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Author Topic: :: The Lotus Conglomerate v1.10 :: Intrepid to the grave!!...T_T  (Read 170137 times)

Dante80

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ITS ALIVE!!!

Here is the second official version of the Lotus Conglomerate Pirates mod. It introduces a new planet to the Corvus system(Called Synchrony) with a station dealing heavily in contraband, convoy and flotilla operations, as well as a hard(ish) mission to showcase the faction arsenal. The faction starts as neutral to the player.

Additions include 17 new ship designs/variants, 5 new weapons, as well as bigger battles for fleets in campaign and missions.
This mod is 100% compatible with other mods, provided that they do not overwrite core files.

DOWNLOAD V1.10
(for changelog and older version dl links, see bottom of post)

Some screenies...^^

The Lotus family until now...(click for blown up view)



Bolt Light Interceptor

(click for blown up view)



Stigma heavy fighter




Javelin Heavy fighter





Cutlass Heavy Bomber





Sarissa Heavy Bomber




Jackal class Frigate





Blizzard class Frigate




Stingray class fire support Frigate

(click for blown up view)



Argos class Freighter




Aria class Tanker

(click for blown up view)



Hydra class Destroyer




Rive class Destroyer




Arcadia-class Light Carrier





Ajax class Cruiser





Eventide class Cruiser




Vanquish class Battlecruiser





Intrepid class Battleship





Revolver Autocannon (weapon)



Stinger Torpedo Family (weapon)



Main Menu



Synchrony planet and Anchorage station



Encounter!



Starscape



Changelog, V1.10
1. Added Intrepid class Raider Battleship to Campaign and mission.
2. Adjusted speed, cargo, fuel and price stats for the Vanquish.
3. Small changes to convoy and armada loadouts.
DOWNLOAD V1.10



Older Versions

V1.05 Changelog
1. added Sarissa class heavy bomber to campaign and mission.
2. moved most graphic resources to separate folder so as to reduce problems with other mods when the same identity name is used for a ship.
3. Some changes to weapon costs and station loadout.
4. New nebula pics.
5. Two alternative background images (found in graphics/backgrounds/)
6. New overload fx image.
7. small graphical UI changes.
DOWNLOAD V1.05

V1.00 changelog
1. added Bolt interceptor.
2. added Stingray frigate.
3. added Aria tanker.
4. Massive changes to fleet loadouts/stats + removal of vanilla ships from them.
5. tweaking in the spawn algorithm
6. slight changes in ship turning rates and costs.
7. slight adjustments to fleet OP for fighter classes.
DOWNLOAD V1.00
DL MIRRORS

V0.9 Changelog
1. Reset the Lotus disposition towards the player to neutral.
2. Added the Cutlass-class Bomber.
3. Added the Stinger-class lightweight torpedo.
4. The Anchorage station now sells far more Ballistic and Missile weapon types.
5. Changed stats and weapons for the Stigma. Now mounts 2 swarmers and a revolver autocannon.
DOWNLOAD V0.9
DL MIRRORS

v0.8 Changelog
1. Added Ajax class L. Cruiser to campaign and mission.
2. Changed the Lotus faction to be hostile to the player (they are pirates after all..).
3. Changed stats for the revolver autocannon (lower range and higher flux cost).
4. Changed price for the Vanquish class.
5. Bigger battle-sizes in battles implemented.
6. Changes in Lotus fleet sizes and compositions.
DOWNLOAD V0.8
DL MIRRORS

V0.7 Changelog
1. Added the Rive-class destroyer hull
2. Tweaks in carrier group spawn rates and fleet contents.
3. Tweaks in ship prices and availabilities in the station.
4. Updated the mission that comes with the mod so that all of the latest ships are added. Also, re-balanced the mission fleets for better gameplay and re-playability.
DOWNLOAD V0.7
Other DL mirrors

V0.6 Changelog
1. added the Arcadia Light Carrier class.
2. added a new fleet type based on carrier group squadrons.
3. tweaks in the spawn rate.
4. tweaks in station cargo and ship prices.
DOWNLOAD V0.6
DL MIRRORS

V0.5 Changelog
1. added Vanquish class Battlecruiser
2. added revolver autocannon
3. tweaks in station cargo
4. New loadouts for most ships
5. Balance changes to the stigma fighter
DOWNLOAD V0.5
DL MIRRORS

