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[WIP] The Wastelands

Terra_Inc

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Wastelands lives!

That's right people, the Wastelands SLTC is not yet dead! I've been tinkering with the balance model for several months now, I feel that I have finally arrived at a point where I can say "Screw it. This is balanced enough" and start actually putting the thing together! I hope to be able to bring you more screenshots soon.

So while I'm busy working on it, here's an overview of the six main factions in the Wastelands. This is what you can expect. Please keep in mind that only the Feds and Cardies are planned as playable races right now.

---

Wastelands Faction Guide

The Federation

Who are they and what do they want?
StarFleet officers and mining experts brought together to secure the Federation's part of the Wastelands, namely the Avalon stations, and to eliminate pirates opposing them.
What are they using?
Their ships are mostly from the TLE era. With most of their mining equipment coming from the companies and StarFleet subsidiaries that are involved, they have access to industrial-grade mining freighters and -stations.
Who are their allies/enemies?
They are loosely allied with the Klingon Empire and are friends with the Romulan Star Empire and the Cardassian Union. They oppose the syndicates that are hiding in their space.


The Klingon Empire

Who are they and what do they want?
Influential houses of the Klingon Empire with decades, if not centuries of mining experience. They want to keep their space clean and expand where possible.
What are they using?
Their warships are modern Klingon designs, and their mining equipment is similarly advanced.
Who are their allies/enemies?
They are loosely allied with the Federation. They continue to battle pirate syndicates and Cardassian forces for control over the Wastelands. They do not have any contact to the Romulan Star Empire.


The Cardassian Union

Who are they and what do they want?
Officers of the Cardassian Fleet. They want to secure a part of the Wastelands to recover from the horrible losses suffered during the Dominion War.
What are they using?
The Cardassians have always been effective miners, and although their equipment is old, it's just as effective as the other factions' equipment. Their warships are mainly designs from the Border Conflicts and Dominion War, as the Union is forced to use older ships and designs while the fleet is reconstructed.
Who are their allies/enemies?
They are friends with the Federation. Their main antagonists in the Wastelands are the Klingons and various pirate syndicates. There are still rumors that they are allied with the Romulans, but there is no evidence for any sort of alliance.


The Renegade Houses

Who are they and what do they want?
Klingon Houses that feel uncomfortable with the Empire's politics, especially concerning the Federation. They want to expand their personal sphere of influence and remove the Federation from the Wastelands.
What are they using?
Most of their ships are refitted destroyers and cruisers from the old days of the Empire. They are very good in increasing the performance of these old designs. Their mining equipment is the same as the Empire's.
Who are their allies/enemies?
They openly oppose the Federation and the Cardassian Union. Their relationship to the other Klingons is somewhat nebulous: They support the Empire's efforts, but may go their own ways if the Empire's actions do not fulfill their expectations.
They regard pirates as a mere nuisance and would try to battle the Romulans if they saw a chance for victory.


The Romulan Star Empire

Who are they and what do they want?
Officers of the Star Empire, protecting and securing a part of the Wastelands which they have claimed.
What are they using?
The Romulan equipment is top-notch as are their warships. Unlike the Klingons, they maintain only small stations and colonies. They employ packs of small and very agile ships, maximizing the effectiveness of their advanced weaponry.
Who are their allies/enemies?
The Romulans do not interfere with the other factions' power games. They will, however, defend their space against intruders and pirates. They are friends with the Federation, as it respects their borders.

Pirate Syndicates

Who are they and what do they want?
Talarians, Yridians, Orions, assorted scum of the quadrants. Their shady business has flourished in the Wastelands, but they are about to be wiped out by the major forces of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.
What are they using?
They are using everything they can get. Their technology is inferior to everything the major forces have, but explorers or unprotected miners quickly fall prey to their fast warships.
Who are their allies/enemies?
They are opposed by everyone trying to establish a permanent presence in the Wastelands. Since the Klingons and Romulans have already driven most of them out of their territories, they now find themselves fighting the Federation and Cardassians.
 

Terra_Inc

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I wanted to get screenshots done today, but meh. My weapon ODFs were acting up again. They have been exterminated and replaced by working ones. Unfortunately, not fast enough to let me do some beauty shots of my perty new Romulan disruptor texture. Raaage! :x

Anyway, while I'm about to go to bed, I thought I might leave you with a few questions I'd like to get community input on.
First thing, artillery. Should it show up in the Wastelands? I'm talking about longer ranges than the stock artillery, which was pretty much a sad excuse for proper long-range artillery. Plus, who puts artillery guns on a Streamrunner? :thumbsdown:
Second thing, since this is a heavily singleplayer-based mod, with campaigns implemented in MMM, would you like to see new tutorials, to introduce you to the mod? It CAN be done, but I wouldn't waste time with it if no one would play them anyway.
 

