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Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The FRED Workshop => Topic started by: Apollo on September 19, 2012, 09:16:05 pm

Title: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Apollo on September 19, 2012, 09:16:05 pm
(http://s10.postimage.org/xl8yx1rax/EOS_TCB_noship.png)

I'm working on a 10-14 mission mini-campaign that will (hopefully) get released in a couple of months. I've currently got all of the important mods I need (although a few minor things still need to be added), but I'm still FREDing the first mission, and it might die away like all the other half baked campaign ideas I've ever had.  Although, this particular campaign is different in that I actually have the basic storyline planned out.

Description:
Quote
Twenty years have passed since the Second Shivan Incursion. When Capella was destroyed, it drove the Alliance into a state of panic. None of our warships-not even the Colossus-were able to stand up to the overwhelming firepower of the Shivan juggernauts, and had we not sealed them of in Capella, the Alliance would have been annihilated. As it stood, we had lost nearly all of the 3rd Fleet-save for the GTD Aquitaine-and billions of Capellan citizens. These events caused economic depression and severely damaged the reputation of the Security Council and the GTVA in general-they had promised a military solution to the Shivan threat, and when the time came they were arrogant and unprepared.
To end the depression and again strengthen the military, the Security Council passed the Armada Declaration, a program of massive military spending. This plan would employ billions of civilian workers and create a fleet of next-generation warships capable of matching or exceeding the damage output of their Shivan counterparts. This ambitious project has taken over fifteen years to complete, and there are some within the Alliance that have criticized it, calling it an unnecessary and costly waste of resources-the Shivans have not been sighted for twenty years, and many doubt that they will ever return. Ultimately, though, the Declaration has been a success-at least from a military perspective. With the funds provided by the Declaration, we have improved every aspect of our fleet. We have created devastating long-range beam and torpedo weaponry, and advances in armor technology have allowed us to produce warship hulls up to 80% stronger that previous designs. It seems that we can finally match the Destroyers.
But when they finally return, will we truly be ready?
Shivan forces have taken over Eos-256, and the 7th Fleet is being sent to reclaim the system. You are a member of the elite 276th Highlanders bomber squadron, and you're about to be caught in a milennia-old war.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As I said, I may never finish this. On the other hand, I think I have enough done to make it worth mentioning. Eos will not be story-driven, although I will try to make the narrative at least somewhat interesting. I've managed to adapt WiH's capship control script for the Orff, so there will be several opportunities to pilot it. I will also include several unlockable bonus craft, such as the Pyro GX and Vishnan Missionary. If I get the mini-campaign finished, I may create a larger sequel. However, seeing as I have little FREDing experience and little free time, I won't be trying to create my own Derelict. I'd rather finish something relatively small than plan a huge 50+ mission campaign that never gets done.

EDIT: Updated the descripton
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Madrox on September 19, 2012, 09:34:29 pm
You have a game design philosophy completely different than mine, i give more effort first on story, then gameplay, and then ,if this willl not cripple the experience  and performance within the campaign, the graphics.

Well, after reading your story i found it... average, with many inconsistencies like:
- After i lost an entire system of worlds, the last thing i would be occupied with is with the military, i would first invest in rebuild supply lines,  reallocating the exiled people of Capella to another worlds, invest in the people....then i would think about investing in the military, 20 years its a very short time to do it all. not to talk about the motivations of the GTVA government, "protect against future Shivan invasions"? they are locked in the Capella for Russel´s Teapot! even if you use something coming directly from Deus Ex Machina (the literary concept, not the campaign xD) the GTVA would be not so concerned about it so soon.

- So, in the time of 20 years after a civil war and a entire system destruction by the hands of the Shivans you think they would ave the resources to buid a Supercarrier?

-You plot seems to be a little...rushed...try to slowdown thing a little, take some more time to develop the situation, even with all this DEM thing, you will be able to do a nice story.


well, thats it! dont give up, your idea shows potential (who am i to talk about it? xD) but need a bit more pplish on the story.

antoher  question: you will do all the models by yourself?

