Posts by APE

Well, I think there is a quite narrow timeline, that THIS time doesn't only depends on the benevolence of OP.

After about 200 h of playing Crossfire, singleplay AS WELL AS multiplay, I feel "ripe" enough to state my opinion here (for native german speakers: meinen Senf dazu zu geben),
even though I still haven't seen everything, too often distracted by admiring the surrounding and - well, much more - by playing the game.

The systems, the backgrounds are MARVELLEOUS. Everey time I entered a new system, while also some of the vanilla systems "looked" absolutly new to me, I had to stop,
if I wasn't harrased by some unfriendly npc and just STARE on the beauty, that surronded me.

The nebulas are really "nebulous". When flying through the fine dust, trying to perk around the next whee cloud on what may lie on my way, I -still- often have to rubb my nose
due to a imagined feeling of tickle. Due to increased "friction" by the dust the speed and agility of your fighter is reduced. In my eyes definitly a PLUS-feature with influence on tactics:
when chasing npc with a sluggish VHF or "assault freighter", I sometimes "seek" nebulas for relativating the speed advantage (i.e. Shikoku).

And the MUSIC ! I have to admit that I sometimes plan my gaming, like choosing the next npc-hunting system on the music I will hear while waiting near the tradeline for my next prey.
Sometimes I just fly around for no other reason, than enjoying the music, and always a got laugh, when docking at a prison.

The "enhanced" npc-AI first almost rejected me from any further playing. I could accept, that alien fighters might fly around in a way not comprehensive to what a human
would think and feel about possible physics - THEY ARE ALIEN. But that the "normal" human pirat, Xenos, corporate suckers, even the cops fly around as nibbling
on a Cardamine-Rum-Whisky cocktail, chewing on shield-batts and being massaged by nano-botts in their panties..... bah, tishtosh ! And on the server they are even more crazy.
But,.............., NOW I LIKE IT ! It's much more challenging. Moving away from the arcade-pinball-alike almost exponential kill-scoring elsewhere.

The newly introduced fighters look great and fit well into the CF-universe, even though not FL- or CF-specific/exclusive/original made. And as far as I've seen every coalition fighter
got a mayor overhaul and rework, model- and texturewise, FUUNTASTIC, esp. the new cockpits, which I love. Might be easier to fly with the "normal" view, but these new cockpits
give a great feel of realism.
Speaking of models, these new stations and alien ships, fighters as cap-ships are AWFUL, the new station rooms with the Dom'Kavash, COOOL ! - and so......alien.

The quests are great fun, finding out the stories of the Crossfire universe. And they are exactly the kind of loose cord, that keeps me bounded to playing such a game, giving my exploring,
working/fighting for money, new ships and equipment a purpose.
Much better than in simple OSP, like other mods. (I know: "old" feature of CF,but something that, for me, REALLY makes a difference.)

These are the tos, now some fros.
All-most very minor and most likely only recognized by the fewest of player, but out of honesty I feel obliged to mention them here. Even though there might never be a next version or update of CF.

Staying with the models:
most likely due to lack of time and manpower working on it, sometimes the weapon or other hardpoints (i.e. pilot heads pocking through cockpit-canopies)seem to be a bit displaced.
On the new models as well as on fighters already present at CF 1.7 (never got my hands on an earlier version), where I thought, they might have been checked/fixed in the new CF 1.8.

Another thing about the fighters: IMHO they are too balanced, means their abilities are almost the same: same weaps (4 class 10guns, 2 class 9guns), same agility (bit better than eagle,
shroud being pretty standard for almost every vhf). Only a few "older" ones have some specialty that counts, like an additional torp-slot, 6 class 10guns, armor above 12000, additional turrets,
but for a trade, mostly agility.
Some more variability alike could have been a good thing. It could give one the reason for testing mlore ships, see what fighter-style, the heavy gunnery, or more the speedyone,
suits own taste. I know, balancing these differences for keeping the balance on multiplay, so that there isn't the "one" superfighter would have been difficult and extremly timeconsuming,
esp. for one man alone.

