Dictators 2.0

[phkb]

The Dictators OXP has been in need of a refresh for a while, so I thought I'd give folks a bit of a look at where I'm at with this project. Much of the update involved updating config files to use the latest definitions. Spara has already given the Factory a bit of a once over, so all I've done there is make his OXP a requirement for this one. The biggest change I've made is to the models for the Quaestor, Guard, Censor, Enforcer, Lictor, the Prison ship, the Freighter and the Tanker. Here's what I've done for each of them:

• Quaestor and Guard are now variants of the Viper from the core game.
• Censor and Enforcer are now variants of the Viper Interceptor from the core game.
• Lictor is now a variant of the Viper Pursuit from the core game.
• Prison ship is now a variant of the Anaconda from the core game.
• The Freighter and Tanker are now variants of the "Griff Freighter", found in his stalled "Busy Ports" OXP.

In all cases, the specifications of the original ships has been kept.

While I could have easily chosen to grab a Boa or a BCC for the tanker and freighter, I decided it would be beneficial to have something unusual and different for players to experience. The one quite notable feature of this "Griff Freighter" is that it is too big to dock - in the original Busy Ports OXP, I think Griff's intention was to have these small "Loader" units travel backwards and forwards from the ship to the station loading and/or unloading them. I've kept the model, config and AI for these loaders, but they aren't activated at the moment. Personally, I think just having these tankers and freighters on the spacelanes is enough, but if someone is interested in making the loaders come alive, please feel free to play around and let me know what you achieve.

Anyway, without further ado, here's some download links: Dictators v2.2 (OXZ) or Dictators v2.2 (OXP). Should there be no major issues with the release I'll get the OXZ onto the download manager.

Let me know what you think of my ship swap-out choices, and if you think another ship should be used instead.

[Norby]

For more variety you can include also:
griff_viper_alt_v1.3,
Griff_Viper_interceptor_alt_v1.0.1 and
Viper Raider.

[Rustem]

I do not know that there are such models: Griff Freighter. Thanks! They are massive ships.
Better not fly up close to the Freighter, the pilot may be in a Escape pod. They want to avoid a collision and wobbling.

Good update!

[Keeper]

Improved look of the Imperial Astro Factory with the addition of a normal map and slightly darker texture, and better control over the specular mapping of the rock portion. Now it doesn't look like a smooth shiny marble but rather a craggy ol' rock.


New textures here
http://www.keeper1st.com/Oolite/astrofactory.zip (I accidentally included the screenshot in the zip).

Add the following to the astrofactory in the shipdata.plist:

Code: Select all

		materials = { 
			"Asteroid_tex.png" = { 
				diffuse_map = "Asteroid_tex.png"; 
				normal_map = "Asteroid_texn.png"; 
				shininess = 0;
				};
				"Dome_tex.png" = { 
				diffuse_map = "Dome_tex.png"; 
				shininess = 20;
				};
				"Chimneys_tex.png" = { 
				diffuse_map = "Chimneys_tex.png"; 
				shininess = 20;
				};
				"Greymetal_tex.png" = { 
				diffuse_map = "Greymetal_tex.png"; 
				shininess = 20;
				};
			};

Ideally a higher-poly rock would be nice... a job for you model makers out there.

[gsagostinho]

Really awesome work, phkb! I have always enjoyed these system OXPs, but their models are lacking too much when compared to Griff's (at least to my taste), and to me the immersion is easily broken when you find one of those ships.

I also like Norby's suggestion of using different Viper models for the sake of variety. And would you perhaps be interested in some custom textures for any of these ships? I would be happy to try something

Also, two other questions:
- do you still plan to upload this to the download manager? I totally think you should.
- and do you plan to do a similar work for the other system OXPs, namely Anarchies, Commies and Feudal States?

[phkb]

Yes, I'm planning on adding this to the manager shortly. I've considered using other models, but on reflection thought it might be better from a game story point of view if the models stayed as Viper copies. These versions of the core ships are now refurbished models, GalCop surplus or something like that, to explain the lower specs.

That being said, if you have skills with ship modelling and texturing it's certainly worth pursuing. My skills only really run to Paint.net.

As for Anarchies and Commies, they've been given a buff and polish by spara I think. My only contribution to those packs are adjusting a couple of plist files. No plans for anything deeper. With Feudal States given its size and the amount of work that would need to go into it, I have no plans at all. I have other OXP's to fry. Maybe one day, though.

