Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
<!--quoteo(post=1906756:date=Feb 25 2012, 04:08 AM:name=MCMLXXXIV)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MCMLXXXIV @ Feb 25 2012, 04:08 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1906756"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->This is great. Following your work with interest (6 months back I tried to implement a Combat Mode style mod, but the vanilla NS2 codebase kept changing too fast to keep up and my chosen coding approach made it particularly vulnerable to breakage!)
EDIT: Just realised you're probably already aware of the old mod, it's been a while since I checked on its thread!
If you want to use any of my <a href="https://github.com/AlexHayton/NS2-Combat-Mode" target="_blank">code</a> feel free. I wrote an XP bar GUI and some other bits and bobs that you might find relevant. They are in lua/GUIExperience.lua (with the textures in the UI folder and relevant changes to get experience and rank names in Player.lua and Experience.lua). When I get back to the UK in a few months I'll definitely be interested in helping you playtest, code and/or bugfix this (I'm currently travelling long-haul by train so no NS2 for me).
Have you put the source code up on github or anywhere like that? I'd be interested in browsing it to see what you've changed.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The code isn't on github or anywhere, it is avaliable to download and compare using win merge or something like that :)
The reason I don't want to release the code publicly on github yet, as it is really a hack job at the moment. Once NS2 reaches v1.0, I hope it will stablize over the following few months. Then I plan to start working on the code, putting proper fixes rather than hacks, and posting it up on somewhere like github.
I'd love any help you can give when you get back, but make sure you enjoy the break. I did download your source to have a look at before I started, but the code bore little resemblance to the NS2 code of these versions, so I decided just best to start everything from scratch. I don't really want to do combat mode any way, I have a few other ideas..
If you want to use any of the code I've produced when you get back for your combat mod, or indeed, if you'd like any help with your project, I'll give all the assistance I can :)
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
I have a lot of ideas for this mod. Some of them I don't want to talk about just yet, but there are some others I'd like to share.
Battle Balance:
In my ideal world, the win ratios in one on one battles, between classes at equal skill levels, would be -
Rifle vs Skulk 50-50 Rifle vs Lerk 40-60 Rifle vs Gorge 30-70 Rifle vs Fade 20-80 Rifle vs Onos 10-90
SG vs Skulk 70-30 SG vs Lerk 60-40 SG vs Gorge 40-60 SG vs Fade 30-70 SG vs Onos 20-80
GL vs Skulk 80-20 GL vs Lerk 50-50 GL vs Gorge 60-40 GL vs Fade 30-70 GL vs Onos 30-70
Flame vs Skulk 90-10 Flame vs Lerk 70-30 Flame vs Gorge 60-40 Flame vs Fade 40-60 Flame vs Onos 30-70
DMG vs Skulk 90-10 DMG vs Lerk 80-20 DMG vs Gorge 70-30 DMG vs Fade 60-40 DMG vs Onos 50-50
Total = 2500
Marine = 1260 Alien = 1240
This doesn't take into account JP's, Exosuits, nor any form of upgrades. Now it's fairly easy to balance damage numbers in straight forward combat, but because of the different fighting styles, movement abilities have to be added to create the balance. For a start it will be using the NS2 systems, but as I get along in the mod I will want to make changes.
One of the changes I am acutely aware that I will need to change is skulk bite. I still want a melee combat, but bite will not work in my story arc, so I need to replace it. Any suggestions on alternatives? Don't worry about sticking to the alien animal ability concept, that won't be necessary, just throw some random ideas out at me, as long as they are melee based :)
And again, if there is anyone out there who wants to contribute in anyway, please feel free to drop me a line :)
Fixed issue where marine IP did not spawn causing marines to be unable to spawn.
------EDIT--------
Bug not fixed. It appears I have written server only code for the respawn. This means when you run it on a listen server, the mod works fine for the server host, but it does not work on clients connected to the server :P
Need to have a look at the code and figure out a way to get this working client side.
Build 199 Fixes Reduced Lerk Free Aim Bounding Box Fixed Client Listen Server options (Thanks Price) Implemented amended Alien Vision Implemented L.E.R.K. Droid Movement version 1 - (Thanks twiliteblue)
Jump to climb Shift to Fall Release all Keys to Hover WASD to move/strafe Mouse Left and Right to turn Mouse up/down only moves within the Free-Aim bounding box, you cannot climb or dive with mouse look.
This is the first clue :) More to follow :) This is VERY different to flying a lerk. This is a L.E.R.K. Droid.
---EDIT-----
I've packed the files with an old WIP of reactor. I'm not going to alter the download, so it remains in the pack for now. It is not supposed to be there :P
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
<!--quoteo(post=1908812:date=Mar 1 2012, 08:36 PM:name=BJHBnade_spammer)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BJHBnade_spammer @ Mar 1 2012, 08:36 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1908812"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->is it now the alien vision that you just see the out line and everything else looks normal?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I amended the transparency from 1 to 0.4. Things don't look quite normal, they have a slight yellow tinge to them, but you can see the textures etc.
Removed old WIP map Correctly merged mod damage figures.
OK, so I just realised I am a dumb ass!
