Legacy Era: Reconstruction news

Alright, now before I get into the article I'm gonna go and warn you-this will take quite a while to read since it is a rather lengthy update. It's the longest I've ever written, coming in at over 3,000 words. Now I'm not gonna go toot my own horn and be like "look how awesome I am with all my groundbreaking stuff" because it's not groundbreaking, but just a lot of work new things, and redone things to show you guys.

So here we are now, at a crossroads for the mod. The mod's changing. Hopefully for the better.

Before I forget, I'd like to also mention that the mod has now over 200,000 views and more than 400 members watching/subscribed! Thanks for all your support thus far.

Well you probably figured something was up with all these cryptic messages, and apparently a few of you were scared that something terrible had befell the mod. Well, nothing bad has happened. Only good stuff here folks. And this news article covers that goodness.

If you couldn’t tell, the theme of this article is “reconstruction.” Old things are getting changed or rearranged, including things that have stayed the same for a looooong time. Such things include the unit list/tech system, starbases, and economy. I’ll also be showing a closer look into a new gametype for space skirmish called “Survival”, something that’s been floating around the community on empireatwar.gamefront.com and EverythingEAW.com a bit since 2011 began. So there are multiple topics getting addressed here, and so this requires a little index to keep things nice and tidy. They are as follows:

-Overhaul of unit list and tech system
-Changing of the starbases
-Revamp of economic structures and income ships
-A look into the Survival gametype
-New ships!
-Other new materiel

Part 1
And so now we get to the first topic on the list, an overhaul of the unit list and tech system. Now, this is nothing groundbreaking, but something that’s been on its way for a long time. Units are now divided into two overarching categories: “pre-Legacy” and “true Legacy” era ships. “Pre-Legacy” era ships are those which formerly comprised the first 2 tech levels. They are vessels from the Galactic Civil, New Republic Era, and basically anything from before the Legacy Era comics. This includes Republic-, Defender-, and Imperial I/II-class Star Destroyers, MC80 Liberty and Home One cruisers, and other ships from the same time periods.

The “pre-Legacy” era ships now form what will be formally known as the Reverse forces of each faction. Such units no longer can be built from your standard starbase, but instead from a separate facility known as an Old Tech Construction Dock. The revised unit list is as follows:

Imperial Reserves

Fighters
TIE/In Interceptor
TIE/sa Bomber
TIE/sr Starfighter (Scout)
Scimitar Assault Bomber
TIE Phantom
TIE/D Defender

Corvettes
Tartan-class Patrol Cruiser
Lancer-class Corvette

Frigates
EF76 Nebulon-B Frigate
Immobilizer 418 Cruiser
Vindicator-class heavy cruiser
Victory III-class Star Destroyer

Capital Ships
Imperial-I class Star Destroyer
Interdictor-class Star Destroyer
Imperial-II class Star Destroyer

Tech 1
Predator-class Fighter
Neutralizer-class Bomber

Tech 2
Reaper-class Assault Fighter
Blitz-class Assault Bomber
Fury-Class Sith Starfighter

Assassin-class Corvette

Tech 3
Apprehender-class Frigate
Ardent-class Fast Frigate
Chasemaster Mk. II

Tech 4
Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer

Tech 5
Dragon-class Battleship
Imperious-class Star Destroyer
Nemesis-Class Star Dreadnaught

GA Remnant Reserves

Fighters
XJ7 X-wing starfighter
BTL-S3 Y-Wing starfighter
RZ-1 A-wing interceptor
B-wing starfighter
E-wing escort starfighter (Series IV)
BTL-S8 K-wing assault starfighter

Corvettes
CR90 Corvette
DP20 Gunship

Frigates
EF76 Nebulon-B
Alliance Assault Frigate Mk. II
MC30c Frigate
CC-7700 Frigate

Capital Ships
MC80 Liberty type Star Cruiser
MC80 Home One type Star Cruiser
Republic-Class Star Destroyer
Defender-Class Star Destroyer

