I'm trying to patch it. But it wont patch, I always get the error "Cannot replace or create ii: There is already a folder with the same name as the file you specified. Specify a different name."
thats weird, never happened with me. download it again to your desktop or something and extract the files to there, it should create a folder called ii with the files inside. just copy and paste that ii folder into your mods directory so it overwrites the II mod folder.
Ive suggested to have these small patches to be done in installer form in the future to make things easier.
I think pheremone paths wouldn't be so bad if you didn't have to worry about the NPCs following it. Perhaps a better way would be that if you can make a path that connects then once connected you gain resources from the resource over time rather than sending an NPC to go back and forth.
I have to spend a lot of the time in the game explaining how burrows work, pointing out paths that won't work because the NPCs can't climb them and whatnot to people and I really shouldn't have to; if the player can follow the path then the NPCs should. Heck just make them 'glide' along the path if you must, using noclip and stuff. Anything is better than the current mess with them.
A bug I noticed today a few times was that sometimes the queen will spawn an NPC and then spawn a player right on them, getting them both stuck. Very frustrating.
I think the plants need to be reduced in size as well... especially for the dead cow map where it's nigh on impossible to bulid half the time without blocking off a corridor. Best of all though, is if someone builds something in a corridor only they have destroy rights and so your team is effectively stuck unless they remove it.
Again, having problems with the patch. I downloaded it from file front now, and the 1.0 to 1.0.2 is corrupted or bugged. I cannot copy the files from within the ii folder to my desktop or anywhere outside of the zip file. When I try, it gives me an error message saying "The system could not find the file specified." This is also the problem with the 1.0.1 patch.
Maybe my internet is just evil and eating the file as it comes my way. Thats probably it. Damnit, I'm going to go put some pants on...
<!--quoteo(post=1598712:date=Jan 14 2007, 06:52 PM:name=Haze)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Haze @ Jan 14 2007, 06:52 PM) [snapback]1598712[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--> Again, having problems with the patch. I downloaded it from file front now, and the 1.0 to 1.0.2 is corrupted or bugged. I cannot copy the files from within the ii folder to my desktop or anywhere outside of the zip file. When I try, it gives me an error message saying "The system could not find the file specified." This is also the problem with the 1.0.1 patch.
Maybe my internet is just evil and eating the file as it comes my way. Thats probably it. Damnit, I'm going to go put some pants on... <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> What are you unzipping it with? I'd say that is more likely your problem.
Kouji_SanSr. Hινε UÏкεεÏεг - EUPT DeputyThe NetherlandsJoin Date: 2003-05-13Member: 16271Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue
Haze:
1. indeed put some pants on 2. are you running raid? Buddy of mine also had some trouble with files corrupting on his raid drives... 3. remember to put them pants on!!!
1) I decided pants were overrated. 2) I don't know what raid is. Crap. I'm a computer noob, by the way. I like to shoot things. 3) <i>Never.</i>
Also, I'm using that standard "look, you drag and drop or copy and paste - weee!" microsoft zip that's overly simple and equally awesome because of that. It hasn't eaten any other zip files I've downloaded before, and the 'compressed file size' and 'actual file size' on the zipped files whilist inside the zip (and looking at their properties) both read 0 KB. Is that a sign of raid eating something?
<!--quoteo(post=1598719:date=Jan 14 2007, 07:00 PM:name=Haze)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Haze @ Jan 14 2007, 07:00 PM) [snapback]1598719[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--> 1) I decided pants were overrated. 2) I don't know what raid is. Crap. I'm a computer noob, by the way. I like to shoot things. 3) <i>Never.</i>
Also, I'm using that standard "look, you drag and drop or copy and paste - weee!" microsoft zip that's overly simple and equally awesome because of that. It hasn't eaten any other zip files I've downloaded before, and the 'compressed file size' and 'actual file size' on the zipped files whilist inside the zip (and looking at their properties) both read 0 KB. Is that a sign of raid eating something? <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo(post=1598721:date=Jan 14 2007, 07:02 PM:name=Xyth)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Xyth @ Jan 14 2007, 07:02 PM) [snapback]1598721[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--> And if you don't know what RAID is then you don't have it ;p <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You would be surprised.
