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!
Made me think of the tactic in WW1 when Germany's U-Boats would alert a supply vessel to their presence in order to allow the civilian crew to evacuate before they torpedoed the ship.
Basically, sub-killing weapons would be put on vessels that looked like civilian supply ships, so that when a U-Boat declared its presence the crew (who were actually navy personnel) would sink the U-Boat.
Of course, this backfired when the Germans countered by declaring unrestricted submarine warfare, aka everything's a target, as anything could be a military vessel.
And that was what led to the Lusitania being attacked, and the rest is history.
Anyway, sounds interesting. Wouldn't do much though, because they'd still get overwhelmed. As far as I know the pirate AI doesn't retreat if it comes under fire, so at most a trader vessel could damage some of the pirate vessels before going down. Not quite what is had in mind, ie that the pirates would leave it alone rather than take casualties.
Now, disguising frigates as trade ships... That could lead to some clever strategies if you had a trade alliance but not a cease-fire.
No can do.
If it's not a trade ship, then all enemy forces will auto-attack it.
Yes, I thought of the pop boxes as well from WWI. But that aside, I just figured that for transports trapped when pirates are present, this would allow them to add a little to what your main forces would come and finish off.
As for the disguises, I think that's a better alternative to cloaking. I always like the Mimics and Leeches from Homeworld: Cataclysm. So, that might be a better idea, especially where scouts and their ability to plant explosives comes into play.
On a side note, it's Canada Day! Happy Canada Day, Oranos!
edit: the idea is if we can get the engine to temporarily tag the vessel as a transport. dunno if it can be done.
Fuck Canada.
As far as I know the pirates target trade ships first anyway so it wouldn't matter if you have a trade ship getting the first shot off. They're still going to be dead unless you rescue them.
Okay now that my Trinity problems are solved.
I want to see what this modding community has to offer. The one for Star Wars Empire at War is still going strong and is pretty great.
So it seems like this one is pretty popular.
What does this mod have to offer really? I am getting the impression that this is just an enhancement mod with added units and effects? Is it worth the download?
Being free, I think they all are.
But to be more specific, I think this one is well worth it. We've pushed the tech tree to almost double its original upgrades, added electronic warfare bombers and heavy gunships. Planets can now be upgraded with ground based defenses, pirates get caps and have whole new starbases, and derelict stations and ships can be captured from graveyards. Then there's the graphic and sound improvements, the rebalancing of caps to be meaner dogs, and the addition of a multitude of planets and planet sizes.
This is very much an enhancement mod, so if you like the game, but want to see more dynamic strategy and a greater rift between the species and their abilities, then it's a good pick. On top of that, it's under continuous development and there are a few mini-mods that can be optionally attached, including Powerful Pirates, Dynamic Movement, and Flagships.
And Stant: I'm not expecting that the vessels will be able to totally defend themselves, but it's like the lasers on a siege frigate, capable of just adding a little to the pool of kick ass. It was just a thought.
Hai!
Thanks for the great mod - I've been playing this on and off for over a year!
I've a question - what should the correct checksum be if I have 0.99 Beta 3 with all the extra mini mods activated? Seems I'm getting mini dumps in the menu quite often, and I suspect I have a faulty checksum.
Sincerely
Cat Empire
Possibly it could be the checksum, but more likely it's the minimods. They were created for entrenchment and only updated enough to get them to run with diplomacy, not run well and error free, so they throw out an error every once in a while. If you can play DS without the minimods and not have minidumps, then you're actually just fine.
Okay, here's a list of minimods and checksums. If these are the numbers you see when only that minimod is enabled, then you'll be fine when you stack them. I'm not going to list all of the variations of stacking because the checksum changes based on stacking order and I just don't have the patience to do all of that. But rest assured, if you see these numbers when they are by themselves in the list, you have the currently released version.
DS.99B3 with my scout fix: 73985823Powerful Pirates: 474703Dynamic Movement: 233175Flagships: 6894883MSGS v0.3DS compliant: 0 (yes, 0.)
If you use my scout fix, and you've overwrote the existing files as I recommended, then your game checksum does not change. It will stay at 73985823. If you run it as a minimod, you're on your own checksum number wise since I didn't make it for that.
Where to get these wonderful toys? Go to these places:Powerful Pirates (included)Dynamic Movement (included)FlagshipsMSGS v0.3 (DS Compliant)Scout Mine Detection Fix
Any other request, known numbers, let me know and I can add them here so that there's one consolidated place for them all.
Hai again!
Thanks a lot for the help Stant123! Much appreciated!
My checksum is different since I don't have Flagships and that MSGS thingy. What are those two anyway? In the links you provided there was no information - only download-sources. I switched my mods a bit and now the checksum starts at 7xxxx~ - before that it was 29xxx~ - and no minidumps so far!
