New approach to the SINs space?

Just ain't gonna work.  EVE uses solar systems: sun with series of planets with their own moons and asteroid belts.  SINS: Solar Systems are optional -kiss off structure -plant a sun down, put as many planets as possible -often same type but different distance from the sun, and build wherever you can.  Very different models.

Travel in EVE -select object within solar system and warp.  Leave System via JumpGate.

Travel in SINS -any linked object can be travelled to within solar system.  No link, no travel.  Leave Planet via phase jump.

Yes, I'd love to see a true Solar System setup with "phase gates", but having played EVE, in combat targets warp constantly around the solar system landing at different ranges from objects and can quickly jump their fleet to the next system.  For how SINS is, this just won't work.  For one, EVE has a Universe, SINS doesn't.  EVE has systems linked together -1000's of systems and 1 map.  SINS has planetary objects linked together -dozens of systems and multiple maps that have nothing to do with one another.  EVE is persistent, SINS's just ain't.

Closest I was able to come was a 458 planetary object map based on the small Freelancer (some update of it) environment.

http://img268.imageshack.us/f/brwar.jpg/

http://img220.imageshack.us/f/freelancerpopulated.jpg/

yes, massive and a major resource hog.

um.. thats not what i was going for..

I wasn't trying to make it work like EVE, actually i've never even played it. I was thinking of making the planets part of the skybox (like homeworld 2) and instead of stars at the center a massive gravity well for large battles with other gravity-wells in the system being large structures or other points of interest.

Please read the entire post before you comment 

Are you only talking about planets beeing substituted with modules as only beeing a cosmetic change or that the new "planets" also have the same functionallity?

If it is  only cosmetic then it is pretty much just to replace one mesh reference with another

well I guess, there wouldnt be many "planets" in the SIN's format anymore except for moons pretty much. The structures wouldnt be the ones we use now those could be used to defend the larger structures or moons used to replace the planets. The changes would be primarily cosmetic except for the population and trade systems which would need to be tweaked to fit the new format.

The main reason for this idea is the lack of scale that SINs has. Planets, stars even black holes are truly massive bodies and could be represented in skyboxes where massive space stations or asteroid fields could be the old planets.

imagine a custom map of our solar system each of the planets is an individual system with its own custom skybox that has the planet dominating the background. you could even have Sol in there and when you jump to the star you are greeted with a massive star that truly dominates the view.

come on peeps, I was hoping for a little more than this

Get the Eve Tri exporter, get the skyboxes and moon textures and lets see what you come up with.

Well, like I said before... I dont have eve lol, I just that picture.

Btw are there any tutorials on how to make/texture new skyboxes?

If I'm understanding you right, you want to make a skybox of a planet and then change all of the planets to be artificial zones around the planet? Theoretically it could work, though since the skyboxes are supposed to wrapped around the game area I'm not sure if you could get a planet to work right. Also since skyboxes are random (and can even be changed in game) every skybox would have to be general enough so it could work with any map layout. You could make a very awesome mod if you can get it to work though (I would also like a skybox tutorial, there really should be more custom ones).

Edit: As to how we play Sins, you could either make this purely a cosmetic change or total change the style of the game. If you are ambitious I'd recommend the latter, as its really a pretty good idea and I'd hate to see it go to waste. I'd recommend things to make the game more fast pace (as the fleets would now be planetary defense forces), though its really up to you.

Your rubbed the genie tut lamp again

A Skybox is the background environment that the game plays inside of. Very similar to the model of a planet but think of it as playing inside the planet model. First there is the mesh file which is the model with the texture attached.

SkyboxBackdrop2.mesh

TXT
MeshData
    hasValidTangents TRUE
    BoundingRadius 24.583504
    MaxBoundingExtents [ 24.583504 24.583504 24.583504 ]
    MinBoundingExtents [ -24.583504 -24.583504 -24.583504 ]
    NumMaterials 1
    Material
        DiffuseTextureFileName "SkyboxBackdrop2.dds"
        SelfIlluminationTextureFileName ""
        NormalTextureFileName ""
        DisplacementTextureFileName ""
        TeamColorTextureFileName ""
        Diffuse ffffffff
        Ambient ffffffff
        Specular ffffffff
        Emissive ffffffff
        Glossiness 0.000000
NumPoints 0
NumVertices 615

SkyboxBackdrop2.dds

skybox02environmentcube.dds

This file links from GameInfo\SkyBoxProperties.skyboxbackdropdata

TXT
numProperties 7
properties
    meshName "SkyboxBackdrop2"
    diffuseLiteColor ffe7e3d6
    diffuseDarkColor ffd9ce9f
    ambientLiteColor ff29699c
    ambientDarkColor ff143f62
    specularColor ffffffff
    dustCloudColor ff3c7da8
    numFarStarIconCloudTextureNames 3
    textureName "galaxyspiral"
    textureName "galaxyspiral2"
    textureName "galaxyspiral3"
    environmentMapName "skybox02environmentcube.dds"

Thats what I've wrote up so far, back at it tomorrow.

