Ceorl

It was in theaters, though maybe a limited release. I saw it with my father sometime in the winter in Kansas City (who was pretty annoyed he couldn't answer most of the trivia during the movie). It isn't bad for Star Wars fans, though I think it is too "Road Trip" esque.

I had an interesting results with those Carracks today in an unedited game. My Imperial Fleet (1 ISD, 1 Victory, 2 Dreadnaughts, 4 Carracks and 10 TIES with Admiral Grammel and Commander Zuggs) was defending a recently taken Rebel world that lacked any bombardment protection in the Sesswenna Sector, ergo I could not retreat or face the potential of a crippling PR backlash. A Rebel fleet arrived to liberate the planet (7 Escort Carriers, 2 Medium Transports. This is by far the toughest AI fleet I've seen in years of playing this game (its only day 240 and my infrastructure is only just established) with around 35 attached X/Y-Wing fighters. The fleet did hold its max compliment (42) originally but my Sesswenna TIE garrisons had been whittling it down for the past month. I told my Carracks to engage the fighters while my TIES held back in escort pattern waiting for their full compliment. The rebel fighters initially tried to run the Carrack gauntlet to reach the TIES but three squadrons were destroyed in route, causing the AI to redirect its attention to the Carracks. I then ordered my TIES and capital ships to attack the enemy fighters as the Rebels were having a surprisingly tough time bringing down the Carracks' shields. Rebel fighter casualties were mounting without any destroyed Imperial ships or squadrons, but then the carriers and transports, with their laser cannons, entered the fray. The next minute was critical to see who would lose more equipment first as a quarter of my TIES and a Carrack, the Ravager, were lost but the Rebels were nearing fifty percent fighter casualties. Then the AI lost its nerve and ordered a retreat. I tried to pursue with my TIES but the laser cannons were too powerful and so ordered them back to protect a disabled Carrack. My capital ships got off a few shots at the retreating carriers but did little damage before the Rebel fleet fled into hyperspace. Casualties: (Imperial: 4 TIES, 1 Carrack destroyed, 2 Carracks, 5 TIES damaged Rebel: 15 X/Y-Wing squadrons destroyed, Unknown number damaged).

Ugh, sadly my Vista computer bit the dust and I'm using an XP backup for the time being so its difficult for me to remember the steps. I'm positive I had the d3drm.dll file in my Rebellion directory but I don't know if that will solve the problem. I also don't know if having Vista 64 would change anything but the instruction's state: So perhaps place the d3drm.dll file in the " windows/WoW64/system32" folder. Assuming you did this, my very basic suggestion would be to make sure you are not running Rebellion in any compatibility mode and make the sure the d3drm is also in the Rebellion folder. If it still doesn't work, hopefully someone more knowledgeable about computers than me can help you out.

Well I don't have it I do have MSN Messenger (e-mail is the MSN account) but I don't know if that can interact with Yahoo

Ya I meant the d3drm.dll file. I guess the question is Rebellion still not working for you even after you follow those steps and install the file in the system 32 directory?

That's a real good point the poor shields on the ISD are a killer (thinking about it I wondered if the game designers made it an intentional design flaw of the ISD...) I like the Carrack but rarely built it because the Lancer comes out so fast (though that thing certainly never lives up to the billing). I'll give mass Carracks a whirl and see how they perform against those AI fighter garrisons.

Not sure how to IM that account but I'd be interested in playing ya. Give me a hollar at robertsc84@hotmail.com or PM through this forum account and we could work something out.

http://www.swrebellion.com/wiki/Rebellion:Windows_Vista I've not tried the step you want to take myself, instead I downloaded the XP file and got Rebellion to run fairly well on Vista. The big problem though is space battles are almost unplayable.

True the AI is not going to become tougher with this, but my basic idea was to force myself to avoid using nothing but the best units (i.e. Dark Troopers, Mon Cals, TIE Interceptors, Neb-Bs, etc). Experiments so far seem to have lead to more balanced AI forces (i.e. fighter garrisons composed of multiple different wings rather than just A) but I'll need to do more tinkering before I can actually say whether or not the AI has changed its behavior. I'd say to anyone interested just give it a whirl and see if you find yourself trying to plan your build order more rather than going for only for the best once you hit mid-game.

