the TC formerly known as HOTS

Okay, so here it is, the official HOTS Legacy TC Status Thread!

A few of you have asked what HOTS Legacy TC is, a few others have simply let it sit in the back of their minds, but most of you don't even know it exists, so we'll start there. HOTS Legacy is a TC for EVN that I have been working on for around 4 years. It started out as a concept for a TC for Ares around 6 years ago. I didn't like the way it worked on Ares, though, so I modified it to work with EVN. It features a brand new universe to explore, over 200 ships to fly and fight against, over 150 types of weapons, and over 20 governments to interact with.

So, what is Legacy TC about? It tells the story of the player and his/her crew as they work to combat piracy. The story starts off with the player's father being killed in combat between his ship and pirates. The player is then put in command of the ship and ventures off to avenge their father.

From that point I have only a rough outline for the story, but I can tell you this: it's the only storyline in the scenario. As my first TC, I didn't want to complicate things by writing more than one story, so the player will have one main story to go along with. However, I will set it up so some things can be done in different order so that each play-through can be slightly different than the last.

I'll be back with more details, but for now I'll leave you with the current team:
• DarthKev/Kronos
• JimmyHands
• EVWeb
• Hireshmont

A few of you know this already, a few more may have suspected it, but let me confirm it now: DarthKev and Kronos are, in fact, one and the same. It was intended to be a major plot twist in HOTS Legacy, but recent events have forced me to reveal this fact early. DarthKev and Kronos will remain as separate characters in HOTS Legacy, but at least you now know they aren't separate individuals in Real Life. JimmyHands is our editor (though currently AWOL). Yo Jimmy! You out there?

Edit: EVWeb has since joined the team as a graphics artist, texturing the ships of HOTS Legacy.
/edit
Addendum: EVWeb is no longer doing graphics, but is still on the team as an advisor.
/addendum

In other news, I have written two short stories about HOTS Legacy. You can read them using the links below:
• The Fall of a Warlord
• Warlords Never Die

Edit: Here's a link to a gallery of all ships in HOTS Legacy that I make.
Legacy TC Gallery

Edit: Due to inadvertent popular demand, I've changed the name to Legacy TC.

Edit: Map of Milky Way

Next update: a timeline of Human History leading up to the present day in HOTS Legacy TC.

This post has been edited by DarthKev : 20 January 2012 - 10:32 PM

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 14 2010, 07:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A few of you know this already, a few more may have suspected it, but let me confirm it now: DarthKev and Kronos are, in fact, one and the same. It was intended to be a major plot twist in HOTS, but recent events have forced me to reveal this fact early. DarthKev and Kronos will remain as separate characters in HOTS, but at least you now know they aren't separate individuals in Real Life.

Damn, fooled me. You son of a gun.

Good luck, dk.

I said I'd give you timeline, and here it is. It's kinda long, so it's attached rather than copy/pasted in. Tell me what you think!
HOTS_Human_Timeline.txt (3.43K)
Number of downloads: 28

Also, I may write more short stories in the HOTS universe. If/when I do, I'll notify you here via post and edit the first post to include the new story. Also, if you read them, please comment on them. Yeah, they were posted a while back, but I really want to know what you guys have to say!

Next update: an overview of civilian ships.

This post has been edited by darthkev : 15 May 2010 - 02:30 PM

QUOTE

US builds first off-world colony on Luna, locks Luna directly above US

Whoa. Even for the year, that does seem as if it needs some technobabble added. Locking the Moon into geostationary orbit and not being banged up upon by everyone else, what with the global catastrophic effects?

QUOTE

Zefram Cochrane invents Fluxdrive. He and his crew of the S.S. Enterprise are first people to travel to another star system.

Er, the naming seems... familiar?

QUOTE

Human space becomes known as the Earth Empire with the Star Navy at its command.

