Alright, you're now probably wondering what the plan is, as 'SupermegaOverhaul' is a long and ambitious word.
here's the spiel:
I've been playing X since the reunion days.
I've been seriously involved in modding only after TC came out.
thing is, the things I'd like to see in X, haven't appeared in any way, shape or form.
so here I am, hoping to get a few people to help.
I guess I'll dive right into the official-type stuff then.
(oh, prewarning, the pretty pictures post has big pretty pictures.)
==================<X3TC:SMOH mod>==================
Mod premise: a mod to revitalize the X-universe into a slightly more realistic setting, as well as improving immersion and command & control of player assets.
Mod goals:
=+races+=
-overhaul the Pirate race into a large number of distinct factions, with gainable-loseable rank, unique ships, shipyards, trading docks, and sectors.
-slightly overhaul the Xenon into a full race, see the 'Xenon' section below.
-make the Yaki into a complete race in their own right, with unique ships, stations, and at least one new weapon.
-give the Aldrin guys more things to play with
=+immersion+=
-create unique racial stations for all races, as well as a vastly altered complexing system (see 'complexing' below)
-create new models for all ship variants, to assist in the application of across-the-board changes in what variants mean (see 'Variants' below)
-improve racial responses to any incursion into their space
-add raids and invasion fleets that take time to be constructed, and can be disrupted or assisted by the player.
=+other+=
-add additional plots after the completion of the existing TC plots
-add additional races with unique ships, products, corporations, missions/plots, and weapons.
-add a few more Terran weapons to compensate for deficiencies.
-add more things a player can build
-make corporations work more realistically
-improve on player control of large numbers of ships
-improve traders for better economic control
-rebalance a number of missions to assist in general gameplay improvement
-add better turrets to all ships
-remodel most Terran/ATF ships and stations, as well as creating ATF stations.
list of things this mod absolutely will not do:
-vastly improve the Autopillok
-give giant, game-breaking advantages to the player or the AI
-drastically increase your Framerate
{list of things I can do}
-once the models function ingame, I can balance and draw stats for all of them
-come up with names and descriptions
-test
-get most things ingame
-provide concept art for bolt you and the modelers to chew on
I'm looking for modelers, scripting/MD types, testers, and other modders that want to help. PM me If you'd like assistance. note that this mod is somewhat 'opendev' as most of the general conversations will happen here on the forum, and I will post any new material here as well.
for a look at what you'd be getting into, see below post.
[Mod project] SupermegaOverhaul mod
Moderators: Moderators for English X Forum, Scripting / Modding Moderators
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The Univerce builder
- Posts: 144
- Joined: Tue, 11. Aug 09, 02:52
[Mod project] SupermegaOverhaul mod
Last edited by The Univerce builder on Mon, 10. Jan 11, 05:09, edited 3 times in total.
-
The Univerce builder
- Posts: 144
- Joined: Tue, 11. Aug 09, 02:52
This post contains the huge wall of text relating to various changes the mod will make. I'm going in no particular order here, so if it seems scattered, bear with me.
==+Major broad alterations+==
first, the weird sizes of things. now I could fix this by making cap-ships and stations bigger, but I'm not. since almost all of the stations are getting remodeled anyway, these will be larger. much larger. cap-ships will stay the same size. Fighters, however, will be much much smaller. so too will be the TS and TM classes. so what does this mean for effects? it means we need smaller ones for the fighter-class weaponry. and what does this mean for capital-class ships? well, I'll tell you! first, all ships will have docking slots. second, all ships will be able to internally dock TS class ships. third, carries will have Waaaaay bigger launches than before. note also, most of the existing cap-ship (TL/M1/M2) designs will be retired in favor of more diverse ships.
secondly, how complexes work. we are all familiar with the spaghetti complex and the framerate degradation that it generates. I liked the Complex cleaner, and have taken that idea here. a complex hub will now be a vast framework of a station, that grows and changes as you add to it. instead of separate stations linked by tubing, you will have a single vast factory, whose appearance reflects its production. this will greatly improve ownership of many factories, as it saves both space and poly count. the implementation of this is going to be highly scrip-heavy.
+==model revamps==+
another facet of the plan is to create unique shipyards, trading station, and equipment dock models for all races, as well as creating race-themed factory stations. obviously, this will take some doing!
===+The Xenon+===
the Xenon have been involve in X since the very beginning, and I feel that of late they haven't been getting as much love as they should. therefor, I want to turn the omnicidal toaster ovens into a more complete race. this would include a few more ships, and a few dozen more stations. I'd also like to make them full race, much like the others, that you can gain rank with, get missions, buy ships, ETC.
but this would make certain missions in the base TC plots a bit trickier...
so I had a thought. why not make Plot that revolves around the Xenon becoming a true race? I even have a name for it: 'Xenon Awakening'
here's my basic mission outline:
-someone (argon?) notices that the Xenon have been acting odd. do three 'recon' missions (one is a 'go here and drop sats,' one a 'follow this,' the third a 'scan this station' thing)
-you get a fourth recon mish, and when you enter the sector there's a massive battle happening between two Xenon fleets. mission then turns to 'run the F&#@ away'
-pause here for a bit while intel goes nut over this
-next mission, more recon. this time a 'fly with this lot and save their necks if thing get hairy' type. fly through a Xenon sector, nothing is here except a heavily damaged Xenon ship nobody's seen yet. your ordered to investigate. scan ship, then wait.
-a TL comes into the sector to tow the ship to base for analysis. your job becomes 'nanny the TL' (note: to simplify things it may be better to simply have the TL grab the ship instead of towing it.)
-wait for orders here
-next job: the ship's computers were pretty far gone, but it did have a date and a set of coordinates. you are tasked to escort a convoy going to the location (a Xenon core, should be suspiciously empty) to set up a covert recon base. uneventful. this one's a cakewalk.
-you are now to drop some sats in neighboring sectors. go to it.
-two sectors into a five-sector mission, you get a ping. the recon base has spotted something. go investigate, minion!
-the 'something' is a Xenon CPU ship, with a rather large fleet of escorts. when you get withing 25 KM of it, it comms you. the ship (#Terif) is part of a triad of Xenon CPU ships that have gained true sentience, and are at war with the rest of the Xenon collective. #Terif requests amnesty for itself and its two friends, in exchange for their assistance in defending against the Collective.
-the leaders deliberate. eventually it becomes one of those 'this is too good to pass up' things, and #Terif and its two friends are granted amnesty in the Commonwealth.
-all well and good. you are to escort the three ships to safety in the commonwealth. midway through, the Xenon Collective launches a massive assault on the commonwealth, across most of the known sectors.
in the process, one of the CPU ships (#Able) is destroyed by a Xenon collective destroyer group
#Terif goes into a rage, and summons a vast fleet of its own, which joins the commonwealth ships in the defense of the sectors. your mission becomes 'protect #Terif,' who proceeds to take its fleet and rampage through several Xenon sectors before calming down. meanwhile the other ship, #Zetus, is heading off to establish the new benign Xenon sector.
you and #Terif have wandered far into Xenon space, and most of #Terif's fleet has been destroyed. you have to get #Terif out of Xenon space. once you manage it, #Terif thanks you, and gives you a present in the form of an Enhanced LX, then goes off to talk with races intel and leaders to negotiate further protection from the Xenon collective.
plot ends, enjoy.
