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Post by Sorzo on Aug 6, 2017 22:41:34 GMT -8
I guess there is still some work to do, some fortress and smaller cities around the planet, as well as taking care of the few refugees that managed to evacuate before the bombardment. Early spoilers for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Ava: 1227 Asaga: 1473 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 460 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue-Haired-One: 1137 Sola: 1575 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Aug 5, 2017 6:04:20 GMT -8
Ava: 1215 Asaga: 1467 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 520 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue-Haired-One: 1131 Sola: 1563 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Aug 4, 2017 5:00:08 GMT -8
Ava: 1215 Asaga: 1464 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 545(-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue-Haired-One: 1128 Sola: 1554 (+3)
Preparing to initiate Base Delta Zero!
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Post by Sorzo on Aug 3, 2017 18:48:27 GMT -8
The beauty of dealing with a fanatical cult of militant imperialists is that there are no civilians! The Solan armada is standing by in orbit with vanguard cannons primed, awaiting the go-ahead signal.
Then again, since the Tsun Empire hasn't managed to produce so much as a tumbleweed in resistance as of late, a ground campaign should still be easily won. For now, however, we will be refraining from deploying troops ourselves. In the event of an enemy naval ambush, we will be ready.
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Post by Sorzo on Aug 3, 2017 8:18:08 GMT -8
Ava: 1209 Asaga: 1461 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 580 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue-Haired-One: 1125 Sola: 1545 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Aug 2, 2017 16:51:18 GMT -8
Ava: 1206 Asaga: 1458 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 600 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Kryska: 1122 Sola: 1542 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Aug 1, 2017 3:48:44 GMT -8
Ava: 1194 TwinTails: 1452 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 655 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Lt. BlueStairs 1119 Sola: 1530 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Aug 1, 2017 3:38:46 GMT -8
Given that the code for the menu includes references to mod scenes, I think it's fair to assume that the menu was intended to give modders a framework for launching mods that aren't tied into the main game. Otherwise, the only ways to do so would be running it from the command console (easy, but not very professional-looking or user friendly, so more useful for mod developers than players) and coding a new menu from scratch (a daunting task for new modders, and one likely to run into compatibility issues with other mods).
I was able to add one of my little skit mods to the menu after only a few minutes, despite never having looked at the code before. It's just a matter of opening up "bonus menus.rpy" inside the game directory, declaring a variable using the existing BonusItem class, and adding it to an existing array that is, by default, empty.
Brief tutorial for anyone who cares:
Open "bonus menus.rpy" in the game folder after making a copy of the file and saving it somewhere else. We're editing a core game file, so it's always wise to have a backup.
Scroll down to where it says "addon_scenes = []".
Right above this line, declare any mods you want added. To do this, you need to create a variable name, have a thumbnail image, a name for what will be on the menu, a label that the menu will call, and a zoom level. You'll be typing this line from scratch, so be sure to begin it with four spaces (NOT A TAB!) in order to match the rest of the document. Renpy will throw it a fit, otherwise, and you won't be able to start your game.
The syntax will look like this:
variable = BonusItem("thumbnail", " name", "label", zoom)
The variable can be more or less anything, as can the name. The thumbnail can be any image within the game directory (if it's within a subfolder, you'll need to indicate as such). The label is a bit of specific code determined by the code of whatever mod you're trying to integrate. Look in the rpy file of the mod in question for the word "label" near the top, after the init section. The label should be the text that follows on that line, before the colon. The zoom is a number that will help your thumbnail fit in the menu properly. You'll probably have to play around with it, depending on the size of your thumbnail image. For a 1920x1080 thumbnail, 0.1 was perfect, so feel free to use that as a baseline and tweak from there.
For the test I ran, this is what I used:
****waifu_war_announcement = BonusItem("WaifuWarsMods/Waifu_War_Announcement_Thumbnail.jpg", " Waifu Wars Teaser", "WaifuModBlock1", 0.1)
To break it down:
*: Each of these represents a space; don't actually type the asterisks into the line waifu_war_announcement: Variable BonusItem: Defined class; do not change this part WaifuWarsMods: Folder under the game directory that my thumbnail is in Waifu_War_Announcement_Thumbnail.jpg: Thumbnail name Waifu Wars Teaser: What is displayed on the menu in-game WaifuModBlock1: Label that starts the mod 0.1: Zoom level; if your zoom level is off, the menu should still work, it'll just be ugly
Once you've finished this line of code, look below at the initial reference line: addon_scenes = []
Inside those brackets, type your variable name. My example looks like this:
addon_scenes = [waifu_war_announcement]
Save the document and open up MoA. If you did everything properly, the menu should work! If you're still having trouble, check out how the deleted scenes are formatted at the very start of the document. It's the same syntax.
If you want to integrate more than one mod this way, the process is essentially the same. Create a separate declaration line for the new mod, then add it in the brackets, with a comma and then a space separating each entry. There's virtually no limit to how many mods can be added in this way.