Those checksum numbers are for if you're looking at those minimods enabled all by themselves (without hitting the apply button that makes sins actually try to run them). If you compare each of your minimods enabled by themselves to the numbers I have and they match, then we both have undamaged release versions.
If I was listing stacked numbers like Dynamic Movement on top, with Powerful Pirates below that and DS below that, I'd have a number like 223140050.
If I reversed Powerful Pirate and Dynamic movement so their order on the list is different, the checksum would be 222898522.
For this reason, I did not write down the checksums with the mods stacked because I would have to do it for all of them in every possible order and combination of minimods on and off and that's just too much work to do when I'm busy updating another mod and I can give you the base checksums instead so you can verify that you have the same numbers and put them in the order you like having.
BTW, order of mods are important. The game takes the files from the top mod and uses those, followed by any extra files from the next mod in the list, followed by any extra files from the 3rd mod in the list, and then from the fourth, then from the fifth, and so on until there are no more mods in the list at which point it fills in all of the remaining files from the core game. Why is this information important? Because if your list looks like this:Distant Stars (D) 0.99 B3Powerful PiratesDynamic MovementOr really any set up with Distant Stars on top, then your game is not using any of the files in the minimods.
As for the other minimods:
My scout fix is just a version of the scouts mine detect ability where the actual buff doing the mine dephasing is pushed out a little bit beyond the range listed by the ability so that scouts actually dephase the mines properly without the need for the player to micromanage them. If you've noticed, when you click on the decloack mines ability on the scout they will drive up to their maximum range and fire off the ability and the mine won't appear. This fixes that. Note, it was designed for DS 0.99 B2, so the buff range is actually a lot higher then the ability range, but the results are still the same so who cares, right?
The Flagships is a minimod Ryat is working on that adds another capital ship to the game. A capital ship who's abilities are designed around helping the entire fleet out rather then just itself or a ship next to it. It's also much stronger then other capital ships and can take on groups of them and win, just as a capital ship can take on groups of cruisers/frigates and win. It's a fun little minimod.
MSGS v0.3DS compliant is an add on provided by Boshimi. It removes the spiral graphics that you see when looking at your galaxy zoomed all of the way out. His earlier work is included with DS, but recent updates to the core game has broken that work. So he made an updated set of files. This will be included in future updates of DS, it just didn't get included in the most recent update. So if you want to maintain the non spiral galaxy look that older Versions of DS had, then you need this.
Cat,
Multiple Stars Graphics Mod (MSGM) is just as Stant has stated. I also have a version available for Vanilla Sins.
CheckSUM of 0 is also correct.
Here is the forum thread for the Multiple Stars Graphics Mod.
https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/348205
Hello all,
Just wanted to ask if there's something like the Stars Mod 2.4 will be added into DS in the near future. Currently I added Stars 2.4 into DS myself, but lost the added 16 planets. The extra detail in the planets was worth it, but still would like to see the realistic planets for the DS/Sins Plus Mods. Also if anyone esle plans to do this, you will have to copy and replace the files from Stars 2.4 over the ones in DS .099 B3. Just DO NOT copy the files in the "Galaxy" folder from Stars 2.4; the Galaxy files in DS are better the the ones in Stars 2.4. Other than that Stars 2.4 does add great visual effects to DS 0.99, but you will be stuck with the basic planet types.
It kind of occurred to me that the mines are huge if you think about it. I mean sure, space mines and all, but these things are about the size of an orbiting satellite ; I mean look at the cars and stuff going between planetary elevators then compare them to a space mine..... at most I could agree with about 50% smaller given DS's addition to the destructiveness(oh homing mines how I love the) but still, mines are by nature hard to see hidden or not so hidden. Did anyone think about reducing the overall model's size/tri count/ and texture size? I don't think anyone would complain, most we ever see is the icon anyway unless we zoom in
Also, as far as the icons go,would it be possible to change the icon to something like a reeeeally small dot or would it matter in the long run?
Meh, ok graphic is just not enough, lol...going back to the orginal DS...HAHA!!
Random side note for Dynamic movement: Ok, so I mentioned this before but I think other people might like to know the how to with this. In dynamic movement, there are some EXTREMELY IRRITATING THINGS such as turret's turning speed and the scouts. Nothing is inherently wrong with the scouts besides when you use them for sweeping mines......they fly into them as they fire causing a bit of a mess.
