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 BOOM, goes the dynamite..!!!
Geh. Just got D|S .12 and now there's Rebellion 1.5 coming, and based on the changelog I'd wager it'll break D|S again.
What really stinks is how it looks like it's going to fix most of the crash issues. It's as if stardock's trollfacing at us right now. <.< "Haha! We fixed all your crash bugs, but we also moved all the weapon effects to a new directory so your mod won't work anymore!"
</rantmode>
So! From what I can gather there's two kinda-active developers left. I might be interested in becoming a third kinda-active developer. I haven't modded Sins before (aside from changing a few profile pictures), but I am rather self-driven once I have a starting point. Would anyone mind linking me to some resources I should be reading?
Yep, DS minidumps whenever I enable it with the new sins patch.
Hey DS team. I have a possible balance issue.
I was playing Vasari against 5 unfair AI's. Two Tec, Two Advent, One Vasari (This is Diplomacy DS)
Had my ass kicked handily for a while (two TEC's allied with each other then stabbed each other in the back after destroying everyone else, apparently).
It took hours, but after being beaten back to four planets I managed to take one after another with the fleet of fightery doom. (Never had a game where I had all 32 capital ships at level 10)
Anywho... as the TEC took over the galaxy, by hour six he built 145 culture centers.
11:13 hours into the game, I had stomped him down to 92. I matched his 92 at this point.
11:24 hours into the game, we had planetary parity of 20 each. I had 94 culture centers to his 87. I had no choice but to have a single capital ship factory to score up losses, and three frigate factories, NO trade or refinery structures, all in order to save room for culture centers, and could not use my starbases for trade centers due to the novalith spam. (Tec Logistics upgrade is way more powerful than some realize).
13:00 hours I had 150 Culture centers to his 37. At this point, his 37 culture centers were STILL BEATING MINE. I left a planet with my fleet and his culture poured in like water in a gas giant's gravity well. Whenever my fleet would leave a planet, if there was another path for culture to flow between my fleet and my planet, I would lose the planet. I lost SIX PLANETS TO CULTURE while in the decisive battle of the game (10 Capitals and 400+ units of his versus my First Fleet of 26 and 100+ escort---I had to keep the other six for Marauding Pirate Patrol). Keep in mind that these planets I lost had maxed out logistical slots with culture centers. Anywhere between 3 on asteroids to 10 on the huge ocean world. I actually lost the ocean world with 10 culture centers to their culture centers at one point. How the hell does that work?
Is the Vasari culture weaker by design, or is this a possible balance issue?
Side note, I think I devastated my previous record for damage dealt during a game. This one hit 30.5 Million while receiving 19.6 Million, with 500k in planetary damage. And wow... 22565 user actions. I thought 8000 was a lot.
Yes Vasari Culture is the weakest in game. Design.
Yes 1.5 breaks the mod. While let Nacey know, especially with the new DLC that will cause issues.
@Nefew - Will talk to the gang (what's left of us) and ask.
Ryat: Thanks, I appreciate it. I know how to program in C so I won't be totally lost. I mainly need to know how to get on your repository and how to compile things for Sins. I'm not great at writing from scratch, but I'm generally good with debugging stuff. I have this weird gut instinct that tends to be right, so I figure I can help with some of the minidumps (provided someone can explain how to read those!)
Do you guys have an IRC channel or something somewhere? It'd make life a lot easier.
Download Notepad++ first of all. There are some conversions tools laying around, harpo99999 has some good ones for switching the files from BIN to TXT. As for minidumps, well we can't read those so those are of no use.
As for an IRC channel we used to have one but not anymore. Nacey and I communicate through Skype/MSN Messanger though.
Any ETA on when it'll be functional? I know these things take their time, so I'm trying to word this carefully so as not to upset you all. Just wanting to know if it'll be a few days, or weeks, or something like that, gonna wait patiently. (PS, thank you for all your hard work, this is my favorite sins mod.)
IDK to be honest.
Ryat: Heh, I already used Notepad++ for my work! I'll look for those conversion tools. In the meantime, which file has the equivalent of main() in it?
If you're 'kay with it, would'a mind adding me on Skype? I'll toss you a PM once I figure out how to actually do that..
Gunpocket: Someone always seems to ask this. There is no timeline, and there never can be. The developers don't know what stardock changed to break the mod. They have to find that first, then figure out how to unbreak it. It could be five minutes, it could be five years. There's simply no predicting it.
