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On Monday, my laptop froze up while at a local restaurant, and the hard-drive stopped being recognized.
Some semi-successful reboots, scandsks, SMART tests, memory diagnostics, crash dump checks and event viewer reviews later, I had come upon a number of conclusions:
-The hard-drive was still perfectly healthy
-Memory is fine
-Other devices in the computer were possibly causing the issue
-My external hard-drive is dying
-The connection of the drive to the mobo might be loose
On Wednesday, I unscrewed the backplate and found that the drive was loose by 10-12mm and well, after resolving that it seems to be working again.
To this end, a lesson for those who are somehow stupider than me (not possible):
Regardless of how confident you are of your grip, don't walk up/down stairs with an open laptop. The shaking from going up each step is probably what loosened my drive to the point of being non-functional. And you might just drop it. And that would suck.
Also, for those wondering when this section will get a post relevant to Star Strike or any of my mods:
Not sure really. Star Strike is currently playing second-fiddle to another project I will probably announce within the next month. |
Last year about this time, my laptop's motherboard died.
About an hour ago, my laptop froze and when turned back on, would not get past the OEM splash screen. All indications are that my hard-drive is dead.
This will be an enormous setback to RA1.5 (which has moved to YR) and Star Strike, which had a vast amount of WIP content that has most certainly been lost now. I will give more information as it becomes available.
Update 16 July 1807 GMT-5: Hopefully I will be back on my laptop within 3 weeks, with a new cooling pad and hard-drive ready to go!
And if I am lucky, this new hard-drive will have data recovered from the dead one, assuming the freezing trick actually works. |
is 6 Years Old!
As is tradition, the obligatory birthday update of Star Strike is here! A lot of things have been going on with Star Strike in the last year- while far from the most productive year, this one perhaps will have the most to show for, as you'll see shortly. Yeah, imagine that, pictures instead of uh...well, WALLS OF ZTYPING TEXT.
Without further ado...
Enhanced Voxels
I finally sat down and learned some of the complexities of manual normals painting in the past month or so. These are some of the byproducts- I didn't aim to repaint them entirely, but to get rid of the things AutoNormals failed at- IE stair-step effect.
Click the images to see what they looked like beforehand.
Invader Proton Tank
EDF Humvee
Invader Bomb Drone
EDF Gun Turret
SSIA Mobile Rocket Artillery
New and Old Faces
Many unit have seen more extension revision though! Do note that many of the unit profiles use OUT OF DATE imagery.
Hint: Many of these images are also links, showing older versions, model/ingame shots
Sentry Drone
One thing always bothered me about the sentry drone; at its size, the concept that I had never really panned out, and it just ended up looking too tall. Now he's a little shorter.
Juggernaut Tank
One of Star Strike's oldest voxels, its story has been one of constant, constant improvement. The original is available on YRArg, as for some ungodly reason, I actually released it in 05-06.
Omega Laser Turret
Nearly as old as the Juggernaut with only an eighth the number of revisions, this thing only recently got a major touchup to make it look better. Note it still needs a new base.
B-90 Bomber
Replaces the Delta Force's B-52 Bomber. Big and mean, but elegant at the same time. Sorry guys, no fancy name for it- though when I refer to it, I like to call it "that big mean thing that blows up your base  "
Warrior Transport
Replaces the recolored Chinook. This absolute MONSTER mounts a 30mm vulcan cannon in its chin turret and can spew death in a countless number of flavors owing to its firing ports. Note the size of it compared to the "mighty" Gunship.
Doomsday
This fabulous voxel by Damned Machine/Tony looked pretty good, but was missing something: color. Now it kicks your (enemy's) ass while looking (more) awesome at the same time. No ingames sadly.
Other Graphics Updates
Tired of the same old nukes? Thanks to AreaSz, you won't be anymore. Comes in 3 flavors:
Tsar Bomba
Castle Bravo
Note the new disintegration death animation.
Fatman
Note: Tsar Bomb, Castle Bravo appear pixelated (and are), but this effect is nowhere near as prevalent or noticeable ingame.
In Progress
Development of some new toys for each side is underway, as well. Here are some previews.
???
Mysterious, isn't it? This vehicle is both very special and rare; it's also "very" in a huge number of other categories too. Expect a complete list when the unit profile/unit itself are done.
Invader Plague Tank
When the Invader's manage to sneak a Spy Drone into an EDF Advanced Tech Center, they get this. Right now, it's only a chassis, but when finished, it's going to be something rather deadly...like the plague.
Conclusion
Hey that was pretty fun. Should do this more often. Please leave comments and feedback, I'm always willing to read what you have to say about the work being done!
Also, I'm looking for beta-testers. Just send me a PM if you're interested. Try to include:
- Modding experience (INI, SHP, Voxel, etc)
- Testing experience
- Timezone
- How often are you online-battle capable
- Willing to do tests related to Ares logic (see below)
- Why
Ares
Ares is in need of your assistance. See this thread for ways on how you can help the best hope for YR's modding future today! |
Happy Holidays everyone! It's been awhile since the last major SS update- so lets get going.