Tech 1
CF9 Crossfire
BB-2 Starfire fighter-bomber
Jumpstar HPF

Tech 2
X-83 TwinTail
RC-2 Twilight Scoutship
I4 Ionizer starfighter

YZ-2500 Corvette

Tech 3
Sabertooth-class assault/rescue vessel
ShaShore-Class Frigate
Tri-Scythe-class Frigate
A/M-type ShaShore Frigate

Tech 4
S/R (Scout/Reconnaissance)-type ShaShore Frigate
I/I (Interdictor/Interceptor)-type ShaShore Frigate

Scythe-Class Main Battle Cruiser

Tech 5
Emancipator-class Heavy Carrier

Confederate Reserves

Fighters
MAF-300
B734 Invader Close Support Starfighter
Besh-class Strike Bomber
HAF-600
TIE Stalker
YT-5100 Shriek-class Bomber

Corvettes
IPV Mk. II
Quickfire-class Corvette

Frigates
Pulsar-class Escort Frigate
Restrictor-class Interdiction Frigate
Kote-class Destroyer

Capital Ships
Defiance-class Battleship
Ara'nov Destroyer

Tech 1
Phoebos-class Interceptor
YT-7200 Shriek-class Bomber

Tech 2
Davaab-type Elite Interceptor
Bes'uliik Heavy Bomber
Iviin'yc-class Gunship

Tech 3
Sentinel-class Assault Ship
Tempest-class Artillery Frigate
Vengeance II-class Heavy Cruiser

Tech 4
Eta-7 Elite Assault Craft
Firestorm-class Missile Cruiser

Tech 5
Duplicity-class Battle Carrier
Vitrification-class Heavy Destroyer

So, how does this work exactly? Well, in order to gain access to the Reserves for any faction, you must first construct an Old Tech Construction Dock. You can build one at any starbase level in skirmish and on at any planet in galactic conquest (but you can only build the capital ships at capital ship-producing worlds). Afterwards, you are free to build what you’d like.

Now, you may be asking why I would do this and think that it was fine the way it was. Well, honestly I didn’t like it having all these ships not truly from the Legacy Era being used more than the right ones, so this basically forces you to build the more modern designs. To additionally enforce this “rule,” there will be a limit implemented for all the “old” ships, allowing approximately a maximum of 10 per each design to be built (the larger the ship, the less you can build of it). These ships should not form the bulk of your forces. If you don’t like it, you can easily change it once the mod is released, but support will not be given to anyone for post-release modification of code. The ultimate purpose is to gradually shift the mod into the phase where all these outdated ships are replaced and no longer available, but only if models for more modern designs are created.

Part 2
Starbases… they were nothing spectacular up until this point of the mod. Things are changing though. No more wimpy starbases! No more weak and underpowered stations that serve essentially no purpose! Now you can actually have a formidable defense system centered on your starbase, getting rid of the shipyard system. It was a good idea in theory but failed in practice; this is easier and better.

So you’ve still got your standard 5 levels of starbases. The models for the Imperial and GA Remnant stations have been changed, as you may have seen, but the Confederation Revenant currently does not have a new model, and therefore will be stuck using the Consortium’s unless a new 5-tier starbase model is created. Instead of just naming the starbases by numerical level, I decided to “spice” it up a bit and give them more descriptive names that sound, quite frankly, cooler. Here we gooooo…

Level 1-Local Defense Outpost
Level 2-System Defense Station
Level 3-Sector Command Station
Level 4-Regional Command Starbase
Level 5-Naval High Command Fortress

Here we have the level 1 starbases for the Empire and Alliance-their Local Defense Outposts. Each name per starbase level indicates the extent to which it is equipped to properly defend and manage. The Local Defense Outpost is the smallest, intended to withstand minor attacks; nevertheless, it can hold its own against multiple squadrons and corvettes, but large capital ships would tear one apart. These are designed to monitor and oversee the planet it orbits over, but not much more. For this purpose, it can only build several “basic” types of fighters/bombers. Reinforcements are limited to fighters and corvettes.

