Star Wars space mod? - Page 5

Star Wars space mod?

Discuss game development here, from a distinct game project to an accessible third-party mutator, down to the interaction and design of individual units if you like.

Moderator: Moderators

Gnomre
Imperial Winter Developer
Posts: 1754
Joined: 06 Feb 2005, 13:42

Post by Gnomre »

I'll check the solars a bit harder for the next version then. They should have the floor value :P

Speeder bikes/swoops should be your raiding tool of choice. They're fast, they hover, and they can cross most any distance fairly quickly (unless there are a lot of obstructions). You are seriously underestimating infantry's power on the whole, though. On very large maps, yes, it might not seem like the game starts until level 2; but on maps such as the ones I listed, infantry are your staple from the very beginning of the game. Even in the latest stages of the game infantry are highly effective; for the imps, flamers absolutely rape any vehicle they come in contact with, and for the rebels the wookiees are hands down the most cost effective troops from that level. Missile troopers on both sides are the easiest to make and deploy, and the cheapest, most cost effective anti-air in the game. It's true that the other equipment from the factory becomes less effective as the game progresses, but they can still be used effectively in good hands. You just have to know how to cover your infantry, and they will be just as deadly as any vehicle in the game.
Combine
Posts: 3
Joined: 08 Nov 2005, 18:40

Post by Combine »

In short, this looks amazing, Spiked! I've been excited about Empire at War since it was announced, but this has me ready to drop the whole thing and just keep playing Spring until the end of time. I know you're still lacking models and such, but are you at the point of being able to do a preview release sometime soon? :)
SpikedHelmet
MC: Legacy & Spring 1944 Developer
Posts: 1948
Joined: 21 Sep 2004, 08:25

Post by SpikedHelmet »

At the moment, all I have completed are:

TIEs Fighter, /ln, Vanguard, Bomber, Interceptor, Advanced, and Hunter;

Wings X, Y, and A

Corellian Corvette
Imperator-Class Destroyer

Not much. I can release it, though. Everyone would just have to use the .give commands to get anything, as there are no construction thingies of any kind.
User avatar
Min3mat
Posts: 3455
Joined: 17 Nov 2004, 20:19

Post by Min3mat »

Imperator class?
is that ISD mark I?
or more like victory class?
Gnomre
Imperial Winter Developer
Posts: 1754
Joined: 06 Feb 2005, 13:42

Post by Gnomre »

Are the TIEs and wings in the new or old model format?
Warlord Zsinj
Imperial Winter Developer
Posts: 3742
Joined: 24 Aug 2004, 08:59

Post by Warlord Zsinj »

Spike, you could always make a default builder guy, and then back it with a simple spawn.txt file, where the players have to survive an onslaught from an Imperial star destroyer, or a Rebel fleet, etc.
SpikedHelmet
MC: Legacy & Spring 1944 Developer
Posts: 1948
Joined: 21 Sep 2004, 08:25

Re: Star Wars space mod?

Post by SpikedHelmet »

Rez.

Is anybody still interested in this?
User avatar
1v0ry_k1ng
Posts: 4656
Joined: 10 Mar 2006, 10:24

Re: Star Wars space mod?

Post by 1v0ry_k1ng »

put up a link, picture or post progress and youll have interest to the max
SpikedHelmet
MC: Legacy & Spring 1944 Developer
Posts: 1948
Joined: 21 Sep 2004, 08:25

Re: Star Wars space mod?

Post by SpikedHelmet »

This is really the only screenshots I have, of stuff done a couple of months ago:

Rebel Alliance Fighters (A, B, X, and Y-Wings):

Image

Two Imperial Interdictor 418-class cruisers with Imperial fighters and a planet (ingame shot):

Image


The latest (general) idea for the game was for it to revolve around the control of a number of planets randomly lua-spawned around the map. Planets would be able to be developed in order to provide construction and income simeltaneously by building facilities on the planet (basically, from a buildmenu, you'd be able to build permanent upgrades to the planet in several tiers). The design was towards large-scale maps (32x32-44x44), and also have other features and environmental objects randomly lua-spawned (ie comets, asteroid fields, space stations etc) so that only a single large space map would be needed.

We also wanted to have hyperdrive in the sense of being a movement type for vessels equipped with hyperdrives. Basically, it would allow for ultra-fast movement that came with some severe consequences; namely, when arriving at their destination ships would lose power to both shields and weaponry for a short period of time, leaving them very vulnerable to attack (they would also, naturally, be unable to fire while travelling at hyperspeed, although would be immune to damage) to discourage "jumping right into the middle of the enemy base" and make for more strategic use of hyperdrive. Also we planned on having Interdictor technology, utilizing things like the Interdictor cruiser pictured above to disallow hyperdrive use within a certain radius (no ships in that radius would be able to go into hyperdrive, and any ship in hyperdrive passing into/through the area would immediately be pulled into "normal space"). Also, planets were planned to have natural interdiction (durr, gravity well) to prevent hyperjumping too close to a planet.

Side design was that the Imperials would rely mainly on large, powerful but tactically inflexible units; large Star Destroyers and other capital ships would provide their only real anti-starship capability, while TIE fighters, numerous and cheap, provide screens against enemy starfighters and rely heavily on nearby motherships (planets or fighter-carrying ships) for travelling any sort of distance (between planets). The Rebels on the other hand would have smaller, less powerful ships, that would generally be faster and more maneuverable than the Imperial ships; their fighters also have hyperdrive and many are armed specifically to attack enemy capital ships, which gives them a heavy tactical edge in that while the Empire has to commit capital ships in every engagement the Rebels can commit simple fighter squadrons that can hyperjump into an area, attack ships with torpedos, and jump away.

We also planned to utilize a variation of Squad Control lua so that fighter squadrons were controlled as a single entity rather than having dozens or hundreds of individual fighters.
User avatar
Pxtl
Posts: 6112
Joined: 23 Oct 2004, 01:43

Re: Star Wars space mod?

Post by Pxtl »

O_O

Hawt secks.

