TC for Nova

The basic premise is that there is about five-ish systems in one cluster. There the player will complete the storyline*. When he/she does, they are whisked away to another cluster of five-ish systems, where there is another storyline. This will be repeated three times, for a total of five clusters. In general it's very small. Three governments in each cluster, one carrier, one cruiser, two fighters for each government, short TC strings, and the end. Very small because I'll need resources for some special effects (if I can make them happen). Char resources will enable player to start out in any cluster, but will still have to go through all of them. Why? All strings, even though all are in an apocalyptic scenario, each is a different perspective. Maybe you're a pirate, maybe a civilian, a politician, a member of one of the governments. Anybody. All offering different outlooks on the story.

*Storyline is based in an apocalyptic scenario. Yes, all of them. Failure to complete final mission in time will be devastating. All of the planets go dead after a few days from accepting the final mission. However, once the last mission is completed, all previously destroyed planets will come back to life.

Cluster 1:
Factions: TanX, Independent, The New Order.
Ships (so far modeled): Kenworth (TanX), Glass Cruiser (TanX), Prong Fighter (TanX), Field Artillery Gunboat (TNO), Irradon Fighter (TNO).
Weapon Graphics: None so far.
String: First mission done, working out technical difficulties in the second.
Planet graphics: I'll borrow some from Nova or see if I can use the ones from Neoplanets. I like those a lot better.

I'll now post the different ships and descriptions I've modeled.

This post has been edited by Spartan Jai : 22 February 2011 - 12:58 AM

Highsmith Shipyards Irradon Class Interceptor
This one man fighter is one of the first ships put into the field by Highsmith Development. The Irradon is equipped with four small J-31 Jump drives providing massive amounts of speed. Unfortunately, it can't turn very well, so the Irradon never got off of the ground sales-wise. It is still sold by scrap shops and private shipyards. While Highsmith attempts to fix this problem, The New Order's ships will be lacking in decent fighter-craft. On the plus side, it is equipped with four Gatling guns, which give it a high rate of fire and ability to inflict massive damage on even capital ships.

TanX Shipyards GRC-6 Prototype Glass Cruiser
All but replacing the M083 Heavy Cruiser in its duties, the Glass Reconnaissance Cruiser can perform all jobs, from acting as a strike cruiser to planetary defense, the Glass Cruiser is a win-win for everyone. Except your enemy. The 'glass' function of the cruiser obviously isn't glass, it is made of a transparent titanium ion-bonded carbon fiber. The fact that it is ion bonded prevents the cruiser from having shields, unless you pay to have some pretty major modifications. On the plus side, it has about twice the armor of standard capital ships. While having no visible weapons, the cruiser is outfitted with Pulse Lasers and Particle Beams. A large torpedo tube mounted under the cargo compartment provides for longer range firepower. With the launcher being positioned under the cargo bay, the ship sacrifices fifty tons of cargo in order to have an almost instantaneous reload time for the tube. Unfortunately, it becomes meshed and embedded into your ship, and cannot be sold.

TanX Shipyards Kenworth Class M083 Heavy Cruiser
One of the more powerful ships built by the TanX government, this Heavy Cruiser was built to provide the firepower of a carrier and the maneuverability of a frigate. Boasting four AC-99R Rapid Assault Cannons, a variety of missiles and torpedos, and two TanX Prong Fighter bays, the M083 can take on most fleets on its own, and much else short of itself. This ship was the main battle platforms after the war, but is slowly being replaced by Glass Cruisers, which are stronger and faster, if only slightly.

Highsmith Shipyards RX-12 Field Artillery Gunboat
The RX-12 Field Artillery Gunboat is meant to hang back and fire like a sniper into the field of combat. This one man craft is basically one huge artillery piece. Multiple thrusters on the wings allow for quick turning and precision shooting. If ships get to close, it usually uses the mine layer on the bottom and flees. Sort of slow, it isn't much faster than the IDA Frigate from Nova. Built mainly for planetary defense, it has become a common sight in independent space.

TanX P-57 Prong Fighter
The most versatile fighter developed, the P-57 is the fastest and best equipped fighter made. Its small forward profile and aerodynamic structure give it the ability to reach maximum speeds of 800kph. Armed with two light repeating chainguns and two heavy cannons, the Prong Fighter can take on any other fighter in known space. A squadron of these could take out a cruiser on its own. Unfortunately, it was equipped with a very small engine, and for that can only make one jump before it has to refuel.

When I first read the title, I read it as "Final Chance for Total Conversion" as unless we did something you wouldn't make a TC.
The premise sounds interesting and having things condensed should make development simpler. Telling the story from multiple angles sounds particularly interesting. Will it be from the perspective of one of each three govts or from the perspective one three different individuals in a particular government?

