Author Topic: [STOPPED] The First Contact War - DevLog Thread  (Read 53692 times)

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Offline Strygon

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[STOPPED] The First Contact War - DevLog Thread
Foreword

This one is probably not much of a secret anymore after my loose mouth and hands showing off a whole bunch of assets in the HLP Discord, so I decided to might as well make it official.

This project has been in development for almost 4 years, undergoing 3 massive redrafts in the process. Said final draft and official development began with the development of Operation: Cloak and Dagger.
(Fun Fact: remember how the mission files are named DM01, DM02, and so on? That actually stood for "Demo Mission".)
At the time I was still a major newbie to almost everything, so my originally daunting Total Conversion Campaign got downsized to a TC Minicampaign.

Well, for those of you who really liked OCaD, I bear good news. The full mod is now officially in development.



What is this mod about?

Taking place in the same universe, roughly 10 years after the events of OCaD, the First Contact War no longer puts you in the shoes of a silent protagonist mercenary pilot, but rather, you play as a lively United Solarian Defense Federation Naval Pilot Ensign, Ayako Matoke. Transferred into the 58th Stormclouds, your missions will initially involve fighting off your long time foe, the Glisean Confederate Steel Pact.

But another threat lurks in the dark...

What kind of mod is this?

So, remember when I said OCaD didn't have anime head.ANIs due to time constraints?

Yeah, they're in now.



If you don't like anime, you miiiiight want to steer clear. The tone will be fairly light hearted (not quite as much as WoD/DE but it's not gritty and serious like FS) and you will find a lot of hand drawn art adorning various bits all over the game. Be sure to check the folders every once in a while for any *cough* goodies  :p

Overall takes very heavy inspiration from anime, often the older sci fi shows like Space Battleship Yamato.

In general, expect a balanced focus on story and gameplay but somewhat shifted to gameplay. If you've played OCaD, the flight model will be very similar but with added lateral thrust.

Cloak and Dagger was a 6 mission minimod. How big is this one going to be?

I'm looking at an exact 20 missions, leaving out filler or cutscene missions. The whole mod will be divided into three arcs.
As for the assets, there will be at least 50 completely new, original and fresh ships. The ones in Cloak and Dagger will also be given a fresh new PBR Coat of paint. Weapons will also get their unique models, with several already being in.

Yeah that's nice and all but so far we only have your word. What do you have that you can SHOW us?

Glad you asked! Here are some screenshots of what's been competed so far.



USDF Aquila - Your fresh new Space Superiority Fighter



USDCv Spearhead - The old mini carrier from 2 years ago now has a fresh HTL



A USDF Fleet on patrol



(Bad Image, will swap with better one later) USDCv Vega - A monstrous and powerful Battlecarrier. Armed with a dual beam cannon battery and burst missile launchers.


Right, but who's working on all this?

NeonShivan has graciously volunteered for being a tester, but in terms of development I am doing this solo, just like usual.

Lafiel and Nyctaeus are also on the testing team, as is spart_n

Development is proceeding very smoothly but I cannot predict how long it will take to finish the mod. It will certainly be a while though. But don't think I'll just drop this and then say nothing for a year until its released. I intend to actively keep you all updated on the development by way of posting pretty images most of the time.
« Last Edit: December 21, 2023, 08:47:47 am by Strygon »
Makes missions sometimes.
Finished Projects: Operation: Cloak and Dagger

Current Projects: Scrolls Part 2 (FREDding), Dimensional Eclipse (Art),
The First Contact War, GTDr Amazon HTL

[23:22] strypolygon: andrew
[23:22] strypolygon: i have one favor to ask of you
[23:22] strypolygon: never try speaking german again
[23:23] Andrewofdoom: No.

[18:50] 島風改八百三: the duck has multipli
[18:50] 島風改八百三: many duck
[18:50] 島風改八百三: left side
[18:50] 島風改八百三: even side
[18:50] 島風改八百三: handle it

[21:34] MP-Ryan: Why on earth would you Google this
[21:34] The_E: why would you not

[06:46] Strigon: how big is a mini-campaign again?
[06:46] Asteroth: smaller than a campaign
[06:47 ]Strigon: thanks

[05:56] Strigon: If I had to take a shot for each time I randomly decided to change the UI sounds, I'd have died of alcohol poisoning by now

[17:36] qazwsxal: time to have some fun
[17:41] z64555: VC++5 is not my idea of fun

[EatThePath] do your missiles do anything absurd?
[Strigon] describe absurd
[Strigon] the entire mod is absurd

 

Offline starlord

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Re: [IN PROGRESS] The First Contact War
This looks great. Love the ships style.

