Newton Electronics Armed Light Transport

As fast as it is beautiful, the Newton Corvette is the ship most yearned for by non-Newton personnel. Speed, maneuverability, combat skill, curves, this status symbol has it all. Newton takes advantage of this and limits availability to only the highest NE executives, dangling it in front of the rest of their employees like a carrot in front of a rabbit. Needless to say, Newton productivity is incredibly high.

In-game, Newton's mil-spec designs will be hard to acquire. The Messenger, courier, and bulk courier are available from the start, but the freighter, gunship, corvette, and light destroyer require special circumstances be met. I haven't set anything in stone yet, but players will probably be required to complete a side string to unlock the freighter, corvette, and gunship. Another, special mission might be required in addition to the side string to unlock the light destroyer. In short, the player must prove trustworthy enough to pass the background checks mentioned in my previous post's edit.

I didn't mention the fighter's unlock method because I've made the decision, like Delphi, that players shouldn't have access to fighters. In my case, I see it in terms of the player's character not being a pilot. They certainly can command a ship, and has the skills to pilot if necessary, but the player's character has other people to do that for them. Namely the cast of characters I've come up with for the crew. I liked the inclusion of the player's crew in Arpia and I'd like to do that in HOTS, too. However, I'm taking it a step further where each crew member the player knows by name will actually have a corresponding outfit that gives certain bonuses. This way, when certain crew members are separated from the player at certain points, there will be a noticeable effect on the player's ship's performance. If the player's helmsman is captured, for instance, their ship will be less maneuverable. If the player's communications officer is off on vacation, missile jamming will be slightly less effective. I'll introduce the cast in a later post.

And that marks the end of the NE line. Next up (and what actually should've been before NE) Dragonfly Syndicate and their ubiquitous Wasp!

If you go into the gallery, you'll see not only have I finally painted all of my ships (except the Manticore-inspired model) but I've also redesigned Kronos' Phoenix and the Star Navy's Viper and Python. I've also modeled another ship, the SD Raptor.

Dragonfly Syndicate Carpenter Class Shuttle

The Dragonfly Syndicate has been in business since before man took to the stars. Back then they were simply known as Dragonfly Engineering. They made several kinds of hovercars and other civilian transports. DFS first became known as the Dragonfly Syndicate in the mid 4100s AD when civilian space travel was just starting out. They made the first commercial starships, including the Carpenter Class Shuttle. It soon became apparent that DFS didn't have what it takes to become a major competitor in the market of space travel, though they still maintain their small percentage. The Carpenter itself is a quaint little thing, good as a starter ship when you're low on money, but should be traded in as soon as possible.

I bet you all thought I was going to start off with the Wasp, eh? DFS may be most known for the Wasp, but that doesn't mean I'm going to start with it. Anyway, think of this as the standard Sigma Shuttle from EVN, but weaker. There'll also be a fighter variant meant to be used as a defense for larger ships that can't afford proper fighter craft. It'll have an extra gun and some light rockets, but players will still need to carry a bunch to fight off any major threat.

This post has been edited by DarthKev : 09 September 2010 - 03:32 AM

Further updates are postponed while I squash a few major game-breaking bugs. After that, I need to rearm every ship I've coded so far (one of the bugs is weapon-related and requires some tweaking of standard armaments to fix). Just informing you beforehand it'll be a while before I post here again.

That Armed Light Transport reminds me a bit of the Ishiman carrier from Ares. Anyways great work, I'm looking forward to play this!

Woops, just read your older post regarding the Ishimans

This post has been edited by lastsummer : 13 September 2010 - 09:00 AM

A short break from bug-squashing to show off my first space station. In this case, a common shipyard. Don't worry about the drab/rundown paint job, the other, faction-specific stations will look much better.

Specifications! At the bottom center of the image you should see two brown radiator grills. Between those is a docking bay for smaller vessels, be they couriers delivering parts or merchants looking for a new ship. There is a second bay like it on the other side of the habitable section. The bays are large enough to accommodate anything smaller than an average size freighter. Anything too big to fit is capable of carrying its own cargo shuttles to transport crew, passengers, and cargo.

This last feature is an idea thought up not by me, but by Coraxus. He hasn't been around for a while, so some of our newer members might not know the name. Notice the extra bits of the ribcage that stick out? Those aren't docking ports. Rather, they are spare arm sections stored inside one another and can extend to increase the width of the ribcage in case the shipyard needs to build more ships at a time. Much in the way an antenna slides in and out of a car. Even in the displayed smallest size, the station can build up to 20 average-sized ships at a time. Slowly, of course, but capable.

