[ Tabletop Round-Up SS + Skirmish AI 3.0: 1.4 released, Page #55 ]

[thudmeizer]

I'm currently working on TTRU AI as its been since mid last Nov I had a chance to update it. Currently doing some quick work on Lights of the Warp (first time that old team has real decent AI).

[Zany Reaper]

Morat - Yeah, I think you might be right on this one. That ability parameter definately exists...

thudmeizer - Cheers

[Firewarrior1705]

Zany, this would be the best way to deactivate those pesky air-strikes for those(like me) that consider them IMBA for a TT-based mod. Good luck implementing it

And another thing: I know that in TT the space marines use the Damocles Command Tank for calling down OBs and not the FC. Do you plan on adding the same feature in TTRU as well?(this would help SM players better locate suitable, less-defended positions from where the OB could be fired)

[Zany Reaper]

Well, the script worked in SS, so it should therefore work with TTRU. I selected random abilities though, but it will work for specific abilities. One ability would be 'knocked out' per race, with the possible exceptions of Sisters of Battle & eldar, whom lack any decent 'airstrike' abilities.

I'm keeping the lance strike to the Force commander. If the damocles were given it, then the force commander would NEVER be used in future games.

[CrazyManMilo]

really cool video, looking forward to using the Chaos Melta Strike, very Iron Warriors-y

[Zany Reaper]

How is it Iron-warrioresque? It's not a siege weapon :S

Progress on IG doctrines is slow but steady. I need to get the face masks textured in addition to some other fun parts, such as the sharp shooter's visor.

[CrazyManMilo]

True , but the IW focus alot on Bombardment, wich is what I assume The Melta Strike is, even if it is triggered from the Chaos Lord. So while it may not be a technical siege weapon it still kinda is IW like

[Zany Reaper]

Suppose you have a point. The Melta torpedoes however use the Word bearers' colour scheme as the texture.

[CrazyManMilo]

o well cant have everything

[Misanthrope]

Hi,

Just got TTRU a few days ago, and I've gotta say, that's some excellent work you've done there...

My only beef with it is the rescaled infantry sizes. Any chance that for further releases you can include an original-scale mutator or installation options?

[raphealray36]

I for one like the scaled down sizes. It makes maps bigger and the game longer. Seems more campaignish then a quick battle and makes transports more useful.

I am actually in the middle of learning how to do this as I want to scale down my Soulstorm mod.

[Zany Reaper]

Hi.

As for the unit sizes, I've scaled them up slightly since version 1.35. Infantry are about 33% bigger than before, & vehicles are about 20% bigger (although some have been scaled by different factors).

I cannot put in a 'mutator' though, as sizes are controlled by certain lua files in the art directory. All I can settle for is the current compromise.

[Vlorlich]

Hey Zany,

Firstly... luv the mod. Just started playing it this week.

Secondly... are you working on a SS version of this? If so... is there a way to scroll back more to get a bigger view of the battle field?

Thanks!

[thudmeizer]

Secondly... are you working on a SS version of this? If so... is there a way to scroll back more to get a bigger view of the battle field?

Enough Said!

I am just about done with the TTRU AI for using SoulStorm but can easily switch it for DC but yes TTRU works fine in Soulstorm apart for 100 UCS errors but nothing catastrophic.

[raphealray36]

What, TTRU works for SS. Are the Dark Elder/Sob resized and rebalanced.

Can can we install this yet or is thud mearley pointning out what needs to be done after the offical release of TTRU for SS?

You can tell I am not a modder.

Still love this mod though.

[Firewarrior1705]

Zany, what's the accuracy of the hammerhead's rail gun? I was playing the pre-release beta and one of my tanks fired 4 or 5 shots at a pred and all missed It was a bug or this was intended(I hope not)

[Zany Reaper]

Vlorlich - Hi. To zoom out more, you may wish to download the camera zoom mod (I think that's the name) & put the files in the relevant directory of the TTRU mod folder.

thudmeizer - Thanks for the fix Thud. BTW, I don't suppose you could get me a texture artist for a quick texture I need touching up? It's only about half a texture that needs completing. Bezerker & Valkirie don't want do to it & say they don't have the time, & I don't think I can do it myself properly as they require a tad more detail.
It's to do with the IG doctrines, mainly armour plates.

raphealray36 - It theoretically works in SS now, but SoB & DE haven't been touched. It's just a temporary adjustment to 'move with the times.' The AI however that Thud's done is optimised for SS + TTRU combined.

