Development Info Escape Velocity Nova for Windows released

[Psilon]

Well, you'll need that pile o' cash if you want escorts for that Cambrian, or if you want to upgrade to a Zephyr/Scarab/Raven yourself. Outfits, Mantas, and mercs cost money!

 

[KobraKiller]

Well, you'll need that pile o' cash if you want escorts for that Cambrian, or if you want to upgrade to a Zephyr/Scarab/Raven yourself. Outfits, Mantas, and mercs cost money!

What, did you think I was gonna donate it to orphans?

 

[DarkUnderlord]

If you want to make absolute mega-squillions in about half an hour, you don't even have to buy a Cambridge (sp?). Just hire 'em. You need about 3 million for one though. That's 1 mil to hire and pay for the thing per day, as well as 2 million to fill its holds up with juicy goodness. There are two runs in Polaris space I can make in the shareware version buying low Exotic Bio-Compound, selling it high, buying low equipment and selling that high at another port. It's a three way dock that with 6 Cambridges in tow, I'm making about 11 Million on a complete run. That's AFTER the expenses of paying for the escort ship hire.

Hit caps lock and run the game at x2 speed when you're doing it and you make money much faster. By the time you get a couple of hundred mill, you get bored and want to go shoot something, like pirates.


Here's my question: How the fucking jimminy do I get any campagin missions in the shareware version? I've been dotting about space for about 11 game years now and all I've had is a scientist run and a thing with the UN shipping opening up in Aururan space. What bars do I need to hang out in to get any campaign stuff, or is that not an option in the shareware?

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

You want to see something humorous? Check out this thread about some of the storylines in EVN. It should be titled, WHEN FANBOYS ATTACK because that's what it amounts to being.

 

[Dan]

Here's my question: How the fucking jimminy do I get any campagin missions in the shareware version? I've been dotting about space for about 11 game years now and all I've had is a scientist run and a thing with the UN shipping opening up in Aururan space. What bars do I need to hang out in to get any campaign stuff, or is that not an option in the shareware?

I'm also running the shareware version... And I seem to have pickuped some of the missions.
You should just sit around in bars... Sometimes you'll get missions, and sometimes you won't.
Also, if you make two deliveris to earth you can start the Vel-Os missions.

 

[Spazmo]

There are a number of conditions before you can start any storyline, DU. Check out ww.ev-nova.net for more info.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

I'm sorry, the game just fell right off of my "perhaps I'll buy list" and into the "fun shareware games I have" list. I just finished (got up to the "you need to register" point) the Wild Geese rebel mission. Which was kinda fun... But the dialogue and story was horrible. The thought running through my mind was "how much cock does this guy suck?". I'm suddenly going in to battle with some guy who's got super martial arts skills and I'm freaking CRYING at his awesomeness! I'm shedding tears when they're world is destroyed, I'm becoming enraged and determined to avenge my dead brethren! Which is all nice and makes sense, but where's the "Eh, screw you all" dialogue option? I especially liked the missions that I HAD NO CHOICE but to accept. All I had was the okay button. WOOHOO! If I didn't choose it? Well, I got to come back later and choose it then didn't I?

I'm sorry, but who sucked the RPG out of this? Total linearity based on choices I seemingly made but had no real control over (I had NO idea attacking pirates and inadvertantly ticking off the Feds would get me somehow involved in this), isn't my kind of thing. I've spent ages inadvertently being attacked by feds because a few of my shots would hit them when I was trying to help them attack Aurorans. As such, I *seemingly* became a rebel, and, once my record was cleared because I used my escape pod (funniest thing EVAR), I was finally allowed back in to land on New Ireland, where this whole story thing started.

I suddenly went from "what the hell am I doing, how do I get these missions people are talking about?" to 'I'd rather go back to blowing stuff up". Gah. Blowing stuff up is fun, but there's just too damn much about this that's ticking me off and hitting my "this doesn't make any sense" vein. Where's my "I don't want to be a rebel anymore" option?

Then there's planet domination... I was disabled in space outside a planet and had no way of getting help. Being rated as a "Dangerous" combatant, I thought "you planet guys can pay for leaving my out here" so I attack.... And 6 Destroyers and 2 Carriers pop out. WHERE WERE THEY WHEN I WAS DISABLED!!?

You want to see something humorous? Check out this thread about some of the storylines in EVN. It should be titled, WHEN FANBOYS ATTACK because that's what it amounts to being.

HAH! I like how it disintegrates on page 2. I think if I went over there with my list, that whole place would explode.

There are a number of conditions before you can start any storyline, DU. Check out ww.ev-nova.net for more info.

I really shouldn't HAVE to check out the website for it. The game would be a whole lot better if I could actively choose what to do, rather than haplessly falling into it by stumbling into some bar.

 

[Dan]

How did you complete the Wild Geese missions? It stopped evolving after I made that peace treaty.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

Ahhh, see, I didn't get the peace treaty. When I took the Michellan Tyre man back to Sol from New Ireland, he gotst killed by teh bad piraytes!!1! Seesm that's some SUPER RANDOM EVENT that I have absolutely no control over!? So I end up doing the drug factory destructo run of OMFG super leetness whilst I cry over my opponents abilities and whatever and New Ireland gets destroyed and I end up talking to the rebels and rah rah rah etc... I end up delivering food and it kind of stops right about there...

I have ended up with a terraforming mission from Sol to New Ireland since and have done the Sigma thing so that I can use the hypergates. I think the main storyline I was on was "Uncle Olaf", apparently I'm to establish a free-trade organisation or some such. Not bad, considering I wanted to join the Feds and all, rather than the rebels.

