Mod Wish List Here!

GrandpaTrout: I'm finished with the acceleration slowdown mod, and would like to E-mail them to you. Can you send me your address? I'm at mailto:shanemaness@msn.com]shanemaness@msn.com I don't have a web page of my own, so I can't put them up for download!

Anyway, I used my Thruster_Slowdown mod (which set values of thruster acceleration for each hull to 10% normal) and reset the values for each craft to 50% normal. I'll send both to you so you can try them out... The readme file has some data on the dynamic changes the modification creates.

I'm now about to start on the weapon specs we discussed on the ina forum. When you spoke of slowing down the weapons, were you speaking of bolt speed or refire rate or both? Let me know, and I'll knock it out.

Just before this big project started coming together, I was working on a mod which changed the specs on the rockets in EoC. They were just useless as they were. I've almost finished that, would you like that one too?

Also, any more grunt work, send it my way.

Yes, another post: I must be talkative tonight <img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle>

GrandpaTrout, you and Hotfoot, Mehrunes, etc. know alot more about scripting/POG than I, so I will follow your lead, but : Would it not make sense to get the game dynamics down first, before we do missions, plots, etc.? Many missions take advantage of specific elements of game play, and so far these are in flux. For instance, Dante's Inferno played mostly on the "take off aim assist" feature, and could not have been written until that feature was created for the game. That's not a good example. How about the mission where someone has to dock with the freighter carrying antimatter? Without the "dock to my target" command, it would not have been written. Right now, we don't know what dynamic options are going to be available to the player... so missions, plots, even factions created now will have to survive substantial changes when the simple abilities of the player are finally known. I'm not saying we shouldn't think about the factions, plot, etc... We should keep notes; general ideas on what we would like to see. But every step in the Epic Mod will change these factions/plots/missions, creating more work to bring them inline. An example: I'm a contractor; if I build the roof of the house before the foundation, I'm really just wasting my time. I should keep ideas of what roof I want in mind, and not lose sight of the fact that I do want a roof on the house. I just can't start building the roof yet.

I believe these are the priorities we should follow, in progressive order. If I'm out of line, just wack me back into place.

1. Determine flight dynamics, weapon abilities, and other space/events which will affect traveling from point to point (i.e., this is the time to change LDS, or thrusters, or get rid of disruptors, etc.) Find an acceptable "realistic" approach which pleases most of the team.

2. Add on features to the space travel model (i.e., saves in-game, dock with tumbling ship, etc.).

3. Detemine "non-flying" changes (i.e. Changes that affect the player when he/she is not flying in space.) What changes at the base? Get rid of the player in-base GUI? Options to refit ship, etc.

4. Determine the setting. Badlands or new cluster?

5. Create/modify factions. Set up an economy. Get all the economic programs you're authoring into the game. Who's fighting who? Define the Have's and the Have_Not's.

6. With the cluster mapped out, the economics in place, the factions set up, the only things left are the major mission archetecture (i.e., News bits that allow the player to find out what's going on in the world, random mission generators, etc.).

7. Write the main character's history, histories of the factions, etc, and make accessable to the player.

8. Tweak any systems which create an inbalance to the "big picture".

9. Create new missions for the game.


There are so many ideas (really good ideas, mind you) that the Epic Modification is in danger being bogged down... If we start with the flight dynamics, and get them running to everyone's approval, the new ideas will spring off those, and so on and so on.

I'm behind this/your (you started it; remember? ) project 100%. We've kicked around ideas enough. Let's get busy!

Suggested layout for the Epic Mod to EoC. These are items culled from both forums, and (IMHO) their respective phases. (This is not, in any way, an attempt to "hijack" the project; it serves only to see what has been proposed, and when that proposal may be implemented, assuming this monster ever gets off the ground.)


