[0rph3u5]

HLP, I've come to bargain!

Some years back I dropped a campaign which was done for the most part because of RL. Back then it was kinda convenient because I was drawing a blank on how I should resolve a crucial moment mid-way through the campaign. With some time and distance I came up with a solution to that, so I am going to resurrect this campaign and make it ready for release at the end of year, alongside the updated versions of Memories of the Great War.
(I said it, mark the calender)....

The Lost Generation - Ashcroft was originally conceived along a companion campaign to bridge time and flesh out characters for another project, which will not be revived in the same manner. However since plot-points from the Ashcroft-segment also feed back into Of Shivans and Men, it was an even better candidate to bring back.

As for what you can expect from the story:

You are a pilot in 10th Polaris Volunteers, a NTF-reserve unit. However "reserve unit" is just a fancy word for accelerated flight training and you are sure to be shipped off to the frontlines against the GTVA, for the war with Alliance is going badly.

But you are unlike your comrades in the squadron, you are no idealist nor are you as angry with the universe as everyone else seems to be. You are looking to tie up an increasingly pressing loose end ... to have certainty, even if that means to fight, and perhaps die, in the process.

Just as you try to find your answers, you are stumbling into a greater game...












So that you don't think I am overly optimistic about that deadline:
Mission 1 - Done
Mission 2 - Done
Mission 3 - Done
Mission 4 - Done
Mission 5 - Done
Mission 6 - Done
Mission 7 - Done
Mission 8 - Done
Mission 9 - Done
Mission 10 - WIP (A-Scenario: Stage 2/4 done; B-Scenario: Stage 1/4 done)
Mission 11 - Done
Mission 12 - Done
Mission 13 - Done
Mission 14 - Done
Mission 15 - Done
Mission 16 - Done
Mission 17 - Done
Mission 18 - Done
Credits & Epilogue - WIP (Stage 2/2 done; needs new music and contributors to be added)
{ }

campaign file

Table-entires (Ships) - Done
Table-entries (weapons) - WIP
Integrate Mainhalls - Done
Integrate NTF interface - Done
Individual loading screens - Done
Table sync with MVPs - WIP
Critical Fiction-entires - Done/Editing
Optional Fiction entires - WIP

Now I can keep the deadline, collapsing all the WIP into itself. However there are certain quality of life-points, I would rather have help with - either because it makes things go faster or because I need a closed feedback loop.

1. Beta Testing
All missions need to be tested and checked for bugs and loose ends.

2. Table Revisions
Some missions required for tweaked versions of retail-tbl weapons. These weapons of course do not yet have additional MVP data, which I constantly loose track of. As a result it is bluntly obvious when a ship uses

3. Story and Dialogue Edits / Continuity Check
Because this campaign is very dialogue heavy, I would like a new set of eyes to look at all the writing and help me fix some flaws and sure up the continuity after this work cycle.

4. Mainhall Loading Screens
Even a simple mainhall to replace the retail one(s) which are full of GTVA symbols would be nice. This may need some new loading screens too. (This is optional)

5. Music
Changing the music underscoring the events of the campaign might be approriate at certain places and I don't really feel qualified to do it. (This is optional)

If any of the points interests you, please contact me via PM.

EDIT: ps. Im updating the Mission listing as I go along

Help requests have been outsourced to their own topic.

[mjn.mixael]

For the mainhall, you could steal one of my Orion mainhalls. They don't have a lot (or any?) symbols anywhere. There's remakes of Galatea and Bastion, but those are well known. You could also use Krios, Soyakaze that I made for ST:R or even take the Intrepid one I made for BtA. The Intrepid one has the advantage of being a full 1080p mainhall with extra functional "buttons" should you want to use them.

Or you could follow this tutorial and make a quick basic mainhall menu in about 20-30 minutes or less.

[HLD_Prophecy]

I'm working on my own mod - and more importantly my History Major - so I don't think I can contribute. But I'll wish you good luck and congrats! It takes guts to revive something like that, and looks like you've made serious progress already!

[Nyctaeus]

I'm glad to see it ressurected. I played the first dump and enjoyed the very classic atmosphere and NTF point of view. I really liked a lot of missions. The one with Vindicator in the drydock and the Colossus closing in was my favorite. Please, don't use replacing default beams of ships in every mission. I remember Colossus firing with 4 top BFGreens only to use two LTerSlashes to attack the Vindicator in the next mission. It's quite noticable.

I have not enough time to beta test anything as I failed in case of BtA, so I can only wish you goodluck.

[0rph3u5]

For the mainhall, you could steal one of my Orion mainhalls. They don't have a lot (or any?) symbols anywhere. There's remakes of Galatea and Bastion, but those are well known. You could also use Krios, Soyakaze that I made for ST:R or even take the Intrepid one I made for BtA. The Intrepid one has the advantage of being a full 1080p mainhall with extra functional "buttons" should you want to use them.

