Mike's background mod

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MantisManMike
Posts: 94
Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2017 6:29 pm

Mike's background mod

Postby MantisManMike » Thu Nov 05, 2020 7:27 pm

Download: Mike's background mod 1.7

Changes in version 1.7
  • Removed specific backgrounds for nebula sectors, due to accidental minor changes to event distribution (see below).
  • The mod now DOES NOT TOUCH event code at all. Apologies for the mistake.
  • Instead, those backgrounds have been folded into the overall pool. So while we lose the sector theming, at least we get to see them more often.
  • New pulsar graphics and background.
  • Tweaked the nebula clouds to reduce hotspots and brown areas.
  • Tweaked the lightning graphic to blend more smoothly with the clouds, and for bigger, more dramatic flashes.
  • Tweaked the icy planet from Arsenal+ to be less green and clipped the atmosphere tighter.
  • Removed the small "lava" planet, as we have better-looking planets with the same theme now.
  • Reinstated a couple of old nebula backgrounds, tweaked to remove uncanny straight edges.
  • Added an Arsenal+ background.
  • Added a purple starfield from Masala's mod.
  • Adjusted the weighting of backgrounds.
  • Allowed all sun and asteroid events to pick from the full background set (this doesn't actually touch event code at all).

Older versions: 1.6, 1.5, 1.4, 1.3, 1.2, 1.1, 1.0
Standalone version of the nebula clouds. Just the cloud graphics.

Note that versions 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6 accidentally changed vanilla event distribution very slightly, in Slug and Uncharted sectors. This was due to forcing sector-specific backgrounds with duplicate event code. As a result, a "unique" event could occur twice: once at the exit and once elsewhere. I'm very sorry about this oversight. The current version makes no changes to event code at all, and is 100% safe for win-streaking and other "purists" like myself.

Description

This mod is mostly a compilation of other background mods. Credit to the original content creators:

  • High-res background graphics by Splette
  • Better Planets and backgrounds by Sanmonku
  • HighRes Backgrounds & Planets by Ouaz
  • Space Engine Backgrounds by Masala
  • Arsenal+ by various contributors

Thanks to space artist Tim Barton for allowing me to include some of his nebula backgrounds. These images remain copyright to him and must not be redistributed without his permission.

I made rings for two gas giant planets, added some copyright-free images from Google, tweaked the solar flare glow, and edited some images to remove artefacts or excessive glare. I created the new nebula cloud graphics from heavily-modified base images that I found online.


Screenshots

The following screenshots show some of the newer stuff. There are plenty of familiar backgrounds and planets too. Shield graphics are from my Pretty Shields mod.

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Last edited by MantisManMike on Wed Jan 04, 2023 11:02 pm, edited 8 times in total.
The Captain
Posts: 390
Joined: Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:44 am

Re: Mike's background mod

Postby The Captain » Sun Dec 04, 2022 2:46 pm

Hi, Mike.

I see this is now on v1.6, which I haven't tried yet. I was about to post that I've noticed some null "events" using v1.5 - no dialog box pops up, ship just appears centered on the background. This just happened in an Uncharted Nebula; I don't know for sure if it happened before in Uncharted. This run I went to a distress beacon, nothing happened. Next beacon was in the nebula with no label, and nothing happened again. I don't remember seeing this in v1.4, and I'm using the same versions of other mods (Twinge's Balance Mod v2.6.1, your Graphical Fixes v1.4, Pretty Shields, jump indicator). The Background Mod was the only change.
MantisManMike
Posts: 94
Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2017 6:29 pm

Re: Mike's background mod

Postby MantisManMike » Fri Dec 09, 2022 11:46 am

The Captain wrote:Hi, Mike.

I see this is now on v1.6, which I haven't tried yet. I was about to post that I've noticed some null "events" using v1.5 - no dialog box pops up, ship just appears centered on the background. This just happened in an Uncharted Nebula; I don't know for sure if it happened before in Uncharted. This run I went to a distress beacon, nothing happened. Next beacon was in the nebula with no label, and nothing happened again. I don't remember seeing this in v1.4, and I'm using the same versions of other mods (Twinge's Balance Mod v2.6.1, your Graphical Fixes v1.4, Pretty Shields, jump indicator). The Background Mod was the only change.


Thanks for letting me know! I think this is almost certainly a conflict with Twinge's Balance Mod. Are you loading Twinge's mod before or after my backgrounds mod?

I'm sorry that I forgot to mention this potential for mod conflict. It's easy to forget. I think in version 1.7 I will split the Slug/Uncharted backgrounds into a separate add-on mod.
The Captain
Posts: 390
Joined: Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:44 am

Re: Mike's background mod

Postby The Captain » Sun Dec 11, 2022 3:58 am

Balance Mod before your Background Mod. Also, I did patch in v1.6, and encountered missing option words, which I had seen in 1.5, but forgot to mention. Unfortunately, I forgot what sector it was.
MantisManMike
Posts: 94
Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2017 6:29 pm

Re: Mike's background mod

Postby MantisManMike » Fri Dec 16, 2022 12:45 pm

The Captain wrote:Balance Mod before your Background Mod. Also, I did patch in v1.6, and encountered missing option words, which I had seen in 1.5, but forgot to mention. Unfortunately, I forgot what sector it was.


I'm pretty certain this is a mod conflict, and that it's happening due to the event file changes I made in 1.4+. The picture with the missing options is definitely a Slug or Uncharted sector, as that background is exclusive to those sectors.

You could potentially try loading Balance Mod after my mod. I think that would work better, as Balance Mod would then overwrite all my event code changes.

I tested those changes very carefully, but only on vanilla, and I didn't plan on what would happen if another mod was loaded that modifies events.

For the 1.7 release, I'm planning to split the mod, so that all the event code exists in an "add-on" mod. I think that's cleaner, and it allows much better mod compatibility. In the meantime, I'd suggest using version 1.3.
MantisManMike
Posts: 94
Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2017 6:29 pm

Re: Mike's background mod

Postby MantisManMike » Sun Jan 01, 2023 5:14 pm

Just for anyone is following the discussion, I've updated to version 1.7, which removes all the event-related changes. See the top post for details.