<b><u>edit:</b></u> Oh hey, it worked. Thanks. I can't wait to crawl into that cow's ######!
<!--quoteo(post=1598724:date=Jan 14 2007, 07:07 PM:name=Haze)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Haze @ Jan 14 2007, 07:07 PM) [snapback]1598724[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--> You would be surprised.
<b><u>edit:</b></u> Oh hey, it worked. Thanks. I can't wait to crawl into that cow's ######! <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo(post=1598340:date=Jan 13 2007, 07:17 AM:name=pSyk0mAn)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pSyk0mAn @ Jan 13 2007, 07:17 AM) [snapback]1598340[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--> What's all this trash talk about missing docu?
I've read the guide and the pdf including 10 pages. Then I started playing and the only thing I didn't know was about those teleporting white arrows. I've read the guide again considering some weapons of advanced lifeforms and now after half a day playing I'm pretty used to the game.
I agree, in-game hints are missing and heavily needed, but anything else can be found, if you just try to and don't just jump into the game to whine about a bad game and having no clue what's going on. <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I haven't played it or have read the manual or so, and from what you're saying I agree. You should read the manual, people nowadays are underestimating the power of manuals.
Many people post questions on certain game forums about things that are obviously found in the manual.
MGS: Portable Ops(for example) - There were a few questions asking what that white bar next to the health bar was for, in the manual it clearly says it is the stamina bar.
That's just one example. Anyway, use the power of the manual.
Ingame help is extremely useful, I used cl_autohelp 1 when first playing NS 1.0x, when the manual at the time was useless in a gameplay sense<i>(though the background story was good, good job Fam)</i>. It explained things like "The armory gives you ammo" and "The arms lab does not give you anything" and "This is a phase gate, press the use key to teleport".
petco, the ii manual sadly doesn't give a simple explanation of how to do everything you need to know. It mainly consists of the following...
1) webpage showing each unit and it's weapons along with stats 2) PDF for mapping (shouldn't need to read this) 3) PDF explaining... - Basics of building a pheromone path (they don't explain burrows at all yet knowing about burrows is absolute necessity for all maps unless you don't want to access more than 2 nodes) - Buildings (functions, costs and stats) - map is roughly explained 4) Seperate web page detailing the difference between the two game modes (DoM vs II).
What it really needs to make it more user friendly is a step-by-step guide on how to begin playing the game. I'll provide a quick example below but obviously a real guide would need pictures:
<b>STARTING THE GAME</b> Once you join a server you will find yourself in what is known as the 'ready room'. This is a safe area and you will find yourself controlling a flying bug that you use to choose which team you will join (you are not a part of a team currently). To choose your team simply fly or crawl through the large graphic icon depicting the side of your choice or use the keys bound for quick team selection (F1 for ants, F2 for termites).
Once you join a team the game truly begins!
A selection screen with locations may or may not come up after you have selected your screen. If it does then select point 1 for now, otherwise don't worry about it :) A selection screen depicting classes should come up afterwards. If you want to get into the action and not worry about building select the soldier (2nd insect) but if you want to learn the more intricate parts of the game select builder (1st insect).
Regardless of your choice you will shortly be spawned as a funny little maggot thingy and go through a period of gestation; during this time you can move (albeit slowly) and can be killed though you have no way of defending yourself. Gestation length is dependent on class though between the builder and soldier there isn't much different; the larger and more advanced classes can take a while though! Once the gestation passes however you will 'pop' and splurge into your chosen class form. From here you're ready to rock!!!
Your first and best course from here is to bring up the map (check in options to see which key this is bound to, it may not be bound to anything). It may look a little confusing at first but you'll eventually learn to understand what's on there... for now we'll concentrate on the important stuff.
