Help for a ship

Quote from NeXus

Yeah finally getting FL Dev to work I got the gist of that simple enough. I guess the part that doesn't make sense is, if I made an entry, does it need to be in XML format? And after I get an empty entry, how do the IDS numbers link to one another or how are they related. Does it matter at all if they aren't?

IDS_Name entries should not be in xml.

IDS_Info entries should be in xml. The specific format depends on the use of that particular IDS_Info entry. Look at existing entries and copy their format, adjusting only that parts that you need to change.

The ID numbers are not related to each other. They are simply place-holders for text or xml entries. The linking is done via nicknames in the .INI files.

There are other things to keep in mind, such as the fact that ID numbers change depending on the position of the DLL listing in Freelancer.ini. The reason for that the ID number MUST be unique and Freelancer changes the internal index number to an ID number based on the order of loading of the DLLs.

If that is confusing, try changing the loading order in Freelancer.ini, then re-launch FLDev and search for the contents of an ID that you know. You will see that the ID number changes when you change the loading order of the DLLs.

the sur builder on starport is not working correctly
ive tried it and the surs causes heavy problems

Quote from SWAT_OP-R8R

the sur builder on starport is not working correctly
ive tried it and the surs causes heavy problems

Can you remember what kinds of problems the generated surs caused?

Do you have any thoughts as to what might be wrong with the generated surs?

As you probably know, Lancer Solurus wrote the SUR Builder, but he has been busy doing professional game development recently, and does not have a lot of time to support it. I fixed a couple of bugs for him.

However, we have gotten zero feedback from anyone who knows as much about making surs as you do, OP. Gibbon (and other modders) have used the SUR Builder and are happy with it, while some modders prefer to make their surs in a modeling program for better control over the final sur.

But none of the testers have as much experience with making hand-crafted surs as you have, OP.

So any detail you can shed on the subject could be helpful.

i have build some surs
i have put them into FL
i have started FL and watched it freezing as soon these surs were loaded
ergo: it did not work
i absolutely didnt care for the "why" as i am able to build such surs in almost the same time as the sur builder (especially as it can only build very "primitive" surs)
the creation of halfway detailed surs or even complex surs is not even possible with that tool
the builder for sure is a nice idea but for sure is too limited to be of any use
oh and the flserver is much more sensitive to sur errors (as far as i could read a common problem in many mods)

Quote from SWAT_OP-R8R

i have build some surs
i have put them into FL
i have started FL and watched it freezing as soon these surs were loaded

Yeah, that is a bad sign.

I have never seen that happen, but it might depend on the .cmp that the .sur is based on.

Quote

the builder for sure is a nice idea but for sure is too limited to be of any use

It seems to be fine for most fighters, but I agree about complex shapes with convex areas... those are best done by hand.

Quote

oh and the flserver is much more sensitive to sur errors (as far as i could read a common problem in many mods)

Yes, I would expect that. Most of the server math is done with the .sur rather than the .cmp. The .cmp is used mostly for rendering graphics at close range, which is client-side. (And, yes, I know that you know that... I only wrote that for the benefit of other readers.)

OK, well, thank you for the report.

OP's FL got freezed mainly because his model was medium to complex, and not a simple ship, as he told....
as in general all the other ship models are 'simple' it's mainly why you never seen that problem, Bullwinkle
If you seen CF new, and even new-old ships have some special details....

Quote from NeXus

I take it there is no way for me to add my ship into crossfire without the patcher changing the files back to how they were? While thats great for multiplayer, I find that quite annoying when trying to do testing.

Disconnect from the Internet or use a firewall that can block outgoing traffic. Just remember that, if you connect to the Internet to play MP, then the launcher will over-write your files (so backup up any mods you make). And, of course, any kind of modding is considered to be cheating in MP, which is a ban-able offense (although the launcher solves most of those problems).

Michael: I suspect more than mere complexity, because we had more than a dozen modders making some crazy tests for the sur builder. Maybe OP used an older version, before we fixed a couple of bugs? There are several build options, and it is possible to make bad surs with the builder. Also, we discovered that .cmp parts needs "enough" vertices for the builder to build properly, so a part (group) in the .cmp may not build correctly. How many vertices is "enough"? It depends on the shape. Surs built by the builder should be visually inspected in HardCMP or MilkShape.

But, whatever, OP's tutorial on surs is one of the better tutorials, so he knows what he is doing. If he doesn't like the sur builder, that's OK. It is not for everyone.

NeXus is really a better audience for the sur builder. Use the default settings for a ship or non-convex shape, and the sur builder makes a working sur in a couple of minutes. For that job, it is a very convenient tool.

i used the latest build (i tend to get tools from the original source)

NeXus
i would like to suggest to you to re-read the CF licence agreement which tells you not to change anything on my mod

Quote from SWAT_OP-R8R

i used the latest build (i tend to get tools from the original source)

Yes, of course. I do the same.

But did you test recently? Or was it more than six months ago -- before we fixed a couple of bugs? The current version is "0.003", and has a couple of slightly repetitive MsgBoxes.

Also, the "original source" has changed... Lancer published the 0.002 version on DigitalBrilliance.com, but the SUR Builder is currently maintained on the Starport Forge: http://forge.the-starport.net/projects/lancer.

So, if you went to DigitalBrilliance for the file (a logical thing to do) then you would get an old version, without the ReadMe file that explains some of the features.

In any case, the SUR Builder is most reliable with its default setting, which does not attempt to tightly wrap convex shapes.

i used it 5 weeks ago