Probably due to the same reason, most of the ships infocards are......dissapointing. Mostly no real info on the ship, exchangable, uncatchy.
A car-seller with such advertising would be bankrupt in no time.

At some systems I got the feeling, there's something missing, perhaps there was/is something planned for in future, or been taken away from earlier versions. I.e. the battleship graveyards
to be found in one of the new systems, or the planet "Lost Paradise". It looks and feels like a prepped OR abandoned film-setup, but missing actors, director, camera team etc.. Esp. at Lost Paradise.
Was planned/has been there something like WTS-mod, like airfights, ground-bombing runs ?

The advanced shader option I think as a feature good to be introduced to CF, but not really ripe, beside the issue with the black triangle at soem points. At some points
the "blooming" is IMO a bit too much, esp. at the station rooms, where some of the characters are so enlighted, that they seem to be near transcendance to nirwana.

But that's only my personal tasting.

As everything I have stated here. Final conclusion: there is space for more work to be done on that, that shouldn't be and couldn't be done by one alone.

[SIZE=4]BUT IT ROCKS ![/SIZE]

Quote

Originally posted by SWAT_OP-R8R
dramatic
yeah... i guess thats the way ppl will see it when i have to close the server due to the lack of support which would be in about a month

I think with THAT OP not only refers to what's going on on the game-server (or NOT going on) or to the amount of community activity.

I think this points to some very ugly [SIZE=1](esp. if you don't have enough of it, what you will never have)[/SIZE] REAL LIFE stuff
called

[SIZE=3]MONEY ![/SIZE]

Running a server costs, euros, dollars, pond sterling, rupies, yen. [SIZE=3]CASH, KNETE, BUCKS, PENUNSE[/SIZE] [SIZE=1](sorry if I fall back in my mother tongue, but it's pretty serious stuff.)[/SIZE]

To be honest, it's something I never really thought of while dwelling here with you, m8s. And I'm ashamed by my behavior.

If I'm right, please send me a pm, OP how I can donate, since SWAT-portal is still down [SIZE=1]and I have some issues with paypal.[/SIZE]

To have the opportunity to play something like Crossfire should be at least be worth the amount of money you would give for a newly bought game.

EDIT:
payment worked (I hope). So no need for PM, OP.
Sry, a confirmation, that it has reached you would be nice.

The CF db and password isn't working.

To be abit witty : searching and exploring IS the game on singleplay;)

Other than that, a little hint in your pm.

Quote

Originally posted by Hellraiser
....he scared the hell out of me.....

That's how we ALL should feel, better [SIZE=4]act accordingly ![/SIZE]

Thanks for the clarification of your decision, OP. It helped me, personally, to understand you better.

And with that

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I actually dont care how long you will take... but you should know that every wasted day will make it harder... you are going downhill and way up will be much longer the more time passes by. When I see that SWAT is an active community again that is FULL of members which want to have a future here then I will return

you leave us, at least me with some hope, that SWAT and Crossfire MIGHT not end.[SIZE=1](silly, but I still believe in the good of mankind, also of "gamerkind".)[/SIZE]

A last question from my side, the I will leave this thread, as it is.

Will SWAT-portal come back fully operational, with all it has to offer (tuts, tools, downloads,etc) to be reached over the "normal" adress, or only via the forum-connection ?

Thx in advance.

I thought of "staff members", since they were called upon.

About the commnuity of 8000 it would be a shame, but out of more thsn 8000 ppl downloading, only the smallest part ever goes playing public.

And even a smaller number will spent a dimes worth thinking, what they could be worth of others work.

And an again smaller number get their bum moved and at least attend a forum.

And so on.

But at least it will always YOUR decision to live and let die, what's going with SWAT, what will happen to the Crossfire server.

Quote

Originally posted by SWAT_OP-R8R
The only reason why the CF server is loosing members over and over again is the stupidity of the players and the ignorance they show to what has to be done. The ignorance to what i have requested. The fail to see the chances that SWAT could offer if it could follow its purpose.
But thats not going to happen.

1.

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....the stupidity of the players and the ignorance they show to what has to be done.