On the map you should see some circular icons; there are 4 types. 1) Pulsing White Circle with an 'R' inside it: This is an unlocked resource node. Your team can use this! 2) Light Grey Circle with 'R' in it that looks like a locked padlock: A locked resource node. Your team has to capture other resource points first before this can be used, though be aware the enemy may be using it. 3) Pulsing Bright green circle with a 'U' on it: This is a usable upgrade point! Regardless of who you are you want an upgrade plant to be built on this, asap! 4) Dark Green Circle with 'U' on it: Locked upgrade point, your team needs to cap some others before they can get this one... so hurry up :p
One other key note is that you will want to work out where you are. just look for a lil bug on the map with your name over it; I sometimes find turning a lil helps me spot it. Once you've worked this out you can safely assume that your goal (the enemy queen that needs killing) is somewhere on the opposite side of the map.
With all that sorted, if you're a soldier then at this point you probably know enough to go cause some havoc; you shouldn't need to read any further to act as a soldier, however you may want to check the list of buildings your team and the enemy can produce so you know what to avoid and where to get healed. Also keep in mind that the simple objective above all else is to kill the enemy queen :3
As your team captures more upgrade points, bigger units will become available to use. They have a 'cost' listed above them, if your res (listed in the top right) is less than that number you cannot go them just yet. Res goes up slowly as long as your team still has their resource network all set up so make sure you defend your resource plants if they come under attack or you won't get to play with the big toys :p
<b>THE ART OF BUILDING</b> Once you spawn as a builder you will want to either go nab some of those points, build defences or set some pheromone paths. Regardless of your choices you will need to take note of the pheromone counter on the top left and the resource counter on the bottom right; these are your essentials as a builder :3
First thing is first though; look around and see if you can see a bunch of coloured blobs connected by a glowing line. If there is one then you've just seen your first pheromone trail... congrats! XD If not then you need to build one as soon as possible. There should be a resource nearby that you can path to (white mushroom for termites, weird leafy thing for ants). Start by clicking your pheromone button near the queen (check the button for this in options, it may need to be bound) and then walk off a short distance towards the resource then click again. Either you'll get a message saying you're too far away, too close or no message at all. The no message is good :3 you should continue moving along a bit and clicking until you reach the nearby resource at which point the blobs you're leaving behind suddenly connect with a coloured line. Congratulations! You have completed a pheromone trail and now you should have an income of res! The queen will spawn an NPC which will run along this line to the best of it's ability, collecting resources from the plant and returning it to your queen (at which point you get res). The NPCs cannot wall-climb like you and aren't particularly bright so make sure there's nothing blocking the path and it doesn't go over any steep inclines... I usually follow the NPC on it's first run to make sure it makes the full journey and back. You should get the hang of this eventually...
One thing of note when it comes to pathing is that you can use 'burrow spots'. These are designated by floating white arrows. If you path to one then you can continue your path at the matching arrow it belongs to; this is how NPCs get past obstacles without wallwalking. On a fun note, if the white arrow does not say 'NPC' on it then you can use it too! Just stand over it and press the 'use' key (not bound by default sadly). There will be a delay where you can't move and then suddenly you're sprout up at the other burrow point that matches the one you just used :D
That should do for now... I'll leave the rest for you guys to work out, after all this is just meant to be a brief example, not a novel or a full guide XD
<!--quoteo(post=1598344:date=Jan 13 2007, 03:21 PM:name=Align)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Align @ Jan 13 2007, 03:21 PM) [snapback]1598344[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--> That would be NS:Source. That idea was scrapped in favor of NS2, which'll be a more different game. At least according to Flayra's 1/3 the same, 1/3 improved, 1/3 new.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Yeah, but making the game 66% different from the original seems like a rather silly idea, except for solo games or MMORPGs.
Multiplayer FPS games aren't content driven. They are gameplay driven.
From what I heard, Flame Throwers? Spammy AOE weapon thats horrible in large multiplayer. That certainly doesn't bode well for gameplay.
