Warzone 2100 Forums

Kacen wrote:What do you mean "mechs"?

Xanax has been doing some sterling work on Mech prototypes. If we were to liberate skirmish/ multiplayer from campaign (ultimately meaning that there would be a campaign tech tree for each storyline (opening the way for multiple campaigns (think Wesnoth)) then it becomes perfectly viable to further balance factions through more than just the bodies.

You are right in stating that a "problem" is that there are four factions and not three but I think that a larger number of factions simply requires a greater degree of creativity in balancing. I am very confident that I could balance 8 factions in interesting ways if it came down to it (and why not? seperating campaign from skirmish allows factions to be added on and included or excluded from various campaigns (how about a New Paradigm-orientated campaign)? ;c)

Project bodies do not HAVE to be equal in power to any other faction. They do need saving graces however, exclusive or improved access to certain technologies for instance. The Scavengers could easily be a fifth faction with a number of major drawbacks but a few saving graces of their own. They could have access to a 'Chop Shop' rather than access to cyborgs for instance.

I do have ideas to make Project a more viable faction of course. For instance I like the concept of introducing Freeze weapons with a properties similar to flamers (exception being the equivalent Mortar) with much lower damage than Flamer but the unique property of reducing the performance of afflicted units (a reduction in ROF, Speed, Anti-Kinetic armour) for a short period of time.

Thermal armour applies to freeze weapons and would be due to the insulating features applying to both heat and cold.

New Paradigm, on the other hand, would have specialization in flamer technologies that other factions would not have. Specifically I am thinking along the lines of a special flamer ROF upgrade that makes flamers apparently spew flame indefinitely (a continuous spew of flame) when targets are in range. They would also have their own variant of laser technology and would get basic laser technology earlier than other factions.

The collective would have a fascination for twinned weapons. they would be the only faction to invest in twin machine gun, twin assault gun, twin asault cannon.

Nexus would get the Nexus turret at an earlier stage (mid-to-late T2) also and improving the intruder programme would be a research tree all in its own just as alloy research works today.

This is creative balancing - the big picture :c)

Okay: No mechs in the official mod. Please. No stupid unrealistic impractical cliche` mech warrior mechs that are just aesthetics. They look dumb and quite frankly terrible in game. The "spider" walkers I suggested are actually practical because I gave them a niche` and didn't just suggest them "for kicks".

Also no faction should get specific weapons outside of the campaign, we're talking bodies here, nothing more. So what you suggested about ridiculous freeze weapons is not relevant.

Every suggestion I make is with the resurrection project in mind, not a mod for it.

Liquid nitrogen is about as ridiculous as plasmite.... if not less so...

'invokes shield of poetic licence'

.

Uh-oh..... will the invoked poetic shield made of noble Phlebotinum suffice to withstand the obdurate jihad of a "wz purity eugenics " arising from a reptilian brain conflating notions with commotions sans any locomotion ... ouch. No-contest, really. xD

I doubt not on what side of this chasm WZ 2100 Creators, Pumpkin, would stand (recently reiterated by Pumpkin A.I. guru Alex Lee now working on "Spore" with the living legend, Will Wright) and that's enough to kick the shrewish to the curb to wend their shrewish ways to that hallowed domain called the null-set to wildly gesticulate amongst themselves, inadvertently smacking each other in the face. That would be a site to behold - Comedy Channel material, me thinks. :rolleyes:

More on topic: I think the evolving propositions on faction creation here are serving concurrently to dovetail the "Body - Meshing" that kicked off this thread and doing so in practical terms. I'm sure that's by deliberate design and no random coincidence. This is also the closest, imho, I've seen to making WZ playable Factions in MP a viable, feasible, possible road map to deving.

- whip

Yeps no contest. Actually I kind of ducked Kacen's last post. :c) I do find it heartening that a few veteran members see my pondering to be of some validity.

But anyhow - I should get started on Mk2. Collective bodies. ^_^

In the meantime - Kacen, you clearly didn't like the proposed changes to the New Paradigm bodies. Yet the old models could use an update. I'm open to ideas on improvement (or elements of the old designs you couldn't see as being within redemption).

Avestron wrote:
Project bodies do not HAVE to be equal in power to any other faction. They do need saving graces however, exclusive or improved access to certain technologies for instance. The Scavengers could easily be a fifth faction with a number of major drawbacks but a few saving graces of their own. They could have access to a 'Chop Shop' rather than access to cyborgs for instance.

My Seven Nations Scav Faction have "Chop Shops" and they are currently rolling out an APC they call "The Locust". "Chop Shops", a very cool concept to work with. Thanks !

Regards, whip
.

Glad you like the concept - I was thinking of the spicy car-modding show on Discovery

Now taking this a step back to body meshing. As promised I'm working on a second prototype of the Collective bodies. I am working on the Panther body and have once again hit a road block with texturing. This time its not a UV-Mapping issue (thanks for your advice guys ^_^) but is down to the limitations of my artistic ability and, perhaps, the tools I'm using. Long story short - Not convinced of my ability to make a proper texture - though I will be trying anyway.

Tools: Paint.NET



I do like this body a lot more than the 1st prototype.



I like the UV map though there is a degree of distortion.

OK I've recently installed GIMP - an open source picture manipulation package.

I've been hoping to get the texturing right this time and make some of my own or something but using layers on either program has its drawbacks from my limited knowledge of them

Paint.NET handles transparency but has no smudge tool

GIMP has a smudge tool but 'deletes' selections to secondary colour with no obvious sign of transparency.

Any suggestions?

Avestron wrote:OK I've recently installed GIMP - an open source picture manipulation package.

I've been hoping to get the texturing right this time and make some of my own or something but using layers on either program has its drawbacks from my limited knowledge of them

Paint.NET handles transparency but has no smudge tool

GIMP has a smudge tool but 'deletes' selections to secondary colour with no obvious sign of transparency.

Any suggestions?

Search for a smudge tool as plugin for Paint.NET. I have this tool!

MaNGusT wrote: Search for a smudge tool as plugin for Paint.NET. I have this tool!

Thanks Mangust I installed the plugin though haven't used it yet.

I do have a different problem now however. Through use of the UV screen I've used the image menu to load a 2D image and adjusted my map to match my texture.

The unit clearly looks textured in 3D view but renders in grey. Any idea what I'm doing wrong? Yes I did pin points (and yes I'm aware that there is an inaccuracy in allignment in front textures in the screenshot).

I assume you're using Blender:

Blender: Noob to Pro wrote:To make the texture visible in renderings, you also need to add the texture to the [model] as a new material. In the Buttons window, switch to the Shading buttons by clicking the small shaded-sphere button or by pressing F5. Create a new material by pressing Add New in the Links and Pipelines mini-window, then turn on TexFace in the Material mini-window

Link to source page

Yes I am using Blender :c)

Thanks for the tip. I had already attempted this but the results were... eh take a look :c)

I have adjusted the map and pinned the image imported in UV texture - which is why the texture in blender looks fine - but the rendered version seems totally out of whack. ~_~

I've never had that problem; Then again, I've never

Avestron wrote:pinned the image imported

before...

/me passes the baton to someone of greater intelligence than I

Did you check if the texture is set as diffuse map in the material's maps? It could be some problem with tiling, make sure it is set to 1.

I'll certainly check this when I get back to the blender machine. Heres hoping that it works. Otherwise I'll need to start the texturing from scratch and hope to get it right this time...