Distant Stars Mod Blog


Feedback of any kind is always welcome. Ideas, balance changes, and bug reporting of any kind is always useful!

Version 1.00 Released!

Make sure to ask for permission before republishing any part of this mod to the public!

Downloads

Rebellion Logo

1.05 + DLC Compatible:

0.12 ALPHA Release:
Full Download:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/rebellion/Distant_Stars_(R)_ALPHA_0.13_[45189661].7z

Full Download MIRROR:
http://www.moddb.com/downloads/distant-stars-rebellion-alpha-013

MD5: 69486D2FCD3F35E46E6F5EF8C9F1634A

Diplomacy Logo

1.34 Compatible:

1.01 Release:
Full Download:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/diplomacy/Distant_Stars_(D)_1.01_[45685832].7z

 

Entrenchment Logo

1.051 Compatible:

Beta 0.9951 Release:
Full Download:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/entrenchment/DS_Entrenchment_Beta_0.9951_[36672852].7z

SoaSE Logo

1.14 - 1.181 Compatible:

Version 1.01:
Full Download:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/soase/Distant_Stars_v1.01_[453701567].7z

Make sure to ask for permission before republishing any part of this mod to the public!

Multiplayer Games:
We've setup a thread for everyone to organise their multiplayer games in and also setup example times and dates for most people to meet up and start games. These are what we hope to be the main times for people to be around and want to play games together.

The times are:
4pm EST (9pm GMT) Saturdays & Sundays
9pm EST (2am GMT)
Saturdays & Sundays

If you want to organise other games please go ahead using the same topic to consolidate all the information in one place and hopefully get more games together within our community. These games are for PvP, PvAI & PvPvAIso come along and we'll get some games going!

Screenshots:
We've setup a thread so you can all post your screenshots to share with us the Distant Stars team and its players. Im sure we're all intrigued to see what kinds of battles and events you've all been having on the mod aswell.

Lore:
We know some of you guys love to role play whilst using Distant Stars, and here's a topic for you guys to post all of your role playing stories, character profiles and anything else you can imagine.

Maps:
Some of you avid map makers out there have produced some great maps but never really had them recognised because they've got lost. Well here's a topic for you to post a link to the download (we can even provide mirrors if necessary) a screenshot or two of the map for us all the preview and if enough people like it we'll even include the map in with the actual mod!

Please visit our website and for more information, change logs, downloads, and to report bugs. Our website can be found here: http://distantstars.mmobase.com

Bug Reporting

If you want to report a bug please use the Bug Report feature on our website:
http://distantstars.mmobase.com/?m=reportabug

Please include as much information as possible, if you have an error log feel free to post it on these forums and we'll take it from there. If you can reproduce the error please include the error log (read below to find out how to enable error logs) and include as much detail on how to reproduce the problem.

To enable logging:
Windows Vista/Windows 7:
C:\Documents and Settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Setting
or
Windows XP:
C:\Documents and settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Setting

Open the user.setting file (using Notepad, Wordpad or any text editor) and scroll down to the bottom 7 lines from the bottom is the line:
LogOutput FALSE
Change FALSE to TRUE
LogOutput TRUE

and from then on any Log files will be saved to the debug folder:
Windows Vista/Windows 7:
C:\Documents and Settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Debug
or
Windows XP:
C:\Documents and settings\<Your Windows Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Ironclad Games\Sins of a Solar Empire\Debug

If you get these log files to us (you can just paste them in to a forum post) we can hopefully get your issues sorted.

Frequently Asked Questions

All files are compressed using 7Zip to shrink the download filesize. To extract these files you must use WinRAR or 7Zip.
Any Patches should overwrite the original install directory, either by extracting over the original folder, or cut/copy & pasting over the existing file/folder structure.

