[***Project***] Continuum Galaxy Concept

[Realspace]

CONTINUUM GALAXY CONCEPT ... i.e. getting rid of all those box-sectors!

This project aims as first to continue the cosmetic enhancement started with my Backgrounds Mod

This time the planets are under study, some new planets have already been finished (see pics below)

But the goal is bigger, a complete redifinition of the galaxy according to a continuum concept, i.e. getting rid of the box-sectors.

I already managed to create contiguos sectors that are connected not by a gate but by a jump area, practically I've spanned an entire sectors into (upto) 5 sectors.

Planetary areas are now composed by 1 inhabitable core planet + its moons, and you can smoothly travel from one to the other just pointing to the direction of the celestial body or targeting the transfer area

Each planetary region is connected to another planetary region (let's imagine earth to mars to jupiter), each composed as the above (planet + moons). You can travel from region to region after reaching the external moon of a region, then HAVE TO FLY IN UNCHARTED SPACE TO REACH NEXT PLANETARY REGION

All these regions are part of a solar system (so same sun and backgrounds) and are connected as said.

Gates are still there but, as they should be, they are big powerfull artifacts that make possible to jump from system to system. The galactic jump is thus possible only from one of the regions, usually the home planet, and the place where these marvelous gates are is HEAVLY patrolled. THERE IS ALSO A LONG ROUTE BETWEEN SYSTEMS THAT YOU CAN FLY THROUGH, IT IS NEVERTHERELESS A ROUGH UNCHARTED SPACE FULL OF DANGERS...

As example, you can jump via gate from Earth to the main planet of Epsilon Eridani, but have to travel sub-light if you want to explore moons and other planets of the system.

a sample form the newly designed ARGON system

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Let's summarize: there are 3 levels of travels,
*from planet to moons (simply fly there, transfer areas),
*from planet to planet in-system (through EMPTY SPACE),
*from system to system (via jumpgates OR EMPTY SPACE)


some game footage, as you can see you can practically target a planet or moon and coomand the ship to go there
[ external image ]

Then, of course, all the features introduced by the (no more availavble) Realspace Galaxy Mod, i.e. ships flying faster, long range guns and sensors, steering and manouvrability heavly affected by mass and engines, etc.

Speed is limited for all ships at 999 m/s (I AM MEDITATING ON REDUCING IT TO 499..) otherwise the AI gets crazy, this together with 10x seta is nevertherless not enough to travel the distances.

Jumpdrive will be still available but only with capital ships and will be the advanced (Cycrow's) so doesn't take into account the gates but simply jump from place to place at wish, smaller ships will have to use the above said connections. probably the XXL frighters will also mount a jumpdrive, that has to be very expensive thou.

For sub-light travel, since the distances are now very big (4000 km each sector and it is only a part of a planetary region), a slipstream drive will be necessary. Cycrow has made one so if it is still available that one will be included.

Traveling the distances means a lot more ambushes by pirates and secrets bases can occour, just imagine how Freelancer is, maybe even some secret wormhole could be added

The mod is 80% accurate work on galaxy setup, it takes a lot to create contiguos sectors with relative planets/moons. Stations are not casual but strictly related to the role of the sector inside the map, etc.

As it is in the air, this project will probably merge with the New Horizon Mod so to benefit from all its ships, etc.

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Scripts, etc. that will be probably included:

* Slipstream Drive (kinf of seta but working on single ship), by Cycrow
* Advanced Jumpdrive available only as XL, by Cycrow
* Advanced thruster controll (if working), to shut off the inertial dumpners (very usefull for high speed fightings), by Cycrow

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% completeduptonow:

- 25% of the map (Argon SYSTEM),
- finished and working invisible transfer areas
- finished and working transfer stations
- many small cosmetic improvements (asteroids, belt, planets)
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Here I'll list all the issues/problem I'm facing, hoping in some good hint!



