The Mod Explained - Part 2: Project: Planet Death I
When the Yuuzhan Vong attacked, not a single person in the galaxy could imagine what kind of danger they truly were. The galaxy was well aware of the concept of superweapons, first used by the Galactic Empire against the defenceless planet Alderaan. But even the fear the Death Star had inspired in the hearts of the Rebel Alliance more than 20 years ago, was nothing compared to the panic the Yuuzhan Vong would spread all across the galaxy.
The Battle of Sernpidal was the event which ended the war with the New Republic before it even had begun. It was when even the most fearsome warriors and most admired heroes in the galaxy realised that -- facing such a thread -- they were mere mortals amongst billions. It was over Sernpidal where the Yuuzhan Vong first showed what they were capable of, by pulling Sernpidal's moon out of its orbit down on the planet's surface, destroying the planet and killing billions, heroes of war and ordinary beings alike. Only to grow a creature in the planet's carcass which was able to give birth to new capital ships.
Once Upon A Time...
It was two years ago, when Burntstrobe first announced Project: Planet Death, together with Project: Diplomacy amongst the two most ambitious projects of this mod, the team was called nuts, crazy and bonkers for just attempting it. But only few knew, that at that time, we already had a small working prototype of the mechanic, a proof of concept, which had originally been developed by SmallPox, Sam032 and Wariscool. Many thanks to them for their continuous effort and creating the foundations for what we have now.
Today, two redesigns of the mechanics and a full rewrite of the code base by Kad_Venku later, we're able to present a full game system, which is not only dynamically configurable and scalable, but also providing a great deal more features than the original idea. Because of the massive size of the project, this article concentrates on the gameplay on a galactic scale exclusively.
How To Blow Up A Planet Pt.1
There is one thing you have to admit: The Yuuzhan Vong are getting incredibly creative when it comes to killing, specially on a planetary scale. But so are the various other factions of the galaxy. And we aim to represent all of them.
Not only are certain Planet Death types only available to certain factions, with the Yuuzhan Vong having the most devastating attacks at their disposal, but in order to execute a Planet Death you will also have to meet certain prerequisites, and have to be ready to face the consequences.
This article only discusses the Planet Death types which are available to the Galactic Alliance or the Hutt Empire.
Base Delta Zero
Or, for those who are not familiar with Imperial protocol, the orbital bombardment of a planet until it is almost uninhabitable. Bombing them back to the Stone Age, for those who want a more figurative description. There is not much creativity needed to figure this out. A lot of firepower is basically all you need, thus this PD type is available to all three playable factions in an almost identical way.
Prerequisites:
- Galactic Alliance, Hutt Empire:
- At least 6 capital ships in orbit over an enemy's planet.
- Yuuzhan Vong Empire:
- At least one Slave Ship and 6 capital ships in orbit over an enemy's planet.
Execution is possible during:
- Galactic Conquest mode
- Space Skirmish
Consequences:
- Refugees
- Destruction of most or all ground units and buildings.
- Reduced land build slots.
- Reduced planetary income.
- Reduced population cap.
- Diplomatic impact.
- Changed ground map reflecting the damage the bombardment caused.
Defence:
- Planetary shields provide full protection; A bombardment will destroy those though.
- Base shields increase the survival rate of stationed ground units and buildings.
Operation Centerpoint
A relict of an ancient empire, the Centerpoint Station located in the Corellia System is one of the most powerful weapons in the galaxy. It's assumed that the Centerpoint Station's "hyperspace tractor beam" has been used to create the Corellia System by moving the five planets into their orbits. But the same "tractor beam" can be used for destruction. It's up to you to decide whether this threat should be unleashed upon an unsuspecting galaxy.
Prerequisites:
- Galactic Alliance, Hutt Empire:
- Own the Corellia System.
- Funded the Centerpoint research.
- Decide to activate the station and use it as a weapon.
- Yuuzhan Vong Empire:
- Due to the Yuuzhan Vong's hate for technology, they are not able to utilise the Centerpoint Station.
Execution is possible during:
- Galactic Conquest mode.
Consequences:
- Destruction of the planet the station is being fired at.
- Destruction of all units on the planet or in orbit.
- Diplomatic impact
- Galactic Alliance:
- The Hapan Matriarchy will cancel existing alliances with the GA or refuse to participate in diplomatic negotiations.
- The Solo kids will leave the GA for good.
- Hutt Empire:
- To be decided.
Defence:
- None.
Alpha Red
The Chiss are well known for their analytical mind and their extreme stance on problem solving. A galaxy in chaos, attacked by a foreign race, not comparable to anything known. So there is one logical solution to this problem: All enemies share certain genetic attributes, different from all species within the known galaxy, so a virus attacking all living beings with this exact genetic code can end the war once and for all.