This post has been edited by DarthKev : 24 September 2010 - 02:42 PM

Bad ass dude.

Just about done squashing bugs. With luck I'll be back to posting ships by Saturday.

Dragonfly Syndicate Beetle Class Bulk Shuttle

The Beetle Class is a major improvement over the Carpenter and is only called a shuttle due to it's crew of two. In reality, this ship is more of a courier class with a lighter weapons load. It has served merchants well over the years and some of the more heavily modified varients can keep up with light gunboats.

Stock Beetles bought from the shipyard are very weak, indeed. Just a pair of Swivel Lasers, that's all. Here and there, though, you might run into a reluctant pirate (traders down on their luck) or small-time mercenary flying one of several upgraded variants, not purchasable from the shipyard. There will be, however, a converted Beetle players can purchase and not used by the AI that switches out much of its cargo space for better engines and shields as well as a bit more free mass. Weapons are still pretty much the same, though, leaving the armaments up to the player's imagination.

Edit: Oh, and to any of you who feel the Beetle looks a little plain and low-detail, I feel the same way. I will most likely add a bit more to it before rendering the final in-game sprite. There are a few others to which I might do the same, like the Navy Kingsnake featured in the Gallery.

This post has been edited by DarthKev : 03 October 2010 - 06:46 AM

I actually don't think it's too bad. However, I don't like how the wings are A.) There, B.) So thin, C.) and green instead of gray. I think the gray would be in keeping with the green stripe going down the center of the shuttle. And also, bulk shuttle? Couldn't you just call it a freight courier? I know you talked about how its crew is small, but if you look at the EV courier, it doesn't have a large crew.

Your design recommendations are noted and I'll consider them when I get around to adding to it.

As for the classification, the average size of a crew for a courier in HOTS is 10. The Beetle only has a crew of 2. It's a big difference. Also, when I said it's more of a courier, that's in terms of engine power and cargo space. It's weapons ability is, as I said above, below that of a courier. I suppose it may have been prudent to use the word 'small' right before 'courier'.

Edit: Oh, and the EV Courier also has a crew of 10.

This post has been edited by DarthKev : 03 October 2010 - 05:36 PM

Thanks. One last dumb question (actually the same one from the Delphi thread), are the capital ships in this TC genuine superweapons? Or just souped up gunboats? cough starbridge cough

Superweapons. HOTS will have a balance of sorts, where you need a big ship to beat another big ship. If you're in a corvette and plan to take on even just a destroyer, make sure you have an escape pod. Carriers will be honking motherships capable of massive destruction. Fighters will also be somewhat powerful, but not so much they pose a threat to anything larger than a shuttle singlehanded. Think the fighters from EVC. Starfighters will be even more powerful, possibly capable of taking on Gunships (the smallest ship not capable of being put in a bay) single-handed.

To answer any more questions you have about ship classes in HOTS, I refer you to this post.

@darthkev, on Jun 4 2010, 05:56 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

In Real Life™, yes. In HOTS, no. When creating a new universe, the creator defines everything, including the basis for ship classes. <snip examples>

I know I'm kicking a dead horse here, but I think this needs to be said.
You're forgetting the part where the end user's experience is determined by how much the creator's definitions fit what they want. You could have your ships shoot rainbows and butterflies, but nobody would want it for anything other than novelty value.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that what you CAN do is different than what you SHOULD do. I, for one, think you should listen to the advice regarding the moon base. If there's already solid science floating around then you shouldn't go contradicting it just because you can. Maybe I just don't understand why the Moon has to be in geosynchronous orbit for the U.S. to have an advantage, but it would seem to me that they could just as easily let it go where it wants. After all, I'd assume that any country that can stop the moon (!) would be able to develop a land-based (or even water-based) security system, let alone shoot down a missile from the other side of the planet (we can already basically do this with interceptor missiles). I other words, I don't think you should ditch the moonbase, but please just try and find a better backstory for it than "the moon is now in geosynchronous orbit".

Don't take the criticism of your fans lightly. They're the ones that care, and they're the ones who are going to be playing your plugin.

Now that my little soapbox doohickey thing is done, and so you don't think I'm being entirely negative, I wish you best of luck with your TC, and I look forward to playing it when it's done.

