What have we been up to?
Much has been happening in recent months since the release of the Final Frontier update in late 2016 and Ambarenya has been preparing a list of fixes for STA3 Final Frontier for an upcoming patch so stay tuned for that, but the team has decided to split the mod into two variants one designed for single player exploration aka STA3: Final Frontier and one designed for Multiplayer STA3: Nemesis, Both will offer the options of playing against AI still in single player and multiplayer, but both will have slightly different content available. Max Loef our Lead Developer will continue to oversee both projects.
Let's talk about STA3 Nemesis however which is being Led by the following developers:
Draconis
Gul Dukat
Bane
Nemesis will be a bug fixed version of all that is in Final Frontier minus the extensive planetary systems and some of the more complex planetary textures (to maintain higher performance when using ironclad online) and will utilise both CTA and Final Frontier Maps, however, it will default to the original CTA nebulas and not contain deep space gravity wells such as ship graveyards. It will include the new capturable stations, random events and neutral updates.
So what's new in Nemesis itself:
Nemesis will feature an entirely new game mode map for STA3 which sees players battle to defeat not only each other's empires but a single station encounter that blocks the path of all players in reaching each other for an all out assault. More critically the station itself contains a secret that can wipe the entire nemesis cluster from the star maps for good.
The station encounter can be done with allies, and the player that strikes the final blow will receive magnificent bonuses for completing the encounter which will take up to twenty minutes to fight alone. However, players are indeed fickle so just be careful your allies don't turn on you! Also, just a word of warning for those smart players who are thinking of going the shockwave route the station seems to be able to target vessels with colossal energy signatures...
As well as this you get all the bug fixes, and rebalancing for multiplayer to continue the enjoyment of STA3 into the future.
Hopefully, this brief update has peaked your interest in STA3 Nemesis, I'd also like to take the opportunity to invite all Armada 3 fans to the GBgaming discord to find multiplayer games of STA3 and join our fantastic gaming community here at Discord.gg where you can also get technical support for STA3 from community members and speak to members of both the STA3 and Infinities development team even the mighty Max himself. We look forward to seeing you there and stay tuned to GBGaming to for dev diaries and trailers for STA3 Nemesis.
As always this is Bane, Signing Out!
So, if I'm reading this right, the nemesis map wont have all the empty gravity wells or the huge planet variety from TFF, but those options are still there? You're leaving them in the other maps already there, right?
there will be less variety. Sadly the engine struggles with the sheer amount at the moment. We'll be keeping the best of the TFF bits and cutting the bits we feel we can afford to for stability purposes.
I will admit, that's a bit sad... *sniffs and chokes back tears*
The general idea is that for those interested in the variety, 'The Final Frontier' will still be available, though more ideal for single-player than multi-player. Nemesis will have less variety, but will be more stable, making it better suited to multi-player than TFF.
Long story short you will still have both versions of the mod active :)
Would be a shame to loose some of the hard work put into this game. But theres nothing more annoying then getting a few hours into a game and then it crashes due to the engine not being able or struggling with the mod. Especially on larger maps . Look forward to seeing how it plays out. And cant wait for the community match.
Thanks again to all the devs and GB Gaming for your continued coverage and tech support not just on STA3 but other mods aswell.
#KEEPGBGAMINGALIVEANDKICKING!!
hopefully most players won't really notice a lot of the things we cut. An example would be quite a few of the moons - the planets will still remain - so you as a player will still get the visual variety.
Will both versions released at the same time or each for itself when they are ready?
For the record: I play it alone. Over 1000 hrs in SoaSE:Rebellion playing it against AI. Dont ask why. ;)
All things being well TFF 1.1 and Nemesis will be released in close proximity to each other.
( . )( . )
#jonsin
#jonsin
When I first read the name of the post I thought you were going to add buggy chases in the game.
I want that now lol. Make it so!
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Video(es) please
Check out Gul-Dukat and Bane's channel on YouTube, GB Gaming. They often play Armada 3 and showcase a lot of other mods and games as well.
Youtube.com
Thanx.
what I ment with "Video(es) please" is "Dev Diaries please".
Please try to ensure that this planned edition of STA3 is fully compatible with 32 bit operating systems which have 4GB of RAM running LTA with /3gt.
A good benchmark would be 10fps with:
Win xp Pro SP3
P4D 3.0GHz with 800FSB
Nvidia 9500GT 1GB DDR3
I am afraid that it is pretty much impossible to tune the mod to those specs :( see nemesis is still going to be more demanding than cta used to be, it will just be less demanding than tff. Short story, if you couldnt play cta, i am afraid that you wont be able to play nemesis :(
Took a while to write this comment cause i didnt want to sound like an ******* ;)
Thank you for the reply; to address your concern the machine described above Ran and continues to run CTA like a champion. the 10fps figure was derived from the average fps that computer manages during large single solar system maps with 6 opponents after 4 hours of gameplay, Even multiplayer with 1 or 2 additional players when joining the game provide the same stable (even if admittedly sluggish) and enjoyable experience thanks to the STA3's awesome development of which you are a part.:)
Cordially,
Zot311
If you could run cta, there is a chance that you might be able to run nemesis actually. Fps aside, what i worry most about is maximum ram usage honestly, nemesis will need slightly more ram than cta did, somewhere rather close to 4gb, issue is that poor windows needs some ram aswell, and if windows doesn't get his ram, he can get very grumpy. Anyhow, no way to tell if it will work but to wait and see ;)
I am really happy to hear that you can actually run cta tho, that is no short of a miracle :D
cheers
I was so pleased with the additional performance afforded by the /3gt switch I included it here: Moddb.com
Also thank you for the heads-up regarding the additional memory which will be required; worst case scenario I will further reduce the amount of memory afforded to winxp pro sp3 32bit to 768mb / 896mb via the 3gt switch
As previously discussed TFF was causing a c++ error on the rig which I could never ultimately resolve :( I suspect it was a sneaky 64bit dll reference causing the issue... Either that or a Cpu instruction set which was introduced after the Pentium D was designed.
how do i donlode it
Not so fast my friend, its just about left planning stage ;)
Will the massive gravity wells be adjusted to not require quite so much time to cross them? I often find my fleet getting stuck on a gas giant, unable to even reach the adjacent gravity well in time if I am attacked. It can be frustrating at times.
In the interests of faster gameplay befitting a multiplayer oriented variant of TFF, we're thinking of removing those particular grav wells for Nemesis.
Now with the Engine update giving you guys 4GB of Ram to use, Can we see something jaw dropping?
Very Nice indeed
So guys this nemesis is available to download?
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