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 31, 2017 6:52:57 GMT -8
Ava: 1191 TailRed: 1446 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 690 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Lt. BluStairs 1116 Sola: 1521 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 29, 2017 14:44:30 GMT -8
Ava: 1182 Asaga: 1441 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 735 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Kryska: 1117 Sola: 1509 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 27, 2017 22:30:52 GMT -8
Ava: 1173 Asaga: 1432 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 790 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue-Staircase: 1111 Sola: 1500 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 27, 2017 5:21:23 GMT -8
Ava: 1170 Asaga: 1432 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 805 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue-Staircase: 1111 Sola: 1494 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 26, 2017 8:55:10 GMT -8
Ava: 1164 Asaga: 1429 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 830 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue-Staircase: 1111 Sola: 1488 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 25, 2017 10:14:52 GMT -8
Ava: 1158 Asaga: 1426 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 865 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue-Staircase: 1108 Sola: 1479 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 24, 2017 7:39:40 GMT -8
Ava: 1155 Asaga: 1423 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 890 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue-Staircase: 1105 Sola: 1473 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 23, 2017 6:56:11 GMT -8
Ava: 1149 Asaga: 1420 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 920 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Kryska: 1102 Sola: 1467 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 22, 2017 7:25:47 GMT -8
Ava: 1146 Asaga: 1414 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 945 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Lt. Stairs: 1099 Sola: 1458 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 21, 2017 11:57:41 GMT -8
Ava: 1143 Asaga: 1408 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 970 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue-Haired-One: 1099 Sola: 1452 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 20, 2017 6:14:57 GMT -8
Ava: 1134 Asaga: 1402 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 1025 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Kryska: 1093 Sola: 1440 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 19, 2017 11:38:05 GMT -8
Ava: 1128 Asaga: 1399 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 1050 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue-Haired One: 1093 Sola: 1434 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 18, 2017 11:48:04 GMT -8
Reposting a corrected version of the current score, since Icari mysteriously gained 100 points while poor Kryska was falsely accused of being eliminated.
Ava: 1119 Asaga: 1396 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 1090 Claude: Eliminated Blue-Haired One: 1090 Sola: 1425
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 18, 2017 4:58:07 GMT -8
Ava: 1116 Asaga: 1396 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 1105 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue-Haired One: 1090 (+1) Sola: 1419 (+2)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 17, 2017 12:36:08 GMT -8
Ava: 1113 Asaga: 1390 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 1130(-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue-haired One: 1086 (+1) Sola: 1417 (+2)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 16, 2017 11:08:04 GMT -8
Ava: 1107 Asaga: 1388 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 1175 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue-Haired One: 1077 (+1) Sola: 1407 (+2)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 15, 2017 16:47:50 GMT -8
I'm a horrible programmer, and that tutorial was enough to get me comfortably making linear story scenes. Once you get the basic rhythm down, the process is pretty straightforward.
A LD tutorial sounds great, Bigfoot. I haven't poked around that game's files much, but I did notice that the way characters are displayed seems to be different. MoA has various poses of entire characters saved as PNG files, but LD seems to have eyes and mouths as separate PNGs that need to be placed over character bodies, which are largely faceless by default. Is it just a case of showing one after the other and making sure they have the same coordinates?
For example, using made-up image variables, let's say I wanted to show Sola smiling with her eyes closed while wearing her plugsuit, with her on the right of the screen.
show sola plugsuit neutral: #Base body image xpos 0.8
show sola expression smile: #Facial expression image xpos 0.8
show sola eyes closed: #Eyes image xpos 0.8
Would the above code create the proper image? If so, would I have to command each part separately if I wanted to move or hide the character?
I haven't dabbled at all into the combat side of things. Would Liberation Day be easier to use overall if I wanted to eventually try adding new elements such as abilities? Units not having specific cutscene-style animations for every attack seems like it would make things easier.
Finally, Liberation Day's core files are all encoded in some sort of format, unlike MoA's. Magpie showed me a link that can extract data from them, but how would one go about [re]integrating new/altered files so that they can be run in LD?
Please don't feel the need to answer all this right now. They're just things that I'd like to see in a tutorial. I'd actually have probably messaged you about these questions at some point, since you seem to be the resident wise guru of modding.
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 15, 2017 3:50:41 GMT -8
Ava: 1104 Asaga: 1386 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 1208 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue-Haired-One: 1070 (+2) Sola: 1400 (+1)
Don't give up on Kryska. You never know what will happen, especially as the community shifts over time. Case in point, Icari used to be thought untouchable, yet now her cult has vanished and she's being burned down at an amazing rate. Meanwhile, Sola was stuck at around 1040 for ages, yet now she's in the lead. There's a very good chance we'll see a number of new posters enter the fray before all is said and done, especially once people who got Liberation Day as part of that recent Humble Bundle start beating the game.
You could always try advertising the contest on the Steam community boards for the Sunrider games, provided it's okay with Magpie.
