new upgrades, a few ships and some ideas Thread - Star Wars: Interregnum mod for Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

hey, GoaFan hope you're having a good day.

so I have a few ideas and all that.

so to start when it comes to the empire factions I'm always at a bit of an argument with myself, on the one hand, i love vador and his lore and just in general a fanboy. on the other hand, the warlords playstyle is much more to my taste of play (smaller but more elite). so I had a few ideas hopefully this isn't too confusing

1. would it be possible to make vador a warlord, as a mini-mod or just a scaled down vador. I even thought of a way that you could justify this. if you switch vador with Palpatine (who I believe was cloned at some point) as the defacto leader of the empire, not a lot would have to change maybe a few techs. on the vador part well why would the most powerful sith follow a clone especially after his chains have been cut, so making him a breakaway warlord would be a reasonable step I think and his specialty would probably stay with the culture stuff as he is still a bit of a legend. as palpatine would have been dead for a little while it would make sense for the warlords to take power as well and not returning to a "clone". I can keep fleshing this out if you think its a reasonable request and I would be more then willing to help you with making any lore stuff/changes that are within my limited ability.

2. on to the warlords I have noticed with myself that I generally always take the same warlord(Thrawn), with the rare exception. I know they're all good in their chosen field but unless I'm being pressed for something say resources I always gravitate to thrawn. I can't speak for others but I imagine most people have their favorite or defacto warlord. in general, I think this is a bit of a waste because they're all good. so I was thinking would it be possible to get a second warlord, the late game of course. it can be justified as a warlord alliance within the faction. what this would entail: let's say Thrawn is my first warlord I get all his regular stuff, then the point comes that I can get my second warlord lets us khaine. so I pick khaine and I get all his upgrades, now from a balanced perspective I'm not sure how strong the individual warlords starting buffs are. khaines +10% to resources, if that would be to OP then it can be halved or removed leaving only the tech options. the first warlord is the executor that the player would receive so you still have to choose your starting warlord carefully. this would allow a player to take their favorite warlord and still be able to react to certain situations or move in a direction that the player isn't used too.

3. it would be nice if each warlord got 3 techs each. and if a couple could be changed or upgraded. I'm mostly looking at isarde for the upgrade as her +1 to armor for the acclimater while a nice buff is useless on a ship that you may or may not use. for myself, I rarely use it, just a skip ship for me(i just use my capitals). to my thinking, the buff the warlords give should be a little more general to prevent them from becoming obsolete or being useless. as to why I think the warlords should be given 3 techs is to help differentiate them just a little more. I have a few ideas for techs. one I would like for isarde is the ability to mask the movement of her fleet basically giving enemy empires false information (so it keeps to her character) and it would be neat to have a tech that more or less nullifies an enemies tech (enemy fleet vision in phase lanes). I have a few more but I wanted to share that one. i understand that balance is the biggest issue with this request, im not sure the what the easiest way to address this would be. a few sugestions: a small buff across the board for all other factions, increasing price of the warlord techs (special techs = special price),add a few more techs to other races to balance, reduce the number of capital ships a little more. adding techs to other races that are a little more outside of the box(like the isarde), so as an example that tech for isard i mentioned would change the way she is played(while staying somewhat true to character) she is all about information, this would allow her to capitallise on sneak attacks and hitting targets that the opposing fleet isnt near to. and since the opponent wont know till its to late... this would give isard a very clear sneak attack attack style that fits character. a similar thing could be done for all the factions/warlords.

4. would it be possible as a mini-mod or as part of the game to have 2 titans, (limited to 1 of each type so only 1 executor and 1 bellator type deal). honestly, I think the belator is a beautifully made ship that I rarely use (please bare in mind I use the double fleet mini-mod). unless I absolutely need a titan waiting for the executor seems like the slightly better way to go.im thinking something outside of Kuat. and i was also thinking that all executer class ships should cost 3 cap points.

5. in regards to adding a second titan if this is something you think you might do. then adding a second Titan to the vanilla races ( you would get full creative license) and I'm sure the modding community would be willing to help with it.

6. a buff to the vanilla race just a small one as I find they really struggle with the star wars races. I'm not sure what they would need to balance a little better. nothing is worse then a few star destroyer warping in and eating my fleets. just thought of something, change the firing archs of the weapons might really even things. using the advent as an example a lot of their weapons shoot forwards or 90 degrees to the side. so changing it so the most of the weapons can fire forward or all broadside(depending on design) might go a long way. another possible change I don't know any ship lengths but the vanilla kind of seem smaller and if that's the case maybe making them significantly faster (not sure how effective this would be), and my last idea would be to make 2-3 capitals a little stronger for the vanilla races.

7. I have asked this in the past and never really gotten an answer, possibly because of the location i asked in... but if you find it annoying or what not let me know. would it be possible to make alliance upgrades permanent? star trek armada is a great example of how they made it work. a from a justifiable stance any technology that was put into general use ex. armor for ships every ship with said armor would need to be destroyed, every scientist with knowledge would need to be killed... simply put erasing something like that would be impossible so making them permanent seems logical. there are a few differnt ways this could be achieved using upgrades after reaching a certain affinity with your ally, or both agreeing to a tech and then you build in the research tree...

