Slightly Better Starfields by thunderfoot006

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INTRODUCTION

Hello and thank you for D/Ling this. Like you, I am amazed at the beauty of Yacuzza's Midnight Universe. It is the most beautiful of mods and made my A2 spectacular to look at when I still played A2 on my desktop computer. However the laptop which I now play A2 on just does not have the horsepower it takes to run MU2.0 and A2 simultaneously. I really missed Yacuzza's starfields most of all. They are my favorite part of MU 2.0 because they make the background look so much like the backgrounds seen in the series and films. Going back to the stock backgounds made my A2 look a little cartoonish. But without adequate system resources, it is difficult to run MU 2.0 without serious lag. Upgrading my computer again within seven months of my last upgrade was not a viable alternative.

There had to be some way to get the stock starfields to look at least a little better. This may be it. I have adjusted the starfield odfs to give the background a few more stars. The number of background stars has been increased to the point where the starfield is fairly "busy", but not to the point where my laptop hitches and lags. I did this for myself awhiles back but there are a lot of people in this Community who do not have nuclear-powered, 4 terabyte graphics cards available to them. I hope this gives them a background which looks a little more like "Space. The final frontier." whilst playing A2. You may be able to increase the numbers and types by experimenting yourself. Feel free to do so.

BTW, the people here are -
1) Uber Cool
2) Fun to hang out with
3) Helping me effectively manage my little Star Trek: Armada 2 addiction. (2.25GB and growing daily!)

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INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

NOTE: If you have never modded this game before, right click on C:Activision and left click on Properties.
Left click on the 'Read Only' button near the bottom.
Next, left click on the 'Apply' button at the bottom of the Properties window. Another window will pop up at this point.
Left click on the 'Apply to this folder, all subfolders, and Files option.
Right click on C:ActivisionStar Trek Armada 2 and left click on Properties.
Left click on the 'Read Only' button near the bottom.
Next, left click on the 'Apply' button at the bottom of the Properties window. Another window will pop up at this point.
Left click on the 'Apply to this folder, all subfolders, and Files option.


****Starfield odfs****NOTE: Copies of the stock Starfield odfs are included, just in case.
Open the C:ActivisionStarTrek Armada2odfother folder.
Open the Modified Starfield odfs folder found here.
Place all the files in the Modified Starfield odfs folder found here into the C:ActivisionStarTrek Armada2odfother folder.
If prompted to overwrite, click on 'yes'.

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TO UNINSTALL

Open the C:ActivisionStarTrek Armada2odfother folder.
Open the Stock Starfield odfs folder found here.
Place all the files in the Stock Starfield odfs folder found here into the C:ActivisionStarTrek Armada2odfother folder.
If prompted to overwrite, click on 'yes'.

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POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
This mod has been tested only within the SP Campaign and Instant Action vs. the 'puter. I do not know if it will work in online Multiplayer. As always, I accept no responsibility for your 'puter or your game. This file was checked for viruses and completeness before upload. If it doesn't work right the first time, please go back and read the directions. Then, install the mod again AFTER you read the directions.

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CREDITS:
Gene Roddenberry, for giving us such a cool place to play.
Paramount, Activision & Mad Doc for making and putting out Armada I and II
thunderfoot006
YOU, for D/L'ing this mod.

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RELEASE INFO:
Permission is granted prior to you asking me for you to do whatever you want with these. I do not care if you credit me or not because this is something anyone else could have done for themselves.

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CONTACT:
Any doubts, questions or suggestions, you can E-mail or PM me from here.

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COPYRIGHT AND DISTRIBUTION PERMISSIONS
Copyright notices:

Star Trek, Star Trek Armada II, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation,
Star Trek: Voyager (and the various logo devices used in them) are copyright Paramount Pictures, as are the characters, related images, and sound from the productions.

THIS PATCH IS NOT MADE, DISTRIBUTED, OR SUPPORTED BY ACTIVISION TM & (C) ACTIVISION & PARAMOUNT PICTURES.