Star Wars Mod - II (Sci-Fi Xover Mod)

[Andrés]

I think it's just a matter of brand names, specially when refering to medium sized weapons such as the ones used in fighters and large ground vehicles.
Almost every ship component (or whole ship, or other piece of equipment for that matter) is most times listed including the producer company and model. That makes companies use their imagination when naming them.
Some are just called bLasters evoking the hand weapons the user is likely familiar with and some called lasers evoking the larger capital ship weapons.

The B-wing has somekind of continuous low-power laser used as targetting mechanism. I think the auto-bLasters are the "normal firing" laser weapons.

Yes Z-95 had two sets of three smaller bLaster later replaced by a larger laser cannon each.
Perhaps fighter bLaster/lasers should grow in size with better techs, but we don't have space to have 1/3 kt bLasters and later 1 kt lasers, and 1 kt and 3 kt does not sound consistent with fighter sizes.

You're right, pulse-wave weapons are from the TOTJ era and should be reserved for the Sith, early Old Republic, Tetans, Onderonians (Iziz and beast riders?) ect.

[Erax]

OK, 'auto-bLasters' could be a name for a certain kind or brand of laser weapon. Your explanation makes sense (especially because the terms 'laser' and 'bLaster' are used interchangeably for medium-sized weapons.

Regarding 'triple bLasters', I suggest using bLaster cannon as 'pre-tech' for lasers, with capital ship and fighter-sized Versions. The fighter-sized Versions would be the 'bLaster', 'double bLaster' and 'triple bLaster' (instead of BC I, II and III), all 1 kt in size but with increasing damage.

[Erax]

Andres, how is everything coming along ? There's help available if you want it (but you know that already).

Just a few more thoughts from reading your spreadsheets :

- 'Imperializator' sounds like a temporary name for the Imperial colony module. I suggest we use 'Imperial colonial expedition' instead (unless someone has a better idea).

- Is there any particular reason why you believe the Imperial colonization modules should cost less than SEIV standard and the Rebel modules more ? (just curious about this one).

- As long as we are dealing with pre-defined homeworld types (rock oxygen for all human SW races) we could make the gas and ice colony modules more expensive than rock modules, both for the Empire and the Rebels (although the Rebel ice module could be cheaper than the Imperial Version and only slightly more expensive than the Rebel rock colony module - this IMO is better than making the Rebels an ice-planet race).

- Also... Jimbob suggested we add pirate and nomad race types from the P&N mod. How would you feel about this ? I know the Black Sun would make a great pirate race, but I know nothing about P&N.

[Erax]

Just two more points (I feel it's too early for them right now, but I don't want to forget them either) :

- The Trade Federation should more properly be called the Separatists now. Their shipset can include Count Dooku's yacht, the Techno-Union landing ships and maybe some other ships from Ep II (Firespray-class massive fighters ?)

- I feel the Old Republic can be made into a separate race from the Empire. They would be the only race to have full Jedi (i.e., light side) powers.

[jimbob]

For the now ex-trade federation, should they have the racial tech "mechanoid"? Admittedly there are actual biological beings running the show, but the vast majority of the funtioning members of their "society" are mechanical. Then we could add in some nifty benefits beyond "immune to plagues".

Now, that's all said having not had the time to play the game yet. If this has already been done, sorry bout wasting the bandwidth

[Erax]

Andres, take a look at the new scenario / mod forum, I just posted some bLaster images there (pistol, two rifles and heavy repeating bLaster). Couldn't set the background to black as it totally ruined the shadows / highlights, but some of the more talented graphics people around here may be able to fix that. I can also post the small (36 x 36) Versions if you want, on those the black background worked OK.

I would like to use the really long bLasters the sandtroopers on Tatooine carried as the light repeating bLaster, but I couldn't find a good image.

