Point Defense Systems 7.0 out

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2005-10-02 11:16pm

http://www.pds.hwaccess.net/news.php

And my Higaarans finally get some lovin'! All hail the Deliverance!

Datana · Post by **Datana** » 2005-10-03 12:01am

They weren't kidding when they said it'd be out "Monday." Midnight exactly EST. Downloading it now.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2005-10-03 12:15am

*(#$#, no time to play HW2 ...

Sharpshooter · Post by **Sharpshooter** » 2005-10-03 12:43am

Sweet. Now, all I have to do is figure out why the hell my copy crashes to the desktop after leaving the screen black for a few seconds upon launch, then snag the Warlords modifications and I'll be all set.

EDIT: GOD FUCKING DAMN IT! I'm all ready and queued up to begin the download, things are looking good, when this earth-shattering ad comes the fuck out of nowhere and starts blasting its sales pitch at something around five or six times the volume level I currently have set! In panic, I hit the close button to kill it off, and lost my place in line - and now I can't get back in, as it says something about a missing/invalid/in use key!

So help me, if I ever get my hands on that piece of shit who thought it was a good idea to have audio internet ads...

Temjin · Post by **Temjin** » 2005-10-03 02:07am

Fucking hell. Two months ago, my (crappy) graphics card went kaput and now I'm using my (even more crappy) backup. What does this mean? I can't play Homeworld 2, little lone this mod. The soonest I can get a new one is at the end of this month, and even then that isn't a sure thing.

He couldn't have just waited another month....

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2005-10-03 03:49am

GPU died so can't play. FUCK.

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2005-10-03 09:15am

Sharpshooter wrote: EDIT: GOD FUCKING DAMN IT! I'm all ready and queued up to begin the download, things are looking good, when this earth-shattering ad comes the fuck out of nowhere and starts blasting its sales pitch at something around five or six times the volume level I currently have set! In panic, I hit the close button to kill it off, and lost my place in line - and now I can't get back in, as it says something about a missing/invalid/in use key!

Clear your cookies then try again.

Vanas · Post by **Vanas** » 2005-10-03 02:32pm

5th Generation?! I've barely got back into blasting the dread Welsh.. uh.. Vagyr with 4G ships! Curse them and their working!

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2005-10-03 03:44pm

So what the hell has changed beyond new ships? they were talking about new systems.

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2005-10-03 04:15pm

Ace Pace wrote:So what the hell has changed beyond new ships? they were talking about new systems.

Well there's updated weaponry like the new MRAM2s, new ships, the strike craft have had their survivability tweaked.

More modernization packages like the 5G Deliverance.. which can rip an Al-khalid to shreds while dancing circles around it.

The Avenger and Light Strike Fighter have both gotten upgraded armaments and engines (the LSF has one of the damn nifty new Assault Ion Cannons on it).

Lots and lots of changes/new stuff.

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2005-10-03 04:17pm

Oh and there's also new missions and the like, even a Vagyr campaign.

Oh and the bigger ships now have 'death throes'. Even after their health goes is depleted they'll keep firing throughout the death sequence until the ship explodes.

Oh and one of my favorite little touches is a tactical icon for missiles, makes it easier to see what's coming your way.. and looks damn impressive when 8 bomber squadrons salvo their warheads at a carrier (which died on the second pass I might add).

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2005-10-03 04:54pm

SylasGaunt wrote:Oh and there's also new missions and the like, even a Vagyr campaign.

They actually added an entirely new campaign???

Oh and the bigger ships now have 'death throes'. Even after their health goes is depleted they'll keep firing throughout the death sequence until the ship explodes.

OOh, very nice.

Oh and one of my favorite little touches is a tactical icon for missiles, makes it easier to see what's coming your way.. and looks damn impressive when 8 bomber squadrons salvo their warheads at a carrier (which died on the second pass I might add).

[/quote]
My poor R8500LE!

InnocentBystander · Post by **InnocentBystander** » 2005-10-03 09:55pm

This is simply amazing, I played a mission as Vagyr, and as Hiigara against 1 smart AI, both were quite enjoyable, though it looks like the Hiigaran's are a little better on the high end then the vagyr, but, we shall see (the AI never acutally built the big vagyr ship so... who knows).

Not only is this great, with loads of new stuff (though more for Hiigara, which I approve of) but it runs so much better than the last version, it's amazing, full fleet battles aren't even phasing my system, it used to chug on them. Kudos to these guys, major improvement, however now that Hiigara has all these new toys, the Vagyr need some more.

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2005-10-03 10:10pm

InnocentBystander wrote:This is simply amazing, I played a mission as Vagyr, and as Hiigara against 1 smart AI, both were quite enjoyable, though it looks like the Hiigaran's are a little better on the high end then the vagyr, but, we shall see (the AI never acutally built the big vagyr ship so... who knows).

