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[theDragn]

Apex Design Collective v1.2.14
 

A collectivist, high-tech faction with a focus on durability and fleet cohesiveness.
Requires Magiclib, Lazylib, Graphicslib, and Lunalib.
Save compatible, even with existing saves. The faction and exploration stuff will automatically be added.

Also includes some unrelated goodies to find during exploration.

CREDITS AND SOURCE

Source code is available here.
- Gwyvern: Sprites.
- Haplogynae: Music.
- Mesotronik: Most of the SFX.
- Mayu: A couple hullmod sprites.
- Farlarzia, Ruddygreat, Cjuicy, Silverlight, Avanitia: Loyal beta testers. May their names live on in glory.

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CHANGELOG

Version 1.2.14
- Fixed two crashes (one on NTA hullspec mouseover, one from Laser Drone Pod)
- Fixed minor sprite pixel dimension issues.

Version 1.2.13

Updated for 0.98. Save compatible, if you're using your old save for some reason. Existing relic caches and derelicts will not contain the new relic items, but as always, they can be found with the historian or in scavenger fleets.

New for the Collective:
- Ultrachromatic Charge Launcher (large missile): Launches slow-moving and highly destructive energy bombs. Shield hits interfere with flux dissipation; armor hits cause EMP chain reactions.
- Sphaero Light Bomber: Cheap, fast, and disposable bomber drone equipped with unguided harmonic rockets. Three fighters per squadron.

New relics to find in exploration:
- Haynes-class Cruiser:
- Volatile Plasma Rifle (Relic, large energy):
- Laser Rifle (Relic, small energy):
- Laser Shotgun (Relic, medium energy):
- Laser Drone Pod (Relic, medium missile):

Changes:
- Aizawa/Dadras: Regenerative damper regen percent split by hull; Dadras now gets 3% missing armor/sec, Aizawa now gets 1.33% missing armor/sec. No longer provides maneuverability bonus.
- Coherency Amplifier: Now gives *all* energy weapon projectiles 50% of their base damage as EMP, not just Quark-Gluon weapons. (For technical reasons, the bonus EMP does not apply to flak-like explosions.)
- Networked Targeting Array: Reworked. Increases fighter, small, and medium weapon base range based on the amount of OP spent on weapons, but halves fighter engagement range. Maximum bonus is now 300 for ship weapons and 600 for fighter weapons, reached at 120 OP. Now costs as much as Ballistic Rangefinder, and is incompatible with it.
- Range Synchronizer: Loosened restrictions to match Augmented Range Synchronizer, and increased max range bonus to 50%. Clarified that it does not account for other changes to weapon base range.
- Sledgehammer MRMs: Decreased reload time on medium (15s -> 10s) and large (22s -> 15s).
- Shrieker Torpedoes: Increased small (1s -> 3s) and large (6s -> 12s) reload time. Reduced HP (250/300->200).
- LPDS Pod: Clarified that the flux dissipation penalty is flat, not percent, and increased it (33 -> 40). Decreased missile damage (500 -> 400). Slightly reduced fighter targeting priority; slightly increased high-damage missile priority.
- Wailer MRMs: Reduced armor strip (100 -> 75).
- Shatter Canisters: Increased submunition spread arc significantly (17.5 deg -> 24 deg)
- Plasmatic Repeaters: Increased bonus EMP damage on the fourth shot (300% -> 400%).
- Chameleon: Reduced gun range (1200 -> 1000).
- Arcspike/Arcstorm: Normalized EMP damage on hit and arc to 150 across all models.

Fixes:
- Hopefully fixed an issue where the Excession event could occur more than once.
- Some improvements to relic cache/derelict spawn locations; they should no longer spawn on top of each other.
- Spectrum, Backscatter: Removed carrier tag from cargo/fuel refits.

Version 1.2.12
- Major changes to the internal math for support hullmods, along with fancy new VFX. Numbers should be about the same, but with more consistent behavior overall.
- Removed hard dependency on LunaLib specifically to make Nes happy. If you really don't want to have that one button on the refit screen, you can remove it from the mod_info.json and the mod will work fine.
- Anole: Removed Resistant Flux Conduits, Insulated Engine Assembly, and reduced HP (750 -> 600).
- LPDS pod: Increased rate of fire by 50%. Doesn't generate flux to fire, but reduces the ship's flux generation by 33.

