Author Topic: Thinking of PERHAPS creating a new campaign (Read 29520 times)

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **on:** October 21, 2011, 23:00:08 »

Ive been saying this a bit in the scripting section, but i wanted to go more in depth here, because this section is more related to the subject at hand.

again im CONSIDERING to create a campaign in the near future. ill update this subject once in a while when i get a new part for it set in stone.

UPDATE: this campaign will be spanning EIGHTEEN missions, instead of the FOURTEEN i was planning on

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #1 on:** October 22, 2011, 01:36:01 »

I now have the storyline completely finished for the first five missions :

Mission 1: introductory to the campaign, it has been 10 years since we last saw captain cromwell, and he has retired. His retirement has caused the angelwing to change hands, it is now under the command of a young, bold, brilliant captain, and the ship has been codenamed 'Covenant'.

A recent discovery has led to a new system, called Nexor, where a second pirate raptor clan has taken refuge. The noah defense fleet intends to eliminate the threat, but it is much worse than previously believed.

While the Noah defense fleet has its hands full with the raiders, the Covenant recieves orders to go deep into raider territory to the rumored location of the raptor base.

Mission 2: After a well earned victory at Nexor, ships from the noah defense fleet encountered an engaged a small fleet of gorgs that seem to have begun a evolutionary path differing from the gorgs encountered at Atrox during the Invasion of Atrox a decade before.

The covenant is assigned a siege fleet, and is ordered to eliminate the Nexor-gorg base in the area, in the strogg asteriod field, little do they know the base is also gaurding a gate to yet another system.

Mission 3: After the destruction of the gorg base, the ouroboros system was found as well as the remnants of the raptor fleet of nexor.

The noah defense fleet, back in the days of cromwell, managed to capture a mechanoid and used it to replicate the powerful mechanoid ray. The X-ship is a experimental craft that is mainly outfitted with these weapons. The Covenant is ordered to assist in its defense as a massive chunk of the raptor fleet attempts to bear down on the X-ship.

Mission 4: With the crushing defeat of the raptors, the noah defense fleet discovered a planet extremely distant feom the ouroboros star. After a scout misteriously vanishes in orbit of the planet, the NDF sends in the covenant, along with a very large expedition fleet, to the planet's orbit. Not knowing what will await there, the area the scout vanished in would be called 'Sector Y-627' by military experts.

Mission 5: after the destruction of the Mechanoid entity hidden among the asteroids of the seemingly vile planet's orbit, another gate was found to a star known as arcturus, which has been in earth astrology books for hundreds of years.

Yet the system turned out to be under control of the gorgs encountered at nexor, and a gorg fleet was inconveniently near the wormhole when the NDF fleet, along with the covenant, entered the system. the NDF fleet in arcturus must prevent the gorg fleet from passing, or the NDF support fleet on the other side will be most assuredly destroyed.

Mularac · « **Reply #2 on:** October 22, 2011, 05:49:36 »

That is great, no doubt. I've read and it seems pretty good.
My recommendation, though, is that you start out by making each mission in an stand-alone fashion and once you have all missions completed, start with the campaign coding.

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #3 on:** October 22, 2011, 06:01:37 »

Thats my plan, chief. ive already got the skeleton of 6 of them done. and im nearly done with filling out the sixth

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #4 on:** October 22, 2011, 06:20:17 »

Anyways i have the next 4 missions after mission 5 figured out...

Mission 6: After gaining a foothold in arcturus, the NDF now has a firm base operating in the arcturus system.

After negotiations over the news with the vardrags, it turns out that the vardrags previously possessed this system, however the gorgs found a way in through a gate unknown to them [the vardrags] and invaded.

A cataclismic battle erupted, the gorgs were victorious, but took severe losses to the vardrags, a heavy cost to gaining a star system.

The vardrags believe that there may be a few ships still intact at that ancient battlefield, one particular vessel they believe is called the atlantis, is rumored to be carrying sensitive data that has the coordinates to the gate the gorgs entered arcturus from to invade the system. Gaining this information may lead to the discovery of yet another system.

The covenant is given orders to go to the location of this battlefield, find the atlantis, search her for intel, and then report back to the NDF outpost.

Mission 7: After finding the coordinates to the unknown gate, the covenant has now been given the honor to lead the assault upon the gorg forces that gaurd it.

Who knows what kind of things lie on the other side of that gate.

Mission 8: With the Gorg forces protecting the second arcturus gate eliminated, the Covenant fleet was able to enter the gate and discover the Hel system. However, something seems, off, with the Hel system, as if there is a sinister twist in it's formation.

