frequently asked question - content

MODS
: What are the basic requirements to play Buda 5?; How do I run the single ship and "other" mods?; How do I start a scenario?; What I have to heed by installing the X-Mas Packet?; Why the X-Mas Mission is that short and why not all ships appearing in the skirmish generator?

GENERAL
: Who are you?
: How come you call yourself 'Buda5', and what on earth does it mean?
Whats the plan?

MOD QUESTIONS

What are the basic requirements to play Buda 5?

1st: You need a copy of Independence War 2: Edge Of Chaos.
2nd: You need to patch up the game (both European and American releases) to version F14.6 or above. (patch also available from the official site.)

The patch creates a new subfolder named 'mods' and a new in-game button in the main menu for selecting the mods and scenarios titled 'extras'.

How do I run the single ship and "other" mods?

Buda 5 mods are available in common .zip files. To install them, just place the .zip in the 'mods' folder mentioned above. Unzipping the .zip is not necessary. Then start the game, and select the mod(s) you want to activate in the 'extras' menu. Then load a saved game or start the I-War 2 campaign. Much fun :) .

How do I start a scenario?

The Buda 5 scenarios are available in common .zip files. To install them, just place the .zip in the 'mods' folder mentioned above. Unzipping the .zip is not necessary, besides the X-Mas packet! Then start the game, go to the 'extras' menu, select the scenario you want to play, press the 'Start scenario' button and enjoy the unique Buda5 feeling! ;)

What I have to heed by installing the X-Mas Packet?

It isn't enough to copy the Buda5_SkGen.zip into the 'mods' folder. You have to extract the files to a folder called 'mods/Buda5_SkGen'. Make sure that there isn't a folder created like that 'mods/Buda5_SkGen/Buda5_SkGen'. Then the scenario won't run.

Also you need the Buda5 Ship Packet and the Buda5 INI Packet to play the missions. Place them in the 'mods' folder and activate them like general Buda 5 Ship and "Other" Mods in the 'extras' menu. Then start the Mission Collection like general Buda 5 scenarios.
The future Mission Collection based on the X-Mas packet will automatically check for the required packages and activate them.

Why the X-Mas Mission is that short and why not all ships appearing in the skirmish generator?

Unfortunately we had little time before christmas, so we couldn't do enough beta testing for removing all bugs. The problems with the X-Mas Mission and Skirmish Generator are caused by such bugs. We are sorry about that. Of course, they will be removed in the upcoming Mission Collection.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Who are you?

For detailed information about the crew have a look at the crew section. If you're interested in joining the team and have skills with C/C++, modelling or designing or if you're "filled with" ideas and enthusiasm for this project, post a small introduction about you here.

Indie	- Project Lead	Buda 5 Firstone
LogicSequence	- Lead Modeler	(<-Report Mod Errors Here)
Roi Danton	- Lead Scripter	(<-Report Broken Links Here)
Warlord	- Scripter
Aurora SF	- Junior Scripter
P3K	- Junior character Modeler	(retired)
The Claw / Morte	- Modeler	(lost in hyperspace)
The Merciful	- Former Webmaster	Buda 5 Firstone (retired)
SimonDR	- Former Lead Modeler	Buda 5 Firstone (retired)
R2D2	- Former Scripter	Buda 5 Firstone (retired)
DragonHeart	- Former Modeler	(retired)
JohnCS	- Former Scripter	Buda 5 Firstone (retired)
Fiso	- Former Scripter	Buda 5 Firstone (retired)
Sharl	- Former Scripter	(retired)
SkyQuake	- Former Scripter	(retired)

How come you call yourself 'Buda5', and what on earth does it mean?

After intence interrogations R2D2 remembered this:

"I believe it wasn't invented by any of us, but I think I remember taking it from someone in the firstones.com boards a short time after the game was axed (or perhaps even before?). Then I used it as a joke about legal reasons, and it kinda stayed as our name.

So most of the blame goes to me. "

As for what it means, at the discussion forums an individal calling himself 431Mako, told this:

"Buda? I got it! I got it! The Babylonian Universe Development Association! There, do I get a prize? "

...And this:

"OK, how about this: Back in the early sixties, Motown signed a group of young black brothers, who had a fresh new singing, dancing and computer programming act, called the 'Buda 5'. They had a couple of albums and a few top-of-the-chart hits, including "A,B,C, Mim-Ba-Ri" and "Got to Be There ('Cause the Shadows are Here!)"

Sadly, money and fame affected the young brothers, ego driving them apart over arguments about who invented the Minbari Moonwalk and other fancy moves. The youngest brother, Michael Buda, eventually went on to his own exceptionally weird superstar career, marred by a bad nosejob (performed with a chainsaw) and allegations of sexual abuse on several young Centauri ("Come home with me", he piped to his victims, "And I'll make your hair stand on end!")

A sad story, but a useful lesson in the dangers of fame."

Whats the plan?

The Plan, is to make standalone single-player campaign(s) for Independence War 2. The campaign is essentially a big scenario that can be launched from the 'extras' menu. Before we are there there is still a lot to be done: we need to fix some bugs, balance all ships and make a general purpose scripting package before we can seriously start scripting campaign missions.
However, in the meantime we will continue developing our X-Mas Mission packet and releasing a periodic updated Buda 5 Mission Collection with standalone scenarios and skirmish fights.

In the distant future we might explore the possibilites of a Buda5 multiplayer scenario.

Upcoming soon: With the Buda5 InGame Mod Logic will turn the main EOC campaign into a B5 game. He replaced all ships with Babylon 5 ships, changed the music and more.
For a similar project check out Bineshi's Assembly mod (but it's older, isn't that complex und and has a ship quality inferior than Logic's mod). It also replaces several AI ships in EOC with Buda5 ships. You can download the mod from www.i-war2.com.