EAW: How easy to mod will it be?

[Katarn]

Greetings NMA members and future members,

 

I thought I'd share a small bit of knowledge from a reliable source . One of the core questions that has come up a number of times is "how easy/difficult will it be to Mod EAW? Petroglyph and LEC have already said it will be very easy to mod but what exactly does that mean? The quick answer is that almost anyone will be able to easily mod some portion of the game. And more experienced modders will be able to change significant aspects of the game. The game is heavily data driven which means that for the most part you only need to change text/numerical values in a text based tables. And if LEC follows the pattern they did for Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy they will allow the developer to release some of their development tools (unsupported of course) which will assist us further.

 

I'm sure we'll hear more from LEC and Petroglyph about this topic in the near future. (hint-hint)

 

Cheers

-Katarn

[Cain]

Thanks Katarn, we appreciate this answer on the issue - it clears up many concerns especially in the young minds. Also thanks for accepting to be our executive producer - we have so much to learn from you.

 

Off Topic: I'm always searching to create original mods based on new untold stories. Here is what I imagined this last week (*I had it written and stored in a file-lemme copy/paste):

 

Matrix: The Human Return

 

In Short: Back then when all seem lost in the battle between the 01 army and the human armies some human space ships have been sent in space before the final battle with the machines. These ships have settled after 400 years in space in another planetary system on a new earth like planet. The froze humans have awaken to learn the fate of the Earth and they decided to prepare for any situation. Their new government has decided to enable and speed up the evolution of humans so they will better face the machines.

 

Two major improvements have been reached. Using the errors inside the cancer cell (It regenerates forever- really) the humans have evolved in an almost immortal race also their brains and bodies have been improved true new genetics.

 

(NOTE: On the Discovery Channel last year it was shown that such a human perfect cancer cell tissue has been created and the lifespan of the cell was increased 400 times and the experiment was still going).

 

Due to this developments the last versions of humans have become telepathic incredibly strong by incorporating all the DNA data from animals and since they cannot die and their brain cells also don’t die they have become super smart and telekinetic.

 

Since the machines were expanding true the universe one scout has found the new human heaven and all hell breaks loose.

 

The New humans and the machines start to battle each other and in the end they will try to free earth from the 2600 years rule of the machines.

 

- and the story continues from here.

 

- I need to know how thus this sound. It will be a gigantic conversion and it will take a minimum of 1.5 years to create with a full working team.

 

After that I was thinking to a second mod and after a while I realized that I was planning the P-02 J loll just that I was calling it :

 

Solar Age: The First Space War

 

It will basically be a WW3 in space centered around the year 2138. And all the action will happen in our solar system....etc.

[Nevets]

Solar Age: The First Space War

 

It will basically be a WW3 in space centered around the year 2138. And all the action will happen in our solar system....etc.

 

I like this idea the best. You could have maps of a lot of the countries on earth to fight over, and to top it off you could also be fighting to control the moon, planets, and asteroid belt.

[Cain]

I don't think I will make this mod / I really don't want to make the same thing like P-02 (I'm guessing).

 

Btw we are going too much of topic...

 

I will let our executive producer - Katarn - decide wich is the most easy to do mod betwen the two etc.

 

The main problem with the second mod is that strating with only two factions is not too realistic not to mention that Earth will have only one map / per planet due to EAW limitations.

 

Back to the topic pls.

[Stellar_Magic]

Well, If I can get enough help on RoR it may be possible to do another mod for this monster, and I know exactly the one I'd do.

 

Stellar Magic: War of Ages

 

Start Date: 2092 A.D.

Factions and their Component Elements

 

Free World Alliance Formed on Febuary 2nd 2052, the Free World Alliance was formed from the United Nations during an emergency meeting. It created a world wide Senate and Executive along Parlimentary lines.

 

Component Faction: The Wizarding Brotherhood Among the recent archaelogical discoveries on earth were keys to the once mythical powers of wizards. During the height of the Rotef Invasion the Wizarding brotherhood took control over one of the worlds from which the attack was launched, currently a large skyscraper dubbed the White Tower is under construction at the world.