Every time I merge the mod balance files, I forget there are damages etc after the big gap, it's not the end of the file!
I also realised, I create a base of the new NS build then merge my changes into it. Surely I should merge ns2 changes into my mod, thus not making silly mistakes like leaving things out of the code, which seems to happen all too often :P
It works like this. Marines press 'e' to resupply. It cost 1 res per 'wave' of resupply. 1 wave of resupply will earn you 1 clip of ammo and 1 health increase at the same amount as a single armory heal in NS2. If you have a GL, you will get 3 grenades per wave. Over stock of grenades gets added to rifle clip as default NS2. If you only need health or ammo, you will still be charged 1 res per wave.
The important thing to note is that the code will give you as many waves as you need to 'fill up' with a single press of 'e', and it will deduct the res accordingly. If you need 4 clips of ammo and 2 health waves, it will cost you 4 res when you press 'e'. If you only have 3 res, you will get 3 clips of ammo and 2 health waves. Armor is not healed by resupply except for any 'overflow' from max health. ie. if heal wave causes you to have 100 health, and still has 5 health points left to add, it will overflow 5 points to your armor. Repairing armor requires welder.
I have not removed gun pickup, but I added this resupply to 'e' to eliminate an annoying problem, picking up an empty gun. Now if you pick up a gun, pressing 'e', it will resupply the gun, costing you the relevant res automatically. It will not reload the gun however, so if the chamber is empty, you will have to reload as normal, but it does give you the added benefit of restoring health too as you pick the gun, which buying a new one wouldn't do.
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
edited March 2012
First off, I am not a writer, this is a stencil for the backstory. I have more detail in my head, but no real way of getting it out. :)
This gives a rough idea of what has happened and where it is currently at. If someone would like to write this up into a real story, that would be amazing :)
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->It began with the 1st war.
The threat appeared out of nowhere that fateful halloween evening. What ensued was a war that ravaged for many years. Eventually the war petered out, although there were still battles continuing around the universe in sporadic occurences.
The TSA, underfunded and sent in to do the worst jobs the private Corporate armies refused to touch, continued the lonely fight.
It was several hundred years before the 2nd war, but in the prelude, the time known as the Beta Wars, the TSA knew they needed to adapt.
Funding was tight, in the time from the first war to the Beta Wars, the TSA had only manage to invent one new weapon, the flamethrower. An invention itself already thousands of years old. They had made minor technological advances in other places, the siege cannons were now mobile, but the progress made over the time period showed their lack of funding.
Sometime around the 196th battle of the Beta Wars, the TSA realised they were being over-run by the aliens when they spawned into the battle zone.
The TSA needed to look at the spawn times of their Marines, but it wasn't as simple as just increasing the frequency they spawned at. Energy costs increase exponentially when you reduce the transfer time, and energy costs money, which the TSA didn't have.
So to make sure they didn't spawn in at a rate that wasted energy they designed a spawn simulator. After over 10k+ simulations, they finally announced they had the times needed.
Of course, being underfunded means you can't always hire the best scientists, and engineers, so after implementation in the field, they found themselves over-running the aliens, spending far too much money on energy.
The science team argued it was lack of knowledge on the alien capabilities that created the problem, and so the Proving Grounds were born.
TSA scientists and engineers worked to develop an accurate simulation for testing, so the marines could be the most effective and efficient in the field. Of course it didn't work. The project had been created and set-up, everything was in place, but the results were useless when applied to the battlefield.
So on February 18th the Proving Grounds program was officially ceased, with all operatives to remain in place, while the TSA decided what should be done.
On the day the Proving Grounds ceased to be, the scientists and engineers had to find something to do with their time. So they started playing with the robots. They began broadcasting live matches between the alien and marine droids, fighting it out against the other team in a deathmatch way.
The scientists and engineers, being scientists and engineers, began to fiddle with the droids. They began to take the design away from realism and towards extremism.
Today, we welcome you to this broadcast, we hope you can download the relevant files to connect to the service.
Our teams have just finished fitting remote control devices to the droids, and now offer a new interactive system. Rather than watching the droids controlled by the teams on site, you the viewer can now control the action from your chair.
The teams here at the Proving Grounds are doing this for their own entertainment as much as yours. While the future of this place is being decided, the scientists will continue to offer this entertainment, and work on changing the experience of the droids into something with more big bangs for your enjoyment. Please note as funding has ceased, all current development is done using what is available.
This stretches to all materials used for the droids and buildings for the battles. If anyone has materials that can be used for droids, or decorating battle grounds, please contact the proving grounds teams, as they'd love to hear from you.
Have fun in the Proving Grounds.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
edited March 2012
Added LerkStep movement, but found it needed too much work to fly the LERK. As shift and jump are already used, adding LerkStep, just made it way too complicated.
I have altered the resupply amount to 2 clips per wave, as you could end up spending 5 res on an empty rifle. Thinking I might need to add a delay to how often players can resupply on 'e', but then the fact it costs res to use may be enough of a deterrent to prevent in fight spamming. Will have to see how this playtests out.