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I'd definitely appreciate tutorials, always nice to have a better handle on gameplay through them than just figuring it out on your own. For me leastways.

Edit: Oh, and artillery would be cool to see. Maybe pull some old Andor-Class cruisers out? They're the only TMP/TLE artillery ships that I've ever seen.
 

Terra_Inc

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Edit: Oh, and artillery would be cool to see. Maybe pull some old Andor-Class cruisers out? They're the only TMP/TLE artillery ships that I've ever seen.

Dunno, TMP kitbashes just don't do much for me. :sweat:
 

Jetfreak

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Anyway, while I'm about to go to bed, I thought I might leave you with a few questions I'd like to get community input on.
First thing, artillery. Should it show up in the Wastelands? I'm talking about longer ranges than the stock artillery, which was pretty much a sad excuse for proper long-range artillery. Plus, who puts artillery guns on a Streamrunner? :thumbsdown:
Second thing, since this is a heavily singleplayer-based mod, with campaigns implemented in MMM, would you like to see new tutorials, to introduce you to the mod? It CAN be done, but I wouldn't waste time with it if no one would play them anyway.

Personally, I'd like a tutorial myself just to keep things fresh. I think this is the first time such an attempt will be made. It already gains points with the rule of cool. :D

And a Torp Cruiser? Definitely New Orleans! With all those bristling torpedo launchers all over the hull. I'll see if I can polish up Ash's old model for ya' :thumbsup:
 

CABAL

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I'm not sure if artillery should be included since it's definitely military and if I'm not mistaken the factions are going to be mining companies.
 

Terra_Inc

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Personally, I'd like a tutorial myself just to keep things fresh. I think this is the first time such an attempt will be made. It already gains points with the rule of cool. :D
Yeah, MMM makes some really great stuff possible. We haven't seen much of it yet - Maj and TUN have already stated that they'd use it, but since the mod should be pretty much finished before you can do the campaign, there haven't been any releases with it yet. I hope that the WL beta can be the first to show it off!

And a Torp Cruiser? Definitely New Orleans! With all those bristling torpedo launchers all over the hull. I'll see if I can polish up Ash's old model for ya' :thumbsup:
That would be awesome, man. Fits right into there, if you ask me. :worship:

I'm not sure if artillery should be included since it's definitely military and if I'm not mistaken the factions are going to be mining companies.
It's basically a joint venture. Which means that the companies (somewhat linked to StarFleet) have to do the dirty job while StarFleet reels in most of the profit and in the case of an emergency gets them out of there. StarFleet ships will show up several times in the campaign. Still, we're talking about mining companies that operate heavy cruisers of the Starchaser class, which can blow a K'tinga away with a few volleys. :p So artillery would fit in concept-wise.

Aaand... here come the promised screenies! Featuring two of the Romulan NPCs and my new Romulan disruptor texture.

A Shrike class destroyer attacks a Klinker destroyer. These are quite similar, but I think the Shrike will win. Romulan disruptors have been upgraded with capacitors, which allows them to do vastly increased damage in the first few seconds of an attack.

(Shrike was done by Aad, Aerilon gave us the double-hulled version. Klinker by Avon.)

rom1.png
Two Romulan Venator class battleships and two Eagle class heavy destroyers conducting a flyby of an uninhabitable class-D planetoid.

(Venator was done by Aad, Eagle by Atlantis)

rom2.png
A Klingon Che'var class - one of the heaviest ships in the Wastelands - and a nasty surprise for the same in the form of a Romulan attack formation featuring a Venator and two Shrikes.

(Che'var by Avon, Romulans by Aad)

rom3.png
There. That's what you get for not paying attention. A burst from the Romulan disruptors. Now run, and don't come back!

rom4.png
 

Majestic

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Have you thought of using both Shrike variants?

Great looking images. :thumbsup:
 

Adm_Z

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Yay wastelands lives!! Looking forward to this one a lot man.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
 

Jetfreak

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Choice and classy models man, them' Rihhansu seem to be too overconfident though. Better watch out with the Che'Var, especially when it turns around. :lol:
 

Terra_Inc

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So, Jet and TF have been helping me with some problems, which are now fixed. Tomorrow I'll post some nice fleet shots for the Romulan NPCs and then move to the Klinkers. I'll probably also have some new weapon textures ready for release, so watch out for those. If I do not reappear before Wednesday, please ask Hellkite to deposit the nipz here.

And now I'll go do this one:
yawncat.gif
 

Terra_Inc

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New pics!

