NecroBones Tribes - BONES Mod Info

NecroBones TRIBES2
BONES Mod
"Blatant, Obvious, Nefarious, & Extraneous Scripting"

[BONES Mod README]

THE BONES MOD
Welcome to the BONES Mod. If you haven't already, please check out the README file and see what it's all about. What is it for and what does it do? Well, here's the gist...

CURRENT PROGRESS
The mod is currently in public BETA testing. This means that you may now download it and try it out, but please keep in mind there will be changes in the future. To download it, CLICK HERE for BONES Version 1.03 (approximately 1 MB), and read the README file for installation instructions. DO NOT INSTALL BOTH MODS, BonesMod already includes the ref system.
UPDATE:
Some people have reported not being able to get the mod to run. Well, the last patch has made the game very screwy in that it randomly skips individual external files.. this includes scripts, skins, reticles, and even entire mods. I've updated the installation and running sections of the README, so check it out if you're having any problems. Basically the only thing left to try is to unzip the VL2 and mess around with rearranging the commandline parameters. The new notes in the README should help.
UPDATE AGAIN:
It's possible that the choice of OS also makes a differnce in how easy it is to get this mod (and presumably ANY mod) working.. My server uses Win98 and has no problems with it. It seems stable on Win98, Win2k, and WinXP.
LAST RESORT TACTICS TO LOAD THE MOD:
If you can't get the mod to load, try unzipping the VL2 into tribes2/gamedata instead of placing the VL2 there. You can uncompress it with winzip... just make sure it uses the stored directory and pathnames. You should see all the scripts and data go under the tribes2/gamedata/BONES directory. Then try running it again.
If THAT fails too, you can always copy everything under BONES to Base as well, so it has two copies to pull from. And if THAT fails, you can also make a backup of scripts.vl2 (so you can put it back for future patching etc) and then zip up all the scripts you just placed under Base into scripts.vl2... that'll ensure nothing is skipped. And it's a last resort that assumes you want to use the mod all the time.
MAKE SURE YOU DELETE THE DSO FILES BETWEEN EACH ATTEMPT, or else problems may persist without needing to. An easy way to do this is to create a batch file. Just create a file somewhere using notepad, and name it something like "deletedso.bat", and set up a shortcut on your desktop, and put the following lines in it (adjusted according to whatever drive and path you installed the game to):
del c:\dynamix\tribes2\gamedata\base\scripts\*.cs.dso
del c:\dynamix\tribes2\gamedata\base\scripts\packs\*.cs.dso
del c:\dynamix\tribes2\gamedata\base\scripts\weapons\*.cs.dso
del c:\dynamix\tribes2\gamedata\base\scripts\vehicles\*.cs.dso
del c:\dynamix\tribes2\gamedata\base\scripts\turrets\*.cs.dso
del c:\dynamix\tribes2\gamedata\bones\scripts\*.cs.dso
del c:\dynamix\tribes2\gamedata\bones\scripts\packs\*.cs.dso
del c:\dynamix\tribes2\gamedata\bones\scripts\weapons\*.cs.dso
del c:\dynamix\tribes2\gamedata\bones\scripts\vehicles\*.cs.dso
del c:\dynamix\tribes2\gamedata\bones\scripts\turrets\*.cs.dso

Then all you need to do is double-click your shortcut whenever you mess with mods, install a new version, or apply a patch to the game, or whatever.

NEW MAPS

NEW DOGFIGHT VEHICLES

Hawk Interceptor
Sparrow Scout
Vulture Defender

Owl Torpedoer
Eagle Gunship
Albatross Gunship

THE TO-DO LIST
The to-do list is a list of features and changes I'm currently thinking of implementing. Just because it's on the list doesn't mean that it'll ever happen. Some ideas just remain ideas. Some can't be done. Some can't be done easily. Some shouldn't ever be done and thus get crossed off. This should be taken with a grain of salt:

Notification of turret-control to weed out turret TKs.
Destroy all of a players mines when he/she disconnnects.
Ability to dumbfire the missile launcher.
MPB packup turret barrel, and not revert to default when redeployed.
Vehicle scoring to discourage crashing and suicide runs.
Insulting sniper-related death messages. "Cowardly headshot", "dishonorable laser kill", etc :)

PURPOSE AND DESCRIPTION:
Tribes has always been a surpassingly vibrant, rich, and balanced gaming system, even from the first release of Tribes 1. However, despite this, there has always been room for improvement, and a few minor oversights.
Back in Tribes 1, I used to play almost exclusively on the Insomniax mod. I'm not a mod junkie, and in fact I really dislike most mods. It seems that a lot of mods are made by people who just want to make as many cool toys as a possible and show no regard towards preserving the game balance or the original intent of the game designers.
This is why I liked insomniax- It was a mod that introduced a few new toys, but maintained the game balance, patched a few holes, and didn't replace the standard weapons as the main staple of the game.
This is what I set out to do in Tribes 2. I think of the BONES mod as "Insomniax 'light' for Tribes 2". I started out just tweaking the deployable limits a little. Then I got more ideas, and saw some things that needed fixing, as well as some interesting ideas.
Examples:
Fixing "bugs" and oversights:
* Vehicle "ghost after destruction" fixed,
* MPB barrel can be changed.
Extending on existing concepts:
* One deployable base turret per team
* More turret customizing (additional barrels)
Tweaking gameplay to close some holes:
* Increased deployable turret limits so they can be used at multiple bases
* Railgun to give heavies a decent anti-sniper option
Admin Tools:
* Referee mode, with all it's toys, items, and options.
* Kill/Smack/Warn buttons, to give a less-severe punishment than kicking.
(A complete list of features can be found in the README file.
So the overall idea was to create a mod that gave some interesting new options, new customizing choices for defense, and admin tools, all the while preserving the existing gameplay and balance. I know the change list below looks enormous, but it's not a total conversion, just a tweak. For the most part, gameplay isn't changed a whole lot.