I got them from the installer now; The Soyakaze one seems to be good fit for the Vasa, as for Vindicator and Iceni no decision has been reached yet. Thank you for it.
(I know the Iceni has no fighterbay and I am not messing with that but storywise you accompany the Iceni for a strech of the finale and the actual carrier is never specified)

I'm glad to see it ressurected. I played the first dump and enjoyed the very classic atmosphere and NTF point of view. I really liked a lot of missions.

Thank you.

I remember Colossus firing with 4 top BFGreens only to use two LTerSlashes to attack the Vindicator in the next mission. It's quite noticable.

That's what the Colossus related tweaks and the table checks are all about; for one I used a up-turreted version of the Colossus in the dump to emphasize just how oppressive it's presence is when you are on the recieving end, I no longer do to avoid problems with the HTL-release at some point. That the slash beams seems out of place is a problem with the tables, as I did not bring them up to MVP-standard of other Colossus-beams; and there is now a little scenario tweak in the briefing why the Colossus doesn't go all-out against the Vindicator, it wasn't in the dump because it's part of the new addition that resolves the plot problem I used to have.

Replacing some beams can't be helped, otherwise some missions would never work (either because of range or damage); however it will be less visible as it was in the dump with the fully tweaked tables (the scene in then 6th screenshot will look different in the finished product)
(using armor.tbl would be too involved as it's usually per mission tweaks)

[Hellstryker]

I can do dialogue and continuity checking, very good with that sort of thing.

[0rph3u5]

I can do dialogue and continuity checking, very good with that sort of thing.

Acknowledged, as we already discussed.

[0rph3u5]

HLP, I've come to bargain!

After three weeks this, very important position still remains to be filled:

1. Beta Testing
All missions need to be tested and checked for bugs and loose ends.

I've invested some time and numerous brain cells to make the process streamlined this time around, so please help.

ps. weekend/monday new screenshots time

[HLD_Prophecy]

All righty.  You helped me with my mod (answering my numerous questions in Open Modding), I'll help with yours.

Sign me up. 

[0rph3u5]

All Right.  You helped me with my mod (answering my numerous questions in Open Modding), I'll help with yours.

PMs send and reply received.


So Missions 9 and 12 are done - so some screenshots to celebrate; Theme: Looking at a Sobek*
(* if it were not for Deimos, the Sobek would be the most common capital ship class in this campaign)



and because I was bored and didn't want to stare at SEXPs all day today: The NTF are getting Squadlogos!
Image no longer avalible - Sorry - 0rph3u5
pictured a Medusa from 6th Polaris Volunteers

Little heraldy-geekery for the 6th and 10th Polaris Volunteers:
The 6th Polaris Volunteers:
- A quartered shield, with a four pointed star in the centre
- top right: the roman numeral 6, black on yellow
- top left: silhouette of a GTF Ulysses, black on crimson
- bottom right: the NTF-logo, black on crimson
- bottom left: The squadron's motto "Playing outlawed tunes on outlawed pipes", black on yellow

The 10th Polaris Volunteers:
- A quartered shield, with a four pointed star in the centre
- top right: the roman numeral 10, black on green
- top left: silhouette of a GTF Hercules, black on white
- bottom right: the NTF-logo, black on white
- bottom left: The squadron's motto "Aim small, miss small", black on green

The logos for the Volunteers are deliberately bad, hence things like "black on crimson" or "black on green". Meaning they were made up on the fly to give the "volunteers" a symbol of pride for their brief time in the squadron.
The logos for the (self-proclaimed) "71st Liberators" and another unit will come later, but I already have designs for those in mind and I hope they will look better than the deliberately simple logos for the Volunteers.

[HLD_Prophecy]

Nice logos!

Well I mean they're kind of aesthetically wierd, like you said, but nice work anyway!

[woutersmits]

i have the old version stilll on my pc
if you need it
tell me

[0rph3u5]

i have the old version stilll on my pc
if you need it
tell me

No need. I have the old files (both the dump and a version from before I split off the dump) on a backup-drive. Most of the old missions are also preserved in the new version, however they will have iterated forward (e.g. no more red-altert missions*).

* I changed the missions in questions so the transfer of ships and weapons is handled differently this time around. While that way the players use the option to "skip back" a mission to fix load-outs, I am working to make sure that you can't back yourself in a corner.

[0rph3u5]

Because there are left-overs from the Contest Screenshots:





That Zeus needs a new Texture...

[0rph3u5]

Mission 14 is finished:


Yay for tying up loose ends! - Two more missions need to be finished, so on track all around 

[0rph3u5]

Still on track, and now that my break has begun I am now going to for finish and to work the Beta Tester feedback in... Originally I aimed at the 23rd for release but now I confindent to give you a release date of December 28th.

EDIT: 23/12 - and I jinxed it. My main development PC is down, thanks to some old-school DOS skills progress has been saved however. Release is still on track but my secondary device will now have to work overtime... FREDing full-time on a (windows 10) tablet, that is really new ground.

[0rph3u5]

The 28th came and went and "nothing" happened.

