[NeonShivan]

I am proud to announce that Dusk Wars Act II, after a year of hard work/procrastination (I will not lie, I have procrastinated) is ready for release, but before I go on, I must say that I have tried my best to ensure that credit is given where it is due (credits text document in Act II's folder) and I have ensured to the best of my ability that the mod has been bug tested as much as possible, but I cannot promise an entirely bug free experience, some bugs may have slipped under my nose. Beyond that, I am certain that you will enjoy Act II.

I am also happy to announce that Dusk Wars Act I has been renovated in the graphics department, gameplay will remain generally the same and I do not intend to change it.

Story Thus Far:

A few months have passed since the Bal'ran have retaken their core systems of Soci, New Soci, and Xhi-Ceti but your shore leave has come to an end. Their crusade must continue to reclaim their lost worlds, but darkness awaits our fellow Bal'ran, but not just from the outside but from within.

Act I
Download Link: http://www.mediafire.com/download/1asbxcq82qxn0k0/Revamped.rar

Act II

Download Link: http://www.mediafire.com/download/l8yb4rzkn0avrlb/DWA2+Full+Fix.rar

Do inform me if there are any more issues.


Installation Instructions:

*Extract Dusk Wars Act I to your Freespace 2 Directory
*Run the Launcher, go to the Mod tab
*Press "Select Mod" and select the "Dusk Wars" folder and press Ok
*Press apply at the bottom of the launcher and press ok (or press run if you wish to play the mod right now, man aren't you eager!)
*Enjoy

Known Bugs:

There are two, so far, known bugs that aren't show stopping but may cause slight frustration. I have attempted to fix these issues with various events and/or balance changes but to no avail.

Spoiler:

Mission 13: The Navitas' frontal turret sometimes gets destroyed at the start of the mission, resulting in the mission to be much harder then it needs to be.
Mission 18: The Eclaireur may sometimes get destroyed via unstoppable means but remains beatable (to my knowledge).

However if Mission 18 has been proven to be unbeatable after 3 tries, you have the ability to cheat to pass but please report it here so a balanced version is prepared.

If any more bugs appear or errors come up, please alert me in this forum or PM me and a fix will be made available.

Special Thanks To:

Triikor, for testing the campaign for me.
Darkmatter aka StargateSpankyHam (If I got that right...), for providing new Vasudan textures for the Andvari

Credits:

Please see credits.txt in the DWA2 folder.


Changes from DWA1 Initial:

New race added - the Andvari
New fighter added - Serio (Originally for a stealth mission but was ultimately cut, you should have the ability to fly this in the late campaign however)
New Weapon Effects
Updated message.tbl to work with current release build

Requirements to run:

Mediavps 3.6.12 (Sorry, no 2014 for this guy)
Freespace 2 Open 3.7.2 RC 3 Build (Not tested with nightly builds)
Launcher 5.5g or later

It is recommended to create your own pilot for Dusk Wars Act 1 or 2.

Dusk Wars have been created under Fair Use. This is a non-profit development, people are free to modify the modification to whatever they see fit for as long as it is for non-profit use and credit is properly given.



With the release of Dusk Wars Act II, two new projects will soon surface on Hard-Light Productions based upon the Dusk Wars plotline, as we continue to follow the galaxy's path to destruction! One of them, was already announced some time ago; Dusk Wars: Andvari Confict!

Thank you all and I do hope you enjoy Dusk Wars Act II!

[Nyctaeus]

Congrats . Downloading!

EDIT: After 5 missions I can only say I like it so far. With pretty old-school mission design, I enjoy slaughtering the enemies with heavy fighter armed with two Kratos cannons. Also I love Bal'Ran arsenal and beam sounds.

The only thing I can complain on is music choice. There is way too much BP music in Dusk Wars. I have this strange feeling every time when I hear WoA that tells me "Wait, what? I smashed Carthage listening last week!". Some of the music you used is way too related to WiH. Also some music just does not fit to missions, like in the one with Bal'Ran supply depot and disabled Iraklion-class cruiser. Second Reality plays here and brings grim feel about unavoidable defeat, while there are only few wings of shivan fighters.