1) My game keeps crashing, is there anything I can do to stop it?
i) Are you running the game on maximum (highest) settings? if so, lower them to High or Medium, there is a known issue with the game using up too much memory, there is nothing we can do about this, also no matter how powerful your pc is, it is affected by this issue no matter the pc it is not above this crashing issue, it is a game problem not a hardware one, so quite simply lower your settings. If you still have an issue with crashing see point two.
ii) Give us as detailed information as possible about the crash, what was happening at the time of the crash, what races, ships, abilities were involved. If you can supply a Debug Log (see above for more information about logging) and post a bug report on our website.

2) The loading screens and portrait pictures dont appear properly, whats wrong?
i) This is an issue with ATI based graphics cards (rarely affects Nvidia based cards) we're looking in to the issue.

3) Why dont you support converting Distant Stars in to TXT format?
i) Quite simply many things can go wrong with converting your mod to TXT, we cant help you with something you've probably broken yourself.

4) Can I mod Distant Stars for myself?
i) Yes you can however please do not distribute our mod or our mod that you have edited to the public. You must ask for permission to do so, we will regrettably stop distributing our mod to all if users abuse our work.

5) Your mod is in BIN format I can't edit the files, what can I do?
i) You can convert the mod to TXT format however we wont offer any support to versions of the mod that have been converted to TXT.

6) Why is Distant Stars distributed in BIN format?
i) Mods load faster in BIN format and are less likely to have issues in this format.

7) I'm having trouble installing the MOD, do you have any more instructions?
i) Carbon was kind enough to do some more advanced instructions out here.

8) Is there any way to make new maps for Distant Stars using GalaxyForge?
i) Within the Distant Stars Extras folder there is a folder called Galaxy Forge, Copy and Paste this folder (or its contents) over your original Galaxy Forge folder (or its contents) replacing any files if it asks you to. When you start Galaxy Forge next you'll be able to use all of our planets.

Or, the DIY approach (without custom icons):

ii) The GalaxyForge supplied by the devs will still work with our Mod, however to be able to access all of our planetary bonuses, templates, planet types and stars you will need to take our GalaxyScenarioDef.galaxyScenarioDef (found in the GameInfo folder of the mod) and place it in to your GalaxyForge folder, overwriting the original GalaxyScenarioDef.galaxyScenarioDef (if you still wish to make maps for the original game keep a backup of the original file). This will allow you to use all of the Galaxy changes included in our mod.

Note: Any maps made for Distant Stars will not work with other Mods. See #8.2 for DIY instructions for map making or take the appropriate files from Entrenchment, they're cross-client compatible.

Some statistics...

Since August 2009 to February 2011 we have had over...

400,000 Unique visits to the website
12,000GB (12TB) of data transferred from our website

That equates to over 60,000 Unique downloads of the entire mod, excluding the excess of 20,000 Patches downloaded. 

Thanks to everyone that has supported us this far and making our mod as popular as it is!

dyMRNwSFh9gw

Comments (Page 229)
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on Jul 03, 2010

Go ahead. I have no idea what LAA is.

on Jul 03, 2010

God damn fucking LAA!  GO AWAY!!!!  I blame SupCom for this.  It's not their fault, it's the fault of people not knowing what the hell they're doing and then spreading it around that they fixed something...  These 'programs' pop up all of the time claiming to do something they really don't do, at least this one came with a read me that kind of half way explained things.

So here's some education for you.

There's this:

https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/335474/page/111/#2571696

and this:

https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/335474/page/124/#2623746

and this:

http://sinsdistantstars.wikia.com/wiki/Tips

and this:

and many more things all over the net...  I'm just too tired to care to look for them and filter out all the bullshit incorrect information giving sites.

 

So now that you're up to date on what LAA is, I'm just going to say that no, don't bother with that "booster" unless you're absolutely at your lowest settings and still having issues, and even then don't bother because if you're having issues at the lowest settings, then your computer sucks, I mean is old and won't be able to take advantage of it anyway.

on Jul 03, 2010

HAHHAHA

My computer is 4 years old, but still behaving well.

