General ideas / concepts for the "BSG: Cry of the Gods" mod

[Mox]

A thread for general ideas regarding the BSG mod

[hawkbs]

Best source for info is here for ship specs etc
http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page

[Elffin]

in regards to 'faster than light travel' the link below shows and explains the main principals of ftl travel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTL_%28Battlestar_Galactica%29.

The paragraph regarding navigation and limitations could be quite useful...
i) smaller ships have lower ftl range than larger ships.. This could lead to interesting sceanarios were some of the smaller ships are temporarily lost or left further behind from the main fleet. Raptors have small ftls.

Vipers are not fitted with ftl, so I suppose the max number of vipers allowed will be the number of docking slots available in the fleet.

It appears that all Cylon craft have ftls which are more accurate and more powerful.

NOt sure how this might influence the use of gates as in X3?

[Mox]

The BSG X3 universe I envision most surely will not have gates.

The FTL's various ranges could be a problem though, also it will have to be modded a jumpdrive (to be designated FTL) won't require EC's anymore, or EC's will have to be renamed into something a FTL would require to operate.

> S3 comment==spoiler below <


The Colonial FTL's being inferior to the Cylons is someting elaborately repeated in commentry along the series...too bad with this in mind the trick Galactica pulls of in S3 can't be explained by a dozen lawyers and 6 Einsteins together cause just how much more accurate would you want your FTL to be?..the jumping in of a couple of Raptors with Galacticas advanced resistance link-up party right above New Caprica's hard plate doesnt suggest they have any problem whatsoever with their FTL accuracy anymore. Imo the producers went away from a great many Colonial technical declared inferiorities as the series moved along to spice things up a little or just simply cause too much faithfullness to claims stated years ago can get hoggy quick

[Elffin]

No gates -great!

Do you forsee 1 big enormous sector or a large number (of gateless)sectors which have jump point references /coordinates on the 'Dradis' (sector map?)

[Mox]

The latter..1 big giant sector would never be possible to mimic a real fast galaxy, it would limit backgrounds, suns, nebula's to just 1 or a few types and it creates floating point calculus problems in X3 engine.

[TriMagestis]

I agree - lots of sectors - no gates.
Mox - as for your spoiler info - a good pilot who knows his ships quirks and nuances could probably do somthing like that - a bit like driving your car - you know how it will react when you do turn the wheel etc...,
[spoiler:bf3cb87d40]So if you knew how your ship would react to certain co-ordinate input - you could compensate some - still risky and impractable/improbable but hey life is about risk sometimes - I think you are right about the producers wanting to spice it a bit! :-) because we know that Gaeter was on the ground at the time[/spoiler:bf3cb87d40]
Actually - having the smaller ships with a shorter FTL range would make any BSG mod player think about his/her fleet more - you can't leave a ship behind because it has needed resources etc... could you limit how much energy they can carry and everytime they jumped it would instantly refill - but not effect other things they can transport?

[al_main]

I'd rename Energy Cells -> Tylium, that way you're already covered for the fuel issue. Modding the ware to have a bigger volume aswell could be the limiting factor.

Using Ore roids and a refinery ship with the ability to change Ore -> Tylium and you're pretty much sorted. Luckily ES already put mobile mining into the game! Or alternatively allow the construction of mines for some large price.



The only other thing thats needed is that with no gates you need a way to "find" the new sectors.

Possibly just an "explore" command on the ships that jumps to a semi-random sector in the direction specified?

[Mox]

I'd say exploring happens via Raptors the moment the fleet crosses the Red-Line.
Good call btw AL, saves a lot of hazzle.

[bojan]

Hi!

How about making a script that puts on a map all neighbor sectors to that you have just explored?

It activates after you cross the red line.

[Admiral-Dyroi]

How about making a script that puts on a map all neighbor sectors to that you have just explored?

Well that would work but then it wouldnt be as fun I would say make a script for Raptors to "Scout" and they randomly jump1 sector length away and begin scanning the sector they enter (for both enemy ships and ore/water) then you can use the carrier to send another command like Return home
tada sector discovered and it requies you to expend assests and resources to explore in the chance of finding more and the bad chance of finding a Cyclon fleet or if your lucky just a scout party.

[warduke]

As far as navigation for FTL drive. Couldn't you just think two dimensionally? I mean remove the Z axis so all you can do is jump North, East, South or West along a navigational map.

Imagine a grid of squares(like um excel) where the top right is A1 and the bottom left could be something like Z26. You start in the center (M13 or so) and you choose whether you jump to M12, M14, L13 or N13.


If the center is the twelve colonies. The bottom right(Z26 area) could be Cylon space while the upper left(A1)is the Sol system.


Such an open star map gives the end user a lot of room to explore. With lots of empty systems that use up player resources. Thus making the game exactly like the show. A fight to survive. Survive the Clyon attacks. Survive the limited resources by finding more. Find Earth...

Granted, I would make the grid a little bigger. Not too much though as you only want the player to take a few days of hardcore playing to find Earth.

A1 to Z26 grid requires 26 jumps if starting from the middle to find earth. That is of course if they know which corner it rests. You could increase the grid size though. Maybe A1 to ZZ52. Requiring 52 perfect jumps in the correct direction to find Earth. If 98% of the systems are completely empty(not a solar system but empty space). Exploring and mining will be fundamental to survival. As there would be just 2704 systems but only 54 systems with any kind of resources in the mod!