With the new fade movements coming in, with the shift for fadestep etc on the next update. I will probably return the mod fade to vanilla NS2 fade for now. The new flight mechanics solve a lot of the problems the momentum mod was created in the first place, and will save me a lot of hassle worrying about updates breaking it :)
Reduced welder cost to 1 res to encourage more use.
I was planning to implement a rail gun instead of shotgun spikes to the lerk, but now as I've just found out about the rail gun for the Exo's, I'll wait until that code is in place :)
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
edited March 2012
I want to merge my other game mod TheHunter into this game.
I want to create a 2nd game mode within the mod. I already have the code base from the mod, so implementing it into this mod shouldn't be a problem. There is however a problem. I have no idea how to implement a 2nd gametype into the mod.
Currently, the mod uses ns2_gamerules, and the ns2_gamerules entity is required in the map. If I was to write a new gamerules file, I would also need to create a new gamerules entity for the map.
Also how do I code the changes? Amend the globally called files according to which gamesrules are applied? Add subfiles - fadehunter.lua called by alternate gamerules? There are a number of questions which I can't find any official answers on in the wiki or anywhere else. If anyone has any advice or knowledge to share, please enlighten me in this thread :)
I want to get the 2nd mode in while I await inspiration on the other aspects of the game. Any help is greatly appreciated :)
Each resupply wave now provides 2 clips of ammo Welder now costs 1 res Removed 'e' login message from command structures Set command Structures to begin in occupied state
A mini update while I figure out how I can add more game modes to the mod :)
Wow, 242 visits already to the page and 3 downloads :P It's only been authorised a couple of hours. Wasn't expecting that. I highly recommend getting mods created and putting them on ModDB for good exposure.
Im getting tired of UWE holding back proper mod support, i just want people to actually be able to play cool mods like yours simply by connecting to the server, the lack of players isn't going to change until the devs do something about it.
Im surprised you guys aren't more vocal about the issue, fair enough in the past there were more important things but it really is getting on now and we all know if uwe wanted we could have downloads in the next update.
rhombusLerk QueenJoin Date: 2011-06-23Member: 106055Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
<!--quoteo(post=1911595:date=Mar 9 2012, 12:19 PM:name=Electr0)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Electr0 @ Mar 9 2012, 12:19 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1911595"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Im getting tired of UWE holding back proper mod support, i just want people to actually be able to play cool mods like yours simply by connecting to the server, the lack of players isn't going to change until the devs do something about it.
Im surprised you guys aren't more vocal about the issue, fair enough in the past there were more important things but it really is getting on now and we all know if uwe wanted we could have downloads in the next update.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Electr0. Currently UWE has higher priority content to be implemented and tweaked (exo and shift). It is on the list of implementations, but it will be a while before it's actually working correctly and released. Please be patient.
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
edited March 2012
UWE are re-working the whole mod set-up. When they do, everything will change. I'm not in a rush, I plan to be developing this, and whatever comes from it, for a good number of years, so I can wait. With only around 300 players online in NS2, itself still in Beta, there is not much of a playerbase for me to capture, and to be fair, if people started playing my mod now, that would indicate a problem with NS2 gameplay and would also decrease the value of the current beta-tests.
When the re-worked menu's and everything else comes in, then things will get bigger very fast, but I'm still learning as I go, I'm just taking it as it comes. You've got to also remember that server downloading, while desirable, isn't essential, CS survived without it for a long time :)
Also, the number of people trying to join my server without the files is quite shocking. this leads me to believe they are ignorant that the server and game mods are mods and not vanilla. Auto-downloading would mean these players have downloaded files for a game mode they may not want to play. I would be annoyed if that happened to me :)
My honest advice Electr0, is to breathe deeply, relax, and repeat the following lines over and over in your head..
Que c'era c'era, whatever will be, will be, the future's not ours to see, que c'era c'era :)
What will be, will be, when it is :)
Updated the mod with v3 of the gorge powerslide. Video in gorge powerslide thread. Not releasing a new update just yet as seeing if there is anything else to add first :)
I'm by no means a modder but wouldn't it be simple to make a infection/zombie mod by using Proving Grounds? a few starts out as skulks and the rest as marines, you can buy everything except evolving to higher lifeforms. When a marine dies he re spawns as a skulk. There is a in game down counting timer. Marines win if at least one of them survives after the count down has finished. Aliens win when all marines are infected before the countdown is finished. Sorry but I just love zombie modes :D
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
edited March 2012
This is already part of my plan, see The Hunter mod, that will be incorporated into this, the problem is currently I am unable to create more than 1 game mode in a single mod.
I began reworking The Hunter, but at the moment, there is no precedent for adding multiple game modes in a single mod, and I am more than a little bit stuck on how to do it :)
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
edited March 2012
I'm looking to set-up a play-test gaming record session to create a video for ModDB.
I know it's short notice, but I was looking to arrange it for tomorrow (Sunday). I was thinking 7pm(cet), so 6pm(gmt), 2pm(edt), 11am(pdt)
Game would be on the server in US, this gives us a chance to test game out from all aspects.
I look forward to getting as many people along as possible. I don't have a machine capable of recording and playing, but if anyone does and can help with this, I would be very grateful.