I can run sins with DS on Medium. It is not very slow.

on Jul 03, 2010

My machine is 64-bit, do I automatically come off better. Ha!

on Jul 04, 2010

thanks stant, yes you are a condescending    of a Muppet.  I've been out of the loop, not down for a coma.  When I ask if the frakking Mod works for specific versions, since your don't speak for the team -don't be an ass or people will figure out just why you aren't, just give a yes/no.  If you are part of the team, don't make them look like asshats by association.  I asked because in my prior experience with the 7DeadlySins mod, any changes StarClad made or information withheld could have dire consequences.

I figured it was a matter of copy/paste, but I'd rather ask than frak something up beyond recognition.  Regarding Bases... sure, more the merrier I say.  Yes, I loved making the vasari/advent militias, making the 7 Deadly Sins GSDef file for mapping kick ass maps, and love the work Distant Stars has done.
Check "Template:DefaultStart_Grave", "groups 19" there is a lot on the same line that seems out of place.
"Template:StrongHold1" and "Template:StrongHold2"; is it possible to vary the "Fleet" so you don't always have the same forces arrayed or are they like pirates in that you really can't do that?  All I notice is that all urban worlds have massive forces without any real difference.

All aside, I like the mod. 

on Jul 04, 2010

sorry about Stant123 - yes he is our resident Asshole though highly knowledgeable so we keep him around

as for the what version works, any and all information is posted as clearly as possible in the OP section

the templates stronghold1 and 2 are map specific (Ashes of TEC) so they aren't randomize by choice but if you wish to use them for yourself and vary them (look to the other template settings for information on how to do that) easilyl

on Jul 05, 2010

I purchased this game over the weekend, purely with using this mod in mind.

As far as I know I have followed the instructions to the letter, but I still end up with a checksum of 0.

I have downloaded both files, and my game has been updated to the latest version (1.011). I start by extracting the larger of the 2 files to a folder named distant stars, which I then cut and paste to the diplomacy 1.011 mod folder.

After starting the game, the checksum is 0.

Then I thought that maybe you have to patch the game also. When you open the patch file, there is the txt document about deleting 4 files. I could not locate any files that matched those in the game info folder.

I'm dying to use this mod, so if anyone can see where I am going wrong, please help me out.

Thanks
Dan

on Jul 05, 2010

dannerz


I have downloaded both files, and my game has been updated to the latest version (1.011). I start by extracting the larger of the 2 files to a folder named distant stars, which I then cut and paste to the diplomacy 1.011 mod folder.

you are placing an extra folder, take the mod out of that folder and it should work

and no there is no need to patch the Diplomacy version

on Jul 05, 2010

Thanks for the quick reply.

It works now.

on Jul 05, 2010

SemazRalan
thanks stant, yes you are a condescending    of a .  I've been out of the loop, not down for a coma.  When I ask if the frakking Mod works for specific versions, since your don't speak for the team -don't be an ass or people will figure out just why you aren't, just give a yes/no.  If you are part of the team, don't make them look like asshats by association.  I asked because in my prior experience with the 7DeadlySins mod, any changes StarClad made or information withheld could have dire consequences.

I figured it was a matter of copy/paste, but I'd rather ask than frak something up beyond recognition.  Regarding Bases... sure, more the merrier I say.  Yes, I loved making the vasari/advent militias, making the 7 Deadly Sins GSDef file for mapping kick ass maps, and love the work Distant Stars has done.
Check "Template:DefaultStart_Grave", "groups 19" there is a lot on the same line that seems out of place.
"Template:StrongHold1" and "Template:StrongHold2"; is it possible to vary the "Fleet" so you don't always have the same forces arrayed or are they like pirates in that you really can't do that?  All I notice is that all urban worlds have massive forces without any real difference.

All aside, I like the mod. 

 

It's cute how you use made up words and icons.  I'm going to offer you and the world a glimpse into my mind as scary as that sounds.  Here's why you got the answer you got.