The next step, the level 2 starbase, is known as the System Defense Station. As the name implies, it is equipped to the point where it can maintain a proper watch and defense for an entire system, and acts as its center of naval presence. It gains several more hardpoints, varying between turbolasers, point-defense lasers, and other kinds. It is moderately stronger, capable of warding off several waves of fighters and corvettes, and your average frigate. It won’t stand long against a fleet of multiple frigates however. You can now access advanced fighters/bombers, as well corvettes. Reinforcements contain fighters, and corvettes.

Afterwards is the Sector Command Station for level 3. The role of the station now becomes larger, switching from just monitoring a location to commanding fleets to send out. As such, your build options expand greatly to include larger ships, up to the size frigates. These stations are designed to send out battle groups to take care of problems within the surrounding sector, and are their sector’s naval hub. In addition to the normal frigates, artillery vessels are also available for construction. Reinforcements are composed of fighters, corvettes, and several frigates.

The level 4 starbase, called the Regional Command Starbase, is purposed for defending and send out fleets to multiple sectors in a region. This is the point at which you can access your faction’s standard capital ships, as well as whatever “special” units your faction has (i.e., ShaShore frigate variants for the Alliance and Eta-7 Fighters for the Confederation). These heavily armed stations can hold up well against a fleet of several frigates and a few capital ships, and call in a large number of reinforcements ranging from fighters to capital ships. These stations are normally the highest level capable of being built.

The ultimate starbase you can build is the Naval High Command Fortress, for level 5. It is the strongest station, with highly powerful shields and weapons. These stations are intended for use by the highest officers of the navy and government officials, overseeing the affairs of a large portion of the galaxy. Due to the classified Intel and high importance they hold, they cannot be built at many planets, but mostly those which have shipyards, so that you may have access to the largest and strongest ships your faction has. They can overcome an attack from a well-sized fleet, having a large reinforcement supply of all kinds of ships.

These may not be the only defensive space structures available if I come up with ideas for good additional military space structures, such something like a Supplemental Fighter Garrison, defense satellites, or something else. Depends what ideas and models come about (you can suggest something).

Part 3
So, with the old version of the mod I attempted to make things more interesting by changing up the economy. I kind of succeeded, but it wasn’t that great. The AI didn’t build structures. I plan to fix this. If not… then this part of the article will never make it in the mod unfortunately (if you know the solution to this, please help!). But here is the plan so far.

You will have access to a wider range of economic possibilities, ranging from mines, refineries, cargo and freighter ships, to merchant vessels and freelance traders. There is a certain hierarchy of what you can build, and what prerequisites there are for certain things. The current economic structures and units are as follows:

Prerequisites: Local Defense Outpost
Location: Any system
Description: Like in the vanilla FoC, these grant a steady income in space. They bring in more revenue than a ground mining facility, but cost more to construct. They are able to be built above any planet. Upon construction, you can hire a Y-8 Mining Vessel which grants additional income and allows construction of the next facility below.
Allows access to: Y-8 Mining Vessel

Prerequisites: Mineral Extractor Asteroid; Y-8 Mining Vessel
Location: Any system
Description: Accessible once you build a Y-8 Mining Vessel, these facilities refine the minerals taken from the Mineral Extractor Asteroids into goods that are readily usable by the public for various uses. They bring in a greater income because of the quality of the finished products. Upon construction, you can build various freighters to transport the goods.
Allows access to: YT-1300 and YT-2400 Light freighters, Action IX Transport, YZ-2500 Heavy Transport

