[Assassin]

Hey guys. I think I may start work on a campaign - nothing serious, just a few mods with a few missions. I can work on it myself its just I could do with a little input to help me with the story. I'm aiming for no more than 8 missions, ok?!

Basically, you are stationed on board the GTD Xaolin, a newly constructed destroyer based on the Hades design - it has some pretty neat new weaponry and the like but I shouldn't tell.
The ship has just been commisioned and you are leading one of the squadrons stationed onboard.

Now, a new unstable jump node has been discovered on some remote system (Hasnt been decided yet) and the Xaolin being only one of the few new ships with the ability to cross unstable, is sent across to discover what this new system has to offer.

I plan on them winding up in a nebulae system. Unfortunately, they come across some debris of NTF craft, and a dead cruiser. They analyse the cruiser's history after boarding it and see that they had an encounter with the Shivans. Shortly afterwards, real Shivans arive back on the scene and several missions are spent evading and attacking Shivans, sort of in a Guerrila war style. However they realise the Shivans are starting to flee, in a possible attempt to make contact with a main Shivan force. Knowing this could cause a third great war, they follow the shivans through a jump node into another system.

Its completely infested with Shivans, and the last missions are spent trying to escape their onslaught. The last mission will have the Xaolin barely making it back to GTVA space, everything seems safe and sound... A few Sathanae jump in - end of campaign.

Now I need a bit of help - how can I make it so that whilst in the nebulae system and beyond, the Xaolin can not make contact with GTVA space? I can't have them sending reinforcements through because I want the Xaolin to be completely alone in the wild. I was thinking maybe some form of nebula disturbance could interrupt communications? Ideas welcome.

Also, ideas for different kinds of missions I can include into the campaign very welcome. Be specific and be creative, this is very much in the early works.

Thanks a lot guys.

[karajorma]

Originally posted by Assassin
Snip
Now, a new unstable jump node has been discovered on some remote system (Hasnt been decided yet) and the Xaolin being only one of the few new ships with the ability to cross unstable, is sent across to discover what this new system has to offer.
Snip
Now I need a bit of help - how can I make it so that whilst in the nebulae system and beyond, the Xaolin can not make contact with GTVA space? I can't have them sending reinforcements through because I want the Xaolin to be completely alone in the wild. I was thinking maybe some form of nebula disturbance could interrupt communications? Ideas welcome.

Okay You`ve said that the Xaolin is one of the only ships capable of crossing unstable nodes. If you make it the only ship of it's kind you`ve got an answer right there No GTVA help coming.

In my campaign communications relay on transmission through nodes. Although the Xaolin is capable of passing through an unstable node that doesn`t mean that it is capable of transmitting signals back through.

 If you say that all the jump nodes in the system are unstable you also explain why the shivans are running back to shivan space instead of simply calling home and requesting that they send 80 sathanas's right now!

 You can also say that the nodes only stablise at certain times (otherwise it would take about 5 minutes for the shivans to get ships into shivan space and warn the rest of the fleet). It also explains why the Xaolin isn`t heading back to GTVA space so they can stuff it with meson bombs and send it through again to plug the node.

[Assassin]

*slaps himself on head*

Why oh why didn't I think of that before? :doh:

That all makes a lot of sence, thank you very much.

[karajorma]

No problem.

[Black Wolf]

Just an idea, but for the final mission, you could have a GTVA force fighting it's way through a Shivan defensive line at the node trying to collapse it with a Sathanass or Lucifer on its way through.

[TrashMan]

You know, your campaign has a similar ending as the one I had in mind!
Of course, half the GTVA fleet is on the run in my campaign, after destrying a MASSIVE shivan installation on a MASSIVE asteroid in a MASSIVE nebula, after MASSIVE fighting beetwen 4 sides (two are the [GTVA + an allied race]* and  HOL, the other two the Shivans and a 4th, powerfull race)!

* one side
Am I saying the MASSIVE word too much or is it just me?

Anyway, your campaign sounds good! VERY GOOD!:D

[Assassin]

Thanks for the idea Blackwolf, I've incorporated it into my current idea for an ending to make something far superior.

Its a mission with an Orion fitted with Meson bomb heaping for the jump node to ignore and destroy it before the Shivan fleet comes through. You have to fight off fighter and bomber waves and an odd cruiser, but about 5 km before you get to the node, our little friend Shivan fleet comes through, campaign end.

Thanks Trashman - your campaign sounds very interesting, if ambitious! Got any more info on it I may have?

[Black Wolf]

No worries on the Idea...the Orion idea's pretty much what I thought, just make sure the Orions completely a sitting duck. It goes forward only, no turrents, no maneuvering, as there's noone aboard (It's ready to go boom after all ).