Joints, Hardpoints and Damage Points

[Panzergranate]

Some of the hardpoints do have some strange names in SFC 1 and going through them, when putting in the weapons mounts and damage points, does make me wonder what they actually do.

I know that the hardpoints in SFC 1 and later versions are different. To convert a SFC 2 or later model to SFC 1, it just needs to be copied and pasted onto an existing SFC 1 model, the original SFC 1 model deleted, all their the texture appropriately renamed to suit SFC 1 labels and set up all the hardpoints to suit. It takes about half-an-hour to do.

ON some models, it will issue an "Above 88 Textures" warning in the model's folder when run, but this is to warn that the model will slow up the game, which will be noticeable with a few similar models in the game.

Anything with over 7,000 polys will  have SFC 1 struggling.

[ModelsPlease]

If anyone is interested I managed to changed the HP for planets for SFC1 and SFC2. Yup I actually got them moved  . I can send anyone who wants it the .MOD or .NIF or 3D etc..... if anyone is interested in it. I forget now because it was so long ago but someone here at the forums had requested it.

[Fallen_Warrior]

sure we can use them for my planet packs

[Panzergranate]

Could do with a few planets with citu lights on the dark sides.

Maybe a moon or asteroid with the same as with the view of "Asteropolis" behind the USS Marshall in Rich Steinbeck's "Space Flight Chronology.

I'll have a play with the hardpoints on a few planets.

Is there any way off correcting or adding the collision sphere to asteroids or planets. I downloaded a planet pack and some had wrongly set collison spheres, in that the ship had to disappear into the planet before impact occured.

I'm sure the system used in SFC is hardpoint related and might be a function of some of the hardpoints that list up that no one seems to know what function they are supposed to have.

I haven't started to experiment with the hardpoints on planets or asteroids yet.

I wish that there was a list of exactly what some of the bizare hardpoint listings actually do.

[Red_Sharif]

I've noticed that some of the planets, especially the gas giants, are displayed in the game as having been offset upwards so that their bottom axis is on the same plane as the ship model.

Is there anything I can do to correct that?

[Fallen_Warrior]

I've noticed that some of the planets, especially the gas giants, are displayed in the game as having been offset upwards so that their bottom axis is on the same plane as the ship model.

Is there anything I can do to correct that?

you referring to my I-J class planet pack? if you are no, its the only way to have a closer sence of scale, if you dont like it use a normal planet model and just rename the texture so it works.

Could do with a few planets with citu lights on the dark sides.

Maybe a moon or asteroid with the same as with the view of "Asteropolis" behind the USS Marshall in Rich Steinbeck's "Space Flight Chronology.

I'll have a play with the hardpoints on a few planets.

Is there any way off correcting or adding the collision sphere to asteroids or planets. I downloaded a planet pack and some had wrongly set collison spheres, in that the ship had to disappear into the planet before impact occured.

I'm sure the system used in SFC is hardpoint related and might be a function of some of the hardpoints that list up that no one seems to know what function they are supposed to have.

I haven't started to experiment with the hardpoints on planets or asteroids yet.

I wish that there was a list of exactly what some of the bizare hardpoint listings actually do.

some of my planets have cities showing on the dark side, mostly my M class planet pack and as far as i know none of my planet packs released to date have a problem with SFC3, im kinda meticulous about play testing

[Panzergranate]

Great that some show light on the dark side, as some planets imply being inhabited on a large scale.

I us some of you planets as I was fed up of the same standard collection of Earth and the other Sol system bodies in every scenario.

Definately well needed!!

[Fallen_Warrior]

wait till i get the other packs out. then you will be spoilt for choice

[Panzergranate]

Make sure that some run in SFC 1.

I wonder is SFC 4, if it ever appears,  will allow moving weather systems..... now there would be something!!

[Red_Sharif]

Make sure that some run in SFC 1.

I wonder is SFC 4, if it ever appears,  will allow moving weather systems..... now there would be something!!

Personally, my wish list for SFC4 would be: Andromedans, Neo-Tholians, and the return of the 'legendary officer'. A stronger game engine would be nice, but don't mess with the mechanics of SFC:OP. If I could have that, I'd be a happy camper.

[Panzergranate]

The maps being a cube instead of a flat square, 3D movement and firing arcs, ships arriving into a scenario from Warp, gravity effects fromplanets and stars, and the ability to add in weapons tables (new weapons) into the game engine.

Above all more of the intricacies that were missed out from SFB rules, such as scout ship functions and better cloaking stelth for the Romulans and Klingons (hey, the ships totally invisible but the enemy can still see my "marker flag" giving me away if they look in the oposite direction!!).

Troop landings on planets (these were just dies roles per turn to represent the ground battles. First to run out of people lost!!)

SFC 4 should be SFB in 3D!!

[Heavens Eagle]

Dream on McDuff on any new SFC.  SFC3 was half done at best and pushed thru.  Supposedly there was going to be a source release at some point and the community would have fixed and opened up much of the problems you are bringing up. Alas the Quicksilver part is where the biggest problem is (that is the huge compressed file with all the game info).  As there has been no way to mod THAT file, there will be no way to do much else.

SFB4 is just a pipe dream. 

[Panzergranate]

SFC 3 is based more on ADBs new Commander board game than SFB, unfortunately.

Would Legacy have sucked if there hadn't have been SFC for it to be found wanting against??

We have Legacy here on X-BOX 360. I've never played it, having watched my son playing it and thinking that it is just a pretty 3D starship dogfighting game full  of howling and grating inaccuracies, but that's just my oppinion.

If I wanted 3D dogfights I'd go and play Red Baron 3 online, which is the best and most challenging of the prop job dogfighting games even online.

For all we know, they're secretly beavering away at SFC  4 as I type this, having maybe learnt from the SFC 3 experience.