Prerequisites: System Defense Station
Location: Gas giants only (Bespin, Yavin, etc.)
Description: Tibanna Gas Facilities are probably one of the fastest and most efficient ways to generate credits for your faction. They can only be built at gas giants, and so they add special strategic importance to such location due to their high value and scarcity. After one is constructed, you can then build special cargo ships to transport the gas and create even more income. Because of their importance, you can only build one after having a level 2 starbase.
Allows access to: Hex-type Gas Transport, AG5 Bulk Transport

Prerequisites: System Defense Station
Location: Any system
Description: These Trading Starports rake in a large amount of credits. They grant access to various freighters, and refitted Venator cargo ships. Income is produced through taxes on trade. In order to construct one, you must first have a level 2 starbase. Civilians and traders want to feel safe and secure when doing business here. Unlike the previous structures, these are actually armede, albeit light.
Allows access to: YT-1300 and YT-2400 Light freighters, Action IX Transport, YZ-2500 Heavy Transport, Venator Merchant Ships

Ships

YT-1300 Light Freighter: Armed with 2 laser cannons, these are the cheapest and provide the least income

YT-2400 Light Freighter: Armed with 2 laser cannons, these bring in a third more money than the 1300s but cost more as well

Action IX Transport: These are the latest in the “Action” family of transports, following a similar design pattern. They are slow, but carry a large load for a large profit, and are armed with several point-defense lasers.

YZ-2500 Heavy Transport: These are some of the largest space transports available on the market. They are well armed for a transport, with several laser cannons and double turbolasers, but should not be confused with the GA Remnant’s militarized version of the YZ-2500. They generate more of an income than the Action IX Transports, but cost more.

Y-8 Mining Vessel: These specialized craft work in conjunction with Mineral Extractor Asteroids to speed up the process and increase profits. They can also travel to other systems with their cargo to bring in revenue. They are lightly armed with anti-fighter weaponry.

Hex-type Gas Transport: Hex Transports have 6 containers which are used to store its precious Tibanna gas cargo. Created just for this purpose, they only have minimal shielding and just 2 anti-fighter laser cannons, but have a moderate speed.

AG5 Bulk Transport: Like the Hex, these are created especially for the transportation of Tibanna gas, which is held within its bloated whale-like hull. These ships are relatively large, about the size of a large frigate, but are only come with weapons and shielding like a corvette. While very expensive, they bring in the most revenue out of any economic ship you can build. Their poor defenses combined with their high value make for a highly targeted vessel that needs to be protected.

Venator Merchant Ships: Only recruitable at a Trading Starport, these bring in the second highest income. Unlike the previous vessels, these are actually well defended to an extent, capable of holding off corvettes and even a frigate or two. The combination of weaponry and cargo holding creates a high cost however, one that needs to be considered before construction. Their armament consists of 4 heavy quad turbolasers, 4 heavy dual ion cannons, 2 proton torpedo launchers, and 6 point-defense mass drivers.

Part 4
You may be wondering, what is this “Survival” gametype of which I speak? Let’s start with where the idea came from. Over on Filefront’s EAW site there were some maps coming out last year that were called “Survival” maps. Basically, there were on the ground with a base and the enemy kept coming at you like a tower defense game. So that’s where the inspiration came from. The major difference is that this is for space now, and is not like a tower defense game (although there will be choke-points and such).

Here is how the basic layout will be: you start off in the center or a corner of the map with a level 1starbase. The enemy has multiple level 1 starbases and several mining facilities outside of the playable area. You have one goal: survive as long as possible.

Surrounding your station will be asteroid fields and other debris to create obstacles and choke-points. Scattered throughout the map are mining facilities and defense build pads in strategic locations. They are vital for monitoring enemy movement all across the map. You’ll also encounter other hostile forces like pirates, and come across capturable structures. The enemy will gradually build up a large amount of forces and siege your base. You can’t win, but instead see how long you can stay alive.

