I've got some valuable little fix plugs that will save you some frustration when you play the EVO port for Nova, but first, here's something colorful and massive:
Cold Fusion for Nova
This is Captain Skyblade's graphical upgrade plug for Escape Velocity:
Override. This version has been ported to Nova by Dr. Trowel, and
is presented here with the blessings of Captain Skyblade. Thanks
to the Nova game engine, this plug's gorgeous graphics are now visible
in thousands of colors. The grainy, flat, 256-color graphics of
Override
and it's official port to Nova are now behind you!
NEW: ColdFusion_for_Nova_1-0-0.zip
(appx 10.7 MB download).
Cold_Fusion_for_Nova.sit
(appx 9.4 MB download).
To get a taste of how Cold Fusion improves the look of the Override
universe, check out these screen
shots comparisons taken in UE space. There's more visual
goodness
in alien space, but you'll have to go exploring to experience it!
The Read
Me, here in HTML format, has much more info about the plug.
Cold Fusion was originally produced by the late, lamented Dreamwave
Studios.
Please note that the CF for N version presented here is intended to
be used with the 1.0.0 (8/7/03) release of mac
override nova. Once converted (see the ReadMe), it will also
work with the Windows version of the port. If future versions of
the official port of EV Override to Nova adjust weapon speeds and
ranges
(as suggested on the web boards), you may want to remove CF for N's
"Turrets
is Turrets" component.
If you are running EVO itself, instead of the EVO port for Nova, there
is a version of Cold Fusion for you on Ambrosia's EVO
Add-ons page.
Before You Read On....
There's a new port of EVO to Nova, done by Guy
and available on his "Webstuff"
page. Use it!! It works pretty well with Cold
Fusion.... There are a few glitches that I hopefully will get
around to fixing eventually, but they don't affect gameplay, and CFN
still looks better than the original EVO graphics to my eyes.
Guy's port fixes many bugs, including those handled by the "Outfits
Fix" and "Missions Fix" below.
Outfits Fix
Here is my candidate fix for the disappearing outfits bug in the 1.0.0
version of the official port of EVO to EVN:
outfs_fix_for_EVO_for_N.sit
(appx 4 K download).
You don't need this if you use Guy's
updated version of the Nova port of EVO. Otherwise, I
highly advise using this plug if you are using mac
override nova 1.0.0 or its PC equivalent; without it, you may find
your newly acquired UE Cloak or other nifty gadget vanishing the next
time
you visit an outfitter. Note that this plug is only preventative:
if you have already had something disappear, you won't get it
back.
If it is for sale, you will have to buy it again; if it is only
available
from a mission, you probably aren't going to get it unless you go back
to a saved version of your pilot file from earlier in the game, or
start
a whole new pilot. Sorry!
(Update: lthr's EVO-EVN
Fixes Patch does what mine does, and may also catch a couple
disappearing-weapons
bugs that I missed (weapons you can only get by capturing certain exceedingly
rare ships -- problems might be caused because the weapons lack
description
texts). Lthr's plug seems to work alongside CFN without any
trouble.
It also adds a few additional "surprises" to the game, so it isn't
purely
a "fix" plug. At the moment, there's nothing that fixes all bugs
while leaving the game designer's vision completely unmodified, but the
changes introduced by lthr's plug are subtle enough that you may not
even
notice them.)
(New update: if you are flying for the Iggies, be sure to also use
the Missions FIx below, or you'll miss out on your chance to use a
frightening
'lil weapon with the initials P. S....)
Missions Fix
You don't need this if you use Guy's
updated version of the Nova port of EVO.
Still, here's the scoop: The EVO port seems to have a bug that prevents
most missions from
properly
affecting your reputations with governments. It is possible to
finish many if not all of the mission strings without
installing a fix, though it will probably take longer -- just keep
destroying
enemies of whoever you are working for so that your legal record goes
up.
With a fix plug, though, you should be able to get through the mission
strings at a faster speed more closely matching the original EVO
game.
Special thanks go to Slouch, who spotted the problem and its solution.
In response, here's "EV:O TC for Escape Velocity Nova fix v1.0," by
dsatt12:
For PC: evo4evnfix1_0.zip
(appx 16 K download)
For Mac: evo4evnfixMac.sit
(appx 12 K download)
This plug also fixes one other bug, to make sure that you are properly
rewarded for a particular Igadzra mission.