When you subtract known systems like the colonies, earth, kobold, new caprica and the cylon home world. You only have to create from scratch about 40 or so systems.


Understand that #1, I am new to X3 and my sole purpose of buying the game is to stop paying CCP $15.00 a month haha. #2, so that I could play best BSG mod when it becomes a available.



So, get to work!! hahaha

[silentWitness]

Ok so a Battlestar Galactica mod... from what I’ve seen in the Xtended mod you’re going to have no trouble here but I’m stubborn… manipulative even! And yes bored enough to write this rubbish! It's not complete yet but I'm tired of writing right now...

Universe…
Nice that X splits up the universe into nice slices of space sectors if you will… a little bit of modification of the map and this can be made to look nice…

Sectors can be nice and diverse… initial sector map MUST encompass as much as possible... further than the ship can see and follow the highlighted object no matter what… It’s a big error in X3 that I hope you can fix! It works at close range I hope you can fix it for far range as well!!!

The universe will be made up of populated and open space sectors… Populated sectors would include Solar systems with planets, a planet or two with usable biological resources would be nice… Creating proper icons for planets would be useful so that players can jump their ships the correct distance and not end up inside!!!

Planetary docking is handled via “cheating it” Ships capable of landing need only hit the dock button when they hear “Entering Atmosphere” They’re transported to a docking space like that of the trading stations. Certain resources can be ‘extracted over time’ using ship commands… Also plot and events can be added with this system… e.g. finding plot related locations or useful discoveries e.g. returning to Caprica and picking up survivors…

Ships would then be dumped safely outside like they are with trading stations… Even using the mechanics of the original game is basically works… *shakes hand to say sort of*

Sectors with asteroids, ice fields, nebula, bases, supply lines, you know the stuff I space ok… will also exist… also sectors with nothing…. Empty space…

Resources...

Without access to the nice station interface you’ve got to be careful not to make things too complex, you’re going to need a lot of automations to prevent serious micromanagement issues!!!

Raw Wares
Raw Tylium – To stop people collecting roids and not doing anything with them a raw state must be used.
Water – Another good one… but be careful of creating too many demands or the player won’t have time to do much else!!!
Ore – Raw metals, unrefined and totally useless in themselves… I’d recommend only having two…
Chemicals – Harvested from nebular and from planets… Useful for making anything from explosives to medical and toilet cleaning supplies…

Consumables
Tylium – Refined tylium is used as Fuel, ships without fuel stop… Stopped ships die.
Food – One of life’s basics.
Metals – Refined and usable. Not too many.
Consumables – While not the end of the work if they run out you’ll likely face a mutiny at the ‘ships head’ if no where else…

Other
Ammunition – Not sure how you’d get rid of this fracking stuff… sure won’t be dumping it out of an airlock though… :p
Missiles – Boom? ;)
Hand weapons – Hand Weapons + People = Marines…
Ships – you have enough resources to allow for ship building… Metal(s), Tylium, Chemicals, Consumables, Time… that’s too many really when you have no GUI!

Human
People – I tell you to be very careful with this one... If you come close to the 40,000 number as in the show (which you can by the way) you’re going to have to balance how fast they consume with how easy it is to get food!!! I would advise against too much training… without the GUI you’re causing big issues for players down the road!
Marines – People with guns!!!

Ships

Shields represent armour, it doesn’t regenerate except via docking (sneaky huh the game already does this one!), or for larger ships via the repair command! If ships structure becomes damaged a ship must be refit, this takes resources.

Jumps are handled differently than in X3… Jump drives recharge to 100%... ships use more or less of this number with each jump distance… The Galactica can jump a long way (say ten sectors) but a raptor can only cover two sectors distance on the same charge. (smart huh)

The inability to build more capital ships is a problem… I’m a capital ship junky…

Commands
You’re lucky a lot of this stuff is already in place either in Xtended or in the mod pack.

Supply Command – Checks designated ships for resources and delivers it as needed, a smart SDS… Your watch word is automation… take the strain from the micromanagement where ever possible!
Jump the Fleet – As it says, commands the ENTIRE fleet to jump!!! All jumping is point to point after all!
Mine – Mine asteroids or other… On planet if would collect resources over time.

These commands are specifically for additional commands.
Refine – Turns raw materials into their purer states…
Manufacture – Grow food, make things, etc… Depends on the ship.
Repair – Repair the ships armour (the shields in X3 via the system used by the Custodian).
Refit – Repairs structure using resources.

AL Commands.
Turn off population requirements – Takes the strain off food… people don’t die etc…

The enemy…
The Cylons need to seek and destroy… efficient but not so much as to kill the player in the first hour…Scouts and supply lines would be nice…


I'm evil and will annoy mox by adding more to this list! :evil: :wink:

[Elffin]

Some good ideas there SilentWitness - thanks :)

In future, could you post them in the relevant threads that already exist please? :wink:

[Aragon Speed]

TBH I'm not sure which thread this would have fitted in. Perhaps silentWitness had the same conundrum.

[Elffin]

Just give me an opportunity to explain.... :P

What I meant was that any relevant text underneath the subtitles could have been placed in the 'stickied' threads... Universe, Commands = Scripts, and Resources = Wares etc.

