OUTER RIM Private Military Companylogo under constructionGood day folks,
A long time lurker and now I’m quite confident that it is time to start what I have planned. My aim is to create interesting faction mod that will be played mostly with SS+ (and Nexereline), so I will take it as starting point for balancing. First step will be to fully implement 1 cruiser ship + 1 fighter wing, and from here it will become a bit easier I assume.
A bit of fluff:Spoiler
After Collapse a lot of people were involved in conflicts, but there were nations and factions that did not quite connect themselves to ongoing wars and they had to do something to protect their assets and lives. “Outer Rim” Private Military Company was among them and provided military and patrol services, after collaborating with some refugees from civilized worlds (including many factions as well as both Hegemony and Tri-tachion) they moved most of their assets further away from big clashes and established a new technocratic government on small colony of Medii-rava (“White Rose” in translation from local dialect), also few outposts in nearby part of space agreed to join the technocracy. As the main reason for leaving the Core worlds was to get away from violence Medii-rava was forced to field an army of its own to protect the borders, that was the time when “Outer Rim” proposed to serve as the main powerhouse until new government gains more resources and manpower. Isolation from dangerous events played its role – Medii-rava became stronger developing its industry and shipbuilding capabilities while discovering more resources in outer systems.
Time passed and things were changing, “Outer Rim” PMC increased its influence in government alongside with taking most of resource sites under its protection and became practically the only force that Mediirava was able to field against any aggression from pirates and other faction out there. The mixture of high-tech brought from Tri-tech, military attitude of PMC and isolationist-minded citizens turned out to create a strong militaristic faction with the main massage to others in the Sector: “You can live beside us, you can prosper around us, but the day you encroach on our territory will be the day you fall”. At the end the whole technocracy was known as “Outer Rim”.
In recent times Outer Rim became interested in providing mercenary services to other factions in Sector and established its first Forward Patrol Base “Devo-rava” (Red Rose). Such cooperation is strictly regulated by law and believed to spread Outer Rim’s influence beyond home territory and bring some new technologies.
So, what will this mode bring?- New faction with 3 systems and 1 station in hyperspace (1 colony and few outposts)
- Planned are 12 ships (4 cruisers, 4 destroyers, 2 frigates and 2 cap. Ships) and 6 fighter wings (2 interceptors, 2 multi-role fighters, 1 bomber and 1 gunship)
- Around 11 weapons systems (2 small, 7 medium, 2 large)
- Possibility to hire Merc escort at Outer Rim Forward Patrol Base (if that is possible)
Now a bit more about faction ships and what makes it unique in terms of gameplay and combat:
Ship design:As most of Outer Rim’s territories are quite spread ship design was limited by travel distances, that’s why most small ships such as frigates and corvettes were rendered ineffective and big ships were designed to sustain on their own for long weeks or even months of travel. While realizing usefulness and utility of small ships their role was given to fighter and gunship wings that were transported in hangars of bigger ships. Due to continues pirate raids in remote parts of space were no help can arrive quickly it was a heavy hit to lose a ship, so they became tougher and tougher and at the end larger ships were designed to be able to fight even when surrounded, good shield covering, thick armor and a lot of medium weapons on broadsides make it a real task with fighter support.
Combat tactics: Outer Rim heavily relies on fighters, while they brawl with enemy ally larger ships focus on mid-long range bombardment. Due to this most their ships have flight decks.
Some ships mount heavy spinal ion cannon to disable running enemies, while combining it with afterburner-type ship system.
PROS:- Meaty, armored ships
- Relatively high Burn value
- A lot of medium weapon slots
- Built-in Flak cannon for missile-only PD
- Most Cruisers and Destroyers have flight decks, but no dedicated carrier
- Wide shield arcs
- Heavy broadside armament, difficult to flank
- Better than usual flux capacity
- Relatively good fighters
- Low CR cost per month
CONS:- Moderate shield efficiency
- Almost none front mounted weapons
- Almost none small and large weapon mounts, weak anti-fighter defense, has to rely on own fighters
- Can be easily overwhelmed with missiles
- Almost none missile-weapon on ships, except fighters
- While fast on map, slow and clumsy on battlefield
- Big engines, can be easily disabled
- Lower than usual flux dissipation
- No combat frigates, may have difficulties with fast and nimble enemy if own fighters are down
- High CR cost to deploy
Built-in Flak-system – it is hidden weapon that covers 360 degrees around ship firing bursts of moderate power with good range and AOE, it has limited charges (I guess 3) that slowly regenerate over time (1 in 30 sec) with moderate rate of fire. While effective against one opponent will have a lot of trouble against simultaneous missile launches
Faction theme track:[/b]
https://soundcloud.com/user-596454733/prideAs of now Im in deep learning process of how to mod and paint.
I have few questions:
1. Is it possible to make a neutral fleet fly with you and join any fights that you are involved in?
2. How to add custom hit effects on weapons? (additional damage if shield is hut etc.)
Any comments and questions will be great, as Im looking to support this mod for a long time.
Also, as you may have already noticed, English is not my native language, so I beg a pardon if something is not clear or funny
I love the concept of each bit of shipping/cargo/goods existing in a real sense and having to be moved around via fleets. Would make blockades really cool imho, and pirates would be very disruptive just like they historically have been in real life. 