I will admit, I was first confused into thinking the Star Navy was in command of the Empire, rather than the Empire having the Navy at its disposal. Incidentally, empire as French (Colonial) Empire or as Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation?

QUOTE

562 AF:
First Galactic Drought.

1087 AF:
Second Galactic Drought.

1856 AF:
Age of peace ends with economic unrest throughout Earth Empire. Piracy begins to grow.

So we got 'galactic droughts' (?) somehow not triggering economic unrest?

QUOTE

The Orion Government forms with the secession of the Orion, Fire, Dragon, Ares, and Sunder systems. At the same time, the Sapphire Dragons Mercenary Group is formed as the Orion Government's military arm.

How odd. A government forming a corporation, separate from the government, as its military arm?

QUOTE

SD Mercs gain trust of the Obish Conglomerate as well as exclusive trade of weapons technology through defending an Obish fleet carrying the governing body of the Obish Conglomerate from pirates. Earth Empire furious at this, breaks all trade ties with the Orion Government. Exact circumstances of how SD Mercs gained Obish trust never released to public for reasons unknown.

Er, breaking trade ties with the secessionists? It seems... odd, somehow, that that incident would push the Empire into breaking ties if the Orions declaring themselves independent did not. Breaking trade ties with the Oblish, however...

QUOTE

3256 AF:
Year the player inherits their first starship from the player's father. Rest of history depends on player's actions.

Hm, given how unstable the situation was, with piracy running rampant, ties between long-standing trade partners severed, etc, it seems somewhat odd that nothing worthy of note then happens for eight hundred years...

Sorry if this seems harsh; the story does seem interesting, the above were just a few details that seemed a tad bit odd.

QUOTE (LordInsane @ May 16 2010, 02:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Whoa. Even for the year, that does seem as if it needs some technobabble added. Locking the Moon into geostationary orbit and not being banged up upon by everyone else, what with the global catastrophic effects?

Yeah, it's a basic outline of history. The technobabble will be added later.

QUOTE

Er, the naming seems... familiar?

Oh right! I forgot to mention in my first post that this TC takes inspiration from Star Trek, Star Wars, Ares, and a few other sci-fi games and shows that slip my mind at the moment.

QUOTE

I will admit, I was first confused into thinking the Star Navy was in command of the Empire, rather than the Empire having the Navy at its disposal. Incidentally, empire as French (Colonial) Empire or as Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation?

Hmm, good point. I'll have to fix that for clarity. Though I'm not sure what you mean by the rest of that question...

QUOTE

So we got 'galactic droughts' (?) somehow not triggering economic unrest?

Terrorist attacks. They destroyed convoys carrying water to colonies on worlds with little of it. Both times the people responsible were stopped quickly, but the damage was still done. Through rationing, however, the economy was kept stable.

In hindsight, though, I really should have made that more clear...

QUOTE

How odd. A government forming a corporation, separate from the government, as its military arm?

Of those five systems, only two had planets in them, the other three had small station-based colonies that mined the surrounding asteroid fields. They had no way to build their own navy, so they recruited mercenaries to defend them and soon grew into an 'official' corporation. It's actually more like a loosely organized group, though.

QUOTE

Er, breaking trade ties with the secessionists? It seems... odd, somehow, that that incident would push the Empire into breaking ties if the Orions declaring themselves independent did not. Breaking trade ties with the Oblish, however...

When the Orion Government seceded, they Earth Empire (surprisingly) admitted they had every right to do so. They didn't like it, but they didn't stop them, mostly because they weren't a threat. However, when they gained access to Obish technology and began building powerful new ships to defend their worlds with, the Earth Empire saw them as dangerous and broke off ties with them. They continue to trade with the Obiards, however, because the Obish Conglomerate is made of an entirely peaceful race.

QUOTE

Hm, given how unstable the situation was, with piracy running rampant, ties between long-standing trade partners severed, etc, it seems somewhat odd that nothing worthy of note then happens for eight hundred years...