A small Romulan task force near a blue giant. The Griffin cruiser is often seen patrolling the borders, and this group here is probably on the way to wipe out a pirate nest.

rom5.png
A Raptor class torpedo cruiser. These are the artillery ships of the Star Empire, armed with heavily upgraded plasma torpedoes. I'm still not really satisfied with the torp, may have to re-do it at a later date.

rom6.png

Usually, the Romulans will just send a few ships to get rid of pirates. A larger group of Warbirds indicates that someone has really ****ed them off. As you can see on the pic below, such an armada is a fearsome apparition.

rom7.png

Romulan models by Aad & Aerilon (the Shrike), with fixed material settings and textures by Jetfreak

Enjoy :cool:

That concludes the Romulan ship chapter. Next up: Klinkers! We've already seen some earlier, now we're diving deep into Klingon Politics.
 

Terra_Inc

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Oh, I forgot something. I wrote a little in-depth article about the RSE in the Wastelands, if you're interested, give it a read! :thumbsup:

The Romulan Star Empire in the Wastelands

The Romulans are definitely one of the most powerful forces in the Wasteland. While their presence is usually rather minimal (they do not build large bases like the Klingons), their ships are very powerful and not to be underestimated. They claimed the part of the Wastelands that is the closest to their border, and quickly removed any pirates and smugglers hiding there.
Their weapon technology is the key to their strength. The Romulan disruptors work not very different than their Klingon equivalents, but the Romulan engineers have upgraded them with large capacitors. They store energy while in standby mode, and if they open fire, they can maintain a vastly increased fire rate for several seconds, usually ripping their target apart. This technology can be found in almost all modern Romulan ships, but the Shrike class destroyers are especially known for making very effective use of it.
The Romulans also use their own plasma torpedoes instead of the common photon torpedoes. The firing rate of these unique weapons is much slower, due to having to charge the torpedoes before they can be fired. This is obviously based off much older - possibly even early Vulcan - technology, but the Romulan plasma torpedoes are quite devastating and can inflict far more damage than the common photon torpedoes.
Together, these weapons provide the Romulans with great firepower, which many would not expect from their sleek and stealthy ships.

One of the Romulan ships seen in the Wastelands is the Shrike, a small but powerful destroyer. These ships are usually seen traveling in small groups. They are optimized towards maximum efficiency of their disruptors, which is why they don't carry torpedo launchers. Shrikes are often used as part of raiding strikes, crippling the enemy with precise disruptor fire before he can shoot back. They are also used by the Tal Shiar, which operate their own Shrike refits.

Considerably weaker than the Shrike is the Talon, a small scout ship used by the Star Empire. Its sensor technology is very advanced, and Talons usually arrive before the fleet to report about the battlefield and the enemy's status. These ships were built for stealth and speed - they will not survive long when under attack.

While the large D'deridex is the most prominent ship of the Star Empire's fleet, it is vastly outnumbered by the Griffin class cruiser. This versatile ship is the mainstay of the Border Patrol, and a very effective warship. Some versions of this class have been equipped with sensor jammers, blinding enemy units and disabling or destroying them before they can do any harm.

One of the more exotic ships in the Star Empire's fleets is the Raptor. A dedicated torpedo cruiser designed for supporting attacks from behind the front line, it is often equipped with artillery-grade plasma torpedoes. These have a substantially increased range and inflict heavy damage upon any unit caught in their explosion radius. They are also used to attack enemy installations from a relatively safe distance. Some of the Raptors have been refitted to standard cruiser armaments, but they are rarely seen.

The largest Romulan vessel in the Wastelands, the Venator, is a full-fledged battleship. Deadly and beautiful, the Venator has brought death to many enemies of the Star Empire. While it doesn't have the firepower of a D'deridex, it is considerably more agile and should not be underestimated. The Venator was the predecessor of the Valdore prototype.

c&cc is welcome!
 
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thunderfoot

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The new textures don't look half bad, either, lol. Looking forward to this one.
 

Majestic

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Looking great Terra some nice work you have going there. :)
 
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Walternate

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This is actually the modification that inspired me to start posting here - I absolutely love the concept. The screenshots look great - it's nice to see some TLE Federation ships in action!

I'm curious as to something though - the mod emphasizes protecting mining operations and accumulating resources, rather than expansion and destroying the enemies. Will there be some sort of mechanic for shipping these resources back home to our sponsors? What are we going to do with these accumulated resources?
 

Terra_Inc

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This is actually the modification that inspired me to start posting here - I absolutely love the concept. The screenshots look great - it's nice to see some TLE Federation ships in action!
Thanks, that's nice to hear!

I'm curious as to something though - the mod emphasizes protecting mining operations and accumulating resources, rather than expansion and destroying the enemies. Will there be some sort of mechanic for shipping these resources back home to our sponsors? What are we going to do with these accumulated resources?

