~{Polaris Prime}~
(https://i.imgur.com/u6ZACZE.jpg)
Download v0.3.2 for 0.9.5a (https://github.com/Scarlet-MagicianX26/StarsectorPolaris/archive/refs/heads/master.zip)
Requires LazyLib (http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=5444.0), GraphicLib (http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=10982.0), MagicLib (http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=13718.0)
Integrated with Nexerelin (https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=9175.0), Version Checker (https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=8181.0), Commissioned Crews (https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=16677.0)
Summary/Lore:
Polaris, full name Polaris Prime, refers to an hitherto unknown faction that suddenly appeared at the tail end of the Second AI War. Legends say that they come from outside the sector utilizing some sort of unique trans-warp device, equipped with ships that boast unique capabilities...but little else of them is known...
- Polaris ships boast dense armor protection and excellent flux dissipation, at the cost of low speed and poor flux capacity.
- Polaris ships can be equipped with a plethora of unique hullmods that greatly improve the power of the entire fleet as a whole.
- Polaris does not bring a wide range of unique weapons, but their ships synergize especially well with the local weapons of the sector.
Graphics
Spoiler
A sample of Polaris offerings...
(https://i.imgur.com/Yx3F5Qa.png)(https://i.imgur.com/VG7uN8d.png)(https://i.imgur.com/Vf3Ssbv.png)(https://i.imgur.com/VQqzrWq.png)(https://i.imgur.com/ug84Ike.png)(https://i.imgur.com/tVR1lgV.png)(https://i.imgur.com/bg3AVMo.png)(https://i.imgur.com/tHOs629.png)
Changelog:
Spoiler
2022.5.7 0.25
Weapons:
Interferometer Series
Polar/Magnatar Series Missiles
Crystal Culverin
Hullmods:
Polaris Node Lock
Others:
Support for UNGP
Various Balances and Changes
Akademia updates for new Skill System
2020.8.15 0.24 RC-2
- Fixed the various CTD errors that were caused by the Polaris CCrew hullmods.
2020.8.15 0.24 RC-1
-Ships
New wing Occultation-Class
New wing Moon Phase-Class
New ship Magnitude-Class
Reworked sprite for Meridian-Class
Adjusted Price, slots, flux, armor, hitpoints, shield, speed, maneuve, max op and etc for most ships(now more rely on armor rather than shield)
**Heavly nerfed Spectrum-Class and C.O.S.-Class**
Comet Tail-Class wing lost shield, op cost reduced to 8 from 11
Perturbation-Class wing lost shield, weapon adjusted
Redshift/Blueshift wing weapon adjusted, generates more flux on use
Meteoroid-Class shipsystem changed to Polar Accelerator from Plasma Jets
Spectrum-Class shipsystem changed to Polar Accelerator from Plasma Jets
C.O.S.-Class shipsystem changed to Striker Drone from Nodal Regulator Feeds
-Weapons
New weapon Crystal Shard AC
New weapon Crystal Shard Flak
New weapon Microwave Particle Rifle
New weapon Polarized Particle Rifle
New weapon Inverted Particle Rifle
Charge Generator/Exciter/Projector Emp reduced to 0
Impluse-Class Torpedo(s) increased range and max ammo
Heavy Tracking System DPH/FPH reduced to 200 from 210
-Hullmod
New hullmod Celestial Magnetic Dampers
Cluster Modulator reduced op cost, effect will no longer decay if ships are too close
Astral Link largely adjusted
Scintillator Supercharger largely adjusted
Starlight Focusing System largely adjusted
Celestial Core Protocol largely adjusted
CC hullmod largely adjusted
-Shipsystem
Nodal Regulator Feeds largely adjusted
Polar Accelerator largely adjusted
Timestream Disruptor duration reduced to 3 from 5
-Other
String tweaks
Variant tweaks
Mission tweaks
New sound effects
New musics
Modified venting AI for Polaris ships(optional in PLSP_SETTING.ini)
North Celestial Akademia bug fixes
North Celestial Akademia new feature to explore(?)
0.23 RC-2
- Bugfixes
- Translation cleanups a little
0.23 RC-1
- New unique structure for Polaris - the North Star Akademia, where Polaris-friendly Admirals can send their officers for training.
- New ship - Axis-Class Battlecruiser
- New series of point defense weapons
- Changes to commission bonus, now lined up with CN's
- Sound and texture updates
- Mission text has been translated
- various formatting/translation fixes.
0.22 Forum Release
- Cleaned up many translated descriptions, to make them sound better and read better in English.
- Fixed various formatting errors in translations.