 
Re: [IN PROGRESS] The First Contact War
I want this so badly~

 

Offline Su-tehp

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Re: [IN PROGRESS] The First Contact War
Why are the Spearhead's launch bays...curvy? They're decidedly not flat...and that makes no sense. Even for anime, that makes no sense. :wtf:
REPUBLICANO FACTIO DELENDA EST

Creator of the Devil and the Deep Blue campaign - Current Story Editor of the Exile campaign

"Let my people handle this, we're trained professionals. Well, we're semi-trained, quasi-professionals, at any rate." --Roy Greenhilt,
The Order of the Stick

"Let´s face it, we Freespace players may not be the most sophisticated of gaming freaks, but we do know enough to recognize a heap of steaming crap when it´s right in front of us."
--Su-tehp, while posting on the DatDB internal forum

"The meaning of life is that in the end you always get screwed."
--The Catch 42 Expression, The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Steadfast

 

Offline Nyctaeus

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Re: [IN PROGRESS] The First Contact War
Even for anime, that makes no sense. :wtf:
No, dude. For anime, it makes perfect sense :P
Exile | Shadow Genesis | Inferno | Series Resurrecta  | DA Profile | P3D Profile

Proud owner of NyctiShipyards. Remember - Nyx will fix it!

All of my assets including models, textures, skyboxes, effects may be used under standard CC BY-NC 4.0 license.

 

Offline Dilmah G

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Re: [IN PROGRESS] The First Contact War
Why are the Spearhead's launch bays...curvy? They're decidedly not flat...and that makes no sense. Even for anime, that makes no sense. :wtf:
What? The ski-jumps? Totally normal, bro.

Also, looks fkn sick, Strygon. Can't wait.

 

Offline Strygon

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Re: [IN PROGRESS] The First Contact War
Here's a bit of footage of the new missiles in action. Wanted to give some variety outside of the bland simple HS-14 that you had throughout OCaD.


They come with their own models as well.

https://i.imgur.com/WeRkilw.png - 4-Pack Dogfight Strike Missile (4DSM) and DSM2

https://imgur.com/kBTOMUb - JAVELIN-03 Anti Subsystem Missile (JAV-03)

https://imgur.com/KhyyIQK - Multiple Independent Terminator Missile (MITM-05 Cerberus)


And here's some artwork of the protagonist of the mod.



(that art is a bit old, will eventually draw replacement)
Makes missions sometimes.
Finished Projects: Operation: Cloak and Dagger

Current Projects: Scrolls Part 2 (FREDding), Dimensional Eclipse (Art),
The First Contact War, GTDr Amazon HTL

[23:22] strypolygon: andrew
[23:22] strypolygon: i have one favor to ask of you
[23:22] strypolygon: never try speaking german again
[23:23] Andrewofdoom: No.

[18:50] 島風改八百三: the duck has multipli
[18:50] 島風改八百三: many duck
[18:50] 島風改八百三: left side
[18:50] 島風改八百三: even side
[18:50] 島風改八百三: handle it

[21:34] MP-Ryan: Why on earth would you Google this
[21:34] The_E: why would you not

[06:46] Strigon: how big is a mini-campaign again?
[06:46] Asteroth: smaller than a campaign
[06:47 ]Strigon: thanks

[05:56] Strigon: If I had to take a shot for each time I randomly decided to change the UI sounds, I'd have died of alcohol poisoning by now

[17:36] qazwsxal: time to have some fun
[17:41] z64555: VC++5 is not my idea of fun

[EatThePath] do your missiles do anything absurd?
[Strigon] describe absurd
[Strigon] the entire mod is absurd

 

Offline starlord

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Re: [IN PROGRESS] The First Contact War
Any indication on more lore? Regarding the two power blocks maybe?

 

Offline spart_n

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Re: [IN PROGRESS] The First Contact War
nothing says anime more than a schoolgirl uniform and ensign at 23 *wheeze*

cant wait to see it, stryg

 

Offline Strygon

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Re: [IN PROGRESS] The First Contact War
Any indication on more lore? Regarding the two power blocks maybe?

Of course! First, let me lay out the general "geography" of the factions.



Something to immediately point out, the USDF isn't a singular nation, in fact it's easily comparable to NATO in real life, being a military alliance between several nations. Here, the USDF Member Nations are the "Solar Coreworld Republic", "Kepler Union", "Helios Miner's Community" and "Regulus States". Each nation will have a bit of their own lore in the intel database for your reading pleasure.

The Glisean Confederate Steel Pact on the other hand, was formerly a bloc of nations that grouped up and collectively declared themselves as one independent state back in 2290. Following since was an ever increasing tension between them (thanks to the GCSP's Navy disrespecting borders and the occasional trade convoy "going missing") and the USDF, until finally a war broke out, about a year before this mod takes place. Most of the major design corporations are stationed in USDF Territory so the lower ranks of the GCSP Navy uses repurposed/older ships as their combat vessels, but over time they started developing their own combat vessels as well.

