An 'Elite' mod for Freelancer by Matthew Guy (aka Stormprooter)
An 'Elite' mod for Freelancer by Matthew Guy (aka Stormprooter)
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Freelancer: Mostly Harmless
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An 'Elite' mod for Freelancer by Matthew Guy (aka Stormprooter)
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Version 0.1
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The objective of this mod is to get the original 'Elite' universe into the Freelancer game engine.
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How to Install
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You'll need a clean install of Freelancer.
Add the mod folder to FLMM's mods directory and use FLMM to apply, or do it the old-fashoined way with a clean install of freelancer, remember to backup then delete your saved games and merge the folders contents.
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What's Missing?
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1. Mining - There are no mineable asteroid fields in this version of the mod - there will be in the next version
2. Jump Drive / Mass locking preventing passage to stations - There is no such thing as a 'jump' drive in the vanilla version of Freelancer, fast passage around systems is achieved with tradelanes. That said, I have not implemented any tradelane attacks (where the tradelane is disrupted by pirates). I am also aware there is a plug-in available by Adoxa which can to some degree simulate the Jump Drive from the original 'Elite' - I will look into this for the next or future versions, the next version will definitely have tradelane attacks at the very least.
3. Hyperspace mis-jumps - this is where you end up in Witchspace surrounded by nasty Thargoids, this experience has been shaped to suit the vanilla game engine, you can get to Witchspace via Jump Holes hidden in Nebulae - it's up to you to find them - where there is a nebula, there is a jump-hole to witchspace. Again, I am aware that there is a plug-in available to do hyperspace mis-jumps, I will look at this for future versions.
4. Rotating Stations - Not having done any 3D modelling for nearly 20 years, this is something I will be definitely getting done for the next version. The station models provided by Gibbon and Griff are great, but in Freelancer you can't have them rotating because the game engine will not be able to dock the ship as it cannot natively support rotating the ship. I intend to get around this by splitting the stations up into a central static cylinder containing the docking bay, with the rest of the station rotating around it - just need to spend some time getting it done. Also, I would like to have 'The Blue Danube' music playing around station zones.
5. Bounties for pirate kills - although you will get paid for killing pirates on missions, there are no bounties awarded for killing pirates in general encounters. There is possibly a way to implement this for future versions.
6. No 'Elite' rating / ranks - just haven't found a way to show this in the player information screen as yet.
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So what is in the mod?
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Every planet and station from galaxy 1 in the original game is in this mod. I thought about implementing it as one planet - one star system, but that would have made individual systems a little too similar, instead I vae taken the 256x256 grid from the original game and shoe-horned it into a 16x16 grid, this means you get star systems with between 1 and 5 planets (and stations), and means the universe map is reasonably similar (if somewhat simpler) to the original game, i.e. systems in the top-right of the original game, will be in the top-right of the universe in this mod, and the relative positions between systems will be more or less the same, with a few exceptions.
The planet names, funny descriptions, tech levels, government types and Green Slimy Lizards inhabitants are all here. Market prices will be of a similar stamp to theoriginal game as well, though in this mod everything is multiplied by 10 as there are no fractional credits in Freelancer - so where a tonne of food may be 5.5cr in Elite, in this mod it would be 55cr - this multiplier applies to equipment and ships as well.
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Commodities for Trade
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The following commodities are available for trade:
Commodity Unit
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Food 1t
Textiles 1t
Radioactives 1t
Slaves* 1t
Liquor/Wines 1t
Luxuries 1t
Narcotics* 1t
Computers 1t
Machinery 1t
Alloys 1t
Firearms* 1t
Furs 1t
Minerals 1t
Gold 100Kg
Platinum 100Kg
Gem-Stones 100Kg
Alien Items^ 1t
* - illegal items, if scanned by the Police you will be ordered to drop the cargo or face the wrath of the space rozzers!
^ - never available to buy anywhere, can only picked up as loot (usually from destroying Thargoids)
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Ships for Sale
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Different bases sell different ships, this was randomized when the mod files were created so even I don't know where they all are.