Do you refer here to the still too wide spread inability to start ans RESTART properly ?

Or anything else ? I don't see a failure in it to play on the server, as freelancer without license, as "lone some merc, pirat, cop, mixup" etc with a license, or member as a clan.
Am I missing something ?

2.

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The ignorance to what i have requested.

That's something, where I can -unfortunatly- understand your anger. But in that your expectations are eventually a bit too high for the social dynamics in a group, where "just having fun" is their main reason to be there.

To get an appearance of ,what was is at the meeting: 6 out of a dozen or two dozen of people ? is a percentage you could be proud of. I once attended a quite exclosive "club", over 35 even PAYING members, and it wasn't peanuts. On festivities 20 to 30 ppl were there. But on the dates for "true" work once a month, we seldomly got the necessary 7 together.

YOUR dedication to modding and Freelancer is something exceptional.

3.

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The fail to see the chances that SWAT could offer if it could follow its purpose.

I think here counts in, what Myric and Daywalker said. The vast majority of ppl comming to SWAT just look out for Crossfire, not looking left or right, even IF there's something else to discover.

Guys like me, who came here looking for something NOT Crossfire or Freelancer related [SIZE=1]( I was FULL of prejudices and objections AGAINST playing any Freelancer game)[/SIZE] I would render also more seldom than the usual.

4.

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But thats not going to happen.

[SIZE=1](last question here)[/SIZE]
What do you mean by that ?

@ michael

In one of the rumors told in the bar on earth it's said, that there should be some

"by the nomads reprogrammed coalitioncarriers still be out there.".

Will there be missions about that later in the following of the quest be available ?

Or was something like an encounter with them planned in the developing of CF 1.8 and then skipped ?

[SIZE=1]Finally an answer of one of the other Crossfire team members.[/SIZE]

Quote

Originally posted by Myric

I have no idea how this can be solved.

Any opinions on what I suggested in the lower part of my starting post ?

[SIZE=1]@ bond : didn't know, that there're more old farts like me around (see my sig).[/SIZE]

Dear OP,
I think THAT

Quote

the expression "Crossfire Community" is in my eyes pretty sick I have not created a crossfire community nor did i ever want to create one. Crossfire is nothing but a tool for me, a tool that serves SWAT (or at least should do that).

is a result of the quality of your mod, of Crossfire as a whole, not only CF 1.81 but also all previous versions [SIZE=1](al least CF 1.7, which I have played)[/SIZE].
You made your "tool" too good.

It has developed kind of a life by its own. A life powerfull enough to distract YOU from what you aimed at, powerfull enough to suppress
any other "modding" or SWAT-community life.
But also powerfull enough to breed a bunch of gamers addicted to it, even if they seem not able to properly spread their drug and recruit new addicts.

I haven't digged deep enough [SIZE=1](by now)[/SIZE] to know how life on SWAT was in the beginning or even 4 years, 3 years ago, prior to the start of development of CF 1.8.
Perhaps it is necessary to start anew. But then perhaps it would be better, if there's a cut, or at least kind of a border between Crossfire and SWAT.

Of course, you can pull the plug on Crossfire every moment and in very real way when I think of the server. But that would only kill multiplay.

BE ASSURED, even than Crossfire will live on. On hundreds of PCs played in Singleplay. At some point in the future maybe someone else will develop an own server-mod
version of it and open it up again for the gamers. That won't be me. I'm probably too old to learn what's necessary for that and I'm mostlikely too daft to do so.
But others will come.

WHY ? Because Crossfire is a MILESTONE in FL modding and as such it will never be forgotten.

I can only please You to consider, what I've suggested above.

Run faster

Sry, no offense. In SP they are REALLY hard but as said running, using "Z", quicken around as a bacteria on cardamine and get a really VHF with lot of armour and lots of nonos and bots i.e. the Komodo Dragon (Planet Aventin, Vega).

Other than that: see pm

OR
come to the server, get some training with the npcs there and perhaps find some guys who might help you trough, till you reach coalition space.