(not bad, huh? roughly comparable length to other TC plots.)
note on Xenon stations:
these should be smaller than other races, but everything needs Ecells. no food for Xenon, instead have reactors that spit out Ecells.
new(ish) Xenon ships:
I: TL class, smaller cargo bay than other TLs, but better as a combat ship.
R: M7M, three standard turrets and ~25 launch points. slow.
H:Ts, three turrets, good speed, average sheilds and cargo bay.
S:TM, six slots, six turrets, and 12 missile launch points. strong sheilds, but slow. a capable warship.
T:M3+, fairly comparable to existing M3+ ships
CPU ship: unarmed, but BIG. huge launch-and-dock ability, but again, big, fat, slow, and unarmed. M0 class
U: M7. good all-round cover.
UX: M7+. 'pocket destroyer' with good forward/broadside firepower.
Xenon speech: use a voice-synthesizer for the Xenon talking, as that seems most realistic. should also speak oddly, IE 'Unit status null on requested Datum' (I don't know) or 'Query Rejected: insufficient permissions' for if you ask and have low rep with 'em.
the CPU ships, being individuals, will have different speech patterns, with #Terif's being the most 'human' ('#Terif does not see the point in that.' '#Terif does not want to talk to you!' '#Terif Greets Friend!')
#Able has a very 'computer' way of talking, IE 'Data indicates target vessel's benign intentions. proceed.' or 'Target hostile. terminating...'
#Zetus speaks in code, ie '<setstate=Welcome>' '<Runscript=Hello>' ETC
==+the Kaa'ak+==
no major changes here, just a unique M0 model for the Hive Queen.
==+The corporations+==
all the corps will have their own ships, shipyards, EQ docks, and HQ stations. I also hope to get more competition for the player from these corps, as well as corp-owned stations scattered about the universe.
++=the Pirates=++
the Pirates are, INHO, one of the worst-implemented factions in TC. a unified, overarching bunch who all talk to each-other and never fight any other Pirates? doesn't sound very piratelike to me! So, I want to rebrand the Pirates into a bunch of little (and not so little) bands with unique ships, and their own reputations and ranks.
I'll outline my proposed factions, their locations, and ships.
--The Black Hand Syndicate--
this lot is pretty much the Pirates we are familiar with, and is one of the largest of the Pirate factions. none-too-friendly with Split and Paranid groups.
primary membership: Argon/Boron
Secondary members: Teladi/Yaki
Non-members: Spilt/Paranid/Terran
strength: Strong.
Sectors: Farnham's Legend (border), Bala Gi's Joy (core), Olmancketslat's Treaty (core, HQ location), Brennan's Triumph (border) and Split Fire (border)
ships:
TL: Singularity (light on the cargo bay, heavy on guns and speed. average sheilds)
M1: Brigantine (an M1/M2 hybrid. plenty dangerous, but lacks fighter-swatting power and cargo space.)
M2: Tempestine (small and fast, with emphasis on 360 degree firepower and cargo bays. does well against fighters, okay against M6/7s, but lacks the shields and hull for a slugfest with other M2s. running away is your friend.
TS: Mule (Ts/M6 hybrid. good all 'rounder. 2 docking slots.)
TM: Caravel (this is the Caravel you're all familiar with. the only new bit will be the model itself, otherwise stats are identical.
TP: Brigand (this is basically a 'poor man's M7M,' with boarding pods, multiple launch points, and a pair of light guns port and starbord. fast and to the point. skimps on hull and shielding, but can easily outrun and outmanuver anything it size or larger.
M7: Vector (this it the BHS ship-of-the-line. these have good speed and shields, and can get into slugfests with M2's and win. light cargobay, all about the Bradsides (ranked turrets left and right, no up, down, back or frount turrets.) with heavy missiles (IE tomahawks) to accent it's guns. utterly falls dead against fighter swarms. carries ten fighters internally (with five simultaneous launches) and a Ts or Tp externally.)
M7M: they don't have these, use a Brigand instead!
M6: there is no M6!
M5: Thief (2 guns forward, small, and the thing is a FAST little mother. think Kestrel, but with more speed and less everything else.)
M4: Bandit (5 forward guns, fast, good shields and cargo.
M3+: Desperado (full frontal battery, left/right/back turrets. heavy on shields and speed, not so good cargo space.)
M8: Assassin (small, fast, and brutal. manual launch, and 2 forward cap-killer guns. heavy on the speed, light on the sheilds.)
--The Red Dawn Gang--
also much like the pirates we are familiar with, this medium-sized group is essentially 'everybody in Pirate ally that isn't Black Hand.'
primary membership: Split/Paranid
Secondary members: Teladi
Non-members: Yaki/Terran/Argon/Boron
strength: Strong
Sectors: Danna's Chance (border), Nopileos' Memorial (core, HQ location), Hatikvah's Faith (border)
ships:
TL: Pirate Hercules (a pirated-up version of the Paranid Hurc. faster with less cargo space)
M1: Predator (forward firepower of an M2 and can empty its entire hanger in a single crash-launch. this is the 'Big, bad wolf' of the Pirate ally cap-ships.
M2: N/A, they spent all the research credits building the Predator.
M7: Carrak (nothin' new here, move along...)
M7M: Phobos (capture-frigate design with left-right standard turrets and 16 launch points. fast and sleek.)
M6: Pirate Dragon (more shields. better weapon generators. otherwise mostly unchanged)
M5: Pirate Pegasus (faster. more cargo.)
M4: Pirate Asp (shields. cargo bay.)
M3: Pirate Mamba (same old, same old.)
M8: N/A
Ts: Pirate Demetrius (like a Demeter and a Caiman crashed into each other, and someone took the wreckage and made a new ship out of it.)
TM/TP: none
---The Evendown syndicate---
these are a real 'bad guy' lot, who will do anything for money. secretly backed by the Teladi company, the Evendown Syd. controls 90% of the Space-weed market, and has lucrative aboveboard investments that allows them to purchase the best tech out there.
primary membership: Teladi
Secondary members: Split/Paranid/Argon/Boron
Non-members: Terran/Yaki
strength: HOLY S#%^!!
Sectors: Acquisition Repository (border), Spaceweed Grove (Core), LooManckStrat's Legacy (border), Mi Ton's Refuge (Core, HQ location), Moo-Kye's Revenge (border), Desecrated Skies (border), Gaian Star (Core, Shipyard, EQ), Maelstrom (Border), the unknown Sector between Gaian Star and Maelstrom (border)
Ships:
TL: Atlas (this sucker is a mobile base, with huge cargo and hangers, big cannons, and heavy shielding. very slow.)
M1: Gallion (Big, Bad, and capable of going toe-to-toe with anything its size. you do not want one of these pissed at you in anything lighter than an M2.)
M2: Orinoco (this is a close-range brawler, huge shields and really good speed, but be warned, it has a small cargo bay.)
Ts: Ganymede (the should look like the old Ganymede in X3 resolution, with piratical bits stuck on. other than extra turrets, very ho-hum.)
TM: Bayamon (almost an M7. big, strong shields, internal dock for 10 fighters, and fair turret coverage with medium weaponry.)
TP: none
M7: Thug (slowish, but good guns and really good cargo.)
M7M: Goon (Capture frig, up/down/rear turrets and 25 launch points.)
