It has been a while since I have updated my effect tweaking here on ModDB and for that, I must apologise. The past few months have been quite hectic for the Freeworlds: Tides of War development team. Personally, a day doesn't go by where I don't learn something new. If I was to look at a piece of Freelancer coding when I first signed on to help in early October, I would be left staring blankly at it.
Today, well, there are still parts that have me shaking my head and looking to the more experienced modders for a definition, but there is now a good portion of the coding that I can get a grasp of. The learning via the visual tutorials has been a massive help in that. Sure, you can read how something is done and get a grasp of it. But when it is shown to you - it makes such a distance. It is probably the single biggest reason why the ‘junior' coders of the mod have been able to make such an impact.
Leading up to Christmas, I had my own head firmly dug in the engine effect code. When I last wrote here, I was just beginning to get a grasp of what was involved. I started out trying to understand what each piece of the code affected. This was no easy job and I still wonder just how much people understand of ALE coding. There isn't any definitive tutorial out there that explains what each line does, only tutorials which inform you on how to get into them and insert them into the game.
Two words quickly become synonymous with my work - Trial and Error. I reckon that my Freelancer game was started and shut down more times in the last few months than in the past few years, given how much time I spent tweaking code.
Little by little, I learned what I was doing. From what we know about the Star Wars universe, there isn't too much deviation in what engine trails look like. With that in mind, I was able to find one basic effect that I was happy with and use that as a base. Honestly, that was the easy part.
From there it was about getting it to look right on the ships. Everything from size, length, depth, positioning and colour had to be painstakingly tweaked to make it look right. While some effects were capable of looking right on a number of models, it quickly became apparent that, if necessary, I would be doing unique ALE files for ships.
The current engine effects that can be found on the Freeworlds: Tides of War X-Wing
The capital ships are a great example of this, as each tends to have a very specific nozzle size. Given the amount of detail that is going into this mod, there is no point in me being lazy and just making a one size fits all. It may add to my overall workload, but going the whole nine yards is well worth the time.
I've included a few snap shots of a number of vessels with the new engine effects on them. They put the icing on the cake of the new models, if I may say. Having watched a number of Sushi's latest development videos, it is great to see the actual effects in action. I should note, that none of these effects are final and probably won't be until the release, as I am always searching for ways to improve upon then.
The CR-90 Corellian Corvette, also known as a Corellian Blockade Runner or Tantive IV
With the import project almost complete, I now have a lot of ‘final' version models to work with. Up until now, I have tended to lean towards ships that we knew were the final versions. There was no point coming up with effects for a model that might have be altered down the line. While I await the arrival of more models, I have helped out the guys in the system design department. I will have a news piece on my exploits there soon.
Over the holidays, I also produced my first video tutorial. As I stated earlier, I find visual learning the best way to learn to code. Using what I had been thought by the modders over at the Starport, I constructed the video as my way of giving something back. Sushi learned the basics of the ALE modifications done to the missiles via the video - great to know it works!
The MC80 Mon Calamari Cruiser with her engines blazing.
The turn of the year has seen an unrelenting pace in our development. With each passing day, I find myself more excited about what we are producing here.
We hope you all enjoy reading of the continuing development of Freeworlds: Tides of War. I promise not to leave it two months before I write an update on my work again!
This was written by Oma who has been working tirelessly on this project.
Looks good. I like the Mon Cal best I think. :D
Thanks for the compliment!
One of the biggest issues faced with the capital ships is that some of them have different sized engine nozzles. The Mon Cal cruiser above is a perfect example of which.
Luckily, I was able to find a good enough size that would fit the 'main' three engines, which would also fit in the slightly smaller three.
Ideally, I'd love to have a separate effect for the smallest engine ports. Unfortunately, while there are ways to add a separate effect to an engine in Freelancer, it doesn't work in a way that is conductive to the mod.
It just goes to show that uncompromising attention to detail is one of the most important requirements for quality modding.
These engine glows are jaw dropping!