Not only is this great, with loads of new stuff (though more for Hiigara, which I approve of) but it runs so much better than the last version, it's amazing, full fleet battles aren't even phasing my system, it used to chug on them. Kudos to these guys, major improvement, however now that Hiigara has all these new toys, the Vagyr need some more.

That's intentional I think. From how they talk about it, they're basically simulating response and counter-response as enemies respond to each other's technical advances, like how in the last version the Vags had quite a big firepower advantage.

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2005-10-04 04:56am

Wait..FPS boosts? Innocent, we are doing a mega battle again.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2005-10-04 09:13am

SylasGaunt wrote:That's intentional I think. From how they talk about it, they're basically simulating response and counter-response as enemies respond to each other's technical advances, like how in the last version the Vags had quite a big firepower advantage.

That's the issue I have with PDS - the tech curve doesn't advance that fast, and militaries adapt to what they perceive the enemy will do in the future (generalyl) - reaction puts you behind the curve.

That, and Tel seems to worship the "networked FAC-M swarm > CVN" nonsense.

Datana · Post by **Datana** » 2005-10-04 05:43pm

Overall, I kind of liked 6.0 a bit better (despite the much lower framerates). Of course, it may be that I'm unaccustomed to the new battlespace, but in 6.0 I was able to go in and figure out most things for myself -- the new ships just don't "click" for me this time and I end up confused on what to pull out for each situation. Maybe when they release a new battle doctrine guide it'll make more sense.

The Starship Duels have also gotten harder, it seems; while I could win nearly every scenario in 6.0, I'm averaging about only a quarter to a third of engagements in 7.0. Any recommendations?

Finally, is anyone else getting "Insert Disc" errors mid-battle that then crash to desktop with this version? It happened a few times in 6.0, but vanished with the 6.1 patch. Here, it happens every other battle, it seems.

Tolya · Post by **Tolya** » 2005-10-04 06:01pm

Umm, im quite new at this Homeworld 2 thingy, so could anyone please tell me just what is so great about this mod? On their website, apart from some really nice screens and some feature topics on forum, I couldnt find any info on what this mod really DOES. So, in short (although I like reading), could you tell me what is PDS about?

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2005-10-04 06:09pm

Redefine Homeworld 2 as a VERY realistic(as far as it can be) space combat, with proper dynamics, capabilities, new atributes and etc.

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2005-10-04 06:09pm

Redefine Homeworld 2 as a VERY realistic(as far as it can be) space combat, with proper dynamics, capabilities, new atributes and etc.

Nephtys · Post by **Nephtys** » 2005-10-04 06:14pm

It makes the Homeworld ships more balanced and rounded for one, so Ion Beam Frigates aren't unrealistically a single gun in a hull. Now they're primarilly a single gun, with some point defense, etc.

Ships have more diverse armaments, so even lowly assault frigates have multiple turrets, that do different things. The primary could be a pulsar beam, with secondary antifighter mass drivers, and long range missile batteries. Capital ships actually have anti-fighter emplacements, so a few bomber squadrons can no longer singlehandedly cripple a cruiser without help. Stuff like that.

Nephtys · Post by **Nephtys** » 2005-10-04 06:15pm

And while we're at it, it makes space battles exciting. Frigates zip around and use the full 3D Axis, barrel rolling and stuff to get their various weapons to bear on the target. Better than the 'everything faces each other and fires' HW standard.

Sharpshooter · Post by **Sharpshooter** » 2005-10-04 07:56pm

All this juicy gossup's driving me nuts...Damn this lousy piece of crap! ::Smacks tower:: Work! Work, damn you!!!

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2005-10-04 07:57pm

EmKay wrote:Umm, im quite new at this Homeworld 2 thingy, so could anyone please tell me just what is so great about this mod? On their website, apart from some really nice screens and some feature topics on forum, I couldnt find any info on what this mod really DOES. So, in short (although I like reading), could you tell me what is PDS about?

Militarizes homeworld and lets you toss out more rounds than the entirety of 'The Siege' in even a small battle.

The title alone tells you one big feature, namely automated point-defense weaponry mounted on damn near every ship (and the ones that don't are usually fighters.. but even vag fighters have their Laser Defense system). These systems will (provided you don't order the ship into an assault) automatically track and engage incoming strikecraft and munitions.

But heck, you've obviously played vanilla HW2.. and if a picture is worth a thousand words, I wonder what this is worth:

PDS 6.0 trailer

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2005-10-04 08:16pm

phongn wrote:
That, and Tel seems to worship the "networked FAC-M swarm > CVN" nonsense.

Okay the FAC-M is a new one on me, care to decode that one?

And dammit is it just me or did they yank the DotW corvette with the CAM packs? I'm jonesing for an M^3.