[Huggybaby]

My fireballs look good to me, but THIS TOPIC got me to wondering if they could be improved.

So I edited root_fs2.vp with Notepad and FS hangs.

I finally managed to get some debug information, please let me know which of the many lines are relevant, or I can upload the text files. One thing interesting is:

Code: [Select]

Write to location cccccccc caused an access violation.
Here's an interesting point: If I edit root_fs2.vp again and return all the values to normal, it still hangs. Good thing I made a copy of the original (took me two days and a reinstall to learn that). So it appears that FSO recognizes that something has changed with the file, whether it be the time or date or whatever.

Huggybaby

[Dysko]

Extract the file you are modifying: if FS finds in the "data" folder (not in the VP) a file which has the same name of a file that is in a VP, FS will read the file outside the VP.

If I haven't been much clear: suppose you have a mission named "mission1.fs2" in a VP you downloaded. If you want to modify it, extract it and FS will read only the mission you extracted (as long as it is still named "mission1.fs2").

[Huggybaby]

Hmm, not sure what you mean by "extract".

Are you saying to move the edited root_fs2.vp to my data folder?

[Dysko]

Did you download VPView32? It enables you to see all the files (tables, missions, models and so on) contained in a VP. There is a function ("Extract file to dir") that enables you to do a copy of a file in a folder you choose. After you extracted the file, you can edit it without any problems.

[Huggybaby]

Ahh, OK, I'll try that. Apparently Notepad is the wrong tool for the job.

[Huggybaby]

That's a neat utility.

I extracted fireball.tbl. I can't find a way to edit it other than with Notepad, so I did so. I also don't see a way to import it back into root_fs2.vp, so I moved it to my C:\Games\FreeSpace2\data directory and the game runs fine, though I'm not really sure if the fireballs have changed or if the fireball.tbl file is being ignored.

Have I done everything properly? I think I have, I understand your first post much better now, thanks!

[Turey]

That's a neat utility.

I extracted fireball.tbl. I can't find a way to edit it other than with Notepad, so I did so. I also don't see a way to import it back into root_fs2.vp, so I moved it to my C:\Games\FreeSpace2\data directory and the game runs fine, though I'm not really sure if the fireballs have changed or if the fireball.tbl file is being ignored.

Have I done everything properly? I think I have, I understand your first post much better now, thanks!

As far as I can tell, what you've done should work fine.

[Huggybaby]

OK, just making sure it shouldn't go into the C:\Games\FreeSpace2\mediavps\data directory instead.

I'm also testing NaRR10_Nebulae.vp which ShivanSPS includes in his install.

<edit> I removed the NaRR10 file and I don't see any difference, either there's no difference or I don't know what to look for.

[Goober5000]

So I edited root_fs2.vp with Notepad

Ugh.  Bad, bad, bad idea.  Notepad is designed for editing text files, and root_fs2.vp is a binary file.  That's a recipe for disaster.  You probably corrupted it; no wonder FS2 hanged.

Editing the original VP files is a bad idea anyway, even if you did it properly with a hex editor.  The instructions you've been given in this thread should suit you fine.

[Huggybaby]

Thanks Goober5000.

Question, if it's a binary file, why do I see normal text in notepad, instead of a bunch of scrambled characters?

Of course I realize that ANY computer file is ultimately binary, so forgive my use of the term.

[Goober5000]

Thanks Goober5000.

You're welcome.

Question, if it's a binary file, why do I see normal text in notepad, instead of a bunch of scrambled characters?

The "normal text" you're seeing are the .tbl and .fs2 files, which *are* in text format, but they're embedded in the .vp file.  The overall .vp file is in binary format.  If you scroll down to the bottom, you'll see a bunch of scrambled characters.

Of course I realize that ANY computer file is ultimately binary, so forgive my use of the term.

True.  In this case I was using "binary" to mean "not text".

[Huggybaby]

OK, thanks. Sorry for the delay, for some reason I missed your reply.

So is "C:\Games\FreeSpace2\mediavps\data" the proper location for "NaRR10_Nebulae.vp"?

I guess this thread mostly answers my questions
http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,39145.msg796121.html#msg796121

[Dysko]

So is "C:\Games\FreeSpace2\mediavps\data" the proper location for "NaRR10_Nebulae.vp"?

It should be put in the folder "C:\Games\FreeSpace2\mediavps". Or at least, that's what I did. And it works fine.
BTW, I suggest you to download the VP that contains all the Lightspeed's Nebulae at this thread: http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,42765.0.html

[Huggybaby]

Hmm, I don't mind moving it up one folder, but I don't think the one you point to is the same. The NaRR10_Nebulae.vp is 150,122 KB, and contains 224 maps (half tga and half pcx, so that's 112 unique) and one stars.tbl. That's also the file on Lightspeed's Milliways site.
The names are NebulD1-main, Nebul10-whisp...

The Nebulae.vp you point to is 44,064 KB and contains 156 dds effects and 1 stars.tbl. The names are dNeb01, dNeb02...
So I guess that actually has more nebulae since 156 beats 112, but is dds preferred over tga and pcx? And why are the names different?

The other file mentioned in that thread is LightspeedFS2.vp, it's 2,872KB and contains 42 fs2 missions files.

Yikes, help me! What should I do? What are all these differences? Which is the new standard?

[Wanderer]

LightspeedFS2.vp contains simply the main FreeSpace campaign modified to utuilize the new nebulae made originally by Lightspeed.

NaRR10_Nebulae.vp contains all the Lightspeed nebulae graphic files in both tga and pcx format. That is 112 different nebulae.

Nebulae.vp (packaged by me) contains all Lightspeed nebulae (112) graphic files in dds format as well as the nebulae from the original FreeSpace (the rest) in dds format.

First it started simply as tga -> dds conversion test but i ended up uploading that file as it is a lot smaller than the file that was available earlier. dds files are preferable to pcx/tga files as they consume less graphics card memory (not that it would actually be an issue with background graphics) and are rather small (when in compressed format) while still retaining relatively good qualty.

Downside is that dds files may have compression artefacts. IIRC in game currently tga files are preferred over dds files so if you have both of these packages the tga files are used.

[Huggybaby]

Thanks for the info.

Has LightspeedFS2.vp been absorbed into mediavp 3.6.8 zeta?