Not that I have much time to play, but still, hawt secks.
SpikedHelmet
MC: Legacy & Spring 1944 Developer
Posts: 1948
Joined: 21 Sep 2004, 08:25

Re: Star Wars space mod?

Post by SpikedHelmet »

heh, yeah, we didn't have much time to make it, either.

but I did manage to write up a fairly comprehensive GDD for it.

Actually I could've just posted the fucking GDD ratehr than waste time writing all that shit.

Anyone want to see the GDD?
User avatar
Pxtl
Posts: 6112
Joined: 23 Oct 2004, 01:43

Re: Star Wars space mod?

Post by Pxtl »

I'm worried about how you defend in that approach - I mean, the problem I see is that defending is at a disadvantage, since the attacker jumps first and the defender must rally his defenses from various planets to the target planet. After all, I assume you don't want much in the way of static defenses. Perhaps some sort of planetary device that lets friendly ships mitigate the disadvantages of the hyperdrive jump?
SpikedHelmet
MC: Legacy & Spring 1944 Developer
Posts: 1948
Joined: 21 Sep 2004, 08:25

Re: Star Wars space mod?

Post by SpikedHelmet »

Each planet will have fairly hefty defenses able to be built/upgraded. This will range from light orbital anti-starfighter platforms to heavier turbolasers, ground-based ion cannons, and entire planetary shielding (which immensely boosts planet's defense level).

Planetary assault hasn't been ironed out thoroughly but we basically thought of doing it rather abstractedly (word?). We thought of including several ships which specialize in planetary landings (like the Lambda and Sentinel shuttles, and Acclamator star destroyer). Basically, the role of these ships would be to land on the planet and take it over. Of course, planetary defenses have to be dealt with first, requiring fleets of capital ships to come in and first battle and defeat a planet's defenses in order for landings to take place as all those defenses will easily be able to destroy incoming landing ships.

Basic attack on a planet would be like this: Send in some capital ships and fighters to attack a planet. Duke it out with planet's defenses (during which time enemy could bring re-enforcements). If you win, then send in landing ships to take over planet once its bereft of defenses (basically, once you blast all traces of the enemy out of orbit). Number of landing craft needed depends on the development level of the planet (ie a "naked" uncaptured planet might have light luagaia defenses and require a couple of landing craft to take over; a heavily fortified, max development planet may require a dozen or two landing craft).

This might be changed so that taking over planets is more automatic, ie if you have ships within certain radius of the planet AND have destroyed all planet's defenses (ie as long as planet has defenses it won't turn or be captured; first have to destroy them and then you'll start taking over the planet automatically if you have ships in that radius).
User avatar
KDR_11k
Game Developer
Posts: 8293
Joined: 25 Jun 2006, 08:44

Re: Star Wars space mod?

Post by KDR_11k »

So it's kinda 4Xy?
User avatar
Pxtl
Posts: 6112
Joined: 23 Oct 2004, 01:43

Re: Star Wars space mod?

Post by Pxtl »

Yeah, sounds like moo2.

And never mind my concern - I'm used to the current fashion where mods avoid a heavy focus on static defenses. Sounds good.
SpikedHelmet
MC: Legacy & Spring 1944 Developer
Posts: 1948
Joined: 21 Sep 2004, 08:25

Re: Star Wars space mod?

Post by SpikedHelmet »

4Xy? Moo2?

After googling I found Moo2; actually, it's similar, but obviously the elements for managing planets isn't possible in Spring, and this game is more about RTS space combat than empire-building.

And as for defense... yeah, it's kind of unavoidable when the entire crux of the game is about conquering planets. It's not like planets can move around. Once you know they're there, well, they'll always be there, and the only thing that will change will be what's built on them.

After looking at Moo2 I might actually draw some inspiration. Some of it does soudn a lot like my ideas but it sounds far too metagamey than what I'm going for.

And KDR, what is 4Xy?
User avatar
KDR_11k
Game Developer
Posts: 8293
Joined: 25 Jun 2006, 08:44

Re: Star Wars space mod?

Post by KDR_11k »

4X is the genre MOO2 is a part of. There already is a 4X RTS in SoaSE and I think it has all that hyperspace and interdiction jazz too.
SpikedHelmet
MC: Legacy & Spring 1944 Developer
Posts: 1948
Joined: 21 Sep 2004, 08:25

Re: Star Wars space mod?

Post by SpikedHelmet »

Damnit people, stop blurting out abbreviated names of games that I have to go and google!

It looks OK, don't like the visual style though. Why do so many space-themed games choose soft colours, blues, purples, oranges, for atmospheric design? Homeworld 2, Empire at War, SOASE, they all look very similar design-wise.
SpikedHelmet
MC: Legacy & Spring 1944 Developer
Posts: 1948
Joined: 21 Sep 2004, 08:25

Re: Star Wars space mod?

Post by SpikedHelmet »

Here's the GDD, written up several months ago.

SW:WIS (aka Rebel Summer) GDD

Summary

In WIS, players will control fleets of starships, squadrons of fighters, and control and manage planets to defeat their opponents.


Unit Control

Players will be able to control individual capital ships and squadrons of fighters. Fighters will be built and controlled as a squadron; when one fighter is selected, all fighters of that squadron will be selected.

Along with the standard Move, Stop, Attack Move, Patrol, and Move Orders (Hold Position, Maneuver, Roam) and Attack Orders (Hold Fire, Return Fire, Fire at Will), several other control options will be available to units:
  • Board: The game will include boarding craft which can be used to board and take control of enemy ships.
  • Land: Also included will be planetary assault craft which will be used to take control of planets.
  • Cloak: Some ships may have cloaking devices.
  • Return To Carrier: Fighter squadrons can be automatically called back to and dock with their mother ship.
  • Deploy All: Carriers use this command to immediately deploy all docked spacecraft.
  • Hyperjump: Hyperdrive-equipped ships will be able to make hyperdrive jumps, super-fast movement commands.
  • Interdict: Special Interdiction ships will be able to turn on a special damping field that inhibits hyperdrive within a certain radius.
Features

Several special features will be used in WIS:

Carriers - Most capital ships are able to hold a number of starfighters in internal bays. This allows the capital ship several squadrons of defensive or offensive fighters. This is most important for the Empire, whose fighters lack hyperdrives and must rely on being transported by capital ships to travel long distances. Capital ships, depending on their size, can carry anywhere from one to twelve squadrons of fighters.

