AWells

quote:the other classes need to move around to fight ...I just went up 9 combat levels as a Terran Trader without budging an inch, so I can't agree there. Those missiles with thier long range are just incredably easy to use, and I was getting scores of over 100 damage points per hit with my homemade ammo. Many enemies can't even attack you at the range the missiles fire. I didn't even bother looting because I was killing them so fast. I think many people avoid the missiles in favor of lasers because of the need for ammo, but when I go hunting I can carry 1700 missiles for my launchers, which is more than enough. quote:I don't consider it being worth my money, but as long as I can play the beta, I will Now, that I can agree with. As long as it's free it does have a certain addictive quality to it... lol [ 09-12-2002, 08:34 PM: Message edited by: Litvyak ]

Earth and Beyond has the feel of a MUD with eye candy. If I had to classify it as anything I'd consider it an RPG without much in the way of RP. I certainly wouldn't call it a space sim and I wouldn't consider it RTS, either. I think character creation was the only portion of the game that I really enjoyed, since they gave a modest ammount of options for customizability so you could tailor your avatar to have a unique look. I think I spent several hours playing with options in this part of the game, only to find out that it didn't much matter, anyways, since the only time you came out of your ship was to talk to NPCs, trade, or use terminals. There's no reason to say... meet up with other players in one of the many station lounges, since you can talk to anybody regardless of location through the chat system. My final verdict on this game is that I will be saving my money. In the meantime I'll wait for the MP addon for BCM, and dream of what BCO will be like

quote: i on ly have a few things to say. i have Windows XP and i downloaded BCStudio. everytime i try to load a ship(Aestrom for example) and suddenly crashes. is this a bug or just my computer? Using XP myself, and haven't experianced a crash on 1.39h or 1.39i. If you're not already doing it, you might want to try copying BCStudio.exe and BCStudio.ini to your BCM install directory.

quote:heh, you should know that if an NPC gets access to that craft, they will use those guns independently (as guns, turrets or missiles) in much the same way stations do.Awesome! At least somebody gets to use them. Not to mention, judging by the gunnery skills of most AI pilots I've encountered, they could use they extra help

Generally as a ground pounder it's helpful to go looking for the action using DJPs to get around. If you have an asset you can drive to enemy Mission zone, as well. Use TacOps to get a sense of where you are you and plot your path towards the enemy.

quote:They won't fire because fighters lack the logistics for turret. If change the tags from turret to guns, they will fire on rear inbound targets just like normal guns.I had thought about changing the tags, but decided against it. Since they'd be no way to turn off just some of the guns, it would be much more of a liability than an asset. You'd have to watch to ensure there was no friendlies behind you everytime you fired. So, for right now it will just be for aesethic purposes.

Small collage of ingame screen captures of the Phantom available here That's the updated version I'm working on, but visually similiar to the current release except for the contrails and some minor geometry tweaking. [ 09-07-2002, 06:07 AM: Message edited by: Litvyak ]

quote:So that means that the ic mk1 has been replaced, or the mk1 has 8 fighters now?The Ic MK1 has been replaced in the mod by the Phantom. This change is only on the BC MkI, and the ic Mk1 is available for use on any other ship that carries it and to fly in the EFP Career. Anyways, working on an updated version of the mod that will include unique stats for the Phantom, as well as icons for both the Phantom and the Nova... they currently use icons of existing ships. Also the rear turret on the Phantom is questionable in operation. It has been set up correctly, but fighters don't have a PTA system so it probably won't do much more than look cool for the time being. Might be fixed in the update, or it might never work at all. [ 09-07-2002, 03:41 AM: Message edited by: Litvyak ]

quote: Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: Until the model is finished, exported and tagged, you don't have to piss around in assets.ini because that is NOT the extent of it.It's finished, exported, and will be tagged once BCStudio will save them correctly... can I go piss around in that file now? j/k quote: Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: You also need an entry for it in the objdefs.scr and objclass.scr files.Yep, read that, but not much I can do about that one right now quote: Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: ..and that assets.ini file has an MD5 encryption tag at the top in order to prevent tampering.B]Read that part of the tutorial, too. I imagine that's why I haven't changed anything in the file, only read it.

quote:Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: Well, you still have to texture it, export it, check it out in BCStudio before you even think of putting it in the game using GBS-II.Yep, I know... probably finish the modeling tonight and start on creating the textures (textures are my weak point, so that might take awhile). I read through the tutorial you put up and have looked over many of the ships in BCStudio so I have a good idea about what I need to tag on it and conventions I need to use once I'm ready to set it up. I also wrote up the entry for assets.ini though it's not actually in the file just saved in a text file to be copied and pasted later. [ 09-03-2002, 01:28 PM: Message edited by: Litvyak ]

I'm not really sure what's up. I've tried to spot it in TacOps using my Commander Career to confirm it's existance and couldn't find the mysterious comms building. Venturing back to the location with EFP Career I noticed, however, that there are two comms buildings in that base... one on the ground towards the center of the base and the one in the picture which is definitely floating (can fly underneith it and everything). I think it's something weird with that save game... it hasn't been hacked with playmod or anything. If you feel it's important to look into I can send you the save profile which I saved in VTOL mode right next to the floating tower.

