X-Tended - Terran Conflict (XTC) (Update: - Manual available! - 12/10/10)

BlackCoffee · Post by **BlackCoffee** » Wed, 14. Oct 09, 07:47

and comments like that just makes it hard on us....i may hit myself in the head so i fall into a coma and come out when this mod is released. I mean that in the nicest way, i just can't stand the waiting.

yes, i was the sort of kid would rattled the boxes under the tree.

Aragon Speed · Post by **Aragon Speed** » Wed, 14. Oct 09, 11:21

There will be no universe map before we release. This is due to some features we do not want to reveal beforehand.

AjRyder · Post by **AjRyder** » Wed, 14. Oct 09, 12:34

Aragon Speed wrote:There will be no universe map before we release. This is due to some features we do not want to reveal beforehand.

Spoil sport

Aragon Speed · Post by **Aragon Speed** » Wed, 14. Oct 09, 12:41

AjRyder wrote:
Killjaeden wrote:yes i wanna see the map!!!
wait wait wait
no i don't want to see the map...^^ i would spoil the 'exploring' fun
Ok then at least see how big it is how many sectors to go through maybe!!!! Would it be worth playing if the said map was smaller????

The map is 190 sectors in size (Approx. I think it is currently 193, but not sure off the top of my head.).

This does not mean much as a number, so as a comparison it is about the same size as the Vanilla X3R universe. Smaller that the standard TC uni, but by no means small.

TTD · Post by **TTD** » Wed, 14. Oct 09, 12:47

Smaller map...not so graphic intensive....I think my rig will manage it better than with TC. I'm in tweak-city atm and looking backwards when I try to dock with my megaplexes.

AjRyder · Post by **AjRyder** » Wed, 14. Oct 09, 13:06

Will we be able to install this on a seperate install so we can still play TC? Or will it over write. Saying that will we have our old ships that we have in TC or is this a start from scratch universe?????

Aragon Speed · Post by **Aragon Speed** » Wed, 14. Oct 09, 13:10

TTD wrote:Smaller map...not so graphic intensive....I think my rig will manage it better than with TC. I'm in tweak-city atm and looking backwards when I try to dock with my megaplexes.

Actually the X engine is very good, it is not the GFX card that limits the performance but the CPU.

The CPU has to plot and map all those meshes before they are passed to the GFX card for it to do all its texturing, shading and lighting magic on it. If you actually look at your GFX cards GPU core usage it is very low, but the CPU is maxed out.

It is a shame there wasn't time to re-write the exe for TC to make it multi-core as that would have given more of a performance boost that the most powerful GFX card will.

Aragon Speed · Post by **Aragon Speed** » Wed, 14. Oct 09, 13:18

AjRyder wrote:Will we be able to install this on a seperate install so we can still play TC? Or will it over write. Saying that will we have our old ships that we have in TC or is this a start from scratch universe?????

Well it is a new universe, that means you will need to start a new game as the engine only reads the universe map on a new game starting. So no you will not have any ships or stations from the standard TC game and you will have to start from scratch.

You can install TC to multiple locations and it will run fine, so yes you can keep a vanilla game and have a separate install for a modded game.

Just be aware that both games use the same save location though, so you will need to keep backing up and restoring saves depending on which version of TC you wish to load; Modded or un-modded.

TTD · Post by **TTD** » Wed, 14. Oct 09, 13:39

Or you can set up a new "User Profile" just for this MOD., and just log on to it when you wish to play.
That way you will automatically keep your saves separate .

I did that with each of the MODs I installed for Reunion.

BlackCoffee · Post by **BlackCoffee** » Wed, 14. Oct 09, 13:40

very cool with starting from scratch again. How will current TC scripts go with the new XTM? I'm mainly thinking of scripts like NPC bailing, and such scripts which currently make TC a little more life like (Read: interesting enough to be playable.).

Aragon Speed · Post by **Aragon Speed** » Wed, 14. Oct 09, 13:58

BlackCoffee wrote:very cool with starting from scratch again. How will current TC scripts go with the new XTM? I'm mainly thinking of scripts like NPC bailing, and such scripts which currently make TC a little more life like (Read: interesting enough to be playable.).