Starfighters - Starfighters play an important role, though that role is different between the two factions. The Alliance relies on their starfighters to carry out most tasks, specifically to destroy enemy warships. The Empire relies on their starfighters to protect their capital ships from the Alliance's advanced fighters.

Starfighters are produced from planetary orbital construction yards. From there, they can be loaded into capital ships or head straight into battle.

Hyperdrive - Various types of unit in the game will make use of Hyperdrive Technology, allowing them to travel vast distances in a short amount of time, albeit with several tactical drawbacks. Hyperdrives will operate under the following principles:

Range: Hyperdrives will have no maximum range, but will have a minimum range, reducing their effectiveness in tactical situations (unless it is being used to flee).
Vulnerability: When a ship emerges from hyperspace, it will be vulnerable to enemy attack for a certain period of time, as deflector shields are engaged and targetting sensors are re-aligned. Vessels emerging from hyperspace will lose their shields and be unable to fire any weaponry for a short amount of time, but will still be able to move and deploy support craft.
Natural Interference: Hyperdrive technology is very sensitive to spatial gravity wells, such as from stars, planets, and other objects or phenomenon which produce intense gravity. As such, hyperdrives can not be used within the immediate vicinity of a planet.
Artificial Interference: Using a device known as an interdiction generator to create an artificial gravity well, Imperial plays can create mobile artificial hyperspace-free zones for a variety of tactical and strategic uses, ranging from blockading, preventing the enemy from escaping, or interfering with enemy hyperspace travel.

Starship Boarding - Both Rebels and Imperials will have special assault boarding craft that will be able to take control of vessels. Their effectiveness will depend on the size and power of the target ship; it will require several craft, perhaps a dozen or more, to capture larger capital ships (as many boarding parties will be needed to take over the ship, and large capital ships can have crew numbering in the thousands). During capture, assault vessels will approach enemy ships and latch onto them; they will be completely vulnerable to enemy defensive fire, necessitating they are screened during their attack with disabling weapons.

Planets - Combat will revolve around the control of a number of planets situated around the map, perhaps randomly. Planets will have many uses, including income generation, defense, area control, unit production. Each planet will have three main features: Income, Production, Defense. Players will be able to increase these stats; for Income, players will spend a lot sum of Credits to invest in the planet, which will make it produce more credits per tick. For Production, players will be able to develop production on a planet, unlocking more unit types to build. Defense will naturally increase the defense of a planet.

Each of these features will have several "Tiers" or levels which players can build up according to their needs. Each feature should have ~5 levels; this is to ensure that planetary development is assymetrical -- players may develop the defenses and production capability of planets near the front lines with the enemy, and concentrate planets in his rear territory on income generation, the goal being that it would take awhile for a planet to max out its levels in all 3 features. Each tier unlocked will provide a substantial and visible increase. Planets will start off with Level 1 (or Level 0) in each category. Developing a planet's Income level will visibly show more cities on the planet rising and being built; in Level 1, only a few cities can be seen, and on the last level the planet has become a veritible city planet (re: Coruscant). Increasing productive levels will see new production facilities appear on and around the planet; industrial centers can appear on the planet itself (visual benefit only), while orbital production centers appear. Level 1 will see simple fighter contruction yards in orbit; Level 5 will see shipyards capable of building all ship types. Defense, again, will be similar; Level 1 can be signified by having defensive fighters stationed on the planet (which will head off into space and attack any enemy ship which strays close to the planet); increasign Defensive levels will see defense stations in orbit, Ion cannons built on the planet's surface, etc.

Taking control of planets will require players deploying Landing Craft to the planet's surface. Landing Craft will approach the planet and then disappear into its atmosphere, perhaps shrinking as they descend. The number of Landing Craft needed to take control of a planet depends on the Defensive level of the planet. Obviously, Level 1 Defense planets will be easier to invade and take control of than Level 5 Defense planets. Alternatively, players can launch an orbital attack on the planet itself via capital ships. Successive attack will slowly dwindle down the Defensive Level of the planet as more defenses are destroyed under the bombardment (this may also lower the level of its Income and Production aspects as collateral damage takes its toll). This will take some time but will allow the planet to be captured more quickly with landing craft (as a fully-defended planet, full of garrisoned troops, will require perhaps dozens of landing craft). After being successfully taken over from the enemy, a planet's various aspects will drop by a random level, reflecting the destructive carnage wrought by the invasion. Conquering players will have to partially rebuild the planet's economy, productive and defensive infastructures.

Lastly, planets under Rebel control will be able to evacuate their Income-generation and Productive assets from a planet under threat of being invaded by the enemy. Planets will have an Evacuation order which will initiate this action. See below for details.

Sensors - Sensors will play an important role in gathering intelligence. Like sensors in other games, they will act as short-range advanced-warning radar, detecting enemy ships outside of visual range. More actively, sensors can reveal information about enemy planets, as sensors pick up enemy starship and communications traffic to reveal information about a planet's Income, Production and Defensive capabilities. Lastly, sensors play an important role in detecting enemy hyperspace movement; if enemy ships emerge from hyperspace within sensor range, a warning will be sounded. All capital ships have sensors of various strengths and ranges, and planets can develop more powerful sensors as their defensive capabilities are upgraded.


Side Differentiation

Each side will have unique assymetrical aspects.

ALLIANCE TO RESTORE THE REPUBLIC, aka the Rebel Alliance, The Alliance

The Rebel Alliance does not have the material capability to combat the Empire on an equal footing. Their units and tactics revolve around espionage, sabotage, hit-and-run and other raid and guerilla tactics.