War is always a proving ground: How far are you willing to go for the victory? where do you draw the line. Are you willing to commit genocide on a galactic scale in order to save what you're fighting for? For the Chiss this answer was clear, for the Jedi as well, but what will your decision be?
Prerequisites:
- This Planet Death type is available exclusively to the Galactic Alliance.
- Alliance with the Chiss Empire.
Execution is possible during:
- Galactic Conquest mode.
Consequences:
- Refugees.
- Destruction of all Yuuzhan Vong ground units and buildings on a planet.
- Reduced stats for all ground units on the planet.
- Diplomatic impact.
- All Jedi and several other heroes will leave the Galactic Alliance for good.
Defence:
- None.
Reflective Condensing
Possibly one of the most creative ways to destroy a planet during all of the Legends timeline. At the early stages of the Vong War, the New Republic used shieldships (Yes, giant flying space umbrellas!) to freeze a planet's surface solid.
Prerequisites:
- Galactic Alliance, Hutt Empire:
- Own the Nkllon System.
- Yuuzhan Vong Empire:
- Due to the Yuuzhan Vong's hate for technology, they are not able to utilise the shieldships.
Execution is possible during:
- Galactic Conquest mode
- Skirmish mode
Consequences:
- Refugees.
- Destruction of most to all ground units and buildings on a planet.
- Reduced stats for all ground units on the planet.
- Reduced land build slots.
- Reduced planetary income.
- Reduced population cap.
- Diplomatic impact.
- Changed ground map reflecting the frozen surface of the planet.
Defence:
- Planetary shields provide full protection.
- Base shields increase the survival rate of stationed ground units and buildings.
That's all folks!
But we'll be back soon with the next part of our series: The Mod Explained - Part 2: Project: Planet Death II
The Shapers - YVaW
Incredible guys! I can't wait for the second part of this article! Will you be explaining on another article how the refugee mechanic works?
Yes, once we've made our way through all the Planet Deaths on GC level, then we'll have some gameplay to show for the PD types activated during space tactical battles, including the refugees.
We had to slightly change our plans for the article due to the holidays in the US.
Wow that stuff is amazing. Alone the concept alone that it has deep concequences for using the superweapons is great. All that stuff puts this game on a whole new level. Its just mindblowing what you are able to make out of this (now) old game. With all that content added the base game looks like an demo. Keep up the great work. Cant wait
Simply amazing! Never knew FoC was capable of having those features.
FoC never had those features. It's mind-blowing!
Alright. Looks like I'm never using alpha red since e Jedi will leave lmao
...and this is just the beginning, there is yet, so much more......
What are consequences of Condensing?
Refugees.
•Destruction of most to all ground units and buildings on a planet.
•Reduced stats for all ground units on the planet.
•Reduced land build slots.
•Reduced planetary income.
•Reduced population cap.
•Diplomatic impact.
•Changed ground map reflecting the frozen surface of the planet.
LMAO all this and your ready for a 2017 FULL release.Must be using bots to help u with coding :P
No, all is hand crafted. No bots, no scripts.
Just a thought-through modular approach.
nice.NERD!!! :P jk jk
Wouldn't it make me more of a nerd if I'd actually written a script or tool which takes over parts of the programming tasks?
One day I will have to learn how to resist such comments...
yep :)
Hmm very nice, but i have a question. What type of mechanism will you use to limit the use of theese superweapons/planetkillers. Are you implementing a cooldown mechanism, or simply it will cost credits to use them?
I mean, lets say there is a planet with a planetary shield. You win the orbital battle and bomb it once. It destroys the shield, then you bomb it again. So the shield was like totally useless.
I think you remember Star Wars : Rebellion, the predecessor of EAW. That game had no limitation on orbital bombing. Once an AI fleet took orbit over your planet, they bombed it 10 times in a second, without any chance of a "counterplay".
There are cooldowns for each PD and some require additional fees. You pretty much nailed it.
The planetary shield is there to buy you some time and to prevent other PD types.
And Rebellion/Supremacy is the game I personally draw a lot of inspiration from, wich also means I try to avoid that game's mistakes.
As far as the AI is concerned, they will use the PD in a way appropriate to the lore. You won't see the GA bombard every planet they come across. They'll only use it as a last resort.
Well depending on the difficulty of course, but that is for another day I think :)
Thank you for the quick answer, keep up the good work guys ;)
All hail YVaW ! :)
Yuun-Harla is pleased. As am I.
Concerning Orbital Bombardment, when you say it requires 6 capital ships, does this take into account other sizes of ship? I don't imagine frigates can do much, but this question is particularly for super ships, such as the Lusankya, all the Koros-strohna, etc.
