Here we go at last! I have decided to release a portion of the visual content which will be included in the Last Stand mod as a separate mini-mod, ready to be merged at your convenience with whatever is your current content of choice.
The background of and reason for this mod is simple - I am not satisfied with explosions in either vanilla game or improved versions of several graphic mods out there. The concept of this feature is that a battle should tell a story - when hundreds of ships are pounding at each other with weapons of incredible power, I wanted to see that power reflected directly on the ships themselves. I wanted to see pieces breaking off, sparks flying into space, thick smoke and fire billowing out, atmosphere escaping from cracks and finally, a glorious detonation befitting something which has fought hard, and lost.
However, words can be cheap - I have a preview video of what I meant by "carnage in space", one of the early names I had for this mod, before it got merged into the Last Stand. It's called "Face of War" and this is how the combat will look like in the Last Stand mod. Ok, I'll shut up now and hope you enjoy it!
Preview video (standard quality) download here: Mediafire(30Mb)
Streaming video (YouTube):
Also, here is a new preview video showcasing the new ver 1.0 effects: Mediafire (29Mb)
And on Youtube:
MOD DOWNLOAD: Volumetric Damage & Explosions Effects ver1.2 (Mediafire, 14.04Mb)
COMPATIBLE WITH SoaSE 1.18/Entrenchment 1.41
Entrenchment FIX
This fixes a bug where racial explosions wouldn't show up in the Entrenchment version. Keep in mind that due to the nature of the necessary changes, the currently available Dynamic Battle System version is no longer compatible with this mod. A new version of the DBS will be uploaded in its respective thread.
Download: Volumetric Damage & Explosions Effects ver 1.2 - Entrenchment fix
Version 1.2 change log
-added new explosion effects for all three factions. Now Vasari ships explode in a different fashion than Advent or TEC. Vasari explosions are green tinted while Advent are more to the purplish side.-added new explosion sound effects for all main ship explosions. The effects are more numerous now and have a greater variation/complexity-removed bodies from spilling when a ship is critically struck. Bodies still float around for a short while after a ship is destroyed-optimized ship explosions for heavy duty battles. You should notice a lot less of a FPS drop when lots of ships blow up in a short amount of time
KNOWN BUGS/ISSUES:
None.
This version is meant to be merged at will, so merge away, just credit me. The preview video includes improved particle effects by Bailknight. To merge this mini-mod with others, install those mods FIRST, then overwrite the files with the ones from this mod. Note that if you have any special explosions listed in your .explosiondata file, they will be overwritten. Also note that if your ships .entity files invoke any explosions of non-standard names, you will get a minidump, so take that into consideration when merging.
A final note - I am very much interested in hearing how this performs on your machine, so you are welcome to comment upon that and don't forget to include your system specs! I also playtested this for a few hours and so it should be free of error, but if you do notice something missing or odd, do tell.
This much from me for now, hope you'll like the new stuff!
I agree with Biske in that Bailknight's pushes the effects to be a little over the top, and the explosiony goodness gets hidden behind the big blobs of light. Mansh00ter, any chance you can include a just-splodeys option (or instructions for activating same) in your next release, for those that might miss the above posts?
(and thanks for hurrying to rush this out. Big booms add a whole lot of oomph to the game, and it's great fun watching a pirate raid get ripped apart!)
I blew up some TEC and Advent starbases, and those screenshots don't do the explosions any justice. Well done [e digicons]:thumbsup:[/e]
My poor old 9600GT is starting struggle with all that debris and particles. Now, when can we expect Dead.. i mean Carnage in Space?
I made the puppet model, so now I just have to pose it in two or three interesting but gruesome ways and set up the particle emitters... shouldn't take that long. When its done, I'll post a video showing it off, along with the new explosions so that people can get a better idea about the changes.
theRetroboy, if you want just the Volumetric stuff and nothing else, check out the "Modder's Resource" version. But before you install, I advise to download the repacked archive which had its "Gameinfo" folder cleaned up.
Sorry but I've read and read again the previous posts and I'm still confused.
I have entrenchment with celestial+volumetric+bailknights (activated in this order), which package of volumetric (except 1.12a of course) should I use to get all effects?
And what's that "just-splodeys"/"Volumetric stuff and nothing else" option?
The 1.12 version is the one you should use if you want volumetric explosions+bailknights effects (JUST effects, I left out his other modifications to game files).
If you just want to use volumetric explosions, use the "Modder's Resource" version. Simply enable it in Entrenchment, it should work without issue. This version contains ONLY the explosion and damage effects.
If I am reading you correctly, your mod load-up order means that the volumetric explosions probably don't show up in your games, since they're likely "overwritten" by Bailknight's. You can change the load order so that the Volumetric loads last, that way you will get its effects.
Hola Mansh00ter
Love the mod, have since day one, I don't leave home without it (bug report incoming). After a couple hours of a medium random game, the explosion effects randomly stop being visible. I can scroll all the way out sometimes and they come back sometimes, but seems pretty random. This is with both 1.12 Entrenchment, and the 1.12 modders versions. Only thing I have done is added some different music in a sound folder in each mod. The reason I bring it up is because you said you didn't get to play test it very long. Anyhow, thanks for all the hard work, and for a fantastic mod.
I think that's an oldie, not reallyrelated to the mod per se - you're probably hitting the particle limit so the game cuts out on them. I remember people were complaining back in the early days about it, and it was suggested that you increase the max particle count to something larger in the user.setting file. I don't know whether that works or not, but you can try it.
Personally I haven't had that bug for a long time, but then again I increased my RAM by 2 gigs since I bought the game last year, so it could also be RAM related.
Hi all,
THis mods looks like it's a must have, however I'm having dificulties activating it.