Rebel ships have more proficient hyperdrives with more emphasis on training ship crews to initiate faster hyperspace jumps so that Rebel ships can escape quickly after an engagement.They will be able to execute hyperjumps faster than Imperial ships.

All Rebel fighters are equipped with hyperdrives, allowing them to launch attacks independantly without relying on a carrier. They are also equipped with stronger shields and more powerful weapons than their Imperial counterparts.

Rebel ships are generally smaller, more nimble and maneuverable than the larger, more powerful Imperial ships; Rebel ships focus more on speed to out-maneuver their Imperial opponents, attacking targets on their own terms and evading powerful compact formations of Imperial warships.

Rebel fighting doctrine dictates that starfighters perform a heavy roll in combating enemy capital ships, and all Rebel fighters are equipped with concussion missile launchers which are capable of tracking both fighter-sized objects and pummelling enemy capital ships. The Rebels also have a dedicated heavy assault fighter designed specifically to launch direct attacks on capital ships, the B-Wing. Rebel capital ships are balanced between anti-starfighter and anti-capitalship, able to engage both effectively.

Alliance Income-generation will generally be noticably lower than the Empire, as well as their Planetary Defenses. However, planets under control of the Alliance will be able to evacuate Income and Production assets. Emergency Evacuation will launch transports which can then be sent to other planets (or wait until the planet they evacuated from to be retaken) where they can "implant" their Income and Production assets to those planets.

When the Alliance successfully conquers a planet, some of that planet's Income, Production and Defenses will remain intact.

The Alliance will also be able to utilize spies and espionage agents who can deploy to enemy-controlled worlds, which send back planetary information, sensor information, and can syphon additional credits in the form of stolen equipment and smuggled supplies.

Visibly, Alliance units will appear non-standardized as a wide array of different vessel types from different manufacturers are utilized.

GALACTIC EMPIRE

The Empire is signified by its immense productive capabilities. Imperial capital ships will far outclass most Alliance designs. Their tactics revolve around the application of brute force to subdue the enemy.

Imperial capital ships will be slower and less maneuverable than their Rebel counterparts. Instead, they will rely on heavy firepower to pummel any enemy within reach.

Imperial fighter forces revolve around the doctrine of high numbers of "swarm" fighters to overwhelm the enemy through sheer numerical superiority. Unlike the Rebels, all Imperial capital ships are equipped with extensive fighter bays.

Tactically, Imperial capital ships are designed almost solely for engaging enemy capital ships and have low defense against small craft, particularly starfighters. Instead, ships rely on fighter screens to form the bulk of their anti-starfighter capability. Imperial capital ships will be much more efficient in pulverizing planetary defenses than the Rebels, and are equipped with the Acclamator-class Assault Star Destroyer which is capable of performing planetary landings on a massive scale, whereas the Rebels will rely on smaller Lambda or Sentinal-class shuttles to transport invading troops.

When the Empire successfully conquers a planet, the sheer destructive of the invasion, as well as sabotage by fleeing Rebel troops, will revert all Income, Production and Defense levels of the planet to 0, requiring the Empire to start rebuilding the planet from scratch.

The Empire will also be able to utilize the only mobile Interdictor Cruiser, equipped with hyperdrive-disabling technology which will stop all ships from entering hyperdrive within a certain vicinity of the vessel.

Visibly, Imperial capital ships will follow the visual lineage of the light-grey, dagger-shaped Star Destroyers and dark-grey TIE-based fighter craft. As a result they will appear much more uniform than the Rebels.


Units

REBEL ALLIANCE FIGHTERS

T-65 X-Wing - Superiority Fighter (4 x Laser Cannons, Projectile Launcher)
RZ-1 A-Wing - Advanced Tactical Superiority Fighter (2 x Laser Cannons, Projectile Launcher)
BTL Y-Wing - Anti-Shipping/Ground Attack Craft (2 x Laser Cannons, 2 x Ion Cannons, Projectile Launcher, Bomb Bay)
B-Wing - Anti-Shipping Heavy Assault Fighter (1 x Laser Cannon, 3 x Ion Cannons, 2 x Repeater Blasters, Projectile Launcher)
? - Ship-Boarding Assault Craft
Lambda-Class Shuttle - Planetary Landing Craft (6 x Laser Cannons, 2 x Blaster Cannons)

REBEL ALLIANCE CAPITAL SHIPS

CR90 "Corellian" Corvette - 150m light combat ship
MC30 Frigate - ~140m advanced medium combat ship
EF76 Nebulon-B Frigate - 300m anti-starfighter frigate
MC80 Cruiser - 1200m heavy combat ship

GALACTIC EMPIRE FIGHTERS

TIE Fighter - Light Swarm Fighter
TIE Interceptor - Interceptor/Light Superiority Fighter
TIE Bomber - Ground Attack Craft
TIE Boarding Craft - Ship-Boarding Assault Craft
Sentinel-Class Landing Craft - Planetary Landing Craft

GALACTIC EMPIRE CAPITAL SHIPS

Broadside-Class Star Destroyer - 500m missile battery ship
Victory-Class Star Destroyer - 900m medium combat ship
Imperial-Class Star Destroyer - 1600m heavy combat ship
Interdictor-Class Star Destroyer - 600m interdiction generator ship
Acclamator-Class Star Destroyer - 750m planetary assault ship
KYT Escort Carrier - 500m starfighter carrier

(units in italics are proposed units that can be excluded)
(underlined units are subject to change in which ship fills that essential role)


Unit Balancing/Guide

T-65 X-WING

The X-Wing is the standard space superiority starfighter of the Rebel Alliance. Designed after the Clone Wars, the X-Wing plans were delivered to the Rebel Alliance after the defection of its design team. It is extremely dependable and balanced. Equipped with a hyperdrive, deflector shields, four laser cannons and two concussion missile launchers, it is capable of performing a wide variety of missions, engaging enemy starfighters and capital ships. It is reasonably maneuverable and thanks to its powerful engines has a good top speed.