V0.4 Changelog
1. added argos class freighter
2. changed mod structure so that its compatible will all other mods
3. tweaks in station cargo
DOWNLOAD V0.4

V0.3 Changelog
1. added javelin class heavy fighter
2. tweaks in spawn rates
3. tweaks in station cargo
DOWNLOAD V0.3

V 0.2 Changelog
1. Balance changes in Lotus ships.
2. New background images.
3. Some ui changes.
4. Added a new frigate class, the Jackal.
DOWNLOAD V0.2

First Version:
DOWNLOAD V0.1



As always, any feedback (especially regarding balance, AI use of the ships and end-game issues) is vastly appreciated. Next thing to do is to clean up the opening post (this version is very picture heavy) and to provide additional lore for the Lotus Conglomerate. After that, it will be time to produce a second capital ship... Smiley

Salutations from sunny Greece,
Dante80
« Last Edit: April 16, 2012, 10:51:47 AM by Dante80 »
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arcibalde

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Re: The Lotus Conglomerate
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2012, 01:31:19 AM »

There is 1 thing that bugs me. Eventide, i think it's mobility is way to high. You should lower it or take more HP/armor from it :)

And, yes other thing, they all have low tech engines and they are faster then theirs counterparts... It's just... Meh...

But ships look great  ;D
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Dante80

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Re: The Lotus Conglomerate
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2012, 10:03:49 AM »

Thanks for the feedback arci...^^

Quote
There is 1 thing that bugs me. Eventide, i think it's mobility is way to high. You should lower it or take more HP/armor from it

I will do both.  ;D

Quote
And, yes other thing, they all have low tech engines and they are faster then theirs counterparts... It's just... Meh...

Thats intentional. The Lotus Pirates use ships that are custom-built for 1 thing only. Speed. They strip armour from the design, put in an inferior shield emitter and just focus on a hull that is made expressively to catch and ambush fast merchant convoys. Hell, you can probably see that some of the ships have even whole parts of the armor plating removed, both due to lack of maintenance and to increase the speed...XD

The fact that they use low tech engines does not mean that they should be absolutely slower when used in interplanetary travel.
« Last Edit: March 13, 2012, 10:10:41 AM by Dante80 »
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Nori

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Re: The Lotus Conglomerate
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2012, 10:15:56 AM »

Love how you have flavor text. Too many mods around here focus too much on getting ships in and not enough on the finer details that bring them alive..  :)

Looks like a nice set of stuff, thought if I was TT I would have wiped these bastards out for stealing two of my most high tech and valuable ship designs...  :P

You know what you should try to make... A Xyphos type fighter, but using ballistic mounts. That could alleviate its flux issue, plus it would be super cool...
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Dante80

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Re: The Lotus Conglomerate
« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2012, 10:52:04 AM »

Thanks for the kind words C:

The TT are indeed *** that some of their close guarded blueprints became the hot topic of the black market in the Core...

Regarding the Xyphos...I'll just say that it was already in development...the Lotus Anchorage Works will release those to the market soon™... ;D

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arcibalde

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Re: The Lotus Conglomerate
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2012, 10:57:44 AM »

...
Thats intentional. The Lotus Pirates use ships that are custom-built for 1 thing only. Speed. They strip armour from the design, put in an inferior shield emitter and just focus on a hull that is made expressively to catch and ambush fast merchant convoys. Hell, you can probably see that some of the ships have even whole parts of the armor plating removed, both due to lack of maintenance and to increase the speed...XD

The fact that they use low tech engines does not mean that they should be absolutely slower when used in interplanetary travel.


Yes, but shouldn't high speed = hightech engines? If i was pirate that custom build ships i would put in them fastes engines there is and for me that is high tech engine :) Then ships would have red (low tech) shields and blue engine flame.
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Nori

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Re: The Lotus Conglomerate
« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2012, 11:04:09 AM »

Yes, but shouldn't high speed = hightech engines? If i was pirate that custom build ships i would put in them fastes engines there is and for me that is high tech engine :) Then ships would have red (low tech) shields and blue engine flame.
Think of Han Solo in Star Wars. His Millennium Falcon wasn't a high tech ship. It was rather old actually... But he modified it heavily and was able to greatly increase speed and maneuverability... I think that is how Dante80 is thinking of it... Though IMO their hull/armor doesn't seem to suffer quite enough... Maybe since they stole blueprints the ships should be reasonably worse in every respect except for the engines, because they had a hard time interpreting the blueprint, considering they aren't high tech engineers... But that is just my two cents.. I see that they already have slightly lower of everything, but maybe a bit more wouldn't be out of the question.
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Dante80

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Re: The Lotus Conglomerate
« Reply #7 on: March 13, 2012, 11:11:30 AM »

I'd have to agree with the reasoning. But the sprite palette is geared towards the red flamed exhausts for the ships, so thats why you are seeing those flames (also, we are waiting/hoping that Alex will make the exhaust part mod-able, so that we can have more variety over exhaust colors and setups).