See now there's a way around this. The skyboxes in sins are selected randomly by star type. But with this system there wouldnt be a variety planets/stars per say but a variety of skyboxes assigned to that planet type. (The Star entity file is now the planet entity file basically)  for instance you have the BlueStar entity, and you want to make it a terran planet. you replace the skybox list in it with your own custom terran planet skyboxes. so when you fire up sins instead of a bluestar you get a massive empty grav-well with one of a few random terran planet skyboxes as the background. so it wont be so random as different looking terran planets with maybe a different colored spacescape surrounding it.

do you have a xsi skybox scene that i can download myfist0?

Okay, then yes if you can get a skybox to look like it you should be good to go. So what exactly would you replace the stars with? In game they just kind of take up space and provide a connection to other solar systems, not sure what a planets equivalent would be.

well the stars would be a massive empty gravity well in the middle of the planetary system. also when you zoom all the way out instead of a star icon, it would be replaced with a planet Icon

I really like this idea!

There is an .OBJ and a .EXP scene included. Importing the object creates its own material set leaving the empty default material set which should be deleted. Opening the scene requires hooking up the texture again to the location on your harddrive.

SkyboxBackdrop2.7z

I made a page at http://soase.weebly.com/sky-boxes.html for future updates and downloads. I will add the Eve Skyboxes as I find them.

but how would you attack/colonize the planet?

You don't really. The planets are now the battlefield, with different regions of the planets having to be fought for individually. You would probably colonize space stations in the upper atmosphere or something.

I was thinking about this and I came up with a solution, If you've ever played distant stars mod you'll have an easier time understanding. Basically you would have alot of the "deep space's" with the capturable structures such as space stations or large asteroid mining facilities ect. the "deepspace's" themselves would be colonizable but have no health. Basically it would be a game of territories, where you capture and fortify territories. The capturable structures would have benifits for your defense and economy and since the structures are not "planets" they could have weapons and abilities. (in theory)

  In some of the mods the ships fly WAY out of their wells. With 3d movement the game could be exactly as it is now, no phase lanes...just open space.

Well I guess this idea died. A shame...

Not necessarily.  We just have to start some basic modifying, bit by bit, probably at first, not even close to what Viper is talking about, but perhaps bit by bit, we could get closer. 

If we start by removing the 'meshes' for the planets themselves, or replacing them with re-sized versions of some of the planet modules, we could approximate the 'stations' that Viper talks about briefly.

Even the star meshes themselves might as Viper said be changed out with a planet calls, not the mesh itself, as it would probably be way too small, or we could simply re-size the planet. I have done this, but have discovered a virus in the newbeorg re-size tool that was listed on these forums, a shame really, so i haven't used it since, but it is certainly possible.

My experience with skyboxes however borders on nil, but having seen some of the planet-scape backgrounds in Eve, or in AI War: Fleet Command, i understand, I think, what Viper is shooting for. A skilled artist could draw up a beautiful planet-scape, or asteroid field, or smashed planet (which i have wanted forever,  ) and with the re-sized planet (to Star size) and the removal of the 'planet' meshes from where they are now, or replacing them with 'stations' or modules could approximate what Viper is after. Although this would largely be cosmetic, and would not greatly change game play unless there were a way to have the new 'stations' less planet-like, abilities, especially passive ones can work as weapons, much like the magnetic cloud or the plasma storm does now. Weapons, such as beams or guns however would take someone with some deal of ability experience to get close to. But i think certainly do-able.  

I would like to see the effort continue and certainly with people pitching in, it could be done easier than a single individual having to have 'all' the skill sets, such as drawing, importing skyboxes or models, file coding, or mesh re-sizing or tweaking.

But i feel, like many here, that it would be a worthwhile effort, and certainly different and fun to play.

-Teal

Thanks, this pretty much what im going for, except i'm thinking of having the planet as part of the skybox. But I do like your idea, and it would be a nice substitute. I might start coding this pretty soon here. I have the resize too; and the resources to start a different experience.

:)  best of luck with it then, it sounds Wonderful!!  :)  Please let me know what you are doing for the skyboxes, i am not a good artist, but it would be fun to try. 

-Teal

Quoting MyFisto:

There is an .OBJ and a .EXP scene included. Importing the object creates its own material set leaving the empty default material set which should be deleted. Opening the scene requires hooking up the texture again to the location on your harddrive.

SkyboxBackdrop2.7z

I made a page at http://soase.weebly.com/sky-boxes.html for future updates and downloads. I will add the Eve Skyboxes as I find them.

-----------------------------------

Very nice work and beautiful explanation!!  It is still beyond my ability, but with a little work, perhaps i can learn. 

Is it possible for me to open one of these dds files in a paint program and add a planet? then re-save it?

Just a thought, or perhaps if there were already such pictures to add them to the game?

Sorry for so many questions, Thank you for the nice info. 

-Teal

yes it is possible.