Saying you'll play the game only at slow speed might also be a factor. Rebellion can take forever even at very fast. The thought of playing a full game at slow... well lets just say I don't have the weeks to dedicate to that I got a good game going with Addict-Ant once through this forum, lost the save file though, but ya its difficult to find an opponent.

I'm curious how you think Empire has an advantage on smaller maps. My experience has shown a lucky randomization can allow an Empire player to really hurt a Rebel player with a quick invasion but if the move is not a coup the Empire cannot then fight off the Rebel characters. But with regards to fighters, try building Escort Carriers, loaded with fighters (my favorite is the Y-Wing), with some starting Corvettes for TIE swatting. This force will crush darn near any Empire fleet until they get access to the TIE Defender. While the Empire fighters are certainly defensive in nature due to their hyperspace/hanger limits, Rebel fighters are the best offensive weapon in game (which makes sense from a fluff standpoint).

Oh I don't know if I'd go that far, I mean every game is a system with rules that work and don't work. The only problem is that fixes can cause as many problems as they solve. In Rebellion's case, the best change would involve being able to edit the source code, which we can't do. Lord knows I'd love to cut down on all the window pop-ups.

I have two goals: one is to gather information on what the balance issues are and what steps have been taken to address these problems. The other is to present my own balancing ideas and solicit feedback. After seeing the disaster that is E:TW, I decided to tinker with moding Rebellion’s unedited gameplay is fairly balanced, however there are problems: starfighters are too powerful, Rebels are the superior faction, etc. I've searched old posts to gather more information (damage control ratings, suplight speed and agility hardcoding) but I wondered if anyone had ideas that might have missed. I've played Rebellion since it first came out ( ) and to date my biggest gripe is the tech scaling; namely that as soon as a superior technology is researched, a player has no incentive to produce the earlier units. TIE Fighters, Fleet/Ground regiments, Corvettes, many units spring to mind for Rebellion that become obsolete once a superior unit is researched. While a Rebellion game can span years, militaries take decades to phase out outdated technologies, if at all. As such, given Rebellion’s scope, I thought better scaling might be in order. My suggested balance changes are designed, primarily, to create incentives for players to keep building initial units. I will attempt to explain the fuzzy logic behind my changes as I go along: Empire: -TIE Fighter (Mostly a fluff change, TIEs should not have the same agility as an X-Wing but also move faster) -Increase Agility to 6 -Decrease Sublight Speed to 8 -TIE Interceptor: (Other folks have made similar changes, Interceptors should represent a superior TIE model but not an obvious replacement choice. Either a player continues with the strategic bare-bones low cost Fighter model or begin to improve the Empire’s tactical performance with the Interceptors). -Increase Maintenance Cost to 4 -Increase Construction Cost to 4 -Decrease Detection Rating to 15 -Replace TIE Defender with TIE Advanced (TIE Defenders, again fluff, were never designed to be mass produced. Shoot TIE Advanced/Avengers weren’t either, but the Empire does need an advanced starfighter and the thought of endless Defenders filled my geeky brain with horror. Anyway the Advanced starfighter is still a superior and pricy X-Wing) Stats: -Construction Cost: 8 -Maintenance Cost: 7 -Squadron Size: 12 -Research: 8 -Laser Cannon: 8 -Ion Cannon: 0 -Torpedoes: 4 -Shield Strength: 5 -Detection Rating: 15 -Hyperdrive: 60 -Sublight Speed: 9 -Agility: 6 -Bombardment: 0 -Laser Range: 12 -Ion Range: 0 -Torpedo Range: 7 -Lance Frigate -Reduce Detection Rating to 20 -Interdictor Cruiser (The CC-7700, or Interdictor clone, has a bombardment rating and so should the Interdictor) -Increase Bombardment to 2 -Imperial Fleet Regiment (I think the Fleet regiment had an attack value of five because the Stormtrooper’s 6 attack value, but this was a case of the designers striving for unit difference in the wrong way. Imp Army and Fleet regiments should be a cheaper alternative to Stormtroopers for specific use. Namely Fleet operate in space (with its limited transport capabilities so a higher cost), boast high attack ratings because they invade, not defend, and have a higher detection rating to help prevent Characters from destroying your precious ships. Army regiments make up their comparative weaknesses through bulk.) -Increase Attack Rating to 6 -Increase Construction Cost to 8 -Stormtrooper Regiment (I wanted to reinforce the Stromtrooper’s elite nature while keeping their jack of all trades value. Ideally, Stormies should be the Empire reserve, used to garrison important planets and fleets but not treated as a magical build order until Dark Troopers roll around). -Increase Construction Cost to 16 -Increase Maintenance Cost to 10 -Wardroid Regiment (Anyone ever regularly use em? Because I haven’t. DT’s come out too quickly for Wardroids to have anything more than a limited utility. So I decide to make them the most single minded unit in the game. No one can beat them at invading, but