Ballistic NG - Wipeout fan project

[nu9get]

Most obscene cuts similar to this one have been fixed in the newest versions

ah ok, thanks letting me know are the leaderboards been refreshed\deleted?

[GGeek]

The leaderboard are going to be refreshed towards the final release, if i'm not mistaken.

[JABBERJAW]

Love shortcuts, but to a limit. That is more of an f-zero cut than wipeout. Maybe a few checkpoints so that large a cut cannot be done

[JFthebestJan]

this is very cool xD 3 shortcuts in a single lap, and nothing too fancy either. now add BRs back into the game (as an unlockable feature for completing the game) and the let the fun begin

@jabberjaw: it's like a typical X-Cup shortcut, when most if not all AI ships fail ...

[dreadofmondays]

Also I have to thank the person who made the Advanced Techniques quide on Steam. I actually now understand exactly how opposite braking operates. I had heard the term multiple times before but didn't quite figure out exactly how it was used.

You are welcome

[Rafeku]

I'm back.
Physics got gud. Nothing much to say. I played the campaign with g-tek and I've got a smile on my face. "It's Wip3out all over again." Back in the day it felt furutistic. and it still feels futuristic. Ishitar Citadel could be a track set in the sky. The background is really good so does the track texture. Luna felt lacking something after I've saw that renewed track.

Bugs(Steam Unstable Branch)
_If you press look back while in photo mode(thirdperson mode) the ship will disappear. if you press and hold it the ship re-appears. Same happens in first person. but if you do that, the cockpit and ship will be there at the same time(really stupid.)
Other than that...I dont think so.
You should reconsider that cockpit model(and the others that you're planing) in WO3 They didn't obstruct your view. the "cage" on the cockpit makes it hard to see, and the panel could be less centered. Take the F-16 for example or even the WO3 cockpits.

Hoping for the next release. THE HYPE IS ALL OVER ME.

EDIT: For the steam devbranch I think you wanna keep in mind to NOT replace the UserData Folder. I've played the game for several minutes, closed, and it update, and my files were gone. good thing I had the backup

[psilocybin]

Wasn't there a guide knocking about somewhere for importing the ships from WO/WO2097 into this game? I can't seem to find it anywhere. I have the community ships imported already I just don't know what files I need to get from the old games and what to do with them. Can anyone point me in the right direction if so?

On a related note, does anyone remember the name of that software you use to extract files from playstation games? I think I found it through a post on this forum somewhere, possibly one of the reverse engineering threads. I'm sure it's sitting on one of my hard drives but I can't remember for the life of me what it was called lol.

[Zynetic]

The guide is located in the BallisticNG folder, I believe it is called _Wipeout Ships.txt (but I don't remember).

To extract files from PlayStation games, you can just put the CD into your disc tray and browse it, I believe. I've had them in .iso format for a while though, so don't quote me on that.

Also most of the obscene shortcuts that I did (I'm Matt) have been patched, though with that being said, there are still quite a lot of them in tracks like 0x002, 0x003, Maceno Bay (still, if you turn left after the checkpoint you go straight to the end), etc. Furthermore, the option of disabling shortcuts in Multiplayer lobbies has been discussed if people feel they would ruin the experience. Personally I'm all for it, shortcuts are fun, interesting and iconic but I don't think they're necessarily more fun or skillful.

Truth is, I suck at these type of games. I am pretty sure without shortcuts I wouldn't be where I am.

[psilocybin]

To extract files from PlayStation games, you can just put the CD into your disc tray and browse it, I believe. I've had them in .iso format for a while though, so don't quote me on that.

Just found out I was thinking of jPSXdec, I used it once to convert the bgm in parappa the rapper from .xa1 to .wav. Luckily the wavs all still had .xa1 in the filename as a quick google search for that came up with a page on another forum where people were discussing it.

I'd spent a while lurking in the reverse engineering threads in the past so I incorrectly assumed that I had discovered it in there. My apologies.

[slowriderxcorps]

In regards to the current Unstable build, there's major issues with the custom control binding on controllers. Whenever I tried to bind the Thrust to the A button on my 360 pad (just to make sure), it would automatically reselect the option for that keybind and seek a new input. Similarly, binding something to the B or Start button would cause the game to back out of the Controls menu once pressed.

