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Gallion

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  1. I have been asked several questions regarding GBS/GBS-II via PM and decided to share what little I know about said subject. GBS/GBS-II scripting is relatively simple ÔÇô that is once one gets the hang of it. One does not need a background in programming to create a GBS/GBS-II script successfully. I use a very simple process when creating a GBS/GBS-II script. 1. Know the game! DonÔÇÖt try and script something that cannot be done within the context of the game. IOW become a BC expert. Refer to the BCM Appendix. A plethora of data was included with GBS/GBS-II scripting in mind 2. Become familiar with GBS/GBS-II. Perusal of the BC3K GBS docs is not a complete waste of time. Script structure and logic flow is the same between GBS and GBS-II. For now, look at the old BC3K ACM scripts to see how scripts are structured. The SC will release GBS-II when he finalizes the documentation. 3. Create an outline. Think of the script as a story, the outline does not need to go into a lot of detail, just generalized entries to keep you on track as you create your story. Make note of any actor(s) or significant event(s) that may reoccur in subsequent missions; i.e. Actor XYZ appears in TOD1-1/5 and then again in TOD1-3/5 and TOD2-4/5. Why is this important? I found it easier to remember those floating FLAGs (aka variables) that were set early on and that could possibly be used in later scenarios/missions. Refer to the BCM map. 4. KISS ÔÇô Keep It Simple S*** (use imagination or replace *** with your own favorite verbiage I have found that by keeping the script simple, not a lot of bells and whistles, that my scripts run better. There is a greater chance for script errors the more bells and whistles that a script has. I am not trying to imply that one should not use the bells and whistles, just saying that one must be careful when using them. If the bells and whistles work, then use them. If they do not, then consider simplifying the script. You do not have to script everything, only those events/actions that will move your story forward in a logical (or illogical if you so desire) manner. BCM will induce random factors by enabling ÔÇô autogen ON ÔÇô auto-generation of random NPC encounters. This inserts just enough quantum particle flux into a script that the same script will not replay the exact same way twice and inserts enough variation that may preclude a player from successfully completing a mission. Example: [*] Mission is to recover a cargo pod in the Saturn region but an auto-generated Terran Trader gets to the cargo pod before the player does. [*] Mission is to escort a Diplomat from Earth to Majoris but an auto-generated Assassin destroys the Diplomat that the player was to escort. Just because a script successfully prepares does not necessarily mean that the script is correct. prepare will only catch script syntax errors, not faulty scripts. 5. Keep mission times reasonable. Allow enough time for the player to reach the mission start location and to complete the mission. I use between five (5) and six (6) minutes for each jump that a player must make to reach a destination. Three (3) minutes for HJ completion and three (3) minutes for HJ recharge. Since I do not know what CC asset type the player is going to use, nor do I restrict CC asset types in my campaign scripts, I use 30 minutes for the amount of time before the next mission starts. This allows some amount of time for the player to make any necessary repairs to their CC and/or do any other activity that they may whish to do. If the player does not want to wait the 30 minutes, they can always request the next ACM mission in the CVD. 6. The Monty Hall syndrome Those familiar with DnD and the MH DM know were I am coming from regarding this. A player must earn the EPs and goodies awarded during the course of a mission/campaign, not given. There is a fine line between reasonable and excessive EPs and goodies. 7. Sadistic Campaigns Try to stay away from making the mission/campaign unplayable. Remember that players should enjoy playing your campaign and at the same time challenged by it. Keep in mind that the campaign, as any story, will have high and low periods of action/activity. You have complete control of what happens or what does not happen in your script; player CC systems can either be damaged or destroyed; intruders inserted into a players CC causing havoc and mayhem; mission objectives change within a mission; etc. I had to tone down the first 30 minutes of my script several times before it got to where it is today. 8. Request assistance when stuck. The challenge for me was to figure out the script problems myself before seeking assistance. The key is to know when one has exhausted available resources before seeking assistance. ***WARNING***DO NOT make any frivolous requests for assistance with your script. You have been warned There is no right or wrong way to make a script aside from following the GBS/GBS-II script syntax. Have fun and try some experimenting when GBS-II is available. I plan to incorporate FP elements to the Commander Career in my next script or revise my current one to include them. Then there is that suggestion from Fendi that looks promising TTFN [ 01-13-2002: Message edited by: Gallion ]