that’s all these droids do.) -Increase Construction Cost to 20 -Increase Maintenance Cost to 10 -Increase Attack Rating to 9 -Dark Trooper Regiment (Well DTs are still the best troop unit, but are now very expensive for that performance. My goal is to turn them into 40k’s Space Marines. A powerful unit deployed to critical sectors normally as a fire brigade.) -Increase Construction Cost to 24 -Increase Maintenance Cost to 18 Rebel: -Y-Wing (Fluff again, Y-Wings shields are better than an X-Wings but it is certainly slower too. If my understanding of the game mechanics are right these changes should not affect the unit’s performance in battle). -Increase Shield Strength to Six -Decrease Sublight Speed to Seven -X-Wing -Reduce Bombardment to 0 - B-Wing (Unedited, the B-Wing has the best fighter weapons in the game (not that they help that much). But it did help to make the unit too obvious a choice over the Y-Wing. Now the B-Wing is more a pure anti-ship, bombardment unit, while the Y-Wing is still a multi-tasker better an anti-ship in the same way the X-Wing multi-tasks while being better as an anti-fighter). -Reduce Laser Ranger to 12 -Reduce Ion Range to 12 -Corellian Corvette (Not only does bombardment by a Corvette make no sense in game, it’s also damned annoying). -Decrease Bombardment to Zero -Corellian Gunship (Still a poster child’s of teching, but at least it’s more balanced.) -Increase Construction Cost to 14 -Increase Maintenance Cost to 30 -Reduce Detection Rating to 20 -Nebulon-B Frigate (Still a great ship, but comes slightly later in the game and isn’t so quick to put into play) -Increase Construction Cost to 40 -Moved Research Slot to 2 -Alliance Fleet Regiment (I never understood the 5/15 respective values for this unit, so like its Imp counterpart I’m changing it to reinforce my conception of the unit’s value). -Reduce Bomb. Defense to 2 -Increase Detection Rating to 20 -Alliance Army Regiment (Having a 10 detection rating made it a no brainer to replace these units with Sullustans or Mon Cals the moment either became available). -Increase Detection Rating to 15 -Sullustan Regiment (Still cheap an an effective detector. A player should build Sullustans when he needs to protect an important target, but not for defending everything. With the alien units in general, I wanted to reduce their prevalence, stressing that the Alliance is a polygot organization that did not rely entirely on one race for a certain task). -Increase Construction Cost to 7 -Increase Maintenance Cost to 4 -Reduce Detection Rating to 30 -Mon Calamari Regiment (Same as above, it was a no brainer to replace Army with these guys. Now a player should bring in the Calamaris for key garrisons and use army for the rest) -Increase Construction Cost to 16 -Increase Maintenance Cost to 14 -Wookie Regiment (Wookies get a nerf relative to Wardroids because they can actually defend a planet once taken (albeit badly) and because a 9 attack rating would make them to obvious a choice over Fleet regiments. Ditto logic for the reduced detection rating. To be fair, the only Imp unit that can compete with a Wookie is a DT and the Empire should be fielding relatively fewer of them) -Increase Construction Cost to 16 -Increase Maintenance Cost to 14 -Reduce Detection Rating to 15 General: -Average Laser Cannon Range to 17 (I never liked how one ship could shoot farther given that all of them utilized the same technology just in different formats. This should help keep the smaller ships relevant rather than being outranged by their bigger counterparts.) -Average Turbolaser Range to 60 -Average Ion Cannon Range to 40 -Increase Ship Bombardment values (double) (Simply put ship Bombardment ratings (even the VDs) are too poor) -Reduce Fighter Bombardment values to 1 max (Multiple ships is a better representation of the power needed to break through a planetary shield than a swarm of fighters, imo. The B-Wing is the only one not to get a debuff because the Rebs lack a VD ship). -Except B-Wing (2 value) -Reduce Ship Detection Rating (20 max) (I always liked Rebellion’s game mechanic of requiring troops inside your ships to adequately protect them against sabotage. Unedited, Lancers, Gunships, and Nebulons are too effective a deterrence). -Switched Mon Cal and Nebulon research position (1 and 2 now respectively) (This will not make a large difference, but given the Frigate’s utility, Rebel players will have alittle more reason to use the Mon Cal). -Edit ship Damage Control Ratings (I believe there was a design miscommunication on this value. For example, Mon Cals are said to be difficult to repair but are actually the best in the game. The ship values tend to reinforce this trend as the repair values get better the bigger the ship. So I flipped the values with the smallest ships being the easiest to repair (which makes a certain logistical sense) and the biggest, including the Mon Cal, being the toughest.) Transports (50 value) -Medium -Bulk -Galleon -Star Galleon -Assault Light Ships (50 value) -Corvette -Gunship -Carrack -Lancer Medium Ships (40 value) -Dreadnaught -Bulk Cruiser -Nebulon B-Frigate -Strike Cruiser Escort Carriers (5 value) Heavy Ships (30 value) -CC-7700 -Liberator Cruiser -Assault Frigate -CC-9600 Frigate -Dauntless Cruiser -Imperial Star Destroyers -Victory Star Destroyers -Interdictor Cruiser Huge Ships (20 value) -Super Star Destroyer -Bulwark Battlecruiser -Mon Calamari Cruiser