 

Rotef Empire Ruled by powerful energy beings forced to use humans as hosts, the Rotere's empire spans thousands of light years. Under their dominion are a number of human subspecies created by the imfamous Rotef scientist Aretes.

 

Component Faction: Spartan Empire Ruled by the Rotef warlord and mythical God Ares, the Empire is among the most advanced military forces in the Rotere Empire. He does however have a rogue streak which has led to inter faction-wars within the empire.

 

Component Faction: Athenian Republic While most Rotef view humans as inferior the Rotef known as Athena has different views. Instead of a parasitical relationship with her host, it is symbiotic. The humans under her domain enjoy a variety of different liberties. This affection for humans eventually will lead to the Athenian Republic's decision to side with the Free World Alliance around 4057 A.D.

 

Component Faction: Hel's Dominion For almost two thousand years this faction was the only element of the Rotere Empire in direct conflict with the Free World Alliance. Led by Hel, the faction utilizes an army of of genetically modified humans whom call themselves Urks (Orcs quickly became the Free World name for these creatures).

 

There are more component factions coming...

 

Sunni Federation The longtime enemy of the Rotef, the Sunni are identical in form to Rotere, in fact they are the same race. However all Sunni are connected to a host at birth, unlike the Rotef their relationship is neither parasitical or symbiotic. The Sunni and human personalities merge into a single entity within the wound, they live and die as one (Most of the time).

[Guest JediIgor]

Untitled

 

Let us begin (all the names are tentative by the way):

 

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Things to Know:

--There are three eras: Early, Middle, Late

 

--These are the factions: Americans [NA], Russians [CIS], Europeans [EU], China [PRC], Japan [JP], India/Pakistan [i/P]. Unplayable?: Nomads.

 

--Major technologies: thermal fusion, cold fusion, anti-matter, dyson spheres, wormholes, slingshot FTL, alien FTL

 

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Before Game Begins:

* 50 years from now: thermal fusion becomes mainstream, private spaceship industry flourishes and thousands of spaceships are built for short range travel, the solar system is quickly explored and charted

 

* 100 years from now: cold fusion becomes mainstream, slingshot FTL technology is developed (using a device that must rebuilt each time to make another FTL jump)

--short range FTL jumps are possible using cold fusion generators

--long range FTL jumps require more energy, for this a partial dyson sphere needs to be built

--early FTL technology means when jumping long distances you cannot jump backwards to the origin

 

* between 100-150 years: first explorers leave for nearby planets to drop off terraformers, most are not heard from again.

 

* 150 years from now: the dyson sphere achieves prototype status, thousands of space ships filled with explorers leave Earth forever to drop off terraformers on planets in hopes that people will one day colonize them. The explorers are kept in contact with Earth by FTL communications which are more mature than FTL travel.

 

* 160 years from now: anti-matter generators are invented, hopefully to bring break-throughs in the near future

 

* 170 years from now: a new type of FTL using wormhole generators is invented, however the wormhole generators are very expensive, and take years to build: on the other hand they allow back-and-forth travel. Colonization begins with nearby terraformed planets, with each major spacefaring country sponsoring their own colonies.

 

* 171 years from now: luddites destroy the FTL communications facilities; all explorers far away from Earth lose contact from Earth, only the local colonies stay in touch with each other. The explorers still have short-range contact with themselves.

 

* 171-200 years from now: some explorers run out of equipment to rebuild their slingshots with, and are forced to colonize on terraformed planets. Others go on, and find alien FTL, which soon enables them to makeshift a better version of their own FTL which can take them to any point in the galaxy and back to the origin. However, at this point in time they cannot get back to Earth since their earlier technology has prevented them from keeping these kind of records. The alien FTL is passed on to all the local explorers (which are now hundreds of light years away from Earth), now dubbed the Nomads.

 

-- To make more efficient slingshot jumps, and to better survive in space, the Nomads have two choices: either take mind altering drugs, or become part cyborg. Some choose the former, some choose the latter. After generations of drug/robotic usage, the Nomads hardly resemble the humans anymore.

