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 318)
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on Apr 08, 2011

 It does have and extra Beam off the front (from the Desolator part) and an extra 2 missil tubes  (Kortal 4 & Desolator 8) I thought inbetween, but I could add more. The abilities Ryat has created I think make it more powerfull also. The size, though less bulky in appearance overall, is actually a bit longer. I guess it could be scaled up a bit if needed.

Thankyou for your comments.

And as for time frame. It will be similar, though more likely longer.

on Apr 08, 2011

I'm not saying anything is a pure mash-up. Let me rephrase... mostly mash-up with little details added here and there. The bridging structure on SivCorps just stands out prominently.

Anyway, I like both. I just want to see what the final submissions will look like. Still wondering if anyone is going to take a crack at the Advent.

on Apr 08, 2011

I will look into the advent at a later time. 

 

But for now I'm just going to concentrate on the Vas.  The smooth lines should help in developing a good advent hybrid

on Apr 08, 2011

Yeah, one thing at a time.

Meanwhile, I got more Lore up. It's a mash between Teal and myself, so it's longer than my average post, but I used more of my prose style. It should be clear where her writing is versus mine, give or take.

on Apr 08, 2011

SivCorp
I will look into the advent at a later time.

Use the model SuperZero0 created as a baseline. He got it (IMHO) almost spot on to what I wanted.

on Apr 08, 2011

Any chance that combining mods is easy?

I am not a modder, but i would like all of your effects merged with another mod.  How do I do that?  I first guess would be to merge the Galaxy def files and icon files.  Not that i know how?  Is it as simple as "cut & paste"?  I'm guessing NOT!

If it were that simple ................  So what am I to do?  Would it be possible to request a mod merge?  Not that you have any more time to devote to such a way-out request.

on Apr 09, 2011

The entity manifest file is the biggest issue. After that it depends on the mods being merged as to what files conflict.

on Apr 09, 2011

Wow, I really like the way Super Zeroe's Vas ship looks. It's very definable!!!

on Apr 09, 2011

walkercubed
I first guess would be to merge the Galaxy def files and icon files.

And you'd get a lot of stuff, but nothing visual like what you see when something uses a special ability or when something else blows up.

walkercubed
i would like all of your effects merged with another mod.

In all honesty, if all you're after are the visual effects, then it really can be as simple as copy and paste from the Particle folder and the TextureAnimation folder and a healthy portion of files from the Texture folder.  Whether the other mod will use them all is a different story.

If you're after the abilities themselves, then yes, substantial work may be required to get the job done properly.

walkercubed
Would it be possible to request a mod merge?

Depends on the mod wanting to be merged and what exactly is being wanted to be carried over.

on Apr 09, 2011

Pardon my confusion, but is the Flagship mod that people are referring to the same as this one originally posted by Zombie?

on Apr 09, 2011

No, the one we're talking about is the DS version that Ryat created that will come bundled with DS if it's all worked out before the final release.

on Apr 09, 2011

Sounds great, and I'm looking forward to the next version!

on Apr 09, 2011

I hope all you DS folks don't mind me posting progress updates and getting feedback here?

 

I've solved the issue down on the front end of the ship.  I also took out the center cone from the carrier and enlarged the seige ships "pinchers"  I think the effect looks fairly good.

 

 

Next I'm going to get the rear done.  I will post that section when it is finished.

If you all want more angles/details, let me know and I'll post different parts for critique.  I just want this ship to be as bad @$$ as it can be

on Apr 09, 2011

I would say more angles are good, but only once you get some of the back done. No point otherwise. It's looking good. I notice the Kortul wings are gone. Is that so we get a clear view or is that cause you're planning to remove them all together?

on Apr 09, 2011

That front end looks a thousand times better Sivcorp. If you can optimize the rest of the model like that it will be beautiful.

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