The little blue state you see in the middle is the Kingdom of Deneb. The second alien race ever encountered by humanity resides there, the Denebim. Considerably weaker and less advanced in space combat than humans, but very artistic and graceful in their own right. The Denebim count as a "protected nation" under USDF Rule.

Another alien race, one not displayed here but equally important, are the nomadic Cassydri. Expert shipwrights, peaceful traders, they are the ones who brought shield technology to humanity. Their relevance will also increase over the course of this mod.
Makes missions sometimes.
Finished Projects: Operation: Cloak and Dagger

Current Projects: Scrolls Part 2 (FREDding), Dimensional Eclipse (Art),
The First Contact War, GTDr Amazon HTL

[23:22] strypolygon: andrew
[23:22] strypolygon: i have one favor to ask of you
[23:22] strypolygon: never try speaking german again
[23:23] Andrewofdoom: No.

[18:50] 島風改八百三: the duck has multipli
[18:50] 島風改八百三: many duck
[18:50] 島風改八百三: left side
[18:50] 島風改八百三: even side
[18:50] 島風改八百三: handle it

[21:34] MP-Ryan: Why on earth would you Google this
[21:34] The_E: why would you not

[06:46] Strigon: how big is a mini-campaign again?
[06:46] Asteroth: smaller than a campaign
[06:47 ]Strigon: thanks

[05:56] Strigon: If I had to take a shot for each time I randomly decided to change the UI sounds, I'd have died of alcohol poisoning by now

[17:36] qazwsxal: time to have some fun
[17:41] z64555: VC++5 is not my idea of fun

[EatThePath] do your missiles do anything absurd?
[Strigon] describe absurd
[Strigon] the entire mod is absurd

 

Offline Strygon

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The First Contact War - DevLog Thread
Many thanks to Goober for making a seperate board for First Contact War! Now i got me shiny badge n everything.

Now, development will take a good while but I intend to answer as many questions as I can, occasionally maybe asking for suggestions as well. Art will be posted in a seperate thread.
Makes missions sometimes.
Finished Projects: Operation: Cloak and Dagger

Current Projects: Scrolls Part 2 (FREDding), Dimensional Eclipse (Art),
The First Contact War, GTDr Amazon HTL

[23:22] strypolygon: andrew
[23:22] strypolygon: i have one favor to ask of you
[23:22] strypolygon: never try speaking german again
[23:23] Andrewofdoom: No.

[18:50] 島風改八百三: the duck has multipli
[18:50] 島風改八百三: many duck
[18:50] 島風改八百三: left side
[18:50] 島風改八百三: even side
[18:50] 島風改八百三: handle it

[21:34] MP-Ryan: Why on earth would you Google this
[21:34] The_E: why would you not

[06:46] Strigon: how big is a mini-campaign again?
[06:46] Asteroth: smaller than a campaign
[06:47 ]Strigon: thanks

[05:56] Strigon: If I had to take a shot for each time I randomly decided to change the UI sounds, I'd have died of alcohol poisoning by now

[17:36] qazwsxal: time to have some fun
[17:41] z64555: VC++5 is not my idea of fun

[EatThePath] do your missiles do anything absurd?
[Strigon] describe absurd
[Strigon] the entire mod is absurd

 
Re: The First Contact War - DevLog Thread
Whoah, congrats to the new board! :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes:

 

Offline Droid803

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Re: The First Contact War - DevLog Thread
We will watch your career with great interest.
(´・ω・`)
=============================================================

 

Offline Su-tehp

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Re: The First Contact War - DevLog Thread
I'm wondering what the deal is with that purple subspace corridor line between Sol and Sirius.

nothing says anime more than a schoolgirl uniform and ensign at 23 *wheeze*

cant wait to see it, stryg

That, too. I'm not the biggest fan of anime, but I am somewhat fond of it. I can't wait to see the final product.