Reboot
Star Strike's rulesmd.ini has been redone. Part of the reason was for organization reasons- but the other was to reimplement the balance system. While overall, it is recognizable to 0.6X Build 2, the damage system is on a proper scale (close to RA2) and is also easier to manage, meaning future balance tweaks will be less time consuming and over-arcing.
Some major changes:
- Artillery less expensive, more specialized
- Base defenses no longer gain veterancy
- Garrison range nerfed to 9 cells, from 11 cells; or in other words, advanced infantry and vehicles can outrange garrisons with proper micro.
- Helicopters may only target helicopters- not missiles or fixed wings. Exclusion is the Fightercraft.
- HP/damage values reduced by roughly 50%
- SSIA Tech Tree changed:
--Chronosphere removed, replaced with Nanobot Field (repairs everything in wide radius)
--Assault Carrier removed
--Sensor Corvette and Guardian Missile Frigate added
- EDF Tech Tree changed:
--Power Plant replaced with (Mini) Nuclear Reactor
--Radar Tower now provides Radar and Satellite Sweep ability
--Tech Center (not advanced) removed
--Nuclear Reactor removed
--Nuclear Silo and Iron Curtain replaced with Strategic Command (Arc Light Strike) and Chronosphere
--New resource building: Dropzone (calls in Cargo drops)
--Battleship and Carrier are now both build-limit to 5; will be mutually exclusive
- Invader Tech Tree changed:
--Lite APC (the WF variant) removed
--Sensor Probing (Psychic Reveal) removed
Flags and Stuff!
By CCHyper:
This is a slightly older version, with the letters being a different color. Hyper is welcome to post the new version, if he wishes. 
By myself:
SSIA's faction logo.
EDF's faction logo.
Invader's faction logo.
I'd say these 3 are WIP, but that's a crappy defense against criticism, so fire away!
Ye Olde Unit Previewes
Assault Transport
The Invader capital ship, the Assault Transport is a massive amphibious assault vehicle designed to do battle with the largest of enemy vehicles, but also to transport infantry and vehicles around the battlefield. The ship itself has special interfaces that allow infantry and some vehicles to fire out of it, adding to its already amazing firepower.
Sentinel
The SSIA's stolen tech unit when infiltrating an Invader Advanced Tech Center, the Sentinel is a sleek, low profile tank. What distinguishes it from other designs is that it uses a scaled up version of the Eliminator Commando's laser-gatling gun; once this massive weapon spins up to full speed, little on the battlefield will survive for more than a few seconds.
Stallion
The EDF's Stallion Transport is the workhorse of the air force. Replacing Nighthawks and Chinooks in all roles, the huge but speedy Stallion can transport large amounts of men and material to anywhere on the field. Do note that it is unarmed and that much of its durability comes from the redundancy inherent to such a large vehicle- not any sort of resistant armor.
Support Abilities
Thanks to Ares and unlimited superweapons, Star Strike now has support abilities that give players the ability to call in limited tactical firepower at important moments.
SSIA EMP Strike
An SSIA Tactical Fighter makes a run at the target, firing a flurry of EMP Missiles that will shut down all vehicles and disable the functions of many buildings in a small radius for an extended period of time.
EDF Black Eagle Strike
2 Black Eagles attack the target location with fuel air-bombs, which absolutely devastate most vehicular and infantry targets.
Invader Shredder Insertion
Teleports a Shredder Defense Turret to the location specified. These special Shredders do not consume power and cannot be sold. This ability costs 600 credits to use.
Tech Branches
In an effort to add a little diversity to SS's gameplay, tech branches are being added, forcing players to make decisions on what they want to use. Some examples are:
SSIA Heavy Armor Technology
Unlocks the Juggernaut Tank and the Main Battle Tank.
SSIA Advanced Technology
Unlocks the Stealth Tank and Hover Tank.
EDF Battleship Battlegroup
Unlocks the Battleship.
EDF Carrier Battlegroup
Unlocks the Aircraft Carrier.
Invader Fusion Technology
Unlocks the Fusion Tank and Advanced Ore Drone.
Invader Proton Technology
Unlocks the Proton Tank and Bomb Drone.
These are of course, WIPs and subject to change/non-existence. Currently, the test build does not have these- but one thing is a definite- Battleships and Carriers will not be available simultaneously.
That's all for now! Have a Happy Holidays/New Years, see you in 2011! |
My new laptop arrived on Monday, and since it arrived, I have been setting up my modding/university/gaming programs so I am ready for the coming months and years.
SS/Z-Mod work has resumed- and fortunately on a great system with Windows 7. |
UPDATE! SEE BELOW
Long long ago, I started an...initiative of a sort to provide usable public cameo assets (catch: provided I didn't use them for a mod before that) called the Cameo Research Project.
A product of the project was 10 cameo packs released on my site- however, the quality was low, using rather poor image choices and lacking the means to make a proper button effect to match RA2's.