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2126449585104392536 Couldn't find a post of this elsewhere, so I thought I'd mention it. Short, dumb and kinda funny for anyone who has played the game.

Sounds awfully geeky Count me in

My new PC (with Vista) died on me, so anything I say is based on memory. I had no problem using RebEd with Vista (once I dl'ed the file that allowed Rebellion to run). The problem may be related to something besides the OS.

I've thought about this myself and the problem I have with removing Character Sabotage Troop Mission is that it eliminates one of the few ways Character can prevent your opponent from accmulating too much detection rating. If a player lacks the military forces (say bombardment ability) to attack a planet or does not want to risk the dice rolling implications of bombardment or invasion he will send in characters to accomplish the mission. The opposing player's response is to assign a general and add more troops. By removing the ability to sabotage troops, you remove a player's best counter to his opponent's response. In other words, beyond the, I believe, riskier option of abducting the General to reduce the risk, a player will run a constant, and likely increasing, risk of detection for every operation conducted without a corresponding way to improve his odds; the military option having already been considered impratical. Now in terms of theorycrafting there are still dozens of options/factors to consider in Rebellion, but I wanted to try and boil this down to the key issue and not spend hours writing up a response Finally in terms of fluff, if a Character can destroy a SD that houses ten of thousands of people it doesn't seem such a stretch to eliminate a regiment of troops.

Not sure how many of you guys have heard this comedian (think Police Academy if you're not sure) but I found a great Star Wars bit by him. Warning: Alot of Mature Language, alot.

Yes, I know about that page and what RebEd does. What I am curious about the person who wrote the program. A fella named Mach Demon is given for credit for an earlier version, but no one is named for RebEd and Evader's comment that no one has been able to find the create of RebEd peaked my curiosity. Doubt anyone knows but never hurts to ask.

I'm chuckling at myself now, because while at Dillards, I found this clothing line at a 40% discount (with the recent economic troubles department stores are almost selling stuff at cost). Anyhoo, I'm now the proud owner of an empire hoodie for $30, lol.

Out of curiosity, who created RebEd?