Firewarrior1705 - Hammerhead's railgun accuracy should be 50%, upgraded to 66.6% with the target lock research (I don't care if it starts with a targetting array to begin with in TT, the research has to be useful somehow). I think in that case, you just were very unlucky. There'd be about a 6% chance of that happening in sequence.

[Wolfleader]

Hi Zany

I hope you don't mind me asking but I'm hoping to try and add tracers to the FX of the Hydra AA firing. Unfortunately, the model won't open in OE when I change it to ebp (keep getting an unable to open model error. OE hates me, 'nuff said) so I can't check which FX lua file it is using when it fires so I can modify it. Can you tell me which one it is?

Thanks.

[Zany Reaper]

Hi. Which FX is buggy? I'll be able to tell you the names of whatever. However, the Hydra doesn't use any new FX, so it's more likely to be a model problem.

Nevertheless I can fix it. Which version is this by the way?

[Firewarrior1705]

How is work progresing Zany? What do you still have to add?

[Zany Reaper]

Working on rigging various parts of the IG doctrines. I got that script to nullify certain abilities working however.

[Wolfleader]

Hi Zany

No, the FX isn't buggy. I just wanted to add tracers to the quad autocannons of the Hydra when they fire. that's all. I did manage to finally get the ebp to open last night so I now know which FX it uses.

[Zany Reaper]

Ah, that's good! Well, the Sentinel autocannon tracer FX would be what you're looking for.

--------- The man with the massive Butt ---------

Imperial porno

Got your hopes up about seeing pleasure servitors, didn't I?

Well, this' one of the new features for guardsmen - hardened fighter doctrine combined with the light infantry doctrine. There're gonna be other ones too, like carapace armour, but they're not finished (textured) yet.

More to come!

[Panzern00b21]

Zany, think you could make some old school 2nd edition cadians ?

Id post pictures, but google has failed me yet again.

[sunray]

Hi Zany Reaper,

Obviously, you have me interested, when you mention/show new ways of showing IG codex features.

I will keep a keen eye on developments. It looks very interesting, to say the least. There is lots that can still be done.

Panzern00b21 -

I agree, the second edition codex IG would make excellent hardened veterans !!

regards

sunray

[holyknight]

his eyes look weird. I don't know if he has his eyes open or closed =\

[Perturabo]

ibet that thats more then a cancerstik...him being a harden vet and all (explains the eyes), zany ive been following your mod since you began but this is my first post in your thread, i really like your mod you have added great things to Dow since you started, only problem (i know your tired of hearing this) is the size, its a good change but a bit Extreme, even thou it does grow on you after awhile, and makes the game feel more "epic". great model for the harden vet and the melta torpedos are gona be awesome

[Zany Reaper]

Panzern00b21 - Hi, uh... What are 2nd edition hardened veterans?
TBH, I'm not particularly interested in adding veteran squads as I have mentioned before I think. They're not as useful as other veteran-type units of other army types, as they really only gain a few extra skills, and a leadership bonus. AFAIK, that's it. Stormtroopers beat them in almost every way too.

Also, note that I said hardened fighters, not veterans. This doctrine is supposed to give guardsmen a slight bonus in close combat (+1 to weapon skill specifically).

sunray - I'm giving Light infantry sniper rifles too I stole the Scout sniper rifle & doubled the texture resolution, changing a few bits here & there to make it look cooler. I'll show it at a later stage however, when I actually get a texture artist to help (no luck yet).

holyknight - If you look closely at the IG sergeant heads (GM & kasrkin), you'll actually see that their eyes are not visible! They're just black holes. I took & modified the face of the sergeant, particularly the eyes for this dude.
Smokey here actually has eyes in the screenshot, but I made them deliberately dark. I once had them bright, but then they looked stupid in contrast to the darker surroundings of his face.