As I said earlier, they are good ideas, and would contribute well to the discussions that already exist and could/would encourage further debate without trying to discuss every possible aspect of the mod in just one thread..

Hope I'm not being too picky :oops: , I've probably spent too many hours in this forum :mrgreen:

P.s. @SilentWitness - keep posting your ideas!

[silentWitness]

You do realise I'm the psycho that posted a huge concept document that brought egosoft developers into the main forum rather then letting them hide out in Dev net!

[Elffin]

I give up! :lol:

Merged the thread under a new relevant title!

[Jey 16]

here my ideas:

I just thought a lilte bit about BSG ... and then remembered an interesting idea from DSE for the XTM - why not create stations with the model of a Capital ship ...

So why not create stations with the model off the Galactica
You can dock and read the BBS (including mission triggers), buy ammo etc.

And I just remembered the BtRL Demo .... they´ve called the Cylon anti fighter Missile "Ascedent Missile" or something similar

Nuclear Missiles: create random hull demage, and sometimes minimize the stearing ....

they also create radioactivity which kills crewmember and you have to change some contaminated ship parts (this costs ressources)

and it create internal burnings ... this kills crewmember and you have to decide if you close the bulk heads and open the emergency ventilation system to stop the burnings befor the reach the fuel depots and destroy teh ship.
If you don´t close them your ship´ll be destroyed ....

Like the HCF the Cylons could land on Battlestares with some Heavy Raiders and figth with your crew (but this should be very very rare)


"Flares" for the Raptor and Vipers ... they must be ejected from the cargo via a hotkey and then if a missile which "hunts" you flys to close to it both ´ll blow up

[Stevio]

why not create stations with the model of a Capital ship ...
because stations can't fly :roll:

So why not create stations with the model off the Galactica
You can dock and read the BBS (including mission triggers), buy ammo etc.
creating the missions without a bbs shouldn't be too much of a problem...

some very good ideas there Jey
stevio grabs pen and pad http://www.deborahmcdonnell.com/damselfly/wp-images/icons/writer-smiley.gif

[H.F._Mudd]

Well that would work but then it wouldnt be as fun I would say make a script for Raptors to "Scout" and they randomly jump1 sector length away and begin scanning the sector they enter (for both enemy ships and ore/water) then you can use the carrier to send another command like Return home
tada sector discovered and it requies you to expend assests and resources to explore in the chance of finding more and the bad chance of finding a Cyclon fleet or if your lucky just a scout party.

Yeah, I like the idea of needing to use raptors to scout for the next jump. Also, you should be required to transmit jump info to the fleet before you jump (so nobody gets lost).
This system would force the player to constantly use his raptors to set up the next jump and have the fleet ready in case the Cylons show up. It would also lend itself to raptor rescue missions like events in "The Captain's Hand".
Some scenario where you need to find lost ships after a jump would be fun too.

[Elffin]

Good idea guys O0

Keep 'em coming!

[Jey 16]

Some Raptors should have long range Scan function like the Goner Aran ...

Then they´re used like the Awak planes to control the area and send information to figthers where the next enemy fighter is ...

Cylon Ressurection ship can build Cylon Raiders and Heavy Raiders ....

If a Raider or Heavy raiders with the ressurectionship as homebase get destroyed the ressurection Ship´ll automatically transfer the knowledge into an emty hull

So it needs only Raider hull and heavy Raider hull to reanimate fighters

Ragnar station should be a ammo factory ....


There should me a new Fight Command: Target nearest missile and target importantst missile (important missiles are Hammerhai/Hammerhaed or in BSG Nuce´s)



One question: Will the Mod start before or after the Cylon attack ???

[Elffin]

Raptor used as 'awak' - a must! - especially if were evil and create enormous systems!



One question: Will the Mod start before or after the Cylon attack

:-X Not telling!!!

[Bahlien]

A few of my ideas:

For starters, fewer stations. Like one or two per a system. And have them be different kinds of stations. In one sector it will be an old shipyard.. the other will be a supply depot in a different system etc. Atleast in sectors where the Cylons have more dominance. I say fewer stations because in BSG a surplus of stations is not present. Period. And what a better challenge than to have to conserve supplies on the ship, or scavenge as often as possible to keep the rag tag fleet together?


No GUI? I think that is taking it to a bit of an extreme, leave an option to keep it in for people who'd rather have it.

As for missions, that all is dependant on what kind of storyline you guys are including into this, and where you want that to go. I would hope that perhaps you will consider a few things to do (If you haven't already):

A) Start everyone out in Gallactica's situation and have to jump all over the universe to get back home.
OR
B) Start players out from "earth", with a new fleet in search of the lost Colony sent into space ages ago. Starting the first encounters with the Cylons. It would be an interesting twist, from a fans point of view.
OR
C) Give the option for both. (I know b is a bit unprobable, but I thought it would be a good way to offer a change up.)
D) Anyone feel like blowing up Vipers and pound on Gallactica and maybe even the Pegasus a bit? How about playing the Cylons side of the story?
Nuke a few planets too while your at it.

I've got some other ideas, some ofthem have already been listed. Hope this can spark some ideas for right now though. 8)

[H.F._Mudd]

Honestly, once past the red line, I hope there are NO stations outside Cylon core sectors. In the series, they encountered exactly one Cylon tylium mine and that's it.