I wait for updates! \o/
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: General Battuta on September 19, 2012, 10:24:06 pm
Madrox, my friend, I think his plot is fine. Your objections are of the 'I would take a different approach' order, not 'your story is logically inconsistent'.

20 years seems like a perfectly reasonable time for a big military buildup in preparation for another Shivan incursion. FreeSpace 2 itself said the GTVA knew that sealing Capella was only a temporary measure. BP took a lot of the same positions on post-Capella development and made it make sense in 18 years.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Madrox on September 19, 2012, 10:39:58 pm
Madrox, my friend, I think his plot is fine. Your objections are of the 'I would take a different approach' order, not 'your story is logically inconsistent'.

20 years seems like a perfectly reasonable time for a big military buildup in preparation for another Shivan incursion. FreeSpace 2 itself said the GTVA knew that sealing Capella was only a temporary measure. BP took a lot of the same positions on post-Capella development and made it make sense in 18 years.

Hummm, maybe you´re right, but i still think this plot isn´t a good as could be. personal opinion tough...
Im not the best writter out there. i only tried to give some constructive critisism.
xD
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Apollo on September 20, 2012, 06:15:14 am
antoher  question: you will do all the models by yourself?

All the models I'm using have been released either publicly or in campaigns.

As for the storyline, it probably could use some more polish.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Macfie on September 20, 2012, 07:36:09 am
Isn't the Karnak already used for a class of Vasudan Insatallation from FS1?
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Apollo on September 20, 2012, 07:39:08 am
Isn't the Karnak already used for a class of Vasudan Insatallation from FS1?

The 'Karnak' I'm using is just a Hedetet with slightly altered maps. Since the GVI Karnak is non-canon, I felt it would be OK to reuse its name.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: General Battuta on September 20, 2012, 08:24:01 am
It completely is.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Macfie on September 20, 2012, 10:59:07 am
Although it's not Canon, it is included in the FSPort release and in several campaigns.  As such it would be somewhat confusing to use it as a destroyer class. 
IMHO
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: MatthTheGeek on September 20, 2012, 12:23:28 pm
The GTCv Diomedes class from BP shares its name with a canon Deimos-class corvette from the retail campaign. Was anyone confused ? Nope.

That's just one of many example. Name-sharing is perfectly fine.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Nyctaeus on September 20, 2012, 01:46:30 pm
blah, blah, blah...

I wanna screenshots! :D
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: General Battuta on September 20, 2012, 02:14:13 pm
Although it's not Canon, it is included in the FSPort release and in several campaigns.  As such it would be somewhat confusing to use it as a destroyer class. 
IMHO

We have a bunch of non-canon name sharing. There are at least two Orestes and Eos and probably more than two Hyperions.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Apollo on September 20, 2012, 04:11:33 pm
blah, blah, blah...

I wanna screenshots! :D
(http://imageshack.us/a/img690/8861/eosscreenshot.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/690/eosscreenshot.png/)
The SFg Xantico firing its primary cannon.

From the first mission-sort of.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Madrox on September 20, 2012, 04:55:53 pm
blah, blah, blah...

I wanna screenshots! :D
(http://imageshack.us/a/img690/8861/eosscreenshot.png) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/690/eosscreenshot.png/)
The SFg Xantico firing its primary cannon.

From the first mission-sort of.

It seems...
ominous...
xD

I want to see what comes next. \o/
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Mongoose on September 21, 2012, 01:17:48 am
Although it's not Canon, it is included in the FSPort release and in several campaigns.  As such it would be somewhat confusing to use it as a destroyer class. 
IMHO

We have a bunch of non-canon name sharing. There are at least two Orestes and Eos and probably more than two Hyperions.
There are only so many elements of Greek mythology you can go through before you start getting some overlap, after all.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: An4ximandros on September 21, 2012, 01:07:09 pm
Why use Greek? why not something else, like Old English/Frisian, Finnish, Lithuanian, Slavic, Indian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Mongolian, Turkish, Scythian, Etruscan, Phoenician, Georgian, Armenian, etc.

