Group C v3 is here!
See the current GroupC 3 Page
Please note that I will now be updating the page at the link above.
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GroupC 3 is here!
VERSIONS:
Current release: 3.0
Prior releases: 2.0 M
Prior releases: 2.0
Prior releases: 1.0
OVERVIEW:
GroupC 3 is a total rework of all the ships, weapons, and countermeasures. The wide range of ship and weapon behavior allows you to use a vast multitude of combat strategies and styles. Fast and close, agile and stealthy, shadow veiled sniper, all out power, etc... The main focus of GroupC is to make every weapon and ship new, unique, useful, strategic, and to make the combat fierce, varied, and visually amazing to watch.
Initially I built GroupC just for fun, and played it on my exclusively on my LAN network with friends. My friends and I had a blast playing GroupC, and so I figured I would finally release it, and hopefully others will have as much fun playing GroupC as I do. The encouragement and positive feedback I got was far more than I ever could have expected, and so now I fin myself releasing version 3. I am very grateful to all the wonderful people of DBB and elsewhere who have been so supportive and encouraging. Here then, is version GroupC 3. I hope everyone enjoys it.
-sushi
Download GroupC...
Above Image - In-game modle of the the Fang. (Scroll down for more images)
Download GroupC:
>>>GroupCn3.zip 13 MB (Direct Download)
>>>GroupCn3.zip 13 MB (Mirror)
To Install, extract the zip, and place the \"GroupCn2m.mn3\" in your Descent3 missions folder.
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NEW FEATURES in v3.0: (some of them anyway)
3.0; A large part of this newest release is the improving to the sound. In Descent 3 it always seemed to me like the sounds were quiet and washed out. (In particular explosions.) So, I have created, modified, and stitched together many new sounds.
So the partial feature list.
Firstly the Pyro is now faster and more maneuverable. (FASTER PYRO!)
Much of the sound has been altered or completely redone. Everything from boosting and brightening volume to building totally new sounds from scratch.
Explosions sounds are now sharp and percussive.
Black shark sound matches GroupC behavior (for both the Grav Shark and the Split Core Shark)
The Fang's Repeater Mass Driver now has an accurate fully automatic fire sound.
Magnum raygun damage Increased
Impact Mortar Camera (The Impact Mortar now has the camera enabled for the Phoenix & Fang)
Phoenix's Ballistic-Cyclone life extended. (You can now fire it straight up outside, and it will come down nearly 20 seconds later and hit the ground!)
New Red Fang Splash Screen.
Red Fang Group-C 3 Desktop Image (1600x1200) Included in download package. (Just for fun.)
The New Splash screen with includes a note about the classic Descent 3 engine flaw and how to work around it.
All included are now documents are now in html format.
Documents Included: Instalation, Levels List, mini FAQ, Ships & Weapons.
(more of the new features will be listed soon)
NEW FEATURES in v2.0 M:
2.0M Is exactly the same as 2.0, except 2.0M has the following improvements.
In 2.0M now all the Base D3 multiplayer missions are included. All level scripts, (wind tunnels, switches etc...), are fully functional. The problematic D3 level 3 & 15 have been removed. D3 level 4 has been added and works just fine (and it has the trains).
The \"M\" stands for \"Mission set improved\" (so I could tell the files apart)
NEW FEATURES in v2.0:
All ships can use all weapons.
Each ship has multiple unique weapons and weapon behaviors.
Ship behavior tweaked. (e.g. Phoenix is now faster.)
Game balance refined.
Added more new special weapons.
All weapons have been reworked some a little, most a lot.
Game stability greatly increased for computers that had problems with crashing.
Table file restructured to eliminate the crash on exit that occurred on some computers.
Added to weapon visual effects.
Added more new trail textures.
Some new projectile models are being used.
Several missiles now leave sparks in their trails.
Hawk and Fang have their own ship icons in the HUD.
Each ship has a signature flare type.