I think all resources should be gathered mobile style and all wares should be produced by various ships in the RTF.

As far as replacing Vipers/Raptors goes, I think the player needs to make due with what they have (part of the challenge of the game) at least until the RTF meets up with Pegasus. Once the player gets control of Peggy (with the ability to produce fighters) they'll have their one and ONLY chance to restock Vipers and Raptors. IMO this approach would be much truer to the spirit of the show.(The BSG mod should be about survival and endurance.)

I think Battlestars should be very tough but very hard to repair too.[spoiler:c63a9612a8]In season 3 it's apparent that Galactica is on it's last legs... I think someone even states that it couldn't survive another major battle.[/spoiler:c63a9612a8]

This may be too much to ask initially, but I'd also like to see three starts for the mod:

Start 1: Leads to control of Galactica/RTF and the quest to find Earth.

Start 2: Leads to control of Pegasus with the goal of avenging the colonies and wiping out the Cylons.

Start 3: Command of the Cylon genocide fleet with the goal of destroying the colonies and hunting down Pegasus, Galactica and the RTF.


I'd also like to see some kind of conflict between Galactica/Pegasus when they meet in order to gain control of the other Battlestar.

PS
I do think it might be interesting to start the mod sometime before the Cylon attack with missions set in the colony sectors, or missions set in the Cylon core (for a Cylon start).

Also at the top of my wishlist:[spoiler:c63a9612a8] I hope we can get a rescue mission for New Caprica with a huge, difficult battle... Whether or not it results in the destruction of Pegasus should depend on the tactics/skill of the player. [/spoiler:c63a9612a8] :wink:

[Elffin]

Thanks guys - all your ideas are appreciated - as Adama said to the Starbuck...

"We need out of the 'box' thinking!' - or something similar! lol

[Jey 16]

Here some nice ideas:

Create a hotkey wihich luanchs a defined number of Vipers and combine it with a litle sound - "launch Vipers" form Adama :D that would make the Mod really awesom

And some Raiders, the "reborn Raiders" should have a better fight AI like this one FIght AI Mk III (http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=176241) this AI is realy taff and a Raider with this AI would be a strong enemy :evil:

Deleted double post! - Elf

[H.F._Mudd]

Yeah, it would be cool to replace Betty with sound clips from the show!

"Action stations!!! Set condition one throughout the ship!"


Also, I was thinking about the navigation/sector jumping issue...

I think it would be cool to have a few 'landmark' sectors, that are visible but far too distant to jump to like the Lagoon Nebula (which points the way to Earth).

[apollo]

Yeah, it would be cool to replace Betty with sound clips from the show!

"Action stations!!! Set condition one throughout the ship!"


Also, I was thinking about the navigation/sector jumping issue...

I think it would be cool to have a few 'landmark' sectors, that are visible but far too distant to jump to like the Lagoon Nebula (which points the way to Earth).

That would be good, and I expect possible, as what Betty says, I'm assuming, is just a sound file located somewhere, and all that would be required is replacing them. Which would work for places where Betty is already speaking. Does anyone know if a script can call a sound file?
Another problem is it may not be legally possible to take sound clips from the show without violating copyright laws.

You could argue that taking only a few words here and there falls under the 'fair use policy', however, this doesn't explicitly define what can and cannot be used without permission of the copyright holder. I suspect it would be best to contact NBC Universal regarding this issue.

If they say no (if they reply at all), it would be simple enough to record our own versions.

[Elffin]

Don't know if you've noticed, I've been experimenting with a plugin on my comp to imitate bsg space chatter... (viper pilots talking to each other - see music & fx thread for experiment).

Whether it'l happen.......

EDIT: Contacting universal = No. They have refused permission asked by every other mod and with their own game coming out.......least said I think!


Any views on removal of SETA???

[apollo]

I would suggest leaving it in. Possibley renaming it, or providing an explanation.

I.E When the fleet is traversing large sectors with a minimal threat likelyhood, it is important for all viper(/raptor/civvys) pilots to get as much rack time as possible. To do so, engage *insert seta's new name here*.

Just an idea, although one that doesn't solve many problems actually. I'll keep thinking.

[Stevio]

it is important for all viper(/raptor/civvys) pilots to get as much rack time as possible. To do so, engage *insert seta's new name here*.
you do realise by activating seta you speed up time so you wont' be able to sleep as long then :D

[Semperphi]

I would like to see a rework on the sensors. Similar to current submarine warfare.

Passive sensor, this will not give away your postion but will use light, temperature, radiation level, gravity signature, radio coms or the like to gather information on objects in the game. But may not be very accurate.
Keeping in mind that you want to stay "hidden" from your enemies as they are trying to find you. Basic rules for the model. The faster an object moves, the more noise it makes. Also the larger you are, the easier to find.

Use "Phase Lock Loop" (FLL). Phase is when the target isn't making enouph noise to get a lock. Lock is when enough information is gathered single out a target. Loop is the ability to stay locked onto the target, even if it moves into the phase detection region.
This makes if Very important to have a screen of long range recon ships patrolling round your fleet

Active sensor, Used as a last resort. This will give you very accurate information on your target but will give away your position.