One thing I'd recommend for the ships is to do a different visual look for each civilization (like in Nova, where the Polaris are smooth, the Aurorans are boxy, etc.). What I'd recommend is to kit-bash using a different kit for each civ. Just spend a couple of hours making, say, technologic-ey looking curved or beveled or whatever shapes, and only use those shapes for a specific race. I know you already have a ton of stuff to do (you don't need to tell me how hard it is to make a TC), but going the extra mile is what really sells it. Just some friendly advice from one developer to another.

EDIT: After reading through your timeline, it seems like it could use a little compressing. 6000 A.D. seems a little too far into the future, given the technology. Maybe that's just me.

This post has been edited by Cosmic_Nusiance : 05 October 2010 - 07:12 PM

@darthkev, on Oct 5 2010, 06:11 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Superweapons. HOTS will have a balance of sorts, where you need a big ship to beat another big ship. If you're in a corvette and plan to take on even just a destroyer, make sure you have an escape pod. Carriers will be honking motherships capable of massive destruction. Fighters will also be somewhat powerful, but not so much they pose a threat to anything larger than a shuttle singlehanded. Think the fighters from EVC. Starfighters will be even more powerful, possibly capable of taking on Gunships (the smallest ship not capable of being put in a bay) single-handed.

To answer any more questions you have about ship classes in HOTS, I refer you to this post.

I like that. As you may have gathered from the EVN:UGF thread, the capital ships are my favorite part of any plug. EVN:UGF's heavy capital ships frequently top two kilometers in length; the biggest, the United Galactic Navy's Aegis -class command ship, is 7.9 km long and 6.5 km in wingspan; the number two ship is the Baticlearan fleet carrier at 6 km. (By comparison, the Raven, the biggest ship in stock EVN, is only 1200 meters long.)

While we're on the subject of superweapons, are you adding planet-buster weapons to HOTS? I don't care if you call me Sith, Borg, Goa'uld or Moash, sometimes turning an inhabited world into a digital debris field can be cathartic. I've added planetary weapons to EVN:UGF for precisely that reason. Sometimes I'll dig up Polycon and take a Genocide with coretaps out for a spin and just blast every damn thing in sight.

There's only one real problem: I don't think there's much you can do to keep Josh Tigerheart (or was it Qaanol?) from beating the game in a Carpenter. :p: :D: :laugh: :hector_bird:

This post has been edited by StarSword : 05 October 2010 - 10:35 PM

@cosmic_nusiance, on Oct 5 2010, 03:34 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

<snip>

First, the moon base issue. I'm already considering changing this bit, my only problem is figuring out how to change it. I've considered the US launching Mt. McKinley into low orbit to act as a defensive base, I've considered leaving the moon alone till after WWIII, I've even considered having the Onli Conglomerate occupy the moon for the duration of WWIII and using it as a staging point to end the war themselves. That last bit I thought up after considering how (un)realistic it is for a war to end simply because people want to meet aliens again. Plus, the Onli are not Star Trek's Federation, so there's no 'Prime Directive' interfering with the Onli shaping humanity's future somewhat. Again, though, I'm still unsure which to use (if any).

I assure you, I am not taking the criticism lightly. I'm simply stating why I decided on the ideas I'm using. As for the ship class arrangement, there's little chance I'm going to change that. It's a small thing that really doesn't change gameplay at all. I suppose if more people speak up that they'd rather I switch the roles of destroyer and frigate classes, then I might go ahead and switch them. Otherwise, I really don't see any point to it.

I thank you for your well wishes and advice. I do plan to make my own parts in due time for the other civilizations, but keep in mind the only two sentient races in the Milky Way are humans and Onli. I once thought about making the Onli Conglomerate a group of several alien races with the Onli as the predominant race, but that seemed a little too much like Starfleet. At any rate, I'll make some new pieces for their stuff, but the human ships for the most part use the same pieces.

Spoiler

There are other aliens outside the Milky Way, sentient and otherwise, but I won't talk much about them yet.

As for the timeline, I realize some of it could use some changes. For example, the 800 years between the last entry and when the player gets their ship. The two stories I've posted in the EV Chronicles section both take place before 3256 AF, the year the player enters the game. I'll probably come up with some other events (minor events) to put in there. However, I don't think I'll condense it. Space travel is not simple, and despite the planetary alliance that emerges after WWIII, funding is still a problem, which slows things down. I don't hold high confidence that we'll be able to go to other planets in Real Life™ even in the next 1,000 years. I've made HOTS' history reflect my opinion. I definitely believe we will achieve it at some point, it's just that point is far, far off. Now, this might be detrimental to my argument here, but HOTS' own timeline actually places the present day at 7385 AD, not the 6000 AD you mentioned, Cosmic. For perspective, EVN's own timeline places the present day at 3957 AD, roughly 3,400 years earlier than HOTS.