RZ-1 A-Wing

The A-Wing was designed in response to problems facing the X-Wing when engaging the Empire's fast, agile TIE Fighter and TIE Interceptors. It is an extremely fast and maneuverable ship, and can outperform the TIE Interceptor in all aspects except speed. Though it sacraficed some amount of protection for the increased performance, it is still equipped with deflector shields and a hyperdrive engine, as well as two blaster cannons and two concussion missile launchers, making it capable of carrying out the same types of missions as the X-Wing. It is most effective as an interceptor where its high maneuverability can give it an edge in dogfighting.

BTL Y-Wing

The Y-Wing was developed during the Clone Wars as a heavy attack starfighter for Republic Forces. It naturally found its way into the Rebel arsenal thanks to its dependability and durability. The Y-Wing is the only fighter craft capable of carrying both concussion missiles and ground-attack bombs, making it effective against both capital ships and ground targets. It is also armed with a pair of turret-mounted ion cannons, which can be used to weaken shields on enemy ships and defend against pursuers, a very useful fact thanks to the Y-Wing's less-than-exemplory maneuverability.

B-Wing

The B-Wing was developed during the Galactic Civil War as a ship capable of bringing a large amount of firepower to bear against enemy capital ships. Following the Rebel doctrine of fighters being the main anti-ship weapon, the B-Wing was armed with a blistering array of weaponry; one laser cannon, three ion cannons, twin autoblasters and two proton torpedo launchers. The B-Wing is quite large and has a unique t-shape. It is slow and has low maneuverability, and is reliant on escorts to deal with enemy interceptor fighters.

TIE/In Fighter

The TIE Fighter design was inspired by the mass-produced "swarm" Droid fighters of the CIS during the Clone Wars. Seeing the effectiveness of enormous numbers of cheap, light fighters as opposed to a smaller number of advanced fighters, Imperial combat doctrine shifted. The result was the TIE Fighter, a simple, cheap design that could be fielded in swarms to subdue enemies through sheer numbers. Individually, the TIE Fighter is weakly armed and armoured, but is fast (as fast an as X-Wing) and very maneuverable, outclassed in maneuverability only by the Rebel A-Wing and Imperial TIE Interceptor. Armed with two laser cannons, it is incapable of inflicting serious damage to enemy capital ships short of ramming them in a kamikaze attack, which is an uncommon but not unheard-of event.

TIE/In Interceptor

The TIE Interceptor was designed to replace the standard TIE Fighter, but served the entire war in a supportive role, never being produced in enough numbers (by the end of the Galactic Civil War the TIE Interceptor formed only about 20%-30% of the Empire's starfighter forces). It is faster and more agile than the TIE Fighter, and is equipped with four laser cannons, doubling the armament of the standard TIE. Like the standard TIE, they are not equipped with deflector shields or a hyperdrive, making them about as weakly armoured as the TIE and also dependant on command ships. In terms of maneuverability during dogfights, they are matched only by the Alliance A-Wing.

TIE/sa Bomber

The TIE Bomber was developed on the design of the TIE Advanced x1. The main fuselage was replaced by a large cockpit module side-by-side with an ordnance module capable of carrying a variety of munitions. The TIE Bomber is fitted with proton bombs for use against large stationary targets (such as orbital stations) and planets. It lacks a hyperdrive and is dependant on command ships like other TIE fighters, and also lacks deflector shields, though its frame was heavier and more durable than standard TIEs.

CR90 "Corellian" Corvette

The Correlian Corvette is a fast ship, earning it the monicker the "blockade runner". Initially a consulary ship designed to transport official dignitaries, many ships were donated to the Alliance and used as light corvettes. It is armed with two twin-turbolaser turrets on dorsal and ventral mountings, and 4 laser cannons on the dorsal surface of the main hull. These corvettes lack docking facilities and can not carry starfighters.

MC30 Frigate

The MC30 is a Mon Calamari design armed with both turbolasers for combatting enemy capital ships and a number of laser cannons for protection from enemy starfighters. It is also armed with proton torpedo launchers for use against capital ships. Despite its small size, roughly that of the Corellian Corvette, it is a powerful ship, able to take on enemy ships larger than itself. Like the Corvette, it is very fast, and utilizes advanced Mon Calamari shield designs which make it very well defended for a ship of its size. The MC30 can not carry starfighters.

EF76 Nebulon-B Frigate

The Nebulon-B was initially designed as an anti-starfighter defense ship for the Imperial Navy but was more famously used by the Rebel Alliance. Twice as long as the Corellian Corvette and MC30, it formed an important part of the Rebel fleet. Equipped with 12 Turbolasers and a number of laser cannons, as well as tractor beam projectors, it is able to combat enemy capital ships and starfighters alike. Its armour was less exemplory, with its central hull section proving a vulnerability to enemy fire. The Nebulon-B can not carry starfighters.

GR-75 Gallofree Transport

The Gallofree transport was heavily used by the Alliance for transporting its equipment and supplies during its mobile war against the Empire. The Gallofree transport can not be built, but will be deployed from evacuating Rebel planets. Unarmed, the 90 meter long vessel requires escort for defense, and will carry a planet's Income and Productive assets for redeployment to other planets, affording the Rebels mobile factor to their economy which the Empire lacks. The Gallofree can not carry starfighters.

MC80 Cruiser

The MC80 is a top-of-the-line capital ship designed and produced by the Mon Calamari. At 1200 meters in length it is nearly the size of an Imperial Star Destroyer. Offensively, however, it is less efficient; its hanger bay is only capable of holding half the number of fighters and other small craft as an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, and it lacks the offensive capabilities with its main armament. However, thanks to its assymetric Mon Calamari design, it is very well armoured, with multi-layer shielding which allows it to survive in combat againt more heavily-armed foes. Much less numerous than Star Destroyers, the MC80 is faster and more maneuverable, and although heavily armoured, can not stand up to a heavy barrage from flotillas of several Star Destroyers and must still rely on hit-and-run tactics against segregated Imperial forces. The MC80 can hold 6 squadrons of starfighters, and is armed with 48 turbolasers in single and double turrets, and a number of laser cannons.