[krm398]

Active and passive sencors are a good idea, and its true, that knowing a "hot" radiation signature is close by doesnt really tell you the size of the ship.(passive detection of radioactive plasma exhaust) also active sensors act very much like radar (lidar?) and it would give pinpoint accuracey but also a return pulse that could be seen for quite a distance. It could still be used in emergencys, but it wouldnt have a galactic or universal range,(extremey long) it could be limited to say, 6 sectors radius, then it could be used from time to time without much chance of detection. Asteroid mining would be the most effective source of materials, and as we know, asteroids are universal, so even though there will be sectors without any, it will be more likely to find small groups in a lot of sectors, and entire "belts" in others. The mobile mining ships of X2-3 would fill the bill well, since they are nothing but modified frieghters, so no special crafting of ships would be necessary, just a quick mod of an old ship. Sorry, was reading all this stuff and had to put in my 2 cents. :)

[bojan]

Hi!

My name is Bojan and I am a big BSG and X3 fan. I have played and replayed X2 and X3 game many times with all possible modifications. I have also built my own BSG space with hawkbs models, but I’ve never finished it. I can offer you many ideas about the storyline and guidelines in how to make a stable working economy in BSG space. Here are some points I think that could make this mod very enjoyable:

-Realistic game environment (ship models, graphics, music, special effects…)
-A good storyline.
-Solid economy model.
-Heroes with special abilities.
-Civilian fleet - each ship should have an important role in the economy.

A few ideas about economy:

Basic resources (you collect or mine them)
-Water
-Ore
-Silicon
-Tylium

Intermediate commodities (are processed on ships)
-Energy and/or fuel=f(tylium, labor)
-Food = f(ore, energy, labor)
-Alloys = f(ore, energy, labor)
-Computer components =f(silicon, energy, labor)
-Weapon components =f(alloys, energy, labor)

Final products (are assembled)
-Fighters = f (alloys, computer components, energy, labor, pilot)
-Bigger ships = f(alloys, computer components, energy, labor, crew)
-Guns (weapon components, computer components, labor)
-Bullets (weapon components, tylium, labor)
-Missiles (weapon components, tylium, labor)
-Ship upgrades (computer components, labor)
-Stations f(alloys, computer components, energy, labor). Available on the final stage of game.

Special resources
-Presidential points=f(Colonial one, time, Cylons killed in battle) - can give you anything at any time.
-Credits (possible if friendly AI)

The BSG world is a story is about people:
-Citizens = their numbers increase with food, water and entertainment.
-Labor force (is generated by Citizens through time)
-Mechanics = f(citizens, time)
-Crew =f(citizens, time)
-Marines/soldiers = f(crew, time)
-Pilots = f(crew, time)

Heroes (I assume that ships are not shielded)
-Chief (boosts production, decreases repair time)
-Starbuck (always shielded, special ability - cannons kill instantly, fighters only)
-Apollo (always shielded + Command: broken formation - all fighters within range have a shield for 60 seconds, available once per hour in a game play)
-Adama (Command: Action stations – all ships are invincible for 30 seconds available once per hour in a game play)
-President (Generates presidential points - can give you anything at any time)

I am willing to help you in making BSG mod the best one.

Ciao!

Bojan

[apollo]

Welcome Bojan!!

I am willing to help you in making BSG mod the best one.

:wink:

[Elffin]

Nice to see you back Bojan! O0

Merged your posts here since your ideas (good ones as well) can be viewed with similar ones which discuss some of the possible main concepts

[Semperphi]

I was just wondering. For the "BIG PICTURE". What direction is the BSG mod going to take? I am going to make the assumption that your going to strip the universe most of the races, pirates, factions, fabs, sectors etc. And use the the basic X3 as a game engine. Are there legal pit falls with doing that?

Is it going to be a sand box like X3? Or tied closely to the Tv series? Move your fleet from here to there. Gave over. :(

Are there going to be fewer sectors but huge in size? 1000 km :D
Now that there are no goners is the jump drive going to be removed or revamped? (I would suggest this)

Just looking for a feel of what approach the BSG mod is going to take

[Elffin]

Details = :-X Team members cannot reveal info unfortunatley

But we do listen to people's ideas so continue providing us with 'Out of the box' thinking..... and we shall see.

[Semperphi]

Details = :-X Team members cannot reveal info unfortunatley

But we do listen to people's ideas so continue providing us with 'Out of the box' thinking..... and we shall see.

IC. Out of the box eh? Ok then, please kill the current menu's in X3 and replace with this instead. Custom Gui (http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=186435&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=&sid=bb604be085cce19da321a1ce0cecd796) :lol:

Im no scripter but this looks a very powerfull tool

cheers

[Elffin]

Indeed, it does look very promising.

thanks again! :)

[Jey 16]

I was just wondering. For the "BIG PICTURE". What direction is the BSG mod going to take? I am going to make the assumption that your going to strip the universe most of the races, pirates, factions, fabs, sectors etc. And use the the basic X3 as a game engine. Are there legal pit falls with doing that?

Is it going to be a sand box like X3? Or tied closely to the Tv series? Move your fleet from here to there. Gave over. :(

Are there going to be fewer sectors but huge in size? 1000 km :D
Now that there are no goners is the jump drive going to be removed or revamped? (I would suggest this)

Just looking for a feel of what approach the BSG mod is going to take

I'll say you everything :D

1. It'll be a Total Conversion
2. It'll be about Battlestar Galactica
3. It'll be a X³ Mod(ifikation)

__________________________________________________ ___________

Some Asteroids should include ice instead of ore ...