- I managed to create half-size planets that can occupyt the space of a sector (very nice, you can travel from lighted to dark surface, since SUN STAYS REALLY BEHIND THE PLANET) but dont' know if NP ships are able to cross the sector bypassing this huge object at the center

- eventually, instead of using transfer stations for region to region jump, I was thinking in using some kind of TRANSFER SHIPS, as an old Mammuth where you dock and get transferred to the next planet region, but if it can work for small ships what about NPC capital ships, do they manage to use jumpdrive if this "virtual gate" is so small or do they try to use it and get crashed?


[!! Note!!] Even if I finally seem to have a decent understanding of X3 files structure etc. and am confortable that, given time, this project will be realized as it is explained, .... SCRIPTING is my weak point, better to say my NULL point, I don't know anything!!! SO ANY HELP IN THIS MATTER WOULD BE APPRECIATED, expecially AI IMPROVEMENT!

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Some pics of the new planets
[ external image ]

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as eycandy on "planet research" a pic that shows the same moon using different shaders (so bump and spec): left: the new one, right: the vanilla one

[ external image ]

...uploading further infos....

[Osiris_sam]

sounds pretty gud... those planets look fantastic looking forward to playing with this
seta is gonna be a much bigger part of this than it was in vanilla (not that it wasnt big in vanilla)

[Deathwalker1701]

Looks good will give it go when its out

[enenra]

Sounds all great but isn't it possible to make a version with the new map, planets etc. but without the changes to the ships (e.g. ship speed, weapon range etc.)
And to have a version without another mod in it would also be great.

to speak: I love the new planets, your ideas for the change of the map and all but I like the rest of X3 better as it is now.

[Tenlar Scarflame]

This looks like fun...

Keep up the awesome work, Realspace. This might be good enough to forsake XTended for... might be

[Gazz]

isn't it possible to make a version with the new map, planets etc. but without the changes to the ships (e.g. ship speed, weapon range etc.)

Chill!
You can still try and rip it to shreds when it's finished! =P

[Realspace]

try to cross a 4000 km sector at the actual speed of a nova (150 m/s = 540 km/h !!! ) and tell me ho it feels!

really, this is part of the mod, space is big and so it must feel ... the point is, fighting at high speed is not impossible, only more challenging ... we'l make some testing with volunteers when ready, up to now I found that a limit of 999 m/s makes the fight still possible with the current AI ... and on top that ships don't go crahing everywhere...

[enenra]

I'd prefer something like a special engine for wider distances that puts the ship to such a speed but which you can disable. Something like the drive engine in Freelancer (don't know if it's actually called like that)
Lucike in the german forum made such a script - it's called "Reiseantrieb". But of course, it does not accelerate the ships to such a big speed - not a big thing to change as far as I know.
He did that script for a Mod which does something quite simliar as yours - not the map and all but with the jumpdrive: Only CapShips will be able to use it.

[Realspace]

thanks for the hint, very usefull!!

Also Thegisley was working on a similar script, it increases the speed of ship when in autopilot (no seta but real speed), so very similar to freelancer. it would have been a good solution, unfortunally he seems to have discontinued and nevere released anything..

otherwise there's the Afterburner by Cycrow. I don't mean it as it is, maybe Cycrow could make one that get initiated only with autopilot! i don't know what would be better, and also what is really possible...

[enenra]

I don't think one that works only with autopilote on would be good - although it certainly is possible. I'd prefer to take the weapons or even the weapons and the shields from the ship which has the drive engine enabled.

I personally don't like taking Energy Cells from the ship that is using the engine - engines should be using fuel and if the normal engine does not use fuel, an advanced engine should not, too.

EDIT: I ust realised that it would be more fitting to call this "engine" a "power bypass device" - or something like that. (I don't know which english word is used in this context but you should get what I mean)
Because it redirects the power of the weapons and shields to the engine.