  2. hehehe, found the link @ VE last eve. Old "news" but still a good laugh. To think tht some fool would actually believe this nonsense is quite scarey IMO. TTFN [ 01-12-2002: Message edited by: Gallion ]
  3. Do a serious web search and get the OEM version of XP Pro. For most on-line sites a hardware purchase (power cable, RAM, etc.) is required to acquisition an OEM version. Also, DO NOT use an upgrade version - do a clean install. TTFN [ 01-13-2002: Message edited by: Gallion ]
  4. Retro-page = flashback to the beginning of the web. Webpages were simple back in the beginning. No flashy graphics or fancy-pancy page layouts, just simple pages displayin what ever info the webpage creator wanted to show. TTFN
  5. quote:...Gaver, all your other games work because they do not require what BCM requires out of your machine. Most likely your problem is a combination of stability issues, not any one specific conflict. Here are a few solutions that may help you stabalize: This is semi-correct. Gavor's problem is between his SB Live! card and Via KT133 chipset motherboard. This is well documented at the viahardware and other forums. Via released a "patch" that was suppose to fix this, along with several 4in1 driver updates but there remains a quirk between the SB Live! sound card and the 686 southbridge chipset. Creative labs NEVER fixed this by updating their SB Live! drivers. I ran several Via chipset motherboards during the beta and could not completely eliminate various sound quarks until I replaced my SB Live sound card. Once I did that, the sound issues disappeared and my system stability increased significantly. I stayed away from all Via chipset mobos when I built my current system and have experience another increase in my system's stability. Bottom Line: the SB Live! is the source of Gavor's woes. These quirks will remain until the drivers are updated by CL (not likely) or this s-card is replaced. TTFN [ 01-12-2002: Message edited by: Gallion ]
  6. Interesting, a retro-page TTFN
  7. Indies are not "Fleet" - period. You want Fleet status - join a Fleet. One never knows what the SC has up his sleeve for you indie types TTFN
  8. My script will stress your systems TTFN [ 01-10-2002: Message edited by: Gallion ]
  9. An interesting read indeed. Brian hit it spot on with this: quote:...And, to be honest, we believe that gameplay is what matters in the end. Pretty graphics can pull you in, but gameplay is what keeps you around for the long haul. Gameplay is the key TTFN [ 01-09-2002: Message edited by: Gallion ]
  10. Get a better Sound Card; SC Turtle Beach, Herc Game Theater XP, or a SB Audigy. TTFN
  11. Ok $ilk, take from someone who did 20 years in the military. You have to make up your mind whether or not to fulfill your commitment or not. If you have to think about, "are the Marines for me," for more than 3 seconds then write your letter and give it to that zero get out of your DEP - NOW! Otherwise your tenure with USMC will be tainted. There are a plethora of horror stories wrt Recruiters and their membership with the Liar's Club. They have the hardest job in the military - getting people to join. Not all of my 20 years was gravy, most of just plain sucked but I look back with fond memories and wonder WTF did I do that for. Lower enlisted + family = disaster in the making. I've had countless young married soldiers in and outta trouble because they couldn't make ends meet. Then there are the Jody visitations whilst on deployment. Come home from a 6 month deployment and the kids don't recognize their father. The list go on. Your motives a true, but the .mil and you will not work IMO. Write the letter $ilk now and give to that zero in the morning. Stick with college. It's a bugger now but when all things are said and done, life will be easier in the years to come with that piece of paper hanging on your wall. TTFN [ 01-07-2002: Message edited by: Gallion ]
  12. quote:Originally posted by Commander Phantom: HAHA OMG.. I'm a ^A$^$# Duh! TTFN [ 01-06-2002: Message edited by: Gallion ]
  13. quote:Originally posted by Guardian452: Nova, In the Appendix I noticed that the pitch for the STS Firestar is 10. Is this missing a 0? Yep Should be a new version available soon. TTFN
  14. So why didn't ye share the knowledge Remo? Thanks for the info Tac TTFN
  15. quote:Originally posted by Guybert: Trouble is beer and tobacco seem to go so well together ..... hehehe, actually it's the java and tobacco that go so good together. Talk about a jump start in the AM Resolutions...?... hmmm ... do make them anymore, I seem to always break them so why bother Think I'll build me a new system, this one is geting sloooow TTFN and HNY to all
