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Author Topic: The Confederacy of Free Stars  (Read 142640 times)

InfinitySquared

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The Confederacy of Free Stars
« on: February 02, 2012, 05:08:42 AM »

Disclaimer: Though the designs are my sole property, the sprite packs belong to their respective owners.

So, this is my first mod. I'm using the Battleships Forever ship maker and several sprite packs to create the hulls, and I'm possibly thinking of converting a few of the custom weapons as well.

Anyway, the Confederacy of Free Stars is one idea I've been holding in my head since I was 12. I'm 16 now, and it's gone through various revisions and such. I'm trying to adapt the CFS to Starfarer lore, though I may plan a total conversion once Starfarer is developed enough. Also, English is my second language.

Some time ago, jocan joined the team and was responsible for the campaign integration, and some of the changes and ideas.

So anyway...

---

It's been a while.

It actually surprises me that people are still downloading the mod today, despite its flaws, OP-ness, and probably incompatibility with today's Starfarer Starsector. I hope that despite this, you are still able to find some joy in taking the helm of a 7-kilometer long Sovereign and reducing your enemies to globules of molten armor and radiation-blasted cinders, or if you are so-inclined, spearheading a last stand against the Confederate armada in a hastily thrown-together mission file of your own making.

The Confederate-verse has always been my baby, and this is one of the ways it yearns to express itself. For a moment, it seemed that I would be able to restart work on this iteration, and things were already well underway. But, it seems that life has a way of shattering even the most well-laid plans, and the pressures of schoolwork and monetary issues forced me to set the mod aside yet again.

And speaking of schoolwork, this mod was supposed to be the magnum-opus of my computer science education. I wanted to bring it to completion and submit it to my computer science professors as an example of what one person or a small team can do with a flexible engine, I even had dreams of joining the developer team even before I graduated. I wanted to integrate a deep storyline and complex interfaction relations, introduce new mechanics and modify ones already existing to produce a gameplay style different from the vanilla. I wanted to hand-paint my own graphics and write my own text. I was ambitious, and perhaps overeager.

Things got out of hand too. My laptop broke down, and my father was diagnosed with diabetes. My mother is unemployed, and my siblings are both studying in a private school. Already, we were struggling to make ends meet and there was simply not enough left over to have my laptop repaired. In the meantime, I planned out revisions to the code and balance and drew some ships on the iPad my father told me to make do with. But still, the problems persist and I'm stuck here with an old iPad.

In any case, I am sad to inform you that development for the mod will be suspended indefinitely and that the graphical resources are now free for all to use, with accreditation. If you want to continue the mod, so be it. Just drop me an e-mail or a PM and do whatever you want with the code and graphics.

Also, this is the last version I was able to upload before everything went to hell. The main site has been updated to reflect that.

Also attached is an image concerning the planned revision to ship graphics and a planned Heavy Cruiser. All of the Confederate ships were supposed to be thematically similar. You're free to finish them if you want.



---
CORRECT RELEASE
COMPATIBLE WITH 0.62a
-Replaced the Joyeuse with the Phoenix Rising class.

Bugs:
Throws up a null error every now and then. I don't know what's causing it.
Issues:
The hit effect scripts don't work so I disabled them.
I lack a coder. I'm just a spriter.

---

The Perseus Arm Coalition is a multinational organization much like the NATO of old Terra. It consists of the:

Confederacy of Free Stars
The Confederacy provides the backbone of the Coalition's military forces, and is the most powerful nation overall.
Republik Von Sterne
The Republik is a very close ally of the Confederacy, and is its main partner in many military operations.
-CLASSIFIED DATA-
-CLASSIFIED DATA-

The Orion Arm Union is [REDACTED]

---

Ship Lineup:

CFS Stiletto-class Heavy Fighter

The term 'heavy fighter' is considered a misnomer by most Hegemony, Tri-Tachyon, and Pirate commanders. They find the term 'monstrosity' more apt, as with all Perseus Arm Coalition ships encountered so far.