Version 1.2.11
Changes:
- Fixed some minor graphical issues caused by unclipped normal maps.
- Fixed kinetic and energy VLS missiles having the wrong impact color.
- Fixed a spelling error.
- Anaconda: System duration extended (2.25s -> 2.75s) and beam damage reduction increased (33% -> 50%). Now pushes projectiles away instead of just slowing them down, which can result in shenanigans.
- LPDS Pod: Reduced OP cost (16 -> 14). Should no longer engage things in the fog of war.

Version 1.2.10
- Added GraphicsLib normal maps and light configurations for all hulls and weapons.
- Fixed a crash with the LPDS Pod.

Version 1.2.9
- Now safe for forum posting again.
- Added a new relic weapon, LPDS Pod.
- Aizawa and Dadras durability reduced slightly.
- Nanoacid Cannon spread increased.
- Shatter Canisters ammo regen increased.
- Shrieker Torpedo Silo OP cost increased, frag damage reduced. ECCM guidance improved.
- Arcstorm submunition dispersal rate and dispersal spread quadrupled. Ammo increased slightly.
- Music volume slightly increased to mesh with vanilla volume.

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Q&A

What's their deal (lore)?
- They're a big worker-run cooperative that violently took over a boutique military-industrial corporation during the collapse.

- What's their deal (mechanics)?
They're basically expensive and slower midline, preferring hybrid/energy slots instead of energy/ballistic slots. They have hullmods that install remote support systems that can help allies dissipate flux or repair armor, which lets them excel in attrition fights. They also have armor and shield hullmods that help mitigate damage from low-hit-strength weapons.

- How do I beat them?
They're very weak to getting outnumbered. Individual Collective ships are relatively expensive, and their fleets will suffer from a poorer dissipation-to-DP ratio than most other doctrines. They are also able to shrug off low-hit-strength weapons like needlers or light assault guns relatively easily due to their unique armor (and shields, with the right hullmod), so bring missiles and high-power guns. If you can isolate individual ships, they will die relatively easily, since they rely on being able to retreat behind their battle line when pressured.

- How do I use them?
Individually, Collective ships fall into either frontline, pursuit, or support ships. Frontline ships are durable but slow, usually with a tank-enhancing ship system. These exist to protect pursuit and support ships from sustained pressure. Pursuit ships have mobility and/or damage ship systems and are designed to secure kills. Support ships provide fighter cover or missile support to other ships. What distribution of ships is best for your fleet depends on how you like to play the game.

[close]

Skin Packs

PEAK - by Nes

[close]

[theDragn]

Updated to 1.2.10. Added proper GraphicsLib shader integration. This roughly doubles the mod's VRAM footprint. It should have a very small performance hit if you were already using GraphicsLib with default settings, and no performance hit if you had turned off GraphicsLib shaders.

Changes:
- Added normal maps for all hulls and weapons.
- Added light data for weapons.
- Fixed a crash that could occur if the LPDS Pod targeted fighters that didn't have a parent carrier.

[Dazs]

theDragn,
Glad to see your work back on the forums, big fan. Just a FYI, the link to download on the forum leads to a page that just states "Not Found". Discord works fine so I got the update there, just figured you'd like to know.

[theDragn]

the link to download on the forum leads to a page that just states "Not Found"

thanks! managed to somehow only update half of the link and not the entire thing

[theDragn]

Updated to 1.2.11
- Fixed some minor graphical issues caused by unclipped normal maps on weapons.
- Fixed kinetic and energy VLS missiles having the wrong impact color.
- Fixed a spelling error.
- Anaconda: System duration extended (2.25s -> 2.75s) and beam damage reduction increased (33% -> 50%). Now pushes projectiles away instead of just slowing them down, which can result in shenanigans.
- LPDS Pod: Reduced OP cost (16 -> 14). Should no longer engage things in the fog of war.

[Duzzit]

Minor question about the Excession. Is there any way for me to get more than 1 since I originally had the only 1 setting on and in lunalib it says it won't do anything if I turn it false?

[theDragn]

Minor question about the Excession. Is there any way for me to get more than 1 since I originally had the only 1 setting on and in lunalib it says it won't do anything if I turn it false?

Not legitimately, anyways. Having more than one would be kind of pointless because the AI to handle its unique behavior would be very difficult.

[theDragn]

Updated to 1.2.12. I was screwing around with some new VFX for the repair effect and somehow some numbers reworks for the remote support hullmods snuck in.

Major changes to the internal math for support hullmods, along with fancy new VFX. This is mostly intended to make them more viable for frigate/destroyer fleets and help avoid scenarios where it would be better to let an effect expire before applying a new one due to how the diminishing returns were calculated. The actual effect for fleets should be about the same as it was previously, and perhaps slightly stronger for cryocoolant builds.