While I'm at it, I might as well mention this to see how it sits with everyone. HOTS will include our own galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy. Additionally, a good portion of both galaxies will be 'explore-able'. Not the entire thing, but the center and a good deal of space surrounding it, with the outside edge blocked off by some strange, unknown, galactic force. The Milky Way currently consists of 148 systems. I might add more, I might not. I know that's a VERY small number for an entire galaxy, but I'm thinking most of space is pretty much empty with nothing to offer, and thus left out. I plan to have Andromeda use maybe 50% more systems than the Milky Way. That's about 210 systems for Andromeda giving a total around 360 systems for the entire HOTSverse. Does this seem reasonable to everyone?

@starsword, on Oct 5 2010, 08:33 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

<snip>

Regarding planet-busting weapons, yes and no. There will be planet-busting weapons, they will play an integral part of the storyline (

Spoiler

the player actually needs to defend Earth from one at one point

) but the player will never get access to them. Ever. Cheating to get them would require more effort than they're worth, I've made sure of that.

And no one will ever beat the game using only a Carpenter. Trust me on that, it's literally impossible. It might be impossible to beat the game in anything smaller than a gunship, actually. There are some tough battles with some tough enemies in HOTS, and you'll need serious firepower/speed/both to survive.

@darthkev, on Oct 6 2010, 01:01 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

First, the moon base issue. I'm already considering changing this bit, my only problem is figuring out how to change it. I've considered the US launching Mt. McKinley into low orbit to act as a defensive base,

That sounds pretty cool. Reminds me of Marathon, where the UNSC turns an asteroid-size moon into a colony ship.

@darthkev, on Oct 6 2010, 01:01 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

I've considered leaving the moon alone till after WWIII, I've even considered having the Onli Conglomerate occupy the moon for the duration of WWIII and using it as a staging point to end the war themselves. That last bit I thought up after considering how (un)realistic it is for a war to end simply because people want to meet aliens again. Plus, the Onli are not Star Trek's Federation, so there's no 'Prime Directive' interfering with the Onli shaping humanity's future somewhat. Again, though, I'm still unsure which to use (if any).

I assure you, I am not taking the criticism lightly. I'm simply stating why I decided on the ideas I'm using. As for the ship class arrangement, there's little chance I'm going to change that. It's a small thing that really doesn't change gameplay at all. I suppose if more people speak up that they'd rather I switch the roles of destroyer and frigate classes, then I might go ahead and switch them. Otherwise, I really don't see any point to it.

That's really a minor detail. There's no reason why a frigate or destroyer can't have evolved over thousands of years to be a bigger ship relative to the others.

@darthkev, on Oct 6 2010, 01:01 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

I thank you for your well wishes and advice. I do plan to make my own parts in due time for the other civilizations, but keep in mind the only two sentient races in the Milky Way are humans and Onli. I once thought about making the Onli Conglomerate a group of several alien races with the Onli as the predominant race, but that seemed a little too much like Starfleet. At any rate, I'll make some new pieces for their stuff, but the human ships for the most part use the same pieces.

Spoiler

There are other aliens outside the Milky Way, sentient and otherwise, but I won't talk much about them yet.

You could always get around making too many new pieces by saying that the humans borrowed a lot of tech from the Onli, especially given that there was free trade going on for a while. The only changes would have to be whatever the humans and/or Onli could do since trade ceased.

@darthkev, on Oct 6 2010, 01:01 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

As for the timeline, I realize some of it could use some changes. For example, the 800 years between the last entry and when the player gets their ship. The two stories I've posted in the EV Chronicles section both take place before 3256 AF, the year the player enters the game. I'll probably come up with some other events (minor events) to put in there. However, I don't think I'll condense it. Space travel is not simple, and despite the planetary alliance that emerges after WWIII, funding is still a problem, which slows things down. I don't hold high confidence that we'll be able to go to other planets in Real Life™ even in the next 1,000 years. I've made HOTS' history reflect my opinion. I definitely believe we will achieve it at some point, it's just that point is far, far off. Now, this might be detrimental to my argument here, but HOTS' own timeline actually places the present day at 7385 AD, not the 6000 AD you mentioned, Cosmic. For perspective, EVN's own timeline places the present day at 3957 AD, roughly 3,400 years earlier than HOTS.

