Hull Damage and Offline Guide

posted on May 3rd, 2013, 4:55 am

A while ago, I had this idea where the ships hull would show the damage its taken. I've already posted something similer, but time has granted new ideas.

I've been on STO, and I noticed that the model changes as the ship takes damage. After a specific percent is gone, it uses model 2, then model 3, then Boom. Who not implament this so when the ship takes, say 30% damage, it changes the model to one specified.

Code example:

Code: Select all

model0Damage = 1.0 // This is the stock model, hot off the presses.
model0 = "Fed_Sovereign"
model1Damage = 0.75 // At 75%, Model 0 is swapped for Model 1.
model1 = "Fed_Sovereign1"


Now, if thats not enough, I have more.

This next idea is similar, but its also different. After a ship takes damage, a special overlay is used to show carbon scoring from weapons fire. This is similar to STL, but doesnt actually damage the model. All thats really needed, after the devs code it, are images for the damage, such as a blotch for a torpedo impact.
This should only effect the ship, not the shields, and can be turned off in either the ODFs, "showDamage = 1", or in the graphic core files.

Finally, is it possable to make the modding guide as a downloadable item. Its a bit of a pain when I'm trying to mod, and my internet is down for various reasons, leaving me without access to the guide. By making it as a small set of items that link together, like a web page or Java script, users can use it even when they are offline. Add to that an update checker which checks the guide to see if its been updated, and you have a perfect system that can help modders work.

Any comments are welcome. I can also provide examples if needed.

posted on May 3rd, 2013, 8:36 pm

Damage flashes? I'm not sure how useful that would be, it has the capacity of being a huge jumble of numbers once you get into some titanic late game battles. Yes, I agree, its a good idea, but is it practical?

Ehm, scorch marks? I think the old A2 engine used to have some but they have been removed... I think, haven't played the old armada 2 in... forever!

posted on May 3rd, 2013, 9:57 pm

There are some website-downloaders out there - if you want to use that to get an offline version of the guide, you can . I change at least minor details on the guide every few weeks, so keeping track of every little thing would be quite the pain for me. Most of the big picture functions stay the same. A true update checker is Zebh's department, so you'd have to ask him what his plans are there.

We won't reimplement Armada II damage textures and emitters, but we do plan on eventually having more reasonable damage features, once we have designed the correct tools for that.

posted on May 4th, 2013, 8:48 am

Can the A2 engine handle damage textures? It already seems taxed to the limit!

posted on May 4th, 2013, 5:02 pm

Can the A2 engine handle damage textures? It already seems taxed to the limit!

A1 and A2 had damage textures that appeared when a sub-system was disabled, but it was an awkward implementation since massive hull tears would appear when the ship went through a nebula that disabled sensors and then disappear when the ship came back out.

posted on May 4th, 2013, 5:10 pm

Well, stock A2 had damage textures that I recall. Every non-Borg race has Borg assimilation textures for every ship and station so same principle. I've got many ship and station mods that come with assimilated textures and some even have new damage textures too.

Edit: beat me to it Cabal

posted on May 4th, 2013, 5:23 pm

Let me clarify.

we do plan on eventually having more reasonable damage features, once we have designed the correct tools for that.

Idea 1. Its just a model change. Damage is modeled/textured onto this model, but it otherwise has no difference. (I can provide an example of this) You wont need extra tools if the whole model is modified so the damage is modeled.

A1 and A2 had damage textures that appeared when a sub-system was disabled, but it was an awkward implementation since massive hull tears would appear when the ship went through a nebula that disabled sensors and then disappear when the ship came back out.

Idea 2. Not quite what I meant. I was thinking of a layer that is modeled, but has a command attached to it. This command will let parts of it darken, depending on the 'texture' that is available. The 'damage' would fade overtime, but is meant to give it a realistic look.

Can the A2 engine handle damage textures? It already seems taxed to the limit!

They have actually made many improvements to the engine. It is now more advanced then the original engine, and is capable of supporting much more.

Hope this clarified some things.

posted on May 4th, 2013, 9:13 pm

Yes, but I've been under the impression that the damage textures were removed to ease the load on the aging A2 engine, and the argument you've presented is only a minor inconvenience and I don't see how that could warrant removal of damage textures...

posted on May 4th, 2013, 9:51 pm

Damage textures and emitters were "removed" because the way it is done in Armada II is unrealistic and ugly. When we have a better system we'll implement it

posted on May 5th, 2013, 12:31 am

@Destroyer96: if you're looking for Damage Textures, I was told and now strongly recommend Project Orange - Damage Effects Mod by Fahres on Armada2Files (http://armada2.filefront.com/file/Project_Orange_Damage_Effects_Mod;99496). It is a very great mod and has the best Damage Textures and Effects compared to stock A2.

@Dominus_Noctis: Are the damage textures going to be anything like the Project Orange - Damage Effects Mod? Have you and the Devs even tried that mod out or even thought about incorporating it into FleetOps? If not, is there something like it or close to it being planned?

When it comes to damage effects, I've found that the Project Orange - Damage Effects Mod is much more realistic, fits Star Trek more by bring A2's damage closer to what is seen in Star Trek canon (at least close to it). I have actually noticed its incorporated in some mods that I've downloaded that are higher up total conversions.