[amplificated]

Just dl'd the new update and accessed the unstable branch, and can gladly say my controller can be detected now. I also can confirm the issues in the above post.

In addition, for some reason my DS4 is being treated as Joy2 even though it's the first controller as seen in monitoring software, so I had to reassign all the buttons. (In the previous version I tried, nothing worked when trying to reassign buttons.)

Also, pitch up/down are reversed in your menus.

Lastly, away from control issues, the framerate cap @ 60 by default may not be the greatest idea. Unless you have FreeSync or something, you lose frames. It's much smoother for most people on standard 60hz monitors (probably most people still) to either increase the cap or enable VSync somehow e.g. in radeon settings.

[Wanzer]

Recently learned about this game Went trough 3 seasons and getting ballistic champion and I have to say music and physics are pretty awesome, especially physics, smooth like butter, and got wipeout written all over it.
In latest unstable my PS2 pad with adapter is being recognised as well which is nice since I was postponing playing till it worked with my pad.

Here is a couple of bugs I caught.
When I tried to assign "thrust" button, it would blink for a moment and went back to "..." like its not binded but, binding "drop pickup" button would exit settings menu and at the same time previously seemingly unbinded button to "thrust" would now appear binded.

Nose pitch up/down being reversed.

There is achievement "Purity of the Race - Complete 50 races with weapons turned off." in my case it stands on 38/50 but seeing how I only did couple time attack races and 3 seasons without turning off weapons (and in fact blasting everyone on the track) I am not sure how I got 38/50 might be bug or I dont understand how it works.

Tremble doesnt work on PS2 pad I use.

I know the aim is to follow psx limitation and Wp3 style but, will you leave modders some freedom to put more complex assets in game, with animated objects on courses and ships with no strict limitations on size, texture resolution or number of polygons?
At least allow animated airbrakes since wip3out has them?

In overall I have to say, its pretty cool game from what I've seen, great job guys.

[TheXTR09]

Seeing how AGR2280 evolve into BnG just brings a tear into my eye. It's been a year and here we are. How far have we got.

And it also reminded me that I suck at classic WipEout

[Wanzer]

Guys, how about analog input for all controls, I tried to bind thrust to analog but it was still acting like digital.
Even though original wipeout 1-3 had analog thrust (with negcon) it wasnt used very often on consoles even on PS3, on PC tho its a bit of a different story simply because there are many different controllers you can use with it.
I tried to use my flight stick, rudder and throttle quadrant with BNG but throttle quadrant still acting like digital switch, just feels unnatural and limits possible ways of controlling your ship.

Is it possible to make it work like in original Wp? Where if push switch 75% throttle would raise to 75% and would stop there, now thrust climbs steadily to the 100% regardless of how far I push the switch.

Also, is it me or cockpit camera changed to better somewhere between 4.00 and 4.06?
I think previously cockpit camera was tilting with the ship when now horizon stays levelled.

[psilocybin]

I'd imagine you guys are probably already aware of this but there's a nasty little gap in the level geometry on Maceno Bay at the start of the tunnel that you go into just after the track goes back on itself.

Attachment 10301


I did also have an issue earlier where restarting the race from the post race menu caused the thrust sounds for the player's ship to go silent (I could still hear nearby AI ships) but I haven't been able to replicate it yet unfortunately.

[psilocybin]

Still haven't managed to replicate the above but I've just stumbled across something else:

If you press change view whilst the game is paused the view will change once the game is unpaused, kind of annoying if you happen to press it by accident. Similarly, pressing the rear view button whilst the game is paused causes some odd glitches.


Also on Aciknovae if you drive backwards into the wall (See attached screenshot) at full speed with the nose up the wuss wagon will drop you off in front of the last checkpoint and the lap will still count. It is even possible to clear the gap and reach said checkpoint without being picked up. Again, like the last one I found, it's difficult to use as a proper shortcut but there may be something in it if you develop a technique.

Attachment 10302

Jumping to the right on the final jumps of both 0x002 and 0x003 results in a bit of a shortcut too.


This is all in steam 0.4.6 by the way.