- Added Version Checker support
- Added two Commissioned Crew hullmods: Polaris Noospheric Architects/Polaris Command Staff
-- Note: Commissioned Crew support does not exist in CN.
Credits:
- Project Lead/Designer: AnyIDElse
- Texture Assist: A_PIAO_JUN
- Text Guidance: saya39, FAX
- Technical Support: Originem, Deathfly
- Spiritual Support: Tenshi
- Translations/Additional Code: Iriscoral
I'm able to entertain bugfixes and crashes, but anything regarding the overall design of the mod will have to be forwarded by me back to the CN community.
https://github.com/Scarlet-MagicianX26/Polaris_Prime_EN/raw/master/Polaris_Prime%200.23%20(RC-1).7z
0.23 Update. Probably not save-compatible. Update at own discretion.
Changelog
Major additions in bold.
- New unique structure for Polaris - the North Star Akademia, where Polaris-friendly Admirals can send their officers for training.
- New ship - Axis-Class Battlecruiser
- New series of point defense weapons
- Changes to commission bonus
- Sound and texture updates
- Mission text has been translated
- various formatting/translation fixes.
Spoiler
(https://i.imgur.com/nrdWc4G.jpg)
Edit: Having now used the non translated version I can confirm that the modulator simply doesn't work at all, as there is a cool graphic that shows it working in the original.
Another edit: When an officer gains levels from North Star Academia, they do not receive any skill points. End result is a level 20 officer without the skills of a real level 20.
Yet another edit: In regard to ship systems, the flocculus (and its smaller cousin with the same system) will not use its ship system in ai hands, and anything with a vortex drive or equivalent uses it on cooldown, causing many unnecessary losses/suicides (although this is more of a general starsector issue).
New update! Get it here (https://1drv.ms/u/s!AioUjxIJ8CxDvDTe46YuvWuewqfE?e=rrAP1q)
Changelog:
2020.8.15 0.24 RC-1
-Ships
New wing Occultation-Class
New wing Moon Phase-Class
New ship Magnitude-Class
Reworked sprite for Meridian-Class
Adjusted Price, slots, flux, armor, hitpoints, shield, speed, maneuve, max op and etc for most ships(now more rely on armor rather than shield)
**Heavly nerfed Spectrum-Class and C.O.S.-Class**
Comet Tail-Class wing lost shield, op cost reduced to 8 from 11
Perturbation-Class wing lost shield, weapon adjusted
Redshift/Blueshift wing weapon adjusted, generates more flux on use
Meteoroid-Class shipsystem changed to Polar Accelerator from Plasma Jets
Spectrum-Class shipsystem changed to Polar Accelerator from Plasma Jets
C.O.S.-Class shipsystem changed to Striker Drone from Nodal Regulator Feeds
-Weapons
New weapon Crystal Shard AC
New weapon Crystal Shard Flak
New weapon Microwave Particle Rifle
New weapon Polarized Particle Rifle
New weapon Inverted Particle Rifle
Charge Generator/Exciter/Projector Emp reduced to 0
Impluse-Class Torpedo(s) increased range and max ammo
Heavy Tracking System DPH/FPH reduced to 200 from 210
-Hullmod
New hullmod Celestial Magnetic Dampers
Cluster Modulator reduced op cost, effect will no longer decay if ships are too close
Astral Link largely adjusted
Scintillator Supercharger largely adjusted
Starlight Focusing System largely adjusted
Celestial Core Protocol largely adjusted
CC hullmod largely adjusted
-Shipsystem
Nodal Regulator Feeds largely adjusted
Polar Accelerator largely adjusted
Timestream Disruptor duration reduced to 3 from 5
-Other
String tweaks
Variant tweaks
Mission tweaks
New sound effects
New musics
Modified venting AI for Polaris ships(optional in PLSP_SETTING.ini)
North Celestial Akademia bug fixes
North Celestial Akademia new feature to explore(?)
A few previews...
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/667349283103571969/729555755694424097/4DFBSR3EL_DHKS1KDMP.png) (https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/667349283103571969/729555842277310535/unknown.png) (https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/667349283103571969/730419925910552606/unknown.png) (https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/667349283103571969/730420683536072714/unknown.png)
I've been testing this mod in my current playthrough. Overall it's a beautiful mod, and some of the Polaris ships are absolutely gorgeous. The Celestial Object Scholar is an absolute standout.
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/297377911852498944/817800466305908786/PLSP_celestialobjectscholar.png)
So I went to test it, and I was fairly underwhelmed. I couldn't really find a build I was happy with, and I'm usually very good at this sort of thing. Has anyone found a good build for this that I've missed?
tl;dr: It's too slow to be a Battlecarrier, its burn drive of 7 is too low for a 20-OP cruiser, it doesn't quite have enough OP to go around.
