X-Wing Alliance Upgrade

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FAQ

Okay, people. Please read this, since questions, that are answered here, will not be answered on the forum again.

A great place to head to is also the forum post FOR BEGINNERS

Forum Question for registration

Mos Eisley spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

general questions

Q.:	What is the goal of the XWA Upgrade project?
A.:	Our goal is to redo all of the original opts from Lucas Arts' X-Wing Alliance and include many of the new features like illuminated textures, transparent faces, animated textures, landing gears and more. We want to upgrade X-Wing Alliance, so please understand that this will lead to higher minimum requirements than the original XWA had. This is also mainly a graphical update. Statistics of ships will be mostly left alone. Only few changes will be made, but those will be tested in game to see whether or not they change the game balance too much. Some missions changes are also done, but we try to keep the balance of the missions the same.
Q.:	When will the XWAU be complete?
A.:	For now we don't have an exact date when the final project will be released, to be honest as it looks now it wont ever be done. Hoever with the latest release of XWAU 2025 we are at a stage where we could almost claim to be done. However, as we unlock more and more features I doubt we will ever be truly done. There are several models that have been revamped multiple times already, so even if every model in-game has been replaced, we will most likely just start over with the older ones and add all of the new features unlocked since then.
Q.:	When will model xyz be done?
A.:	When it's done. Progress reports will be posted by the team at the discretion of the individual(s) working on a particular model. There is no need to ask for progress reports on the forum.
Q.:	I have an awesome Star Wars model which was not originally featured in XWA, can you include it into the project?
A.:	Unlikely, while we do add models that are not featured in the original game, this is done sparingly and currently no plany exist to add more. However, if you do want to use this model to proof your skill as a modeler go right ahead, we'll be more than pleased to welcome new talented people into out team!
Q.:	Will you change the ships stats, like speed, shield or hull rating?
A.:	This project is only a graphical one. We try to keep the possibilities of each craft the same as it was in XWA. We will only change the SSD to it's true length (17.6 instead of just 6 km), but those changes will be tested thoroughly and all missions in XWA were the SSD will appear will be changed accordingly. This is also an issue since we try to stay compatible with custom made missions from fans! While we know that the bigger version of the SSD will make problems we think that this is an easy to solve matter. But besides that we really try to keep the gaming balance as it is!
Q.:	You ruined the whole game! I hate what you did! You are all morons! Can't you make it better?
A.:	Well, too bad. Or as Darksaber would say: *If you don't like it, make it yourself*
Q.:	What's with all the ranks and insignias?
A.:	0 - 10 Posts	Recruit
	10 - 25 Posts	Cadet 4th Class
	25 - 50 Posts	Cadet 3rd Class
	50 - 100 Posts	Cadet 2nd Class
	100 - 250 Posts	Cadet 1st Class
	250 - 500 Posts	Ensign
	500 - 750 Posts	Lieutenant JG
	750 - 1000 Posts	Lieutenant
	1000 - 2000 Posts	Lieutenant Commander
	2000 - 3500 Posts	Commander
	3500 - 5000 Posts	Captain
	5000 - 7500 Posts	Rear Admiral (Lower Half)
	7500 - 10 000 Posts	Rear Admiral (Upper Half)
	> 10 000	Vice Admiral
	Moderator	Admiral
	Administrator	Fleet Admiral
	XWAU Member	XWAU Member
	Rebel Alliance	Rebel Alliance
	Galactic Empire	Galactic Empire
	Bounty Hunters	Bounty Hunter

team questions

Q.:	How can I join the XWA Upgrade Team?
A.:	Everybody can join the team, but you need to be able to contribute in the following fields: Modeling in the dxf format Creating Textures Opting In case you want to join the team simply post on the forum. Before you will be accepted to the team you will have to show some of your work though. The team will then make a vote whether or not to make you an official team member. Please check the Rules section for more info!
Q.:	Can I be a beta-tester for the new opts?
A.:	Testers are highly welcome, so apply in the forum if you want to test things early on.

performance and compatibility questions

Q.:	I saw that your models will have a lot more faces than the original ones, but this will slow down the performance a lot. Can't you cut the face count and just concentrate on the textures?
A.:	No, the goal of this project is to create awesome 3D-Models and not to improve performance of the game. While it is possible to do quite a lot with textures you need to have a decent model to work with. Do not expect to run the complete XWAU on a slow system, it will not work! A high end computer with lots of RAM will most likely be needed. As for now we cannot make any estimates since the biggest ships are yet to come, although we are pleased with the rather good performance the RFP has so far delivered on most systems!
Q.:	Will the enhanced graphics cause lag in multiplayer?
A.:	Unfortunately playing the XWAU over the internet is somewhat problematic and de-synchs happen a lot, as such we cannot recommend using the XWAU for multiplayer right now. If you want to try it out you have to make sure that everyone is using the same version of the XWAU!
Q.:	Why are the NEW craft all grey/white?
A.:	Go to the XWA options screen, then Graphics Options, and make sure rendering is set to Hardware
Q.:	How to avoid the 99.99km issue in skirmish
A.:	When you add custom crafts to the game and play a skirmish mission, a few crafts may appear far away. This happens because the SPEC.RCI file contains invalid/missing data. It is good to regenerate SPEC.RCI each time you make changes to the craft slots. What is SPEC.RCI SPEC.RCI is a file that contains the main characteristics of the crafts. It is used by the game engine to avoid to have to read the crafts files each time it needs those informations. How to generate SPEC.RCI run XWA from the command line with the "generate" option: XWingAlliance.exe generate open the Tech Library