Perturabo - Hi. Size has been scaled up slightly for the next upcoming version, so that's okay.

The guardsman above however isn't a hardened veteran, he's supposed to be the new light infantry face.

[sunray]

Zany Reaper,

These are the codex second edition guardsmen that Panzern00b21 is talking about. Sorry I couldn't make the images larger, but this will give you an idea of what they look like.

GUARDSMEN:










STORMTROOPERS:






Notice that they don't wear body armour, don't have bayonets fixed, have lots of camo, and have different shape helmets - and berets for the stormtroopers.

regards

sunray

[Zany Reaper]

I see your point... The blue camoflaged dude has a rather nice machette though. I might model that for the warrior weapons doctrine.
I don't think there's anything else in these pictures that'll be useful however, sorry

[Panzern00b21]

Aww... I always loved theyre helmets... It would be cool if there was a 2nd edition helmet model thrown in occasionally with guardsmen squads when they are built.

I see what you mean with pointless hardened veterans, IMO that should just be an upgrade for individual guardsmen units that give them improved stats.

Edit: and Sunray, im really impressed you found those pictures, you really seem to have your net info sources in order !

[sunray]

I agree with Panzern00b21. I quite like the helmet on those second edition IG. It would be nice to see some heads with those helmets thrown in randomly. Hmmmmm.......armoured fist squad recognition perhaps.....

Panzern00b21 -

Those photos actually come from the second edition Imperial Guard Collectors Guide. One of my prized possessions, and something that could be a source of inspiration to mod makers in general.

regards

sunray

[Zany Reaper]

I don't know what's different about the 2nd edition helmets to the current ones in Dawn of war. :S I definately think that Stormtroopers/Kasrkin replace Hardened veterans in practically all situations. Stormtroopers even get meltabombs, making them the cheapest anti-vehicle unit in the tabletop game!

I stole the headset from the Scouts if that'll make you happy to add a bit of variation to the dudes. I don't know what doctrine to represent that with however. I might just simply shove it on the guy that I modelled above.

I also made & textured a quick & nasty replica of that machette. That'll be used in combo with the laspistol for the Warrior weapons doctrine.

[Imrix]

Having just got a working graphics card after a year and a day of not being to game at all, one of my first acts was to get the TTRU mod working again.

It's certainly been an interesting experience. I'm not entirely sure I agree with the cap on elites and heavy support units, partially because I like experimenting with lots of different units, partially because the cap on elites and heavy support units overlaps. Is it possible to create a script to turn that feature off?

Oh, and Hardened Veterans do have one advantage over Stormtroopers, by the way. Hardened Veterans get more special weapons- three to the Stormtroopers two, so far as I know.

Other than that though, the mod is awesome in every way. Nice work!

[Zany Reaper]

There's no specific script to disable such caps, but you could try modifying the race ebps files to increase heavy support cap levels with an RGD editor. Elites cap however is more complicated.

Whilst veterans may get 3 special weapons, so can IG special weapons add-ons. Only difference is that Veterans are slightly better at using them, but on the other and, you can get a lot more special weapons teams
I've represented that in TTRU by allowing GM squads to get up to 3 special weapons per squad.

[Imrix]

Nuts. Me and code... Don't get on well.

And yeah. The difference between Hardened Vets and Stormtroopers is number of special weapons, while having more BS and ablative wounds than special weapons squads. Really, guardsmen with three special weapons pretty much sums it up.

[Wolfleader]

I don't know what's different about the 2nd edition helmets to the current ones in Dawn of war. :S I definately think that Stormtroopers/Kasrkin replace Hardened veterans in practically all situations. Stormtroopers even get meltabombs, making them the cheapest anti-vehicle unit in the tabletop game!

I have the last IG model before the stormtroopers from the picture list so here's a quick comparison from a quick view.