Also, have in mind that tech level as shown in the exhausts is not directly indicative of the speed of the ship. What matters is the engine you put in in relation to the mass of the ship, not the color of the exhaust.

Quote
Yes, but shouldn't high speed = hightech engines? If i was pirate that custom build ships i would put in them fastes engines there is and for me that is high tech engine Smiley Then ships would have red (low tech) shields and blue engine flame.

For an example, have a look at the thunder fighter, the talon interceptor or the hound frigate.  ;)

Quote
Though IMO their hull/armor doesn't seem to suffer quite enough... Maybe since they stole blueprints the ships should be reasonably worse in every respect except for the engines, because they had a hard time interpreting the blueprint, considering they aren't high tech engineers... But that is just my two cents.. I see that they already have slightly lower of everything, but maybe a bit more wouldn't be out of the question.

You are right on the money, all variants will be slightly nerfed in maneuverability and speed to illustrate the homebrew mentality that the Lotus Co establishes. More testing is needed to ascertain whether an armor or flux decrease is warranted though, especially since the beam weapons are removed from all designs.

Keep the balancing feedback coming guys, the main concern for this mod is to fit nicely with the vanilla ships, and augment the campaign without being too...obvious...XD

« Last Edit: March 13, 2012, 11:14:46 AM by Dante80 »
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Dante80

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Re: The Lotus Conglomerate
« Reply #8 on: March 13, 2012, 12:36:15 PM »

V 0.2 out



Changelog
1. Balance changes in Lotus ships.
2. New background images.
3. Some ui changes.

DOWNLOAD
« Last Edit: March 13, 2012, 04:59:39 PM by Dante80 »
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Nori

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Re: The Lotus Conglomerate
« Reply #9 on: March 13, 2012, 02:03:58 PM »

I will download it tonight and try it out. The ships look like a lot of fun and it is nice to see fighters added, very few mods do that.
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Upgradecap

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Re: The Lotus Conglomerate
« Reply #10 on: March 13, 2012, 02:06:26 PM »

I will download it tonight and try it out. The ships look like a lot of fun and it is nice to see fighters added, very few mods do that.
A lot of mods add fighters IIRC, the scrappers, this mod, ironclads mod, the TimCORP mod, the cfs mod etc., but if you mean game aligned fighters, then It's this mod and the scrappers I can think of :D
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Dante80

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Re: The Lotus Conglomerate
« Reply #11 on: March 13, 2012, 02:59:31 PM »

Thanks for the kind words guys...^^

Time for some wolf loving...XD

Jackal class frigate




First Variant, more to come.


Compared to its cousin, the Wolf.


In game (click for full size)


added on 0.2 (DL link first post). Any feedback is appreciated, cheers... :)

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arcibalde

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Re: The Lotus Conglomerate
« Reply #12 on: March 13, 2012, 02:59:59 PM »

I know that engine color and actual speed isn't related i'm just saying that ships with high tech engines have higher speed then ships without (if all other stats mass/hp/armor is same). Look it's just like Nori said, this is just my 2 cents :P
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icepick37

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Re: The Lotus Conglomerate
« Reply #13 on: March 13, 2012, 03:04:40 PM »

Love the wolf, love the jackal. Keep it up.  :)
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Dante80

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Re: The Lotus Conglomerate
« Reply #14 on: March 13, 2012, 03:07:18 PM »

Quote
I know that engine color and actual speed isn't related i'm just saying that ships with high tech engines have higher speed then ships without (if all other stats mass/hp/armor is same). Look it's just like Nori said, this is just my 2 cents Tongue

Hehe I know man...XD

Cheers... :)

Quote
Love the wolf, love the jackal. Keep it up. 

Thanks for the kind words. The Jackal is a somewhat different beast altogether, due to both armament and stat changes. I think that the use though will be more or less the same. More testing is needed to ascertain that, will keep balancing as I go...C:
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