Actually a lot has happened behind the scenes but none of it is good for the progress of this mod. On the 23rd my PC went under, and without Microsoft Support I am not able to troubleshoot the problem. The problem ammounts to user error, with a high probability of device wear.
I was able to pull out most of my files, and only a few remain on the PC.

Some things are however holding the release back now:

1. I was able to transfer development to my tablet, however it is not suited for all operations I would like to perform - esspecially asset fixes are impractical with a device which isn't designed for the same workload and -time. While the most of work on assets is cosmetically, a few of them are critical to development: new docking points to the Orion, the Aelous and the Argo.

2. Among the files I have yet to recover are some of the older E-Mail correspondence I had with a friend on the plot and story during the original development. Some of that is very valuable imput because there had been a good number of tropy pitfalls I want to fix with the rewrites - or avoid doing them again. This is very important because some of the new fiction does include elements I purposefully left out.

3. The missions left unfinished can't be alpha tested on tablet obviously ...

So, I have dismissed my good beta testers, PVD_Hope and Betrayal. Please give them the equivalent of a round of applause.

I will see if I can resume work as soon as possible but I cannot offer a time table at his point. (I won't be sitting on my hands either, Music is still a big issue with campaign I will tackle in the mean time)

Have a good new year and all the best wishes.
- 0rph3u5

[0rph3u5]

Not dead!

As proof of life here is some fiction that may or may not make it the final cut:

File: ANSR/f_T-a/t006/c003/v026-Cassiopeia_GTCv.saf – add_071

CLASSIFIED – LEVEL TAU – EYES ONLY

<Begin Addendum>
Addendum Number 71
RE: Addendum Number 70

This Addendum is to correct the official record upon de-classification.

Addendum Number 70 changed the status of the GTCv Cassiopeia from “Active” to “Missing in Action, Presumed Destroyed”. The GTVI is possession of evidence that the GTCv Cassiopeia was lost with all hands to hostile actions by a hostile warship.

The last assignment of the Cassiopeia [REDACTED] necessitated a Minimal Contact Protocol. For this reason only two mission reports from the ship exist [REDACTED]. Both records contain the conjecture by the Commanding Officer of the Cassiopeia that the target craft was pursued by another vessel [REDACTED] which could not be identified due to local conditions.

When the Cassiopeia failed to transmit a third mission report Allied Command dispatched a Reconnaissance Fighter Detachment to investigate the Cassiopeia’s last know course. The allied Fighters recorded a drifting debris field near the projected course. [REDACTED]

GTVI’s CRI unit evaluated the available data. A summary of their report follows, [REDACTED]:

[REDACTED] spectral analysis of the debris confirmed its origin to be GTVA. Analysis of the visual evidence suggest an internal explosion, consistent with a fusion reactor containment failure.
[REDACTED]
<End Addendum>


... to access the un-redacted version of the file requires you to have Omega-level clearance in the GTVA (which is the same level of clearance as the specs of SJ Sathanas, I believe)

[HLD_Prophecy]

Not dead!

As proof of life here is some fiction that may or may not make it the final cut:

File: ANSR/f_T-a/t006/c003/v026-Cassiopeia_GTCv.saf – add_071

CLASSIFIED – LEVEL TAU – EYES ONLY

<Begin Addendum>
Addendum Number 71
RE: Addendum Number 70

This Addendum is to correct the official record upon de-classification.

Addendum Number 70 changed the status of the GTCv Cassiopeia from “Active” to “Missing in Action, Presumed Destroyed”. The GTVI is possession of evidence that the GTCv Cassiopeia was lost with all hands to hostile actions by a hostile warship.

The last assignment of the Cassiopeia [REDACTED] necessitated a Minimal Contact Protocol. For this reason only two mission reports from the ship exist [REDACTED]. Both records contain the conjecture by the Commanding Officer of the Cassiopeia that the target craft was pursued by another vessel [REDACTED] which could not be identified due to local conditions.

When the Cassiopeia failed to transmit a third mission report Allied Command dispatched a Reconnaissance Fighter Detachment to investigate the Cassiopeia’s last know course. The allied Fighters recorded a drifting debris field near the projected course. [REDACTED]

GTVI’s CRI unit evaluated the available data. A summary of their report follows, [REDACTED]:

[REDACTED] spectral analysis of the debris confirmed its origin to be GTVA. Analysis of the visual evidence suggest an internal explosion, consistent with a fusion reactor containment failure.
[REDACTED]
<End Addendum>


... to access the un-redacted version of the file requires you to have Omega-level clearance in the GTVA (which is the same level of clearance as the specs of SJ Sathanas, I believe)

Cool, nice fiction writing! Having seen your storyline from the inside, I think you've really got a good plot going, and I hope you're able to pull through and make this happen.   

[0rph3u5]

The story is fine as is. The plot however needs a bit of work, which is currently what is going on behind the scenes.


As a treat for the month of April I will be taking any questions from the community about the campaign in this topic. I will not spoil the story but post in this topic anyway.
(To previous Beta Testers, please don't give anything away)

The answers will arrive at the end of month.