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 14, 2017 15:18:28 GMT -8
I will say though in terms of conversations and feedback I have dealt with so far there has been a far greater number of people voicing frustration at the lack of romance options (which tends to be the trend when it comes to visual novels as a format) in the main plot of LD over people who were frustration with elements of characterisation, this is a fact and not me been tone deaf to feedback. I don't think the expectation of romance options can be attributed solely to preconceived expectations of the genre. In the OP of Mask of Arcadius, it suggestively shows most of the girls in individual states of partial undress, strongly implying that they will be possible love interests. Given that this wasn't at all the case in said game and still hasn't happened within the main timeline, it comes across as false advertising, and it's something players see before so much as clicking "New Game." Incidentally, I'd dislike those parts of the OP even if that wasn't the case. I find them tasteless and immature; they do their best to give an initial impression of the series being little more than smut, with the girls existing first and foremost as sex objects, and Sunrider deserves so, so much better than that. Liberation Day's OP was a vast improvement in that regard, even though it ironically showed more skin due to the glimpse of the mindstream. Anyway, while I don't think a new DLC for Liberation Day is a particularly viable avenue for Love in Space itself to pursue, particularly one set in the middle of the game that requires players to start over and doesn't introduce new plot elements, a story mod that fleshes out the Chigara romance certainly sounds within the realm of possibility for the community. Have you considered creating something like that, Sharr? I know it wouldn't offer the satisfaction of being official or canon, but it'd still be something. If it became a general community project that had a fair amount of group input, you could even potentially suggest that Magpie show Samu a concise, recorded version of the new content, perhaps along with notes justifying the changes. I'm generally wary of fans telling creators "No, this is how you do it!", but the Chigara romance was the subject of wide enough criticism that it might be warranted here, if not for the sake of officially improving Liberation Day, then for the sake of improving the depiction of romance in subsequent installments, and a proof of concept implemented within the actual source material has the potential to make for a much better argument than forum posts. Even ignoring that possibility, a mod would still let you play a version of the game that's that much closer to your ideal version. In the event that something like this did indeed become a community collaboration, I'd definitely be onboard, though there'd be a bit of a learning curve involved. I've never modded Liberation Day, only Mask of Arcadius, and even those segments lack player choices and aren't hooked into the main game. But then, that's what tutorials are for, I suppose. It's stuff I'll get around to learning at some point anyway.
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 14, 2017 5:51:12 GMT -8
Assuming that it won't be the last game of the series, I'm personally hoping that the next game won't have any romance, at least in the sense of Kayto being in a committed relationship. After what happened with Chigara, he should be given ample time to recover emotionally, doing plenty of soul-searching in which the player gets to determine his feelings toward Chigara, both before and after her inevitable return as a crazed yandere stalker that's been fused with Alice. As SharrOfRyuvia indicated, this shouldn't simply be a binary choice between still loving her and wanting nothing to do with her. At minimum, a third option should exist where Kayto still cares for her platonically and wants to save her while deciding to end their romantic relationship, ala what was seen in [RE]turn. While Kayto recovers, his interactions with the remaining girls should both be platonic and continue building foundations for eventual romantic involvement in later games. I haven't played them, but Sharr's description of the Persona games devoting a great deal of time toward developing personal bonds that aren't quite yet romantic sounds ideal. The next Sunrider could still have "routes" where the player picks one girl to spend the most time with, but things shouldn't be locked in until a subsequent installment. It isn't a perfect comparison, but I keep coming back to RWBY when thinking of how I'd like to see the next Sunrider handled. Vague but significant spoilers for said series follow: Like Liberation Day, RWBY Volume 3 ends with a massive series of plot twists that shatter the status quo and significantly darken the tone of the series, with the remaining heroes left scattered and devastated by their losses. Volume 4 does very little to advance the overall plot, instead focusing heavily on the characters coping with what happened and learning to move on. While this decision stalled the progression of the series, it gave the ending of Volume 3 the dramatic gravitas it deserved, rather than merely brushing it off as a series of twists that existed just for shock value. Taking the time to show the characters processing things in their own ways made them all the more human, and it allowed the audience to receive proper catharsis after an emotional gut-punch. For Sunrider, the Liberation Day Massacre was that gut-punch. An entire game was spent building up to it, and a DLC was devoted to alternative scenarios trying to avoid it. But its impact will be wasted if the next game simply treats it as a series of plot developments. The next game seems poised to toss in a ton of new ideas: an escalated Alliance/PACT war, a new PACT Admiral that seems like the Sunrider equivalent of Thrawn from Star Wars, the crew being scattered, yandere Chigara, and, of course, Crow Harbor. And, to be clear, those all sound great. I'm very, very excited for the next game. But the series shouldn't be so focused on rushing to get into its next act that it comes at the expense of the fallout of past events in terms of emotion and characterization. I'm not saying the next game should be nothing be Kayto sulking in a cabin (although given the amount of Sola screentime that would involve, I probably wouldn't mind), but I strongly feel that the game would benefit from slowing its pace considerably for a time, especially since things are bound to speed up again when the various new plot elements start coming together.
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 14, 2017 3:40:21 GMT -8
Ava: 1098 Asaga: 1381 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 1250 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue Stairs: 1066 Sola: 1391 (+3)
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Post by Sorzo on Jul 13, 2017 7:40:35 GMT -8
Ava: 1095 Asaga: 1378 Chigara: Eliminated Cossete: Eliminated Icari: 1270 (-5) Claude: Eliminated Blue Stairs: 1066 Sola: 1385 (+3)
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