While I was reading your first comment, I was formulating an answer in my head as I went.  You know, you started off asking for the versions, and I was prepared to give you, and actually did give you the simple yes/no answers with a very small explanation to the no answer, however, as you continued to type, you made yourself out to be a total fucking idiot, and I had no reason to not treat you as such.  Hey, maybe that's not what you intended, but seriously, go back and read it.  I'll help break it down for you.  This is in no way meant to piss you off, only explain why, but if it does, whatever, I'm addicted to hate.  Ask these guys, spew some venom and watch me enjoy it and return some more.  =Þ

Asking what versions is this for tells me that you didn't bother reading the top.  Okay, I get that.  It's dumb, but I get it.  Not everyone looks and reads large blobs of text, and I was in the mindset I was dealing with someone who had no clue how these things work...  It clearly states what versions it works for.  Okay, you're just lazy, no big deal right?  THEN you go and mention not even knowing what to do with the patch.  Well, that shifts my mindset from you not being as lazy as you were originally making yourself out to be which means you're just stupid if you read it but didn't know what you just read.  It's not wrote in hieroglyphics so really you have no excuse...  I mean seriously, you type English well enough, you can formulate decent sentences, comparing numbers is a piece of cake by comparison.  Then you go and further cement this ideal about you by asking about if there's full downloads...  Using their instead of there while asking tells me that your brain has switched part of itself off or that you just haven't learned the proper usage of words yet.  Regarding the entrenchment patch comment...   At this point, I know you're completely useless because you've not only demonstrated that you did read, but you read the right section and looked at the patch and still somehow, honestly, I'm not even going to try and figure it out how, but somehow you managed to not see the words FULL DOWNLOAD in red...  I do believe I explained it as well and as concise as anyone could have explained it...  Honestly, I think the highlighted text explains the patch well enough, to borrow a phrase from another company, "It's so easy, even a caveman can do it."  I'm really thinking now, okay, you got a disability, I get it, you don't need to keep going on with the easy answerable questions...

Even still at this point, I was still in the mindset to be pretty nice about it because I'm not a mean guy to retarded people, I'm just not.  Life has already played a cruel joke on them, and I give them a free pass because of it.  I'm an asshole, but only to people who deserve it.  Yes you deserved it, here's why.

You go on to say that you've been out of gaming for a while, but the mod looks nice and you at least created content for another mod.  At this point, I had to step back from the post and look at it differently.  I was convinced you were an idiot, you really left me no choice but to believe that, and I was sold.  You got me!  Yes you did, you got me.  Well done.  I don't get taken advantage of too often, but you had me.  If you had stopped your post before that comment, I would have been so nice and accommodating, and I would have fucked with anybody who made any type of negative comment about you, because you got me.  I help those who can't help themselves, and wow...  What the fuck...  I got had.  You are my newest favorite person.  I mean that.  I'm a little pissed off, because I got had, but what whatever.  I still like you.

But back to that comment, out of gaming for a while, what ever, no big deal.  I pop in and out of gaming circles, so I know the feeling.  You say the mod looks nice, that tells me you either did get a working copy and played it a bit, you did your research on the project and you liked what you were seeing, or you were just talking out of your ass.  I mean, what?  How do you know what it looks like...  I thought you were a mentally challenged person who didn't even know how to understand what they're reading or know what version it worked on or how to patch or what links to download...  So I have to assume you're just talking out your ass because there's no way you know what the fuck you're talking about.  It's just not possible.  However, you continued the thought with informing me that you created content for Seven Deadly Sins.  Now you're just full of shit.  There's no way those guys would take your work.  Don't come here bragging about something that's just not possible.  We're not idiots, there's no way we can believe you're a modder if you're asking such questions that make you out to be short on brain power.  It's asinine of you to think that anyone would believe you.  However, I do accept the fact that one who would be so bold as to say they've created content for a mod to another group of modders who can easily verify the claims if they choose to, actually has in fact done what they've claimed.  I know they're not total fucking idiots over there, so to accept your work means you're a competent thinker and playing me the way you have just played me isn't very nice.  At this point I'm a little mad at you, I like you, but I'm mad at you.  You got me to pity you when you didn't deserve it.