Only sence I can make out of it is if they are paranoid about Blizzard saying "OMG THIS IS SOMEWHAT RELATED TO STARCRAFTS THEMES, WE GUNNA SUE YU!"
Even though it's got more influence from ALIENS the movie than Starcraft :O That, or the Developers are merely think it's too boring for them personally to work on.
Either way, thats gonna mean you're gonna split the NS community between NS1 and NS2, and it will have shakey gameplay balance on release (Or long delays).
<!--quoteo(post=1598845:date=Jan 14 2007, 11:01 PM:name=digz)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(digz @ Jan 14 2007, 11:01 PM) [snapback]1598845[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--> Merged the two topics (One in NS Gen Disc and one in Off Topic). Sorry Tych, your post should have been first! <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
My wrath will be swift and merciless. Generations from now will remember this moment as the culling.
Comments
Can someone help? This is annoying me.
Ive suggested to have these small patches to be done in installer form in the future to make things easier.
Perhaps a better way would be that if you can make a path that connects then once connected you gain resources from the resource over time rather than sending an NPC to go back and forth.
I have to spend a lot of the time in the game explaining how burrows work, pointing out paths that won't work because the NPCs can't climb them and whatnot to people and I really shouldn't have to; if the player can follow the path then the NPCs should. Heck just make them 'glide' along the path if you must, using noclip and stuff. Anything is better than the current mess with them.
A bug I noticed today a few times was that sometimes the queen will spawn an NPC and then spawn a player right on them, getting them both stuck. Very frustrating.
I think the plants need to be reduced in size as well... especially for the dead cow map where it's nigh on impossible to bulid half the time without blocking off a corridor.
Best of all though, is if someone builds something in a corridor only they have destroy rights and so your team is effectively stuck unless they remove it.
Maybe my internet is just evil and eating the file as it comes my way. Thats probably it. Damnit, I'm going to go put some pants on...
Again, having problems with the patch. I downloaded it from file front now, and the 1.0 to 1.0.2 is corrupted or bugged. I cannot copy the files from within the ii folder to my desktop or anywhere outside of the zip file. When I try, it gives me an error message saying "The system could not find the file specified." This is also the problem with the 1.0.1 patch.
Maybe my internet is just evil and eating the file as it comes my way. Thats probably it. Damnit, I'm going to go put some pants on...
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What are you unzipping it with? I'd say that is more likely your problem.
Get the newest version of winrar imo.
1. indeed put some pants on
2. are you running raid? Buddy of mine also had some trouble with files corrupting on his raid drives...
3. remember to put them pants on!!!
*hides*
2) I don't know what raid is. Crap. I'm a computer noob, by the way. I like to shoot things.
3) <i>Never.</i>
Also, I'm using that standard "look, you drag and drop or copy and paste - weee!" microsoft zip that's overly simple and equally awesome because of that. It hasn't eaten any other zip files I've downloaded before, and the 'compressed file size' and 'actual file size' on the zipped files whilist inside the zip (and looking at their properties) both read 0 KB. Is that a sign of raid eating something?
1) I decided pants were overrated.
2) I don't know what raid is. Crap. I'm a computer noob, by the way. I like to shoot things.
3) <i>Never.</i>
Also, I'm using that standard "look, you drag and drop or copy and paste - weee!" microsoft zip that's overly simple and equally awesome because of that. It hasn't eaten any other zip files I've downloaded before, and the 'compressed file size' and 'actual file size' on the zipped files whilist inside the zip (and looking at their properties) both read 0 KB. Is that a sign of raid eating something?
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<a href="http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm" target="_blank">Windows default unzipper sucks</a>
And if you don't know what RAID is then you don't have it ;p
And if you don't know what RAID is then you don't have it ;p
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You would be surprised.
<b><u>edit:</b></u> Oh hey, it worked. Thanks. I can't wait to crawl into that cow's ######!
You would be surprised.
<b><u>edit:</b></u> Oh hey, it worked. Thanks. I can't wait to crawl into that cow's ######!
