Fleet Operations, the TOS Era (Sort Of) and a Lot of Free Time

[Amateur]

Now that we all know I'm no good at titles

Some time a go, I sent a pm to Majestic. In that PM was this picture:



What seems like ages ago, he released a set of alternate TOS ships. Not alternate as in the new reality based around Star Trek XI; but alternate as in, well, different. The shapes were roughly the same, but a few differences really caught my eye.

Now, I'd like to do something with them. In that picture, you should see some Klingon's, Romulan's and - for those with good eyesight - Tholians. Using Fleet Operations (something I'm quite unfamiliar with) I'm hoping to put them in game.

Oh, and there do be pics here; though please note that everything is subject to change and is still in the very early stages. Comments, criticisms and such welcome as always

EDIT: Darn it, just realised that the new cursors are invisible in the pictures. Next batch I'll include them

 

[Styer_Crisis]

Awesome to see another FO mod born..... Keep it up, i'll be watching

 

[Majestic]

Yeah I am glad to see some ingame images, are you plaing on using the new mod support feature?

Great work, I like it when someone likes my work enough to make a mod from them.

 

[Jetfreak]

Uber kewl! One of the most distinctive traits of Maj's TOS re-interpretations was it finally got rid of all the flimsy parts of the originals. They've really become 60's relics and the new hull parts and updates really help out.

 

[Amateur]

Yeah I am glad to see some ingame images, are you plaing on using the new mod support feature?

Most definitely. I want to make use of the ability to make sub-mods as well, mainly so that I can get the Terran Empire in without adding a new faction.

Oh...did I say that out loud? There goes that secret

Thanks all, Majestics designs'll be the first ones in for the sole reason that I already have the framework for Starfleet set up. After that will probably be the Romulans; I'm eager to see how they look in game. They look pretty good n Max, but I'm bound to say that as I made the things .

 

[Majestic]

Just beware, that currently using the mod support AIP's don't load from the mods directory. It's something they intend to fix, however Doca didn't give any sort of timeframe estimate or which patch the fix would come in. I am hoping for the next one personally.

Those Romulans look awesome and so the Federation, if I do say so myself.

Oh and the Terrans, did I include the Terran textures in the mesh file release? If not, give me a holla and I'll look up the files and send them your way. I also have some Galactic Order textures as well, again I am unsure if I released them or not.

However feel free to re-texture them if you like, at the time I was making them I didn't know how to do textures, actually they were some of my first models I made entirely from scratch.

But yeah really looking forward to this project of yours, and those Romulans, they look awesome, oh I ready said that, well they are awesome. There 3 times a charm.

 

[Amateur]

Just beware, that currently using the mod support AIP's don't load from the mods directory. It's something they intend to fix, however Doca didn't give any sort of timeframe estimate or which patch the fix would come in. I am hoping for the next one personally.

Those Romulans look awesome and so the Federation, if I do say so myself.

Oh and the Terrans, did I include the Terran textures in the mesh file release? If not, give me a holla and I'll look up the files and send them your way. I also have some Galactic Order textures as well, again I am unsure if I released them or not.

However feel free to re-texture them if you like, at the time I was making them I didn't know how to do textures, actually they were some of my first models I made entirely from scratch.

But yeah really looking forward to this project of yours, and those Romulans, they look awesome, oh I ready said that, well they are awesome. There 3 times a charm.

Yeah, I heard about the AIPS. To be honest I've never made them before, so I can wait. They're the last thing anyway, so I'm not too bothered about them at the mo'.

Aye, you did include the Terran textures - as well as the Galactic Order. I may tweak them a little, but they seem good to me. Any tweaking will probably be the addition of the phaser arrays and deflector glow

Awesome Romulan's are awesome

 

[Majestic]

Yeah that's very true. Well it's good to know I did it was so long ago I released those ships I couldn't remember.

Looking forward to many screenshots and perhaps a video down the track.