@joshtigerheart, on 20 February 2011 - 01:59 PM, said in Regenesis (Formerly Final Chance):

When I first read the title, I read it as "Final Chance for Total Conversion" as unless we did something you wouldn't make a TC.
The premise sounds interesting and having things condensed should make development simpler. Telling the story from multiple angles sounds particularly interesting. Will it be from the perspective of one of each three govts or from the perspective one three different individuals in a particular government?

I have to laugh at the first part. Maybe I should rename? And by multiple perspectives, I meant by different people who play a different role in society, not necessarily different governments. I only called it Final Chance because it's based in apocalyptic times. Which makes me think, should each cluster be more advanced than the one before it? As if you skip ahead in time, and things are completely different? Easily done be using the function in the misn resource. Thoughts please...

Here's how I'm going to proceed in development for cluster 1:
1.) Char resources
2.) Syst resources
3.) Spob resources
4.) Govt resources
5.) Ships and shans
6.) Weapons graphics
7.) Snd resources
8.) Normal missions
9.) Booms
10.) Dudes and Pers resources
11.) Extra stuff, roids, junks, flets, nebus, etc.

Which reminds me. Because of the compartmentalized design of the TC, it will be released in chapters, each chapter being a new cluster. So, when I'm done with the first cluster, it will be released. Then the second. Kind of like what Charles Dickens did with his books, selling them by chapters (or segments, stories, etc).

@joshtigerheart, on 20 February 2011 - 01:59 PM, said in Regenesis (Formerly Final Chance):

When I first read the title, I read it as "Final Chance for Total Conversion" as unless we did something you wouldn't make a TC.

Give me a better engine, or the düde gets it!

I like the idea of a serialised plug-in very much. Telltale and a few others have been doing this with games successfully for a few years, so I’m interested in seeing how you apply it to Escape Velocity. (Though, of course, I don’t think you should expect to make the same sort of fortune as Dickens did. ) Another benefit is that it should help protect against spending all your time building a universe and then burning out before you get to the actual story and gameplay. that would make it all worth while.

@david-arthur, on 20 February 2011 - 08:50 PM, said in Regenesis (Formerly Final Chance):

Give me a better engine, or the düde gets it!

That is awesome! Love it! That's a keeper.

@david-arthur, on 20 February 2011 - 08:50 PM, said in Regenesis (Formerly Final Chance):

I like the idea of a serialised plug-in very much. Telltale and a few others have been doing this with games successfully for a few years, so I’m interested in seeing how you apply it to Escape Velocity. (Though, of course, I don’t think you should expect to make the same sort of fortune as Dickens did. ) Another benefit is that it should help protect against spending all your time building a universe and then burning out before you get to the actual story and gameplay. that would make it all worth while.

Oh, I definitely don't expect to make money at all.

Also, I wanted to post this model. It'll be the other The New Order ship, this is the cruiser. I've modeled the carrier, I just haven't posted it quite yet. I'm just posting this one to get feedback on the design and flaws. It's supposed to be stealthy, so ignore the bright blue line down the middle.

This post has been edited by Spartan Jai : 20 February 2011 - 09:19 PM

Purty cruiser. I don't mind a stealth ship having a blue stripe, either. If you go into my gallery and browse the SD Merc ships, you'll see the Slipcruiser also has spots that aren't dark, but it too is a stealth ship.

@spartan-jai, on 20 February 2011 - 08:19 AM, said in Regenesis (Formerly Final Chance):

*Storyline is based in an apocalyptic scenario. Yes, all of them. Failure to complete final mission in time will be devastating. All of the planets go dead after a few days from accepting the final mission. However, once the last mission is completed, all previously destroyed planets will come back to life.

I think with most TCs you can get killed and start over but there isn't a "complete the story in time or else". You might want to reconsider that Title. If the plan goes bad does it become the Final Final Chance? What about Strict Mode? Does it become The Final (no really!) Chance...

I also like the idea of the Story line that jumps from one area to the next. If there was a way to complete each one at random your game would have a longer play time because the player would start out in a different place and complete a different zone, if you will, each time.

@vast-deathmaster, on 21 February 2011 - 02:31 AM, said in Regenesis (Formerly Final Chance):

I think with most TCs you can get killed and start over but there isn't a "complete the story in time or else". You might want to reconsider that Title. If the plan goes bad does it become the Final Final Chance? What about Strict Mode? Does it become The Final (no really!) Chance...

I also like the idea of the Story line that jumps from one area to the next. If there was a way to complete each one at random your game would have a longer play time because the player would start out in a different place and complete a different zone, if you will, each time.

Yeah. Needs a new name. I'm going to (attempt) to use the char resources to cause the player to start in a different cluster each time.

Two things. I need some help finding a new name. Also, where can I find landing/planet graphics or a program to make said graphics.

Highsmith Shipyards Arimin Class Carrier
The only ship that causes others to flee on sight. The Arimin Class Carrier is a slow, well protected, well armed, and well made ship. The watchdog of The New Order, it is a primarily defensive ship. With high shielding and strong armor, the Arimin has been known to plow through defenses and blockades with ease. Mounting two EMPT tubes, four Gatling turrets, two Irradon Fighter bays, and a vast array of point defense weapons, it is better armed than any of its TanX enemies.