After fully exploring this system, the chilling theories have been confirmed. Hel is a parrellel system to the sol system.

Now the Covenant fleet must gaurd the build up of a base on the Hel side of the gate, if the gorgs roaming the system manage to destroy the already completed defenses and the support ships leading the effort, the covanent fleet will find itself unable to stage missions without risking the chance for the gorgs in hel to attempt to re-take Arcturus.

Mission 9: With the gorgs pushed back from the hel to arcturus gate, the Hel gate alpha base is now completed, and reinforcements are now arriving from arcturus.

Now NDF command wants the covenant fleet to examine an asteroid field in hel that a scout went through days earlier, the recon data suggest that there are a field of abandoned gorg, raptor, and vardrag vessels in the area. There was even a recon photo taken of a mysterious ship, the same type that the X-ship is based off of.

With the X-ship now in the Covenant fleet, if anything still moves in that wreckyard, it will not be much of a problem for the fleet... or will it...?

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #5 on:** October 22, 2011, 06:38:55 »

and now the 3 missions following mission 9...

Mission 10: After the mysterious encounter near the white cruiser wreck in the wreckyard, the NDF is now on high alert, could this be another form of the mechanoids? could the jupiter incident be repeating itself all over again?

It has been three days since the dangerous encounter, and already the NDF scouts have found something.

It is a base, designed by unknown hands, built into several asteroids.

the covenant has been ordered to go to this area, sneak through any defenses, and investigate.

Mission 11: After successfully gaining data on the base, the NDF then swiftly attacked it, destroying it and anything else that got in the way. However the fleet that mounted the assault lost six of the nine vessels that were part of the siege.

with the mysterious threat aparrently removed, the NDF has found another gate to another system. The covenant fleet is ordered to act as the NDF advance fleet and get a small foothold on the other side of this gate established.

After a few hours of entering this new system, one thing is apparent, there are not just one or two stars in this system, there are five.

There is another thing apparent though, there is a small gorg raiding fleet barrelling towards the gate! However the fleet is too small to be an attempt to eradicate the fortress on the other side of the gate, why would they be attacking with such a small force? With a battleship, two cruisers, the covenant and the X-ship blocking their way to the gate, what chance do they have of even passing the covenant fleet?

Mission 12: The NDF is baffled. A pair of the mysterious ships, the exact same type encountered at Hel, gated into the scene, annihilated the gorg fleet, and gave the covenant fleet a run for their money. If reinforcements had not arrived in time, it is likely that the Covanent fleet may have been lost.

The most chilling news of all, however, is that the NDF has confirmed this is not the mechanoids doing. NDF intel does suggest, though, that these are machines, not biological creatures. The NDF has designated this new and twistedley powerful race the Xiion, after the newly discovered system's name, Xiios.

The NDF has ordered the Covenant fleet, along with the aid of two extra battleships, to investigate the inner Xiios system and find out as much as possible. What will the Covenant fleet discover?

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #6 on:** October 22, 2011, 06:50:08 »

and ill give everyone a cliffhanger with mission 12...

Mission 12: NDF command has litterally wet itself...

The four smaller, white stars that orbit the Violet, super hot Xiios star are the work of the Xiion!
The vardrags are absolutely awe struck by the news, saying that technology is millenia ahead of their state of the art systems. Based on studies from the black meteor project, the program that oversaw the reverse engineering of a mechanoid, the mechanoids seemed incapable of such a task as creating a star... apparently from almost nothing.

The ability to destroy can be a great power... But the ability to create? It is only something the gods of ancient human lore were believed to be capable of. Now, before every living things eyes, the Xiion have created their own stars to their own benefit.

The reason the Xiion created these four extra stars is currently unknown. Could they be using light to power their vessels somehow? or do they use light to construct their infrastructure and warships?

Answers to those questions can wait, for a golden oppurtunity awaits the Covenant fleet. The chance to capture an intact, abandoned, Xiion warship.

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #7 on:** October 22, 2011, 07:18:13 »

Just wanted to lay out my plans for this race...

1: The Xiion have their own ships, three corvette classes, two destroyer classes, two cruiser classes, a battleship class (a modified version of Freespace's orion destroyer), and a carrier class.

2: completely unique weapons, shields, supports and engines for the race.

3: Xiion vessels have more armor and tougher shields than ships of other races. Many of their weapons have devastating potential.

and now into the vessels, heres what i think one of the Xiion Destroyer classes should look like.

these two images come from X3: Terran Conflict if you didnt know.

