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!
*poke* Been two weekends...how ya doing?
Kidding, keep up the great work everyone. Look forward to seeing what potential damage can be done when Rebellion is released.
under the TEC tech tree, under Defense, the Tachyon upgrade, its description says "No String" I think someone forgot to put in the description of what it actually does. I can research it, and I think it actually works in game, just the description is not there.
It's the same for Advent - probably the same for Vasari!
Known, and has been fixed for v1.00
nice. love this mod btw, the music is epic.
ps. where is the extras folder, i'm trying to get the icons in GF.
So when it comes to being productive, I'm back. I know it's a pain that I have these spurts, but bear with me. I was playing with the idea of putting icons into the game in place of little planet images when you zoom out. These are my initial meanderings.
Toward the bottom I'm starting to feel more positive about the results and with the Gas Giant I'm feeling I have a final process in place. Beyond that, it's just a point of getting down all the symbol designs. I was originally thinking to have Earth types lumped in with the homogenous planet designs, but have found that there are too many color overlaps (thinking intuitively) and the fact that Earth types aren't really in the same family. I already have symbol ideas not yet shown, including Artifact Symbols/Planets, Citadel Planets, and Toxic Planets.
Thoughts?
Maybe different shapes beyond circles will help. Coloration can be for certain planet types (terran like, volcanic like, ice like) then different shapes for each internally (terran, desert, forest, etc for terran like).
Yeah, I was figuring either different shapes or different internal patterns. The Gas Giant was an easy choice as I figured the stripes of Jupiter set me up for something easy to associate. The cross in the circle is the astrological sign for the sun, so I figure stars will star with that and vary depending on their types. Pulsars can have multiple circles on the outside or a radiation symbol. Magnetars can have magnetic poles or something. etc...
I'll play with a few more now that I have a system of making them that I like. As you can tell, I was suffering with the issue of how I wanted the computer-like images to appear. My initial idea of solid colors didn't pan out well, I think, but as I went for the white frames that glow with color, I saw some potential. It's a bit closer to the style in Dawn of Victory (I was so trying to avoid that), but I think they went with it just cause it clicks.
Just a thought, but perhaps the shapes could align with the techs required to settle them and the colors would differentiate each?
That's a possibility. In either case I would have to sketch a quick tree of the relationships and figure out my preference of patterns. The only one I'm really feeling at this point is the Gas Giant cause it just clicks with me.
The other thing to figure out is the size variation. With the Gas Giant I show a simple hash which could be side by side in whatever quantity. I can also have them aligned similar to the ones in use now, but on the outside of the symbol. Another possibility is like the image at the top, where I take the symbol and break up some side or another into segments, the number corresponding to the size. This would probably weed out using too many squares, but whatever.
SO I was doing a comparison of research versus type.
With research, I get groupings like:
Terran-Paradise-Savannah-Industrial
Ice-Oceanic-Forest
Gas Giant-Urban-Military
Desert-Relic
With types I get:
Terran-Desert-Savannah-Forest
Ice-Oceanic-Paradise
Industrial-Urban-Military
Gas Giant
Relic
So the question is what is more important? Should they be grouped according to a research function? Is it that useful to be able to correlate research needs and the strategic view?
Or would it be better to group them by type? Would you be more aware of sensitive planets like Industrial, Urban, and Military if they stood out on your map? Is there a real commonality in function that requires attention or am I catering to natural subdivisions of human thought? Is it worth it to do either?
A little test, using similar shapes, but changing color to show grouping and little pattern changes for detail. Then below that is if I went with different shapes and color, the shapes now helping to show groups for those that don't jive with color alone.
I also gave it slight variation on brush intensity and such as I went. Let me know if you prefer brighter or more subtle.
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy236/Draakjacht/test-2.gif
suggestion regarding the separation of type and research,
the outer overall shape for the research eg round for no research needed to colonise,triangle for volcanic, diamond for ice, and the internal variations for separating the individual planet types, as it would help with the outlining of the planets to expand to.
harpo
Like the shape changes. Especially Toxic. Looks nasty.
I was thinking along the lines of a bio-hazard symbol for toxic, so it should ring true for most.