It's a huge advantage all game long until the TIE Defender comes out as even bombing focused Reb fighters can destroy the TIES which slowly exit their hangers. The bigger the ship, like the ISD, the worse the problem. One game I managed to get a Death Star up before I researched the TIE Defender so the fleet had Interceptors. The defending Reb starfleet had enough fighters to top the Deat Star interceptors while the counter ignored the dozens of fighters I had leaving their SD hangars. Long story short, Rebs blew up my Death Star despite a 3 to 1 fighter ratio in my favor (my whole fleet just sat around waiting for the Death Star to go boom). Now you might say "well just build anti-starfighter ships" and you're right its does help outside of the above scenario. Expect for the fact that a Rebel player can then just concentrate on ion capable fighters who will quickly pummel unsupported anti-fighter ships.

Author's Note: Plug, plug, plug. For years I always wanted to do a Rebellion fanfic but never bothered due to lack of a good place to post it. Good thing I found this site for dweebs like myself. Chapter 4: ... and Repercussion http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f262/waltersp/XWASCN21.jpg Bridge Star Destroyer Majestic, Balmora Day 62 As the Majestic decelerated from subspace its narrowly tapered command deck shifted from a blue tinged blur into focus. Feeling nauseous, Ceorl fought down the urge to retch. "Tactical, status report," Admiral Brandi, a short, thin technocrat whose narrow brown eyes revealed a no nonsense attitude, barked as the bridge staff recovered from the space time travel. "Sensors are coming online, Admiral." the tactical officer said, eyes fixed to his display. Captain Wellington, commander of the Majestic and the fleet's executive officer, walked over to view the incoming images as well. "There is nothing in orbit above Balmora," Wellington reported. "I'd still recommend launching two TIE Squadrons as a protective measure." Brandi nodded his assent. "Helm put us in a geosynchronous orbit over the planet," he ordered as Wellington donned a headset to notify the hanger bay. "Tactical dispatch probe droids to the surface." Ceorl observed Wellington's staff respond with latent respect. The size and scope of the Majestic's operations dwarfed his stint as a cruiser's logistics officer. Through the bridge's plexiglass window Ceorl watched TIE fighters swarm protectively around the Majestic while descending probe droids left red streaks in Balmora's atmosphere. General Grammel rose from his observation chair and walked over to converse with Brandi. He motioned for Ceorl to join them. "Inquisitor," Grandi beamed at Ceorl with a smile that barely creased his mouth. "The Rebels will not defend Balmora from orbit and the planet lacks a protective shield system," the faint smile left Grammel's face replaced by a vapid, cruel looking expression on his pudgy face. "An orbital bombardment with the Majestic's turbolasers can eliminate resistance without need for an invasion." "Is there a danger of damaging civilian infrastructure?" Ceorl asked Brandi. "Yes," Brandi replied. "The firing solutions are complex and a slight miscalculation can cause serious collateral damage. However, unless you object, I was going to order the bombardment." Ceorl took a moment to think the matter through. "I do not think the Emperor will mind." --- Several hours later the three commanders watched a computer display sort through the probe droid findings. "A tempting target," Grammel remarked, one hand absently smoothing his brushy mustache. "Five regiments with nothing more than small arms and light vehicles" Brandi said. "Given time the Majestic could reduce them to so much kinetic kindling." "Why would the rebels make such an exposed stand?" Ceorl asked. "Bah, who cares to understand the mind of a traitor," Grammel practically spat. They believe themselves to be invincible, clothed in righteousness as if it were a shield." "Lieutenant Keegan, upload this information to your console," Brandi ordered the weapon's officer. "As soon as you have firing solutions notify me." --- "Coordinates plotted, sir," Keegan announced fifteen minutes later. Brandi walked over to the tactical display. "Feed your data to the gunnery stations." He walked back to command chair. "Comm get me a ship wide address." At the communications' officer okay signal, Brandi began. "Crew of the Majestic," he intoned. "As imperial arbiters the time has come to cleanse the taint of rebellion from Balmora. Gunners, you will receive planet side coordinates of major resistance centers that will be eliminated. Do your duty that is all." Brandi waited a moment, his eyes starring through the bridge's window to the planet below. "Captain Wellington commence firing." Wellington nodded. "All batteries open fire," he ordered through the ship's communication system. From the bridge, Ceorl watched several turbolaser batteries swivel to firing positions. Abruptly their snub nosed cannons recoiled from the kinetic buildup and streaks of green energy, from the