Modeling Questions

Q.:	I often hear the term "dxf" but don't know what that means?
A.:	A "dxf" is a often used 3d-file format. Before models can be made into opts they have to be modeled in the "dxf" format.
Q.:	What is an opt?
A.:	Opt is the actual file format used to store the flight models for XWA in.

craft specific questions

Q.:	Why is the Missile Boat so much different?
A.:	It's based on it's original design in TIE Fighter, not the new design that debuted in XWCS. We decided that we like this new design better than the old one.
Q.:	I wanted to do missions with the Gunboat, but found out the cannot be used in single-player missions due to a weird message telling me that the s-foils are closed. I encountered the same with the Missiles Boat. will that be fixed in the new model?
A.:	Yes, this problem has been found and will not occur in the patch anymore!
Q.:	You said you will change the length of the SSD to it's true length of 17.6 km, but this is wrong, the EGVV says its 8 km!
A.:	Due to poor research, West End Games was incorrect in its size statement. Film evidence clearly shows out that the SSD is about eleven times the length of the Imperial Star Destroyer, or roughly 17.6 kilometers. This matter is non debatable!
Q.:	What's the deal with the Reef Home and Liberty, what happened to the MC-80a?
A.:	Another thing that was messed up in the game. The MC-80a Calamari Cruiser actually didn't appear until after Endor. The two that appear in the game are actually MC-80s, but various archives dubbed the two different designs seen at Endor Liberty and Reef Home.
Q.:	Home One? Why is the wingless Calamari cruiser so BIG?
A.:	This was another error in the game. The Rebel command ship at Endor, Home One, was left out of the game and replaced by a scaled down version that became the wingless cruiser.
Q.:	Why is the ISD called an Imperator-class Star Destroyer? I thought it was Imperial-class.
A.:	Original Lucas Film archives say that it is actually an Imperator-class. Furthermore sources say that the first ISD was named the Imperator, and since in Naval tradition a new class will be called by the name of the first ship with this class it should be Imperator-Class. This matter is non debatable!
Q.:	Will the ISDII and VSDII have separate models from the ISD and VSD?
A.:	Yes, both ships will have new models done from scratch.
Q.:	Are you also considering ion cannon turrets for the Y-wing? A number of sources have noted that the Y-wings could accommodate a gunner.
A.:	There are two Y-wing variants, the older S3 and the newer A4. Although both craft are rather old by the time of the Battle of Endor, the A4 (which is the version seen in the films) is by far more numerous, and was used by the Rebellion because it was cheaper to build. Therefore there are no plans at adding the Y-wing S3 with this upgrade. Besides which, adding a turret to the Y-wing would have some SERIOUS balance issues. This matter is non debatable!
Q.:	What is wrong with the cockpits? They totally block the view! Can't you maybe even make the cockpits like they were in the original X-Wing game?
A.:	Our goal with the cockpits were to make them appear closer to the look and feel of the movies. Movie evidence clearly shows though, that the view in the X-Wing (and the Y-Wing) was very limited. We decided to use that in our models and will not change it back. We cannot make the cockpits like they were in the original X-Wing game (an interactive 2D display) since that would actually require to change the game engine, so I am afraid you'll have to use what you have for now. If you don't like them, make your own! For the X-Wing we do have an alternate version available thanks to Darksaber, who has the following to say about this: The installer still includes the default cockpit, but for all you whiny little bitches out there I've included an alternative cockpit, basically I've rotated the cockpit so you now have a better point of view. Just please NOTE this is the first and last cockpit I'll be altering, If anyone asks to alter or change other cockpits I'll ban you! lol, well I might not ban you but I'll have a few choice colourful phrases to say about it
Q.:	Do the TIE Experimental's have Exterior Opts as well as Base ones?
A.:	No. The Experimental's only have Base Opts. They feature only in a few missions and were not designed to be flyable. So we don't see the need for an Exterior Opt.
Q.:	Are the TIE Experimental's be Flyable and have their own cockpits?
A.:	No, but it is a simple editing job to make them flyable. Also you can assign the new IFP cockpits to the Experimentals if you want to use them.
Q.:	Do the Ties have flight group colors?
A.:	No. For two reasons, first, there has been no movie evidence of Ties actually having flight group colors. Flight group colors for the Ties would also make the file size for the actual Ties a lot bigger, which is the other reason why we decided against flight group colors.
Q.:	Do all Tie's have unique cockpits?
A.:	No, not all of them. For once the Experimentals have no cockpits at all. (since they are not flyable) Also, some of the Ties share the similar cockpits, with only minor texture corrections.
Q.:	Why are the textures for the x1 a lot less blue than the rest of the ties?
A.:	That's because the x1 is from ANH, which had gray-hulled TIEs, while the others are from the ESB-forward period, which had blue hulls.