 

-- Meanwhile with the discovery of anti-matter, Earth has advances in nanotechnology which enables them to make more efficient gene splicing. Soon, the usage of drugs or transformations into cyborgs is forsaken in favor of better and faster DNA, while still retaining their outward human form.

 

* 200 years from now: With over 20 planets in the "known" (to the Earth humans) galaxy colonized by Earth, and at least 10-20 more unaffiliated to any Earth government, the local Earth colonies are striving well: many solar systems have wormhole generators now and travel times are slowly improving.

 

-- During this time, the Nomads have veered far away from Earth. Using their alien FTL drives they can make jumps anywhere they want -- many Nomads tire of exploring, and they soon colonize a few planets of their own, forming a loose confederation of colonies. This quickly enables them to make full use of the alien technology, and around this time they have almost fully reverse-engineered the alien tech, granting them a level of Star Trek technology.

 

* 201 years from now: crazy Earth scientist claims ascension to higher planes of existence is not too far off

 

* 202 years from now: superstring theory proven as the news is transmitted to all corners of the known galaxy and broadcasted live from Earth, everyone becomes familiar with the device making it possible.

 

* 202 years from now, 5 minutes after the former: All communications with Earth cease. When ships are sent through a wormhole to the Earth coordinates, they do not arrive at the Sol system. Earth is deemed gone, panic ensues throughout the colonies, formerly administrated by the nations of Earth.

 

-- Meanwhile on Earth.. proving superstring theory had its costs: the dimensions used for wormhole travel have been grossly affected by the superstring device, and Earth's 5-7 dimensions used for wormhole travel have shifted. In effect, the 1-3 dimensions for Earth are still there, but it is unreachable by conventional wormhole travel.

 

-- Within days, the crazy aforementioned scientist figures out how to use superstring theory to help him ascend: soon he ascends, taking everyone on Earth with him. To ascend is to unlock all the secrets of the universe in one's head, and to live in a higher plane of existence: some people cannot handle the "turning on the light bulb in their head," and unprepared, they die during the ascension. Earth is soon emptied of every living soul. Those that make the transition quickly decide not to mettle with corporeal affairs.

 

-- On the other planets, order quickly breaks down. Planets administered by their nations quickly unite in a transition government: many lose their right of democracy as military coups happen over the galaxy. Uneasy peace remains, but it is only a matter of time before war will break out.

 

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The Game Begins.. 202 years from now, after Earth disappears

 

--Early Era

 

The game starts out with the player picking a faction, and then his reformed government type. Peace does not reign for long, and war soon breaks loose. With Earth not there to restrict the expansion, the factions each try to grab as much planets from each other, as well as find and colonize the planets terraformed by the earlier explorers.

 

--Early Technology Synopsis

 

For Early Technology, I believe Battlestar Galactica is a very good description of what we can have: slow capital ships armed with nuclear missiles and rail guns, and small agile fighters armed with powerful machine guns used for assaulting the capital ships. Couple that with standard ship navy classes such as destroyers, battleships, carriers, and you have a real navy situation for the game. Weapon/defense wise you do not have any lasers, as those are used for heating food, and particle shields are a pipe dream. Ground-wise you have a more advanced version of the U.S. army -- troops armed with machine guns, jeeps, hovertanks, etc. Until now there have not been any galactic wars, and so the military has not had its necessary funds to really become powerful.

 

--The Goal

 

Some think Earth is not lost. The goal is to find Earth again. Until then, the factions will engage in diplomacy, war, expansion, research, etc. Once a certain point in the tech tree is hit, we will advance to the Middle Era.

 

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--Middle Era

 

With colonies unrestricted by the conservative Earth government, the factions grow into bigger planet-spanning states -- their produced technology has finally caught up with the theoretical.

 

At this point, the borders of the "known" galaxy are about to be broken. Some early explorers' colonies are found, and integrated into one of the factions. However, all the planets farther away are wild and unknown to the factions -- the exploring is yet to begin!

 

As the exploring goes underway, the humans find remnants of ancient civilizations -- constructed yet broken dyson spheres, ruins of buildings on planetary surfaces, and even alien ship hulks! When scientists get their hands on the ships, they realize that the aliens had better working FTL capabilities.