  16. Only patience and sound Commander skills will reward the player with the coveted Fleet CC. MP is gonna be soooo TTFN
  17. quote:Originally posted by R_wilco: Ok EDIT: Yeesh, when he says ,"Use at your own risk", he means it. My BCM crashes to the desktop with an illegal operation. I'll try deleting all my saved games, but otherwise I'm re-installing. It won't be that hard to rebuild, especialy using Playmod... [ 12-31-2001: Message edited by: R_wilco ] Duh Nice try though When the SC states this, it is wise to listen Been there, done that, made the t-shirt, didn't sell well TTFN [ 12-31-2001: Message edited by: Gallion ]
  18. I'm suprised that JJ hasn't posted his glee yet. He'll be like a fat rat in a cheese factiry - figuratively speaking of course RANDOM here I come Thanks for the tip Jigoku San TTFN [ 12-29-2001: Message edited by: Gallion ]
  19. You have to setup one drive as the master and one drive as the slave (if on the same IDE controller). This involves playing with the jumper pins on one HDD (the old 1gig). TTFN
  20. Members of the Battlecruiser Community: These last two weeks has seen some extraordinarily disturbing events. These events have amplified the need for a fan-based community, one in which Derek can concentrate on the technical aspects of the game and the fans can discuss the game unfettered. This community is undoubtedly the greatest gaming community ever to grace the Internet. As such, there are many of us who will do anything to preserve it. Derek nearly closed this board and is still considering it. He has also stated that heÔÇÖd like a fan-controlled community to help get the situation under control. The leaders of this community, which he has chosen carefully over the years, have united to make this happen, as quickly as possible. First a bit of background: When Derek announced that he would be closing the forums, initially we let it ride, thinking that heÔÇÖd change his mind soon enough. In a subsequent post, however, he stated that the decision was nearly irreversible. During this time, it was noticed that the community was beginning to splinter. No one knew what to do, where to go, or what rules needed to be followed in order to maintain the communityÔÇÖs integrity. This splintering had the potential completely destroy what all of us had enjoyed working so hard for. As such, a group of the current community leaders ÔÇô myself, Gallion, Blades, Jaguar, and Charles Lindsey ÔÇô met and worked out a plan to reunite the community. Our goals were greater than that, however. We wanted to keep the community together, but we also wanted to address some of the issues that were splitting us up. For one, it was becoming obvious that the community was getting too large for one man to handle especially one who doubles as the gameÔÇÖs designer. Imagine ÔÇô designing a game, having to deal with all manners of its development, then going on to be the only person in charge of the communityÔÇÖs development. It worked well when we were smaller as a community, but with the current size, itÔÇÖs a severe detriment. ThatÔÇÖs what we believe to be the reason for DerekÔÇÖs endorsement of creating a fan-based community. But, in creating a new board for the current community we still run into many issues. There had to be a set of rules and regulations that were well documented, and that NO ONE could circumvent. They had to be inflexible. Furthermore, to support community development those rules needed to be inflexible once put in place and enforced. We also realized that change is essential. As a result, we set up a system with which both community members and leadership can use alike to create and change policy. In fact, EVERYTHING has been written in advance as a way to settle disputes BEFORE they arise. This document can be read here. Each point in that document was discussed and UNANIMOUSLY agreed upon. Members of the Community, please begin holding discussions at our new home. We can all help one another help Derek in doing whatÔÇÖs best for the game and the fan base as a whole. Derek, we hope you fully endorse this change, and will make this the official community. WeÔÇÖve worked hard to stay true to your vision, spending literally hours in discussions. It is our hope that youÔÇÖll use the current forum for game-specific technical issues and make ours the forum for the community itself. Everyone wins. Change is indeed good. Even so, all of us are resolved to continue our work on the current forums for as long as necessary. It is our goal to serve the community as a whole, and thatÔÇÖs what we intend to do. So please, letÔÇÖs get started. The new Battlecruiser Commanders Community forums are located here. Signed, Aramike Blades Gallion Chavik Jaguar PS: Each of the named will post immediately following this message to signal endorsement and signature. TTFN [ 01-05-2002: Message edited by: Gallion ]
  21. LOL, you ahve entirely toooo much time on your hands $ilk TTFN
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