I own a copy of that game.... and i have yet to get as SINGLE one of the most badass fighters in the game, the xenon LX, its freaking AWESOME... theres a picture of it below the two pics i have for the destroyer model.

On a side note, the other ship is the Terran Vidar. Its like the Mustang Super-Snake of Corvettes in X3, and i am lucky to own one in that game

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #8 on:** October 22, 2011, 22:02:49 »

The only problem with creating all this... including the Xiion race and its ships, i cannot create the ships due to the fact i do not possess a modeller nor do i think i can get one without causing issues at home.

If anyone is willing to help out with that, let me know. I was thinking of making credits for this campaign, so if i can figure that out ill add in anyone who chips in on this bad boy, i was also going to put the entire nexus skirmisher community on the credits (once i figure out how to make them that is). But that is one of the final steps, im still near the beginning of my project.

To anyone considering assisting with modelling, i reccomend you read my previous posts in this subject.

ALSO NOTE: im NOT intending on keeping this sucker PRIVATE when i complete it!

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #9 on:** October 25, 2011, 03:03:09 »

yesterday my internet was down for about three hours, so i took that time to create the new race for my future campaign, i am pleased to say i perfectly nailed it (in terms of how to correctly code it).

I also managed to sucsessfully create a test ship class for the race. now all i need are some ship models and weapons fire effects and ill be good to go with completing the Xiion race.

GeoModder · « **Reply #10 on:** October 25, 2011, 20:51:33 »

Nothing on Kendo's (http://www.dogsquad.co.uk/nexus/nexusmod.htm) site is to your liking?

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #11 on:** October 25, 2011, 23:41:31 »

Hmm, although these ARE interesting... they are not what im looking for... sorry geomodder...

HOWEVER..

the one model that DID somewhat interest me was the missile frigate from that website, the shape of the model is somewhat like what im looking for as one of my race's destroyers. However i did not like the fact it was based on the old school style ships.

Im looking for something more like THESE ships... but with a NEXUS feel to them. Again the Orion destroyer from freespace 2 (see The Freespace 2 subject made by aparso) is VERY close to something im looking for. the only three issues i see with that model are that it isnt exactly shaped as if a machine made it, the odd ball purple color i saw in the picture of it, and the models for the turrets, other than that it was perfect.

EDIT: heres the link geomodder, http://arparso.de/nexus/forum/index.php/topic,52.0.html

These are also from X3: Terran Conflict

NOTE ALSO: the Xiion race i created are NOT just ALIENS, they're MACHINES, similar to the MECHANOIDS, only they're sentient machines and not some god-like AI.

I also want to state that if anyone plans on replying here, READ ALL MY POSTS IN THIS SUBJECT CAREFULLY! I feel like i have failed to convey my intentions when someone misses something i previously stated. so MAKE SURE YOU KNOW this subject INSIDE AND OUT, is what im saying.

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #12 on:** October 26, 2011, 00:06:16 »

I have now decided i WILL DEFINITELY make this series of 18 missions into a campaign. Again, any support with models for the Xiion would greatly be appreciated (and again i WILL add contributors to the credits for the campaign, as in ANY help with coding, models, etc., with even the SMALLEST contribution. currently that would be Mularac, OldDragon, and GeoModder on the credits list so far).

Mularac · « **Reply #13 on:** October 26, 2011, 01:20:05 »

Glad to help.
I think your first step should be creating a sort version control for the mod, something from where you can manage your project. I recommend SVN for version control and Assembla for hosting it.

And as I'm always open for question and inquires

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #14 on:** October 26, 2011, 03:53:27 »

For the moment im focusing on finishing off the 'Skeletons' for the 18 missions i have in mind, THEN ill 'fill' them in. Just like i am for the mission im working on right now. THEN i'll get to that point. but thanks for the tip mularac, ill definitely take note of that.

Although i doubt this will get as popular as anything aparso could possibly whip up...

(i also forgot about the nexus wiki, i will also be adding that on to the credits as well)

Mularac · « **Reply #15 on:** October 26, 2011, 06:01:48 »

The sooner you start a versioning control, the better. It brings structure and a bit of order to the project.
Trust me, you should do that as soon as possible.

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #16 on:** October 26, 2011, 22:21:32 »

1. okay... how and where do i get this stuff?

2. another update, i got sketches down for three of the ships for the Xiion! ill get them scanned and onto a computer to show everyone as soon as possible, probably this weekend. (thank goodness the printer hooked up to my computer has a built in scanner.