TanX SMN-B Fighter-Bomber
Definitely a performance fighter. The TanX SMN-B Fighter-Bomber is one of the more advanced fighters when it comes to engines. It has excellent turn, speed, and acceleration. Even with all these major advantages, the TanX shipyards managed to squeeze in two heavy cannons and four fuel cells. While this removes the possibility for an excellent shield generator, the SMN-B still mounts enough shields and armor to be quite effective. At a reasonable price, too.

Having to think of this stuff is making my head hurt.

@spartan-jai, on 21 February 2011 - 09:11 PM, said in Regenesis (Formerly Final Chance):

Having to think of this stuff is making my head hurt.

If you need help with descriptions, there are a lot of people who could lend a hand, myself included (not to toot my own horn, I've just really got nothing to do :p).

This post has been edited by king_of_manticores : 21 February 2011 - 09:20 PM

New name, eh? How about 'The Omega Factor'. Kinda corny sounding, and I think something else may have had a similar name, but it fits the apocalyptic scenario. Omega is the last letter in the Greek alphabet, and is also used to mean 'end'. In this case, end of the world.

@king_of_manticores, on 21 February 2011 - 09:19 PM, said in Regenesis (Formerly Final Chance):

If you need help with descriptions, there are a lot of people who could lend a hand, myself included (not to toot my own horn, I've just really got nothing to do :p).

If you want to help, I have no problem. I basically am going to do the Stealth Cruiser description myself, but if you want to help with the civvy ships, the planet descriptions, or even the string, I would much appreciate it.

@darthkev, on 21 February 2011 - 09:29 PM, said in Regenesis (Formerly Final Chance):

New name, eh? How about 'The Omega Factor'. Kinda corny sounding, and I think something else may have had a similar name, but it fits the apocalyptic scenario. Omega is the last letter in the Greek alphabet, and is also used to mean 'end'. In this case, end of the world.

Well, here was the actual premise. You start in cluster A, everything goes kablam, and when you 'skip ahead' in time, going to the next cluster, it's more like the same places, just society has evolved quite a bit, rebuilt from when it was destroyed, and made better. Kind of like after the dinosaurs went extinct, the world 'ended' and then began again, and look how it is today. Better than before. Not that I believe in 2012, but if it happens, life might spring back up and become better than the modern world. That's the basis of this TC. How about Regenesis? Title of a band song I played some time ago. Kinda cool, and fits.

Military faction ships done, and I just have civvy ones left.

Highsmith Shipyards Stealth Cruiser
As the main offensive weapon in The New Order's arsenal, the Stealth Cruiser throughout time has undergone hundreds of prototype testing, some with adverse results. This fully stable version is equipped with a fully functional cloaking device, powered by the solar stripe on the dorsal surface of the ship. (thought it was pointless, didn't you). Also, it is equipped with two chainguns and a prototype laser* that slices through armor with surprising ease. The cruiser is also equipped with a D.O.R.T.H.I.E. (Dormant Optical Reading Tested High Impact Explosive) Minelaying system. Still going through development, better versions are expected within the coming years.

For all of you who saw the MedDhingy I put together (and Meaker modeled), the thin red beam in those screenshots* is the laser of this ship.
**To find said screenshots, look under the Delphi Ship Creations thread, on page (I believe) 7. Could be on 8 or 9.

This post has been edited by Spartan Jai : 21 February 2011 - 10:09 PM

Having Technical Difficulties. Take a look. Make a shan in MC.

The Shrike fighter that I posted, the shan and mask, will not be appearing in Cluster 1 as an independent ship. However, I do have a fighter done.

Unim Shipyards Light Attack Fighter (LAF)
Not much to say. This is the weakest ship you will come across. The players starting ship, it is equipped with a poor shield generator, thin armor plating, and two light chainguns. The only benefit of the LAF is the ship's speed. Light, maneuverable, but with mediocre acceleration, this generation fighter is an adaption of the first fightercraft design every successful.

King of Manticores, if you want to throw something better than that together, feel free, cause that's pretty weak.

Because of resource (not file/data resources, materials), Unim Shipyards has not been able to develop a viable cruiser, so they will only produce a carrier and two fighters (for a while).

Spoiler

Unim will develop a cruiser, and it'll be pretty powerful, but that won't be for a while.

Unim Shipyards Charybdis Carrier
Named after the fictional maelstrom Charybdis, the Unim Shipyards Carrier boasts a powerful array of weapons. The main part of the name comes from the rear structure of the Charybdis. Integrated into the back is a gravity beam projector, strong enough to keep ships from jumping to hyperspace. Two Spearhead Missile Launchers adorn the bridge, complimenting the six turrets placed around the Carrier. Unfortunately, Unim has not been able to develop the complex software to build point defense weapons, so the Carrier has to rely on its immense shield generators and four meter thick armor plating for protection.