Nova Class Destroyer A light, fast capital ship designed for escort and anti-fighter defense. It lacks firepower, durability, and range, but makes for these by being cheap to produce and quick to respond. It can utilize it's fast hyperdrives to quickly intercept incoming threats before they can harm ships it's charged with protecting. It's the ideal for partoling merchant shipping lanes and freeing valuable cruisers and carriers for more important dutys. Of course, it's also the perfect ship for attacking those very same shipping lanes. Armament: 1 Main Gun 3 Twin mounted turrets (6 in all) Crew: 7 Officers 5 Sengineers 1 Fengineer 2 Medics 5 Marines Capacity for 5 guests and 5 prisoners Performance: Hyper Drive: 30 sec Transit Time/30 sec Recharge Time Max Speed: 1.95 km/sec Pitch: 18 Degrees/sec Roll: 22 Degrees/sec Yaw: 24 Degrees/sec Protection: Shield: 750 Armor: 1250 Capacities: Cargo Bay (x2): 3000 each Weapons Bay (x2): 1500 each Radine Tank: 2400 Plutonium Tank: 800 Crafts: 1 Shuttle MkI As for having a ship yard, I have one... it's called 3DS Max. The ship I just described is already "under construction". It just needs a couple tweaks and textures and the model will be ready to go... of course since I can't add it to the game until GBS-II is out, I'm not in a major to texture it.

Well, I decide to start up a new commander career playing. Being different, I create Commander Vanya, as my AE and commander of the GCV Cambridge, a Questar class Heavy Cruiser. The bitter, inexperiance female commander still jealous after seeing the screenshots of how top heavy her replacements in BCG will be. I decide that Galcom HQ is a nice little spot not too close to the front lines against any major alien race so I can wage war against the insurgents. Unfortunately as the Cambridge pulls away from docking, a discover the Credian Military has other ideas. The ever faithful Resnig sounds the alert that intruders are onboard giving the first indication that enemies are near by. Seconds later the telltale red blip appears on the screen and Vanya quickly orders the ship into hyperspace to bring it within combat range. Weapon systems are brought online, and the the Credian vessel is quickly engaged upon exiting hyperspace and destroyed. About this time Resnig finally decides it might be wise to send a few of his troops to search for those intruders. The orders are given to turn the Cambridge around and it rockets back towards Galcom HQ. Another blip appears after arrival back at base and this time it's a single fighter. Allied ships in the area quickly dispatch of it, though, before the Cambridge's hyperdrives can recharge. The Cambridge finally turns into base and begins to repair damage inflicted by the intruders while the marines continue to sweep them up and toss them in the brig. Cargo Bay 1 is quickly brought back up to 100% condition and a minor radiation leak is cleaned up from deck 3. Two medics and two marines are sent to the medbay to be vacinated from radiation since the bridge crew is complaining about the glare on thier screens whenever the glowing crew members enter. Without further delay the Camridge sets out again, only to find all heck break loose. Credian ships seam to come every direction... carriers, cruisers and fighters everywhere. GalCom and EarthCom ships scramble from GalCom HQ and the nearby Genesis station to meet the onslaught, which is only made worse by the appearance of raiders. It seems as everything is scrambled in defense, and Vanya curses the studity of a transport commander heading off on a search and destroy mission with his unarmed LRT-10. The Cambridge, herself, lays waste to two carriers and a super cruiser, not to mention unlucky enemy fighters that her ten turrets chew up. And in the chaos a prisoner escapes from the brig and begins to set in wreaking havoc again. Finally the Cambridge has to pull out from the battle as it begins to clear up. It appears to be a victory for the defenders of Earth, but at heavy cost. Apparantly needing a scape goat, the high command has decided to blaim lowly Vanya for the losses judging by her -7444 Experiance Points. Pulling back into port the prisoners are dealt with and repairs and medical attention begin. The crew, apparantly pushed to thier max is taken off duty since only Vanya herself has a FF of less than 30, some of the Marines scoring 70 or more. And so ends the first hour of a ROAM Campaign. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen that many ships attack at once... does the enemy make concentrated attacks in the ROAM campaign or was this just an unlucky coincidence? I'm not quite sure what was destroyed to give over 7000 in negative experiance points... I can only guess a few carriers or something were lost. I'll have to remember to stick close to the next time, since I have more turrets than the average carrier.

Camera angle is a possibility, though it appeared to be in the air from any angle I looked at it... darn, it would've made a nice tourist attraction if it was real. I'm not sure what 1.0.07 designation for the base is, but in 1.0.08 RC17 it's located in mission zone earth229, and is the only the scene in that particular zone, called scene_earthmb06 to find it from tacops. I seem to only be able to see it from my EFP saved game... I've tried locating that building from another save game and I can't find it.

