Questions here: an inquiry thread! [Updated Sep 15th, 2014]

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saber0091
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Re: Questions here: an inquiry thread!

Postby saber0091 » Sat Jul 26, 2014 11:39 pm

Just about done with my first ship mod, but running into a play error now.
3 systems not available at start: drone, cloak, hack.
When playing, I purchased drone, then the store told me the next purchase (cloak) was my final system slot.

Where's it stored/can it be modified?
I'm having a devil of a time locating this in the xml files or online.

EDIT:
On further investigation: The vanilla Osprey has 6 systems defined but not included on start, I bought hacking and now the teleporter buy is telling me it's the final system slot.
Can you only BUY two systems from the store, so everything else has to start with the ship?
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kartoFlane
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Re: Questions here: an inquiry thread!

Postby kartoFlane » Sun Jul 27, 2014 12:25 pm

The AE update introduced a limit of 8 systems per ship (that doesn't include subsystems, ie. piloting, doors, sensors, and battery).
It is hardcoded, so sadly we're unable to change this. However, I think it is possible to have a ship start with over 8 systems -- but you still won't be able to buy more.
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saber0091
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Re: Questions here: an inquiry thread!

Postby saber0091 » Sun Jul 27, 2014 6:56 pm

kartoFlane wrote:The AE update introduced a limit of 8 systems per ship (that doesn't include subsystems, ie. piloting, doors, sensors, and battery).
It is hardcoded, so sadly we're unable to change this. However, I think it is possible to have a ship start with over 8 systems -- but you still won't be able to buy more.


So something like FTL: Overdrive or OverdriveGDX , could do for this, eh?
I imagine it might also be doable with a hex editor, no idea the amount of change/effort required though.

Otherwise, starting with all systems seems pretty OP, not sure how to deal with that for long.
Maybe repair arm aug to reduce scrap, weak system for weapons, very crappy reactor starting number, and 2 crew?

"This is what happens when only two guys go joyriding alone on an aircraft carrier: not much."
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NarnKar
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Re: Questions here: an inquiry thread!

Postby NarnKar » Wed Jul 30, 2014 7:22 pm

How do you guys do your cloak images? Mine always look like crap.
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kartoFlane
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Re: Questions here: an inquiry thread!

Postby kartoFlane » Wed Jul 30, 2014 8:20 pm

I have this little .psd file I've made some time ago that I use to make cloaks for my ships... The only thing you have to do is:
- load it up in Photoshop (or any other program that can read .psd files),
- adjust image size (20px wider and higher than _base image -- no longer mandated by FTL, but makes sure that glows don't get cut off),
- merge your ship's wireframe* into the configured layer,
- hide the black background,
- save as a .png file

* - the black lines that trace the ship's contours -- kinda like the cloak image, but without any glows
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NarnKar
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Re: Questions here: an inquiry thread!

Postby NarnKar » Thu Jul 31, 2014 1:48 am

Real noob question here kartoFlane, but how do I get a ship's wireframe? I'm just a crappy pseudoartist that splices pre-existing gibs together. I only have GIMP, as well.
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kartoFlane
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Re: Questions here: an inquiry thread!

Postby kartoFlane » Thu Jul 31, 2014 12:18 pm

Well, you can trace the ship's contours that you want to be part of your cloak image on a separate layer, and then use that.
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NarnKar
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Re: Questions here: an inquiry thread!

Postby NarnKar » Fri Aug 01, 2014 4:02 am

Is there a limit to the size of the weapon spritesheet? I have a sheet that's 1880 x 200, and I can't see anything wrong with my blueprints or animations--they're all by the book.

The intention is to have an 8-power, 26-cooldown Glaive Beam variant that pierces 1 layer of shields. But when I load the mod and the weapon using TaxiService's Mod Testing Environment: Custom Content Patch, I get a weapon with the name "WMG Beam" that looks like a basic laser and does nothing, and requires 0 power. (It still has a 26 second cooldown.)

Here's the image.
Image
It's named WMG_WIP_B_strip57.png.

Here's the code, just in case...

animations.xml.append

Code: Select all

<animSheet name="WMG_WIP_B" w="1880" h="200" fw="33" fh="200">weapons/WMG_WIP_B_strip57.png</animSheet>

<weaponAnim name="WMG_WIP_B">
   <sheet>WMG_WIP_B</sheet>
   <desc length="57" x="0" y="0" />
   <chargedFrame>50</chargedFrame>
   <fireFrame>51</fireFrame>
   <firePoint x="19" y="149" />
   <mountPoint x="4" y="62" />
   <chargeImage>weapons/beam_3_glow.png</chargeImage>
</weaponAnim>


blueprints.xml.append

Code: Select all

<weaponBlueprint name="WMG_WIP_B">
   <type>BEAM</type>
   <title>WMG Controller Chip B</title>
   <short>WMG Beam</short>
   <tip>tip_beams</tip>
   <desc>One of the most powerful weapons of war ever created. Known to take out some ships in a single blast.</desc>
   <tooltip>Large beam that does 3 damage per room.</tooltip>
   <damage>3</damage>
   <sp>1</sp>
   <fireChance>0</fireChance>
   <breachChance>0</breachChance>
   <cooldown>26</cooldown>
   <color>
      <r>255</r>
      <g>0</g>
      <b>255</b>
   <power>8</power>
   <cost>95</cost>
   <!--was 120-->
   <bp>12</bp>
   <rarity>5</rarity>
   <length>80</length>
   <image>beam_contact</image>
   <launchSounds>
      <sound>beam2</sound>
   </launchSounds>
   <weaponArt>WMG_WIP_B</weaponArt>
   <iconImage>beam</iconImage>
</weaponBlueprint>
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kartoFlane
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Re: Questions here: an inquiry thread!

Postby kartoFlane » Fri Aug 01, 2014 12:46 pm

The <color> tag in the weapon blueprint is not closed, that's most likely the cause :P Everything else seems fine, though you may want to revise the image dimensions, since they don't divide cleanly by frame width (fw * frames = 33 * 57 = 1881 -- minor thing, but may produce a graphical glitch sometimes)

Other than that, I recall Sleeper reporting once that FTL starts having problems with images around ~2000 (4000?) px in size...
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NarnKar
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Re: Questions here: an inquiry thread!

Postby NarnKar » Fri Aug 01, 2014 2:54 pm

kartoFlane wrote: you may want to revise the image dimensions, since they don't divide cleanly by frame width (fw * frames = 33 * 57 = 1881)


Oh god, now I have to look through 57 frames to see which one is offset….UGH……I swear, this one spritesheet is going to be the death of me!

kartoFlane wrote: Other than that, I recall Sleeper reporting once that FTL starts having problems with images around ~2000 (4000?) px in size...


Really? The last I heard, I thought it was images that were 2000 BY 2000 in size, not 2000 square px…if it’s 2000 square px I’m gonna flip a table here, cause 1881*200 is way more than 2000px and I spent an entire afternoon working on this thing.
But I really don’t think it was 2000 square px, since the Glaive Beam’s spritesheet is 330 * 75 = 24750 square px.

I’ll pm Sleeper and ask him about it. In the meantime, thanks for catching the color tag!