[Elffin]

2. It'll be about Battlestar Galactica


Damn leaks! :lol:

[Stevio]

3. It'll be a X³ Mod(ifikation)
are you've ruined it, now they know everything :cry: :D

[krm398]

I was a big BSG fan a while back. in the origanal show, they used "Laser Torpedos" that they set to various sizes acording to the energy used.This replaced fighters with missiles, but the Galactica had huge missiles they used against base ships. Of course, the galacticas main weapon was fighters, but they didnt think much of fighters attacking base ships, they considered them to weak to do it effectively.In X universe we use many different missile types depending on the job, since this is a BSG mod, I suggest limiting missiles to just the capitol ships and using cannons or lasers on fighters, that would give the feel of the original show. Also, I suggest a "refining" ship in the fleet with frieghters that can retreave ores and ice and drop them there. It could be a rebuilt ship of large size used just to refine ores and other materials into finish products. Since the fleet is constantly moving, it wouldnt be possible for a large ship to stay behind and mine, but several smaller faster ships could travel away from the fleet in different directions, and do the job because they would be fast enough to catch up. However, I dont agree with "heros with special powers" heros have above nornal abilites, yes but no super powers, they just do the job better than the average person, and so become heros.:wink:

[apollo]

According the wiki, the viper can be moded to carry missiles, as can the raptor. And from one episode the raptor can carry ship to ship nukes. I agree, since in TNS fighters don't really use missiles, it would be good to stick to this.

[Mokonzi]

It could easily be set up so a ship can't use missiles, except for rare ones, perhaps only obtainable through a handful of missions.

[Jey 16]

According the wiki, the viper can be moded to carry missiles, as can the raptor. And from one episode the raptor can carry ship to ship nukes. I agree, since in TNS fighters don't really use missiles, it would be good to stick to this.

The resucue mission of New Cparica Two Vipers launched missiles to destroy a tower

[apollo]

According the wiki, the viper can be moded to carry missiles, as can the raptor. And from one episode the raptor can carry ship to ship nukes. I agree, since in TNS fighters don't really use missiles, it would be good to stick to this.

The resucue mission of New Cparica Two Vipers launched missiles to destroy a tower

Yeah, as said, it is possible for them to carry them, but since we won't be having planetery combat, (or is that just a detail we're choosing to keep secret 8) ), I think the use of missiles should be strictly limited.

The viper also uses missiles against the cylon refinery.

[Jey 16]

... and the Blackbird against the Ressurection ship used missiles too .... :P

Rockets should be very limited and a rare ware .... so you have to use them wissely

Yeah :-X be quiet nobody else should know that there are planetary missions :roll:

[krm398]

IF there are planetary missions, please,please, no flying through tunnels with guys after you..lol. I would like to see combat between vipers and cylons in asteroid fields, like as a mission to defend a mining ship who is hiding from a cylon patrol and needs help. It would be great fun chasing cylon fighters through a field of asteroids, and it would add realism to the game. A mining ship might have good long range but its defences would be minimal, so an escort would be needed to keep it safe. It might also be possible to find wrecks of other ships that could be gathered for rescourses or even parts. The cylons have killed a lot of people, and ship wrecks would drift for a long time in space. Not happening often, but on a rare ocasion.

[apollo]

IF there are planetary missions, please,please, no flying through tunnels with guys after you..lol. I would like to see combat between vipers and cylons in asteroid fields, like as a mission to defend a mining ship who is hiding from a cylon patrol and needs help. It would be great fun chasing cylon fighters through a field of asteroids, and it would add realism to the game. A mining ship might have good long range but its defences would be minimal, so an escort would be needed to keep it safe. It might also be possible to find wrecks of other ships that could be gathered for rescourses or even parts. The cylons have killed a lot of people, and ship wrecks would drift for a long time in space. Not happening often, but on a rare ocasion.

I like the idea of finding wrecks out there! And I would love a mission along the lines of Scar episode.

[krm398]

Also was thinking about old BSG episodes I saw..(if I overdue my welcome,kick me..lol)..anyway. There were a few times they DID find small colonies, as Adoma once said" straglers who got tired traveling and stayed behind to start their own colonies" These would be small, probably agrocultural comunities. They may have as little as a few hundred people, barely surviving.(the moral being, stay with the fleet) and they would be very suspicious of outsiders, its the only way they survived so far. Also, I see many people here who cant wait to command the entire fleet, thats good, but I was always a ship man myself, so flying combat missions, and even mining missions, should be possible. Maybe not as ordered, but on a volunteer basis. I cant see the fleet or even the commander being upset he actually found someone who LIKES mining for rescourses. Perhaps starting everyone out as an ensign, with experience going toward further rank, and yes, its a military command, so even on your way up to the Galactica, you will have to command something smaller, maybe the refining ship and escorts..lol. If the game gives us time to do it of course,remembering that the original show said it took 30 yarns to find earth the first time, thats a LOT of missions and fights.

Also, the idea of wrecks doesnt mean dead battlestars, but could be as small as a group of destroyed frieghters,(a dead convoy) or as big as a destroyed starbase. It could add a WOW factor to be traveling, or scouting ahead and see a hulk in the distance. Not to mention the finish metal plating,equipment that can be salvaged, and even ammo and weapons that survived the first attack. Perhaps a mining ship could double as a salvage wrecker if needed, ok I'm done for today, dont hit me.lol

[Elffin]

I like the ideas of Colonies... don't think its a concept that the new BSG series has ignored either..... Ragnar, Troy etc.