 

[Styer_Crisis]

Yeah, I heard about the AIPS. To be honest I've never made them before, so I can wait. They're the last thing anyway, so I'm not too bothered about them at the mo'.

Hey but when you do get to that part, i'd be happy to make some AIPs for you, i myself have edited the FO and A2 AiPS endlessly, so i have quite a bit of exxperence in that area, and i'm always glad to help a new FO modder. so when ya need them, just gimme a holla, and i'll do my best.

 

[Amateur]

Hey but when you do get to that part, i'd be happy to make some AIPs for you, i myself have edited the FO and A2 AiPS endlessly, so i have quite a bit of exxperence in that area, and i'm always glad to help a new FO modder. so when ya need them, just gimme a holla, and i'll do my best.

Thanks for the offer. As and when, I'll probably have a go myself - but should any issues arise I'll certainly give you a shout

Now, what I want to do is provide a daily (well, every day I do some work) breakdown on what I have done and what I plan to do tomorrow (or the next day I get around to it) that way, I'll be able to order my thoughts and keep everyone informed.

Done Today

• Added the Akula class in game.
• Added ranks to the Saladin and Akula classes.
• Retextured stock federation torpedo to a more TOS colour.
• Replaced the tips on the loading screens with quotes.
• Gave the federation textures a once over.

To be done tomorrow

• Flesh out a design for the Federation GUI.
• Get the Loknar class in game.

 

[Styer_Crisis]

ok, i like your ToDo listing style modding, it allows us to activly keep track of the mod, (and it make katala's job so much easyer). sounds good man, i like the look of those screen shots btw.

 

[Majestic]

Those ships really do look good ingame, I could never get them to look good in A2, but in FO they look pretty good.

 

[Amateur]

Thanks guys, glad you like them. Wait until I really get going - still only doing the base work at the moment really.

And another thing that I want to get to do is a little feature, every day, on a particular aspect. Nothing too long - but it helps me organise my thoughts and get some ideas out for criticism. Today, it's Warp-In's

Federation Warp-In's

As per Starfleet protocol, every fleet is assigned two support groups from which to call reinforcements as needed. These support groups remain at the closest friendly port or starbase within range of the battlefield. Travelling at high warp; ships can quickly arrive in the field, transferring command over to the admiral as soon as they reach the area.

Warp-In's are, in my opinion, as integral a part of FleetOps as the Descent class. They're just...important, you know? For that reason, I really wanted to keep them in. Plus, I love how the player has little choice over which ships they receive. Downside is, it's a nightmare to balance; a random number generator can throw out really horrible things at times.

Because of that, I'm going to have things a little differently. The little paragraph suggests the idea of 'support groups'; and I intend to have each play out a little differently - one military, one support.

The military one is like FleetOps at the moment; you receive ships at a point in the map. Also like FleetOps, the ships you receive will be older designs not constructed anymore. In other words, Starfleet museum ships. Most of them - I feel - share the design lineage with Majestic's ships, especially if they're textures use the same colour palette.

The support one is, literally, an idea I had about five minutes a go. Using this will grant you two freighter's with random cargo. Decommissioning these ships will give an increase in resources that can vary. Nothing gamebreaking (thinking maximum will be about 1000, on a small chance); but a nice injection if needed.

Of course, balance is key, so when the time comes I'll need to go in depth with the feature. Until then, it mostly exists as the idea I just laid out.

 

[Amateur]

Time for the daily update

Done Today

• Loknar Class in game
• Mod selection screen update
• Mod now has a logo
• Fixed a bug that caused the Saladin to upgrade to an Akula at rank four
• Mod now has a name
• Very basic design for Fed GUI
• Tooltip for the Akula

To do tomorrow

• Ranks for the Loknar class
• Avatar specific ODF's for the Loknar class
• Refine new Fed GUI design
• Replace loading screen icons
• Tweak Loknar scale

And pics

 

[Majestic]

Beautifully done Amateur. This is looking really good. I think I might have a station or two if you want them. Again I don't know if I included them in the download pack.