I'll have to play with that a bit. Some of the planet's have odd overlaps in research type. I can see using the same shape for Ice and Forest, but not the same color. So shape could be research. Color for planet family. Pattern for specific planet.
Those look awesome, and i greatly welcome those changes as i don't particularly care for the current vanilla icons.
I like the intensity of the triangle and diamond shaped icons much better than the circle icons. Other than that, they all look great.
As for colors and shapes for specificity, i like what you have with the Triangles for hazardous types, possibly have them go from there down depending on how harsh the terrain is? Such as circles for calmer terrain (terran, paradise, etc.) and and the diamonds for just harsh terrain (Ice, Forest, Desert, etc.)
Or are you trying to make them link with research types? cause that's where i'd see it getting messy and really needing to think about the shape-planet relationship, making it harder to just glance at the icon to know the planet type. That's from a user standpoint, just giving that little input.
Other than that, i think they look awesome at the higher intensity (the circle shapes don't seem too terribly bright or intense, just in comparison for aesthetics.)
Thanks
I like them too. My only concern is if anyone finds the intensity distracting or overwhelming where clarity of shape is concerned. These are to be referenced at a glance and all.
My original thought was circle for fairly average terrain types (Forest, Terran, Savannah). Then I would use triangles for harsh environments involving heat or lack of air (barren, volcanic, toxic). And diamonds for predominantly fluid atmospheres (Ice, Oceanic, Paradise). Some are middle grounds (like Swamp) and so I picked based on who was short on family members. The patterns say a little more sometimes. Barren, Desert and Oceanic have a lack of characteristics, so I gave them the simple shape alone in the center. Toxic, Swamp, and Forest have the most hidden dangers, so they got the core, inner lines, and broken outlines.
Haven't gone that route yet, but so far it's pretty up in the air who likes what. I've seen suggestions for research based and wrote above how that would group a few. Ryat also had the idea of having shared colors for similar types and then completely different shapes for each. That would probably reduce the need for me doing the internal pattern, not that it matters much since I have the shapes saved on Alphas.
Another possibility is to simply break up the research types in the research tree a little bit, or at the very least re-arrange them around possibly with the pre-existing tecs as well such as Volcanic (could re-name this) etc.
I really like Haropo's idea and I believe if you combine it with possibly re-arranging the planet research tecs (possibly even re-naming the vanilla research types) it would work very well! I like the Triangles, Circles, Diamonds, Bio-Hazzard Symbols for Toxi, maybe a big X with a box around it for Barren ... don't forget you can always throw a name under the Icons in game!!! This might help with understanding of the map as well, make it stylized perhaps.
I was going to use boxes for asteroids and such, so Barren and No Atmosphere can easily get lumped in under that.
As for names under the icons, I would have to get some input. I was hoping that I could make the symbols easy enough to make them easy to learn. That and I feel the name either clutters it up or cramps things, given that there are Home, Relic and other symbols that work around the planets. If it were plausible, I would say to have a toggle button that makes Names and/or planet info appear, kinda like DoV has going on, but I don't know how to do that.
And I was thinking to do a combination of Harpo and Ryat's ideas. Shape for research grouping, color for planet family, and pattern for specific planet type.
And I'm not the man to talk to about when it comes to moving around the tech tree, so whoever wants to address that, go nuts!
I can take a look at it and give some suggestions?
Also Draak, I just want to reiterate that your icons look awesome.
Me and Nacey are in discussion about it.
Does anyone know how much infastructure-damage TECs superduper-cannon does? Trying to figure out if researching "Hardening Cities" 6/6 is going to stop them from one-shotting my asteroids!
3000 I believe.
You pretty much need planetary shielding to survive an encounter. My general experience is that you can hold out for 2-3 shots with everything upgraded. Haven't played with it in a while, so I can't be sure anymore.
If it's 3000 and a fully upgraded asteroid has 2500 - then I assume that 30% damage reduction of "Hardended Cities" will save it, just barely. Then again - I'm not sure if the damage reduction is only against Krotovs and the like - or if it also includes the cannon-damage?
Advent doesn't have planetary shields, unless I missed them completely.
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