But be warned, some of the coalition BAD guys are even more a pain in the ass (even harder weaps used on you[11]

Dear, OP

I'll try to attach the files I mentioned in pm here.

Quote

Originally posted by SWAT_OP-R8R
there wont be a cf1.9 and there wont be any patches

Quote

Originally posted by SWAT_OP-R8R
yes this is it
ive announced what would happen if the members of this community wont do their part and now thats the result
i did my part and i finished what i wanted to finish.... so yes thats it

Dear OP,

when I read the statements above I was buffed, stunned, SHOCKED !...........And I still fail to really understand your decision.

I came to SWAT - about a year ago - for anything but digging into Crossfire, even if I played CF 1.7 years ago - yeah on SP. But I was caught by the progress CF 1.8 had made and I followed it by an occasional look. I started looking more frequently, when last autumn all the hassle about lacking support to You, SWAT and the mod itself started.
Silently,
since I didn't feel competent enough to contribute something more countable beside cheer-ups.
When you threatened everybody with the possibility of NO RELEASE AT ALL, I looked almost daily and when You finally (who- or whatever FORTUNATLY convinced You to do so) released CF 1.80, I downloaded it ASAP. Just in case you might change your mind and scrap it, so that I would have a copy of it on my harddrive for safe.

I felt a strong resemblance to the release of the original Freelancer: years of development, an eager awaiting, pressing community, in the end rushed into release, premature, in what was planned for it, in what the developer wanted to achieve, leaving him kind of frustrated.

CF 1.80 was ALSO premature. CF 1.81 came and several updates via launcher and still there seems work to be done for Crossfire 1.81, some minor (like missplaced hardpoints), some eventually bigger, most likely only You know of, OP.

Ppl started to play, report bugs, bigger-smaller-sometimes even no-bugs, feedback came in, they participate. And the community started to take action:

- Michaels continuing work on the toolbar,
- the making of the new maps by Ryleous Arkane an the SILVER ARROWS - and Michael's map ofc
- the Wiki, that begins to be filled by content, slowly atm, but taking on

There're also new ppl around, trying to contribute, at least giving their opinions and views as an input.
Hellraiser for example: young, eager, sometimes perhaps too eager, but definetly willingly to contribute. Might need a helping hand to be guided, what he's asking for.
Myself another example: not interested in FL at all when I came here, but being talked by You and all the other great ppl here to start playing EVEN ON A SERVER, unthinkable for me before. Now I am staff member for the Wiki.

From my point of view the CROSSFIRE community has been more active in the last two months than the whole last year.

If You refer to the SWAT community, OP, I have to agree.....................There seems to be almost none existing.

When SWAT portal was created, I think You intended somehting to cover perhaps not all but at least the better part of all spacesims around with informations, tools and mods, if available - kinda one-stop for everybody interested in spacesim gaming.
Not only that, maybe you thought of a "modding portal", where modders and would/could-be modders find a place to discuss, get help, make friends and DO MODDING together with others, not only freelancer-based but also for other moddable games. Perhaps even host mods for other games.

That's the impression I got when I first saw the portal the very first time about 3 or 4 years ago, with its long list of other games on the left side, the forums homepage with all the other game's forums and the download section, where you can get a lot of stuff for other moddable games.

You have started some modding with another engine already: Starlancer Sol Wars build on the FSO engine of Freespace. I saw the talk about it with some well-known Freespace-modders on mobd.
Unfortunatly none of this took place at the Freespace forum of SWAT.

The other FL-based SWAT projects: Blaster Universe, Destructable Universe, Tournament Mod, Starlancer Reborn, StarWars Chronicles.
Nowhere signs of activity, infos on process, even if they are still alive. No discussions or posts, that could make curious, that could attract someone.
Traffic on the Freelancer subforums for modding is also anything else than vibrant.

And the SWAT project Crossfire now on Vs. 1.81, was/is (oh, I don't know, I only can hope) an achievement of the community ? Or wasn't this titanic work almost completly done by ONE man, YOU, OP ?
I have no idea, why this was/is so. If there weren't any other modders, modelers and so on willingly enough or capable enough, I don't know.