 

[Amateur]

I wouldn't say no to any stations, they'd help to design a style for them keeping with the ships. Thank you kindly

And it's time for todays feature

Heroes and Villains

As the Stranglers famously sang, ‘whatever happened to/all of the heroes?†Well, I’m going to answer that now.

Star Trek has, at its core, had a singular focus. Whether it be the Enterprise, the Enterprise, DS9, Voyager or, er, the Enterprise we’ve followed it and its crew via that little box in the living room. In Trek, people are important. Captains are important and – of particular interest – specific ships are important.

I’m going to try to emulate that in this mod. I don’t want it to suddenly be that you’ve got the USS Enterprise and the game ends because Kirk has lost his shirt. No, I want it to be that the arrival of a certain ship has bolstered your forces in a certain way, or that the ship that just warped in is carrying a decorated war hero who knows how to fight Klingons, or that the ship now at your starbase possesses sensor data that can have a direct benefit on your fleet via research. These ships will be heroes – but they won’t be armies.

At the same time, I want the captains of these ships to be real people. For obvious reasons, I can’t have it so that every ship is unique (though that would be nice…perhaps in a later patch ) but the heroes must be. Say, for example, that a captain on one ship lost his crew to a Romulan ambush. Yeah, that gives him an attack bonus against them but – at the same time – his recklessness in battle causes him to take more damage in turn, and his ship will get hit more often. That’s where the villain bit comes in. All of these men and women, whether Human, Tellarite, or Andorian, have attributes that work in their favour, and those against them. One may be exceedingly arrogant, and need more experience to rank-up. Another may follow the book to the letter, and his ship won’t be as fast because of it. I’ve got a whole host of things planned for this…

As with all things though, there must be balance. With the heroes, I think it best to have a random element. I don’t know who you’ll get – and neither will you. You could fight a losing battle against the Klingon’s at an expansion only to have the Enterprise show up. Another game, you may get a Saladin. There’ll be a cap of course, and you won’t get heroes until completing a research station and a few other things. And when a hero dies, well, they’re not coming back. At least, they shouldn’t be – I’ll need to do some research on that part, though I’m hopeful that I can work something out. Likewise, I need to think the problem of having the same hero appear more than once, but I have an idea for that involving an auto-replace weapon…

One final note, even though this was written from the Fed perspective, I’m hoping that everyone will get their own heroes when it’s time for their faction.

 

[Amateur]

And it's time for today's update.

Done Today

• Ranks for the Loknar
• Avatar specific ODF's for the Loknar
• New Federation torpedo sounds from Legacy
• Finished Federation GUI
• Changed loading screen icons

To be Done Tomorrow

• Add the Surya class to the game
• Work out a main menu design
• Tweak weapon textures
• Plan out the first hero ship

And one pic

 

[Starfox1701]

Looks nice

 

[Majestic]

Beautiful work Amateur, I really like where you are going with this mod.

 

[dinosaurJR]

This is very impressive work - the Saladin actually reminds me a little of the Predator Class destroyer from the Star Fleet Museum - very good re design all round; adds something new and fresh while keeping the overall shape and spirit of the original design - dinosaurJR approves.

 

[Amateur]

Thanks guys

Today's little article:

Turrets and Turtles

I’ll admit, right now, that I’m a turtle by nature. Games of Supreme Commander usually start with me building up a line of turrets and shield generators to try and keep the enemy out while I mass my forces.

Problem is, it doesn’t work.

While you’re devoting your time to building turrets an equal (or even greater, the enemy can go far afield without fear of raids) of resources is being poured into the ship or research infrastructure of your opponent; and when you do attack you’re facing a much larger, more mobile assault force. Turtling, as a strategy, prolongs the game beyond enjoyment; and causes frustration more than anything. To that end, Fractal Pattern makes use of turrets sparingly. Federation players are looking at a single phaser turret and an avatar whose special ability is upgrading stations with weapons. Weak weapons.