[Realspace]

yes, me too, but energy cells apart it works really fine and fits to my mod perfectly. only i don't know if NPC ships would use it. Still, I've to experiment the Slipstream too and see what is best for the mod. Lucike's script is very user friendly but requires you buy the stuff (ok) and those damn energy cells, the slipstream shoul on its side finally take rid of the seta (somebody doesn't like it), don't know...

both make use of weapon unavailability during drive, which is ok, only Lucike's Traveldrive makes you ship really accelerate what is odd if, as you said, you want to catch a trade ship while it is travelling. but, this would mean that also NPC ships use it (do they?), otherwise it would be an advantage only for player (indeed its freighters can travel fast and not be taken by pirates), so what

[Cycrow]

the slipstream drive is basically a device that sends the ship in a straight line at a much faster speed than is usually possible.

it doesn't increase the ships speed, so acceleration and deceleration dont make a difference.

the slipstream drive can be activated manually like the afterburner with a hotkey, but its also activated automaticlly via the auto pilot for any ship that equips it.

any movement while in slipstream will bring you back to normal space flight

[Realspace]

yes, that's what would make me prefer the slipstream, since it is as the name sais kinda in-sector mini-jump, not a thruster push, what makes no sense (indeed there no eason to revert to lower speed after you use it, inertia would bring you forward at constat speed..).

do the NPC ships also use slipstream (mean do they buy it and use autonomously?)

p.s. I can't use it, maybe this old version I have.. it seems not to be in the ware list (scripts are anabled, of course), I only fiond the new key to bind to it but not the device. pushing the kwy doesn't result into activaation anyway..

[Phlt]

As it is in the air, this project will probably merge with the New Horizon Mod so to benefit from all its ships, etc.

We shall do our best to make this great project to happen!

.

[enenra]

If it's possible, I'd like to look into your mod. I'm interested in how you do the whole thing with the diffrent areas in one sector.

If that's okay, please send the files to dse.commander (at) bluemail.ch

[jhondidfool]

your idea is great, but the ships should keep the vanilla max speed, and then have a "cruise speed" in which you can't fire, like in Freelancer, at 999 Km/h. Then, the slipstream engine being more or less the same, but VERY fast and without the ability to turn and auto off when hit. For the slip gates, I'd recommend you to use a Mass Effect approach, make a big invisible gate and drop a station (small) near it. But I'd suggest you to trigger a tweaked slipstream which works 100x faster (crazy!) and having an inverse impulse wen reaching the other end of the lane.
Still, I think you can make all the sector in a single sector, I managed to run away 20000Km from 0,0,0, so You have roughly 206709,96132864 cubic Km to make the system, which is fairly enough to make a very BIG system (took me 2 h in SETA@1000%). You could hide GOOD surprises there (imagine explore a distant asteroid field (Oort cloud, to give an idea) and discover a pirate base heavily armed which is the source of all the pirates in the system... Police would pay LOADS if you get that destroyed :3
To avoid IA malfunctioning all this would be the major problem, but, hey! It's cool!

[Cycrow]

yes, that's what would make me prefer the slipstream, since it is as the name sais kinda in-sector mini-jump, not a thruster push, what makes no sense (indeed there no eason to revert to lower speed after you use it, inertia would bring you forward at constat speed..). [/quote]

the idea of the slipstream drive is that likes like a warp drive, where the ship doesn't actually increase in speed, but warps space around it which makes it move faster. So when its turned off, it doesn't need to slow down, as it wasn't technically moving, so it has no increased inertia

do the NPC ships also use slipstream (mean do they buy it and use autonomously?)

currently, if any ship is equiped with one, they will use it, which includes any of your ships and all the AI's ships.

however, what doesn't happen just yet is the AI ships actually equipping them, but that isn't too hard to do anyways

p.s. I can't use it, maybe this old version I have.. it seems not to be in the ware list (scripts are anabled, of course), I only fiond the new key to bind to it but not the device. pushing the kwy doesn't result into activaation anyway..

its possible i didn't send you everything you need, i really cant remember, but ill get the new one sorted out soon so you can test it.

[withar]

I think that this could build up in to a fantastic mod, I’ll be eagerly following it's developments

I have one question though:

Travel within a system seams simple enough, aim in the general direction of a planetary body to arrive in that region of the sector.

But what about travel between systems?

Will that be changed to, say aiming at a star representing the nearby system. how to get there would be solved with something like a beefed up cruse/ slipstream drive? or will there still be gates somewhere, just very very few stationed at the edge of system allowing travel between systems?

