The Dark Angels Mod - "Repent! For tomorrow you die!"

[thudmeizer]

I have absolutely no issue the way fliers are implemented in DoW1 because DoW1 is not C&C which has lots of room for landing and aircraft circling. It just can't be done in DoW1 since maps have to large and units have to be real tiny to make it look right. In DoW1 its not perfect but makes sense they hover higher as thats just the general look even if its not right thats the way it has to be because you cannot have massive landing strips in DoW1 like C&C games - buildings would never fit. Landing pads, sure, but then we're again back to VTOL aircraft. So I accept fliers in DoW1:SS - I don't like it but its the least issue I got with the game.

[Jaguar-Lord]

indeed flyers are not that good BUT we have some community made feature that could make a interesting Flyer variation on any mod interested to do it. (and willing to make a little of extra work on the flying units)

what's already available :
-the 1024x1024 maps are no more a limit we can make 2048x2048 maps : this would allow the long distance and huge landing trips, even ground bases if necessary.
-the issue we were having with flying unit being stuck on impassible terrain as been solved by Dark40, Jones and Chiu (if my memory is not flawed)
-Scar coding can tweak the speed of units and make them more close to realistic aerial units.


now there's some work to be done to implement this concept:

-the remaining problems lies with the fixed altitude of the units, about this we don't have any solution ...yet...unless some of the mod team working on space battles found something
-next step would be to reduce the size of flying units for this mod variation and improve some of the flying behaviors/physics and make a flyer only mod
-the reduced flying units would be available only from ground air base building or moving ground air carrier ( *big grin* : see the "Double Eagle" novel by Dan Abnet ) or anything the modder want.....
-a little more work would be necessary to reduce the environment feature by 20% to further increase the distance on maps : an alternative exist to the 3d work, it requires a good understanding of the Advanced Map Editor made by Dark40K. the other method use the scale reduction via a global simvis file, which requires the presence of an "idle" animation on each model needing the size reduction, this iddle anim doesn't need to be a real animation, it just need to be there in the model whe.
-new win conditions would be necessary.

conclusion : this is more like an exptension to a mod than anything else, it could well be a mod in itself, for SS off course, unless we suddenly see lot of flying units in DC.

i apologize for any off topic, if necessary i can remove this post and open a new topic.

JL

[thudmeizer]

Seems like much to fix such a really non-issue. If my flier gets stuck, I just move it. Of course, if I am being paid in a competitive DoW1 sport then perhaps I'd want to ensure all my fliers are equal on the map being used for the competition.

I'd soo sooner have real flight mechanics in DoW1 but as stated that can't happen due to the size of things and the OE. ie. flier cannot idle in a circle around an area, go on strafing runs, then coming back to base to land to refuel/rearm/repair...

[jONES1979]

-the issue we were having with flying unit being stuck on impassible terrain as been solved by Dark40, Jones and Chiu (if my memory is not flawed)

Unfortunately, people reporting, that by this solution the global Pathing itself became kind of damaged. Issue description: You send a Squad from point A to point B, and there is a impassable area between A and B. Squad goes until this area and stops. So Player need to return to this Squad, manually select them, and re-send it to the other [new] route [again]. (But, at least, nobody stuck )

Seems like much to fix such a really non-issue. If my flier gets stuck, I just move it.

The problem was : "If your flier gets stuck, I just CAN NOT move it from impassable area at all"

[Chiu ChunLing]

Yeah, but there are ways around that. You just have to order it to move to a different patch of impassible terrain, then stop it once it gets free of the first impassible terrain. The trick of reseting the 01x sector to be part of a separate node tree also works for upgrading maps without breaking the ground unit pathing, though the orders are still a bit buggy for air units that way.

For me, there were two main issues with the fliers as such. One, they use completely different movement dynamics when they are hovering and flying, most notably their turn rate when hovering is instantaneous which can look really dumb sometimes. This was exacerbated by the fact that many of them are designed to fly somewhat like they are flying. The second thing was that they could easily have moved much like how jumping units jump, but instead they are at a fixed height over the ground and trimmed to the slope of the terrain under them which makes no sense even when they're moving and looks really dumb whenever they're stopped over a slope.

And of course, I just didn't see how the fliers added anything that couldn't have been addressed by jumping units and perhaps more animation for abilities that nominally involved a flying unit...like air-strikes and stuff. I would much rather have seen the game add height based tactical advantages (some fine scar based implementations of such ideas exist, but scar has essential limitations) like better range or accuracy for units on higher ground (including ability casting and jump ranges). Or a bit of common-sense adjustment to the infiltration rules (contact range detection for most unit types--again doable with scar--or loss of infiltration for a short time when attacking, the way that veiled turrets worked in the original game).

For all of that, DA has some very cool things implemented with the fliers. Not anything that would have been outright impossible without fliers, but cool enough to make me feel that a lot of the uselessness of the fliers was due to the relatively paltry fliers initially released.

[B-C Vesuvious]

Sneaky sneaky lurky lurky. Glad to see you guys are still going strong.

[Gambit]

Fear not man, we are proceeding in a steady - and fast - pace. Thudo is relentless - I have never seen a man so devoted to projects (or so tolerant with his annoying play-testers!).
The current build is quite SOLID, but some tiny issues must be addressed before going public.
As usual, it is impossible to give an ETA, but the project is TOO close to completion.
One think I can say for sure: When released (read my signature), you'll be shocked !!!!!

[B-C Vesuvious]

I was impressed with it back in '09 when I was a member of the team. Lord only knows how epic it has become now.

[thudmeizer]

You wouldn't recognize it too much as its 10x cooler now.