)

Again i can't get or use a modeller due to issues at home that could fire up, so im throwing these sketches up into the air for anyone to make 3d models of and post em up here.

to whoever takes up the challenge when i do put the sketches up, happy modelling!

Mularac · « **Reply #17 on:** October 26, 2011, 22:58:31 »

I wrote a bit of a "tutorial" about how to use SVN here

To create a SVN repository, you can use Assembla.
First, create an account, then click on "Create new workspace" (or something similar, Assembla is in spanish in my computer, and I just made an educated guess about how it would be in english). Then, choose "everything" from the tab on the left and from there choose the first one, the one that says "Free Private Subversion Repository".

Follow all the steps and voilà! you have yourself a new SVN repository. Use the link they give you to make your first SVN checkout and you're good to go!

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #18 on:** October 28, 2011, 03:56:40 »

1. ill look into that on sunday, im not doing very much with the missions except fine tuning the systems they will be in.

2. i got the scan for the first three models, but for some dumb reason they wont load onto the board... any suggestions?

The Old Dragon · « **Reply #19 on:** October 29, 2011, 10:32:34 »

You may need to upload them to another site first (I opened up a free account with www.photobucket.com some time back) and then copy the 'IMG code' link and paste it in your post.

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #20 on:** November 04, 2011, 00:59:03 »

Okay... thats going to be a tad tricky...

anyway, i got another update, i am nearly done with sketching up simple designs of the Xiion ships, i just finished the second destroyer, the cruiser, and the battleship and carrier designs, i also have some models for some of the race's turrets (including the model for the flak). as well as for some 'advanced' weapons (more powerful than other races could possibly have).

One of them is based off of the freespace laser shown in videos aparso put up for the freespace topic in this same board. I call it the 'Lancer', it is a super-charged laser beam capable of both piercing shields and also draining a good chunk of energy out of the target ship.

Another is the Plasma Chaingun, another idea i got based off aparso's freespace mod vids. Specifically i got it off of the chaingun like weapon seen in one of the videos.

When it is once again possible i will scan the sketches and see if i cant find a way to put them up without any hurdles.

I really appreciate that you guys are taking some of you're time to assit me in this endeavor, i dont think i could have gotten this far without all the support here from the Nexus Skirmisher Forum. The only question i have is what is keeping aparso from jumping into this topic? this seems like something he'd LOVE to delve into.

Anyway the sketch i have for the battleship is somewhat identical to the Orion Destroyer from Freespace. As is the carrier (which looks pretty much like the battleship, but has eight hangar doors in the roof of the ship's main hull.) I have yet to decide what the fighters and bombers will look like, but i think i will utilize the 'Kamikaze' weapon me and mularac discussed in the scripting board.

I hope you guys dont mind it if i cant make the models myself and that im asking the community for assistance in that matter for my project. Again i want to state that anyone who assists in the slightest bit is definitely going to have their name put in the credits of this sucker once i get it together.

I also may have figured out how the last mission will go... it will be a almost apocalyptic battle, with the Xiion Overmind (a massive ship that is the size of a planet) looming over the battle, ominously awaiting the outcome. Im thinking of having two parts to the last mission, sortof like adding a 19th. Again in the fashion of nexus, except starring the inside of the Xiion overmind's hull. The model for it may be based off of another X3 ship that seems perfect for such a role as that.

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #21 on:** November 09, 2011, 21:49:46 »

OK, computer is fully functional again... thank god...

anyway i finished up the sketches for all the Xiion basic ships, though im thinking about maybe adding in a sort of 'Boss' class of ship. im not too sure though.

Once i get all the scans up, ill THEN tackle putting them up somehow, then after i get feedback for each of the models i will then start that SVN thing mularac talked about. Which might be AFTER november.... if im predicting correctly.

Ive been messing around in X3:TC too, soo cut a little slack for me.

The_Small_Time_Modder · « **Reply #22 on:** November 24, 2011, 04:47:52 »

sorry for the MASSIVE time i have been absent... but i now have ALL of the model sketches up on photobucket.

These are up for grabs for anyone to model, if you cant read some of my writing (i know its sloppy) ill gladly type it off to you via a reply. GOOD LUCK!

i want to have the models before i go any further in development of the campaign... if anyone wanted to know why i took so long. :I

Once i have the models for the xiion ships i will start making skeletons of the missions i have yet to make. THEN deal with all the coding and such i will need to do.