M6: Bruiser (guns, guns, and more guns.)
M5: Bribe (5 guns forward, F-A-S-T. decent cargo bay.)
M4: Hitman (6 guns forward and a chin turret with 1 gun. good cargo. fastish. not-good shields.)
M3: Mandaly (8 guns forward, chin turret, rear gun. fast, light on the cargo bay, good shields.)
M8: Driver (slower than most, modified Vulture.)
More here as things develop.
==+Major broad alterations+==
first, the weird sizes of things. now I could fix this by making cap-ships and stations bigger, but I'm not. since almost all of the stations are getting remodeled anyway, these will be larger. much larger. cap-ships will stay the same size. Fighters, however, will be much much smaller. so too will be the TS and TM classes. so what does this mean for effects? it means we need smaller ones for the fighter-class weaponry. and what does this mean for capital-class ships? well, I'll tell you! first, all ships will have docking slots. second, all ships will be able to internally dock TS class ships. third, carries will have Waaaaay bigger launches than before. note also, most of the existing cap-ship (TL/M1/M2) designs will be retired in favor of more diverse ships.
secondly, how complexes work. we are all familiar with the spaghetti complex and the framerate degradation that it generates. I liked the Complex cleaner, and have taken that idea here. a complex hub will now be a vast framework of a station, that grows and changes as you add to it. instead of separate stations linked by tubing, you will have a single vast factory, whose appearance reflects its production. this will greatly improve ownership of many factories, as it saves both space and poly count. the implementation of this is going to be highly scrip-heavy.
+==model revamps==+
another facet of the plan is to create unique shipyards, trading station, and equipment dock models for all races, as well as creating race-themed factory stations. obviously, this will take some doing!
===+The Xenon+===
the Xenon have been involve in X since the very beginning, and I feel that of late they haven't been getting as much love as they should. therefor, I want to turn the omnicidal toaster ovens into a more complete race. this would include a few more ships, and a few dozen more stations. I'd also like to make them full race, much like the others, that you can gain rank with, get missions, buy ships, ETC.
but this would make certain missions in the base TC plots a bit trickier...
so I had a thought. why not make Plot that revolves around the Xenon becoming a true race? I even have a name for it: 'Xenon Awakening'
here's my basic mission outline:
-someone (argon?) notices that the Xenon have been acting odd. do three 'recon' missions (one is a 'go here and drop sats,' one a 'follow this,' the third a 'scan this station' thing)
-you get a fourth recon mish, and when you enter the sector there's a massive battle happening between two Xenon fleets. mission then turns to 'run the F&#@ away'
-pause here for a bit while intel goes nut over this
-next mission, more recon. this time a 'fly with this lot and save their necks if thing get hairy' type. fly through a Xenon sector, nothing is here except a heavily damaged Xenon ship nobody's seen yet. your ordered to investigate. scan ship, then wait.
-a TL comes into the sector to tow the ship to base for analysis. your job becomes 'nanny the TL' (note: to simplify things it may be better to simply have the TL grab the ship instead of towing it.)
-wait for orders here
-next job: the ship's computers were pretty far gone, but it did have a date and a set of coordinates. you are tasked to escort a convoy going to the location (a Xenon core, should be suspiciously empty) to set up a covert recon base. uneventful. this one's a cakewalk.
-you are now to drop some sats in neighboring sectors. go to it.
-two sectors into a five-sector mission, you get a ping. the recon base has spotted something. go investigate, minion!
-the 'something' is a Xenon CPU ship, with a rather large fleet of escorts. when you get withing 25 KM of it, it comms you. the ship (#Terif) is part of a triad of Xenon CPU ships that have gained true sentience, and are at war with the rest of the Xenon collective. #Terif requests amnesty for itself and its two friends, in exchange for their assistance in defending against the Collective.
-the leaders deliberate. eventually it becomes one of those 'this is too good to pass up' things, and #Terif and its two friends are granted amnesty in the Commonwealth.
-all well and good. you are to escort the three ships to safety in the commonwealth. midway through, the Xenon Collective launches a massive assault on the commonwealth, across most of the known sectors.
in the process, one of the CPU ships (#Able) is destroyed by a Xenon collective destroyer group
#Terif goes into a rage, and summons a vast fleet of its own, which joins the commonwealth ships in the defense of the sectors. your mission becomes 'protect #Terif,' who proceeds to take its fleet and rampage through several Xenon sectors before calming down. meanwhile the other ship, #Zetus, is heading off to establish the new benign Xenon sector.
you and #Terif have wandered far into Xenon space, and most of #Terif's fleet has been destroyed. you have to get #Terif out of Xenon space. once you manage it, #Terif thanks you, and gives you a present in the form of an Enhanced LX, then goes off to talk with races intel and leaders to negotiate further protection from the Xenon collective.
plot ends, enjoy.
(not bad, huh? roughly comparable length to other TC plots.)
note on Xenon stations:
these should be smaller than other races, but everything needs Ecells. no food for Xenon, instead have reactors that spit out Ecells.
new(ish) Xenon ships:
I: TL class, smaller cargo bay than other TLs, but better as a combat ship.
R: M7M, three standard turrets and ~25 launch points. slow.
H:Ts, three turrets, good speed, average sheilds and cargo bay.
S:TM, six slots, six turrets, and 12 missile launch points. strong sheilds, but slow. a capable warship.
T:M3+, fairly comparable to existing M3+ ships
CPU ship: unarmed, but BIG. huge launch-and-dock ability, but again, big, fat, slow, and unarmed. M0 class
U: M7. good all-round cover.
UX: M7+. 'pocket destroyer' with good forward/broadside firepower.
Xenon speech: use a voice-synthesizer for the Xenon talking, as that seems most realistic. should also speak oddly, IE 'Unit status null on requested Datum' (I don't know) or 'Query Rejected: insufficient permissions' for if you ask and have low rep with 'em.
the CPU ships, being individuals, will have different speech patterns, with #Terif's being the most 'human' ('#Terif does not see the point in that.' '#Terif does not want to talk to you!' '#Terif Greets Friend!')
#Able has a very 'computer' way of talking, IE 'Data indicates target vessel's benign intentions. proceed.' or 'Target hostile. terminating...'
#Zetus speaks in code, ie '<setstate=Welcome>' '<Runscript=Hello>' ETC
==+the Kaa'ak+==
no major changes here, just a unique M0 model for the Hive Queen.
==+The corporations+==
all the corps will have their own ships, shipyards, EQ docks, and HQ stations. I also hope to get more competition for the player from these corps, as well as corp-owned stations scattered about the universe.
++=the Pirates=++
the Pirates are, INHO, one of the worst-implemented factions in TC. a unified, overarching bunch who all talk to each-other and never fight any other Pirates? doesn't sound very piratelike to me! So, I want to rebrand the Pirates into a bunch of little (and not so little) bands with unique ships, and their own reputations and ranks.
I'll outline my proposed factions, their locations, and ships.
--The Black Hand Syndicate--
this lot is pretty much the Pirates we are familiar with, and is one of the largest of the Pirate factions. none-too-friendly with Split and Paranid groups.
primary membership: Argon/Boron
Secondary members: Teladi/Yaki
Non-members: Spilt/Paranid/Terran
strength: Strong.