Without specific testing we can't really say, but as we have rebuilt nearly all of the underlying game structures, I expect most scripts/mods will not work with XTC without tweaking. That said, we have our own custom bail and loot drop scripts included - they were needed for the new working in-game difficulty system we have put together.

Russian Ranger · Post by **Russian Ranger** » Thu, 15. Oct 09, 08:27

Your own bail and loot script!? You fellows are doing all the work for me, I get to just kind of sit back, DL this beast and enjoy the ride.

I like you. In fact, I'm going to name my first born after you. And my second. While I'm at it my third. Any more than that and I'll have to shut off the cloning chamber.

Aragon Speed · Post by **Aragon Speed** » Thu, 15. Oct 09, 14:44

Russian Ranger wrote:Any more than that and I'll have to shut off the cloning chamber.

I wouldn't do that if I were you, it will leave you short of food at Christmas...

Aragon Speed · Post by **Aragon Speed** » Thu, 15. Oct 09, 15:42

The Galactic news System has reached full status and is no longer a beta. Feel free to use it in your own mods as this is a modders resource.

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=260555

aXeL_UK · Post by **aXeL_UK** » Thu, 15. Oct 09, 21:23

Unless I've missed it somewhere, has Xtended overcome the boundry limits on the galactic map or is there still effectively a limit on the number of sectors?

Sartorie · Post by **Sartorie** » Thu, 15. Oct 09, 21:32

no we ran into the same limits as X3R had on the galaxy map while testing, however our new map is way short of the old limit

the good news is that ES ran into the same limit recently and simply increased it

so the 1000 object limit on the galaxy map is now a 4000 object limit (and probably even higher)

Thufar · Post by **Thufar** » Fri, 16. Oct 09, 23:54

Sartorie wrote:the good news is that ES ran into the same limit recently and simply increased it so the 1000 object limit on the galaxy map is now a 4000 object limit (and probably even higher)

Not being a scripter or modder, exactly what does that mean? Did the galaxy just get larger, or does that mean more things like stations in the same size galaxy? Please pardon my ignorance.

Thu

aXeL_UK · Post by **aXeL_UK** » Sat, 17. Oct 09, 00:32

I find that doubley reassuring:

1) They increased the limit

2) (Even better) They had a reason to... Obviously up to something bigger

BTW What about the sector grid? The limit used to be something like 22 by 20, i.e. if 'Kingdom's End' was at 0,0 then we couldn't create sectors beyond about x=22,y=20 or some such. Is that limit still unbroken?

X2-Eliah · Post by **X2-Eliah** » Sat, 17. Oct 09, 05:49

The number of sectors and stuff on Galaxy Map is that limit which has been raised. I am not sure about the 20/22 things, but I do know that with a 4000 item limit, you could populate the map with far more sectors than there are atm. the objects on the galaxy map include things like sectors and connection lines. Iirc in XTM there were several gate connections which had to be hidden/removed to accommodate the limit.

In plain terms, the galaxy got a chance to go bigger.

XTC universe is established though, and will most likely not shift from the current state. 190+ new sectors should be plenty, as we are trying hard not to include "wasted space".

Aragon Speed · Post by **Aragon Speed** » Sat, 17. Oct 09, 10:17

Thufar wrote:
Sartorie wrote:the good news is that ES ran into the same limit recently and simply increased it so the 1000 object limit on the galaxy map is now a 4000 object limit (and probably even higher)
Not being a scripter or modder, exactly what does that mean? Did the galaxy just get larger, or does that mean more things like stations in the same size galaxy? Please pardon my ignorance.

Thu

Just to clarify:

It has to do with the file that is used to correctly show the galaxy map - the 00749.bod.

This file had a 1000 entry limit which included the squares for the sectors, and the little lines that indicate the gate routes. When creating a large map these entries can run out and cause CTD's when exiting the game. This 1000 entry limit in the 00749.bod has been raised to 4000.

This does not affect the actual map .XML which still has a maximum grid size to fit sectors into. It just means that if you wished too, you can now fill the whole of the grid with sectors and have them display correctly in the Galaxy map without the game CTD'ing on exit.

X-Tended - Terran Conflict (XTC) (Update: - Manual available! - 12/10/10)

XTM Galactic map limits