maps, every star gets a pirate base anyway so it's not really much of an issue, and the nonrandom maps... Well... That's up to the designer's point of view on what is necessary.
The only time they would need the star jump is if someone has bid or raid money on them and no pirate base where they are at... Though they should be somewhat rewarded for putting themselves in the situation where pirates can't get at them.
Edit: Haha reply 5150.
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