1) the imperial eagle isn't on the helmet. Instead it's on the left shoulder pad.
2) the helmet resembles and fits the head more like the kevlar 'fritz' helmet used by the US army.
3) the ear covers on the helmet are much smaller than the one for the current IG helmets. The helmet actually fits simmilar to the Kevlar 'Fritz' helmet used by the US army.
4) Rather than the square block at the back of the helmet, it's
actually a small thin pouch.
5) a head band runs the perimeter of the helmet which is what the 2 pouches (one on top of the left ear cover and the one in the back of the helmet mentioned in point 4) are attached to.

it's late now and i'm dying to go to bed, but if you want i can post a series of photos of the two 2nd ed IG guardsmen miniatures i have if you want/ need some reference or somesuch.

[sunray]

Hi Wolfleader,

Personally, I would appreciate seeing those pictures. And I believe you are absolutely correct.

In addition, it seems that there is no upper body armour, and the shoulder pads are much smaller.

I like these guys a lot. It would be good to see someone use their image to represent a particular branch of the IG army in their mod. That's why I suggested that they would fit perfectly as Armoured Fist infantry.

It would make a nice change from the current stock standard Cadians.

regards

sunray

[Zany Reaper]

I've animated the sniper rifle firing animations now. The rest of the animations should either be simple vis groups or Xreffs. Not sure about the idle sniper animations however.

BTW, do you want the sniper dudes to ALWAYS fire whilst crouched, or do you want them to stand & shoot whilst not in cover, & only fire crouched when in cover? I made 2 such animations.

[sunray]

Hi Zany,

I think it would be normal for the sniper to always fire from the crouched position, when in cover, but when not in cover it would probably look better (game wise) for him to fire from the standing position.

regards

sunray

[Zany Reaper]

Okay, I'll do that.

Got animations finished now, so the OE comes next.

[Richdog]

I installed this mod recently and just can't stop playing it... it's very very good. It gives a "realistic" feel to the game (well as realistic as it can get considering the circumstances lol) as even the heaviest units can only take a few heavy direct hits before folding. Me likes a lot.

[Zany Reaper]

Thanks mate

I've got some other guy working on converting the SS lua files to fit with TTRU, whilst I get my IG doctrine dudes dealt with. He's taking his time though.

[Richdog]

Yeah I look forward to the SS versions of all of these mods (DowXP, Annihilation etc)... I have a friend who I play MP with regularly and he refuses to install Dark Crusade and isn't really a big fan of the mod scene as he doesn't like "changing the game" (don't ask, i'm trying to educate him, but it's a slow process) so as soon as the SS verisons are reelased he will be forced upon pain of death to install them.

So far i've only tried Chaos, Eldar and Orks out on this mod... going to play through a skirmnish all the other races over the next couple of days!

Oh, one thing I have had problems with was with Orks... sometimes the Gretchin don't seem to want to build things that are queued up... no idea why.

[Skarsnik]

@Zany
What doctrines will be impleted and what are the effects ingame and effect on the gameplay?Will there be eye candy (cheminhalers give masks,sharpshooters give scopes...)

Maybe,like in tt, make guardsmen more expensive as you research the doctrines and put a limit on them like the other researches?

[Zany Reaper]

Richdog - Well, it's good to see you're interested
The gretchin pathfinding I believe is inherent of std Dawn of War. It happens frequently whenever I use orks whenever in DOW full stop(.) I have no idea why

Skarsnik - I'll put up a list now:

http://z9.invisionfree.com/Tabletop_...?showtopic=165

That should answer your question.

[Richdog]

Sounds awesome... I know you won't have any definite sort of answer but what's a rough ETA for this being SS compatible... and do you intend to release a SS compatible version before you've worked on Dark Eldar and the SOB armies?

[Zany Reaper]

I have no ETA, but I do plan on releasing a version before actually adding new stuff to the 2 new races.

Edited the previous post too.

[Richdog]

Hehe please don't take this the wrong way but after playing the Imperial Guard I just noticed the new voiceovers for the Griffon and Hydra etc and lets just say that you can er... tell they were made by some young teen who likes computer games. They don't sound very Imperial Guard.

[Zany Reaper]

Really? I quite liked them. It's the same actor as the new Ork voice stuff BTW.