Broadside-Class Star Destroyer

The Broadside was developed from the hull design of the Guardian-Class Star Destroyer, which saw limited service during the end of the Clone Wars. As the original Guardian-class was designed as an escort for Victory-class ships, the Broadside was redeveloped as a missile cruiser, armed with up to 40 launch tubes for concussion missiles. At 500m long, it is the smallest ship in the Imperial arsenal, and quite unprotected, as most of its defensive systems, armour, shielding and engine systems were removed to make room for missile launcher tubes and ammunition. It is therefore slow, cumbersome, poorly defended and vulnerable to direct enemy attack. Its main role is launching missile barrages against enemy capital ships from stand-off range.

Victory-Class Star Destroyer

The Victory, at 900 meters long, is just over half the size of an Imperial-Class Star Destroyer. For all intents and purposes, it is a scaled-down version of its larger brother. Its main role is as a medium combat ship, a role which it performs admirably but not especially well. The Victory has a much better hyperdrive system than the Imperial-class, allowing it to traverse hyperspace lanes nearly twice as fast; in normal space, however, its engines are severely underpowered, making it incredibly slow and cumbersome. Like most Imperial capital ships, the Victory-Class is not suited for defense against enemy starfighters and other small craft; it must rely on starfighter screens for protection. Victory-Class Star Destroyers are able to carry 4 squadrons of starfighters and are armed with 120 turbolasers in double and quad mounts.

Imperial-Class Star Destroyer

At 1600 meters long, the Imperial-Class Star Destroyer is the pinnacle of the Empire's power. Heavily armed and armoured, it is a match for any ship the Alliance is capable of throwing at it. It is able to hold over 80 starfighters and other small craft. On a one-on-one basis, the Imperial-Class is capable of meeting the MC80 on equal footing, though not as well defended or as fast or maneuverable, it is better armed. Imperials excel at subduing planetary defenses where they are able to bring the brunt of their offensive power against a stationary target. However, like the Victory, the Imperial must rely heavily on starfighter screens for defense against small enemy craft, which its weapons are mostly unable to deal with. Imperial-Class Star Destroyers can carry 12 squadrons of starfighters. It is armed with 90 turbolasers in single, double, triple and quad mounts.

Interdictor-Class Star Destroyer

The Interdictor-Class is a Star Destroyer based on the rarer Vindicator-class hull design. The Interdictor is armed only with laser cannons for starfighter defense; its main function comes from its four enormous gravity well projectors, or interdiction generators, which project a massive gravity well over a large area and prevent the use of hyperspace drives. It is the only mobile gravity well generator in service. Using its gravity well, it can project a veritable hyperspace "shield" to prevent enemy ships from emerging from hyperspace too close; it can also pull hyperspace-travelling craft into normal space for blockades. Perhaps more importantly, it is able to prevent any nearby ships from entering hyperspace, a tactic which has proven incredibly useful in stemming the Rebel's "hit and run tactics"; when activated after Rebel ships have jumped in to attack, they can prevent them from fleeing, allowing re-enforcements to descend on the enemy and destroy them. Interdictors lack ship-to-ship weapons and are armed only with laser cannons to defend against enemy starfighter attack. The Interdictor can carry 4 squadrons of starfighters and is armed with 20 quad laser cannons.

Acclamator-Class Star Destroyer

The Acclamator was made famous for its use in transporting the Republic's Clone Army to Geonosis at the opening phase of the Clone Wars. Unlike other Star Destroyers, the Acclamator is designed purely as a massive assault lander, able to land on a planet's surface and unload thousands of troops and military equipment while providing support with its laser cannons and turbolasers. Using the Acclamator, the Empire can conquer planets much quicker and more effectively. The Acclamator can not carry any starfighter squadrons. It is armed with 12 quad turbolasers and 24 laser cannons.

KYT Escort Carrier

The Escort Carrier was designed early during the Civil War as the Empire realized a more economic solution to transporting and deploying its hyperdrive-lacking starfighters was needed. The Escort Carrier filled this role perfectly; able to carry up to 12 squadrons (72) starfighters, it had the same capacity as an Imperial-Class Star Destroyer but was 1/3rd the size. Besides its starfighter contingent, the Escort Carrier is protected by 10 twin laser cannons for protection against enemy starfighters -- it has no defense against enemy capital ships.

Technology

The following technology from the Star Wars universe is used by various units in various forms throughout the game; this list is for quick guide purposes to familiarize players with this technology and what it is used for.

Ray Shields
Ray shields are a common defensive technology that gets its name from the type of attack it is designed to defend against; weapons that utilize energy rays of one form or another, such as lasers. Designed specifically to defend against energy attacks, they can be universally found on almost any capital ship, as most capital ships are armed with energy weapons of one form or another.

Particle Shields
Particle shields are designed to defend against physical objects. All ships have some form of weak particle shielding to protect their hulls against the delluge of space debris and dust that inhabits the stars. Stronger versions are used in military applications to defend against physical attacks, mainly from missile and torpedo weapons but also from enemy ships and starfighters.

Blasters
Blasters are a common type of weaponry seen throughout the galaxy, most often in the form of personal weapons, but also seen on vehicles, particularly repeater blasters. They fire a powerful energy shot. Until the development of laser cannons, most spacecraft were armed with blasters and repeater blasters as their standard light-caliber weapons; the efficiency of laser cannons eventually drove the aging blaster out of regular service, though they are still preferred by some due to their higher rates of fire and low power consumption.

Laser Cannons
Laser Cannons have largely replaced blasters in space combat. All starfighters and most capital ships are armed with them in various sizes and strengths, from the X-Wing to the TIE Fighter. Because of their small size and high rate of fire, they are used mainly in the anti-starfighter role on both fighters and capital ships.