[gsagostinho]

it might be better from a game story point of view if the models stayed as Viper copies. These versions of the core ships are now refurbished models, GalCop surplus or something like that, to explain the lower specs.

I like that way of seeing it as well

That being said, if you have skills with ship modelling and texturing it's certainly worth pursuing. My skills only really run to Paint.net.

I was rather thinking about making specific textures for the models you are using here (Viper, Viper Interceptor, Anaconda, etc.). I am useless with modelling, but I do like texturing quite a lot and I have some experience with that (I have done tons of texturing work for the FlightGear project during the last years). The thing is I still need to learn how to work with textures on Oolite as things seem to be different than I am used to. I have been checking Griff's models and I don't understand why all textures are half transparent, including the regular ones that should give the main texture of the model (not emission or model maps). Also, I have checked the files of Dictators 2.0 and it seems to me that the models based on the Vipers (Censor, Quaestor, etc.) are only directed to a single texture file in the Textures folder named censor_diffuse.png which is nearly fully transparent, and yet on the game the models are fully textured. I am trying to figure out to what other texture they are pointing to, because even if one removes the alpha channel censor_diffuse.png, there is nearly nothing there besides the exhauster texture, but I find no mention of other textures on the .dat files nor on the shipdata.plist. Anyway, I need to find my way around how these things work, let's see how it goes.

As for Anarchies and Commies, they've been given a buff and polish by spara I think. My only contribution to those packs are adjusting a couple of plist files. No plans for anything deeper. With Feudal States given its size and the amount of work that would need to go into it, I have no plans at all. I have other OXP's to fry. Maybe one day, though.

Great, I will check spara's work then. Many thanks for all your contributions!

[phkb]

I'm away from my dev machine at the moment, but when I get back I'll walk you through the process I use to work with Griff's images using paint.net. If that will help I mean.

[Norby]

why all textures are half transparent

Materials in Oolite can contain the emission map in alpha channel using this way:

Code: Select all

emission_map =  { name = "oolite_adder_diffuse.png"; extract_channel = "a"; };

[gsagostinho]

when I get back I'll walk you through the process I use to work with Griff's images using paint.net. If that will help I mean.

@phkb That would certainly help a lot, thanks a lot for all the help and feedback you are giving me with Oolite, really appreciate it

Materials in Oolite can contain the emission map in alpha channel

@Norby This is really helpful, I completely understand it now. I just tried messing around only with the alpha channel of some of those textures and indeed if I make it fully white (no transparency) the base texture of the model becomes visible on GIMP. I think now I can start experimenting

[spara]

I suggest extracting the alpha layer with recomposing and decomposing when using gimp. You'll most certainly get better results and don't lose the alpha layer, which holds important information.

[Cody]

I have other OXP's to fry.

I love the smell of fried OXPs in the morning!

[gsagostinho]

I suggest extracting the alpha layer with recomposing and decomposing when using gimp. You'll most certainly get better results and don't lose the alpha layer, which holds important information.

Thanks, this is really helpful! I will take a look on what's the best workflow for decomposing and composing layers on GIMP

[Smivs]

Oolite materials are incredibly flexible, and can do many things.
A simple example can be found in Better Buoys which have a diffuse_map and emission_map combined into one image, with the emission_map being burned into the alpha channel. By specifying the "emission_modulate_color" in shipdata the nav buoys get their yellow lights and the witchpoint buoys get red lights. You can only use one colour this way but by a bit of crafty trickery I was able to give them both orange 'display' lights as wall - these are coloured by applying respectively yellow light over a red background or red light over a yellow background.
For a more complex example take a look at my ship OXPs, where most use three textures. A good recent example is the X-ships where all three use my 'standard' method of a diffuse map, a light map and a combined normal and specular map. This is an unusual way of doing things, but has several advantages.
The diffuse_map is the painted texture and having this separate means that you can actually see it - it isn't a ghostly, see-through image - and this means anybody can re-paint the ship easily if they want to do a custom paint job.
Likewise with the light map - easy to see and edit, with the advantage of the whole colour palette available so the lighting is not limited to one colour.
The normal-specular map uses the alpha channel for specularity as is least likely to be modded and gives the ships their bumpyness (such as the appearance of each hull-plate being separate) and the 'shininess'.

[gsagostinho]

Many thanks to you all, this has been very helpful! I started playing around with the Cobra III textures and the results are not bad