Fast forward to July 5th/6th- somebody on my rarely updated site notes that the Chinook Transport icon link doesn't work- dead link. Instead of just going into the HTML and fixing this and letting it all rot some more, I decided to be productive- and redid every pack but the Comanche's.
Enjoy these previews- click any to be taken to the cameos section of the site!
  
In Other News
I should be back online within the next week or so, provided everything goes according to plan. (expect a news post about how a delivery truck explodes in a ball of flames as it reaches my house)
NEWS AT 11 (seriously it is 11 AM right now)
H:\Laptop Backup\Westwood\APBBeta\Users
I don't know how its possible. |
Life decided to throw a wrench into my modding plans yesterday; while playing some games, my laptop decided to just stop responding. Permanently. It shut down and wouldn't come back on. No idea why- but motherboard failure is assumed to be cause.
On the bright side, the hard-drive was salvageable, and most of my modding related assets are safe, bar two things:
- The Site/ directory in my Users folder, which had a hugely updated version of the Star Strike page and all its sub-pages for the next public release.
- The Star Strike Media/ directory in my Pictures folder, which had every single piece of media I made for the mod, including cameos, unit sketches, voxel profile previews and ingame shots, as well as what was a steadily growing amassing of screenshots for the mod.
Until I have a laptop, Star Strike, as well as any other projects I am working on, IE Zombie Mod, are on complete hold. It may be a month before I have a new laptop and more than a week after that until I am back in action completely.
On the bright side, atleast I'll have a Win7 machine. |
Stolen Tech
In Star Strike, each faction has 3 stolen tech vehicles that can be obtained infiltrating each of the 3 Tech Centers in the mod.
Stolen Tech units are extremely unique units within Star Strike, often breaking faction stereotypes and possessing extreme firepower. They all cost $2500 each and only one can be deployed at a time. You only need a War Factory and the stolen tech to build one of these units.
The subject of this update is the EDF's Hellraiser, which is obtained by infiltrating the SSIA Advanced Tech Center.
Its name is very fitting once you use one.
(click the image to enter the profile)
Overview
The Hellraiser is a M113 APC with troop carrying space replaced with missiles. A turn-table mounted quad 'Reaper' ATGM launcher sits atop it, courtesy of the SSIA. At first glance, the simplistic and down-to-earth Hellraiser may not seem that big a deal, but upon seeing the near hyper-sonic Reaper ATGMs turn heavy tanks into large pieces of flaming debris en-masse, most commanders are wise enough to reconsider.
Other Stolen Tech Units
SSIA
Stealing EDF :: Seeker Recon Vehicle
EDF
Stealing Invader :: Warrior Transport Gunship
Stealing EDF :: Mobile Iron Curtain Device
Invader
Stealing SSIA :: Doomsday Tank
CNC Quotes
The quote section on my site is out of date and inaccurate. Post here and offer some suggestions! |
In Star Strike, each faction has 3 stolen tech vehicles that can be obtained infiltrating each of the 3 Tech Centers in the mod.
Stolen Tech units are extremely unique units within Star Strike, often breaking faction stereotypes and possessing extreme firepower. They all cost $2500 each and only one can be deployed at a time. You only need a War Factory and the stolen tech to build one of these units.
The subject of this update is the EDF's Mobile Iron Curtain, which is obtained by infiltrating the EDF Advanced Tech Center.
It appears the Russians were hiding something from the EDF after all, eh?
(click the image to enter the profile)
The Mobile Iron Curtain is basically a Mammoth Tank chassis with a power supply and Iron Curtain device mounted on it. Slow and unarmed- but certainly still a threat- unless you don't mind a platoon of invincible Apocalypse Mark IIs driving into your base, killing your Construction Yard, and leaving.
Other Stolen Tech Units
SSIA
Stealing EDF :: Seeker Recon Vehicle
EDF
Stealing Invader :: Warrior Transport Gunship
Stealing SSIA :: Hellraiser ATGM Platform
Invader
Stealing SSIA :: Doomsday Tank
CNC Quotes
The quote section on my site is out of date and inaccurate. Post here and offer some suggestions! |
Yes, Star Strike news. And yes, it is indeed April 1st, 2010; April Fools Day.
But do I kid you? No.
The subject of this update is two things.
Number one, an announcement.
Star Strike progress has slowed quite a bit due to a lack of testers and perhaps more importantly, several personal factors. Life, university work and declining interest in SS. SS isn't dead, but don't expect a major update for atleast a month, probably more. By the way, CCHyper is awesome. More on that later. :v
Second, is a video. Now I know all of you are looking at the day of my post (I don't care what you people in Europe say, its 7:30PM here  ) and going "Yeah, nice rick-roll EVA", but I assure you- its the first Star Strike gameplay video, taken against a "Kill Me Now" Invaders AI opponent with me as EDF. It showcases the EDF's Warrior Chinook, one of their special stolen techs, as well as the re-imagined tank-hunting Comanches (instead of the OMGWTF I PWN U ALL! Comanches), among other things.
Link
Your initial suspicions were correct. |
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