You get the point.
Volition would have come to this wall eventually as well, so...  :o
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: General Battuta on September 21, 2012, 01:10:32 pm
Why use Greek? why not something else, like Old English/Frisian, Finnish, Lithuanian, Slavic, Indian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Mongolian, Turkish, Scythian, Etruscan, Phoenician, Georgian, Armenian, etc.

You get the point.
Volition would have come to this wall eventually as well, so...  :o

Yeah, uh, we do that. (Hindu myth is a big source with a lot of thematic connections to FreeSpace)
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: headdie on September 21, 2012, 04:14:26 pm
Why use Greek? why not something else, like Old English/Frisian, Finnish, Lithuanian, Slavic, Indian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Mongolian, Turkish, Scythian, Etruscan, Phoenician, Georgian, Armenian, etc.

You get the point.
Volition would have come to this wall eventually as well, so...  :o
In FS canon ship classes generally follow the following themes

Terran = Greek
Vasudan = Egyptian
Shivan = Evil Mythology

So to feel consistent model makers tend to follow these themes.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Madrox on September 21, 2012, 04:16:16 pm
Why use Greek? why not something else, like Old English/Frisian, Finnish, Lithuanian, Slavic, Indian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Mongolian, Turkish, Scythian, Etruscan, Phoenician, Georgian, Armenian, etc.

You get the point.
Volition would have come to this wall eventually as well, so...  :o
In FS canon ship classes generally follow the following themes

Terran = Greek
Vasudan = Egyptian
Shivan = Evil Mythology

So to feel consistent model makers tend to follow these themes.

Actually, Shivas = Hindu Mythology
D:
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: headdie on September 21, 2012, 04:34:53 pm
Why use Greek? why not something else, like Old English/Frisian, Finnish, Lithuanian, Slavic, Indian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Mongolian, Turkish, Scythian, Etruscan, Phoenician, Georgian, Armenian, etc.

You get the point.
Volition would have come to this wall eventually as well, so...  :o
In FS canon ship classes generally follow the following themes

Terran = Greek
Vasudan = Egyptian
Shivan = Evil Mythology

So to feel consistent model makers tend to follow these themes.

Actually, Shivas = Hindu Mythology
D:

while yes there are Hindu references also consider that many come from other beliefs for example the Lucifer, Manticore, Nephilim, Seraphim, Dis, Azrael, Cain, Lilith, Moloch, and possibly Sathanas (Satan?) is named for near and middle eastern and Dragon, Basilisk, are European
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Madrox on September 21, 2012, 05:52:53 pm
Why use Greek? why not something else, like Old English/Frisian, Finnish, Lithuanian, Slavic, Indian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Mongolian, Turkish, Scythian, Etruscan, Phoenician, Georgian, Armenian, etc.

You get the point.
Volition would have come to this wall eventually as well, so...  :o
In FS canon ship classes generally follow the following themes

Terran = Greek
Vasudan = Egyptian
Shivan = Evil Mythology

So to feel consistent model makers tend to follow these themes.

Actually, Shivas = Hindu Mythology
D:

while yes there are Hindu references also consider that many come from other beliefs for example the Lucifer, Manticore, Nephilim, Seraphim, Dis, Azrael, Cain, Lilith, Moloch, and possibly Sathanas (Satan?) is named for near and middle eastern and Dragon, Basilisk, are European

All hail to Sathanas!
Actually, in portugues, Satan is reffered as Satã or Satanás. lol

Well, i ahd a good friend of mine who was a non-mystic satanist. to them, Satan isn´t actually a "evil" thing. xD
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Apollo on October 13, 2012, 01:53:16 am
I've been busy with other things for the past few weeks, so development is going pretty slow. (I'm still on the first mission, though I'm almost done.) However, I do have a good enough idea of future missions to post some screenshots (though they might not be entirely accurate)  and some pre-campaign quotes and ship descriptions. So, I'll be doing that for then next few months.