At the same time as all of that, I don’t want to alienate people who do turtle. By all means, build as many turrets as you want in a lovely geometric pattern round the asteroid field near your starbase.

But don’t expect them to survive if your opponent has researched bunker buster torpedoes.

 

[Majestic]

Ow bunker buster torpedoes, sounds like fun. Got to hate those turret spammers. Nice to see you're putting a countermeasure into this that will make it not as effective as it is in FO.

 

[Amateur]

The idea came to me whilst looking at the Decleration class. Got a fancy button planned and everything

Anyways, todays update.

Done Today

• Added the Surya class to the game
• Set up a basic main menu
• Changed the starfield to a more colourful version with echoes of TOS
• Added the first hero, Brian Schwass, as a passive to test the little icon
• Tweaked the colour of the federation phaser array

To be Done Tomorrow

• New texture for the USS Chekhov
• Tooltips for the Surya and Chekhov; their weapons, and Brian Schwass
• Make the odf and weaponry for the Chekhov unique

And, once again, there are pics

 

[Majestic]

Looking really good Amateur. Top stuff, the more I see of this project the more epic it looks.

 

[Amateur]

It's not quite epic yet, but I think it's getting there

Today's feature

Weapons

At the end of the day, Armada 2 – even with the FlOps engine additions and changes – is an RTS; and they revolve around the destruction of the enemy. To that end, weapons are important. Now, in standard FlOps there is a complicated balance achieved by hit chance and damage output. Anyone who has looked into one of the weapon ODFs will have seen how long they run to. Now, I agree that the control over damage per individual ships like that is supreme for balancing purposes in a mod that prides itself on unique play styles for the races; but for Fractal Pattern that’s just a little too much. Each race in this mod has the same number of combat ships that fulfil the same roles. Avatar and race alter the values slightly, as does rank up and I’m planning some research options.

Weapons are balanced by three things: delay, damage and hit chance. Delay and damage vary between individual weapons, and are the primary source of balancing. Hit chance changes only between types (with a few exceptions) phasers and other beams will always hit, torpedoes will hit 75% of the time, and pulses 50%. With the exception of certain hero ships (and, possibly, alterations by research) these values are absolute, and do not change for individual ship classes.

Not only does this cut down on the size of the ODF, and hence the time it takes to create it, it also makes balancing that much easier; and balancing in crucial. It’s no good one player having an advantage because they’re playing as the Federation or Klingon, there has to be an element of strategy involved.

 

[Terra_Inc]

Good news!

Don't forget that when you're balancing, you can always use the Toolbox. It doesn't have fancy FO "points" but it should work for the code at least.

 

[Amateur]

Good news!

Don't forget that when you're balancing, you can always use the Toolbox. It doesn't have fancy FO "points" but it should work for the code at least.

The toolbox is one of the most useful things I've ever used. Every ship goes through the hitpoint and weapon output calculator while I make the ODF

 

[Amateur]

Update time

Done today

• Two new map backgrounds
• Tooltips for the Surya, USS Chekhov, Captain Brian Schwass and their weapons
• unique ODF for the Chekhov

To be Done Tomorrow

• Add the Daedalus class to the game
• Finish modelling the Klingon side
• Fix the typo on Schwass' tooltip

And pics:

 

[Majestic]

I am liking the progress here mate.

 

[Atlantis]

Looking good.

My one comment is of a pet peeve of mine, that seems to come up every now and again with TOS mods: The Surya.

The model you've made seems to have the full-length extended hull a-la the Miranda. The Surya shouldn't have it that long. The Surya's extended hull is much shorter, basically no longer than the saucer itself, just adding corners.

Every TOS mod likes to include the Surya, but they either use the long-hull model or call it "a TOS Miranda", neither of which are correct for the Surya, but both correct for the Coventry class (from the same source book as the Surya and Knox (TMP Surya)), which sadly gets missed out every time.

I'll scan the pages from the books when I get home, if it would help clarify what I mean.