I will be uploading v1.2.6a later today, which adds the gorge powerslide V3. This will be the version used for the playtest.
Particular feedback I will be looking for will be on the complexities of the new lerk flight system, spamming of the resupply system, as well as any bugs or issues you can come up with.
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
edited March 2012
Reduced Parasite Energy cost to 25 Increased parasite damage to 15 A small UI change for Marines, moved resources to the top of the screen, to match aliens.
Also used a variable sized number. On update screen looks like this:
Will keep adding more stuff but I won't release until after build 200.
Build 200 is going to massively break this mod and I am going to have to make some tough design decisions. Do I want the lerk droid to have bilebomb? With the flight system that I have in place, it really wouldn't work. Bilebomb is also player only damage in this mod, it does 0 damage against buildings. Question is, if Lerk gets Bilebomb, are they giving Gorge Umbra instead? Umbra for the gorge also makes sense, and is something I would consider in the mod, heal and umbra are together on the crag, so it makes sense to have the gorge as a walking crag, and then to give it babblers too, like the crag :)
Looking through the Dev tracker in general I think build 200 is going to be massive and require a lot of thought on my part from a design perspective of this mod. Where exactly does it want to go?
Implemented marine GUI change Updated for NS2 Build 200. Implemented default fade, although blink is available in any direction, not just forward.
There are massive changes in the code base for NS2-B200. These will take a lot of work to integrate properly into the mod. At the same time, I am looking to move the code away from NS2, so constantly updating the game to keep it inline with the latest NS changes is pretty much a waste of time. In this version I am using almost all the code from NS2 build 199 release. I found releasing all the code from build 199 still caused issues with certain parts of the game, so had to do a 199 release with a little bit of 200 hack.
Player movements and abilities are currently as they were in B199 (except fade), so BileBomb is still with gorge (although it only damages players).
I will begin the job of reducing reliance on NS2 code now, so expect longer between builds, and for a while at least, less gameplay changes, as I concentrate on cleaning up the structure.
This update contains all the lua files, so should be less prone to future NS2 build breakages.
wtf?? does that turtle have a wheel for a leg? lol
also what exactly are you trying to get at with those pictures? some sortive armored mole and a rolly polly times junk = ??? frog and a gimpy turtle times junk = ???
if you still need a server to run it on and test i have one let me know. still the problem is that not too many people want to download and install mods. i hope the auto download for maps and mods are implimented soon
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
edited March 2012
The pictures are purely for inspiration. Something to generate a thought in the head of the artist who views them. They mean nothing, the answer is whatever someone draws in response the picture
There is already 1 server online on the US west coast, you can see it in the NS2 server browser. Another one would be cool, but there is only ever the odd player jumping on the server to have a look.
Soul_RiderMod BeanJoin Date: 2004-06-19Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
Just an update guys. I am temporarily suspending programming work on this mod. Without art and inspiration, I am struggling to envision where to take this mod. It can go anywhere, that is the freedom provided in the backstory, but it seems the wealth of options is causing me to lose any sense of direction or purpose in my programming.
This is an open call to the community:
What do you want to see in the game? If you could make any FPS-only gameplay mod, what would you make, and why?
Do you have any cool pictures for new game characters you've drawn?
Submit everything that comes to mind here in the forums, it could be the inspiration I am looking for.
I am looking for that magical piece of inspiration..
nadyliJoin Date: 2007-11-01Member: 62791Members, Squad Five Blue
edited April 2012
I actually could use stripped down version of this with some new features with my clan.
So basically it would be insta-spawn for both teams, both teams would spawn in their respective tech points. No additional movement mods so we can use it to practice in scrim-like scenarios (but mainly just 1v1 1v2 2v3 etc skulk/marine combat). You'd have a menu that would let you select your upgrades/loadout (for example 2/1 marine upgrades with 1 shotgun against caraskulk&fade) and they would persist thru death. Also if possible, marine specific upgrades (diffrent marines able to have different weapon upgrades and so on) and able to downgrade from the menu. New features: resupply (same as ns1 combat).
Sorry if it's hard to comprehend, I'm quite tired and just wanted to get this thing going if someone has any interest making this. Also some possibilities are tf2-like ammomod (basically 1v1, same class (althought probably would be skulk v marine in ns) very specific area of different maps that are either great for scout 1v1 or soldier rjump/airshot training) and ranking system.
Also included super awesome sketch for the upgrade menus!
i thought this was supposed to be a pure deathmatch mod of ns2 nothing extra. i think what you should do is make another thread with a mod that has extra things in it or move a revision of your mod that actually is pure death match to another thread. i understand that there needs to be tweeks to make it feasable but im just wondering what exactly you are looking to do for your death match mod.
I've decided to work on a Team Death-Match mod for NS2. The final outcome of this mod is yet uncertain, but hopefully with time, the inspiration and ideas will come.
