Ship Pack Details and Updates

[Armada]

HERE's the example for Le Superbe:

 

[Hylie Pistof]

I made my last post while waking up. You pointed out the evolution in my thinking. Or lack thereof......

Where would you put the name if you moved it down? Under the ship or under the picture?

 

[Armada]

I was thinking it would be better under the picture, since the images vary so much.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I do like the names; makes the ships feel a bit more "special". Use WinMerge on the INI files in the ship back and the Alpha 5 original files to see what needs changing to move the class names.
Note that it can be a bit of a pain, especially since there's many different interfaces and some need changing in other ways.
It'd be easier to figure out a way to get shorter type names so they fit better.

 

[Armada]

I do like the names; makes the ships feel a bit more "special".

That's exactly what this concept is for, and I'm glad it's starting to work...

It'd be easier to figure out a way to get shorter type names so they fit better.

Perhaps, but that's unavoidable in some cases. Note how I had to remove the word 'class' from the Jeanne d'Arc Steam Frigate, and I can't simplify that any further (without changing the name).
I know it's possible, because we (well, you I think?) moved the names in some interfaces for the Interface Screenshots work.
Surely it's just a case of finding which files you changed, and then how they were changed using WinMerge? Then, I can determine how far to move the names.

 

[Armada]

Going back to the logo a minute, I've had another go:

[attachment=6217NS_logo_2.jpg]

I've recently got hold of Office 2010, so I was eager to try out some of the new features, including the text and picture formatting in Word...
The final product was copied into GIMP and saved as a separate image. I think it came out a bit big, but I can adjust that if need be.
So how does it look now? :will

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Yeah, it is a bit big. In fact it's too big for my screen. Besides that, are you trying to create a 3d look?

 

[Pieter Boelen]

I like the "reflections" of the text. The final image won't ever display that big, which is good because the screenshot itself is a bit pixelated on this size.
So anyway, looks good to me.

 

[Armada]

Besides that, are you trying to create a 3d look?

Not so much 3D, but more experimenting with shadows and reflections.
Here's a smaller version:

I like the "reflections" of the text.

I was thinking about the water in the image, and thought that might look nice.
Hopefully the above version looks less pixelated now.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Seems good to me.

 

[Armada]

OK guys... the Easter Naval Supplies are nearly ready!
I've compiled a preliminary test version of what will be 'ENS Lite'. This version will only be for those who downloaded the Xmas pack, whereas 'ENS Full' will be a standalone download for the two combined.
The full version will be available on ModDB, but the lite version will remain here. That's mostly because many of the ModDB visitors probably didn't get the Xmas pack, but I'll post a link to the lite version for those who did.

When I upload the test version, I'll need a guinea pig or two to do some thorough testing, to make sure I've got everything (which will be a bloody miracle if I do!
That won't be until the morning, though. The estimated upload time when I tried just now was over one hour. This pack is over twice the size (fully compressed) of the Xmas pack alone!
I'll update the first post to show what did and didn't make it into this version. Many models had to be omitted because I need more time to sort them out, and this pack can't wait any longer.

So please can any keen testers, who have the Xmas pack for Patch 5, let me know if you can download this pack when it's ready?
All help is appreciated.

 

[Hylie Pistof]

Guinea pig, lab rat, whatever. It's who I am, what I do. :shoot: I just cleaned up an install and am ready to go. I would like some company on this too, although no problems are expected.

 

[Armada]

Somehow I knew you'd offer.

Uploading now. Approximately 59 mins remaining, to upload just over 172 MB.

 

[Armada]

Right, here it is: http://www.pyratesahoy.com/potc/SHIP%20PACKS/ENS_Lite_prelim.7z

Extract to the main game folder, and press F11 in-game, as always.
A new game shouldn't be required. Remember, you MUST have the Xmas pack for this test version to work, for anyone else interested.

Please check that everything in the list (see first post) is present and works correctly.
If there are missing textures, post a screenshot of the affected ship showing the light grey sections.
If there are any CTD's, please post error logs here so I can try to find out what's wrong.

But other than that... enjoy!

 

[Hylie Pistof]

First report.

Something is up with US Victory. I'm getting ctds when loading it and getting below decks. There is nothing in the logs tho. Sometimes it works perfectly too. I started at index 220 and am working my way down, and then will look into specific items.

Apostol Felipe has reverse lighting issues with the supports under the walkways around the rear of the ship. It is frustrating that I can't see one of my favorite ships well with this 16:9 monitor.