Anyway, whatever I've 'done' or apparently 'chosen' has completed because wherever I land, I get "Register EVN to continue your story-line" popping up.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I'm suddenly going in to battle with some guy who's got super martial arts skills and I'm freaking CRYING at his awesomeness! I'm shedding tears when they're world is destroyed, I'm becoming enraged and determined to avenge my dead brethren! Which is all nice and makes sense, but where's the "Eh, screw you all" dialogue option? I especially liked the missions that I HAD NO CHOICE but to accept. All I had was the okay button. WOOHOO! If I didn't choose it? Well, I got to come back later and choose it then didn't I?

I really agree with the above. I think this is my main beef with the game. The storylines are all really, really linear. In fact, I think the only storyline that gives you a choice is the BII storyline where you can make the choice in ditching the BII in favor of the Rebels.

It would be nice if you had options in the missions, for example a mission dealing with a Federation attack on the Rebels. Imagine if they had the choices like:

• Sure, I'd love to help fight with you!
• I'm not much of a fighter, but I can hire some mercs to assist you.
• Well, I'm more of a cargo hauler. Tell me what cargo might help you, and I'll see what I can do.
• Actually, I agree with the Federation on this. You guys are just trouble makers.
• How about I support your cause with money, instead?
• Perhaps I can try to go in to Federation space and see what the problem is and negotiate?

Things like that would be much nicer than the straight up mission system that EVN has.

I'm sorry, but who sucked the RPG out of this? Total linearity based on choices I seemingly made but had no real control over (I had NO idea attacking pirates and inadvertantly ticking off the Feds would get me somehow involved in this), isn't my kind of thing. I've spent ages inadvertently being attacked by feds because a few of my shots would hit them when I was trying to help them attack Aurorans. As such, I *seemingly* became a rebel, and, once my record was cleared because I used my escape pod (funniest thing EVAR), I was finally allowed back in to land on New Ireland, where this whole story thing started.

I've inadvertly killed a number of rebel fighters.. The rebels don't seem to care.

Then there's planet domination... I was disabled in space outside a planet and had no way of getting help. Being rated as a "Dangerous" combatant, I thought "you planet guys can pay for leaving my out here" so I attack.... And 6 Destroyers and 2 Carriers pop out. WHERE WERE THEY WHEN I WAS DISABLED!!?

This is why I'd love a DISTRESS CALL feature. Of course, what really gripes me is when I ask for assistance from a Federation vessel, and they tell me they want to be paid for it. What's up with that?

 

[KobraKiller]

Anyone know the most amount of cargo space you need for the polaris missions?

 

[Psilon]

Twenty tons or less. It's perfectly OK to buy a Raven or Scarab and then start retooling the cargo space for more guns. Especially if you have the Sigma upgrades available.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

At least ten tons.. I got screwed because I only had five tons of space during one part of the polaris mission.

 

[Psilon]

According to the Polaris walkthrough, it's exactly ten tons. Which simply raises the question of whether anyone's going to beat the whole Polaris string with the starting shuttle and some solar panels.

 

[Eros]

how to make a plugin to work?

I'm playing EVNova, PC platform, and I just can't use plugins.
The only plugins that I can use are the .rez files, but almost all of the plugins come as .sit files.

I downloaded the stuffit expand 8.0 fron alladyns but it expands the .sit files into .rsrc files. and they are as useless as the .sit files.

how can I make them to work? please help. thanks.

 

[Psilon]

If it's going into .rsrc and . files, then you're not expanding properly. It should be creating a MacBinary file, which contains both the resource and data forks. See the plugin conversion HTML file included with the EVNova package.

Oh, and don't bother with the latest version of StuffIt Expander. It doesn't like making MacBinary files. Try the one mentioned in the aforementioned HTML file.

 

[Jed]

Anybody got a line on where I can get a good price on selling some water?

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Re: how to make a plugin to work?

I'm playing EVNova, PC platform, and I just can't use plugins.
The only plugins that I can use are the .rez files, but almost all of the plugins come as .sit files.

I downloaded the stuffit expand 8.0 fron alladyns but it expands the .sit files into .rsrc files. and they are as useless as the .sit files.

how can I make them to work? please help. thanks.

Here's some pre-converted:

http://home.earthlink.net/~ppfann/

Get Stuffit Expander 7.5, 8.0 is a flakey lump of shit. Once you get stuffit expander 7.5, just launch it, and drag the *.sit to the window and it should extract it for you. Then you need to open up the nova directory, and drag the *.rsrc file to the pluginconvertor.exe file, and it'll convert it to a *.rez

BTW, anyone tried out the Polycon EV total conversion plugin yet? It's pretty slick, and does some things that EVN didn't do.. Like being able to string hop, because the strings aren't as uber as they were in EVN. There's also neat outfits like language translator chips which allow you to talk with species you couldn't otherwise because of the language difference.

Oh yeah, and any ship you can buy probably won't be a match for a faction ship of the same class.. No more saving up for that manticore or pirate carrier and using it through the entire game because you're uber from the start. No annoying missions to gain hyperspace access either.

Check it out: http://www.evula.org/anubis/

 

[Feringal]

please help me!!!!

Hey I just downloaded this the other day, I have played the previous ones on a Mac but I have a PC so I am happy to play it again. Anyway I am hoping i didn't screw my game up already. I sorta bought a forged Exotic Liscense from New Ireland, and thats the only illegal thing i have. Now though all the feds waste me when I get within scanning range. I went back to New Ireland to attempt and sell my liscense back to them, but the button to sell isn't available. Is there any way i can eject it or destroy it????? Please help me! thank you : )

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Good question. I'm not sure if you can sell licenses back or not. I doubt you can.

 

[Psilon]

You could try the we'll-buy-anything system (Sirrusa in the Archenar system, right?), but I don't think you can sell licenses, especially forged ones.

As I recall, there's only one system that doesn't swindle you, but I can't remember which one it is.