Now you offer up that the mod need more bases, throw out the customary compliment, and toss out why you're here...  Frankly, I'm insulted by this.  You've given me plenty of reasons to doubt that you're even capable of knowing what this mod needs let alone how even a light switch works, but given the fact that you've made the claim that you're a mod contributor and have worked on the galaxyscenariodef file, and that I'm willing to accept that comment at face value, tells me that you are indeed more then capable of reading and understanding what's there at the top of the page, you've looked the post over, downloaded a copy of it or at the very least done some research further back in the thread and found out the same information I presented, and dissected it to some degree to offer up some advice on what should be added, and then plan on contributing something in the future possibly.  Honestly, the first response I typed out was a simple "Why don't you just go fuck yourself." but I changed it to at least be helpful to someone else reading it who might have a legitimate reason for asking the questions since they are in fact lazy and didn't read the top post or mentally retarded and cannot understand things as well as you or I, while still being an asshole to you...  I'm just a nice guy like that.  Then I added my disclaimer for my amusement and for the amusement of others that know me.

So there you have it.  That's why you got the asshole-ish response.  I feel the need to add the ish to the end of that because let's be honest, I can and have done a hell of a lot worse. (That comment right there should get a laugh out of some people.   They know who they are.)

Now then, because I'm in the mood of discussing my thought processes, allow me the opportunity to continue.

SemazRalan
thanks stant, yes you are a condescending    of a .  I've been out of the loop, not down for a coma.  When I ask if the frakking Mod works for specific versions, since your don't speak for the team -don't be an ass or people will figure out just why you aren't,

Um...  What?  Just so you know, I have this personal philosophy that you should probably get to know someone before trying to help them out with life advice.  It's served me really well.  Take what you want from it.  I don't know you well enough to be telling you to follow it, so you know, the choice is yours.  Also, I'm not a team member of this mod or any other mod because it is my choice not to be one, not because I'm not ever asked.  Like Ryat said, I'm actually very knowledgeable, and to expand upon that, I do contribute a lot in multiple fashions, not only to this mod, but other mods and other games as well.  Again, me not being a team member for any mods is the choice I make, my personal attitude is a reflection of that choice, not the other way around, because if you ask those that interact with me all of the time, they'll tell you that yes, I can be an asshole at times, but not one of them will tell you they want me to be a different person.  I've been modding games for over 13 years, yet I've not been credited as a team member on a single project because I've always refused.  Games are a hobby to me, nothing more.  I don't need to be given credit for me making a hobby more fun for myself.  If others get the benefit of enjoying it more as well, so be it.  Some people like having their names on things, others do it as a resume builder, and there's not one thing wrong with that.  If I was an aspiring programmer, I'm pretty sure I'd want my name on as many projects as I could get involved with.  I have received credit as a contributor before, but that was only because those on the team felt like acknowledging my efforts without telling me they were doing so, otherwise I would have stopped it.  Also, not being a team member means I can say and do things they'd like to say and do to people but can't because they are team members, so in that sense, I can provide an extra service that gives a team deniability.  I know, pretty sweet right?  I get to do what they wish they could have done and then they can just say, he's not with us, he can go fuck himself and it's all good.  Not that it's happening here, because it's not, this one's all me.

SemazRalan
just give a yes/no

I did.  =]  Although I did briefly explain that it's possible to turn the no into a yes.

SemazRalan
If you are part of the team, don't make them look like asshats by association. I asked because in my prior experience with the 7DeadlySins mod,

Hence my repeated disclaimer that these opinions are mine and mine alone and not of the team and should not be taken as a reflection of their thoughts and/or opinions.  Everybody understand that?  Okay.  =]  As for your prior experience with 7DS, what am I supposed to be thinking about them at this point since you keep claiming to have worked on that?  I know what the mod is and have used it and enjoyed it, but I'm really starting to think that you didn't...  Seriously, if you're so challenged that you can't compare numbers and you gave them stuff and they used it, then that would mean they're really stupid and I really don't think that about them.  I like their work.