How to fix it yourself: go into the game info folder inside your Dynamic Movements mod and delete the files named
(RACE)TURRET_(I forget what went here).entity there are 3 of those and they're usually at the bottom unless you re-sorted your files by name, in which case, happy hunting.
second is the scouts, you CAN delete these, but for "just so nothing breaks" purposes copy the (race)scout.entity files from the DS main mod folder and replace the files. this makes them move normally and breaks nothing ^^
and that's how I fixed my Dynamic Movement mod, you can do the same for every ship you want to "sit still" using the transplant method of the scout (like repair and other support ships for instance)
Someone mention disguising trade ships up there? Well, I know THAT can't be done, but how about giving them an ability(If they can have abilities) like the vasari's scramble bombers or the Sova's missile platform? One squad pops out of the cargo hold and BLAM! not game breaking, but annoying to say the least. Although I have my suspisions that this may not be possible...
-Twilight Storm
EDIT: Alternateively, is it possible to set up the disguised ship in question to become Invulnerable while it is disguising itself?
...
wait...trade ships aren't invulnerable...hmm...I'll have to think on this...I know there's a way to trick the computer into doing what I want...I just haven't thought of it yet...
I actually suggested trade and refinery ship decoys some time back. It will have to be done with an ability and I haven't tried to see if it needs to be on the ship or module or looked for what would work and not.
I'd suggest a trigger-able ability that stops the ship dead in the water for some time when used.
Sounds like time for someone to create a test of concept mini mod addon.
Just saying.
And btw, everyone start poking Boss man. The ModDB page need love, we need another compiled update...again just saying....and...well, im having issues with abandonment.
I will start poking him once I finish the pirates. Well standard pirates is finished, I just want to clean up the powerful pirates a little more.
Btw, I feel sorry for the poor Free Traders...the Advent didnt like them...I tried..so hard...to...save...them....
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do believe the TEC has become the current reigning champ.
Is there something wrong with the pirates?
Ive tried Random Med, FFA with 3 cpu players at hard and med, I've run it 3 times:
1st game, the first pirate wave is an huge amount of corsairs and other small ships.
2nd game, it was just 2 ships, but in the 2nd wave it was a million ships with a cap ship.
3rd game, same as the first.
These attacks are impossible to defeat, my cap ship goes down in a few seconds and static defenses go down in 1 volley.
Any idea whats going on? I'm on diplomacy v1.21, distant stars at 0.99B3, and the checksum is correct, and i've not enabled the optional minimods. For each game I do not touch diplomacy or pirate tabs.
I'm using Diplomacy 1.21. What is the EXACT order that I should be applying the minimods if I want to use all of them? I have already applied the scout fix patch to the main mod (overwrote the three entity files).
So far, I have this order working without minidumping out on the mod screen (haven't tested ingame yet):
Powerful Pirates
Dynamic Movement
DS 0.99 B3
and my checksum is 222898522
However, the second I try to add either Flagship or MSGM v0.3 - DS compliant I get a minidump on the mod selection screen.
The only order of things I know for sure is to put the main mod on the bottom.
I would like to get these five running at the same time:
Flagship, Powerful Pirates, Dynamic Movement, MSGM v0.3 - DS compliant, and the main DS 0.99 B3 mod.
Any plans on combining all the minimods into a single minimod? It would sure be easier to only have to activate one minimod and then the main mod.
@ Peter1x9 - Flagship is not currently compliant with Powerful Pirates. I may set up a set latter on though don't count on Dynamic Movement being there. Also MSGM should be in the regular mod soon.
@gusbear - Not sure why it is doing that. Diplomacy messed up the pirates something awful. In the regular game they have it all set to restricted fleet groupings. DS is set to parameter fleet groupings. It worked great for Entrenchment but Diplomacy, well, I am doing what I can.
Order really doesn't matter too much in most cases as long as the main mod is on the bottom, however...
You can't. As you may recall me saying of Powerful Pirates and Dynamic Movement:
So that in and of itself should be a note of caution about using them. But more specifically to the real problem you're having...
Powerful Pirates and Flagship both make changes to the galaxysceneriodef file, and both have conflicting entity.manifests so they will never work together as individual minimods no matter how you stack them. If you were to try to run them at the same time or to combine the two into one, you'd have to add in the differences in both of those two files (galaxysceneriodef and entity.manifest) to each others. Then it should work as all the files added and changes made internally would all be accounted for in both of those files.
At best, you can currently have 4 running at the same time. An example order (the order that I tested):
MSGSPowerful Pirates OR FlagshipDynamic MovementDS .99 B3
If MSGS is giving you errors, redownload it. It should run problem free.
Also do note that DS is fairly riddled with it's own errors so you may have an occasional crash due to a combination of things not entirely related to the minimods.
No, because not everyone likes them all, which is why they are included as mini's rather then just integrated into the main mod.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
Sign in or Create Account