 

Soon, one of the factions reverse-engineers the FTL -- the other factions retrieve this intelligence via the spy networks days later; nevertheless, it is only a matter of time before the first FTL drives are built into ships.

 

The alien FTL is truly a miracle: wormhole generators are no longer necessary, as the FTL enables them to jump almost anywhere the ships want. It takes only days before someone has a bright idea to use the alien FTL to jump to Earth.

 

But Earth is there. For some time, it has been inaccessible via the wormhole, but the alien FTL uses completely different dimensions to travel via the galaxy. The faction that finds Earth quickly takes it over, only to discover that the planet has been emptied. Hints are given that the people may have been ascended, but many dismiss this.

 

The humans quickly realize that the ruler of Earth may unite everyone, and riots erupt across the galaxy. Other factions quickly send out strike forces to capture Earth for themselves so that they may be proclaimed the ruler of the known galaxy.

 

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--Late Era

 

The superstring device proves almost invaluable in deciphering the aliens' technology -- breakthroughs happen almost daily, and soon the humans are well on their way to having technology rivaling that of the Nomads (which still have not been seen for years).

 

Still, more and more alien remains are found weekly, and humans wonder if this alien race is truly extinct. Many remains are too old to be traced, and they wonder what it would be like if the aliens ever came back.

 

On one average day, one of the factions detect a fleet with unknown signatures. Believing that it is a rival faction set out for a sneak attack, they engage the unknown fleet in battle:

 

-- They engage the Nomads! After decades of travelling the galaxy, the Nomads look nothing like humans, and in the midst of confusion they believe they may have encountered the aliens! With their at this time superior technology (after all, they had more time to get used to it), they manage to defeat the human fleet.

 

-- Soon the Nomads send out their entire navy -- outpost by outpost of the human factions disappears. The humans are in a disarray, as they too believe they may have encountered the aliens.

 

As the Nomads go on a rampage across the colonies, the Humans have no choice but to band together (or do they?). In the beginning they lose, but soon they figure out ways to fight the Nomads -- not all hope is lost.

 

In fact, because the Nomads have no knowledge of the superstring device, their technological progress has been relatively slower than that of the Humans'. The Humans quickly figure out how they can fight back the Nomads..

 

-- At this point, the biggest fleet ever before is sent out to Earth by the Nomads. But no battle takes place. After months of fighting, they finally realize that they are actually humans as well! A peace treaty is offered to the ruler of Earth.

 

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--Post Game (or Post-Late Era)

 

At this point many things could happen: This could signify the end of the game, or a beginning of the fourth era.

 

Either the ruler of Earth will accept the treaty, and the game can end, or a civil war can break out between the Humans as they do not want to get subjugated by the new Earth Ruler/Nomad treaty. Additionally, the drug/cyborg sub-factions of the Nomads could also start a Civil War between each other, as the genetically spliced humans are not too fond of the cyborgs.

 

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--The End

 

The game can then end in a few ways: Here are some possibilities..

 

1. The human player becomes ruler of everyone, either by conquest, or by diplomatic treaties.

2. Someone messes up a dyson sphere and it starts a chain reaction of stars that blow up, wiping out the galaxy (not fun, huh?)

3. If you are humane enough, a few ascendants break their rules of not messing with corporeal beings and decide to stop the destruction. Then your scientists finally figure out the way to ascend based on the knowledge gathered from Earth, most people ascend and it's a happy ending.

4. A bunch of trigger happy aliens come back to the galaxy from a long vacation and finding it ruled by some mammals decide to unleash their forces and kill everyone who didn't ascend.

 

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--Unrelated Talk

 

Well.. here it is, it's taken me over an hour, but I hope you guys like it!

 

I originally planned to talk about "divine powers" in here as well, but it had no really big relevance to the major story, I did not. I will talk about it another day.

 

More details, suggestions, etc? Please do!

[Stellar_Magic]

Wait a minute... Isn't that the same concept that got brought up on SWR. You know, Galaxy at War?

[Guest JediIgor]

Wait a minute... Isn't that the same concept that got brought up on SWR. You know, Galaxy at War?

 

Yep, wasn't for Galaxy at War though.