- - - Updated - - -

Just noticed that weapons can still be activated after having been eliminated. Amusingly the autopilot functions as normal allowing you to still finish the race lol, you'll have to pick retry or quit before briefly seeing the results screen though so it probably can't be used as a cheat in the campaign.

[amplificated]

Been playing for a little bit. Some observations, other than the obviously very common wall glitches and whatnot where it's easy to fall out of the map:

* The lights in the first tunnel on Aciknovae are too bright. Very hard to see where you're going for people who haven't memorised the track.
* Aciknovae's track separations and the automatic adjustment of your craft's handling - without some deus ex machina excuse like mag strips for one track only - it's just patently an atrocious gameplay decision. Player control NEEDS TO BE 100% a player's own control. There is no other way of looking at this as far as I'm concerned. If the tracks can't be handled without an invisible hand guiding them, redesign them.
* Ishtar: having such a long track have such a difficult and unforgiving corner is the icing on the cake for making it a chore to play on higher speeds. If the corner was at least on a short track, you could rack up attempts quickly.
* Mines are far too common, often littering the entire track at points.
* The AI? It seems overpowered in the opening laps and then goes easymode in the last. Makes weapons entirely useless to use against them, as if they're just a ploy to make life miserable for the player. The only useful pickup is incredibly rare (the e-tank or whatever).
* The AI will often adjust their racing line to knock you about. The constant bumping is unpleasant, especially given 99% of the time they're all in a big clump, the only exception being sometimes a leader or two pull away. You just get screwed over while they, seemingly, are unimpeded.
* There are times where you don't hear one or more of the beeps at the start. Totally upsets my rhythm. I've disabled voice countdown, and depending on your position on the grid e.g. in time trial, on some tracks at least, you can't see the digital timer.
* The game seems to freeze every now and then for a few frames. It can, and has, messed up my race. Playing on 144 fps cap.

Opinions:
* I was playing season 3 and ran into a bit of annoyance on Ishtar. Restarting the track, and being subjected to an unskippable track intro was annoying af. Track intros need to be skippable or outright disable-able in the settings.
* I feel it's very difficult to stabilise the craft. The airbrakes create too much drag and take away too much forward momentum? Also have a lot of difficulty adjusting to survival; the craft for it feels completely different to the rest of the game's (that I've used so far).
* Mainly on Ishtar but some other tracks, I feel like I would be scraping along a wall and then bounce off it despite not making full contact. Also, walls in general are ridiculously bouncy. In conjunction with limited ability to stabilise your craft, one mistake becomes many because you can't easily return to a workable racing line, even at low speeds. Sure, you could correct at low-low speeds, but by then the race is already over.
* It might be an idea to not have the track width the same at every point of it. I.e., have some run-off areas. They exist in the original WO's, and HD.
* Personal opinion... but I think both the vacuum cleaner sound and the engine rev sorta noises the craft makes are no good.

Haven't exactly nailed the game down yet obv., but those are some issues I see with it. There's also plenty of potential in there though! The sensation of going fast is really good, it's a shame for one reason or another I just can't sustain it on anything but the slowest speed tiers

[Xpand]

There's no automatic adjustment in Aciknovae or any other track for that matter. I think it's just the camera aligning itself with the track section that makes it look like the ship is turning on its own, or maybe the fact that ships tend to jump off ledges due to the physics engine.

EDIT: Checked it in the game itself, it's just the camera readjusting that gives the impression that the ship is moving on its own. It happens in Wipeout3 too, in Manor Top.

[Hybrid Divide]

A few things I've noticed, possibly already documented:

In the input manager, pitch up and pitch down need to be reversed. I had to bind my d-pad down to pitch down to pull the nose up.

I had the button binding for pause on my controller stop working in the middle of a season, too. But it worked again when I went back into the menu and re-bound it. (The menu still showed the correct binding the whole time.)

Wall bounce is still not good. But the pit lanes in several tracks have gotten a LOT better since I last played.

[amplificated]

@ Xpand

Yeah, booted up WO3 and had a crack at Manor Top and you're right. It's there as well; although to a lesser extent as far as I could tell.

Still, just because WO did it doesn't mean it's perfect. The effect is so jarring, I'd really encourage looking to eradicate it completely.