colorization of the energy crystals, erupted, speeding towards the surface. Even at the relatively small spatial distance involved several minutes passed before the first volley hit its target. Crimson mushrooms sprouted across Balmora's surface, enormous conflagrations that expanded under the withering, and continual, fire of the Majestic's guns. "Beautiful," Grammel said awestruck. After several endless minutes the barrage stopped. "Initial firing sequence completed," Wellington stated. "Batteries accurately targeted two sectors," the tactical officer reported. "I'm reading reduced energy signatures and a significant spike in heat emissions." "What about the third sector?" Brandi asked. "It appears undamaged, Admiral. C-Section batteries strayed off their firing points by a parsec and... hit a nearby mining operation. That area shows similar damage patterns as the other two sectors hit." "Can you trace the problem?" Wellington said. "C-Battery commander reports a traction problem in the lead battery. Neither the crew nor the targeting system noticed the discrepancy until now, sir." "Get a damage team on it," Brandi ordered. "Lieutenant Kendall re-run the firing solution for that sector to be sure and upload the remaining sector solutions to gunnery stations. This last sequence should eliminate resistance for good." "How long till we can fire again?" Ceorl asked. "Five minutes, likely less," Brandi replied matter of factly. "So little time to wipe out so much," Ceorl thought. When he told Grammel as much, the man smiled. "Many years ago a Sith Lord devastated Telos. It took half an hour with antiquated technology for his fleet to gut the planet." The second barrage surgically eliminated the unprotected Rebel strongpoints. As a fifth of Balmora's western continent burned a transmission came from the planetary surface. "Imperial Star Destroyer, this is the Balmora Planetary Defense Force commander," a tired voice, heavily distorted by static, broadcasted. "We surrender. Please cease your bombardment, over." Outside the Commonwealth Building Balmora Day 63 Faceless stormtroopers in polished white armor paraded prisoners before General Grammel and COMPNOR Chief Ceorl. A squadron of TIE fighters flew overhead their sonic shriek the victor's music. The Majestic, in low orbit, hung over all. "Victory," Grammel said preening. "And without a single blaster shot fired." "Indeed," Ceorl noted dryly as work crews struggled to remove debris from the parade's path. Behind them the Commonwealth's administrative wing was mere memory; a smoking crater courtesy of an off target turbolaser battery. Ceorl turned around to face the assembled human dignitaries. Among them was a haggard Edward Trace taken from confinement and transported to Balmora. He seemed a smaller man now with sunken eyes and an unkempt beard. Ceorl began with a lie. "As faithful civil servants I would ask we put this behind us and work toward the future," Ceorl waved a hand to encompass the surrounding devastation. "The Emperor has decreed Balmora become his premiere production and training center. He would ask for your loyalty in return." "And what does that entail?" Trace asked, his jaded eyes narrowed in distrust. "To insure an administration with the will for necessary reforms a planetary governor, with powers beyond legislative reproach, will be appointed," Ceorl answered. "COMPNOR membership will be mandatory for participation in this new administration. And all resident xenos will be registered according to the Galactic Race Laws provisions." "That is absurd," a councilman, his face red with anger, shouted. "Balmorans will never agree to such a fascist accord." "Think about what democracy has brought your planet." Ceorl retorted. "Aliens have abused Balmora's political system, dragging you into their vindictive secessionist conflict while claiming to represent your will. Balmora was under the knife edge only because they called to their brothers pleading 'liberation'. Strong decisive leadership is necessary to halt such recklessness and secure a future free of the dictates of alien minds. COMPNOR is this vessel to a new age of human prosperity. None of you need go along, but all who do shall be enriched for it. Balmora's Labor Union could become the national labor organization fueling an age of prosperity never seen before. Think on this and remember those who stand against the Empire shall face a traitor's fate. I shall call on you again." Ceorl signaled for stormtroopers to escort them away.

I'm always stunned by the artistic talent displayed in these kind of works while another part of me wonders at the cost to assemble a monster like that.

Oh and this one as well http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2007/12/santa-imperial-troopers.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.gizmodo.com.au/tags/santa&usg=__IPdg4yxX4i-Mn2dRzfITUXPkPdc=&h=529&w=800&sz=145&hl=en&start=41&um=1&tbnid=d8MRxL1_nMxGtM:&tbnh=95&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgalactic%2Bempire%26start%3D40%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN