Battle for Earth mod (Improved Specs #2)
<<<EDIT #2, more improvements, and clarification of what I mean by borrowing>>>
I'm by no means an expert on modding, but I'm going to try this idea!!
EDIT #2: I am primarily going to focus on ini editing. Ships and more serious modding I may borrow, with permission, from other people's mods. But for now, it is mere system building and normal editable modding options.
1. Disregard Earth being scrapped. Add in Sol sector as a new system in the game with all 9 planets separated into four system quadrants with the Sun being the only common element in all of them. Open, Non-disputed, and busy traffic jumpholes will be available to each quadrant for fast travel.
2. Have accurate number of moons or at least the primary ones around the planets.
3. All factions are present in the system (1 in each quadrant, maybe a little overlap) each with a jumpgate or jumphole to the heart of their own system. Maybe each controlling a planet of their own. Around Earth itself would be disputed space.
4. The factions of course need to protect those jumpholes and have 1 or 2 space stations guarding the jumps. Also have extremely high encounter rates with that faction's army in that area. Especially Cruisers. This is where I may borrow from other modders for captial ships to encounter and such.
5. Within these guarded areas other factions will have Encounter_Area_Assaults (all out war over the control of Earth). Groups of 4 to a # as high as possible, swarming in to attack the enemy station and fleet.
6. Pirate activity would be low, except maybe around space lanes. As for the space lanes, a lot of them. Scatter them so the player can use them strategicly to sneak through the lines of warring factions. I will be relying heavily on 3 dimensional space for this. And LOTS of traffic.
7. Trading, some goods will have EXTREMELY high profits between different faction bases, but not between bases of their own faction. The point is, for big profits you've got to run the Gauntlet from one faction across the system to the other faction. I may look into adding in at least a dozen more commodities into the game, perhaps Earth specific for export to the other worlds.
8. Each faction sells its own, what I call, "Skirmisher" and "Speed Demon". Types of ships in any particular form that either take a beating or outfly most of the faction ships in the area. They would each have a fair amount of cargo room, not huge, but fair. Obviously the prices for these ships should be very high and maybe require a friendly rating with the faction. I may also borrow here for more balanced ships between factions, as Liberty is quite weak in comparison.
9. Off the beaten path mine, debris and asteroid fields with very low faction encounter rates. Maybe a bit higher pirate encounters. These will be strategically spaced to cover non-patrol routes and non-encounter areas for the Freelancer who finds the Gauntlet too tough. Come in through the backdoor.
10. New rumours for hidden secrets or possibly the best path through the gauntlet. Even rumours for the best Earth goods to be traded out-system and where.
Addendum: (hard changes that may not be possible)
A. (EDIT #2 A was debris field and added in #9)
B. Factions have super destroyers/battleships cruising around. Low encounter rate, but tougher than hell. (With a powerful front shot weapon.) Call them Decimators.
ChrisV created a great version of this type of vessel and I will see if I can get them to do patrol routes and area assaults against stations.
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I have been looking at the tutorials and know this is no small undertaking, but I think it would bring about a new level of intensity to the game. As well as bringing the action back to Earth.
Spectre
Edited by - Spectre-Man on 28-05-2003 19:42:29
Edited by - Spectre-Man on 18-06-2003 01:43:21