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!
And here I always save the -Ue_ and any of the other lore factions! Ass.
I've just installed Distans Stars (D) 0.99 B3 + Patch, and I ran into a few minor bugs. Perhaps you already noticed, or don't encounter them, but I do right now so perhaps I can help by pointhing them out.
In the portrait selection screen, the portraits look very odd. Each time I click a next set, the previous set and the new set overlap each other.
When in-game, and zoomed out to star system view, where I can see the planets. Asteroids look good, but some of the planets do not. The image of Earth Planet and Gas Gianst is only visble 50% and is stretched out.
Other from that, it's great! I love the additions and changes to the original.
Ah that's the problem. Thanks! I'll give it a try.
Yes, everything you've mentioned has been experienced, pointed out, and already fixed in some form or another...
The first problem is that you're running B3 and the patch. You are causing yourself unnecessary problems by doing that. The patch is only for those who are upgrading from B2 to B3 so they don't have to download the whole thing all over again if they don't want to. So delete that and play the game again with only the Beta 3 release.
Problem number two, about the portraits, I assume you have an ATI graphics card since the only people who have this issue have those. If you do, this is an issue with the core game and beyond our ability to fix. If you don't have one, then you may have a problem with one of the files that tells the game what pictures to look at and how to display them... In any case, make sure your directx is up to date. http://www.softwarepatch.com/windows/directx.html
Problem three about the icons... If you have an ATI card, then most likely it's not reading the .dds format properly, in which case you can download the following links and put them in the mod's texture folder deleting the files of the same name that have the .dds extension:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/other/Icons_planets.tgahttp://distantstars.mmobase.com/other/Icons_planetsPictures.tgahttp://distantstars.mmobase.com/other/Icons_planetsSmall.tga
Those are older files but shouldn't make any difference because none of those files have been changed in a long time.
An alternative, which is also recommended, is to download the updated version of the Multiple Stars Graphics Mod from Boshimi (which an older version is included in the mod but became broken with one of the recent updates to the core game). http://www.mediafire.com/?c31g4muiyl3un51 Download it and run it as a mod on top of DS until the next release which will have it included in the main mod.
I'm running Sins on my laptop, got a Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family. I encountered the same problem with the portraits in the Star Wars Requiem mod, so it's probably because of my videocard. I'll go ahead and try the solutions you gave as well, thanks for that.
But not for long..... muah ha ha!
After I get some time to write, that is......
We all need to get back to writing. I already have stuff in mind to throw out there following Siegel's debacle.
Hi I am totally new to this modding of any kind while playng Sins, but I am pretty excited as I am sick of annhilating my enemies in vanilla.
here is my problem, as soon as the pirates come I get a minidump, I just installed this mod and I think I have installed the pirates mod correctly also. I disabled the pirate mod and walla no problem but then I re-enable the powerful pirate mod and it crashes again. Anyone have this problem, I really want to play the pirates also, while experienceing this mod for the first time.
1.21 diplomacy
As I have said multiple times recently:
That being said, Ryat has confirmed that he is actively working on his Powerful Pirates minimod, not just updating it, but fully rewriting it, to make it work well with diplomacy and be error free.
For now, go without them, the stock mod still has pretty strong pirates to deal with, just not pirates that can wipe out an entire faction. In a future release of DS, you will get the diplomacy version of Powerful Pirates.
Been meaning to ask:
When I downloaded this mod, there were actually two mods. DS, and one called DS Extras. What is in the extras mod?
-Twilight Storm
You don't know how much I just want to answer open it up and look...
Extras are where you find the two included minimods (Powerful Pirates and Dynamic Movement) as well as the files you toss into your Galaxy Forge so you can make maps with DS content.
You mean the pirates get stronger?
*Seals "Extras" mod in box*
Dynamic movement...was that the one where the frigates don't just sit there and shoot from the same place all the time?
Yes. The capitals too, I believe.
Awesome...I may have to weigh the costs between realistic fights, and pirates who exist for the sole purpose of raping me at every turn...
Or you could run them both at the same time since they don't conflict with each other...
What I meant was I want the dynamic movement, but not powerful pirates. Aren't they both part of the same mod?
No. They are separate mini mods.
Just to be clear, you need to remove the contents of the extra's folder and put them into your mods folder... Then you can activate them. Simply activating the extras folder will do nothing.
Oh, well, that explains why I didn't notice any change when I first downloaded it. Thanks!
I guess it is best just to play the pirates mod on entrenchment00diplomacy kinda sucks anyhow--will play it today
Diplomacy isn't bad, they just did a very poor job explaining it in-game. You NEED envoys to get anywhere, and if playing with AI, you must fulfill all their missions.
Hey I forgot to say how great it was, that you answered my questions so quickly and thoroughy. I mean really could I have asked for better, you knew the answer, and then offerered inside info on the maker of the pirates mod, which i searched google on for about 30 minutes with zero luck. Needless to say it is much appreciated.
You know the only problem I have with the game is it is damn near too easy or damn to too impossible. it sure would be nice if the AI rocked out with a real strategy, instead of mass fleets at the end of the game.
Hey what is your recommendation on a single player large game. I fell pretty confident that I can beat anything, the only problem i find is at aroound the 8 hour mark my pc slows down to the point that a battle can take an hour. Smaller fleet sizes??? what do you think are the best single player large map settings, I pretty much play TEC.
I woud be thrilled to find a few people who actually wanted to play a 12 hour game sometime, on a bigger map or something.
A 12 hour game is highly unlikely, unless everyone agrees to not attack until a certain point. But I'd be willing to join in if you can manage to get a few other players. I generally build up too slowly to get involved in an actual competitive game online, but if we were doing one like this, I could probably hold the line.
Okay...After being defeated by the pirates every single time I play this mod, I have come to a conclusion...they are too strong. Not as a faction itself, I actually like the idea of competent pirates, but in the early game. The first raid always seems to have their equivalent of Heavy Cruisers, the second always has a capitol, and by the time I'm attacked the 3rd time, there are 4 cap ships and around 30 HC...Do the pirates automatically have access to all their ships from the start, or do they research like the other AIs? Having them this strong absolutely requires 3rd tier fleet research within the 1st 30 minutes of the game just to keep from losing your fleet every encounter. I would put bounty on other players, but the AI always waits till the last second and dumps it back on me.
I don't expect it to change, I was just wondering if there was something I was missing here, or if they are that strong to encourage massive fleets. Strategies would be helpful as well.
Pirates were tweaked back in the day when they were whimps. We buffed them...then IC buffed them. The combination of both has caused the DS sectors to plauged with massive pirate fleets, with caps that have better abilites that what any of us fleet commanders can get.
Ryat has been in the works for awhile in redoing the pirates 100% both in his Powerful Pirate addtion and standard DS pirates.
I dont know how close he is to having it done, but look for an update for DS when they release 1.3. If nothing else to make it compatible. Any mini-mod addition update has always been left in the hands of those who created it or some willing suck---volunteer to update.
The main advocate for Dynamic Movement has been MIA for some time, till someone picks up where he left off. My guess it will be bug prone. Most of the DS crew doesnt use it.
And finally....Stant. Just so you know, I saved your ass. I did. You had a dead roid left.
Your welcome.
Glad to hear a nerfing of pirates is in the works. As it stands I always turn pirates off, which sucks because I DO want them to be a factor, just not able to field fleets like an actual faction can.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
Sign in or Create Account