8. it would be really neat if the hapan fire dragon ships(i hope I got the name right) could be added as a capital ship(mercenary style pref)

9. something called a horde/treasure planet that can have 1-3 artifacts. generally speaking i like to try and get all artifacts in all the maps i make but sometimes i want a small map then i have decide the ones i want which is little annoying sometimes.

10. for the vanilla races maybe changing the number and strength of the capital ships. ex. tec is all about the mass production so lots of shittier ships as fast a possible, advent are all about those psitech ships that probably can't be massed produced as fast but it seems like they are definitely a capital ship focus race.then you have the vasary that are super advanced cant mass produce capital ships and the ones they have should be taken care of as losing one would be a loss. I think star trek armada 3 might be a good example of how the different number of capitals ships and their quality can really change the feel of the factions.

p.s. i have zero mod experience but i would like to get into it, so if you have some easy tasks that i could help with i would love to do so.

keep up the good work

best regards

Edited by: sarrownight

1. Vader really doesn't make sense as a Warlord. His style is all about overwhelming might, not "smaller but more elite". He IS everything the old Galactic Empire stood for personified, and he's the centerpoint for the entire faction. Also the Warlords thematically represent the post Episode 6 expanded universe in the mod, which Vader was of course not a real part of.

2. Not possible, and even if it were I wouldn't do it. I think tough choices is a part of good game design. Plus lore wise it would make no sense what so ever, since most of the Warlords would like to kill each other.

4-5. Not really. I designed a multiple titan system for SoGE but its a little hackish and not AI friendly. Extra titans from planets like Kuat will be all there will be.

6. Funny, I had someone say the other day the Star Wars factions were too weak compared to the vanilla Sins factions. :-) The balance is never perfect, but I need more specific problems to address balance, and if several people say ship/faction x is too strong/weak, I'll usually change it.

7. If you mean pacts, the entire system will be reworked once all the races are done.

8. Already confirmed, in fact I think I posted images of them already.

9. Sadly Sins only allows 1 artifact per planet.

10. There is no plans to adjust the costs of vanilla capitalships. E4X will include balance changes as needed, but in the original game all capitalships are assumed to be mostly equal and I will not change that assumption for the vanilla factions. The goal for vanilla factions is to have them balanced with Interregnum ones, but the Star Wars factions with have more variety with things like this (more focused strengths and weaknesses).

Glad you're enjoying the mod. :-)

1. yeah it was a bit of a long shot lol. another long shot, would there be any way that vadors faction can get the tie defender(even as a final tier tech)? I love this ship and its one of the main reasons I play warlords over the empire.

2. I never realized they were so hostile to each other. I stopped reading after thrawn. would you happen to know a good forum page that I can ask players what their favorite warlord is?

3.? i like the feed back good or bad lets me know if i should keep thinking of ideas on the certain thread or look in different areas...

4-5. so I'm just curious, I know at some point the eclipse will be added, I'm wondering if you will be replacing the kuat titan with the eclipse or if you will give it to a faction?

6. I will play a bunch more and find you a little more specifics to work with. one that does come to mind is the radiance battleship the lasers don't fire forward only to within about 30 degrees or so. but at least 2 turrets on each side should be able to shoot forward without obstruction. il send another post when I find more specifics.

7-8. I'm excited to see these. I can't wait!!

il make another post when i have a few more specifics on the vanilla faction balance

thank you for your time

1. The Empire can deploy a few Defenders with hero Teren Rogriss ultimate ability and the Bellator Titan. They don't have the research since the Empire focuses on quantity with fighters and rarely used then, while in the EU they were used more by Warlords.

2. We actually have been talking about this recently on the new Discord.

3. Right now Warlords are quite strong and popular. I don't really want to buff them right now.

4. Kuat won't change but the Eclipse is too powerful to be a standard Imperial Titan.

6. Some weapons can only fire in certain directions, but it's total DPS that I balance by. And I tried to make that balanced.

good afternoon Goafan, I hope all is well.

2. I don't have discord would you be able to send me a link? please and thank you!

3. sorry maybe I should have clarified I wasn't asking for a buff, but more differentiation. so the individual warlord gets a small buff from the extra tech but losses something else. just as an example, let's say khaine gets the 3rd upgrade but loses access to the tie defender. that was just an example and not a good one...

4. does that mean the eclipse will be viable for all factions 8D

5. what are the chances of a neutral grand admiral that any faction can get be added?

6. would it be possible to get 5 heros per faction or give vador an apprentice who is a hero?