This is simply because of a standoff that's lasted throughout that time period. There were still battles, deaths, victories, and defeats, but none were major. It's developed into almost a war against pirates, though, with both sides developing more and more powerful ships and weaponry.

QUOTE

Sorry if this seems harsh; the story does seem interesting, the above were just a few details that seemed a tad bit odd.

It's no problem, really. I appreciate you pointing out these inconsistencies so that I can correct them. If you find more, please, let me know.

I'll post later today on civilian ships once I've gotten some stuff together.

This post has been edited by darthkev : 16 May 2010 - 05:06 PM

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 16 2010, 11:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh right! I forgot to mention in my first post that this TC takes inspiration from Star Trek, Star Wars, Ares, and a few other sci-fi games and shows that slip my mind at the moment.

Well, inspiration is well and good, but there is a point when it might be seen as too obvious , so to speak. That is, it might work a bit better if the names are not the same as in the inspirating sources.

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 16 2010, 11:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmm, good point. I'll have to fix that for clarity. Though I'm not sure what you mean by the rest of that question...

Empire as in 'multiple colonies' (like France did before the '60s) or Empire as 'has an Emperor'.

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 16 2010, 11:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Of those five systems, only two had planets in them, the other three had small station-based colonies that mined the surrounding asteroid fields. They had no way to build their own navy, so they recruited mercenaries to defend them and soon grew into an 'official' corporation. It's actually more like a loosely organized group, though.

Ah. Seemed a bit off- the monopoly of violence is one of the cornerstones of the concept of sovereignty today (has been since 1648, more or less), after all, but we are talking quite a bit into the future here, and after several millenia of there being only one human sovereignty.

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 16 2010, 11:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is simply because of a standoff that's lasted throughout that time period. There were still battles, deaths, victories, and defeats, but none were major. It's developed into almost a war against pirates, though, with both sides developing more and more powerful ships and weaponry.

Well, I guess the larger scale of polities could also result in larger scales when it comes to time...

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 16 2010, 11:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'll post later today on civilian ships once I've gotten some stuff together.

Looking forward to it!

QUOTE (LordInsane @ May 16 2010, 03:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, inspiration is well and good, but there is a point when it might be seen as too obvious , so to speak. That is, it might work a bit better if the names are not the same as in the inspirating sources.

Yeah, but I also suck at coming up with names for characters and ships, so yeah... I probably should try to come up with something else, though, in this case.

QUOTE

Empire as in 'multiple colonies' (like France did before the '60s) or Empire as 'has an Emperor'.

Then it would be as in French, there is an Earth Council that governs the Earth Empire.

Okay, time for an overview of civilian ships. No graphics yet since I don't want to reveal everything at once. We'll start with a list of ship design corporations.

• Sol Shipyards: The largest existing ship design corporation, Sol Shipyards has a virtual monopoly on many ship classes. They are far from the only designers in the galaxy, but they are the only ones inside the Empire.
• Rendelli Stardrives: Rendelli Stardrives is currently the oldest existing design firm, first founded in the early 2230s AD as Rendelli Engineering. Back then they built commercial hovercars. These days they build fighters and corvettes including the ubiquitous Wasp. Based on a designer from EVC.
• Newton Electronics: While they manufacture much more than just ships, Newton Electronics does produce a small line of commercial and private vessels.
• Askan Shipyards: Specializes in quality fighter craft but offers a few capital and freight designs. Uses Rebel designs from Star Wars.
• Eros Mining: The mining division of Askan Shipyards and the main reason Swordsman Shipyards has such high productivity. They manufacture a large line of shipboard fighters, a starfighter, and a mining ship. Uses Imperial designs from Star Wars
• Estee Luxury: Luxury ship designer, specializing in freight and light warships. Uses Starfleet designs from Star Trek.
• Atinoda Design Bureau: Arguably the most well-known designers in the galaxy, they are none other than the creators of the original Kestrel Class Escort Frigate which can be found in the hands of several factions. Recently they have redesigned the Kestrel and released a line of standalone fighters. Based on a designer from EVC.
• CDX Starworx: An old design firm, though not nearly as old as Rendelli. They used to build freight vessels for USEC* but now only produce commercial models since being purchased by Maskirovka Shipyards Corporation. Based on a designer from EVC.
• Maskirovka Shipwrights Corporation: More commonly known as MSC, it was founded by Moso Maskirovka, an Onli male. They produce combat ships for the Merchant Marines** and anyone else with the credits and credentials. Based on a designer from EVC.