Phase I - Flight Dynamic Changes:
1. Improved combat scripts. Give the player wingmen and stations some self defense and ability to handle more orders (blockade, stay here and bombard, attack move). Incorporate Mehrunes' iFleet mod into existing game, with a 2D screen for ship combat. Hiring of pilots to serve as wingmen for captured ships?
2. Rebalance ship combat. Balance weapons to a reasonable level. Differentiate weapons (i.e, some weapons for taking down capital ships, others for fighters, some that perform multi-role, etc.) Scale weapons to anticipated technology level of factions.
3. Change autorepair systems to include: more damage, systems that can be destroyed, containment, and redundant backups. Remove engineering screen. (Flamineo is currently working on this)
4. Incorporate some type of slowing down of combat/travel.
5. Even the board between player and AI technologies.
6. Incorporate Navigational Hazzards.
7. Changes to LDS/Capsule Space, if any.

Phase II - In-Flight Add-on Features:
1. Save-anywhere modification.
2. Player resources used in flight/capsule drive/etc.

Phase III - Non-flight Changes:
1. Remove the player-base GUI all-together (and install necessary changes to allow its function elsewhere?)
2. Create system for keeping track of consumables.
3. Impliment option for purchase of additional player ships.
4. Faction-Alliance switching (i.e., factions change their views towards the player depending upon player actions.)
5. Limit player base manfacturing facilities (or assign some extra manufacturing costs to the system).

Phase IV- Setting
1. Determine feasibility of creating new cluster versus adding onto existing cluster.

Phase V: Factions/Economy Creation:
1. Chessboard and enough economics to allow faction vs. faction fighting. (GrandpaTrout is working on this)

Phase VI - OverMission Archetecture:
1. Improved background information; player should be made aware of events transpiring outside his/her field of vision. (i.e., e-mail, news events, etc.)

Phase VII - Character History/Plot Creation:
1. Write background on clusters and factions.
2. Create a background/motivation for player character.

Phase VIII - System tweaks and refinement
1. Refine/tweak any system which unbalances/conflicts with gameplay/plotlines.

Phase IX - Mission Creation.
1. Create a variety of missions, all which are placed into the final product.

Let me know what I've missed... I can throw it in. And, if wanted, I can keep track of which changes are desired and update this list when necessary. If, in my ignorance, I've gotten phases in the wrong places, or incorrectly assigned an item to the wrong phase, please let me know.

NOTE: I was unable to assign credit for each individual idea. THESE ARE NOT MY IDEAS! They have simply been collected into one location in the effort to help construct a game plan for the Epic Modification to EoC.




Edited by - Shane on 10 Oct 2002 10:34:16

Granpa, nice to see you. If you need modeling skills, give me a holler, ill see what i can do, in my limited free time. :up:

Yes, bogging is a danger. But a little time on vision and planning now will speed development and allow parallel activity. That said, there is much work that can be started. I am launching a group of threads in the MOD section of the forum (too many sections!)

Right now we have several major sections:

1. Background development
2. Gameplay rebalance

3. Loadout and Damage Mod
4. Chessboard

5. Economics
6. Faction AI

The first three need the most vision work right away. After we work those over a little, it would be great if someone would take charge of those 'subprojects'. Most likely, several people will end up helping, with Models, script writing, NPC character development.

3. and 4. Are much more solid code efforts. Flamineo would you care to shepherd 3?

I have been chewing on the last two, but will move to chessboard if need be. It seems like organization would help so I will focus there until everyone gets into motion.

I can always be reached at jon_freise at msn dot com. Email and Forum are preferred. I like a record to exist of ideas and decisions. Send me mods and files that you want posted and I will host them.

On my site, under concept art I placed and excell spreadsheet. Let me know if you CANNOT view the spreadsheet. I will create a new page for progress and info.

Ok? I am off to type up the background thread.

-Gtrout

Errrm. I was bored today so I modified the time code you sent me to provide functions returning/providing...

-Year (I set the start year at 2405), Month, Day, Hour...etc.
-The current, or a future date in various formats ("hour:minute month/day/year" and so on"
-A simple clock function that creates a GUI screen and updates it with the current time.
-Time acceleration, modifying the ship's mass for maneuverability and LDS speeds (and the flow of time of course, at least for things utilizing the time package) from x1 to x16 times normal speed.

Hrmm. I looks like I have to throw my system out the window not to fool around with this.