Ion Cannons
Ion cannons come in a variety of shapes and sizes, ranging from the tiny cockpit-mounted versions on Y-Wing starfighters to immense planetary-based cannons built for orbital defense. Whatever their size, ion cannons have one main use; disrupting energy-based technologies on enemy targets. Ion cannons are commonly found on ships designed to combat enemy ships, such as the Y-Wing and B-Wing starfighters, as well as on capital ships, where they are used to weaken or bring down enemy shields so that their main payload can destroy the target. More powerful ion cannons are able not only to bring down a target's shields but also incapacitate the target itself by overloading its electrical components.

Proton Torpedo
Proton Torpedoes are a popular self-guided missile weapon used throughout the galaxy. They are similar to standard missiles, the main difference being their proton-detonated warhead (as opposed to a chemically-detonated warhead) and propulsion. Torpedoes come in a variety of sizes; the standard starfighter-equipped torpedo is capable of inflicting a massive amount of damage compared to its laser cannons, and they are most often used against capital ships. Although they are capable of locking on to and pursuing enemy starfighters, they are usually reserved for attacking larger, less maneuverable ships, as most starfighters are able to outmaneuver or outrun torpedoes.

Turbolasers
Turbolasers are form of super-powered laser cannon and are the main armament on most capital ships. Their main role is in ship-to-ship engagements and planetary bombardment. They can vary in size immensely, but generally turbolasers are considered ineffective against small, nimble targets, where their ability to lock on track fast-moving craft is greatly hampered by their large size. Planetary defense turbolasers are the largest, capable of destroying even an Imperial-Class Star Destroyer in a single volley.



Feature Functionality


The following features require the following functionality:

PLANETS
  • Capturable only via a set number of landing craft "landing" on the planet (the number needed should be determined by the landing craft, as different craft will be better at taking over a planet than others).
  • Indestructible
  • Income: An Income menu/display showing the amount if credits a planet is currently producing, as well as methods of increasing that amount via "investing" more development into the planet multiple times; cost of "investing" increases (give more immediately to get more over time); planets should be able to be invested in multiple times, each investment raising the "Income Level" of the planet; every investment should produce a graphical change in the planet via more/larger urban areas on the planet, via texture change or overlay (additionally, the change could be faded in over the course of however long it takes the investment to "build", allowing for a more natural transition); final "Income Level" will produce a Coruscant-style "city planet"
  • Production: Two-tier production, for light starcraft and capital ships (perhaps via two "add-on" factories); a Production menu/display showing the available ships able to be built, as well as methods of increasing Production "Level"; like Income, there should be several "Production Levels"; each "Level" bought (in the same manner as Income investing) will unlock more ships available to be built, as well as adding onto the visible production facilities orbiting a planet (which will require both the light starcraft and capital ship facilities to be visibly upgraded); Level "1" Planets should start with only a starfighter production facility able to build basic starfighters (X-Wing and TIE Fighter) and Landing Craft (Sentinel-Class and Lamba-Class Shuttles for Empire/Rebels, respectively); Level "2" should unlock Bombers (Y-Wing and TIE Bomber); Level "3" should unlock all starfighters (TIE Interceptor, A-Wing); Level "4" should make basic capital ships and special craft available (Rebel B-Wing, Corellian Corvette and Nebulon-B; Imperial Victory and Interdictor SDs, TIE Boarding Craft); Level "5" should unlock everything remaining (Rebel MC80 cruiser; Imperial Imperial-class SD, Escort Carrier, Acclamator Assault Ship, perhaps Interdictor here rather than Level "4"), as well as provide for capital ship-sized repair facilities.
  • Defense: A Defense menu/display which simply allows for methods of increasing a planet's Defense "Level" via buying, same as Income and Production. Each Level introduces more weapons, some physically visible and others invisible, as well as some features: Level "1" Planets should have only basic starfighter defense laser cannons situated on small orbital platforms; Level "2" Planets introduce light turbolaser emplacements and more laser cannons; Level "3" Planets introduce a few ground-based heavy turbolasers; Level "4" Planets introduce planetary ion cannons and more of the existing weapons; Level "5" Planets introduce full planetary shielding, multiple ground-based ion cannons and heavy turbolasers, orbital weapons platforms. Along with the above, the number of landing craft needed to overcome an enemy planet should increase dramatically the more well-defended a Planet is; while an unclaimed Planet may require only a couple of landing craft, a Level 5 planet will require dozens (for a starting point, we can say that a "naked" unclaimed "Level 0" planet requires a single Sentinel-Class Shuttle or two Lambda-Class Shuttles to capture; a Level 5 Planet will require 40 Lambdas or 20 Sentinels, with levels alternating along that line)
  • Susceptibility of Planetary Aspects to attacks: When a planet is engaged by space forces, it should suffer the effects; as the planet is bombarded by capital ships and bombed by fighters its aspect Levels may decrease due to the damage being caused. This can be uniform to all three Aspects (ie Income, Production and Defense will lose Levels simeltaneously). A Planet can be bombarded so severely that its Aspects will fall to the default of 0; if this occurs, the Planet's ownership will be nulled and it will once again become "nuetral" or "naked" and the owning player will lose control of it, as all civilization and development is bombed into oblivion.
  • Gravity Well: All Planets will naturally produce a gravity well which will negate Hyperdrive (in the exact same way as the Interdictor Star Destroyer). Ships will have to move away from a planet to engage their hyperdrive, and will be pulled out of hyperspace if they move too close to a planet while in hyperdrive mode (adding the bonus that players must plan their routes).