I want the mod to incorporate different game modes in a team vs team situation. Game modes etc can be thought of later along in development.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I don't know where you got the idea this was going to be a pure NS2 mod? It was going to start that way, so I could get a playable mod out the door and working, but it was never going to stay that way. It is loosely set in the NS2 universe, as I said at the start, but the final outcome was never meant to be direct NS2 combat. A combat mod has already been started, and the author will be back to work on it in a couple of months. I have offered my support when he returns to help him with the code. This mod was always intended to be something different, as what is the point of 2 combat mods?
With so many 'vs building' attacks in the game, the abilities would have to change dramatically for all the classes to still be relevant in a team deathmatch mod. In making those changes, the whole concept of the play has changed, and now I am coming up with the new version.
I am taking a while to plan rather than code at the moment, as the closer we get to release, the faster the codebase is changing. It is very difficult to keep up with the wholesale changes that are being made to subsystems and abilities. The code now is probably more prone to breakage on NS2 updates than any time before. I have a good idea where I want this to go, and in the mean time, I can offer up assistance to making the combat mod, as well as code and anything else they want.
Comments
EDIT: Just realised you're probably already aware of the old mod, it's been a while since I checked on its thread!
If you want to use any of my <a href="https://github.com/AlexHayton/NS2-Combat-Mode" target="_blank">code</a> feel free. I wrote an XP bar GUI and some other bits and bobs that you might find relevant. They are in lua/GUIExperience.lua (with the textures in the UI folder and relevant changes to get experience and rank names in Player.lua and Experience.lua). When I get back to the UK in a few months I'll definitely be interested in helping you playtest, code and/or bugfix this (I'm currently travelling long-haul by train so no NS2 for me).
Have you put the source code up on github or anywhere like that? I'd be interested in browsing it to see what you've changed.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The code isn't on github or anywhere, it is avaliable to download and compare using win merge or something like that :)
The reason I don't want to release the code publicly on github yet, as it is really a hack job at the moment. Once NS2 reaches v1.0, I hope it will stablize over the following few months. Then I plan to start working on the code, putting proper fixes rather than hacks, and posting it up on somewhere like github.
I'd love any help you can give when you get back, but make sure you enjoy the break. I did download your source to have a look at before I started, but the code bore little resemblance to the NS2 code of these versions, so I decided just best to start everything from scratch. I don't really want to do combat mode any way, I have a few other ideas..
If you want to use any of the code I've produced when you get back for your combat mod, or indeed, if you'd like any help with your project, I'll give all the assistance I can :)
<a href="http://www.duplexgaming.co.uk/downloads/mods/69/ns2%3a%70rovinggrounds/" target="_blank">NS2:Proving Grounds v1.2.0a</a>
Changelog:
Lots of Fixes for NS2 Beta Build 198
Added Welder for 2 res
Fixed bug caused by removing rifle from buy menu
Added silence to Alien upgrades.
Unless we find anything massively broken in the meantime, this is the final patch of the weekend :)
Battle Balance:
In my ideal world, the win ratios in one on one battles, between classes at equal skill levels, would be -
Rifle vs Skulk 50-50
Rifle vs Lerk 40-60
Rifle vs Gorge 30-70
Rifle vs Fade 20-80
Rifle vs Onos 10-90
SG vs Skulk 70-30
SG vs Lerk 60-40
SG vs Gorge 40-60
SG vs Fade 30-70
SG vs Onos 20-80
GL vs Skulk 80-20
GL vs Lerk 50-50
GL vs Gorge 60-40
GL vs Fade 30-70
GL vs Onos 30-70
Flame vs Skulk 90-10
Flame vs Lerk 70-30
Flame vs Gorge 60-40
Flame vs Fade 40-60
Flame vs Onos 30-70
DMG vs Skulk 90-10
DMG vs Lerk 80-20
DMG vs Gorge 70-30
DMG vs Fade 60-40
DMG vs Onos 50-50
Total = 2500
Marine = 1260
Alien = 1240
This doesn't take into account JP's, Exosuits, nor any form of upgrades. Now it's fairly easy to balance damage numbers in straight forward combat, but because of the different fighting styles, movement abilities have to be added to create the balance. For a start it will be using the NS2 systems, but as I get along in the mod I will want to make changes.
One of the changes I am acutely aware that I will need to change is skulk bite. I still want a melee combat, but bite will not work in my story arc, so I need to replace it. Any suggestions on alternatives? Don't worry about sticking to the alien animal ability concept, that won't be necessary, just throw some random ideas out at me, as long as they are melee based :)
And again, if there is anyone out there who wants to contribute in anyway, please feel free to drop me a line :)
Changelog:
Marine respawn bugfix
Fixed issue where marine IP did not spawn causing marines to be unable to spawn.
------EDIT--------
Bug not fixed. It appears I have written server only code for the respawn. This means when you run it on a listen server, the mod works fine for the server host, but it does not work on clients connected to the server :P
Need to have a look at the code and figure out a way to get this working client side.
Changelog:
Build 199 Fixes
Reduced Lerk Free Aim Bounding Box
Fixed Client Listen Server options (Thanks Price)
Implemented amended Alien Vision
Implemented L.E.R.K. Droid Movement version 1 - (Thanks twiliteblue)
Jump to climb
Shift to Fall
Release all Keys to Hover
WASD to move/strafe
Mouse Left and Right to turn
Mouse up/down only moves within the Free-Aim bounding box, you cannot climb or dive with mouse look.