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COMMING FEATURES::
New ship models for Pyro Gl and Pheonix.
Several additional levels I plan to build for GroupC. (I will also release them separately.)
Additional modified versions of current levels. (Like Apparition with more bunkers.)
More Ship behavior tweaks. (Including Faster Pyro GL.)
More weapon behavior tweaks. (Fang Omega will deal slightly more damage.)
Countermeasure will get massive behavior tweaks. (Except for the Flame RAS)
Descent 3 Mod GroupC. (That is, a Descent 3 mod file in .d3m format so that it will be usable with any mission.)
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Installation::
Drag the \"GroupCn2m.mn3\" file to your \"Descent3\\missions\\\" folder.
DONE
Playing::
Run D3, \"Group C 3rd Gen - v2.0\" will appear in your multiplayer or single player missions list.
(see the \"GroupC Tables.txt\" document for a list of the levels)
Removing previous versions:: (optional)
This optional step will prevent previous versions of GroupC from showing up in the missions list in D3.
I recommend that if you have a prior version of GroupC already in your missions folder, that you change the prior version's filename by adding \".bak\" to the end of it.
e.g. if your old version was \"GroupCn.mn3\" then rename it to \"GroupCn.mn3.bak\"
Images:
For more imagas click here...
SHIPS:
Each ship has modified handling, and extremely modified weapon use.
Each ship has multiple \"Favored Weapons\" it can use in a uniquely powerful way, and multiple special weapons that are unique to the ship only.
The Magnum has been replaced by the Hawk.
The Black Pyro has been replaced by a totally new ship called Fang. It is a completely new model and is fully textured. The Fang has no engine glow and leaves no afterburn trail making it well suited for shadow.
Note, Typing \"byemonky\" will give you a 3rd person view. You may want to try this if you selected the Hawk (Magnum slot) or the Fang (Black Pyro slot).
WEAPONS:
The weapons now function very differently. All the weapons are faster, more lethal, and aimed at strategic use. e.g. Use the drastically modified Napalm Rocket to snipe a pillbox instantly rendering it an inferno, (you have to see it...). Unleash a blizzard of the violet trailed homing cyclone missiles with the new Swarm EMD, (again, this is just beautiful to watch, but very difficult to describe...).
Counter measures have been replaced by robots and specialized Gunboys. You can deploy them and they will autonomously operate on your side.
GAME PLAY:
Group C 3 is packaged with 17 D3 levels, so it can be played immediately with anyone else who has it.
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LEVELS:
1 Apparition
2 Geodomes
3 HalfPipe
4 InfernalBolt
5 Insomniac
6 Monster Arena
7 Paranoia
8 Plutonium
9 Polaris
10 PowerHouse
11 Quadsomniac
12 QuadsomniacNoWind (Without wind in the wind tunnels.)
13 Taurus
14 TheCore
15 SteelVapor
16 Veins
17 level4 (with trains)
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SHIPS: (Details)
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Ship Slot: In game ship:
Pyro-GL ... Pyro-GLx
Phoenix ... SwiftWingPhoenix
Magnum ... Hawk (Heavy assault craft)
Black-Pyro ... Fang (Fast and stealthy surgical strike craft)
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WEAPONS: (Details)
Note: This is just an overview. Some weapons have more new characteristics than are mentioned.
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GroupC mini FAQ:
Q: Is there anything I should know before playing GroupC?
A: YES. If you exit a game of GroupC (i.e. return to the main menu), you MUST restart Descent 3 before playing a new mission. Especially before playing a new mission of GroupC.
(Keep reading to find out why.)
Q: Why am I firing a little Pyro GL?
A: This is a bug, but it's not part of GroupC. The Descent 3 engine itself has an inability to properly unload custom table data. You can read more about this bug in the official D3 Engine Bug List. Bug #18 is the cause of this problem.
Solution:
The solution is simple. If you exit a game of GroupC (i.e. return to the main menu), you MUST restart Descent 3 before playing a new mission. Especially before playing a new mission of GroupC. This will work every time.
