Bridge Commander Universe

Pegasus · **Posted**: 11-23-2002 05:35 PM

Alrite. this is it. This is where you people who need help with your MPE problems should post. The idea had been discussed as beingput down in one big file and then posted, but thanks to a suggestion from Executioner_de, we've decided to make it a thread instead, as to only write whats needed. So,
"COME FORTH WITH YOUR PROBLEMS, INSTEAD OF BORING EVERYBODY ELSE WITH THEM" :>

Fallen_angel · **Posted**: 11-23-2002 08:45 PM

ok, you wawnt a question, you can get one :>
Ok, how can I do fed tng style phasers ( with the "loading point" on the phasers strips ) ?
I know nearly everything about the mpe, but I don't know how to do this damned phasers Mad

Executioner_de · Vice Admiral Joined: 22 Mar 2002 Posts: 1833

they will automaticly generated when you have a phaser stripe..

there set at this numbers at the phaser script: Taper min lengh, taper max lengh... experiment with that 2 numbers and youll see a nice phaser load Smile

EXE

**starforce2** · **Posted**: 11-24-2002 05:57 PM

Fallen_angel · **Posted**: 11-25-2002 04:58 PM

but, only one more question about fed phasers, how do you do them if you don't have a phaser strip, when it's only a texture ???
Thats my problem Sad

**starforce2** · **Posted**: 11-25-2002 05:07 PM

I got a prob with a ship. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, fires in it's correct arc. If it's supposed to fire at 2 oclock, it fires at 4. It's pissing me off. They are all like that. Could it be the model that is all fouled up? Cuz I've worked on aother ships and this one is just...sevearly mirroring phasers. I tried what worked on the avatar, pointing the red like sideways for a 1-3 oclock phaser, and it didn't work. I repositioned the phasers...still nothing. No change at all.

I'm ready just throw it out if it doesn't start working correctly..

and I tried adding a weapon directy from the ftp, but I can only add what is already there...it just closes the edit window. So wheveer said you can add, renamed..ect from the MPE instead of manual text edit must have something I don't, cuz it doesn't work.

To give a better example:
a phaser, facing right, horizontal start -10, end 50, seems to result in a arc that appears to actualy be 10, -50

**sneaker98** · **Posted**: 11-25-2002 10:55 PM

@Fallen angel: Okay to make it a phaser "bank" instead of a phaser "strip" or "array" you open up the properties of that phaser that u want to make a bank and look in "ellipse size". Beside length, make the value "0.001" and beside width make the value "0.001". This will cause the phasers to fire from a single point and have no visible "winding up" like on phaser arrays aka strips

@starforce: my guess is that you have the model scale too high. Go to "edit" at the top of Mpe, and then "options". Under "Model scale" put in "0.01". this should fix it

Only other thing i can think of is reversing the values of the phaser horizontal arcs.. this is a lil bug in Mpe, sometimes the phasers just dont fire in the proper direction. so if u flip the values, ie if it was originally 60, -90 then make it -90, 60. Usually this is only a problem in the horizontal arcs.. but if that doesnt fix it then try flipping the vertical values

good luck

**starforce2** · **Posted**: 11-26-2002 12:05 AM

Sneaker, it is the horizontal thats f***ing up. I just flipped (changed the 1 to -1) on the orientaion so the port is now the star phaser, and now they work, except the arc says aft. Last time I switched the valuse, it had no effect. I want the beam to go where the box says it will go. Now it worked on the avatar...why wont it work on this one? it's the same damn set up. Red line is pointed to the side, the the arc starts at 0 and moves foreward. Same as with the avatar, yet it doesn't work. Why on one ship and not the other. I'm alsmost thempted to copy and paste from the avatar and then just resize the loops. The kicker is the forewards are not mirrored any more, niether are the rear cannons since I did the whole thing completley from scratch this time. I eliminated the mirrored ventreal phasers by giving it one downward beam with a really wide conver instead of 2 foreward beams set to fire low. It needed a Dorsal beam anyhow, might as well have the same thing undernieth.

Fallen_angel · **Posted**: 11-26-2002 03:38 PM

thanks sneaker, you are my phaser god Wink

**sneaker98** · **Posted**: 11-26-2002 04:23 PM

No problem, fallen.

@starforce: did you change the location values or the actual arc values??

Pegasus · **Posted**: 11-26-2002 09:31 PM

As a matter of fact, i have a preblem of my own. when ever i try and open up a model, no matter if i get the File path right or not, i still get a 'Render Creation failure'. Any ideas as to the cause, cos ive triedeverything i can think of.[

**sneaker98** · **Posted**: 11-26-2002 09:38 PM

Pegasus, try this:

Right click on the desktop and go to properties. Set the colours to 16-bit (High Colour).. yours is probably at True Colour. This solved my problem when i had it months ago

Lol MPE is so damn picky

Pegasus · **Posted**: 11-26-2002 09:53 PM

Thanks, I think that may just be the problem, cos come to think of it, I recently switched to true color.

**starforce2** · **Posted**: 11-27-2002 01:52 AM

Anduril · Lieutenant Commander Joined: 20 Feb 2002 Posts: 531

Ok, since my questions never seem to elicit responses no matter what the forum I'll try one last time.