Sectors: Farnham's Legend (border), Bala Gi's Joy (core), Olmancketslat's Treaty (core, HQ location), Brennan's Triumph (border) and Split Fire (border)
ships:
TL: Singularity (light on the cargo bay, heavy on guns and speed. average sheilds)
M1: Brigantine (an M1/M2 hybrid. plenty dangerous, but lacks fighter-swatting power and cargo space.)
M2: Tempestine (small and fast, with emphasis on 360 degree firepower and cargo bays. does well against fighters, okay against M6/7s, but lacks the shields and hull for a slugfest with other M2s. running away is your friend.
TS: Mule (Ts/M6 hybrid. good all 'rounder. 2 docking slots.)
TM: Caravel (this is the Caravel you're all familiar with. the only new bit will be the model itself, otherwise stats are identical.
TP: Brigand (this is basically a 'poor man's M7M,' with boarding pods, multiple launch points, and a pair of light guns port and starbord. fast and to the point. skimps on hull and shielding, but can easily outrun and outmanuver anything it size or larger.
M7: Vector (this it the BHS ship-of-the-line. these have good speed and shields, and can get into slugfests with M2's and win. light cargobay, all about the Bradsides (ranked turrets left and right, no up, down, back or frount turrets.) with heavy missiles (IE tomahawks) to accent it's guns. utterly falls dead against fighter swarms. carries ten fighters internally (with five simultaneous launches) and a Ts or Tp externally.)
M7M: they don't have these, use a Brigand instead!
M6: there is no M6!
M5: Thief (2 guns forward, small, and the thing is a FAST little mother. think Kestrel, but with more speed and less everything else.)
M4: Bandit (5 forward guns, fast, good shields and cargo.
M3+: Desperado (full frontal battery, left/right/back turrets. heavy on shields and speed, not so good cargo space.)
M8: Assassin (small, fast, and brutal. manual launch, and 2 forward cap-killer guns. heavy on the speed, light on the sheilds.)
--The Red Dawn Gang--
also much like the pirates we are familiar with, this medium-sized group is essentially 'everybody in Pirate ally that isn't Black Hand.'
primary membership: Split/Paranid
Secondary members: Teladi
Non-members: Yaki/Terran/Argon/Boron
strength: Strong
Sectors: Danna's Chance (border), Nopileos' Memorial (core, HQ location), Hatikvah's Faith (border)
ships:
TL: Pirate Hercules (a pirated-up version of the Paranid Hurc. faster with less cargo space)
M1: Predator (forward firepower of an M2 and can empty its entire hanger in a single crash-launch. this is the 'Big, bad wolf' of the Pirate ally cap-ships.
M2: N/A, they spent all the research credits building the Predator.
M7: Carrak (nothin' new here, move along...)
M7M: Phobos (capture-frigate design with left-right standard turrets and 16 launch points. fast and sleek.)
M6: Pirate Dragon (more shields. better weapon generators. otherwise mostly unchanged)
M5: Pirate Pegasus (faster. more cargo.)
M4: Pirate Asp (shields. cargo bay.)
M3: Pirate Mamba (same old, same old.)
M8: N/A
Ts: Pirate Demetrius (like a Demeter and a Caiman crashed into each other, and someone took the wreckage and made a new ship out of it.)
TM/TP: none
---The Evendown syndicate---
these are a real 'bad guy' lot, who will do anything for money. secretly backed by the Teladi company, the Evendown Syd. controls 90% of the Space-weed market, and has lucrative aboveboard investments that allows them to purchase the best tech out there.
primary membership: Teladi
Secondary members: Split/Paranid/Argon/Boron
Non-members: Terran/Yaki
strength: HOLY S#%^!!
Sectors: Acquisition Repository (border), Spaceweed Grove (Core), LooManckStrat's Legacy (border), Mi Ton's Refuge (Core, HQ location), Moo-Kye's Revenge (border), Desecrated Skies (border), Gaian Star (Core, Shipyard, EQ), Maelstrom (Border), the unknown Sector between Gaian Star and Maelstrom (border)
Ships:
TL: Atlas (this sucker is a mobile base, with huge cargo and hangers, big cannons, and heavy shielding. very slow.)
M1: Gallion (Big, Bad, and capable of going toe-to-toe with anything its size. you do not want one of these pissed at you in anything lighter than an M2.)
M2: Orinoco (this is a close-range brawler, huge shields and really good speed, but be warned, it has a small cargo bay.)
Ts: Ganymede (the should look like the old Ganymede in X3 resolution, with piratical bits stuck on. other than extra turrets, very ho-hum.)
TM: Bayamon (almost an M7. big, strong shields, internal dock for 10 fighters, and fair turret coverage with medium weaponry.)
TP: none
M7: Thug (slowish, but good guns and really good cargo.)
M7M: Goon (Capture frig, up/down/rear turrets and 25 launch points.)
M6: Bruiser (guns, guns, and more guns.)
M5: Bribe (5 guns forward, F-A-S-T. decent cargo bay.)
M4: Hitman (6 guns forward and a chin turret with 1 gun. good cargo. fastish. not-good shields.)
M3: Mandaly (8 guns forward, chin turret, rear gun. fast, light on the cargo bay, good shields.)
M8: Driver (slower than most, modified Vulture.)
More here as things develop.
Last edited by The Univerce builder on Mon, 10. Jan 11, 01:25, edited 2 times in total.
-
The Univerce builder
- Posts: 144
- Joined: Tue, 11. Aug 09, 02:52
Pretty Pictures
Incase you couldn't guess, this post is very image-heavy. if you want to know what the latest is, skip to the news post
or the last page. thank you.
[ external image ]
Xenon TL
[ external image ]
Xenon M7M
or the last page. thank you.
[ external image ]
Xenon TL
[ external image ]
Xenon M7M
Last edited by The Univerce builder on Tue, 11. Jan 11, 02:42, edited 2 times in total.
-
The Univerce builder
- Posts: 144
- Joined: Tue, 11. Aug 09, 02:52
1/9/11
Hey, I kitbashed the I together! It still isn't game-functional (cameras don't work yet, and no turrets either) but the model is correctly referenced by the scene file! Go, me!
1/10/11 (5:41 PM)
the Xenon U is modeled! currently unarmed, but I'm working on that later. feelin' good!
Hey, I kitbashed the I together! It still isn't game-functional (cameras don't work yet, and no turrets either) but the model is correctly referenced by the scene file! Go, me!
1/10/11 (5:41 PM)
the Xenon U is modeled! currently unarmed, but I'm working on that later. feelin' good!
Last edited by The Univerce builder on Tue, 11. Jan 11, 02:42, edited 3 times in total.
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XenonUnit_05
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Thu, 6. Jan 11, 17:45
Your mod sounds very ambitious, a bit too ambitious perhaps. But I do like the vision you want to create in the X3 universe and hope you succeed.
You mention gaining or losing reputation with the pirates and part of the xenon who become sentient. By befriending them this does leave less opposition for the player in the universe. Freighters for example will no longer be attacked by pirates.
Not a clue if it's possible, but maybe the other corporations that you want to overhaul could fill in that role of potential adversaries through corporate warfare? Some kind of system where the player and the other corps can legally declare war with each other (through a fee with the argon government for example), without that government interfering afterwards. A bit like how eve online handles corp wars. I believe the Phanon corp script does something similar.
