MOTY: State of the Mod news - Dawn of the Reapers mod for Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

So as you folks have seen we have all been busy here attempting to get what we have ready now in game so that you guys don't have to imagine what its like anymore. Cerberus as of right now is our main priority. They have the most in-game assets finished as of this moment so it only stands to reason we put our best foot forward. In this update I'll give you folks a heads up as to where we stand with each faction as well as a rough idea of how their game-play works.

Cerberus

Over the last week or two you guys have seen all the in-game shots I have to offer, from the heavy cruiser looking good or the Cronos base. Since we switched over from rebellion its been fun seeing all the graphical upgrades and how they affect the look and feel of the game. Its amazing the shadows, the weapon effects, all of it really looks great. Over the next few weeks with any luck we should have most of Cerberus done. With most of their stations complete in-game and working its really only the ships we have to worry about now as well as taking care of the tech tree and weapons. Now you all are probably wondering exactly how the game play is going to work with Cerberus, ill give you a quick run down.

Game-Play

With Cerberus you will start like you do in Vanilla Sins with a single "Garden World", what ever resource moons spawn in orbit and one stealth recon scout frigate capable of short term heat cloaking. Now in DOTR pirates and rebels in orbit of uncontrolled worlds will pack a little more of punch. So its up to you to plan accordingly, Always make sure you have a contingency plan. You will start with no stations in orbit(except orbital mining stations), you must acquire the appropriate resources to do build your first shipyard. (Also the Cap shipyard will not give the first one free anymore) Resources tend to flow a bit faster with Cerberus due to their connections. You as the player must still decide whether build a larger more advantageous trade network to boost economy and ultimately influence, or exercise your military might. Design research isn't cheap but worth every upgrade. You start with only one available capital ship, the Command ship. It acts as a fleet rally, issuing buffs and the "direction" necessary to slowly expand your influence. Any other Cap ship design isn't cheap but again is worth the credits if you can afford it. Now seeing Cerberus operations when it comes to seizure of planets and facilities are not exactly "by the book" when you proceed to seize a planet or station make sure you have the right research. If done correctly, Cerberus has faster population growth rate due to the indoctrination of existing ground troops. With any luck your will as the Illusive man will spread across the galaxy.

Council

Now The Council is almost the opposite of Cerberus in terms of assets, most ships have been skinned, but stations are still being modeled and designed. With only a few more models to whip up, The council will most likely follow Cerberus after its model completion. May not be for a while but you guys deserve to know the direction we are headed.

Game-Play

Now The Council will play fairly similar to Cerberus, a little slower on population growth. Off the bat though The Council will have faster than normal economic strength, allowing you to gather the resources necessary to continue your endeavors. Turian ships will have stronger firepower, Alliance ships will be well rounded. Asari ships act as figure heads, and Salarian ships act as tech buffs. With the strengths of all, The Council forms a formidable force. Keep your fleet balanced though, each ship has a place. Quarians will be a part of the council, as colonizers, an irony (yes i know) but it works. In keeping with the military readiness of ME3, Batarians and merc gangs will be militia but with the right research options you can recruit them and control them (thanks to rebellion for that.) The Council has always been a political power house and that will come through in their game-play. Also fear not the indoctrination powers of the reapers with the correct research options into Military Readiness will get you increased resistance to the effect. It will never negate the affect but will make it possible to stay in prolonged combat without losing your ships. (More to come on this we are still pouring over ideas for the Council)

The Reapers

Reapers are almost done in terms of models, or at least design wise. Skyline has kind of taken over in terms of the models for the reapers. So he may choose to optimize more models. I can sit here and talk about how the models are going and all that boring jazz or I can cut to the chase and tell you what you all want to know the most. The game-play.

Game-Play

Now as most of you have guess by now the Reapers will play nothing like any other faction. They are not concerned with economic strength, or political power. They care only to keep the cycle going. Reaper ability to mine resources is the strongest of the three factions, as well as influence. Reaper influence towers are expensive but not enough so to deter players from building them and before you know it you have lost your several outlying worlds. Never underestimate the Reapers. You the player will start with a geth scout and will be capable of building 2 of the lower echelon collector ships. These will serve as vanguards to clear out neighboring planets so that your resource operations can begin. Once successful in seizing several worlds and have a steady stream of resources, it would be in your best interest to begin research the destroyer. It acts a fleet figure head as well as buffer making the ships you have for now, a lot more powerful. From there its a long and pain staking research tree to the cap ships. Even more so for the titans, but you are the apex life form. Bent on the continuation of the cycle. You know that your speed means nothing, slow although it may be. Death will come to those who resist. Reaper weapons will be strong, very strong so anyone who catches wind of a reaper even exploring. Bunker up and be ready. For now thats all more to come later.