This concerns locating the pulse like phasers, actually modified disruptors, on the TOS bop.

I moved them to the tips of the nacelles instead of coming out of the body and all worked well. But since the dizzy's actually start from behind the hardpoint location I moved them forward a bit so they wouldn't lite up within the nacelle. You'd think it would work fine but now they seem to come from the body center but a little offset to the nacelle side. To me it looks like the hardpoint wants to be near or within a certain distance from the mesh to work properly.

Model scale is correct.

Any ideas on this?

Executioner_de · Vice Admiral Joined: 22 Mar 2002 Posts: 1833

ahm the MPE wants the pulse turret a bit IN the model, or it will center it at XYZ/0, i had this prob lots with the first versions of the star wars ships Smile

EXE

NinjaDriver · Lieutenant Joined: 03 Apr 2002 Posts: 431

Anduril: When I first started doing HPs a while ago I came across the same problem. You are correct in assuming the HPs need to be close to the mesh. Just move them a little closer until they start firing from the proper location. They don't have to touch the mesh, but they do have to be close, however, I don't know the arbitrary value of this distance.

Pegasus · **Posted**: 12-13-2002 09:40 PM

Well, what i usualy do is to position it exactly on the models surface using the locate tool, then i nudge it accordingly by changing the co-ordinate buttons.

**sneaker98** · **Posted**: 12-14-2002 07:04 AM

Its nice n easy to do, yeah. I havent worked a lot with disrupters/pulse phasers, so i couldnt help ya this time. Heh ah well.. i havent done any hping for a while, more into base scripting. Wow, now im geting irrelevant! Heh, anyways, anymore questions on Mpe to stump us "experts"? Lol

Anduril · Lieutenant Commander Joined: 20 Feb 2002 Posts: 531

At least yer not getting irreverent!

Anyway, I failed. We've established that if I have it too far in front of the mesh it fires from x,y,z 0. Either I have a mental block or I just can't get it postioned to the proper one thousandth which is all the farther I feel like taking it. It wants to fire from y,0

I did take a different model and postion it in max so the nacelle tips were at y,0. And guess what. Dirtbag still fires from the the middle of the nacelle which would be in the minus Y range.

D@mmit Jim I'm a modeler not a scripter!

Wink

I keep playin around of course.

Pegasus · **Posted**: 12-22-2002 07:40 PM

Its not that hard really, just use the locate tool on the toolbar, 9its the one on the far right)
That click the exact point on the mesh where you want it to be.
Add your disruptor to the list and then open the properties to it.
Go to "Subsystem Properties" Tab, and where it says "3D position" press the "Get position" button, that'll add it to the exact area on the mesh where you clicked. Then just nudge it by changing the different parameters in the "X, Y, Z" boxes.
If that doesnt work then i dont know what will.

Laurelin · Pro-Captain Joined: 09 Mar 2002 Posts: 1009

Actually that's a pretty common bug with pulse weapons Anduril Smile

Sometimes when you move them, they get stuck in the middle of the ship. Alot of the time if you stick it somewhere else first, run the game, then move it to where you want it it works. Other times it's a pain in the butt to get them in the right spot. If it's real persistant, work on something else for awhile, and then come back later. Eventually it'll give up and be happy with it's new position Smile

Starforce: when you do arrays, anytime the horiontal arcs don't match, they will flip. However you don't take the sign when you flip the numbers. So : -53 to 23 would become -23 to 53.

MPE RULES!! I LOVE PHASER ARRAYS!!
all the bugs just keep the riff-raff out anyway Smile

Any other problems, just buy Laurelin's: "How you too can hardpoint the Soveriegn from scratch in under 30 minutes" Available soon at your favorite bookstore $49.99 Smile

William T. Riker · Fleet Admiral Joined: 11 Jul 2002 Posts: 11084

I thought it is call "Hardpointing for Dummies"? :>

Pegasus · **Posted**: 01-02-2003 07:36 PM

It is,,, Us people who answer the questions are the Hardpointers,,,
Andthe people who ask the questions are the Dummies :>

elminster · **Posted**: 01-06-2003 01:42 PM

darkshimmer · TERTIARY 2A Age: 35 Zodiac: Joined: 06 Dec 2002 Posts: 274

i wonder how many of you professional hardpointers know how to do reverse phaser arcs???? ie follow the arc, but in reverse...

Pegasus · **Posted**: 02-16-2003 04:58 PM

explain???? that was a small bit cryptic.

darkshimmer · TERTIARY 2A Age: 35 Zodiac: Joined: 06 Dec 2002 Posts: 274

arcs that fire from the inner ring rather than the outer ring

if you were to make a circular arc, they fire from the inner portion in the opposite direction rather than following the arc firing outward

Pegasus · **Posted**: 02-22-2003 07:40 PM

Ah, now i get ya, thats interesting, but Federation phaser strips arent my fortae

**scotchy** · **Posted**: 04-08-2003 01:26 AM

I have a problem... I can't add weapons to ships.

how do you do this?

I've tried copying weapons from other ships, but they never work.

It's a mess