Also, I just noticed something: Looking at the font of the words "First Contact War" on your big poster, it looks like the words "Contact War" are italicized but the word "First" isn't. You can tell if you look closely. Was that intentional?
« Last Edit: October 03, 2020, 03:48:19 pm by Su-tehp »
REPUBLICANO FACTIO DELENDA EST

Creator of the Devil and the Deep Blue campaign - Current Story Editor of the Exile campaign

"Let my people handle this, we're trained professionals. Well, we're semi-trained, quasi-professionals, at any rate." --Roy Greenhilt,
The Order of the Stick

"Let´s face it, we Freespace players may not be the most sophisticated of gaming freaks, but we do know enough to recognize a heap of steaming crap when it´s right in front of us."
--Su-tehp, while posting on the DatDB internal forum

"The meaning of life is that in the end you always get screwed."
--The Catch 42 Expression, The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier: Steadfast

 

Offline Mobius

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Re: The First Contact War - DevLog Thread
Again, congratulations! Glad to see your board active and running.  :yes:
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Offline Strygon

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Re: The First Contact War - DevLog Thread
I'm wondering what the deal is with that purple subspace corridor line between Sol and Sirius.

nothing says anime more than a schoolgirl uniform and ensign at 23 *wheeze*

cant wait to see it, stryg

That, too. I'm not the biggest fan of anime, but I am somewhat fond of it. I can't wait to see the final product.

Also, I just noticed something: Looking at the font of the words "First Contact War" on your big poster, it looks like the words "Contact War" are italicized but the word "First" isn't. You can tell if you look closely. Was that intentional?

That node indicates lack of proper stability. Essentially, it's very unreliable and may or may not lead to either death, being trapped in subspace or being catapulted millions of gigaparsecs away from your intended destination. As for the font in the poster, that's just how the font ended up making it look. I used a site that generates it so it'd either be all italicized or none. Probably just a design choice.




In other news, I'll have a bit more viewing material ready tomorrow, a small video that shows off all that is ready so far, including some more art.
Makes missions sometimes.
Finished Projects: Operation: Cloak and Dagger

Current Projects: Scrolls Part 2 (FREDding), Dimensional Eclipse (Art),
The First Contact War, GTDr Amazon HTL

[23:22] strypolygon: andrew
[23:22] strypolygon: i have one favor to ask of you
[23:22] strypolygon: never try speaking german again
[23:23] Andrewofdoom: No.

[18:50] 島風改八百三: the duck has multipli
[18:50] 島風改八百三: many duck
[18:50] 島風改八百三: left side
[18:50] 島風改八百三: even side
[18:50] 島風改八百三: handle it

[21:34] MP-Ryan: Why on earth would you Google this
[21:34] The_E: why would you not

[06:46] Strigon: how big is a mini-campaign again?
[06:46] Asteroth: smaller than a campaign
[06:47 ]Strigon: thanks

[05:56] Strigon: If I had to take a shot for each time I randomly decided to change the UI sounds, I'd have died of alcohol poisoning by now

[17:36] qazwsxal: time to have some fun
[17:41] z64555: VC++5 is not my idea of fun

[EatThePath] do your missiles do anything absurd?
[Strigon] describe absurd
[Strigon] the entire mod is absurd

 

Offline starlord

  • 210
Re: The First Contact War - DevLog Thread
The lore sounds quite good. Curiously some of your fighter designs are evocative of fasa’s Aerotech. Might be just me though...

 

Offline Strygon

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    • Steam
Re: The First Contact War - DevLog Thread
As a form of tradition for pretty much the other anime mods before this one, I've decided to concoct a small promotional trailer here to give a clearer image of what's about to come.


Shows off some of the art and gameplay you can expect.
Makes missions sometimes.
Finished Projects: Operation: Cloak and Dagger

Current Projects: Scrolls Part 2 (FREDding), Dimensional Eclipse (Art),
The First Contact War, GTDr Amazon HTL

[23:22] strypolygon: andrew
[23:22] strypolygon: i have one favor to ask of you
[23:22] strypolygon: never try speaking german again
[23:23] Andrewofdoom: No.

[18:50] 島風改八百三: the duck has multipli
[18:50] 島風改八百三: many duck
[18:50] 島風改八百三: left side
[18:50] 島風改八百三: even side
[18:50] 島風改八百三: handle it

[21:34] MP-Ryan: Why on earth would you Google this
[21:34] The_E: why would you not

[06:46] Strigon: how big is a mini-campaign again?
[06:46] Asteroth: smaller than a campaign
[06:47 ]Strigon: thanks

[05:56] Strigon: If I had to take a shot for each time I randomly decided to change the UI sounds, I'd have died of alcohol poisoning by now

[17:36] qazwsxal: time to have some fun
[17:41] z64555: VC++5 is not my idea of fun

[EatThePath] do your missiles do anything absurd?
[Strigon] describe absurd
[Strigon] the entire mod is absurd

 
Re: The First Contact War - DevLog Thread
That looks pretty nice~ :)

2 things though- you should get the Headanims centered on the HUD so that your waifus don't live in the corner of the screen, and you might want to get some better shield effects too.

  

Offline Commander Zane

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Re: The First Contact War - DevLog Thread
This will make a fine addition to my collection.

On a non-meme note, hell yes! Good luck bringing this to fruition.