SemazRalan
any changes StarClad made or information withheld could have dire consequences.

Yeah, but that's why mods are always considered beta and are always being tested.  Even the word final doesn't mean it's out of Beta, it just means they're no longer working on it for whatever reasons they give.  I like how you combined the two companies there.  Not as funny as the guy who said he was getting entrenchoplomacy so he could play with all of the goodies, but good effort anyway.  You got an audible "Ha." out of me for that one.

SemazRalan
I figured it was a matter of copy/paste, but I'd rather ask than frak something up beyond recognition.

Except for the fact that you didn't even ask that question.  Had you just posted, hey guys I've been out of the game a while, do I just copy and paste or what?  We wouldn't be here right now, you would have been linked to FAQ #7 and the not as funny as it could have been comic and I would have been on my merry way...  In fact, I'm the one who came up with the idea to include the install instructions in the answer because you'd probably be needing them since you asked the questions you did even though you pissed me off, so really, I figured out what you were really wanting to know even though you didn't even ask for it.  Come on people, you gotta tip a glass for me on that one.  See, I'm actually pretty good at what I do, I get the results even if the methods are a little off.

SemazRalan
Regarding Bases... sure, more the merrier I say.  Yes, I loved making the vasari/advent militias, making the 7 Deadly Sins GSDef file for mapping kick ass maps, and love the work Distant Stars has done.

Bases can only come in so many combinations before they become pointless additions.  While the thought is nice to have 90 types or more, the reality is, if no one is going to use 70 of those combinations, why include them?  You're wasting valuable space and time that can be better spent on other things.  From a player's standpoint yes, it's great to have as many choices as you can get, from a modder/programmer standpoint, you have to draw the line somewhere.  So which standpoint do we want to look at this from?  7DS again...  Nah, I'm claiming bullshit.  You didn't work on the project.  You've given me far too many reasons to doubt it.  If you did you would have known about lazy people asking dumb questions and taken the time to figure it out or just ask the specific question you wanted to know rather then a bunch of dumb ones, and you would have known the process to go through to add a mod, even if you've been out for a couple years or more and didn't know the location changes, a quick read of the top post would have given you more then enough information to get yourself a copy of the mod and you would have known there's always a read me included on how to get it up and running if you can't find the install instructions on the forum the mod is posted on, which this one is...  You're a good bullshitter.  I like you a lot, but I can't take you at your word.  There's just too much not right about the things you say.

The rest of it, Ryat answered, so I'm not going to bother.

 

So there it is.  I got a lot of good laughs out of this, and you can all walk away now knowing that you're better people because you don't think like me.  =]

 

on Jul 05, 2010

I managed to get Distant Stars running now properly and I have to say it beats the other mods so far. I have never played such a great SoaSE match. AWESOME!

on Jul 05, 2010

"It's not wrote in hieroglyphics"

Careful about the grammatical corrections.

on Jul 05, 2010

Uh, SamazRalan actually did do work for 7DS.  He did the GalaxyScenarioDef file for version 2.1 with militias for all the races in that version, plus some epic-sized maps, and I've been wondering where the hell he's been and why he hasn't made a new GalaxyScenarioDef for the Entrenchment Alpha we're doing right now.

Samaz, get the f**k back on the forums at danmangames.com/forums/index.php and get a new GalaxyScenarioDef written up.  It would also be nice if you could fix the starting templates for all the maps since Dan forgot to add quick and normal start info in for most of the races.

on Jul 05, 2010

okay Stant123, SpardaSon21, SemanRalan let's please stop this pissing contest, we would like this thread clear for Tech Support and Idea sharing (not too mention compliments)

on Jul 05, 2010

I know he did, I looked it up already, I'm just saying I got had and I was mad about that, but I was still doing it for the fun of it and SemazRalan was my new best forum friend.  =]

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