Note the comms building floating in the background of this freshly destroyed insurgent base... I had to laugh because I almost hit it twice while strafing... lol I believe it's at earth229 scene_mbase06 (1.0.08 RC17). [ 09-02-2002, 09:05 AM: Message edited by: Litvyak ]

quote:If you don't get the point of the career, maybe you shouldn't be playing said career. Point taken Actually, I don't think it's so much a matter of what's the point of playing a particular career/caste, but what's the point of continuing to play it... All the castes have a point, as you said, but outside of the military in BCM there's a noticable lack of depth after a certain period of playing, which is understandable since BCM is first and foremost focused on play in the Terran military, and the others are more like side games. I mean, after all the game isn't called Trader Millenium or Diplomat Millenium. I look at the non-military careers in BCM as a nice way to get used to command, as well as being a fun diversion from a military career, and a chance to view space from a different perspective. Really, I can't see spending months developing a career in them, though. Of course I imagine it will get better as the series progresses, since this only the first game to even feature anything outside the Terran Military as an option. Heck, just reading the feature list for BCG makes me think that playing a lowly Paramedic type will be alot more fun in the next game, and I know that it won't be anything compared to the experience of BCO.

quote:...and its a bug because? Well, I would assume it was bug because TacOps wasn't updating new units anymore at that point. The Marines and my AE were just the most obvious things I noticed but I did experiment some and noticed that nothing I put on the planet would show up and all mission zones besides the ones I had been fighting in appeared completely empty on tacops even though I knew there was stuff there. Like I said, it went away after a fresh install and repatching, so I imagine it was a problem with my install. Acutally, I'm quite sure of it, because some scripts didn't appear to be working right, and have worked correctly ever since the reinstall.

Well, I tried out a Paramedic career and I found it fun at first and alot less frustrating than a military commander career... I didn't have intruders onboard everytime I turned around, and actually nobody ever shot at me, even if they showed up as red on my radar. Based at Earthstar I had a lucrative career towing disabled ships from many battles around Jupiter, collecting cargo pods, and mining Europa on the side. Really, though, after a point I said the same thing... what's the point? Sure I was getting EP and cash, but for what? My ship, an LRT-15, could only have one level of upgrades all the way around, and I quickly obtained those. My crew never died, my shuttles were never lost, I never needed repairs, and I didn't need missiles, so most common things I need cash flow for in a Military game just didn't exist. Hell, I was even able to keep my radine tankage fully topped off. I had to get rid of that game when I installed RC17, but I can't say that I'm too sad about it. I'm hoping that once boarding ships becomes a reality in the series that they'll be a new dimension in that particular caste... boarding to give medical aid to injured crew. It would be a ton more immersive than simply towing a ship back to the station.

Hmm... well, it was actually kind of a bug induced event but it was still funny. I was attacking Raider bases on the surface of Mars, directing the action from space aboard my Firestorm. It was going well... I had decimated in several mission zones and only suffered 5 marines and one shuttle as casualties. So, I decided to do another raid on SAM sites at another enemy installation and prepped my 10 EFMs and sent them to the transporter. I then transported them to the surface, only they never appeared on TacOps like they usually do. Well, I was baffled at first... I thought maybe it some kind of transporter malfunction. I checked perscan and I knew my Marines were alive and on Mars, so I figured they must've landed somewhere else. After some frustration I realized I couldn't find them anywhere on the TacOps menus to select and zoom in on. Of course, if I couldn't locate them then I couldn't extract them. After some more thought of how to resolve the crisis and rescue my couragous marines who were now radiated and infected but still alive, I decided to go to the surface myself and hunt for them. Knowing SAM sites were still up, I decided to hop into the transporter and head to the surface. So, I get to the surface and check TacOps, and I can't find myself... lol I know where I am by looking around, though, since it's one of the installations my marines had wiped out several hours earlier. Now, I realized that I can't evac myself by transporter, since I'm not on tacops So, now my priority is rescuing my own sorry butt, and I try to call for a shuttle from TacOps but nothing happens. I quickly remember that I had been "smart" and turned off Launch Control before departing. Apparantly nobody on ship was "smart" enough to turn the thing back on. So, now that the transporter and shuttles were out of the question, the only thing left to do was call in my CC to land. After some work I get my CC to fly through the volleys of SAMs and SALs and land near my position so that I can hop onboard. Immediately I try to take off from the rather hot LZ and head back to the safety of space. To my surprise however, the engines are damaged and I can make enough speed to gain altitude to reach orbit and now my whole CC is stuck on the planet... lol Needless to say I decided to give up on that career path, and reinstall the game and patches and I've yet to encounter that bug with TacOps since.

I have to say the Zenstar... have had good luck with that little baby playing the EFP career. Well, except for the time I was strafing insurgent destroyers on Earth and ended up floating in the ocean... but can't blaim the ship for that... lol