Other Changes:
- Removed hard dependency on LunaLib specifically to make Nes happy. If you really, really don't want to have that one button on the refit screen, you can remove it from the mod_info.json and the mod will work fine.
- Anole: Removed Resistant Flux Conduits, Insulated Engine Assembly, and reduced HP (750 -> 600).
- LPDS pod: Increased rate of fire by 50%. Doesn't generate flux to fire, but reduces the ship's flux generation by 33.

Remote Support Hullmod Changes (warning: numbers ahead):
- Cryocoolant Projector: Improved VFX and reworked effect. Instead of providing a flat dissipation boost, it now adds to a "dissipation pool". The affected ship's dissipation is increased by 10% of the pool, and the pool drains by 10% or 100 per second, whichever is higher. The pool is soft-capped at 2000, which will give you about 16 seconds of buff if you reach the cap. Exceeding the cap uses square-root scaling (ie, you need four times as much coolant to reach double the actual applied amount).
- Remote Armor Patcher: Improved VFX and reworked effect. Similar to cryocoolant, repair blobs add to a "repair pool". The pool drains by 10% or 20 per second, whichever is higher, repairing the ship's armor by the same amount (if possible). The repair pool is softcapped at 400, and uses asymptotic scaling past that (ie, reaching double the cap is impossible, but adding more repair will always increase the pool). It's also now properly affected by timeflow bonuses.
- Nanolaminate Armor: No longer provides a bonus to repair received. Instead, increases armor repair rate by 50%.
- Cryocooled Armor Lattice: Reworded but the effect is the same: -33% repair rate.

[crash7ds]

"The faction and exploration stuff will automatically be added."
So does that mean ADC will, faction and all, fully populate in an existing save if added mid-run? Starting over to make sure the faction exists and all the mod has to offer would suck, but if I don't have to that would be amazing. I am using Nexrelin and Adjusted Sector, btw, if that matters. Non-random core worlds and default settings for Adjusted with the only change I made to it to have a square sector instead of a rectangular one (why the Sector is a box, I do not understand). Beyond that, just a few other faction mods.

[theDragn]

"The faction and exploration stuff will automatically be added."
So does that mean ADC will, faction and all, fully populate in an existing save if added mid-run? Starting over to make sure the faction exists and all the mod has to offer would suck, but if I don't have to that would be amazing. I am using Nexrelin and Adjusted Sector, btw, if that matters. Non-random core worlds and default settings for Adjusted with the only change I made to it to have a square sector instead of a rectangular one (why the Sector is a box, I do not understand). Beyond that, just a few other faction mods.

That's correct! It'll spawn in the core systems/planets that the faction normally has, and will run the code that generates and places exploration goodies.

[crash7ds]

Awesome! Definitely in need of a neat flagship for my current run and the forward-swept wing cap boat looks like it'll do just nicely (especially that bounty one). 

[theDragn]

No updates- I'm a bit busy with real life and other games at the moment, but Nes made a sick skin pack for the mod that I'm gonna show off here too.

PEAK - by Nes

[Point_Offence]

Hi I'm new here, just wanna say this mod is goddamn glorious and has a pretty much guaranteed spot in my mod list for the rest of time. This *** goes hard.

If this mod was a bowl of soup, I would cast aside my metaphorical spoon and drink directly from the bowl like a deranged savage, and then harass the chef for seconds as I am escorted off the premises.   

[Reshy]

I wanted to ask, but what's the purpose of having omni slots on a ship with a major penalty to using a specific type of weapon in those slots?  It really undermines the ship design.

[theDragn]

I wanted to ask, but what's the purpose of having omni slots on a ship with a major penalty to using a specific type of weapon in those slots?  It really undermines the ship design.

The purpose of the all-universal phase ships isn't to let you fill them all with missiles- it's to try and make a maximally-flexible ship without also making it blatantly overpowered. (The reason why too many missile slots on a ship is overpowered is kind of complex but it's mostly because the alpha-strike damage ends up being a lot higher than the game is balanced for.)

If this mod was a bowl of soup, I would cast aside my metaphorical spoon and drink directly from the bowl like a deranged savage, and then harass the chef for seconds as I am escorted off the premises.   

...noted, lol. Thanks!

Progress towards the next update is slowly rolling along, and should have about a half-dozen new toys for you all to play with when it's done.