When it comes to winter there are only two comforts that you are guaranteed to have. One is that no matter what part of the world you're in, it is still warmer than in space. The second and most appealing comfort is that you still have a means to stay warm that doesn't involve your fighter turning into a fireball. But since it still is pretty cold we'll just keep this newsletter a bit short.
Mod Progress
There is not a whole lot to show for the mod in terms of progress, as things have just been s l o w overall. It is that time of the year again, and by now most of us are all too familiar with the time constraints that come with it. Still, we have been able to get some bits done in our spare moments, so we can give you a look at where things stand and some of the features you may see in the new year.
News: RPG Mode
In terms of RPG Mode there is not much to report. Lone_wolf and some of the other guys have been revising and going over the coding for the mode in their spare time, but until that is finished that project will be on hold. Nevertheless, we may try to get the second newsletter for RPG Mode, which will look at the trade system and ship production in more detail, out before the year is over. We'll see.
Upcoming Content: Mini-Campaigns, Tutorial
As for myself, with most of the team busy I wanted to take the opportunity to focus on adding some additional content to the mod. The first of the three projects I have been tinkering with in my spare time is next (Kadeshi) mini-campaign, which has just left the concept stages and is now heading for implementation. This was the reward chosen by the winner of our v1.30 launch event, and will mark entry number four of eight into the Mini-Campaign series.
In this campaign you travel into the memories of time. You play as one of the two remaining Kadeshi Needleships and set out to rendezvous with your sistership, which is currently on patrol duty in a nearby system. Through this campaign you will learn what happened to the Kadeshi following the Kushan passage through the Nebula, and gain an insight into the origins of the Kadeshi fleets you encounter (and play as) in vs. CPU and Multiplayer. There is also a short backstory to go with this mini-campaign for the interested - if you are one of them, drop a line in the Discord and I'll get it to you.
In terms of gameplay and storytelling the Kadeshi mini-campaign leans towards Homeworld1. As the mini-campaigns unfold we are slowly moving up from being a defender (Eden, Thaddis Sabbah) by giving the player access to stronger ship types and putting them increasingly more into the role of attacker. At the same time we try to keep a sense of variety, both in settings (Present-Past-Present and now again Past) and objectives.
Besides the Kadeshi mini-campaign we are also looking into adding a small Tutorial Mission for the FXmod on the short term. The idea behind this mission is to give (new) players to the FXmod an insight into some of the ways in which the mod differs from the vanilla game, as well as introduce them to some of its features. It will be the third bit of assistance we are offering to new players after the Strategy Guide (ModDB) and the Shimmering Path (Skirmish Mode).
Upcoming Feature: Ship Naming
Fresh out of the likes of Sins of a Solar Empire, one of the new features we are adding with the next build is a feature that has long been desired by fans of the Homeworld games: ship naming.
Using an in-mod tool that was scripted by Lone_Wolf, you can name your ships. Once applied, the name will hover over your ships, distinguishing it from others and allowing you to more easily keep an eye on it. Names can be changed or removed at any time. This system is currently being tested and polished.
Upcoming Feature: Concept Art Menu
The concept art menu was one of the remaining features from the HW2C version of the FXmod (FX:Commander) that still needed to be ported over to the remaster. This has now been done, and the result is a new section in the main menu housing exactly 99 pieces of concept art. Amidst the pieces you'll find both concepts drawn by developers of the FXmod over the years, as well as original Homeworld concept art that was used as the basis for some of our units (e.g. TUR HeavyGun Cruiser, Attack Carrier Mk.II).
Among the entries are also concepts that were only recently finalized, such as the re-textured Progenitor Demolisher you see below, or may still be added in the future.
New: FXmod Discord
We have recently setup a Discord page for the mod. ModDB will remain the main platform for updates and releases along with Steam, but with activity spread between the comments, forum tab and the discussions tab on our Steam pages we thought it'd be nice to concentrate this a bit more in one place.
If you'd like to stay in touch and sometimes have a chat about the FXmod, Homeworld, or meet up for some Multiplayer matches with fellow players feel free to drop by using the link below.
→ discord.gg/ekG3Wry ←
And with that it's a wrap for year's final (regular) newsletter. Thank you for another year of feedback, videos, reviews and bug reports, and we hope to see you back in 2020 for more news. Happy Holidays!
Until the next time,
-WH
Nice to see the battleship in-game looks so cool, this name system is different how pouk did his mod REARM only limited to 2 of the same letters on the ship hull to name it.