[krm398]

unless they are found in wrecks in space they would be very hard to build, remember that they left kind of quickly. I doubt they had time to gather all the necessary blueprints for all the weapons they use. It maybe be possible to have a mission to get a BP from a friendly base, or find one in an old wreck, but until then they would have to do with what little they gathered before they left. Even if they get a BP it would most likely be complicated, since the engines and body would be 2 different technologys and the warheads, of course another. This means a lot of different ores or gases would need to be gathered to make a small amount. Not to mention that the big ships use really large missiles, so they would take time and rescourses to make. Hunting and scanning asteroids and then mining would be so important, I'd say they would have crews on call, they arent stopping to waite for any mining unless its absolutely necessary.

[Gray]

Hi, Just thought i'd throw this out there as it just popped into my head when i read about 'planetary missions'

About planets..would it be possible (for resource gathering) to model a station as a planet? I know we can't have planetary landings in the game but maybe this would be a compromise?...or failing that, how about just huge 3d planet models that have no collision detection so you could simulate going into the planets(landing) and once inside the model there 'might' be random resources (cargo pods) floating around for the collection of.

Sorry if sounds just plain rubbish lol, but i thought i'd see what people think.

[Elffin]

Welcome Gray O0

Planetary landings are of course important part of the BSG series and there are a number of limitations.

It would be pretty cool to replicate Starbuck in her raider getting the Arrow of Apollo?

Some ideas have been explored in the X3 modding community ....
Have a look at this thread....
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=2321374&highlight=#2321374

JUst noticed this was my thousandth post!:jump:

[barty911]

I dont think anyone has mentioned this before... jump calculations. How long are they gonna take? In the show the Galactica (cos its a rusty old bucket and doesnt have integrated computers) takes ages to work out the jump. Even when they integrate the computers in one episode to make it faster, it still takes 10 mins.

It would be cool if there were 3 options;

a) Calculated Jump. You do that as soon as you jump into a new system. It takes about 15 minutes (Time Acceleration is your Friend) and allows for a nice clean precise jump.

b) Blind jump. Like in Razor. No calculations, you get jumped to any location in any sector within a certain area. If a whole fleet does it they probs will end up seperated. Theres also the risk of ending up inside another ship, station, planet or asteroid, resulting in damage or a game over.

c) Combat Jump. An in-system jump that only takes a few minutes to calculate, but cannot take you to another sector. Think Exodus part 2.

Im not a modder, I dont know if this can actually be achieved, but I dont think it would be that hard (just extend the "jump device charging" procedure) and ignore the collision calculations that i think the game does for jumping.

[apollo]

I'd never thought of that, nice idea! I've no idea whether the jumpdrive is scripted or hardcoded, but I'm sure there could be a workaround anyway using scripts.

[barty911]

unless they are found in wrecks in space they would be very hard to build, remember that they left kind of quickly. I doubt they had time to gather all the necessary blueprints for all the weapons they use. It maybe be possible to have a mission to get a BP from a friendly base, or find one in an old wreck, but until then they would have to do with what little they gathered before they left. Even if they get a BP it would most likely be complicated, since the engines and body would be 2 different technologys and the warheads, of course another. This means a lot of different ores or gases would need to be gathered to make a small amount. Not to mention that the big ships use really large missiles, so they would take time and rescourses to make. Hunting and scanning asteroids and then mining would be so important, I'd say they would have crews on call, they arent stopping to waite for any mining unless its absolutely necessary.


All main battlestars (Pegasus, Galactica, Mercury ect.) have ammunitions production facilities aboard, attached to the armoury. So the only thing preventing the mass construction of missiles is resources. Im guessing they would already have the blueprints, as the Galactica was still a commissioned ship at the start of the attack, and should still technically be ready for combat at any time. Although the fact that they began to convert it into a museum ship during its commission would suggest that they skipped corners, as noone expects anything out of the Galactica. But the Pegasus should defo come with blueprints and a lot of missiles, as it was a flagship, and always combat ready.

EDIT: Im such a geek :(

[ML]

I think the galactica has to rely on other ships in the fleet to restock on ammo. I don't believe the "bucket" has a munisions factory.

The Peg definitly does. ;)

I'll have to look for that episode where the ammo gets sabitouged(sp). That should clear this up. :).

Good thinking on the jumping ideas, Barty911!

[barty911]

According to the Battlestar Wiki:

"On Galactica, the armory creates and stores munitions for its fighters and probably small arms ammunition for sidearms and rifles used by pilots and Marines. It is unknown whether this facility always existed, or if it was improvised after the Cylon attack left the crew with no chance of replenishment from the Colonial Fleet."

So I guess a factory to make the smaller stuff could be present on board, but the turrets and ship-to-ship missiles need to have amunition created on a special ship? Nukes should definately not be replacable to avoid spamming.

[apollo]

Yeah, I think nukes will require really strategic use. Will watch the episode Baltar asks for one so we know how many Galactica has prior to joining with the peggy.