I'd also like to say something about balancing the different races. I know there's this mindset going around about keeping as much as possible in spirit to the original X3TC. Which is nice and all, but I do think some concepts weren't a great idea from the start. Like for example how the split ships were designed as aggressive. They're fast but with toiletpaper shields. The problem I have with this is that they get completely thrashed in oos combat by any other ship in a similar class or even a lower class.
There are other ways to get a sense of aggression from the split without compromising their shields, thus making them more balanced in oos. Split could be given more frontal firepower, but weak in the rear and top/down. And with weaker power generators. Fast ships, but smallest cargobays. The point I'm trying to make is that many ships seem useless while others like ATF seem overpowered and I hope this can be more balanced so that all ships can have a reason to be preferred other than pure fluff and roleplay. Even if this means steering away from some of the original design concepts, which could have been flawed from the start (Subjective opinion there, I know
)
Anyway, good luck with the mod, some good ideas in there like the complexing system.
You mention gaining or losing reputation with the pirates and part of the xenon who become sentient. By befriending them this does leave less opposition for the player in the universe. Freighters for example will no longer be attacked by pirates.
Not a clue if it's possible, but maybe the other corporations that you want to overhaul could fill in that role of potential adversaries through corporate warfare? Some kind of system where the player and the other corps can legally declare war with each other (through a fee with the argon government for example), without that government interfering afterwards. A bit like how eve online handles corp wars. I believe the Phanon corp script does something similar.
I'd also like to say something about balancing the different races. I know there's this mindset going around about keeping as much as possible in spirit to the original X3TC. Which is nice and all, but I do think some concepts weren't a great idea from the start. Like for example how the split ships were designed as aggressive. They're fast but with toiletpaper shields. The problem I have with this is that they get completely thrashed in oos combat by any other ship in a similar class or even a lower class.
There are other ways to get a sense of aggression from the split without compromising their shields, thus making them more balanced in oos. Split could be given more frontal firepower, but weak in the rear and top/down. And with weaker power generators. Fast ships, but smallest cargobays. The point I'm trying to make is that many ships seem useless while others like ATF seem overpowered and I hope this can be more balanced so that all ships can have a reason to be preferred other than pure fluff and roleplay. Even if this means steering away from some of the original design concepts, which could have been flawed from the start (Subjective opinion there, I know
)Anyway, good luck with the mod, some good ideas in there like the complexing system.
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Sam L.R. Griffiths
- Posts: 10522
- Joined: Fri, 12. Mar 04, 19:47
The faction stuff looks pretty straightforward and doable... what race(s) are you planning to use for the ownership of their sectors?
With regards to the War declarations, the consequences could be mitigated by using one of the two additional unused races temporarily for the corporation(s) you are at war with (say no more than two wars with the player at any given time allowed?).
Some of the broader changes are already catered for in mods like SRM, CMOD, AWRM, and Cadius's Ship/Station Pack. Are you planning to do a merge of some (or all of these) either in part or in whole?
With regards to the approach to complexes, I quite like the idea and I presume when you talk about growth of the base station complex you are talking about a generalised representation? (e.g. if you add a weapon fab then the model will be replaced with a model with a weapons manufacturing node but add another weapon fab and the model stays the same).
With regards to the War declarations, the consequences could be mitigated by using one of the two additional unused races temporarily for the corporation(s) you are at war with (say no more than two wars with the player at any given time allowed?).
Some of the broader changes are already catered for in mods like SRM, CMOD, AWRM, and Cadius's Ship/Station Pack. Are you planning to do a merge of some (or all of these) either in part or in whole?
With regards to the approach to complexes, I quite like the idea and I presume when you talk about growth of the base station complex you are talking about a generalised representation? (e.g. if you add a weapon fab then the model will be replaced with a model with a weapons manufacturing node but add another weapon fab and the model stays the same).
Lenna (aka [SRK] The_Rabbit)
"Understanding is a three edged sword... your side, their side... and the Truth!" - J.J. Sheriden, Babylon 5 S4E6 T28:55
"May god stand between you and harm in all the dark places you must walk." - Ancient Egyption Proverb
"When eating an elephant take one bite at a time" - Creighton Abrams
"Understanding is a three edged sword... your side, their side... and the Truth!" - J.J. Sheriden, Babylon 5 S4E6 T28:55
"May god stand between you and harm in all the dark places you must walk." - Ancient Egyption Proverb
"When eating an elephant take one bite at a time" - Creighton Abrams
I actually disagree, even though I need all the help I can get. Looking over this mod, it seems like it only has a few key things in common with X: Vitalized. We have too many separate goals to really merge and make something meaningful is a reasonable amount of time.
X: Vitalized is not going to spend much time on new factions or new ship models, besides ones for the player. We are mostly focusing on a basic weapon and ship re-balance, which honestly should not take up too much of the development time. The military contracts, weapon lock-ins, and vastly modified economy and the necessary AI changes to support it is what we are focusing on.
X: Vitalized is not going to spend much time on new factions or new ship models, besides ones for the player. We are mostly focusing on a basic weapon and ship re-balance, which honestly should not take up too much of the development time. The military contracts, weapon lock-ins, and vastly modified economy and the necessary AI changes to support it is what we are focusing on.
Last edited by IanA23 on Thu, 6. Jan 11, 20:03, edited 1 time in total.
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The Univerce builder
- Posts: 144
- Joined: Tue, 11. Aug 09, 02:52
to Xenonunit: basically the Awakening plot would split the Xenon into two factions, the benign and friendly sentient Xenon (#Terif & #Zetus) and the Collective, the homicidal blenders we are all familiar with. if anything, I can see Xenon activity increasing, since this plot would essentially kick over the proverbial hornet's nest... then hit it with a hammer. sure, the Commonwealth and the ATF would eventually wipe the floor with the Xenon invasion fleet, but I can certainly see wide-spread destruction and roving Xenon fleets hunting for the 'rogue units' causing trouble and general panic. the big thing is to make the Xenon a real, credible threat. whatever controls the Xenon-sector spawning is gonna get a kick in the pants, I need to get in touch with the guy who does the NPC bail add-on, so that the toasters use different bail routines than everyone else, so the player has a harder time getting Xenon ships (cause I'm going to buff them quite a bit. the Xenon are "the greatest threat to biological life that ever existed," not a 'oh look, more toasters. maybe that L will bail so I can have me a good fighter.'
if I can get this mod working, anything crossing a Xenon sector without multiple destroyer groups clearing the way dies. I'm tiered of seeing NPC trade routs smack through the middle of the sectors under Xenon control.
and I'm re-balancing every ship anyway, from the fairly OP Terrans to the instant-death Split. ships (the Vidar comes to mind
) that are really ridiculous in X3:TC may not be as good as those in SMOH. and the reverse as well, many of the ships (especially the Corvettes) that aren't worth the credits will get redeeming qualities that allow them to excel in specialized roles. The Hydra, for example. the thing screams 'Flack boat' but has the wost turret cover of any M6 (in my experience, and IMO. your mileage may vary.) so one of the things that will happen is that the Hydra will get a number of turrets to cover more angles. also, because it bugs me, the Boron naming scheme is going to get a kick in the pants somewhere down the line. you'll notice when it happens.