This list does not contain every ship producer, just the ones that manufacture civilian models. That said, a few of these also produce military-grade vessels made available only to individuals in their employ or of highest trust. Now I think I'll leave you wondering for a bit.

*USEC stands for United Shipping Express Cooperative. In its heyday it was a rich courier company, though these days is little more than a group of merchants struggling to make a living in a turbulent galaxy. Their sole competitor, Consolidated Express (from EVC) works with pirates to make sure USEC Convoys are looted while ConEx Convoys are safe.

**The Merchant Marines are a group of civilians who have grown tired of the ongoing war against piracy and have decided to take up arms themselves. They provide cheap escort duty to merchants when requested and are around to help you much more often than the Star Navy or Star Corps are. While technically vigilantes, they are allowed to operate freely since the Earth Empire needs all the help it can get.

Next update: civilian models produced by Sol Shipyards.

This post has been edited by DarthKev : 17 June 2010 - 06:25 PM

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 17 2010, 07:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, but I also suck at coming up with names for characters and ships, so yeah... I probably should try to come up with something else, though, in this case.

I recommened Emre Redbrook as the inventor (the ship isn't a problem; if nothing else, if the inspiration is still present in popular, or at least nerd, culture I wouldn't be surprised if the first FTL ship could end up with a name like that because of the inspiration in question. And it is a common ship name, too).

QUOTE (LordInsane @ May 17 2010, 02:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I recommened Emre Redbrook as the inventor (the ship isn't a problem; if nothing else, if the inspiration is still present in popular, or at least nerd, culture I wouldn't be surprised if the first FTL ship could end up with a name like that because of the inspiration in question. And it is a common ship name, too).

I have to ask, is there any significance to the name Emre Redbrook?

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 17 2010, 10:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have to ask, is there any significance to the name Emre Redbrook?

Sort-off. Redbrook, certainly so (it, er, is an example of the translate-the-meaning-then-translate-into-other-language method of getting names). Emre... is the third most common name in Turkey; if it hadn't been because Zefram isn't actually a name, there'd have been something else there.

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 17 2010, 02:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, but I also suck at coming up with names for characters and ships, so yeah... I probably should try to come up with something else, though, in this case.

I could help out with that, too. I found that in most cases in EVN:UGF, I could simply use "Ganba Command Cruiser" or some such instead of making up a name. The real trick is the civilian craft. The Chevron is named for its shape (seen from above, it's shaped like a chevron), the Shogun was inspired by Polycon 's Osiris -class cruiser and named for the TTP Shogun , the Carrack light freighter is named for a type of 15th century Portuguese sailing ship, and the Dynacross, well ... I just made that up from scratch.

For alien names (particularly for major races), I find it helps to develop a rudimentary lexicon or naming convention. Every Ganba system except Gan itself is composed of two syllables. Try speaking random strings of syllables aloud. Transliterations of the Axe-tail language, Axorian (further subdivided into the "Common" and "High" dialects), make frequent use of apostrophes to indicate arbitrary syllabic breaks, and "kh" for a breathy "k" sound.

For flagships, virtues (UGNS Allegiance , GIS Verlodra (meaning "invincible")), heroes (HES Ra'kor , GIS Empress Avari ), and, for "evil" governments, threats (BPS Dragon Claw , BPS Moonsplitter , and pirate ships Screamer , Bloodworm , and 666 ) work well.