To me it looks a bit, as if Crossfire has eaten You up, OP, by doing almost everything alone, the modding, the forum administration, keeping the server running AND listening to and also caring about all the gamers, when they ask about some silly features,they would like to have, some lost chars or whatever someone cried out loud for [SIZE=3]M[/SIZE]aster[SIZE=3]O[/SIZE]f[SIZE=3]M[/SIZE]odding, You.
All this might have distracted You from attending the other projects, from eventually teaching/training/creating a capable modders community -for Freelancer AND other games-, that could carry on the work You have started here, that could develop its abilities and mods on its own, so that SWAT becomes THE forge for modders all around.

Everybody knows, that Crossfire is YOUR baby, your child and for the time being of any Freelancer-gaming You will be MR.CROSSFIRE. But perhaps the time has come to let your child grow up and for You to LET (atleast on a long cord).
Why not handing over the torch ?
Get someone else or a team to care about Crossfire, who can do the finishing polish to CF 1.8, working down all the minor bugs with an occasional update for the players via launcher (perhaps coupled with an announcement on the forums), who can work on features you have/had (whatsoever) in mind for CF 1.9. If there isn't anybody capable in doing so - GROW them up for you. In every case, You will always have the last say in things done for crossfire, left alone to Your unmatched abilities in modding.
Get someone else or a team with proper rights and means to impose them to handle and moderate the forums. Tell them in what and how they could do it (closing threads, deleting posts and attachments, fining, even banning).

That would/could free You for other things and other projects to follow You are interested in (I could imagine, that after these years of work on Crossfire you might be a bit fed up with it.)
That would/could start/restart the developing of a more active modding community, when they can start participating in co-production of their most beloved mod.

But please, don't do the ONE thing

DON'T LET CROSSFIRE DIE

Quote

Originally posted by Gunny
BPmk3 is sluggish? I dont think so. 10 second burn of thrusters at 430ms? That can easily get you out of harms way and allow you time to cruise.

MAYBE you can run for some time - if you're not caught in an steroid field or similar.

But you won't WIN a "discussion" with a bad tempered, taxing pirat, who got some coal-gats or even nastier alien weaponry, AND some powerfull disruptors.

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Originally posted by taschentuch
i have to agree. really no fun today, yesterday the server crashed only once per hour

SAD I couldn't play yesterday and USE the time for my char.

BTW
Since Crossfire 1.81 is the first game I played online EVER,
is it normal for a gaming server to crash at least every hour, when it's running well ?

Plz don't take any offense anybody here.

It is simply an online-gaming-noob question.

NO FUN

playing on the server today.

Doesn't hold longer than 10 to 15 min. In four attempts I wasn't able to finish one mission.

[12]

Quote

Originally posted by Hellraiser
......
number of level 10 weps....only4?
Please increase the number of level10 weps to6 and leave the other feature alone.
This will give us a fighting chance against aliens when we are lonely.
can it be done to existing ships

Display More

There're at least 5 fighters I know of, that can carry 6 class 10 weapons:

-Hydra Mk2
-Bullpup Mk2
-Bullpup Mk3 (assault FREIGHTER, so sluggish)
-Ceptyr
-Scourge
[SIZE=1](as by date 07.03.2010. Perhaps there were some changes/updates per launcher to that. Tested in SP)[/SIZE]

Maybe there're more, I haven't tested every ship by now.

BUT BE WARNED:
All of these ships are quite sluggish compared to the other vhf, especially the starlancer-alliance fighters ( shroud & Co.).

They can stand well against npcs eventually also server npcs. But I doubt any chance against a shroud or raptor in pvp on the server.

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Originally posted by Martind Forlon
...As I discovered in recent days, with fairly agile ships with a good engine You can run most of the DK....

and that would be ??

With "sequence" I referred to the way-in-"goodie-selling station"-way-out, which is what you want in the first line. Then it's a sequence of jumpholes, which .... "follows" a bit another kind of sequence, when you "look" at them.

But honestly, I started out with just what you said:
plotting a map from hole to hole to hole [SIZE=1]to hole to hole to hole [/SIZE] .........