@Roger:
I was thinking that the Pirate gangs and syndicates would act like corporations, so the owner is still 'Pirate,' and the overall 'race rep' is what every pirate knows about you from your deeds (IE minimum rank would be something like 'Police affiliate' and highest would be 'Pirate Lord' (or baron, or magnate, or duke, or whatever.) a few unaffiliated sectors would house gangs too small to be mentionable, with whom you could improve race rep. or just rename and reconfigure friendly, neutral, and Enemy race into different factions. do any mod-types know if the game recognizes new entries in the race files? or is the number of races hard-coded? (IE can I add another race to the existing list, or do I have to over-write one that's already there?)
{edit #2}
I sorta figured on something along those lines. kind of a thing where different fab types add different things. I'd also planned on having storage-docks that the player can buy and complex to things to increase cargo space. as for merging mods, in my experience, it can be simpler to do it from scratch, as you can get odd, not immediately noticeable compatibility issues, something I'd rather avoid. however, should a scripter sign on, there may be adaptations/add-ons later. right now what I have is the idea, a sheaf of notes, and some concept art. what I lack are things like the skills to turn my concept art into workable ships/stations, scripting skills (I'm learning, but I just figured out how to add money to the player account when the script is run, so I seriously doubt I could withe all the necessary scripts for what I have in mind.)
@Ian:
I also agree. once bolt are finished entirely, it may be possible for us to put our collective heads together and use the existing stuff to make a merged version, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.
and yes, I'm aware how sweeping this mod is. but at the same time, certain things have priority over others. the Xenon plot is something I'd definitely want to have, as are added things like Xenon speech and new, named ships. however, fixing the trader scripts and the 'immersion factor' stuff comes first.
{edit}
@ rikes: It was around 1:30ish in the morning when I wrote it. for some odd reason my best ideas always happen right at that place where your head feels like you're wearing a 10-lb sack of sand as a hat. go fig
if I can get this mod working, anything crossing a Xenon sector without multiple destroyer groups clearing the way dies. I'm tiered of seeing NPC trade routs smack through the middle of the sectors under Xenon control.
and I'm re-balancing every ship anyway, from the fairly OP Terrans to the instant-death Split. ships (the Vidar comes to mind
) that are really ridiculous in X3:TC may not be as good as those in SMOH. and the reverse as well, many of the ships (especially the Corvettes) that aren't worth the credits will get redeeming qualities that allow them to excel in specialized roles. The Hydra, for example. the thing screams 'Flack boat' but has the wost turret cover of any M6 (in my experience, and IMO. your mileage may vary.) so one of the things that will happen is that the Hydra will get a number of turrets to cover more angles. also, because it bugs me, the Boron naming scheme is going to get a kick in the pants somewhere down the line. you'll notice when it happens.@Roger:
I was thinking that the Pirate gangs and syndicates would act like corporations, so the owner is still 'Pirate,' and the overall 'race rep' is what every pirate knows about you from your deeds (IE minimum rank would be something like 'Police affiliate' and highest would be 'Pirate Lord' (or baron, or magnate, or duke, or whatever.) a few unaffiliated sectors would house gangs too small to be mentionable, with whom you could improve race rep. or just rename and reconfigure friendly, neutral, and Enemy race into different factions. do any mod-types know if the game recognizes new entries in the race files? or is the number of races hard-coded? (IE can I add another race to the existing list, or do I have to over-write one that's already there?)
{edit #2}
I sorta figured on something along those lines. kind of a thing where different fab types add different things. I'd also planned on having storage-docks that the player can buy and complex to things to increase cargo space. as for merging mods, in my experience, it can be simpler to do it from scratch, as you can get odd, not immediately noticeable compatibility issues, something I'd rather avoid. however, should a scripter sign on, there may be adaptations/add-ons later. right now what I have is the idea, a sheaf of notes, and some concept art. what I lack are things like the skills to turn my concept art into workable ships/stations, scripting skills (I'm learning, but I just figured out how to add money to the player account when the script is run, so I seriously doubt I could withe all the necessary scripts for what I have in mind.)
@Ian:
I also agree. once bolt are finished entirely, it may be possible for us to put our collective heads together and use the existing stuff to make a merged version, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.
and yes, I'm aware how sweeping this mod is. but at the same time, certain things have priority over others. the Xenon plot is something I'd definitely want to have, as are added things like Xenon speech and new, named ships. however, fixing the trader scripts and the 'immersion factor' stuff comes first.
{edit}
@ rikes: It was around 1:30ish in the morning when I wrote it. for some odd reason my best ideas always happen right at that place where your head feels like you're wearing a 10-lb sack of sand as a hat. go fig
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Sam L.R. Griffiths
- Posts: 10522
- Joined: Fri, 12. Mar 04, 19:47
With respect to the specific mods I have highlighted the only real conflict with compatability issues is CMOD and AWRM... BUT... those are pretty straightforward to resolve and something I may be willing to help you with as a one off event (been considering altering AWRM to simplify end-user merging with CMOD but it would force a restart for existing AWRM users). If you start from such a baseline then it will take alot of the harder work out of the equation. Doing all of it from scratch would mean that you are probably looking at something to the level of XTC in terms of effort.The Univerce builder wrote:as for merging mods, in my experience, it can be simpler to do it from scratch, as you can get odd, not immediately noticeable compatibility issues, something I'd rather avoid.
I would say that I am a competant scripter and will be willing to help you in a mentoring style capacity or for coding the odd script here and there but unfortunatly I have too many pressing RW issues at the moment to commit myself as a full member of your team.The Univerce builder wrote:however, should a scripter sign on, there may be adaptations/add-ons later. right now what I have is the idea, a sheaf of notes, and some concept art. what I lack are things like the skills to turn my concept art into workable ships/stations, scripting skills (I'm learning, but I just figured out how to add money to the player account when the script is run, so I seriously doubt I could withe all the necessary scripts for what I have in mind.)
Last edited by Sam L.R. Griffiths on Fri, 7. Jan 11, 12:05, edited 1 time in total.
Lenna (aka [SRK] The_Rabbit)
"Understanding is a three edged sword... your side, their side... and the Truth!" - J.J. Sheriden, Babylon 5 S4E6 T28:55
"May god stand between you and harm in all the dark places you must walk." - Ancient Egyption Proverb
"When eating an elephant take one bite at a time" - Creighton Abrams
"Understanding is a three edged sword... your side, their side... and the Truth!" - J.J. Sheriden, Babylon 5 S4E6 T28:55
"May god stand between you and harm in all the dark places you must walk." - Ancient Egyption Proverb
"When eating an elephant take one bite at a time" - Creighton Abrams
-
The Univerce builder
- Posts: 144
- Joined: Tue, 11. Aug 09, 02:52
don't worry, that's still happening. but retroactive cleaning like that takes a ton of testing, as many things that you'd think aren't used are, and vice-versa. when that comes out, it will be a 'backup your entire directory' thing, since the .cats and .dats are all going to be changed. I've noticed the FPS increase, but Stability is still a ways away. while it may not massively improve your framerate, certain things way have less impact on framerate (like complexes, to name one) so you'll probably see slightly better FPS anyway.
@ roger:
certainly, I'll take any help I can get. the thing with stuff like CMOD and AWRM is that, having played both, there are few things that can be used in this. then there's the 'asking permission' bit, call me weird but I kinda wanna do it myself or have original code in this.
of cource, my eventual goals are sweeping, but they are in lots of little bits that add to eachother over time.