There will be 6 maps “shipped” with the upcoming release, one for every possible faction vs. faction scenario (there are no 3-way battles). The following maps will be:

Coruscant Assault: Krayt Empire defending against Confederation Revenant
Liberation of Dac: Krayt Empire defending against Galactic Alliance Remnant
Battlespace Taivas: Galactic Alliance Remnant defending against Confederation Revenant
Bastion Defensive: Galactic Alliance Remnant defending against Krayt Empire
Corellian Line: Confederation Revenant defending against Galactic Alliance Remnant
Siege of Mandalore: Confederation Revenant defending against Krayt Empire

Here are some previews images from the Bastion Defensive map:

Part 5
The final part of this update includes information on new ships. What I’ll be showing you right now are the variants for the ShaShore Frigate, and the Empire’s Dragon-class Battleship.

There are three new variants for the ShaShore Frigate: the S/R ShaShore, I/I ShaShore, and A/M ShaShore.

S/R (Scout/Reconnaissance)-type ShaShore Frigate:

The most obvious change with this variant (and as with all of them) is the forward blade. Instead of housing engine units it now houses a multi-purpose scanner/sensor/radar/communication suite, along with an additional shield generator. This package is extremely sensitive and powerful, lifting the fog of war for a large radius around it and other friendly units. Its fighter complement has been changed to have half of the CF9 Crossfires replaced with RC-2 Twilight Scout Crafts to assist in its duty of reconnaissance. In order to devote the necessary power to the suite, several weapons have been removed, which has the upside of giving a higher speed and shield strength. Its special abilities are now Fog of War Reveal and Sensors Jamming. Pricewise, it is about 20% more expensive than a normal ShaShore.

I/I (Interdictor/Interceptor)-type ShaShore Frigate:

The forward blade of this variant has been modified to contain a compact missile disruptor package, while a gravity well generator has been added to the ventral side of the hull. These systems draw a significant amount of energy from the reactors, and so the ship is not as fast. To lighten the energy consumption the normal armament has been replaced with anti-fighter weaponry, and has inherent point-defense capabilities. The special abilities for this variant are Interdiction and Missile Shield. To help the I/I variant be more effective at capture, half of the CF9 Crossfires have been replaced with I4 Ionizers to disable vessels. With all these changes, the design is significantly more costly, requiring 30% more credits than the average ShaShore.

A/M (Artillery/Missile)-type ShaShore Frigate:

A missile battery has replaced the forward blade in this design, containing an impressive 6 Diamond Boron Missile launchers. Equipped for long-range combat, these missiles have a very long range, but the ship’s abilities are hampered by Fog of War. To reduce this they come with half the CF9 Crossfire complement replaced by Jumpstar HPFs, which can use their high speed and FOW Reveal ability to locate distant enemies. Speed is not reduced for this ship because it retains the two forward boosters, although in a different arrangement. Additionally, two of the turbolaser batteries have been upgraded to long-range capability, while the remaining weapons have been downgraded to conserve power. The special abilities for this variant are Barrage and Full Salvo. All these modification make a very expensive frigate that costs 50% more than a normal ShaShore. It is well worth the price, don’t worry.

The other ship I’d like to formally introduce is the Dragon-class Battleship for the Krayt Empire. You do not want to mess with these.

These fear-inspiring vessels will make any enemy of the Sith tremble. While the same length as a Pellaeon Star Destroyer, they are about 3 times as wide, and several times more powerful. A more efficient alternative to the Imperious, they are not as powerful but have a better size-to-cost-to-power ratio. For secondary armament, they have 6 Heavy Quadruple Turbolaser Batteries, 4 Extra-heavy Turbolaser Batteries, and 6 Heavy Point-defense Laser Cannons. The main armament of the Dragon is its 18 Heavy Diamond Boron Missile launchers, which will shred through anything. These vessels cost less than an Imperious Star Destroyer but are still several times more expensive than a Pellaeon. They carry multiple squadrons of Blitz Assault Bombers, Reaper Interceptors, and Fury Sith Fighters (and Annihilators if a model exists in time).

And so that concludes this update. One massive update. It took forever but I hope it was worth it.