[Realspace]

Thanks for the good ideas, guys!

jhondidfool, your idea is a kind of extreemization of this mod concept, and it would have two very nice effects:

1) I could resolve the problem with 00749 file. Indeed at moment I need to create some sectors that are regrouped together (the plenet regions), so no lines, and have to connect every group with lines, so have to put'em by hand (it's a damn long boring work). With a unique single space all sectors are put at fixed (contiguous) distances, what is probably easy to edit in the bod file.
2) space would become really big and ... empty. mean, there would not be a correspondance between sectors and inhabitated space. So i could connect all sectors with invisible gates (I've already done 'em and they work perfectly!) but also put some jumps but not necessarly among contiguos sectors.... you know, the more I think at it the more I like the idea!

I wanted to make groups of sectors becous of realism. indeed if you can see a moon and travel to there simply pointing it (we don't care about orbits, do we? ) you can not do it with planets (they are virtually invisible a the distance, only a small spot of light. So the layout of my galaxy is based on some small jumps (stations with accelarators, already finished) that connect planets.

But, with your idea, I think I could simply leave 1-2 empty sectors among planets and also connect them by mini-gates. So, imagine, if you are a pirate and can not use the gate, can nevertherless travel hidden through the (empty) connecting sectors. maybe we can put there some secrets and asteroids.

With a big single space we can also create some real asteroid belt that goes arund a whole system or part of it (as the Kuiper belt)!

The decision to make 999 m/s is not becouse of travel (indeed we can use slipstream for it and seta), but becouse I think combat is much funnier and more challenging at that speed, making it seem more a space combat than a "car fight", what seems now !..
But, since I'm probably building my mod on top of the New Horizons, it will be probably simple to make a version without the increased ships/lasers/missiles performances.

Travel within a system seams simple enough, aim in the general direction of a planetary body to arrive in that region of the sector.

But what about travel between systems?

Will that be changed to, say aiming at a star representing the nearby system. how to get there would be solved with something like a beefed up cruse/ slipstream drive? or will there still be gates somewhere, just very very few stationed at the edge of system allowing travel between systems?

As explained above, to travel to moons you can simply point there, to travel to other planets you have to find the JUMP STATION, since you can not see a planet from there (can you see jupiter or mars from earth without a telescope? ) ... but also, you see conncetion lines between planets, what is regarded above as a problem becouse of the difficoulty to edit such lines in the 00749.bod. The to travel to systems, of course you need to find a traditional jumpgate (heavy patrolled!) ... or, if you are a pirate, a very hidden wormhole

jhondidfool,
do you think you could send me a version of your 00749 with all 492 sectors and all contiguous ? ... i suppose you made one. at moment I have one wich is also all 492 and (x,y) regularly placed on z=0, but sectors are distancied. I think I can do it by my self in 1-2 hours but if you have it ... thanks

edit:

I'm thinking crazy... what if instead of making all sectors contiguous on the same plane (z=0) we make them contiguous but on 3D... mean instead of having 492 secotors spanned on x,y we can spam them on x,y,z. something like 40 sectors on x,y multiplied 10 times (z).
What would happen to the galaxy map, would you be hable to see below and above (3D)? Did anybody tried it?

issues: I read that there is a limit at 6 gates per sectors. If we make the universe spammed on a plane this is ok, since I can connect all virtual sectors and still have 2 free jumpgate to make internal connections. But on 3D all 6 connections would be occupied by the invisible gates...
I experimented with up to 6 gates and it worked good (creating new gates, of course), don't see a reason why it could not handle more tha 6 gates so long the connections are bi-directional.

... I'm sorry, I wont be home up to friday so can not test it.

p.s. Thanks Cycrow, i'm eager to test your new version!

[jhondidfool]

Nope, in't got it. Just reinstalled the game after a format U_U sry.
Anyways, go for it! this sounds great!.
PD: I thoght you might find hard to make the X-verse if there is a limit to the amount of systems you can have (i don't remember wich, though ), that's why I thought you may want to keep the sector conception :/