@ roger:
certainly, I'll take any help I can get. the thing with stuff like CMOD and AWRM is that, having played both, there are few things that can be used in this. then there's the 'asking permission' bit, call me weird but I kinda wanna do it myself or have original code in this.
of cource, my eventual goals are sweeping, but they are in lots of little bits that add to eachother over time.
I like this idea, specially with the xenon stuff, I will make a suggestion tho thats always bugged me, that may or may not interest you.
Radio chatter or the distinct lack of radio chatter in game, itd be nice if when you see a pilot under attack he broadcasts for help, or if for example when your flying a honking capital ship you can hear things like your crew telling you your shields are down 50% or incoming fighters approaching from xyz direction etc etc
obviously this has nothing to do with your mod but maybe an addition you might like to consider, I will definately be watching this thread cause this idea does look pretty sweet
Radio chatter or the distinct lack of radio chatter in game, itd be nice if when you see a pilot under attack he broadcasts for help, or if for example when your flying a honking capital ship you can hear things like your crew telling you your shields are down 50% or incoming fighters approaching from xyz direction etc etc
obviously this has nothing to do with your mod but maybe an addition you might like to consider, I will definately be watching this thread cause this idea does look pretty sweet
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The Univerce builder
- Posts: 144
- Joined: Tue, 11. Aug 09, 02:52
once I get the Xenon plot all done (meaning 'sometime within the next two years' ) then that is something I'll definitely consider. kinda bugged me too, makes it kinda lonely to think of yourself as the only living being on an entire capital ship...
not sure on implementation tho, I'd have to talk to a scripter. in the meantime, here's another (smaller) wall of text for you to chew on:
==+THE ATF+==
ahhh yes, the AGI task force... it's unbalanced(ing) ships (Vidar anyone?), it's mind-bending (and CPU-choking) ship poly count, it's vast difference from standard Terran naval design....
I hate it. from the overpowered ships that claim to be 'weak' to the over-hyped 'strong' ships that are very lackluster indeed. don't even get me started on the stupidity that is the Valhalla. then there's the utter lack of any kind of support structure for this massive, highly advanced military force. no, no, no, NO DAMMIT!
one of the big goals of SMOH (outside the Xenon, stations, and general rebalance, ) is to redo every single ATF ship. yeah, you heard me. even the freaking Valhalla. the new ATF will be much closer to standard Terran looks, as well as some ships getting major balance tweaks. the new ATF will be very missile-heavy, with most ships having multiple launch points. they will also like huge crash-launches of fighters, IE 'the exact tactics that work really well against the Xenon.'
oh, and the M/AML is going away. well, sorta. It's getting rebranded as the USC capital-class weapon, PSP's will be ATF exclusives. I'm going to have the USC stuff in circulation in the universe, so the ATF gets its own, more powerful weapons to really drive home the 'elite unit' feel. I want it to seem like the ATF gets all the toys the Terran gov't doesn't want everyone else playing with, or the ones that are too expensive to warrant Commonwealth refits. the Terrans get 14 new guns, 4 are ATF exclusive, 5 are USC weapons to fill the gaps produced when compared to Commonwealth ships (particularly at the corvette level,) the others are unique 'outdated' guns used only by Aldrin and #Deca.
the gun scheme is as follows:
_-_-_-=+USC+=-_-_-_
aniticapital: Matter/antimatter launcher - slightly more DPS than a PPC, but more like a giant battleship cannon- does HUGE damage per shot, but has to stop and reload often.) M7 or better.
Anticorvette/m7: High-Velocity Shell Cannon - the Mass Driver's bigger, scarier second cousin. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-Boom. needs ammo, strips shields instead of ignoring them (instead of a fancy crystal matrix, the USC went with a brute-force solution: the thing's basically a miniaturized and weaponized trans-orbital accelerator. it projectiles use your target's shields to decelerate!) M6+ and larger. tho any M2/M1 is more likely to use M/AMLs instead.
General: Plasma Bomb Launcher - comparable with IPGs. it can swat fighters in a pinch, but best used on larger targets. M6 and up.
antifighter (dedicated): Phased Sunburst Cannon - boomflack. tiny, fast bullet, hooj explosion at target. friendly-fire hazard to offset relative low energy cost. M6+ and above {replaces SSC}
Antifighter (general): Plasma Repeater - DPS between HEPT and PAC. fast fire, fastish bullets. pewpewpew. pretty much anything other than M5 (possibly M4) can mount these. not all will, but anywhere you'd see PAC or HEPTs, you'll see this.
antifighter (light): Energy Bolt Cannon - DPS comparable to IRE. low energy cost, good fire-rate (roughly on-par with PAC.) used pretty much as the USC's version of the IRE. replaces EMPC.
_-_-_-=+ATF+=-_-_-_
Anticapital (dedicated): Point Singularity Projector - this is gonna get rebalanced. you will not be able to hit anything smaller than an M7 with it, accept on accident. big-and-clunky, but DPS through the roof. compensated for by huge size, massive power draw, and the inability to reliably hit the broad side of an Orca at anything lest than knife-fight range. kinda a shiny toy that isn't all that practical.
Anticapital/antieverthing: Meson Beam Emitter Array - dark-purplish beams of doom. instant-hit. Gamma Kyon Emitter, but with less lightshow and more 'umpf.'
anticorvette: Pulsed Meson Cannon - like a beam, but not. PAC-speed projectiles, looks like a continuous beam. DPS somewhere between IBL and IPG. M6 and larger.
antifigher (Flack): Gravaton Wave generator - the CIG on steroids. major friendly-fire risk, but good firerate tor a small amount of energy. every pilot's worst nightmare made manifest. projectile only visible as a distortion. M6+ and bigger.
Antifighter: X-ray Pulse Cannon - sort of like the EMPC. on-par with other fighter weapons. all ATF ships get these.
_-_-_-=+Aldrin/#Deca+=-_-_-_
capital: X-ray laser - a Beta Kyon Emitter in a blueish suit. adapted from deep-scan systems. used by #Deca only.
corvette:
High-energy Plasma Cutter - short-range beamer. adapted from mining tools. #Deca uses these.
MK 11 autocannon - repeating Howitzer in SPAAAAACCCCEEE!!! needs ammo, explodes on contact for splash-damage.
Fighter:
Variable-output Repulser Cannon - used by #deca. comparable to PBE.
Energy Bolt Repeater - another ammo weapon, similar to mass driver.
) then that is something I'll definitely consider. kinda bugged me too, makes it kinda lonely to think of yourself as the only living being on an entire capital ship...not sure on implementation tho, I'd have to talk to a scripter. in the meantime, here's another (smaller) wall of text for you to chew on:
==+THE ATF+==
ahhh yes, the AGI task force... it's unbalanced(ing) ships (Vidar anyone?), it's mind-bending (and CPU-choking) ship poly count, it's vast difference from standard Terran naval design....