This is the first clue :) More to follow :) This is VERY different to flying a lerk. This is a L.E.R.K. Droid.
---EDIT-----
I've packed the files with an old WIP of reactor. I'm not going to alter the download, so it remains in the pack for now. It is not supposed to be there :P
I amended the transparency from 1 to 0.4. Things don't look quite normal, they have a slight yellow tinge to them, but you can see the textures etc.
Changelog:
Removed old WIP map
Correctly merged mod damage figures.
OK, so I just realised I am a dumb ass!
Every time I merge the mod balance files, I forget there are damages etc after the big gap, it's not the end of the file!
I also realised, I create a base of the new NS build then merge my changes into it. Surely I should merge ns2 changes into my mod, thus not making silly mistakes like leaving things out of the code, which seems to happen all too often :P
<a href="http://www.duplexgaming.co.uk/downloads/mods/69/ns2%3a%70rovinggrounds/" target="_blank">NS2:Proving Grounds v1.2.4a</a>
Changelog:
Implemented New Marine resupply system.
It works like this. Marines press 'e' to resupply. It cost 1 res per 'wave' of resupply. 1 wave of resupply will earn you 1 clip of ammo and 1 health increase at the same amount as a single armory heal in NS2. If you have a GL, you will get 3 grenades per wave. Over stock of grenades gets added to rifle clip as default NS2. If you only need health or ammo, you will still be charged 1 res per wave.
The important thing to note is that the code will give you as many waves as you need to 'fill up' with a single press of 'e', and it will deduct the res accordingly. If you need 4 clips of ammo and 2 health waves, it will cost you 4 res when you press 'e'. If you only have 3 res, you will get 3 clips of ammo and 2 health waves. Armor is not healed by resupply except for any 'overflow' from max health. ie. if heal wave causes you to have 100 health, and still has 5 health points left to add, it will overflow 5 points to your armor. Repairing armor requires welder.
I have not removed gun pickup, but I added this resupply to 'e' to eliminate an annoying problem, picking up an empty gun. Now if you pick up a gun, pressing 'e', it will resupply the gun, costing you the relevant res automatically. It will not reload the gun however, so if the chamber is empty, you will have to reload as normal, but it does give you the added benefit of restoring health too as you pick the gun, which buying a new one wouldn't do.
Video of resupply on gun pickup:
<center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-YgyQ-f8NPY"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-YgyQ-f8NPY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>
Resupply with enough res to receive full resupply:
<center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QcvrjoXZWZc"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QcvrjoXZWZc" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>
Resupply without enough res for full resupply:
<center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eADYMVWMFVw"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eADYMVWMFVw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>
This gives a rough idea of what has happened and where it is currently at. If someone would like to write this up into a real story, that would be amazing :)
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->It began with the 1st war.
The threat appeared out of nowhere that fateful halloween evening. What ensued was a war that ravaged for many years. Eventually the war petered out, although there were still battles continuing around the universe in sporadic occurences.
The TSA, underfunded and sent in to do the worst jobs the private Corporate armies refused to touch, continued the lonely fight.
It was several hundred years before the 2nd war, but in the prelude, the time known as the Beta Wars, the TSA knew they needed to adapt.
Funding was tight, in the time from the first war to the Beta Wars, the TSA had only manage to invent one new weapon, the flamethrower. An invention itself already thousands of years old. They had made minor technological advances in other places, the siege cannons were now mobile, but the progress made over the time period showed their lack of funding.
Sometime around the 196th battle of the Beta Wars, the TSA realised they were being over-run by the aliens when they spawned into the battle zone.
The TSA needed to look at the spawn times of their Marines, but it wasn't as simple as just increasing the frequency they spawned at. Energy costs increase exponentially when you reduce the transfer time, and energy costs money, which the TSA didn't have.
So to make sure they didn't spawn in at a rate that wasted energy they designed a spawn simulator. After over 10k+ simulations, they finally announced they had the times needed.
Of course, being underfunded means you can't always hire the best scientists, and engineers, so after implementation in the field, they found themselves over-running the aliens, spending far too much money on energy.
The science team argued it was lack of knowledge on the alien capabilities that created the problem, and so the Proving Grounds were born.
TSA scientists and engineers worked to develop an accurate simulation for testing, so the marines could be the most effective and efficient in the field. Of course it didn't work. The project had been created and set-up, everything was in place, but the results were useless when applied to the battlefield.
So on February 18th the Proving Grounds program was officially ceased, with all operatives to remain in place, while the TSA decided what should be done.
On the day the Proving Grounds ceased to be, the scientists and engineers had to find something to do with their time. So they started playing with the robots. They began broadcasting live matches between the alien and marine droids, fighting it out against the other team in a deathmatch way.
The scientists and engineers, being scientists and engineers, began to fiddle with the droids. They began to take the design away from realism and towards extremism.
Today, we welcome you to this broadcast, we hope you can download the relevant files to connect to the service.