Meaning, if you have one such ship in orbit, is the ship requirement decreased or ignored entirely?
Or does this system simply depend on the population of the ships in orbit, and the minimum is the equivalent of 6 capital ships or 6x4?
Basically, how flexible is the 6 capital ship requirement when it comes to ship classes?
Currently it is a static requirement for ships tagged as Capital in the code.
It's not ideal, but there to prevent problems in space skirmish battles. Ships tagged as Super have abysimal pathfinding which can cause a goal of the skirmish version of the bombardment to be not completable, sending units into an infinite loop. As long as we can't improve the pathfinding the requirement will stay static.
Very understandable. In other mods, I personally try not to move them at all because of pathfinding issues.
Keep up the good work!
i always wanted to execute code base delta zero on a planet. (or say it it sounds awesome) nice job!
It is great fun :)
Delta Zero
...At least one slave ship...
It's been forever since I read the books. Elaborate? Not really wanting a wiki-link, more a function in game.
Centpoint
...Destruction of all units in orbit...
Is this Planet AND ships? Or is it Planet OR ships? I assume it's both in one shot, but it would be cool to exterminate a fleet in orbit over one of your worlds.
Condensing
How do planetary shields help stop condensing? That makes little to no sense. Are you implying that the shields can draw in more sunlight?
Hutt Consequences
It seems you don't have a good solid grasp on hutt consequnces, but a criminal cartel would very much want to avoid planet destruction.
Refugees - > I want to say the hutts will be hit harder by refugess, but I think it would the opposite. Depends on how the mechanic works. Refugees would strain the military/control side, but generate more revenue?
Centerpoint -> Huts obliterating an entire planet would effect the income on all the worlds associated with it. Criminals are very networked, and cutting out an entire planet would devestate the regional economy
IE: Neighboring worlds (1 tile) suffer 20% profit loss permanently. 2 tiles - 10%, 3 tiles - 5%.
Just some ideas, looks amazing!
Base Delta Zero:
The Yuuzhan Vong do not waste resources, thus the population of a planet will be harvested before the planet is bombarded.
Centpoint:
+ Destruction of the planet the station is being fired at.
+ Destruction of all units on the planet or in orbit.
That is of course an "and".
Condensing:
I could start arguing about the different planetary shield types in SW, of which some do not let anything pass (shutter shields for example).
But it's way easier than that: Balancing. A shield at least makes a little sense specially whith how we interpreted this PD type.
Hutt Consequences:
"It seems you don't have a good solid grasp on hutt consequences"
What makes you say that? There is only one occasion where we haven't yet settled on story consequences, because the Hutt's storyline is not yet finished.
Refugees:
Nothing about this mechanic, apart from its existence, has been made public.
All mechanics we presented have been thoroughly planned and designed to work in a story context as well as work with the game. It is frankly said astonishing that what we are able to do here is even working with the game.
Meant no offense.
Just trying to enjoy the process. I did not say that it was not astonishing... I believe I said, 'Looks amazing'.
Sorry, I took an interest...
No offense taken.
I love these planet death concepts there really cool and unique. I just got a few questions.
Will Centerpoint Station be a structure over Corellia that can be destroyed during battle? Also, as long we don't fire the weapon will the Hapans and Solo siblings won't leave and we can still benefit from the passive interdiction field and disabling ships in battle?
Regarding Refugees will helping and resettling Refugees have positive diplomatic impact like say if the Galactic Alliance help resettle the Refugees from Serpindpal after the Vong dropped a moon on it; will the refugees that are resettled provide discount to soldier recruitment you know eager refugees wanting to take up the fight like the Alderaanian refugees after the destruction of Alderaan swarmed to joined the Rebel Alliance to fight the Empire who destroyed there home.
Also, will there be worlds that will respond negatively to Refugee resettlement like having outsider refugees resettle on Mandalore or Nal Hutta and lower diplomatic ties with said planet and faction?
Furthermore will there be a way to regain lost ground base slots from specific planet death scenarios like Base Delta Zero and Condensing?
Additionally will the Vong be using Refugees they capture for both tech upgrades and indoctrination to the Peace Brigade forces?
Lastly, will you have a mod explained about the Technology and Diplomatic Systems in the near future after Planet Death part 2? I really want to know how the GA can tech up and fight back against the Vong and Hutt empires.
Sorry for all the questions I'm just so excited about this mods release even if it's a bit far away. The Yuuzhan Vong at War team have a ambitious project and I can't wait to see it come to fruition when it releases. Keep up the hard work, Happy Holidays, and May the Force Be With You!