This is the GTVA's most powerful warship, the GTD Archon. It's a flagship-not just of a fleet, but of the entire Terran navy. Its four BFBlues outrange and slightly outdamage the Sathanas's BFReds shot-for-shot, but they have a far longer recharge time (in a fair fight, the Sathanas will always win). As the tech description says, it can destroy a capital ship with a single salvo of its primary cannons.

The Archon probably won't appear much in the campaign, since it would insta-kill anything smaller than another superdestroyer.
(http://s7.postimage.org/nezeu0ixn/Archon.png)

Tech Description:
Quote
The Archon superdestroyer is flagship of the Terran Armada. This incredible warship is armed with sixty-six powerful weapon systems, including four super-heavy beam cannons that can obliterate capital ships in a single salvo. No Alliance warship is more powerful. At present, the Archon may seem unnecessary, but if the Shivans ever return it will be our best hope for survival.
____________________
STATISTICS

Type: Superdestroyer
Manufacturer: Kraken Systematics
Max Velocity: 20 m/s
Armor: 800000
Fighterbay Capacity: 360 Strikecraft
____________________
ARMAMENT

GTVA Turbolaser X 9
GTVA Turret X 15
GTVA Huge Turret X 13
Standard Flak X 8
Anti-Fighter Beam X 8
Piranha X 2
Icebrand X 4
Winter King* X 4
Megacyclone X 3

*Yes, Blueplanet already used that name for a beam. I'll change it if the BP team asks me to.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Droid803 on October 13, 2012, 02:34:00 am
You know there is a HTL Hades right.
Your efforts would probably be better served working with that than with the low poly ugly tilerape model.

Just sayin'

Then again, retexturing a UVmapped ship actually takes a modicum of actual skill and effort. I can see why all the Lazyman McEverynoobs hate on them.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Phantom Hoover on October 13, 2012, 05:37:50 am
Way to be nice to the inexperienced.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Dragon on October 13, 2012, 06:10:50 am
Note, HTL Hades is UVmapped. Which makes reskinning it much more difficult than the original model. It was my major gripe with UVmapping until I learned how to work with textures, and even then, there are cases where tiling is more flexible and faster to work with.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Apollo on October 13, 2012, 08:27:38 am
You know there is a HTL Hades right.
Your efforts would probably be better served working with that than with the low poly ugly tilerape model.

Just sayin'

Then again, retexturing a UVmapped ship actually takes a modicum of actual skill and effort. I can see why all the Lazyman McEverynoobs hate on them.

You know that the Hades only has 22 turrets, right? That's why I'm using the Saturn, which is immediately obvious if you actually examine the model and read the description (Hades does not have "sixty-sixty different weapon systems"). As much as I would prefer an HTL model, nothing else has the turret placement I need.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: MatthTheGeek on October 13, 2012, 08:29:46 am
You know duplicating and moving turrets is a 30 sec job tops in PCS2, right ?
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Apollo on October 13, 2012, 08:39:35 am
Interesting. I will try that.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: General Battuta on October 13, 2012, 11:41:13 am
*Yes, Blueplanet already used that name for a beam. I'll change it if the BP team asks me to.

Hardly a problem, we're flattered.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: yuezhi on October 13, 2012, 12:08:23 pm
Why use Greek? why not something else, like Old English/Frisian, Finnish, Lithuanian, Slavic, Indian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Mongolian, Turkish, Scythian, Etruscan, Phoenician, Georgian, Armenian, etc.

You get the point.
Volition would have come to this wall eventually as well, so...  :o
In FS canon ship classes generally follow the following themes

Terran = Greek
Vasudan = Egyptian
Shivan = Evil Mythology

So to feel consistent model makers tend to follow these themes.
i wouldn't say Seraphim is evil, just a description of a craft capable of delivering power of biblical proportions. :D
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Droid803 on October 13, 2012, 01:21:54 pm
Way to be nice to the inexperienced.

Well if they all just stick to texture replacing in PCS2 and thinking they're hot **** then they'll never get experience.

And there is an upturreted version of the HTL Hades.
Ask Hades.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Phantom Hoover on October 13, 2012, 02:44:23 pm
Letting them know that their work could improve and shaming them for being inexperienced are different things.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Droid803 on October 13, 2012, 03:19:01 pm
I did let Apollo know his work could be improved.