Our teams have just finished fitting remote control devices to the droids, and now offer a new interactive system. Rather than watching the droids controlled by the teams on site, you the viewer can now control the action from your chair.
The teams here at the Proving Grounds are doing this for their own entertainment as much as yours. While the future of this place is being decided, the scientists will continue to offer this entertainment, and work on changing the experience of the droids into something with more big bangs for your enjoyment. Please note as funding has ceased, all current development is done using what is available.
This stretches to all materials used for the droids and buildings for the battles.
If anyone has materials that can be used for droids, or decorating battle grounds, please contact the proving grounds teams, as they'd love to hear from you.
Have fun in the Proving Grounds.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I have altered the resupply amount to 2 clips per wave, as you could end up spending 5 res on an empty rifle. Thinking I might need to add a delay to how often players can resupply on 'e', but then the fact it costs res to use may be enough of a deterrent to prevent in fight spamming. Will have to see how this playtests out.
With the new fade movements coming in, with the shift for fadestep etc on the next update. I will probably return the mod fade to vanilla NS2 fade for now. The new flight mechanics solve a lot of the problems the momentum mod was created in the first place, and will save me a lot of hassle worrying about updates breaking it :)
Reduced welder cost to 1 res to encourage more use.
I was planning to implement a rail gun instead of shotgun spikes to the lerk, but now as I've just found out about the rail gun for the Exo's, I'll wait until that code is in place :)
I want to create a 2nd game mode within the mod. I already have the code base from the mod, so implementing it into this mod shouldn't be a problem. There is however a problem. I have no idea how to implement a 2nd gametype into the mod.
Currently, the mod uses ns2_gamerules, and the ns2_gamerules entity is required in the map. If I was to write a new gamerules file, I would also need to create a new gamerules entity for the map.
Also how do I code the changes? Amend the globally called files according to which gamesrules are applied? Add subfiles - fadehunter.lua called by alternate gamerules? There are a number of questions which I can't find any official answers on in the wiki or anywhere else. If anyone has any advice or knowledge to share, please enlighten me in this thread :)
I want to get the 2nd mode in while I await inspiration on the other aspects of the game. Any help is greatly appreciated :)
Changelog:
Each resupply wave now provides 2 clips of ammo
Welder now costs 1 res
Removed 'e' login message from command structures
Set command Structures to begin in occupied state
A mini update while I figure out how I can add more game modes to the mod :)
<a href="http://www.moddb.com/mods/proving-grounds" target="_blank">http://www.moddb.com/mods/proving-grounds</a>
--edit----
Wow, 242 visits already to the page and 3 downloads :P It's only been authorised a couple of hours. Wasn't expecting that. I highly recommend getting mods created and putting them on ModDB for good exposure.
Im surprised you guys aren't more vocal about the issue, fair enough in the past there were more important things but it really is getting on now and we all know if uwe wanted we could have downloads in the next update.
Im surprised you guys aren't more vocal about the issue, fair enough in the past there were more important things but it really is getting on now and we all know if uwe wanted we could have downloads in the next update.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Electr0. Currently UWE has higher priority content to be implemented and tweaked (exo and shift). It is on the list of implementations, but it will be a while before it's actually working correctly and released. Please be patient.
When the re-worked menu's and everything else comes in, then things will get bigger very fast, but I'm still learning as I go, I'm just taking it as it comes. You've got to also remember that server downloading, while desirable, isn't essential, CS survived without it for a long time :)
Also, the number of people trying to join my server without the files is quite shocking. this leads me to believe they are ignorant that the server and game mods are mods and not vanilla. Auto-downloading would mean these players have downloaded files for a game mode they may not want to play. I would be annoyed if that happened to me :)
My honest advice Electr0, is to breathe deeply, relax, and repeat the following lines over and over in your head..
Que c'era c'era, whatever will be, will be, the future's not ours to see, que c'era c'era :)
What will be, will be, when it is :)
Updated the mod with v3 of the gorge powerslide. Video in gorge powerslide thread. Not releasing a new update just yet as seeing if there is anything else to add first :)
I began reworking The Hunter, but at the moment, there is no precedent for adding multiple game modes in a single mod, and I am more than a little bit stuck on how to do it :)
I know it's short notice, but I was looking to arrange it for tomorrow (Sunday). I was thinking 7pm(cet), so 6pm(gmt), 2pm(edt), 11am(pdt)
Game would be on the server in US, this gives us a chance to test game out from all aspects.
I look forward to getting as many people along as possible. I don't have a machine capable of recording and playing, but if anyone does and can help with this, I would be very grateful.
I will be uploading v1.2.6a later today, which adds the gorge powerslide V3. This will be the version used for the playtest.
Particular feedback I will be looking for will be on the complexities of the new lerk flight system, spamming of the resupply system, as well as any bugs or issues you can come up with.
Changelog:
Implemented new Gorge Powerslide control system.
This is the final patch for Sundays test.
Increased parasite damage to 15
A small UI change for Marines, moved resources to the top of the screen, to match aliens.
Also used a variable sized number. On update screen looks like this:
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/Soulrefuge/2012-03-14_00004.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
After update, res indicator looks like this:
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/Soulrefuge/2012-03-14_00005.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Will keep adding more stuff but I won't release until after build 200.