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
hi5!
hi5!
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Totally.
I was in a tube.
There was a really fat bug squirting me out behind it.
At the end there were a bunch of cactus things. Inside a cow. Confusing, but still, maybe he was impaled.
In between all of this was a confusing pile of squirming things.
Most of my activity consisted of entering the deceased bovine's butt, sliding down his god-knows-what, walking into that tube and dying. Not very fun.
What's all this trash talk about missing docu?
I've read the guide and the pdf including 10 pages.
Then I started playing and the only thing I didn't know was about those teleporting white arrows.
I've read the guide again considering some weapons of advanced lifeforms and now after half a day playing I'm pretty used to the game.
I agree, in-game hints are missing and heavily needed, but anything else can be found, if you just try to and don't just jump into the game to whine about a bad game and having no clue what's going on.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I haven't played it or have read the manual or so, and from what you're saying I agree. You should read the manual, people nowadays are underestimating the power of manuals.
Many people post questions on certain game forums about things that are obviously found in the manual.
MGS: Portable Ops(for example) - There were a few questions asking what that white bar next to the health bar was for, in the manual it clearly says it is the stamina bar.
That's just one example. Anyway, use the power of the manual.
Ingame help is extremely useful, I used cl_autohelp 1 when first playing NS 1.0x, when the manual at the time was useless in a gameplay sense<i>(though the background story was good, good job Fam)</i>. It explained things like "The armory gives you ammo" and "The arms lab does not give you anything" and "This is a phase gate, press the use key to teleport".
Very useful .
1) webpage showing each unit and it's weapons along with stats
2) PDF for mapping (shouldn't need to read this)
3) PDF explaining...
- Basics of building a pheromone path (they don't explain burrows at all yet knowing about burrows is absolute necessity for all maps unless you don't want to access more than 2 nodes)
- Buildings (functions, costs and stats)
- map is roughly explained
4) Seperate web page detailing the difference between the two game modes (DoM vs II).
What it really needs to make it more user friendly is a step-by-step guide on how to begin playing the game.
I'll provide a quick example below but obviously a real guide would need pictures:
<b>STARTING THE GAME</b>
Once you join a server you will find yourself in what is known as the 'ready room'. This is a safe area and you will find yourself controlling a flying bug that you use to choose which team you will join (you are not a part of a team currently).
To choose your team simply fly or crawl through the large graphic icon depicting the side of your choice or use the keys bound for quick team selection (F1 for ants, F2 for termites).
Once you join a team the game truly begins!
A selection screen with locations may or may not come up after you have selected your screen. If it does then select point 1 for now, otherwise don't worry about it :)
A selection screen depicting classes should come up afterwards.
If you want to get into the action and not worry about building select the soldier (2nd insect) but if you want to learn the more intricate parts of the game select builder (1st insect).
Regardless of your choice you will shortly be spawned as a funny little maggot thingy and go through a period of gestation; during this time you can move (albeit slowly) and can be killed though you have no way of defending yourself. Gestation length is dependent on class though between the builder and soldier there isn't much different; the larger and more advanced classes can take a while though!
Once the gestation passes however you will 'pop' and splurge into your chosen class form. From here you're ready to rock!!!
Your first and best course from here is to bring up the map (check in options to see which key this is bound to, it may not be bound to anything).
It may look a little confusing at first but you'll eventually learn to understand what's on there... for now we'll concentrate on the important stuff.
On the map you should see some circular icons; there are 4 types.
1) Pulsing White Circle with an 'R' inside it: This is an unlocked resource node. Your team can use this!
2) Light Grey Circle with 'R' in it that looks like a locked padlock: A locked resource node. Your team has to capture other resource points first before this can be used, though be aware the enemy may be using it.
3) Pulsing Bright green circle with a 'U' on it: This is a usable upgrade point! Regardless of who you are you want an upgrade plant to be built on this, asap!
