The r0.93b release version of Stargate Races has just been published. This is primarily a visual update to the mod but I will take a few minutes to talk about the various changes and additions this time around.
Normal Fixes
While working on the content for this update, I noticed that there was a problem with the normals (bump map) for the existing content. The problem is that after working on an OpenGL game modding project for the last few years, my tools are set up to do create normals for OpenGL. Sins is DirectX and while bump maps for both are similar, there is one portion of them that is opposite from the other.
The long and short of it is that I have gone through all the custom content that was already included and corrected the backwards texture channel. If you thought something looked a little bit wierd before, it should be fixed now. Overall, it improves the visuals across the mod just a little more now.
The Goa'uld Fleet
A lot of work continued to go into updating the Goa'uld fleet and bringing it up to par. I think some great progress was made this update. All of the old models were redone or replaced and a few new models were brought in for some of those that were missing yet.
The additions include but are not limited to:
Summit Starbase
Aphophis Mothership (base model courtesy of SGI)
Jan'tak
Osiris Shuttle
The Ancients
The ancients also picked up a fresh new model for their fleet. The old Corsair model was removed and replaced with something a lot more familiar and that you may recognise.
Corsair/Atropos Frigate
The Ori
While the Ori did not have a lot of custom content to begin with (so far), what was there was in need of updating. I'm happy to say that all three of the custom assets were updated, the titan in particular with an entirely new model.
Gameplay & Bugs
Not a lot of changes were made to the gameplay of the mod with this update. There were a couple tweaks with ranges and the role assignment of the Wraith Hoard Ship (actually an undo there). There is one change that is potentially important though.
To those of you who have been having issues with the Wraith tech tree not being clickable in one portion, I have made a change to some specific entries in there that might resolve the issue. I can't say for sure as I have never been able to duplicate the issue in my own games but I thought this might be worth trying anyways. If you continue to see the problem, let me know. Also remember that a save and reload will usually correct the issue if I haven't successfully fixed it with this update.
I think that's enough for now but feel free to drop a comment and let me know what you think.
I'm super impressed with how this is coming along.
Today I downloaded the latest file and begun to play, just to see it for myself.
There's one tiny thing that hasn't been touched yet and that's the voices. Having the Goa'uld sound exactly like the Vasari kinda ruins the experience for me (haven't tried the other races yet). Though I'm sure you've got that on your list somewhere already.
Oh and when you zoom right into the frigates, to see their detail, you can see straight through them as parts of the ships become invisible.
Keep up the great work, it really is brilliant how you've made everything look.