This one isn't a super big deal, I just thought it seemed a little too futuristic, LOL. By all means don't put humans on other planets in <1000 years if you don't think it's possible.

@darthkev, on Oct 6 2010, 01:01 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

While I'm at it, I might as well mention this to see how it sits with everyone. HOTS will include our own galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy. Additionally, a good portion of both galaxies will be 'explore-able'. Not the entire thing, but the center and a good deal of space surrounding it, with the outside edge blocked off by some strange, unknown, galactic force. The Milky Way currently consists of 148 systems. I might add more, I might not. I know that's a VERY small number for an entire galaxy, but I'm thinking most of space is pretty much empty with nothing to offer, and thus left out. I plan to have Andromeda use maybe 50% more systems than the Milky Way. That's about 210 systems for Andromeda giving a total around 360 systems for the entire HOTSverse. Does this seem reasonable to everyone?

Seems more than reasonable to me. In real life the number of habitable systems would be dwarfed by the number of uninhabitable systems, so if we assume that a lot of uninhabited systems with no value are just left off the map (what I always assumed with Nova) then the number is pretty believable.

@darthkev, on Oct 6 2010, 01:01 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Regarding planet-busting weapons, yes and no. There will be planet-busting weapons, they will play an integral part of the storyline (

Spoiler

the player actually needs to defend Earth from one at one point

) but the player will never get access to them. Ever. Cheating to get them would require more effort than they're worth, I've made sure of that.

You are a gentleman and a scholar. Planet busters are way too unrealistic for the player to wield. I can't imagine a TIE pilot working his way up to Death Star commander; getting his own Star Destroyer seems a bit more likely.

@darthkev, on Oct 6 2010, 01:01 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

And no one will ever beat the game using only a Carpenter except Quaanol. Trust me on that, it's literally impossible. It might be impossible to beat the game in anything smaller than a gunship, actually. There are some tough battles with some tough enemies in HOTS, and you'll need serious firepower/speed/both to survive.

Fix'd.

@cosmic_nusiance, on Oct 6 2010, 12:24 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Fix'd.

I must emphasize here, it is impossible. No way around it. I can't explain why it's impossible right now (plot spoilers) but trust me, it is. I can tell you part of it is you need to see your enemy in order to kill them with anything other than missiles. There are also no supernatural powers to aid your survival while in a Carpenter and any fighter (even a Wasp) will quickly catch up to you and kill you before any escort could possibly kill it.

I repeat: beating HOTS using only a Carpenter (no matter what escorts you may capture or hire) is impossible.

Dragonfly Syndicate Wasp Class Light Fighter

Easy to design, easy to build, easy to kill. These fighters aren't really worth much unless in large numbers where there are simply too many for another ship to target them all. Even then, though, a well placed Heavy Rocket could swiftly vanquish a large number of these. However, their availability has made them the choice of Star Medical and the Star Corps for their lightest class of fighter and have upgraded them well considering the lack of space they need to deal with. All in all, a good defensive vessel against other small vessels.

In reality, the Wasp is the only 'fighter' Star Medical and the Star Corps use. The next smallest vessel used by Star Medical is their own variant of the Starbridge. In the case of the Star Corps, they have the Rapier, the galaxies smallest gunship. Not small enough to be used on another ship, but still pretty small. It's not mentioned here, but the Wasp is also used in racing. You might also note the resemblance the Wasp shares with EVN's Viper.

Edit: I've also revised the Beetle design. It's not completely final yet, but there's a good chance it's what I'll use and it's definitely better than the original. The green sections on the top and bottom are cargo pods, with the section in between serving as crew compartment. The new version can be seen above in the original post regarding the Beetle

This post has been edited by DarthKev : 08 October 2010 - 05:44 AM

@darthkev, on Oct 8 2010, 06:43 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Dragonfly Syndicate Wasp Class Light Fighter

I like this design. The cockpit seems much more integrated than the beetle, and much more fighter-ey (I'm sure this was intentional ). It looks a bit large for a fighter compared to Nova's, not that that's a bad thing. I believe there was an Epic Discussion about ship sizes a while back, and large (747) size fighters were brought up. Pretty awesome.