EDIT: Interesting. I just got the new DLC and it happened *instantly*. I think it's included with the update and purchasing it just flips a switch to enable access to it. There appears to be *no way to turn it off now that I have it*. ...In the words of Scooby Doo, "ruh-roh".
What does this mean? If I play it with someone else does my DLC get disabled or do I get an unfair advantage? Is there going to be a lot more work than we thought getting D|S to work now? Do we finally know what the Vasari are running from?
I need an adult-like figure!
This is indeed the case. Everyone that owns Sins in fact has the DLC, they just don't have the DLC switch turned on.
SD has made the DLC such that if someone hosts a multiplayer game with the DLC, and another player joins who does not own the DLC, everyone plays with the DLC enabled. The reverse is also true. Whether or whether not two people have the DLC will not prevent them from playing online together, mod or not.
Oh good. That helps a lot. Is there any way for me to turn it off in single-player now if I ever feel like doing it vanellia?
..Also, can we please keep the new volcanic texture from the DLC? Please? It's awesome. .w.
None that I am aware of.
I use this mod usually for the awesome particles and increase in capital ship size, is there another mod thats not broken by 1.5 and dlc that would do the same?
Lavo_2: Well dang, then.
Kahshim1: That's mainly what I use it for too. The regular graphics in Sins are just so.. Boring. Except the new volcano textures. Those are epic.
There are mods that do similar things. D|S is mainly just a collection of other mods, anyway. Thing is, as far as I know, they're not maintained anymore; they won't even work in Trinity, let alone Rebellion 1.5!
I figure, if I can get in contact with the remaining devs, I can at least throw together a mod that'll bring back the shiny graphics. That should be somewhat trivial, especially since I may or may not have OCD and like doing these things. A lot. I can probably handle the work myself, but I'd like to be able to shoot a quick question over if I get stuck somewhere.
As for capital ship.. Caps, that's trivial. I could probably whip up a mod that increases it in ten minutes. ...Make that an hour, I forgot where the game.constants file is (or if that's even its name)..
Hey DS team,I really appreciate all the work you've done on the mod. I will wait patiently while you guys work on it.Keep up the awesome work
Guys, why is the download link for Rebellion version broken in sense of only downloading about 30-70 mb of file and saying that it's complete?Can anyone give me alternate download link or a torrent?
Wouldn't matter right now as it won't work.
@Nofew
I'm an "old" lurker of this forum (since before Entrenchment), but I have not posted all that much. Rather near-nothing.However, I've also been interested in perhaps helping out with the modding.
Stant123 was kind enough to PM me and help me with some starter pointers, so I'll just link the crucial one I think you could want too here:
https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/419658/
@Ryat
If the situation has changed so that you're looking for fresh blood to help out, feel free to let me know/give me a PM.
I have my own life too, but this is a mod I enjoy playing with a friend or two (or three or four), every now and then, so this is something I am motivated to help with .
Hooray for fresh blood!
Fresh blood! Fresh blood! Fresh blood!
Let the fresh blood help!
I wish I could help more with it. Probably why I'm trying to mod more files and all. ONE OF US! ONE OF US! ONE OF US!
Nice to know there are some willing volunteers. Nacey is already begun working up for a 1.5 release so hopefully soon.
Ryat, I'm always around as well for a lot of the soft-modding things *such militia templates and stuff in the GalaxyScenarioDef file*.
I've also got a few ideas for abilities if we ever want to attempt to tackle some of the strike craft spam balance issues (on top of already what has been done).
Let me know. I'm always lurking.
OH BOY A RELEASE DATE IS COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Need a paypal account to send money for coffee!!!!! and pizza cause it sounds good
Hey all, my God it's been a long time since I've posted here!
Let me apologise for all of the really delayed updates for you all, as you can now see there is a new variant of the Rebellion 1.5 + DLC available now. Whilst it doesn't fix the old minidump problem Distant Stars has had for some time it is fully compatible with 1.5... if you get a minidump when you boot up you'll need to re-download it.
Also please note I've supplied the MD5 for you to check your download to make sure it's downloaded properly, without further ado...
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/rebellion/Distant_Stars_(R)_ALPHA_0.13_[45189661].7z
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
Sign in or Create Account
