Fleet Operations is a popular skirmish and multiplayer orientated total conversion modification for Activision's real-time strategy game Star Trek Armada II. The project's goal was not only to create a simple "modification" but as total conversion to make Armada II a worth successor to the second best selling Star Trek game Star Trek: Armada (behind Interplay's Star Trek: 25th Anniversary by a small, but fair margin). Version 3.0 includes advanced graphics, a whole new user interface, completly replaced ship models, 5 balanced races with totally new gameplay and tons of new possibilities making Armada II a real real-time strategy multiplayer game.
Fleet Ops has an active development team who are constantly working to make sure it has the 5 key elements of a good RTS game:
1. Difficulty: Players with a long history of RTS gaming and elite clicking skills can practice and pull off amazing strategies that are at their level, while new players can still enjoy the game without going crazy.
2. Pace: A small-map game can be over in 10 minutes, while a large team fight can last over an hour without players finding themselves at a stalemate. Individual battles aren't too fast, which gives you the time you need to micro-manage your units.
3. Balance: The Fleet Ops team started with a simple base (short, medium, and long range ships) and has built up a complex system of unit counters. Some ships counter others completely, while others have a slight advantage only. Some races can cloak their ships, which gives them a large advantage. As a result, these races' ships are much more expensive than their non-cloaky counterparts and must be carefully microed.
4. Variety: The five playable races are very diverse, with unique units and tech trees across the board. They also have unique resource systems, but not enough to destabilize the game.
5. Community: It doesn't matter how much fun a game is, if the people who play it are jerks. The Fleet Ops community are friendly and active, and the devs listen to the players. Fleet Ops also has an active Frapsing community who record games and post them to YouTube for people to watch.
I cant give this mod anything apart from a 10, Fleet ops has kept A2 Alive and should be classed as a game of its own, its innovative features set it apart and feels totally different from A2 in so many, much better ways,
I cant wait to see what this team come up with next, and cant wait for the next version,
Fleet Operations is a complete overhaul of the original Armada 2, which came out almost a decade ago. It improves on the original in almost every possible way.
The four factions that were kept from the original have been completely overhauled, and a new one has been added; gameplay is much more strategic and intricate than that of the original. In Armada 2, tech trees and unit types were very similar across factions. Fleet Ops is much different: each faction has its own completely unique tech tree, as well as its own individual playing style and strategies. Sneaky players who like to use scouts and spies will want to choose the Romulans, and players who favour a small number of large, powerful units should choose Borg.
Resources have been greatly simplified and streamlined in Fleet Ops. The original game had five different resources, and managing them was often tedious. Fleet Ops has three.
The Fleet Ops devs have introduced a number of completely new gameplay features. For example, a ranking system was added for combat units. The system encourages players to keep their units from being destroyed, and rewards players who can micromanage. Units now include a wide array of passive abilities, which means Fleet Ops is like an intelligent game of rock-paper-scissors, not a "who can spam the biggest army" like the original Armada 2 was.
It's worth noting that Fleet Ops has a great, very active development team who are involved in the game's community.
Armada 2 was a great game when it first came out, but it has definitely aged. Fleet Ops does right everything the original did wrong -- and adds tons of innovations. Fleet Ops feels streamlined and professional. It's intelligent, but not too complicated. The graphics have been greatly improved, and the game looks amazing. Fleet Ops is a really fun, polished, and modern-feeling game, with a great, active online community. If you're a Star Trek fan, or even just an RTS fan, you should definitely give Fleet Ops a try!
really like the mod eveything is new and the graphical quakity is great.
The models and the attention to detail is great. This is far better than the original game.
great mod but time between updates is ever so long it is just stupid
Takes Armada II and makes it worth playing in 2011.
Maybe not for every player of Armada 2, Fleet Ops is still one of the greatest total conversions for the game. DoCa and his team has managed to breath new and extended life into a game that would, under normal circumstances have disappeared into obscurity. A big thumbs up for an impressive amount of work.