For civilian PERS ships, pick a planet for the owner to be from (you don't have to do extra work for that like a hail string or whatever, but I did put "Tau Ceti Registry" or whatever in the PERS's subtitle field). You can then pick a name like SS Laird (New Scotland), SS Atari (New Japan), or SS Musa (New Mali).

Read other sci-fi universes: If you look at my sig, you'll see that my own alias StarSword is short for UGNS StarSword , a command ship that shows up in EVN:UGF as flagship of the UGN Fourth Battle Group. The name is borrowed from The Andalite Chronicles by K.A. Applegate.

Finally, do research. Look at Wikipedia for historical ship names and classes.

QUOTE (LordInsane @ May 17 2010, 05:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I recommened Emre Redbrook as the inventor (the ship isn't a problem; if nothing else, if the inspiration is still present in popular, or at least nerd, culture I wouldn't be surprised if the first FTL ship could end up with a name like that because of the inspiration in question. And it is a common ship name, too).

LordInsane is correct on both counts: Enterprise , though most famously used (eleven times, counting the quasi-canon Enterprise-M from Star Trek: Of Gods and Men ) in Star Trek , is also a historical ship name. In the US Navy alone, there have been eight Enterprises (counting the Revolutionary War-era Continental Navy ships), most recently CVN-65, a unique nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that is still in service. There have also been a Space Shuttle Enterprise (testbed craft, 1975-1985), fifteen different Royal Navy ships named HMS Enterprise , and two different Enterprises in the Final Fantasy series.

(In case you're wondering, history, especially military history, is a hobby and a favorite subject.)

Yeah, as a teacher, I've got to caution you on the line between inspiration and plaigarism. Enterprise has fallen into public domain as a legality, but several of the other names you've chosen are directly lifted from copyrighted and trademarked stuff. I understand difficulty naming things creatively, but it doesn't make it right to simply steal other ideas and call them your own.

Alright, after some work, I've come up with the name Carly Shuto as the inventor of the Fluxdrive. Also, since the names Obain, Obish, and Obiard are all from Ares, I'm changing that to Onli and Onlish.

What about the ship designers I took from EVC? Should I change those, too, or do you guys think they can stay as long as I make it clear they are from EVC? If you think I should change them, any suggestions to get me thinking?

** Edit:** I will be changing Sienar Mining since that is still mostly taken from Star Wars. For those of you who don't know, Sienar Fleet Systems was the corporation that built all of the Empire's vessels in Star Wars. I should probably change Fleet Shipyards and Alliance Shipyards as their names, when put together with the names of the systems they reside in, make up the names of groups from their respective sci-fi series. Alliance Shipyards is in the Rebel system and Fleet Shipyards is in the Star system. No idea what to change them to, though...

** Edit 2:** Okay, Fleet Shipyards is now Estee Shipyards, located in the Eridani system. Alliance Shipyards is now Swordsman Shipyards, located in the Igloo system. Sienar Mining is now Eros Mining, located in the Roid system. My next update on civilian ships is postponed until I can resolve every plagiarism issue I have.

This post has been edited by darthkev : 18 May 2010 - 12:32 AM

Double posting to make sure everyone reading this thread sees this. I have a revised timeline, technobabble included!
HOTS_Human_Timeline.txt (4.71K)
Number of downloads: 5 (new version)

Again, though, I want opinions on whether or not I should change the names of Rendelli Stardrives, Atinoda Design Bureau, Maskirovka Shipyards Corporation, Consolidated Express, and CDX Starworx.

** Edit:** Swordsman Shipyards was too long a name, so it's been changed to Askan Shipyards. The reason being 'askan' is Arabic for soldier in the Lebanese and Sudanese dialects. Also, every one of their ships is named after a bladed instrument, something a soldier uses.