Why did they rudh out SFC 3 early in the first place?? There wasn't any competition to SFC OP so why??

[ModelsPlease]

Why did they rush out SFC 3 early in the first place?? There wasn't any competition to SFC OP so why??

It was a TMP based game. We the community added all the other eras to SFC1 and SFC 2 EAW/OP. SO...... enter SFC III with it's TNG designs.

[GotAFarmYet?]

SFC 3 is based more on ADBs new Commander board game than SFB, unfortunately.

More so on BC prbably as well as Armada. Allot of the mods that have been worked on address this but it still seems to be a 2D shooter that just did not have the charm for me as well

Would Legacy have sucked if there hadn't have been SFC for it to be found wanting against??

It would have been compared to BC at that point and BC was by far better that SFC 3

We have Legacy here on X-BOX 360. I've never played it, having watched my son playing it and thinking that it is just a pretty 3D starship dogfighting game full  of howling and grating inaccuracies, but that's just my oppinion.

add pretty close to accurate too, it will be up to their community to customize the game and complete it. They have the ppl they need there is the developers will help support some of it.

For all we know, they're secretly beavering away at SFC  4 as I type this, having maybe learnt from the SFC 3 experience.

Nope Activision and paramou nt had a falling out of sorts like Interplay did

Why did they rudh out SFC 3 early in the first place?? There wasn't any competition to SFC OP so why??

Cost
It was costing the publishing company money having ppl work on it and dead lines that were set had been missed not by much but by enough.
Companies are basically three groups:
Visonaries; that point were they they think the profits can be found
Engineers; that build the product that was request as close as they can based on the bean counters giving them the time and money
Bean Counters; these are the ones that run everything based on profit margines. They control costs by cutting things down to a minimum necessary.

When it came clear that the profit might be less than the costs if they game got released after X-mas, they cut their loses by having the game released incomplete but working. Part of that profit went into a patch to fix it to a minimum and then took what they had left to other avenues.

[Panzergranate]

Activision is one of the oldest games software companies going.

I have a game upstairs, that my brother bought in 1977.

It is an old E2PROM cartridge for a Radofin 1296 games console. This us what Atari copied for their carrtridge game system a few years later.

[Rod ONeal]

IIRC SFC3 was released to coincide with "Nemesis"? Finished or not, it had to come out when it did. Taldren would have gladly continued to patch it, just as they did with the other SFC titles, and get it to be a much better game, but Activision's "1 patch policy" wouldn't allow them to do so.

I think it could've ended up a much better game if Taldren was allowed to keep going with it. Too bad!

[Julin Eurthyr]

Yeah, SFC III was released to be the "big movie game" for Nemesis...
IIRC, there was even a sticker on the box promoting Nemesis

[F9thCenturus]

SFC 4 should be SFB in 3D!!

Na.  While I wouldn't mind an SFC4 being more challenging as OP is, I actually liked the fact that SFC3 wasn't based on SFB as much as previous versions were.  Gave the game more flexibility, and that flexibility is what allowed the gave to survive as long as it did, considering the odds against it from the beginning.  That's why the mods were so fun to play.  In my opinion, SFC shouldn't be as much of a carbon copy of SFB as possible. 

If SFC4 were made, more races, more systems and weapons, more missions, better graphics engine, native joystick/gamepad support for 3D flight, make it multi era and allow older ships the capability to be refitted with newer tech as it becomes outdated or standardized in the fleet for modern starships.

Also, have it so that when you take on critical missions, the outcome can have a more noticeable effect on the entire map in terms of race relations, political alliances, etc., and also taking part in some classic Trek storylines would be nice.

Oh, and most importantly, larger player support!!!  6 player skirmishes isn't enough.  Granted, it's fine if there's only 6 or less of you, but have a code limit of 10 or 12 players per skirmish/mission. 

[Panzergranate]

I discovered something interedting about SFC 1 last week!!

Try this out....

Assign a ship, any ship, to Mirak in the shiplist instread of Federation, Klingon, etc.

Of course, if you've downloaded the whole SFB Kzinti fleet models like me you'll have tagged all these as Mirak in the SFBSPC13.TXT shiplist file already.

Go to FMSE and write a scenario script with one side as Mirak (Kzinti) with the ship or ships you changed.

Fire up SFC 1 and run the scenario. Guess what, it runs the Mirak as a race.

If you try this with ISC , Jindarins or any other SFB race not in SFC 1 it will not work. For some reason SFC 1 was going to have the Mirak in it and still recognises it as a valid race tag despite it never using the race in the end.

As the MIrak (Kzinti) are the toughest of opponents to face in SFB (think of a SSCS taking on a fleet single handed and winning) it is a sad loss that Taldren decided to not include them in the end. However, the valid race link does exist for them in the software.

[marstone]

Oh, and most importantly, larger player support!!!  6 player skirmishes isn't enough.  Granted, it's fine if there's only 6 or less of you, but have a code limit of 10 or 12 players per skirmish/mission. 

I actually would like to see up to 10 or 12 per side, that way if you wanted to fly combat missions for a campaign that you run on the side you can have a whole fleet that is human controlled on each side (not three people who can fly three ships each, as the ai flies to many ships that way).

Just my two cents, internet speed is faster, machines are quicker and more powerfull then in 2001, why not use it.

[Panzergranate]

Allow the planetary (ground) actions of landed troops as in SFB which would make campaigns more interesting.

It would allow SFB style invasions with the problem of landing, reinforcing and supporting landed troops (or preventing the enemy from doing so) whilst attempting to gain or maintain space superiourity.

I've seen such intence battles at wargames conventions in the past and it puts a whole new dimension into the SFB game battles. Lyrans are the best equiped for invasion and assault type scenarios with the Troop Lander Pallet (well armed).