Poseidon. Wow. Just wow. But how do you get onto the rear deck?

Flouron. Are those thingies supposed to be gray? The pov seems a little low.

Surprise1: The crew walk files are messed up with them running under the deck and up into thin air.

The ship that comes after the San Felipe, the Dutchship?, causes a ctd every time.

HMS Interceptor: It appears to have no crew. Is this it?

All versions of the USS Constitution have crew walking way up in the air.

Lydia: It has been around a year since I last sailed a Lydia, so I don't know if the rigging has been improved. But! Lydia1 is certainly different.

Galleon5: This is a huge improvement! But more work is still needed to make it equal to its competitor, the fluyt of war 40g.

Ship of the Line: These ships are much improved, but there are a couple of minor problems. The rope tightener thingies, or turnbuckles, have the reverse lighting bug. The French and Spanish versions are the same. And they all have texture issues around their side ladders.

That's it! Now to go sailing.

 

[Armada]

Wow, that was some quick testing!

For US Victory, I've no idea why that should cause CTD's. That needs some more investigation.

The Apostol Felipe in the pack is pgargon's fixed version... could you post a screenie of what looks wrong?

With all Poseidon variants, you can't get onto the rear deck. That's just the way the design is.

For Le Fleuron, well spotted, those parts should not be grey. It seems I didn't include Poseiodon15.tga, but I did include a texture which you don't need, which is Poseidon14.tga. They were meant to be swapped.

I'll look into Surprise1's walk file. That's the one supplied with the ship, which I converted to a walk file. There's a chance the conversion wasn't a complete success, or the file is genuinely wrong.

That 'Dutchship' is a model Craiggo gave me a while ago which I decided not to include. Comment out or remove the entry in ships_init.

It seems the Interceptor needs a new walk file from scratch, unless they have one in CoAS...
If not, I can sort that out. I recently figured out how to use the SailorTool, which is a huge advantage, and the reason why some of the walk files, particularly the Constitution one, have been fixed. No more crew wandering off into the distance!
And actually, I need to include the Interceptor's yard models. They should be black now.

Thanks for the detailed report! Keep 'em coming!

 

[Hylie Pistof]

I am not done yet, and will continue to add to the above post. More testers verifying my results would be appreciated.

About Le Fleuron, that might be common to all of those variants.

 

[Armada]

Aye, more testers would be good. I've already asked Legendary_Spider, since he seems keen to help out, so hopefully he will help out.

About Le Fleuron, that might be common to all of those variants.

Correction: that IS common to all variants. They use mostly the same textures, and that one happens to be a generic one.

 

[Thagarr]

You mates have done a fantastic job with this pack!

I wish I had more free time to devote to playing and testing it properly to help out. Do any of you have access to post this on the front page when it is released? If not, you can send me a PM with all the information and I'll be glad to post it for you!

 

[Armada]

All versions of the USS Constitution have crew walking way up in the air.

You can't be serious. I fixed that file. Though admittedly, I only tested it within the SailorTool, so maybe it was a dodgy conversion afterwards or something.
Do the SteamFrigates have the same problem? They have a separate walk file now, so hopefully it at least worked for them...

Lydia: It has been around a year since I last sailed a Lydia, so I don't know if the rigging has been improved. But! Lydia1 is certainly different.

Ah yes, Lydia1's rigging needs copying across to the other models. I had a feeling I rushed things a bit.
Plus, clearly some of the extra details need sorting out, having seen that screenie... :blink:

Galleon5: This is a huge improvement! But more work is still needed to make it equal to its competitor, the fluyt of war 40g.

What more do you want?! Well OK, a better walk file would be nice... and better cannons... and a few more odds and ends... but that's waiting until next time.
For now, just sit back and admire Craiggo's brilliant texture work.

Ship of the Line: These ships are much improved, but there are a couple of minor problems. The rope tightener thingies, or turnbuckles, have the reverse lighting bug. The French and Spanish versions are the same. And they all have texture issues around their side ladders.

Those 'deadeyes' I believe, do indeed have the lighting bug. You'll have to live with that for the time being, until we can get them fixed or replaced. Just be happy they're there for now, thanks to Craiggo.
For the side ladders, do you mean it looks like there are two sets of stairs? That's because the stairs are modelled to the hull, and the new detail doesn't quite cover it perfectly. Not a texture issue, so not easy to fix.

EDIT: Sorry Thagarr, I missed your post. I've never tried posting on the front page, even if I somehow can, so I'll gladly send you the info when the pack is finished.