[Andrés]

The idea behind the colonization technology was this:

Ideally colonization should be harder (similar to Proportions) but in a SW scenario uninhabited colonizable worlds, and creating a whole new colony from zero should be of little interest. Most inhabitable worlds should be inhabited by a native neutral.
Imperials use intimidation and troops to subyugate the natives and add the planet to the Empire, an action they sometimes call with the euphemism of "Imperialization".
Rebels are more of a political force that should convince the planets to join them (somekind of Puppet Political Parties).
But of course SE4 can't handle thousands of neutrals, and PPP can be abusive.

Also in starwars the value of any individual planet is relatively insignificant, much like in a large quadran stock SE4 game.

So we have to make some asumptions to make SE4 colonization rules more starwars-like.
Most inhabitable planets are inhabited by "invisible natives", your population only shows the population that is loyal to your empire, not the whole population of the planet, and what looks like fast reproduction is actually your growing control over the planet.

Imperials, with small and cheap "Imperializators" start spreading fast from the beggining.
Rebels on the other hand can't even build a colony ship until they get big enough ships! They must remain hidden witing for their moment, relaying on the cloaking capabilities of the "rebel base" (too bad they can't hide in an out of the way system).

That should make a more starwarish difference between Imperials and Rebels in the early game.

As each race has its own colonization tech, it shouldn't be hard to make the BS and maybe other criminal organizations pirate-like. Perhaps a pirate-like "underground organization" technology can be shared by the Black Sun, Bouny Hunter's Guild (a very requested race), Smuggler's Alliance, ect.

I want to include AOTC races such as the separatists (in the PBW starwars game I played no so long ago, two players had chosen to be the "Techno Union" and the "Kaminoans"), It's a good idea to make them based on the TF but I'd prefer a modified copy rather than a replacement.
Count Dooku and his ships are sure a part of the separatists, but I want to reserve the Firespray for the bounty hunters or "underground organizations".
jimbob, will have their own racial tech with many droid devices, thoug no as many as the droids themselves if they are included as a race.

There are other races from the extended universe I'd also like to add. Such as Ssi-Ruuk, Yevetha, Droids (according to "Therefore I am" IG-88 was attempting to conquer the galaxy, that sounds like a very SE4-like goal)...

I know I had promied this before, but I'll try to get some of the files uploaded soon.

Can you send me or link to the original pics, cleaning the background should be done befoere resizing.
I don't think that the rifles the tuskens used against the pod racers were repeating bLasters. They had long cannons because those were sniper rifles, but they didn't look very powerful. I don't even recall if they were bLasters at all or some kind of slugthrower(conventinal firearms).

[Erax]

I meant the bLasters the desert stormtroopers - 'sandtroopers' used, not the sand people / tuskens (I think the Tusken rifles are slugthrowers).

I can't reach starwars.com, but I can upload the original pictures (I kept a copy of them). Do you want them 'as is' or with my - inept - masking ?

Edit : Starwars.com is back, so here's the originals :

BLaster Pistol

BLaster Rifle

Another BLaster Rifle

Heavy Repeating BLaster

HRB, Another View

Hope it helps.

[ June 17, 2003, 14:51: Message edited by: Chief Engineer Erax ]

[Raging Deadstar]

I'm really interested in this mod and heres my ideas for it!

Trade Federation - Keep them as they are, i really like that shipset and i think that they would be better as has been suggested with a "mechanical race"

I think that the black sun should have cheaper and maybe superior intelligence attacks (though nothing overly balancing). Like stealing resources etc

If you plan to re-do the sith i suggest using darth mauls spaceship from episode 1 as a model. And i think the old republic should use the main ships from the incomplete jedi race you compiled (battlecruiser, dreadnought, escort etc), or at least 1 race should as those were great

Also any plans for a Naboo shipset, it could be based off Senator Amidala's ship that got destroyed at the beginning of AOTC??

[ June 17, 2003, 18:53: Message edited by: Senator Raging Deadstar ]

[Timstone]

Ehh... to cut into this delicate discusion. SENATOR Raging Deadstar?! What the...
What happened to you RD? Why the ilusions of grandeur?