Essentially, this is where the trade station comes into play. It will have a more inportant part in the Wastelands, as you can sell your resources for a good price, and also acquire even more Latinum via trade routes. If you've read my earlier posts, you'll remember that I reworked the trade goods, players will be able to make increased profit by setting up trade stations and routes, sending ships to trade (which, of course, must be protected if you don't want them destroyed by hostiles). Some of the Latinum will go into building your installations and fleet, but if you get enough of it together, you'll be able to send it over to StarFleet, in exchange for advanced technology for your ships. This means that you can 'spend' your Latinum to get upgrades for your ships. Of course, there's always a limit to how much upgrades you can get, but by the time you have them all, the game is probably almost over and you'll want to move on to another sector. Also, acquiring a certain amount of resources will be a common objective in the campaigns.
 

Avon

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I dont stop in here as much as I should, but looks like it's coming along nicely Terra. Screenies are great:thumbsup:
 

Terra_Inc

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So I've pretty much completed my new Klinker torpedo texture. I hope to be able to complete their fleet next, then I'll go back to the feds again. Some of the Klinker ships have already been shown off (Avon's ships), and they will form the main part of the Empire's fleet. But we haven't seen any of the Renegade Houses' ships yet! (Since those belong together pretty much, I'll just do them both at the same time.)

A question, did anyone like my little article? I wrote it basically to get my thoughts for the Romz into written form, but if people like it, I'll do one for the Klinkers as well.
 

Jetfreak

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I gotcha on the Klingons man, give me some time to have them all sorted out.

I also like the stories myself, keep em' coming, it definitely adds more depth to each race's motives and profiles. :thumbsup:
 

Dominus_Noctis

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Yup, I like the included histories as well :) Always makes people feel more apart of the game.

Not so coincidentally... you mentioned you could sell your resources for a good price - can you actually modify how much of each resource you can buy/sell and the fraction there off from the Trade menu (and associated commands), and if so, how? :D
 

Terra_Inc

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Not so coincidentally... you mentioned you could sell your resources for a good price - can you actually modify how much of each resource you can buy/sell and the fraction there off from the Trade menu (and associated commands), and if so, how? :D

Don't think that we can. Still, the stock prices are quite fair and fit into the mod's theme. (It would be awesome if we could, maybe pass that on to the FO devs?)
 

Dominus_Noctis

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Hehe, yea, been working on figuring out what's hardcoded and not lately, so was wondering if you had figured something out :D . I'm not sure if Doca has any plans for modifying that part of trade, but FO will have another form of trade in a future patch that is quite dynamic.

Just so I can make it seem like I'm not going more off topic...:)oops:)

How did you plan on including the Romulans with all their advanced stuff in Wastelands? Will they simply cost more/be higher in the techtree, and will you be building them there or will you be calling them from off-screen via MMM?
 

Terra_Inc

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How did you plan on including the Romulans with all their advanced stuff in Wastelands? Will they simply cost more/be higher in the techtree, and will you be building them there or will you be calling them from off-screen via MMM?

Right now, they will have outposts in a few campaign missions. And there will be one or two missions where you can directly control some Romulan ships. But you can't get them in a normal game.
At a later date (probz not in the beta) there will be an embassy option (utilizing stock warpin aka 8472 yard) for the Feds, allowing you to get help from your friends or allies. This will be a higher-level station, and these alliances will cost you a nice sum of Latinum.
The same applies to the Cardassians, though it will work somewhat different for them. I haven't completely worked this out yet. :p
 

Terra_Inc

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I bring good news! Another permission gained, this time for the Feds. Seems like I have everything I need now.
Klinkers are still coming up, so expect some eye candy screenshots tomorrow!
 

Majestic

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I look forward to them Terra. :thumbsup:
 
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Walternate

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Right now, they will have outposts in a few campaign missions. And there will be one or two missions where you can directly control some Romulan ships. But you can't get them in a normal game.
At a later date (probz not in the beta) there will be an embassy option (utilizing stock warpin aka 8472 yard) for the Feds, allowing you to get help from your friends or allies. This will be a higher-level station, and these alliances will cost you a nice sum of Latinum.
The same applies to the Cardassians, though it will work somewhat different for them. I haven't completely worked this out yet. :p

Maybe the Cardassians could hire mercenaries? Orions, Naussicans and the like. Because you're right, an embassy doesn't seem quite right for the Cardassians. (I suspect "Cardassian Diplomacy" is a euphemism for something terrible in the Star Trek universe)
 

Terra_Inc

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Maybe the Cardassians could hire mercenaries? Orions, Naussicans and the like. Because you're right, an embassy doesn't seem quite right for the Cardassians. (I suspect "Cardassian Diplomacy" is a euphemism for something terrible in the Star Trek universe)

Wastelands is set five years after the Dominion war. The Cardassians' chance to survive as an independent state in that time is mostly dependent on their ability to get along with the other forces. They'd probably try to have good relations to the more benevolent ones. Still, they wouldn't receive military help from them (well... the Feds, maybe...). But they've learnt too much from the War to hang out with evil guys. I'll have to work something special out for them.
 

Majestic

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Update please! :p:cry:
 
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