Also the Subobject Bombers don't work at all--seem bugged.
I saw the large missile slot and 2x medium energy turrets and I thought, Safety Overrides. Let's have some fun. It's not really meant to be a Battlecarrier, but I've been able to use a lot of ships that way through clever loadout selection and I don't see another way to make use of those medium energy slots. Fill those with a medium-range high-DPS weapon, and the missile slot with either Sabots or a finisher, add Integrated Targeting Unit, and... there's not much OP left to work with.
For a build like this you want capacitors and vents, and then you can't really place anything in the fighter bays. I tried the 0-OP Subobject Bombers, which the info box claims is what the ship uses anyway. Except they don't do anything. The Subobject Bombers literally don't do anything. They just kind of hover near your ship without ever launching their torpedoes. Seems to be a bug.
So, okay, there aren't a lot of good 0 OP wings to choose from. I went with a few modded drones, but they didn't add much. I fought a few 20+ OP ships, and I spent a lot of time managing my flux in a way that I never have to do in other overdriven cruisers. It's too slow to flank properly, so it's always in the line of fire, and it doesn't have the capacitors to stay there. Strike Drone also costs a lot of flux to use and has a long cooldown, and I found myself either wishing they were off cooldown or being unable to use them at all because I couldn't quickly disengage to a safe distance.
As a final hurrah, I tried going with 3x Wasps to draw some more attention, but that's still 15 OP spent and now your max capacitors is 19. A few basic 25-OP cruisers in the simulator instantly overloaded me, so I went back to the refit screen, realized I hadn't even added PD to my ship yet, and gave up.
So I went for the fallback: Build it like a Mora or a Heron. Longbow + Trident + Trident, or Longbow + Scoralis + Scoralis if using Tahlan Shipworks. Add a Pilum or a finisher missile of some kind, add Expanded Deck Crew, Nav Relay, maybe Expanded Missile Racks if using something like Tornadoes. I also added a pair of Tac Lasers, but they didn't really get used much. Well, now it feels like a prettier Mora, and the AI actually wants to attack. Which is a benefit if your fleet is winning, and a problem otherwise. The Mora or the Heron are happy to stay in the back ranks, and assault from a much safer spot. The C.O.S. wants more DPS, and wants to get in range to use any lasers you give it. So, if it gets flanked by a cruiser, it's just dead, meaning you need to babysit it a fair bit more.
The next problem is that the Striker Drone active is not very effective against the kinds of fast cruisers you're likely to be up against in the early game, and it usually often misses. The AI is also not very good at using them, opting to send them in first rather than trying to hit the shields with Longbows first.
As for its competitors? Well, it's slower than the Heron--45 vs 80. The Mora is just as slow, but that ship has two missile slots. I think the Strike Drone is supposed to make up for a lot of that, but again, it's fairly ineffective against destroyers and rather uneven against fast cruisers.
So you give it a high-OP missile system to compensate, drop the missile racks and up the capacitors a bit, and even though it's mediocre, you convince yourself to keep the C.O.S. anyway because it's so pretty. And then you notice that your whole fleet is now much slower.
Wait. 7 burn drive? The thing has a top speed of 7? For a 20-OP cruiser hull? What in the world? Every single equivalent--the Mora, the Heron, the Eos from Ship and Weapon Pack, hell, every single Cruiser-sized Battlecarrier, everything has 8 or more.
So now you need Augmented Drive Field, because you're still in the early midgame where fielding 20 OP cruisers is useful, but your speed--the one good thing about early-game fleets--is gimped by this one ship. Now you have to drop Expanded Missile Racks, and drop the Capacitors by an additional 5, and if you're trying to run Longbow + Trident + Trident? Better drop Nav Relay, too.
I can appreciate a 20-OP ship not being better than a Heron because I do love that bird, but the C.O.S. doesn't quite work, design-wise, as a competitor. Here's the best build I was able to come up with, and I always wonder if I should bring a pair of Herons instead and enjoy that extra bit of Nav Relay.
Spoiler
(https://i.imgur.com/RQbZb6O.png)
God, is it ever pretty though.
New Update.
Download v0.25 for 0.9.5a (https://github.com/Scarlet-MagicianX26/StarsectorPolaris)
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/825068217361760306/972299810109522011/polarisnewrelease.png)
Changes
Weapons:
Interferometer Series
Polar/Magnatar Series Missiles
Crystal Culverin
Hullmods:
Polaris Node Lock
Others:
Support for UNGP
Various Balances and Changes
Akademia updates for new Skill System