7. can mon calamari have a spawn feature like the kuat but with the viscount? i love doing a kuat vs mon cala themed maps?

a. on to balance related stuff:

a. I just realized this but no faction has engine upgrades (speed, acceleration, turning, mass reduction), honestly this seems likes a huge oversite to me.weapons, shields, armor, economy all get extensive research but no one upgrades engines?? just to clarify I'm only talking about in system engines not warp as those do get upgraded. I think every faction should be given an engine upgrade line (yes I know a few factions [tec,vasari] get a few mass reductions and tech get tuning i think ,but I think that just make them even better). I'm of the opinion that said upgrade line if added should be very late game. I'm a little surprised I just noticed this.as space is the limiting factor I would suggest using the defense/diplomacy trees for space or creating a new sub-branch in those trees if its possible.

b. so interestingly after a lot of play I have discovered for the most part the vanilla is a little stronger, but not in the early game. I found that the empire/warlords get more capital ships out faster(not just the victories) and it gives some early dominance. (it's really annoying sometimes). I actually think after extensive play, vador needs a small buff(outside of culture) for the late game. I would suggest adding 1 shield mit. to the final shield tech. I don't know how the cultural repression works, I don't want to make any suggests on that till I understand it more fully. also, I would make the price for the starbases 10% cheaper for the empire.

c. this isn't a suggestion, just a differing on opinions for vador. I would like to know your thoughts on(sorry if its a little chaotic).so Anakin is and always has been an engineer(stated in the movies and in multiple books that he has an affinity for technology). its also mentions in passing in several books that Anakin never lost his love for tech when he was a Jedi(ex constantly modifying speeders and lightsaber to name a few, also had a good eye for what speeder to commandeer when he needs to chase people). when Anakin became vador he is still a tinkerer just on a smaller scale (custom tie fighter, bodysuit mods mostly as I remember). I have not seen or read any sources to confirms this but I suspect that the only reason Vador scaled back was cause Palpatine always kept him busy, and his constant struggle with the dark side (there are a few sources including a new comic series beautifully made if you feel an urge to read, that shows vador cant eliminate the light side within himself).

without Palpatine, I suspect vador might fall more in line with a dark Jedi or a gray Jedi with a dark side approach. kind of a Thanos from marvel feel(what I do is for the good of all, any sacrifice is justified). I suggest this as vador cant eliminate the light side so it would have more influence on his character(but not enough to do a full switch).

so for the mod vador is the spiritual successor to the empire which makes sense. but for the most part, it plays how the old empire would play more or less. I say this cause the majority of the unique upgrades are force related (foresight, battle meditation...) all of which Palpatine was capable of. what's missing is vadors unique touch: the technology affinity [not as much as the warlords as they're more broad in their approach], his children [if they're still alive], and his personal motivation and goal for the empire(what does he want it to be).i very much doubt vadors goals are even remotely similar to Palpatine a power-loving sycophant. without Palpatine's leash, vador is free to do as he pleases and make changes as he please, which I don't think is really reflected in this mod.

would he get an apprentice(s)?

I would like to point out that vador never survived endor as you know, so there is really no limit on what he could or couldn't do now that he has survived. based on a few of your replies vador is all about the old empire and i see where you're coming from with this. but it just doesn't seem like its vadors empire it feels like Palpatine still... you are taking vador into uncharted water so you have some creative leeway with the character if you want it(just food for thought).there is also the possibility of stealing technology from the vanilla to upgrade the empire systems (seems more of a warlord things but..)

first and foremost the empire has the most to lose territory wise so it goes to reason that a stronger initial defense would be more important than offense (as the fleet may be destroyed or otherwise displace at all the various fronts[not to mention the mass defection of the warlords I'm guessing around 20%, and the massive rebellionwhich is likely more powerful do to the massively weakened empire]).with the fleets so weakened using numbers and overwhelming might to crush your opponent doesn't seem like the wisest move especially from someone with military experience. anakin is a seasoned general who understands strategy...the worst that can be said about Anakin strategies is that he is rash(which based on the movie is not a fault vador shares), many of his missions for the emperor, using overwhelming force was not his primary tactic(most times) but using strike forces of 1-3 SD and making large use of mercenaries or personally showing up (he does that a lot). the few times that overwhelming force was used (hoth...) can almost be described as a "f-u" to the emperor's resources.on the other hand Palpatine doesn't care about losses only that he gets what he wants, so overwhelming force absolutely one of his strategies. in one of the Thrawn books, there is a flashback with Thrawn and the emperor and Thrawn refuses to do a mission cause casualties would be crippling to the empire, Thrawn refused then the emporer went into a rage and told him to do it anyways. one further point vador may not have cared for or even respected palpatines forces but i would very highly wager that vader would at the least value his own dwindling forces.

one last point i believe you mention somewhere in the bios or somewhere on the page anyways (correct me if I'm wrong) that vador isn't an administrator and this is true but he doesn't have to be. even if every A+ administrator defected to the warlords he would still have all the A's who would be itching to make a name for themselves. all vador needs is a vision and share it with the top aids to make it happen...

so to summaries while i still love the faction and the mod. i think vadors faction plays to much like palpatine, and that the focus of the faction doesnt represent vador accurately.

thank you for your time i would love to hear your thoughts.

best regards

Edited by: sarrownight