4) Dark Green Circle with 'U' on it: Locked upgrade point, your team needs to cap some others before they can get this one... so hurry up :p
One other key note is that you will want to work out where you are. just look for a lil bug on the map with your name over it; I sometimes find turning a lil helps me spot it.
Once you've worked this out you can safely assume that your goal (the enemy queen that needs killing) is somewhere on the opposite side of the map.
With all that sorted, if you're a soldier then at this point you probably know enough to go cause some havoc; you shouldn't need to read any further to act as a soldier, however you may want to check the list of buildings your team and the enemy can produce so you know what to avoid and where to get healed. Also keep in mind that the simple objective above all else is to kill the enemy queen :3
As your team captures more upgrade points, bigger units will become available to use. They have a 'cost' listed above them, if your res (listed in the top right) is less than that number you cannot go them just yet. Res goes up slowly as long as your team still has their resource network all set up so make sure you defend your resource plants if they come under attack or you won't get to play with the big toys :p
<b>THE ART OF BUILDING</b>
Once you spawn as a builder you will want to either go nab some of those points, build defences or set some pheromone paths. Regardless of your choices you will need to take note of the pheromone counter on the top left and the resource counter on the bottom right; these are your essentials as a builder :3
First thing is first though; look around and see if you can see a bunch of coloured blobs connected by a glowing line. If there is one then you've just seen your first pheromone trail... congrats! XD
If not then you need to build one as soon as possible. There should be a resource nearby that you can path to (white mushroom for termites, weird leafy thing for ants). Start by clicking your pheromone button near the queen (check the button for this in options, it may need to be bound) and then walk off a short distance towards the resource then click again. Either you'll get a message saying you're too far away, too close or no message at all. The no message is good :3
you should continue moving along a bit and clicking until you reach the nearby resource at which point the blobs you're leaving behind suddenly connect with a coloured line. Congratulations! You have completed a pheromone trail and now you should have an income of res!
The queen will spawn an NPC which will run along this line to the best of it's ability, collecting resources from the plant and returning it to your queen (at which point you get res).
The NPCs cannot wall-climb like you and aren't particularly bright so make sure there's nothing blocking the path and it doesn't go over any steep inclines... I usually follow the NPC on it's first run to make sure it makes the full journey and back. You should get the hang of this eventually...
One thing of note when it comes to pathing is that you can use 'burrow spots'. These are designated by floating white arrows. If you path to one then you can continue your path at the matching arrow it belongs to; this is how NPCs get past obstacles without wallwalking. On a fun note, if the white arrow does not say 'NPC' on it then you can use it too! Just stand over it and press the 'use' key (not bound by default sadly).
There will be a delay where you can't move and then suddenly you're sprout up at the other burrow point that matches the one you just used :D
That should do for now... I'll leave the rest for you guys to work out, after all this is just meant to be a brief example, not a novel or a full guide XD
That would be NS:Source. That idea was scrapped in favor of NS2, which'll be a more different game. At least according to Flayra's 1/3 the same, 1/3 improved, 1/3 new.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, but making the game 66% different from the original seems like a rather silly idea, except for solo games or MMORPGs.
Multiplayer FPS games aren't content driven.
They are gameplay driven.
From what I heard, Flame Throwers?
Spammy AOE weapon thats horrible in large multiplayer.
That certainly doesn't bode well for gameplay.
Only sence I can make out of it is if they are paranoid about Blizzard saying
"OMG THIS IS SOMEWHAT RELATED TO STARCRAFTS THEMES, WE GUNNA SUE YU!"
Even though it's got more influence from ALIENS the movie than Starcraft :O
That, or the Developers are merely think it's too boring for them personally to work on.
Either way, thats gonna mean you're gonna split the NS community between NS1 and NS2,
and it will have shakey gameplay balance on release (Or long delays).
Merged the two topics (One in NS Gen Disc and one in Off Topic). Sorry Tych, your post should have been first!
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
My wrath will be swift and merciless. Generations from now will remember this moment as the culling.