Overview:
Here it is, the 1st official release of the Star Wars: Original Trilogy Mod(the link is below, ModDB doesn't like the upload link for some reaon). Let
me state this at the beginning, this is not on any level with Fate of the
Galaxy, they have some of the best coders, modders, and mission designers on
their team and that release will be awesome. With that said, I of course believe
this mod has some awesome potential (read on to find out).
Also, let me state there will be many more release and updates shortly (don’t worry they
will be much smaller in file size). This release is an open beta, to allow the
public to test the feel of the ships and to blow up some evil Imperials or
Rebel scum (whichever you prefer). I included two very basic test missions for
both the Rebels and Empire, both of which have nearly the same setup, thus
meaning the deciding factor in the battle is your skill with battle tactics as a
wing leader. Since this is an open beta, it is up to you the player to provide
feedback and comments/criticism. Please let me know what I should change from
the small craft, and feel free to make more missions with larger craft
yourself. Everything is working and tweaked for all the ships (large and small)
but I only included the small ships in the first release to keep the testing
simple for now.
Contents:
-Warfull’s custom Star Wars ships, all with heavy table
editing for larger explosions, proper looking lasers and thrusters, muzzle
flashes, realistic hyperspace jumps, movie similar flight styles and weapons,
and proper Star Wars sounds.
-Custom Star Wars weapons, both primary and secondary, such
as the proton torpedoes, concussion missiles, and proton bombs.
-152 custom Star Wars sounds, which have been incorporated
into most aspects of the mod.
-Custom AI, which I have based off of Fury’s AI and modified,
as best I can, represent the Star Wars style of combat. Each craft also has a
custom AI set, along with a leader AI. For example X-wings have a custom AI
profile, along with a Lead X-wing profile.
-Custom Mainhall, with custom music.
-As I already mentioned there are two very short playable
test missions, to allow the player to get a feel for the Empire and Rebel craft
and play-style.
-92 custom music selections from the Star Wars universe. 8
custom soundtracks, representing both Imperial and Rebellion themes over the
course of ANH, ESB, and RotJ. 3 custom briefing tracks, 5 custom debriefing
tracks, 4 custom maihhall tracks, and 2 custom credit tracks.
-12 custom wingman personas (6 Imperial and 6 Rebellion).
Also custom personas for the Rebel Blockade Runner, Nebulon B Frigate, Mon
Calamari Cruiser, 2 personas for Star Destroyers, and 2 (1 Rebel and 1 Empire)
personas each for the space stations and freighters.
-Much more miscellaneous stuff, such custom Intelligence, credits,
and custom planets.
Why Release So Early?
I need to keep deadlines or I don’t get much done, as I will keep working on ‘it’ and the ‘it’ will never be finished. So I wanted to get this out there and keep my promise to you, the followers. But the overall reasoning of me releasing such a beta style mod is to give the community something to see,
comment on, and play with. Ideally this will produce a community feedback model
where you can contribute to the overall progression of the mod (however much or
little you want). After all, isn’t a whole community of people’s ideas
better than one? Also I can’t incorporate everything that I want in this mod with
just one other partner (thanks coffeesoft!). My main goal is to find other
people who want to join the team (even temporarily) to bring this mod to its
full potential.
Upcoming Features (Ideally)
Personally, I am not much of a fan of the scripted mission style of most campaigns, as it
feels repetitive and not ‘real’. Thus my ultimate goal is to create a large set
of dynamic missions where each mission will play differently when replayed due
to random scripting. Overall a set of three to four missions (such as assaulting,
capturing, then guarding a planet) could make up a ‘tour’ and there could be
multiple ‘tours’ that create the overall campaign. Therefore the player could choose
their own set of tours and not have to follow a linear path. Additionally, the
player may not win every battle, as I think it would be interesting if on missions
you had the ability to retreat in order to stay alive (such as in a real war). Thus
some tours may result in defeat, but as long as the player is still alive the campaign
continues with other tours. The base/overall goal for an individual mission would
remain the same (acting like an objective skeleton), but the events would be
randomized. So for example one mission may begin with attacking a cruiser, but there
is a 30 percent chance it will turn out to be an ambush, or a 30 percent chance
the cruiser will run right away, or 30 percent chance it will stay and fight.
That is just one set of randomized events, as there would be many throughout
each mission which lead to a set of other random events, thus each play through
the mission feels like a new battle. Also, to keep balance incorporated,
certain events would allow others to happen, such as a new cruiser entering the
area and Command authorizing fighter reinforcements to join the battle. The
benefits of having a specific play/mission style are to create a unique and
recognizable mod. Plus since Fate of the Galaxy is likely doing linear missions
I figure something a little different would be a good thing.
If something remotely like this sounds appealing, please don’t hesitate to lend
assistance in making it a reality. I do not have as much experience in FRED as
I would like, thus it will take months to make missions like I described above.
But, with some help, such a goal could be accomplished much sooner. So if
anything sounds interesting and you want to apply to help, please shoot me a PM
or comment below. Thanks!
Installation:
As for installation, just unzip and put in your FS2 directory,
then select Star_Wars as your mod in the FS2 Open Launcher. The missions are
listed under the Mission Simulator in the Tech Room.
Known Issues:
-If FS2 is installed in a long file path (say Program Files/GOG/ect) then two string errors will pop up when the missions load, but just click OK and the mission will still load. The reason is that the music file
paths are a bit long, but other than the slight inconvenience of clicking OK,
there isn’t anything critical with this issue. The best fix is to move your FS2
install to a shorter file path like C:/Games.
-The TIEs have hyper-drives in order to properly exit
missions, but this will be easily fixed in future release with the use of more
FRED scripting. I just added them today to make the Empire Mission work quickly
since I wanted to keep my release date.
-Since I used the Media VP's there are three missions in the mission simulator (Test, Massive Battle 1, and Massive Battle 2) that are not mine and will not work.
Random Remarks:
Also, the reason this is not packed as VP files is that I wanted it to be as easy as possible for others to
look under the hood and change anything they wanted.
One thing I didn’t manage to incorporate was the RTS mod, as it would add a bit more complexity then I would like at this point.
Personally, I like seeing parts of the ship while flying, but if you don’t just remove the “show ship”
flag in the ships.tbl, or just switch to 3rd person view ;)
Here is the Link:
Docs.google.com
I would have upload on ModDb's page but the uploader is having issues, and I wanted to release this now.
May the fore be with you…