There is an episode in which the cylon sympathizers make bullets for the vipers purposefully weak - so they must be manufactured in the fleet, can't remember if they were made aboard Galactica or not.

[barty911]

Galactica originally carries 5 nukes, with room for more. One is used by Adama over Kobol and one is given to Baltar for his Cylon detector, which Gina later detonates over New Caprica. The Pegasus later brings more, because its badass.

You'd be hard pressed to find a bigger Battlestar geek than me XD I love my freaky memory.

[ML]

Hey now, you're at the home of the battlestar dorks here! ;)

[avpx]

Well, when i heard about a BSG mod i had this picture coming out... Anyway. This is how I imagine the mod.

1.Map
An idea taken from one of the modders in the egosoft forums.
Leave the gates, but connect the systems only in the home systems. For example, the 12 colonies, + about 40 sectors connected together with a gate net. Maybe even creating some routes into the unknown space using the gate. Also adding gates to the cylon home systems and the terran solar system.
Another thing, if there is a planet, for example caprica - with 2 moons.
So there will be 3 sectors. The planet and every of its moons. Also the background, its unrealistic what egosoft did with the backgrounds in the game, sometimes you see 2 planets or 2 moons way too close.
So, in the game, you will see the caprica planet - large (like the argon planet in argon prime) and the moons far far away, like every regular moon. Same with the moons, in those systems you will see the planet and other moons that belongs to it.
I though of about 20-30 systems for the colonies, 2 systems per colony. Same number with the cylons and the terrans.
About the population. This one is stupid, game has population even in unpopulated sectors, where you cant see any stars, its owned by xenon or unknown sectors. So make the numbers realistic, and change them when needed (hm.. hm.. caprica hm... nuke... hm...)

2.Plot.
I think its a good idea at first to give the player the ability to learn about the conflict, do some exciting missions withing the unknown space or in cylon territory, finding some artifacts etc.
That means, start the game without killing of billions - at least not now. Give the player about 6-7 days of gameplay to enjoy, build, and get feel like home. Then the plot will be triggered, first offering new missions and BBS news about cylons that were seen in the past few days, ships disappearing blah blah blah... For example if you are a part of the colonial fleet, you will receive reckon missions and discover the cylon plan (another plot that is not being told by the series, maybe you will be one of the fighters who will discover the plan even before it was executed but didnt make it on time to warn everyone else).
The idea is to give the player some time to meet the BSG universe before the war.
Here is the first missions how i saw it -

-Mission 1: Find the fleet
you are doing your trading or whatever you are doing and you receive a corrupted message (also, using voice messages would be very very cool, maybe adding from the series or even recording by yourself - but again, it should sound realistic) about some evacuation.
You discover that everything you knew is gone, nothing left. As a part of the triggered mission - you loose contact with all of your ships.
The missions is to fly to caprica, find out exactly what happened and then find the fleet coordinates and jump to them. Also regaining contact with your lost ships would be very cool, the sectors will be filled up with cylons and probably some of your ships are already destroyed but some maybe not.

Another idea is to take the one giant BSG plot which is divided to some stories and give the player the ability to choose which story does he want to see...
-The BSG story, as we know it, as in the series
-The Pegasus story
-Maybe something you can come up with.
How do you choose what do you want? Instead of finding the fleet, you find Pegasus.
Make the game as a "reality game", you need to think and find the coordinates by yourself. For example, to find the Fleet coordinates you will have to download the database of the military coordinates in caprica, then visit a few systems. Maybe find some trails, derelicts and "left-overs" of some of the fleet ships, like the one huge ship that had few thousand people that the BSG left behind and later was nuked by cylon raiders...

The map, in my opinion should contain much more unknown sectors (that will be given names and not called unknown sectors because its very confusing) then the known one's.

3.Resources
I think asteroids should contain the next resources (some already mentioned in the thread)
-Raw Lythium, to create the jump fuel
-Raw Ore, different metals.
-Water

Resources that could be traded inside the fleet.
-Purified Lythium - The fuel.
-Energy
-Metals - for producing and repairing ships
-Uranium\Plutonium - Nuclear warheads, secondary resource in stations, and maybe even creating a station that will use nuclear power to produce energy. Should be pretty rare - not like nividium in X3, but lets say, every 20 asteroids, one uranium\plutonium asteroid.
And if the average yield is 40 then this one will contain maximum of 4.
-Gold - Used everywhere, can be traded and also taken our of the raw ore, like in the nividium mod, where you place a station, give it an amount of ore and it gives you some units of nividium from this ore. So the stations that will turn raw ore into metals will give you both metals for ships, gold and maybe some uranium.

4.Weapons, Graphics and music.
Green plasma bolts are connected to star wars, not BSG.
Placing normal rail guns on the BS would be cool, also the vipers and cylon raiders. Creating missiles like in the BSG series, deadly missiles which will also look nice, so you can actually see them coming. and maybe even giving a mission when you have a raptor and you see that part when the viper 4 escort is being attacked by 2-3 cylons.
Adding an appropriate music, for combats and missions, maybe even some that taken from the series would be nice.




This a part of my idea, its how i imagined the mod would be. I'm sure you could use some of those ideas to make the mod even cooler.

[Elffin]

Welcome avpx - All good ideas which will be considered..

You into modding as well? We are very interested in getting scripters or mission creators involved with the mod.... good way of influencing the plot/storyline ;)