Build 200 is going to massively break this mod and I am going to have to make some tough design decisions. Do I want the lerk droid to have bilebomb? With the flight system that I have in place, it really wouldn't work. Bilebomb is also player only damage in this mod, it does 0 damage against buildings. Question is, if Lerk gets Bilebomb, are they giving Gorge Umbra instead? Umbra for the gorge also makes sense, and is something I would consider in the mod, heal and umbra are together on the crag, so it makes sense to have the gorge as a walking crag, and then to give it babblers too, like the crag :)
Looking through the Dev tracker in general I think build 200 is going to be massive and require a lot of thought on my part from a design perspective of this mod. Where exactly does it want to go?
Here are a couple of the concept guide pictures I have created to keep me on track...
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/Soulrefuge/RBMidea.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/Soulrefuge/ATSidea.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
If anyone feels like throwing some designs my way based on these concepts, go ahead and make my day :)
Design issues are causing the mod to be delayed, as I try and get an understanding of the roles as they will develop in the mod.
The mod is broken in build 200. If I don't get a working fix done quickly, I will just release the relevant 199 code to keep the mod playable.
Changelog:
Implemented marine GUI change
Updated for NS2 Build 200.
Implemented default fade, although blink is available in any direction, not just forward.
There are massive changes in the code base for NS2-B200. These will take a lot of work to integrate properly into the mod. At the same time, I am looking to move the code away from NS2, so constantly updating the game to keep it inline with the latest NS changes is pretty much a waste of time. In this version I am using almost all the code from NS2 build 199 release. I found releasing all the code from build 199 still caused issues with certain parts of the game, so had to do a 199 release with a little bit of 200 hack.
Player movements and abilities are currently as they were in B199 (except fade), so BileBomb is still with gorge (although it only damages players).
I will begin the job of reducing reliance on NS2 code now, so expect longer between builds, and for a while at least, less gameplay changes, as I concentrate on cleaning up the structure.
This update contains all the lua files, so should be less prone to future NS2 build breakages.
also what exactly are you trying to get at with those pictures?
some sortive armored mole and a rolly polly times junk = ???
frog and a gimpy turtle times junk = ???
if you still need a server to run it on and test i have one let me know. still the problem is that not too many people want to download and install mods.
i hope the auto download for maps and mods are implimented soon
There is already 1 server online on the US west coast, you can see it in the NS2 server browser. Another one would be cool, but there is only ever the odd player jumping on the server to have a look.
This is an open call to the community:
What do you want to see in the game? If you could make any FPS-only gameplay mod, what would you make, and why?
Do you have any cool pictures for new game characters you've drawn?
Submit everything that comes to mind here in the forums, it could be the inspiration I am looking for.
I am looking for that magical piece of inspiration..
So basically it would be insta-spawn for both teams, both teams would spawn in their respective tech points. No additional movement mods so we can use it to practice in scrim-like scenarios (but mainly just 1v1 1v2 2v3 etc skulk/marine combat). You'd have a menu that would let you select your upgrades/loadout (for example 2/1 marine upgrades with 1 shotgun against caraskulk&fade) and they would persist thru death. Also if possible, marine specific upgrades (diffrent marines able to have different weapon upgrades and so on) and able to downgrade from the menu. New features: resupply (same as ns1 combat).
Sorry if it's hard to comprehend, I'm quite tired and just wanted to get this thing going if someone has any interest making this. Also some possibilities are tf2-like ammomod (basically 1v1, same class (althought probably would be skulk v marine in ns) very specific area of different maps that are either great for scout 1v1 or soldier rjump/airshot training) and ranking system.
Also included super awesome sketch for the upgrade menus!
<img src="http://oinonen.nl/upload/idea1.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
I will probably end up rewriting the whole thing when I've got some sleep but this should do until then!
I've decided to work on a Team Death-Match mod for NS2. The final outcome of this mod is yet uncertain, but hopefully with time, the inspiration and ideas will come.
I want the mod to incorporate different game modes in a team vs team situation. Game modes etc can be thought of later along in development.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I don't know where you got the idea this was going to be a pure NS2 mod? It was going to start that way, so I could get a playable mod out the door and working, but it was never going to stay that way. It is loosely set in the NS2 universe, as I said at the start, but the final outcome was never meant to be direct NS2 combat. A combat mod has already been started, and the author will be back to work on it in a couple of months. I have offered my support when he returns to help him with the code. This mod was always intended to be something different, as what is the point of 2 combat mods?
With so many 'vs building' attacks in the game, the abilities would have to change dramatically for all the classes to still be relevant in a team deathmatch mod. In making those changes, the whole concept of the play has changed, and now I am coming up with the new version.
I am taking a while to plan rather than code at the moment, as the closer we get to release, the faster the codebase is changing. It is very difficult to keep up with the wholesale changes that are being made to subsystems and abilities. The code now is probably more prone to breakage on NS2 updates than any time before. I have a good idea where I want this to go, and in the mean time, I can offer up assistance to making the combat mod, as well as code and anything else they want.