Star Wars: Ascendancy mod for Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

23 comments by .Corey. on Jun 10th, 2013

Without the forceful presence of the Emperor, the Galactic Empire could not survive. After the death of Emperor Palpatine at Endor, the Galactic Empire split into several distinct factions run by individual warlords, admirals, Moffs and other prominent Imperial figures who are all vying for control of the former Empire. There were often dominant figures such as Ysanne Isard, Grand Admiral Thrawn, and then the reborn Emperor himself who managed to unite large sections of the former Empire to try to re-establish its dominance in the galaxy. After the final death of the Emperor at Byss, Admiral Natasi Daala convened a meeting of the most powerful Warlords at Tsoss Beacon in the deep core and killed them all, uniting the remnants of the Empire under her rule until she passed off leadership to Gilad Pellaeon in 12 ABY, dubbed "the old man of the Empire" for his long service. He curbed some of the Empire's more repressive policies and  would continue to lead the Imperial Remnant for the next 29 years. Most notably, he led through the signature of the Pellaeon-Gavrisom treaty with the New Republic and the Yuuzhan Vong War, where he negotiated the entrance of the Imperial Remnant into the Galactic Alliance to repel the extragalactic invaders.

...Faction Differentiation...

Before we get into the actual faction, we want to say a few things about how we go about developing them. The emphasis in developing the playable factions in Ascendancy has been on trying to make sure each faction has its own distinct playstyle. The base Sins had some success in this respect, but it was more in the way of one or two interesting unique techs per faction which were ultimately frustrating to play against and often involved little direct interaction with the player (for example, the TEC's insurrection tech). With regard to research in particular, we have shifted away from having each faction with the same 5/10/15% bonus to stat x types of research options, instead emphasizing the core aspects and ideologies of our factions and trying to bring them into the playstyle, along with providing some development along the lines of canonical events in Star Wars history. This means that not every tech will be a straight bonus; some techs will provide a buff to one facet, while reducing its effectiveness in another area. Research is no longer in a "research ALL the things" way, there will instead be some choices the player has to make on what they want to emphasize.

...Playstyle...

"Fear will keep the local systems in line."
-Grand Moff Tarkin

The Empire relies more on oppression and propoganda to keep its worlds in check, and as such its cultural and economic policies focus on preventing the spread of enemy culture and maintaining a strong hold on its own systems, as opposed to spreading its own culture. One of its most effective ways to spread and maintain its own culture and reduce enemy culture is to use its Star Destroyers to attack enemy systems or to maintain a military presence in that system, increasing their fear of reprisals by the Empire. It also has the means to convert some of its population into production through forced labour. As the game progresses, Imperial players will gain access to more liberal tech options in line with Pellaeon's leadership style, which, if researched, will sacrifice some of its bonuses for better relations with the other factions and the ability to spread its own culture without the need for violence.

Militarily, while in the early game the Remnant's vessels can usually stand up to enemy vessels on their own, their ships lag behind the later game ships of the other factions. The Empire instead focuses on building larger fleets focused on supporting one or two superships. Many parts of their tech aim at allowing a strength-in-numbers approach, letting them field larger numbers of slightly worse vessels faster than the other factions. However, unlike in other fleets, this gives the Imperial fleet an obvious target for its enemies to focus on.

...Unit List...

Fighters: TIE Fighter, TIE Interceptor, TIE Bomber, TIE Defender, Scimitar Assault Bomber
Light Frigates: Sentinel, Lancer, Carrack, Lambda, Escort Carrier, Strike Cruiser
Heavy Frigates: Dreadnaught, Immobilizer-417, Vindicator, MTC, Victory-I, Victory-II
Capitals: Imperial-I, Imperial-II, Allegiance, Altor, World Devastator
Titans: Executor, Sovereign