As with the outfits fix, just place this in your plug-ins
directory/folder.
No need to worry about conflicts with CFN or my Outfits Fix.
Please send any suggestions or bug reports for this plug to dsatt12@hotmail.com.
Be sure to let him know whether you are using a PC or a Mac.
There are several of us working to find and squash bugs in the initial
version of the EVO port for Nova, so v1.0 of this plug may not be the
last.
Please do tell us if you think we've goofed up or missed stuff -- we
don't
want to post things to the Ambrosia Add-ons page until we're fairly
sure
we've got them right! Check back here for news of updates, or
look
on Ambrosia's EVN
or Dev
Corner webboards. Two recently-active (as of March 2004)
threads
on EVO port problems are this
one and this
one.
I do expect that an "official" update to EVO for N will eventually
make all these little fix plugs obsolete. Until then, we're here!
Other Plugs for the EVC and EVO Nova Ports
I've posted a list of these here
. Additions and reviews would be much appreciated!
Files for Plug-in Writers
These are not plug-ins! For both the original EVO game and the
port, I ran "Override Data 1" and "Override Data 2" through ConText
(one
of the w00tWare NovaTools utilities), dumping all "non-external"
resources -- everything but graphics and sounds, I think -- into a
tab-delimited
text file that can be read by spreadsheet programs (such as Excel or
AppleWorks)
or by any other text-reading program, including word processors.
EVONdata.sit
(appx. 124 K download) contains the data for the EVO Nova port.
Using
this and the copy of the Nova Bible that comes with EVN, players and
plug-makers
can learn all sorts of interesting info about the workings of the
port.
If you are good with spreadsheets, this is often easier than using a
plug-editing
program to look through the resources one at a time.
EVOdata.sit
(appx. 124 K download) contains the data for the original EVO
game.
ConText was not built to deal with plugs in EVO format, so some data
fields
came out as garbage. Many others worked properly, though, so this
file might be useful for those who are looking to identify similarities
and differences between the original game and the Nova port. Even
some of the "garbage" entries can be informative -- at least part of
the
time, each sequence of garbage characters indicates a particular field
value.
I'm hoping these files will be particularly useful to PC users, who
can't easily use either ConText or the original version of EVO.
About Making 3D Models into Ships
Spinning
Ships For Sprites In Strata 3D is a tutorial done by Jules (AKA
Ewan) several years ago. It uses a now-ancient version of Strata
3D that, for a while, had one extremely compelling feature: it was
free. Even if you don't use Strata, though, you may find the
tutorial worth looking at if you are trying to figure out how to get
started in putting ships into the Escape Velocity games. If you
are the tutorial to make ships for Nova, you'll want to use the m2s
program from w00tware
rather than the "Movie To Sprite" that Ewan mentions. You'll also
need to understand what w00tware's EnRLE app does.
Stuff I Don't Have Time to Explain Properly Tonight
Swamp
(appx. 300 K download) is a very silly plug.... It lets you
modify
your ship in a way that has probably never occurred to you, with
consequences
that (for good reason) have probably never occurred to you,
either....
It's intended for use with straight-up EVN; I haven't tested it with
the
EVO port, but it should work with it (try going to Mira) --
there
will be one thing you won't be able to sell if you use it with the EVO
port, though, and you therefore won't get to see a pretty spiffy
outfitter
pic by TheRedeemer.
If Swamp inspires you, you may also like reading about the Silly Plug
Contest that
I ran on the ASW Dev Corner webboard in
2004. More info is here
and here,
and an older discussion is here.
If you are looking for the page I've made for my parafamous
secret-yet-public plug project, here's the URL:
home.comcast.net/~drtrowel2/vxxxheim.html. If you know what you
need to know to modify that address, you know what you need to know!
Coming Later
"Beyond Reason" and/or "Aquatarians" -- One or more utterly lunatic,
sense-defying, and potentially hilarious TCs. Or plugs. For
EVO-N. Or for the EVN universe. Or something. Maybe
to
be associated with a "silly sprite" contest. Or not. Expect
lobsters.
As of June 27, 2006, I am: DrTrowel@comcast.net
This page built with SeaMonkey, a hammer, and 4 nails.