Update:
I've got a Whopping three (3) systems done!
Why only three you ask?
Problems working with Freelancer Explorer, mainly.
And a bit of CTD jitters.
The three systems I've done, run the gambit of what I want in the new Gemini.
And figuring out how to do what Freelancer Explorer won't, has been the problem.
For example:
Getting the random ships to go from a wormhole, to a base, and dock, took 3 days.
Well, actually a few hours, it took 3 days to figure out that I needed to add the base's faction to the code, to stop the error messages.
And getting exclusions zones to work right is a manual operation.
And finding out which "dust" works and which don't is another problem.
And adding infocards for Asteroid Fields, and Nebulae, requires a bit of trickery.
I add a wreck to one of the old FL systems, create the infocard, and then delete the wreck!
And I discovered several messed-up fields in FL along the way.
Had one "mineable" field that was impossible to mine, took a while to fix it.
But...
It hasn't been all bad...
I managed to make some refineries, even if they were an SOB to get right!
In Privateer, they're huge rocks, with machinery sticking out of them.
Well, I took rock bases, gave them Kyoto and Vogtland interiors...
And then I stuck an MPlatform in the side!
BTW-the Stokes mining base in Leeds has 2 MPlatforms...
They're the units with smoke coming out the top, and a section that's spinning.
Really looks cool as a Privateer Refinery.
But it takes hours to get them plugged into each other just right.
The biggest problems are three-fold:
1) The "what-if" factor.
---What-if I do this, What-if I try that, What-if I put that-there?
---I can't stop experimenting!
2) I keep forgetting to add things.
---Like Mission Locations, Wrecks, Infocards, and Random Ship Traffic.
3) Testing.
---It takes a couple of hours to completely check a system out.
---(If everything is there, and it's working right!)
I think I'm finally getting to the point where there's little new stuff I can add to the mod that's not already in it.
(Which means fewer bugs to hunt down!)
I'm trying to keep the systems simple, as they were in Privateer, but I wan't the complexity of FL, too.
To accomplish this:
All of the systems are small, 64000 metres square.
All of the systems use the same starfields (for now.)
All of the systems use the same (green) wormholes.
All of the systems use the same 10 bases, and 11 planets.
All of the systems use the same nebula, and 8 asteroid fields.
All of the bases use the same robot voice, and 5 docking robots.
(all of which can be changed later.)
I'm making the "Hidden" jump points in Privateer into hidden bases.
So far, they've been Retro, and Pirate bases.
To break up the monotony of the cookie-cutter systems:
I'm adding asteroid, ice, and debris fields where appropriate.
With just a spash of nebulae here, and there.
And where appropriate, mineable fields to add interest.
I've gotten the Refineries setup, so I can plug one in just about anywhere, now.
All of which is going to make the commodities a very important part of the mod!
Overall...
I think I'm on the right path.
The two systems that have me scared...
and that I plan on doing next...
Are Perry, and New Constantinople.
Both are major hubs...
And both have new models for their bases.
Features that will make them both difficult to get right.
Watch your 6!
Edited by - warzog on 7/24/2004 2:20:10 AM
Mon Jul 19, 2004 11:21 pm 