[B-C Vesuvious]

10x?!?!?! Sweet mother of god........ *faints*

[thudmeizer]

ALot has happened since Fall'10.. we've had some of the best help in the entire DoW1 community making this project go beyond what we expected, old battle brother.

[B-C Vesuvious]

I eagerly await to purge the heretics and hunt the fallen.

[Whiteshield]

Guys, just a quick heads up. The Dark Prophecy mod in ModDB.com has Dark Angel models and Fallen Angel models. They're definitely not yours, but they're extremely well done. I think you should check em out and use them instead.

http://www.moddb.com/mods/dark-prophecy-mod

[B-C Vesuvious]

Don't worry Whiteshield, you'll be in for a shock when it comes to how nice these models will be.

[Gambit]

Guys, just a quick heads up. The Dark Prophecy mod in ModDB.com has Dark Angel models and Fallen Angel models. They're definitely not yours, but they're extremely well done. I think you should check em out and use them instead.

Thanks a lot man!!! Our current models are also awesome, but it never hurts to check

[SolidWilsen]

Is this mod dead? I'd love to get it, hell I'd even pay for it!

[Gambit]

DEAD????? NO WAY MAN!!!! FAAARRR from it!!!! Project is alive and kicking, I assure you.

In fact, we are VERY close to the next internal Beta. My speculation is that this will be the final internal build....
Currently, almost ALL issues have been addressed and we only need to perform final testing.

P.S.: Guys, sorry if I was TOO eager to say that it would be out imminently (I was naive as this was my FIRST time being part of a project). New issues were always popping up, slowing us down - plus MANY NEW ideas were introduced, and we had to implement them!

Your wait will not be in vain. Dark Angels is a MARVELLOUS QUALITY mod.

[thudmeizer]

We're IN-PROGRESS bro and nearly completed our full beta cycle.

[SolidWilsen]

Awesome! If you guys ever need more Beta-testers, add me on Steam; 2awesomewilsen

[blackprotoss]

Hi there ! Gotta ask : How is it going ? You know, all those rumours regarding Dark Angels on the tabletop, really makes me hunt some Fallen !!!
Come on, tease us with some pic, pretty please ? ( or even better, release it :P )

[RMX]

Since asking for updates is gonna piss Gorb a little, I'll inquire about the mod instead of its status.

I haven't read the whole thread, do DA have any custom buildings or do they mostly resuse SM's?

[Cylarne_04]

And here comes Gorb! Fee - Fi - Foe - Fumb.

Also while I'm at it, do Robes apply bonuses to infantry? I'm just curious to see how things turn out.

[Gambit]

The project is at the final stage guys...
Just be a bit more patient - as I repeatedly have said, the final result will PAY OFF!!!
And do not worry, the Dark Angels will not fail the Emperor this time - They fell once, NEVER again !

[thudmeizer]

A fully updated Sammael model is all we wait for then its soooooooo close.

[blackprotoss]

You guys are actually doing a Sammael's model ?? AWESOME !

[SolidWilsen]

Checking in on this project every day! Can't wait for it to be finished!

[blackprotoss]

Any news on the battlefront ?

[Gambit]

We are still in the process of completing Sammael model. Due to heavy schedule of the person responsible (the great K!), this may take a while

[blackprotoss]

Oh, it's fine. Any piece of artesany like this mod is requieres time

[Sucal]

Huh, amusing this is still being worked on.

[thudmeizer]

Amusing you say, Heretek boy? <snicker>

[Sucal]

Dang straight. Hereteks have more fun. I mean, how can you deny yourself the pleasure of grafting a quad-core fusion powered witchblade into your Mechandrite.

And I was more talking about how it was almost done when I joined.

[thudmeizer]

Its 10x more done then THOSE days..

[blackprotoss]

Weeeell it's been almost a month and no news, soooo : How is it going ?

[Gambit]

Do not worry man, things are going very well. The mod is alive and kicking. And it is in final stages.

A couple things that came up, stalled us for sometime, but we are VERY close to resolving the last issue now. Thus, the delay...


But now, some balance tests, last playtesting to ensure "flawless" performance, and some SURPRISE additions is all that remains.
So, we are CLOSER now!

Stay tuned, you will NOT regret it!!!

[blackprotoss]

Well if you need playtesters, I would gladly help the Inner Circle modders =)

[Gambit]

Thanks for the offer man...
Though it is NOT my job to say this, I believe we are OK in the PT "section".....
I can say that almost 99% of the PT job is done!

[blackprotoss]

Great then ! Then I just hope it won't take much long. Keep the good work people !

[RMX]

I hope it'll come out this summer. More free time to play

[blackprotoss]

Just along 6th edition with a Dark Angels cover. Good times indeed to be an unforgiven !

[fuggles]

I wonder if this being finished will see the release of the ultramarines and blood angel chapters too?

[Black Templer]

How many percent are left until the Mod is finished ?

[thudmeizer]

99% done.

[METAL GOD]

OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH !

[Cylarne_04]

OH SHI....

Well the uber surprise of Dark Angels downloads in our face flinging us out of our chair like angry monkeys is out of the question of the Force unfortunately. But now... HOO YEAH!!!!

[Black Templer]

WTF !!! 99 % ? Yeahh!!!

[PsykoTenshi]

I don't get why everyone's that surprised. On April 27th already,

A fully updated Sammael model is all we wait for

As in "all we wait for". At least I severely misunderstood, the Dark Angels mod is one model way from release...
...gah, the impatience.

[Gambit]

Yeap, ONLY ONE model away...

[Xaitan]

Great work guys, I can't wait to download and hopefully fuse with UA mod

Also looking forward to the Ultramarines chapter you are working on thud, keep up the fantastic work all!

[Black Templer]

cause there are only 1 % left why dont u just give a date to it