This post has been edited by darthkev : 18 May 2010 - 07:51 AM

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 18 2010, 09:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Double posting to make sure everyone reading this thread sees this. I have a revised timeline, technobabble included!
HOTS_Human_Timeline.txt (4.71K)
Number of downloads: 5 (new version)

Again, though, I want opinions on whether or not I should change the names of Rendelli Stardrives, Atinoda Design Bureau, Maskirovka Shipyards Corporation, Consolidated Express, and CDX Starworx.

My recommendation would be to alter them, though Consolidated Express is less important than the others (because it is made solely of actual words).

Okay, how are these?

• Venom Shipyards in place of Rendelli Stardrives (all but one of their ships is named after a potentially deadly insect)
• Fowl Shipyards in place of Atinoda Design Bureau (seeing as all of their ships are named after birds of prey)
• Mercenary Shipyards Corps in place of Maskirovka Shipyards Corporation (since they make ships mainly for the Merchant Marines)
• Limax Shipping in place of Consolidated Express (Limax is part of the scientific name for one type of slug, the limax maximus )
• Shotgun Shipyards in place of CDX Starworx (dunno why, it sounds cool)

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 18 2010, 04:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Okay, how are these?

• Venom Shipyards in place of Rendelli Stardrives (all but one of their ships is named after a potentially deadly insect)
• Fowl Shipyards in place of Atinoda Design Bureau (seeing as all of their ships are named after birds of prey)
• Mercenary Shipyards Corps in place of Maskirovka Shipyards Corporation (since they make ships mainly for the Merchant Marines)
• Limax Shipping in place of Consolidated Express (Limax is part of the scientific name for one type of slug, the limax maximus )
• Shotgun Shipyards in place of CDX Starworx (dunno why, it sounds cool)

Fowl... perhaps Hodges Design (for an obscure character known for his prowess and focus at training birds-of-prey in a comedic novel series)? Fowl, to me (but I'm not an anglophone, so you should perhaps take this with a salt), gives more impression of something we eat than something that hunts.
Limax... well, I am not entirely certain corporation-namers would be that blatant about how good at its job the corporation actually is. InstelT Shipping, perhaps?

How about Raptor Shipyards, if you're looking for a bird-of-prey name?

QUOTE (LordInsane @ May 18 2010, 09:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Fowl... perhaps Hodges Design (for an obscure character known for his prowess and focus at training birds-of-prey in a comedic novel series)? Fowl, to me (but I'm not an anglophone, so you should perhaps take this with a salt), gives more impression of something we eat than something that hunts.

I'm not sure what books you're talking about, and can't be sure I've found it on Google since what you did say about it is pretty vague. If I'm going to use that or anything similar, I'm going to need to know what it's from.

QUOTE

Limax... well, I am not entirely certain corporation-namers would be that blatant about how good at its job the corporation actually is. InstelT Shipping, perhaps?

It's not about how efficient they are, it's a joke about their executives' smarmy (cheap, greedy, slimy) nature.

QUOTE (krugeruwsp @ May 18 2010, 10:05 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How about Raptor Shipyards, if you're looking for a bird-of-prey name?

I considered that name, but 'raptor' is already used as the name of a ship class, one not made by Atinoda. Other birds used are condor, accipiter, milvus, aquila, bateleur, and kestrel. The Kestrel is their most well-known design, perhaps Kestrel Shipyards?

Also, I hope I don't need to change that, as well. See, I feel no EV game or TC (except EVO) is truly complete without at least one of two ships: the Kestrel and the Starbridge. Both make appearances in HOTS, though their stats are changed. Variants of the Kestrel abound, as well. Their use in HOTS, however, is more of a tribute to their origins, not unimaginative theft.

I'd say, do it how you want to do it. Don't feel like you have to do anything suggested to you; it's only a suggestion, not an order, and it may not be what you want for your TC.