Technicaly I found no significant bugs. Everything runs smooth and correctly. I will provide some more feedback when I finish the campaign.

[NeonShivan]

Second Reality plays here and brings grim feel about unavoidable defeat, while there are only few wings of shivan fighters.

All in a learning experience, wasn't exactly an atmosphere I was trying to go for

Also...my attempt to create a unique race using a Shivan backbone has clearly failed...will need to make them more unique in future releases

[Mongoose]

Highlighted, because I can!

[NeonShivan]

Highlighted, because I can!

Quoting you because I can!

Hope you enjoy Dusk Wars and thank you .

[Nick123q23]

I stopped lurking just to ask you, what is dusk wars? It certainly sounds interesting.

[NeonShivan]

I stopped lurking just to ask you, what is dusk wars? It certainly sounds interesting.

[Insert Welcome to HLP Poster here]

What an excellent question, Dusk Wars is a modification for Freespace 2, a set of campaigns set in a universe completely different from the Freespace 2 universe with its own models, weapons, sound effects and assets.

[Knarfe1000]

The download doesn´t start   

"File not found on server" error message.

[Nyctaeus]

Second Reality plays here and brings grim feel about unavoidable defeat, while there are only few wings of shivan fighters.

All in a learning experience, wasn't exactly an atmosphere I was trying to go for

Also...my attempt to create a unique race using a Shivan backbone has clearly failed...will need to make them more unique in future releases

Yeah, Anshari are just... Too shivan. I have this awkward feel when I'm fighting them. When I want to feel that I fight Anshari, I feel like during ordinary fight with classic shivans. Bal'ran are better in that case. Windu beams rlz .

People said that storyline and missions are much more important than ships. This situation leads me to different conclussion. I can say: Indeed, storyline and missions are the most important, bur proper fleet is important as well.

Maybe try with some recoloured Nightmares, "white" shivans or something.

[Nick123q23]

Played through to mission 22 of act II, it's like playing ASW with beams and a bunch of homeworld references. Really fun and enjoyable, though I did encounter one problem,

In the very second mission of act I, the mission is nearly impossible to complete without either you dieing or the pylos exploding. They're just too many damn bombers and those dragon-esque fighters preventing you to focus on the bombers. Wing men in that mission die near instantly after the demon's engines are holed and the bombers abandon the scene. I ran it on very easy, it still happened.
Other than that, every other mission had balanced difficulty.

Also, a nitpick if you care about them, the tech room doesn't display all the ships, like the demon,scorpion and shaitan, and some bal'ran ships

[CapellaGoBoom]

Code: [Select]

Too many beam sections for weapon SVas - max is 5
ntdll.dll! ZwWaitForSingleObject + 21 bytes
kernel32.dll! WaitForSingleObjectEx + 67 bytes
kernel32.dll! WaitForSingleObject + 18 bytes
fs2_open_3_7_2_RC3-DEBUG.exe! SCP_DumpStack + 354 bytes
fs2_open_3_7_2_RC3-DEBUG.exe! Warning + 416 bytes
fs2_open_3_7_2_RC3-DEBUG.exe! parse_weapon + 13937 bytes
fs2_open_3_7_2_RC3-DEBUG.exe! parse_weaponstbl + 172 bytes
fs2_open_3_7_2_RC3-DEBUG.exe! parse_modular_table + 267 bytes
fs2_open_3_7_2_RC3-DEBUG.exe! weapon_init + 101 bytes
fs2_open_3_7_2_RC3-DEBUG.exe! game_init + 1741 bytes
fs2_open_3_7_2_RC3-DEBUG.exe! game_main + 519 bytes
fs2_open_3_7_2_RC3-DEBUG.exe! WinMain + 330 bytes
fs2_open_3_7_2_RC3-DEBUG.exe! __tmainCRTStartup + 358 bytes
fs2_open_3_7_2_RC3-DEBUG.exe! WinMainCRTStartup + 15 bytes
kernel32.dll! BaseThreadInitThunk + 18 bytes
ntdll.dll! RtlInitializeExceptionChain + 99 bytes
ntdll.dll! RtlInitializeExceptionChain + 54 bytes


I'm having major problems running the mod. Act 1 is fine but Act 2 is not. I installed them correctly, have the latest mod launcher for freespace, as well as MVPs 3612 

[AdmiralRalwood]

Code: [Select]

Too many beam sections for weapon SVas - max is 5

That's a Warning, not an Error; if you hit "no" on the window that pops up, it will continue onwards, and if you run a Release build instead of a Debug build, it won't even mention it to you (Debug builds are really not recommended for normal gameplay).