(Note: Any other table mod that suffers from the geometry replacement bug can be fixed this way as well.)
Q: How do I select the new ships? i.e. Starhawk or Fang.
A: Go to the normal ship selection screen in D3 and select the Magnum or Black pyro, in GroupC you will be using the Starhawk or Fang respectively.
Q: How do I use the zoom system for missiles that have zooming enabled? (see SHIPS table for zooming enabled weapons.)
A: Hold down the missile key just like you do for the mass driver. e.g. hold SPACE to zoom, release it to fire.
Q: How do I deploy ally D3 robots in multiplayer?
A: Just drop a countermeasure. It will be a robot. (see the bottom of the WEAPONS table for the list of robots.)
Q: Sometimes D3 crashes while running GroupC. Why?
A: GroupC uses a lot more particles than D3, some computers may have problems with this, but I’m working to fix that.
Q: Why cant I select the Fang?
A: While GroupC should work with all copies of D3, you must be able to select the Black Pyro (from D3 Mercenary) to use the Fang. Therefore, if you do not have D3 Mercenary installed you may not be able to use the Fang.
Q: Can I play my favorite music while playing GroupC?
A: Yes, and I STRONGLY recommend it. (because it's fun)
Here is how I setup to play music during GroupC.
1: Run Winamp (Or some other music player.)
2: Get as many songs as you can. (try to queue up 100 or more.)
3: Set the player to shuffle, and start them playing.
4: Run Descent3, and play GroupC.
If you want to control Winamp from Descent3 then do the following:
Wnapm you can select Options > Preferences. Go to “Global Hotkeys” section and click the “Enabled” check box to turn them on. Notice the table of hot keys below, these will work even when Descent3 is full screen.
Note: After enabling Global Hotkeys, you must exit the properties window before they will work.
I have a Logitech media mouse which has handy track, play, stop, etc buttons on it. That helps a great deal for controlling music while in a game, but it is not a necessity, as the method above works just fine.
Note: If you need to, you minimize Descent3 and go to the desktop by pressing [Alt]+[Tab]. When on the desktop, Hold [Alt] and press [Tab] repeatedly to cycle to whatever program you desire, (just don't click the task bar.). When you want to go back to Descent3 Hold [Alt] and press [Tab] repeatedly to cycle back to the Descent3 icon.
That's about all you need to know.
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GroupC Trivia:
Q: Why was the first release named \"Group C 3rd gen\" and the second release called \"GroupCn2\"?
A: Before I made GroupC I began experimenting with table modding in D3. I stored all the weapons I modified in a folder named GroupA. After becoming familiar with the table modding system, I began building my first playable table mod, the contents of which I placed in a folder called GroupB. GroupB was quite a bit of fun, but it was mostly just designed to see if a largely modified playable mod would work. At that point I began work on a new mod. This was to be a fully playable total rework of the all the weapons, ships, and game mechanics. It was simply named \"GroupC\". At the time I finished the first playable beta version of GroupC. The next major step towards the full working version of GroupC was called \"Group C 2nd gen\", for the 2nd generation rework of GroupC. Finally came the third rework \"Group C 3rd gen\". At that time, I had a wood burning 56k modem, and no hope of releasing this near finished version, so I simply played it on my LAN with friends. At long last, I finally got cable internet, and suddenly had the opportunity to release GroupC, which until then had never seemed like a real possibility. I released what was essentially version 1.0 with its full name, \"Group C 3rd gen\". I was amazed when I got so much positive feed back. So I set forth on expanding all aspects of GroupC and after much work, I finished and released GroupCn2, (Technically this was \"Group C 3rd gen v2.0\") but to avoid confusion I decided to omit the \"3rd gen\" part of its original name.
Note it's now up to version three (“GroupCn3”).
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I'll get this hosted at 
but thanks a million for hosting this level, and I did notice that you had the game up within an hour or so of my e-mail request! Awesome!
