First of all, pizza is now officially classified as a vegetable in the United States. ...second of all, this is Mogenar/Sith of Steel with yet another PvM update =p
This week, we're going to take a look at a feature that benefits all factions: modified Hutt Asteroid Bases and Merchant Space Docks in skirmish with a slight look at how that spills over into GC.
Oh, Hutt Asteroid Bases. While more useful than their Merchant predecessors in the original Empire at War my acting as mid-map defense structures, the units one could hire from a Hutt Asteroid Base were still by and large useless, inferior to main faction counterparts.
This, however, has changed.
To reflect the backstory of PvM and improve the functionality of these structures, we've overhauled their unit lists to include the starships of the once great factions now reduced to minimal groups fighting for survival. Our hope is that this change will make Hutt Asteroid Bases much more important structures on the skirmish battlefield; the choice to capture one becomes much more tactically beneficial.
Merchant Space Docks? Of these units, they don't include the frigates. As the majority of maps with Space Docks give each faction an easily accessible dock, Docks generally won't be contested central points of combat, leaving them tactically less important. The Hutt Asteroid Base rewards a tenacious player with early, special frigates; this isn't the case with the Space Docks that any player can easily find and capture.
On a quick side note, I should also mention that Hutt Palaces in land skirmish have received the same treatment. Expect these structures to actually be useful now.
So where does GC fit into all of this? As you take control of planets once ripe with the influence and power of organizations like the Rebel Alliance and Zann Consortium, you'll be able to recruit and build their units to strengthen your ranks. Defeat the Consortium at Saluecami, and their mercenaries, Vengeance Frigates, Krayt Destroyers, and other assets are at your disposal. Or perhaps you'd like to conquer Bothawui and strengthen your starfighter forces with some X-Wings? The choice is yours. And not just yours: I've fought Imperial forces containing Corellian Gunboats and Mandalorian fleets supported by X-Wings sent at me by the AI. Makes GC a bit more interesting and gives engagements more variety.
Well, that's it for this week. Stay tuned, and feel free to comment and ask questions!
In the "Absolute Corruption 2.4" mod, if you controlled Bothawui, you were able to recruit Bothan spies and build a Bothan Cruiser; likewise, if you controlled Naboo, then you could build the Naboo star fighter. This concept of being able to build on each planet, what the planet was known for would be very beneficial to your mod. It could go side by side with your mod's concept of receiving the ability to recruit the conquered planetary faction's units.
Here is another idea: It has been said that everyone has their price." Why not take greater advantage of the defiler's ability to corrupt planets by creating the option to literally purchase all of the planets space and ground forces? Think of it as a "Bribe Garrison" feature, whose cost would be calculated based on each unit's cost. Once used, the planet would change to your faction, with their units becoming your units; and their buildings, your buildings. This would make the game play quite interesting.
That's essentially how the system works. For the sake of the article, though, I tied it into the story. Control of planets considered "Rebel" will allow you to build certain Rebel units; control of planets considered "Consortium," same type of deal, both regardless of whether or not the faction is actually placed there due to the layout of the GC (in some GCs, placing the minor factions on every planet they supposedly own would choke the playable faction and prevent the player from expanding in the early game).
As for Defilers, we've removed them from the game except as ZC units (the ZC being unplayable itself). Corruption remained a point of contention among players, and, given the mod's background, it felt more appropriate to not include corruption. (granted, from a coding perspective, we did use the corruption coding to implement something slightly different for the Mandalorians...more on that in a later news update)
As for the Bribe Garrison idea, it's definitely not a bad idea, but it faces problems in both implementation and justification. In terms of implementation, to my knowledge XML scripts can change the faction of units/structures. However, to have that coincide with paying a credit cost dependent on the units and structures themselves...I don't believe that's possible at least conventionally, if at all without extensive LUA scripting. Furthermore, given the lore, Black Sun seems like the only faction that we could justify as having that ability (the Empire prefers domination and annihilation, the Mandalorians have too small of an infrastructure to support that kind of singular financial allocation), and giving a GC ability of that magnitude to one faction seems a serious balance concern.
Still, good idea! I appreciate your feedback and ideas.
so you heard about that to, whats happening to are food groups!!! whats next, cheetos will belong in dairy?
Who knows. Comforting to know where our tax money is going, isn't it?
yes, yes it is.
Yes. What Darth_Saber said about there being a Bribe Garrison would not only be cool it would alough the ability to purchase extremely unprotected planets, instead of having to invade them