Let's not derail this further.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Apollo on October 13, 2012, 04:23:15 pm
Ok, I'll reskin the Hades and give it more turrets (or get the upturreted one from Hades). I'm altering its UV map by copying tiles into it. It's actually surprisingly easy, though time-consuming.

EDIT: Hades doesn't have one. I guess I'll have to do it myself (that might actually be better, since it lets me keep the same armament).
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Apollo on October 21, 2012, 01:19:09 am
Remember the GTC Orff, that Fenris from FS1? Well, as the first warship I ever saw in-game it holds a lot of sentimental value for me, and the Orff's general crapiness has always bothered me. I felt that it received a very anticlimatic end in FS1, when the Hades and its fighters destroyed it without so much as a death message (IIRC). Fortunately, the Orff's destruction was not canonical, so I can use it in Eos.

I've given the Orff a reskin, a ridiculous amount of firepower and armor for a cruiser, and a whole bunch of abilites such as reverse thrusters and afterburners. The storyline justification is that the Orff was modified with technology from a captured Lilith cruiser, but that's basically just an excuse for me to make an overpowered cruiser. But, it's overpowered for a good reason (I think). The Orff will be playable in several missions, which will use a modified version of TBI's capship control script. Piloting it will be similar to flying the Katana, but with one major difference: every single turret will be controllable, and focusing point-defenses on individual fighters and bombers will be an important strategy in these missions.

Pics:
(http://imageshack.us/a/img843/3539/orff1.png)
I know the blue ring looks out of place (I'm considering getting rid of it).
(http://imageshack.us/a/img267/7473/orff2.png)

(http://imageshack.us/a/img836/1231/orff3.png)
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Rodo on October 21, 2012, 10:56:55 am
I think I won't play this until the new Fenris is finished.
So... never, cause finishing models was overrated right? :nervous:
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Nyctaeus on October 21, 2012, 11:42:07 am
That beam... Would be nice, but it's strange. I see ugly artefacts here, like on jpg image.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Apollo on October 21, 2012, 01:19:55 pm
I think I won't play this until the new Fenris is finished.
So... never, cause finishing models was overrated right? :nervous:

New Fenris?

That beam... Would be nice, but it's strange. I see ugly artefacts here, like on jpg image.

I took that screenshot on my piece of crap computer, so it wasn't rendered properly. It looks much nicer on something with a decent video card.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Droid803 on October 21, 2012, 02:22:34 pm
Not the biggest fan of the Red/Green/Blue colorscheme with the glows going on, makes it hard to take seriously.
Then again I'm not sure if I should be taking UBER FENRIS seriously to begin with. :P The whole premise of it sounds like something straight of a parody segment.

Kind of like the crew of a Fenris boarding and taking over a SJ Sathanas. xD
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Apollo on October 21, 2012, 02:39:39 pm
Not the biggest fan of the Red/Green/Blue colorscheme with the glows going on, makes it hard to take seriously.
Then again I'm not sure if I should be taking UBER FENRIS seriously to begin with. :P The whole premise of it sounds like something straight of a parody segment.

Kind of like the crew of a Fenris boarding and taking over a SJ Sathanas. xD

You probably shouldn't take it seriously, since it's a thin excuse to make an overpowered cruiser. And it looks like a christmas decoration. :P
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Droid803 on October 21, 2012, 02:46:01 pm
Ah in that case, you hit the mark perfectly! Carry on :P
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Phantom Hoover on October 22, 2012, 03:07:23 pm
Turn on soft particles (unless you can't).
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Apollo on October 22, 2012, 04:41:42 pm
I can now, but that screenshot came from my piece of crap computer that can't.
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: WouterSmitssm on October 24, 2012, 02:15:08 pm
hi do you have steam if you want that i beta test just use steam
Title: Re: ANNOUNCEMENT: Eos: The Coward's Blade
Post by: Apollo on October 25, 2012, 02:38:27 pm
No, I don't have steam. Thanks anyway.