    How these various effects can be designed from a coding point of view is beyond my limited mental capacity. Perhaps each of the various functions can be seperate units "attached" to the planet; shipyards, orbital platforms, defensive weapons are each individually seperate units whose existence is reliant upon the "Level" code, so that when a Level is reached they instantly appear, and when a Level is decreased they instantly disappear. They can not be individually and explicitely destroyed; any damage dealt to them by enemy attack should be placed on the planet itself to apply to the Aspect Level conditions
HYPERDRIVE
  • Every Hyperdrive-capable vessel should have a "Hyperdrive" button that acts like a regular Move button.
  • When a ship's hyperdrive is initiated, the ship should turn (at normal speed) to face the direction of its target location; only after the ship is facing the direction it is heading should it "vanish" into hyperspace, or start moving very quickly, or what-the-fuck-ever.
  • While in Hyperdrive mode all ships are invisible to the enemy, both visually and on sensors/radar.
  • When a ship enters or exits hyperspace mode, ie when it begins or ends a jump, a warning should be displayed to the enemy player if he has sensors/radar in range of it. The energy released by the hyperjump will light up sensors like a christmas tree and also serve to warn the player that the enemy is initiating a hyperjump. This warning could simply be via text pritned on the screen and a special visual indication on the minimap showing the location of the jump. It could be via a special audio play ("Enemy ships have been detected emerging from hyperspace!" a la Hoth).
  • Gravity wells will disrupt hyperdrives immensely. Any ship in the vicinity of a gravity well, be it natural (a planet) or artificial (interdictor generator), will be unable to utilize hyperdrives. Any attempt will return an error (Hyperdrive can not be activated!). Ships already in hyperdrive mode that move into the vicinity of a gravity well will automatically be brought back to "normal space" near the inner edge of the radius of effect of the gravity well. This forced exit from hyperspace should appear on enemy sensors the same as any other hyperspace exit.
  • Hyperdrives should not be a "teleport" per se; since they can be interfered with by things in "normal" space there must be some way for them to detect where they are in the map and if any gravity well is nearby; essentially it will be as if the ship is moving very fast, cloaked, and invisible to radar. If this path is taken, then ships in hyperspace must NOT be able to be controlled, save for exiting hyperspace; ships in hyperspace will ignore all commands except some sort of "Hyperspace Exit" button.
  • The target location of a hyperjump must have a MINIMUM RANGE but no MAXIMUM RANGE; they will not be able to be used to make short-distance "tactical" jumps. One way around this is that if a hyperjump is initiated to a far-away position, but a gravity well exists much closer by, the ship will be pulled out of hyperspace prematurely far short of the minimum distance. This is OK; it is an existing tactic used in various canon novels as a "mini-jump". Therefore, the minimum range should be large enough that it actually poses some degree of annoyance.
STARFIGHTERS/CARRIERS
  • Starfighters are built and controlled as squadrons of 6 fighters.
  • The number of starfighters a ship can carry in its fighter bay should depend on the squadron rather than the actual number of fighters; thus an Imperial SD should hold 12 squadrons, rather than be able to hold 72 individual fighter craft; this number will maintain even if the squadrons are under-strength (because some have been destroyed).
  • Starfighter squadrons should be able to be replenished to full capacity (repaired and any lost members replaced) by entering starfighter production facilities around a planet. The process will essentially be like a repair pad, except it will detect if any squadrons are missing fighters, and then missing fighters will spawn back into the squadron by the time the squadron exits the repair facility.
  • Capital ships should repair starfighters docked with them, but NOT replenish lost squad members.
  • Rebel starfighter squadrons must be able to maintain coherency when engaging hyperdrives, so that they enter hyperspace simeltaneously and exit simeltaneously (even if one or two, but not all members are unexpectedly pulled out of hyperspace due to moving too close to a gravity well; in which case ALL fighters in the squadron should exit hyperspace mode).
  • Fighters will use the Fuel system to limit the length of time they can stay deployed. This is mainly to increase their reliance on capital ship support (especially for the Empire) as well as ensure that players don't send fighter swarms across the map rather than transport them via hyperdrive-capable capital ship carrier. If you want to attack a far-off location with fighters you'd better load up a Carrier!
  • Fighters will have a smaller cross-section on sensors than capital ships for obvious reasons (all capital ships should appear on sensors/radar at maximum range; fighters could perhaps be completely stealth or if possible show up on radar at closer distances).
  • Visible damage; sparks, flames (not smoke -- smoke is annoying, overdone, and wouldn't exist in space.. neither would flame, but whatever, flaming engines are cooler than smoking engines).
  • Remove the "out of control" state; when aircraft is damaged in Spring they will enter "out of control" state, normally falling under gravity to plummet into the ground and explode. That would look daft in space however. This must be replaced, perhaps simply by prematurely killing starfighters when they reach 1% health or something.
  • Cool ways of being destroyed; when destroyed, starfighters should do cool things, like veer sideways in a ball of flame and explode, or shatter into a million pieces sending bits in all directions, or go careening in a spiral for some ways until finally detonating, etc.

CAPITAL SHIPS
  • Armed with multiple weapons.
  • Weapons can be destroyed, hyperdrives can be knocked out, depending randomly on damage level? The less health a capital ship has, the greater chance of damage being taken will do something bad besides just kill it more.
  • Capital ships are really slow. They have no fuel and can operate indefinately but will take a damned long time to get anywhere without using hyperdrive.
  • Capital ships will self-repair up to 75% of starting health. This will allow them to repair any damaged systems (hyperdrive, all weapons, shields, etc). In order to fully repair they must dock at repair facilities around Planets.
  • Visible damage; mainly through ceg, such as sparks, smoke, small fires around the hull and in weapon emplacements, etc.
  • VERY cool ways of being destroyed; when a captial ship dies, horrible things should occur. Massive explosions, chunks of the ship breaking off, bits and pieces scorching through space; the bridge tower on Star Destroyers could depart, exploding from multiple orifices before drifting gently away from the hull before detonating in a thermonuclear explosion. Really, really cool things.
  • All capital ships have hyperdrives (see above).
RANDOM ANOMALIES

For added coolness, random spatial anomalies can be added, a mod option-togglable feature which will add cool things, such as asteroid fields (which damage anything in its vicinity!), black holes/quasars (which extend immense gravitational wells that negate hyperdrive use over huge distances), random direlect ships that can be boarded/repaired/ressurected (a way of introducing cool non-buildable ships), and stuff of that nature.
User avatar
zwzsg
Kernel Panic Co-Developer
Posts: 7049
Joined: 16 Nov 2004, 13:08

Re: Star Wars space mod?

Post by zwzsg »

By the way, you know that THIS has a gameplay based around spaceships capturing LUA planets, and is public domain, right?
Post Reply

Return to “Game Development”