I hate it. from the overpowered ships that claim to be 'weak' to the over-hyped 'strong' ships that are very lackluster indeed. don't even get me started on the stupidity that is the Valhalla. then there's the utter lack of any kind of support structure for this massive, highly advanced military force. no, no, no, NO DAMMIT!
one of the big goals of SMOH (outside the Xenon, stations, and general rebalance, ) is to redo every single ATF ship. yeah, you heard me. even the freaking Valhalla. the new ATF will be much closer to standard Terran looks, as well as some ships getting major balance tweaks. the new ATF will be very missile-heavy, with most ships having multiple launch points. they will also like huge crash-launches of fighters, IE 'the exact tactics that work really well against the Xenon.'
oh, and the M/AML is going away. well, sorta. It's getting rebranded as the USC capital-class weapon, PSP's will be ATF exclusives. I'm going to have the USC stuff in circulation in the universe, so the ATF gets its own, more powerful weapons to really drive home the 'elite unit' feel. I want it to seem like the ATF gets all the toys the Terran gov't doesn't want everyone else playing with, or the ones that are too expensive to warrant Commonwealth refits. the Terrans get 14 new guns, 4 are ATF exclusive, 5 are USC weapons to fill the gaps produced when compared to Commonwealth ships (particularly at the corvette level,) the others are unique 'outdated' guns used only by Aldrin and #Deca.
the gun scheme is as follows:
_-_-_-=+USC+=-_-_-_
aniticapital: Matter/antimatter launcher - slightly more DPS than a PPC, but more like a giant battleship cannon- does HUGE damage per shot, but has to stop and reload often.) M7 or better.
Anticorvette/m7: High-Velocity Shell Cannon - the Mass Driver's bigger, scarier second cousin. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-Boom. needs ammo, strips shields instead of ignoring them (instead of a fancy crystal matrix, the USC went with a brute-force solution: the thing's basically a miniaturized and weaponized trans-orbital accelerator. it projectiles use your target's shields to decelerate!) M6+ and larger. tho any M2/M1 is more likely to use M/AMLs instead.
General: Plasma Bomb Launcher - comparable with IPGs. it can swat fighters in a pinch, but best used on larger targets. M6 and up.
antifighter (dedicated): Phased Sunburst Cannon - boomflack. tiny, fast bullet, hooj explosion at target. friendly-fire hazard to offset relative low energy cost. M6+ and above {replaces SSC}
Antifighter (general): Plasma Repeater - DPS between HEPT and PAC. fast fire, fastish bullets. pewpewpew. pretty much anything other than M5 (possibly M4) can mount these. not all will, but anywhere you'd see PAC or HEPTs, you'll see this.
antifighter (light): Energy Bolt Cannon - DPS comparable to IRE. low energy cost, good fire-rate (roughly on-par with PAC.) used pretty much as the USC's version of the IRE. replaces EMPC.
_-_-_-=+ATF+=-_-_-_
Anticapital (dedicated): Point Singularity Projector - this is gonna get rebalanced. you will not be able to hit anything smaller than an M7 with it, accept on accident. big-and-clunky, but DPS through the roof. compensated for by huge size, massive power draw, and the inability to reliably hit the broad side of an Orca at anything lest than knife-fight range. kinda a shiny toy that isn't all that practical.
Anticapital/antieverthing: Meson Beam Emitter Array - dark-purplish beams of doom. instant-hit. Gamma Kyon Emitter, but with less lightshow and more 'umpf.'
anticorvette: Pulsed Meson Cannon - like a beam, but not. PAC-speed projectiles, looks like a continuous beam. DPS somewhere between IBL and IPG. M6 and larger.
antifigher (Flack): Gravaton Wave generator - the CIG on steroids. major friendly-fire risk, but good firerate tor a small amount of energy. every pilot's worst nightmare made manifest. projectile only visible as a distortion. M6+ and bigger.
Antifighter: X-ray Pulse Cannon - sort of like the EMPC. on-par with other fighter weapons. all ATF ships get these.
_-_-_-=+Aldrin/#Deca+=-_-_-_
capital: X-ray laser - a Beta Kyon Emitter in a blueish suit. adapted from deep-scan systems. used by #Deca only.
corvette:
High-energy Plasma Cutter - short-range beamer. adapted from mining tools. #Deca uses these.
MK 11 autocannon - repeating Howitzer in SPAAAAACCCCEEE!!! needs ammo, explodes on contact for splash-damage.
Fighter:
Variable-output Repulser Cannon - used by #deca. comparable to PBE.
Energy Bolt Repeater - another ammo weapon, similar to mass driver.
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The Univerce builder
- Posts: 144
- Joined: Tue, 11. Aug 09, 02:52
Xenon TL: I
[ external image ]
Not bad for a first try. as soon as I figure out how to texture, the bits from the K will be done up in the same texture-set as the J, so this isn't the final product by a long shot, but anything I can do mean one less thing I need to get someone else to do, so I'm learning.
[ external image ]
Not bad for a first try. as soon as I figure out how to texture, the bits from the K will be done up in the same texture-set as the J, so this isn't the final product by a long shot, but anything I can do mean one less thing I need to get someone else to do, so I'm learning.
![[ external image ]](http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m503/Mechanis/XenonI.jpg){kind=link}
![[ external image ]](http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m503/Mechanis/XenonUfullsize.jpg){kind=link}
![[ external image ]](http://www.bosl.info/Files/ETNO_C_I.jpg){kind=link}
![[ external image ]](http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/140/f/4/untitled_5_by_valhalla_studios-d7j5lde.png){kind=link}
![[ external image ]](http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m503/Mechanis/XenonI60.jpg){kind=link}
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The Univerce builder
- Posts: 144
- Joined: Tue, 11. Aug 09, 02:52
I'm in the process of testing that, but so far, so good. the I may be a fatassed cow, but it isn't much wider than an Orca. I dunno about the super shipyards, haven't tested those yet. say, does anyone know if the front battery can be used for missile launch tubes? IE a main cockpit with weapons but no compatible guns, would this work/ has anyone tried?
I'll be poking out a Xenon M7M as well, a pity dummies are so hard to work with. does anyone know if there's a way to show/highlight a particular face on the Gmax dummy objects to allow for easier rotation control? a way to tell 'this is the front' would be really useful for missile frigates and odd turret placement.
oh, and I think I've come up with the secret to single-barrel turrets in the X engine. here's a crappy MS paint to illustrate-
[ external image ]
I'll be poking out a Xenon M7M as well, a pity dummies are so hard to work with. does anyone know if there's a way to show/highlight a particular face on the Gmax dummy objects to allow for easier rotation control? a way to tell 'this is the front' would be really useful for missile frigates and odd turret placement.
oh, and I think I've come up with the secret to single-barrel turrets in the X engine. here's a crappy MS paint to illustrate-
[ external image ]
![[ external image ]](http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m503/Mechanis/MSpaintexplain.jpg){kind=link}
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Sam L.R. Griffiths
- Posts: 10522
- Joined: Fri, 12. Mar 04, 19:47
From this it sounds like you are really looking at an XTC level of effort. I wish you the best of luck in this venture, and will be happy to help out when I can but I would like to highlight to old 5 Ps.
- Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance
Lenna (aka [SRK] The_Rabbit)
"Understanding is a three edged sword... your side, their side... and the Truth!" - J.J. Sheriden, Babylon 5 S4E6 T28:55
"May god stand between you and harm in all the dark places you must walk." - Ancient Egyption Proverb
"When eating an elephant take one bite at a time" - Creighton Abrams
"Understanding is a three edged sword... your side, their side... and the Truth!" - J.J. Sheriden, Babylon 5 S4E6 T28:55
"May god stand between you and harm in all the dark places you must walk." - Ancient Egyption Proverb
"When eating an elephant take one bite at a time" - Creighton Abrams