[NeonShivan]

Also, a nitpick if you care about them, the tech room doesn't display all the ships, like the demon,scorpion and shaitan, and some bal'ran ships

Damn, I knew I forgot to do something lol, will need to fix that but as you said it's a bit of a nitpick so it's not very important.

[CapellaGoBoom]

Code: [Select]

Code: [Select]

Too many beam sections for weapon SVas - max is 5

That's a Warning, not an Error; if you hit "no" on the window that pops up, it will continue onwards, and if you run a Release build instead of a Debug build, it won't even mention it to you (Debug builds are really not recommended for normal gameplay).

Invalid Species Bal'ran defined in table entry for ship BF Serio.

ntdll.dll! ZwWaitForSingleObject + 21 bytes
kernel32.dll! WaitForSingleObjectEx + 67 bytes
kernel32.dll! WaitForSingleObject + 18 bytes
fs2_open_3_7_2_RC3.exe! <no symbol>
fs2_open_3_7_2_RC3.exe! <no symbol>
fs2_open_3_7_2_RC3.exe! <no symbol>
fs2_open_3_7_2_RC3.exe! <no symbol>

I ran the game itself before I used the debug and kept getting these errors. I kept pressing OK and eventually got into the game. I tried starting the campaign but got a bunch of warnings and then the game crashed

[NeonShivan]

Alright, three things:

1. Did you extract Dusk Wars Act 1 and Act 2 into your Freespace 2 folder?

2. Is the mod.ini in the Dusk Wars Act 2 folder set up like this:

Code: [Select]

[launcher]
image255x112 = dusk.bmp;
modname      = Dusk_Wars Act II
infotext     = As the Bal'ran begin to push the Anshari Empire back beyond the Perseus Veil, a dark weapon will soon be unleashed.

[multimod]
secondarylist = Dusk_Wars,mediavps_3612;
3. Are you using Media VP 3.6.12?

[CapellaGoBoom]

Alright, three things:

1. Did you extract Dusk Wars Act 1 and Act 2 into your Freespace 2 folder?

2. Is the mod.ini in the Dusk Wars Act 2 folder set up like this:

Code: [Select]

[launcher]
image255x112 = dusk.bmp;
modname      = Dusk_Wars Act II
infotext     = As the Bal'ran begin to push the Anshari Empire back beyond the Perseus Veil, a dark weapon will soon be unleashed.

[multimod]
secondarylist = Dusk_Wars,mediavps_3612;
3. Are you using Media VP 3.6.12?

Problem solved...what I like to do is create separate folders in my freespace2 directory because I tend to get worried about conflicts with so many mods in 1 place. I guess putting this mod into the main FS2 folder itself did not create any strange conflicts for me. I just ran act 2 and the splash screens started popping up and it works. I probably should not be such a worry wart but I have had problems with conflicts in the past and I had to start making subfolders as a precaution

[NeonShivan]

Good to see that your problem has been solved

[CapellaGoBoom]

Bug report: "Collapse of the Boundaries" fails even after objectives have been completed. I could not skip it even after 5 tries

[NeonShivan]

Good to see that your problem has been solved

There seems to have been an issue with the campaign file, silly me, a fix will be readied for the public shortly.

Sorry about that.

EDIT: A fix has been made available, just follow the instructions above. Sorry again!

[CapellaGoBoom]

Bug report: "Fall of Rome 1" doesn't end after all enemies die. Only the 1st primary objective is acknowledged. Sorry to burst your bubble man