I haf Sins + entrenchment installer, and tried the 1.12 version of this mod,
I copiedd the 1.12 to c:\..\...\Mods-v1.15\Volumetric1.12 and the 1.12a to
c:\..\..\..\Mods-Entrenchment v1.01\volumetric1.12a
When activating the mod in vanilla sins, it goes minidump. Activating the mod in Entrenchment freezes the system.
Any hints?
the mod is not working to me, mini dump when im activating it. any help?
maybe the same prioblem as DroodII
Yeah, you mixed up the versions. Readme says, 1.12 is for Entrenchment, 1.12a is for vanilla Sins - so if you did it the other way around, then you would get a minidump in vanilla sins... strange that you get a freeze in Entrenchment, since the 1.12a lacks .manifest files so you should actually get - nothing. No changes.
Anyway, 1.12 is for Entrenchment, 1.12a is for vanilla. Try it that way and let me know if you still have problems!
Their is onyl one problem with the. IT has a checksome witch means you can't use it onlien with other people.
Yeah, unfortunately due to the complexity and number of particle emitter needed for most explosion effects, I had to resort to syncing them with the debris flotsam effect in explosions.explosiondata file. Not sure why, but that file is calculated into the checksum.
If you really want to play online with people who don't have the mod installed, you can always just delete the .explosiondata file (Entrenchment only!) - you will still see *most* of the explosion effects. You won't see the shrapnel and flotsam flying though.
Found another bug ManSh00ter when the mod is active any maps from GalaxyForge do not work. Have tried a couple of other mods and they work fine with GF maps. Just thought you might like to know. Will be trying another mod that has your mod incorporated into it.
Definitely your mod is the problem. Sorry. I have attempted to use many other mods to test this theory. Only the ones that have your new update causes this problem. I dont me to be a complainer but this is a cool mod and I like to use my own maps to.
Ok, thanks for the heads-up! Can you give me some info though, for example which version of the mod you are using, which version of the game, and are your maps up to date? Also, if you do not mind, can you try and install the pure version of the mod (you can find the archive at the top of the page). This would help me narrow the problem down for you.
As for the galaxy forge maps not working, can you describe the problem? You can't see them or do you get the "instant defeat" bug, or maybe it won't load..?
I have only been able to duplicate the "instant loss" bug. I tested this with vanilla sins on both the pure version and the one combined with Bailknights Effects. However, that bug is not linked to the mod, but to the new version of Sins. If that is the problem you're having, check the solution here.
Once I installed the maps as per the above solution, I was able to load and play a test map I have made in Galaxy Forge 3 without an issue.
By the way, can anyone who has downloaded and used a mod in a longer game tell me if they have issues with particle effects not appearing later in the game? I was unable to reproduce this, and I am interested to see if this is a rare ocurrence or not.
Mediafire link doesn't work for me, the rar is 0 bytes in size. Yeah, not good :9
I am also having the mini dump problem : i first mixed the version then checked and remove the 1.12 to put the 1.12a instead but it also failed (I have the vanilla version).
I am trying to reextract and reinstall the mod again now.
edit : It is still not working, even if it is the correct folder (mod v1.15) and file (1.12a)
here is a photo of the error message who makes Sins shut down :
http://www.imagup.com/imgs/1236543003.html
Yes, it happens to me, on bigger battles late game Capital Ship and Starbase explosion sometimes don't show, smaller explosion however have always worked. I believe there is a cap on the number of particles the engine renders?
Hello ManSh00ter I appreciate the advice I will try out the pure mod file though I dont think it is the bailknight mod because that is one I can use just fine. As to the versions I have they are all up to date (vanillia 1.15, entrench 1.01, and volumetric 1.12) I have tried older versions of your mod and they work fine as well. Also I have not tried to apply your mod to vanillia and see if I get the same affect. The solution you linked me to is one I well know but I understand the need to try everything at least three times. The main issue I have is not being able to see the map on the list when loading it up. I can, ironicly enough, load up a saved game and make it work with mod active so there is no conflict with the map and mod. I hope this helps you debug the mod, it is a very cool mod and a lot of other mods I play have or will be putting this mod into their mod.
Hello its me again. Attempted to use pure version on your mod.
First loaded bailknight entrench mod by itself to check. Map is listed.
Took off bailknight entrench mod. Map is listed.
Attempted to loaded pure volumetric mod. Got a soft lock up at mod load screen. Ctrl+Alt+Del to close down game.
Attempted second time to load pure volumetric mod. Got hard lock up at mod load screen. Had to reboot.
These lock ups happened when I selected apply changes.
I hope this helps, sorry for the complaining.
Okay ManSh00ter time for good news. [e digicons][/e]
I can use your mod on my self made maps.
The workaround is this. I simple start a new game without any mods active so that my map shows up. Then I save the game, quit, activate the mod and reload the game. Presto! the mod works (and there was much rejoicing). So the conflict seems to be with the galaxy manifest or something to that effect. I hope this helps you find the bug.
Okay problem solved. [e digicons]:grin:[/e]
Your mod has the a second galaxy manifest file in it. This cause the mod to overwrite the one in the entrenchment file causing it to disappear. All I have to do is erase the galaxy manifest file in the mod and I can see my map with mods active. Sorry for causing so much trouble keep up the good work.[e digicons]:thumbsup:[/e]
Sorry? Thanks for spotting that one! My mistake for packing un-needed manifest files in the archive... ok, I'm reworking the entire archive so that there's less confusion overall, will post it up later along with the possible fixes for the problems others are having. Thanks again for spotting this!
Found a possible bug: When clearing Advent mines, there is no explosion effect, only a bright white square. Either something is wrong with the explosion effect, or just in my install.
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