The Hapes Consortium news

...Non-Playable Factions...

The Star Wars galaxy is a big, diverse place. Even in the known galaxy, the New Republic and Imperial Remnant are hardly the only notable powers. In our Forces of Corruption mod, Imperial Civil War, we used non-playable factions to add a bit more variety to the game and to help bring the galaxy to life, and we intend to do the same in Ascendancy. We currently plan to include two non-playable factions, with a potential for more depending on performance and how people respond to this feature. While fairly well-developed and independent, the factions tend to not quite be on the same level of the playable factions. As with the other factions, in most scenarios their units will comprise some of the militia you will encounter on unowned planets. However, in several scenarios they will take a more central, active role. Aside from their non-playable status, these factions will function essentially as the playable factions do; they'll build their fleets, research, make and break alliances, and expand their territory. They'll even try to kill you. Unfortunately for them, the reasons that keep them from being fully playable will probably keep them from ultimately winning, but hey, at least they're trying. The first of these factions (as you probably guessed from the title of this post) is the Hapes Consortium. Just a note, several of the art assets will not quite look the same as they do in these pictures upon release; while rigging the assets for Sins, I noticed several areas where polygons were not used optimally and where there was quite a bit of room for model/texture improvement. The Battle Dragon in particular is scheduled for a retexture at some point.

The Hapes Consortium insignia, incidentally in avatar size.

"The Hapans have kept closed borders for over three thousand years. I've seen firsthand what happens when you get too close to them. Believe me, they're hiding something." - Han Solo

The Hapans are the descendants of a group of pirates known as the Lorell Raiders, who were mostly wiped out after a confrontation with the Jedi Order 4000 years before Endor. Hapans are famous throughout the galaxy for being extraordinarily beautiful, a result of the selective capturing of the most attractive humans in the cluster by the Lorell Raiders. The Consortium finds its home in the Hapes Cluster inside the Transitory Mists, where it controls 63 systems guarded by the Hapan Royal Navy. The Consortium is ruled from the Fountain Palace on Hapes by the Queen Mother, a replica of which was built into the Queen Mother's personal flagship, the Star Home. The Hapans remained isolated in their home cluster for thousands of years, until cooperation between the New Republic and the Consortium against the Imperial Warlord Zsinj began to open their borders.

"True to our pirate roots, the Hapans prefer swift, ruthless strikes. Hurt an enemy at the start of an engagement and he is yours, for as the fight progresses, his fear of you will intensify and will become your ally." - Hapan Prince Isolder

Although they lack in capital ships, Nova Cruisers and Battle Dragons form a deadly combination when used en masse. Because of their isolation, Hapan turbolaser technology also lagged behind the rest of the galaxy, with extremely long recharge rates that necessitated rotating disks to allow one set of turbolasers to fire while the others recharged. Canonically, these weaknesses were addressed as they approached the Vong War, which will be reflected in their tech tree.

That's all for now. Free internet points to anyone who can guess what the second Non-Playable Faction is. Here's a hint: you're probably wrong.

...Unit List...
Fighters: Miy'til Fighter, Miy'til Bomber
Light Frigates: Nova Cruiser, Beta Cruiser
Heavy Frigate: Battle Dragon
Capital: Star Home (Unique)

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