Ship Class
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Adder Light Fighter
Anaconda Large Freighter
Asp Mk II Heavy Fighter
Boa Mk 1 Freighter
Boa Mk II Cruiser Freighter
Cobra Mk I Medium Fighter
Cobra Mk III Very Heavy Fighter
Constrictor Medium Fighter
Fer de Lance Heavy Fighter
Gecko Small Fighter
Krait Very Heavy Fighter
Mamba Medium Fighter
Moray Starboat Heavy Fighter
Moray Medical Ship Heavy Fighter
Python Freighter
Orbital Shuttle Light Transport
Sidewinder Small Fighter
Transporter Transport
Viper Medium Fighter
Viper Interceptor Heavy Fighter
Worm Light Transport
Thargoid Warships and Thargons are not available to buy in this version - I may add them to future versions, as well as more ships from Frontier: Elite II (like the Eagle Mk II).
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Equipment for Sale
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Weapons
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1919A4 Pulse Laser
M1928A2 Beam Laser
LF90 Military Laser
HM3 Missile Launcher
HMX5 Missile Launcher
Energy Bomb Launcher
ARM64 Mining Laser
Quirium Cascade Mine Launcher
Light Transport Turret
Fighter Turret
Freighter Turret
Large Freighter Turret
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Defensive Equipment
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Standard ECM
Naval ECM
Light Transport Shield Mk I
Light Transport Shield Mk II
Light Transport Shield Mk III
Light Fighter Shield Mk I
Light Fighter Shield Mk II
Light Fighter Shield Mk III
Small Fighter Shield Mk I
Small Fighter Shield Mk II
Small Fighter Shield Mk III
Medium Fighter Shield Mk I
Medium Fighter Shield Mk II
Medium Fighter Shield Mk III
Heavy Fighter Shield Mk I
Heavy Fighter Shield Mk II
Heavy Fighter Shield Mk III
Very Heavy Fighter Shield Mk I
Very Heavy Fighter Shield Mk II
Very Heavy Fighter Shield Mk III
Freighter Shield Mk I
Freighter Shield Mk II
Freighter Shield Mk III
Large Freighter Shield Mk I
Large Freighter Shield Mk II
Large Freigher Shield Mk III
Shield Battery
Nanobots
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Engines / Propulsion
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Light Transport Engine
Adv Light Transport Engine
Light Fighter Engine
Adv Light Fighter Engine
Small Fighter Engine
Adv Small Fighter Engine
Medium Fighter Engine
Adv Medium Fighter Engine
Naval Medium Fighter Engine
Heavy Fighter Engine
Adv Heavy Fighter Engine
Naval Heavy Fighter Engine
Very Heavy Fighter Engine
Adv Very Heavy Fighter Engine
Naval Very Heavy Fighter Engine
Freighter Engine
Advanced Freighter Engine
Standard Thruster
Adv Thruster
Jackrabbit Thruster
Adv Jackrabbit Thruster
Naval Thruster
Adv Naval Thruster
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Power/Energy Units
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Light Fighter Power Unit
Adv Light Fighter Power Unit
Naval Light Fighter Power Unit
Small Fighter Power Unit
Adv Small Fighter Power Unit
Naval Small Fighter Power Unit
Light Transport Power Unit
Adv Light Transport Power Unit
Medium Fighter Power Unit
Adv Medium Fighter Power Unit
Naval Medium Fighter Power Unit
Heavy Fighter Power Unit
Adv Heavy Fighter Power Unit
Naval Heavy Fighter Power Unit
Very Heavy Fighter Power Unit
Adv Very Heavy Fighter Power Unit
Naval Very Heavy Fighter Power Unit
Freighter Power Unit
Adv Freighter Power Unit
Heavy Freighter Power Unit
Adv Heavy Freighter Power Unit
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Navigation / Tractor
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Scanner Mk I
Scanner Mk II
Scanner Mk III
Scanner Mk IV
Tractor Beam Mk I
Tractor Beam Mk II
Tractor Beam Mk III
Tractor Beam Mk IV
Whatever class of ship you have, there is plenty of scope for upgrade and customization. This will be expanded further in future versions. As in the original game, the base Tech Level will determine what equipment is available for purchase.
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Missions
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Ok so you've traded your way up to a decent level of cash, you've upgraded your ship with a decent power unit and shields, and perhaps even a beam laser, you are now in a position to take on some bounty missions to earn a bit more cash a bit quicker. Missions are available from all bases, and have differing difficulty based on the system you are in, but to be honest, none are too easy.
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Where do I start?
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You start at Lave Station of course, but not with a Cobra Mk III (which is quite a powerful ship in this mod), you begin with a basic Adder fitted with a pulse laser and 1000 cr. Go make your fortune!
The game is meant to get more difficult, the further away from Lave you travel.
Hope you enjoy the mod!