The Stiletto is a reliable workhorse for almost any role, from interception to assault, (and even bombing runs!) due to its heavy armament, combined with thick armor, powerful shielding, and superior speed and maneuverability. It is undeniably expensive, and very large however. Even then, the Stiletto is a very real threat on any battlefield.

CFS Keris-class Gunship

The Falchion-class Gunship is an antiquated design by Coalition standards. This does not prevent it from being a highly adaptable chassis, nor from being a serious threat on the battlefield.

Once mistaken for an oversized bomber due to its general shape, the Falchion quickly made a name for itself in convoy interception operations. The Falchion then went on to surprise hostiles by performing reliably well as a Point Defense unit, and then as a heavy striker. Many consider the Falchion the Stiletto's larger brother.

CFS Dagger-class Destroyer

The Dagger is comparable to the Medusa in terms of speed and acceleration. However, it is somewhat fragile due to its thin armor. It, like many Coalition warships, is based on a highly adaptable chassis.

The Dagger has three universal mounts, but is dominated by energy weapon mounts. These three provide enough flexibility to make the Dagger a credible threat at any range. It is not uncommon for a group of these warships to mount both types of JUPITER ASM system to pummel enemies from afar while another group closes in from behind.

CFS Dagger II-class Destroyer

Description pending.

RVS Stahlraven-class Cruiser


The Viper first made a name for itself as a long-range missile carrier with its battery of Mercury ASM launchers. It bears a striking similarity to some ship chassis that would have been even closer were it not for the 'tail' that extends behind the ship.


RVS Stahlfalken-class Assault Carrier


The Cobra-class was initially mistaken for a Battleship in its first appearance at the Battle of Corvus. Admiral Calder of the local Hegemony force has been stated to request a new uniform when reports poured in from the pickets that the RVS Taipan was launching and refitting strike-craft as it was engaging the HSS Basilisk, and winning.

The Cobra is the epitome of the Coalition doctrine of flexibility. It even stands in for a cargo carrier in convoys!

Longsword-class Battleship


CFS Joyeuse-class Sovereign


The Joyeuse-class Sovereign is-[ERROR: FILE NOT FOUND]
[ILLEGAL ACCESS-DEPLOYING COUNTER-INTRUSION PACKAGE]
[ERROR: INVALID COMMAND]
0x0131FF ba1334@%S@AFF0219O!!


When a joint Hegemony-Tri-Tachyon force destroyed the CFS Arthur, the last Excalibur-class Sovereign, some time in 3012, Admiral Grayson stated that the 'Sovereign threat' was over and that the Coalition would be evicted from the sector within a year. He himself personally led the strike force that laid siege to Bastion.

It was his mistake.

As Light Destroyer Groups L001 through L014, Heavy Destroyer Groups H031 and H052, and Carrier Battlegroups C001 and C003 fell back. Sovereign Groups S001 and S002 maneuvered under phase to Grayson's rear guard and launched a simultaneous attack on his command ship and its escorts. The destruction of Grayson's flagship was completed in 0.52 seconds under the combined firepower of twelve Phased Array Cannons. The liquidation of his escort group took approximately six hours due to the mass panic induced by the arrival of four Joyeuse-class Sovereigns.

The rest promptly surrendered after seeing what could be done to a Paragon with a single salvo from the CFS Firelance's Antiparticle Lance battery. They were given no quarter as vengeance for the glassings of Sargasso II and Another Rock.


---

That's it for now.

Credits to:
Kaelis, DSMK2, SilverWingedSeraph, Arcalane and etc... for their sprite packs. th15 for creating Battleships Forever, and to the Starfarer Dev Team for developing the most badass game to date. Paul, for the basis of the campaign files, and LazyWizard for the armor regeneration code.
« Last Edit: April 08, 2014, 01:52:13 PM by InfinitySquared »
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evil713

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Re: The Confederacy of Free Stars
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2012, 04:48:33 PM »

you have antimatter blasters mixed in with your pd lasers? that seems really odd to me.

i mean ones a defencive weapon and the other is the naval equivilant of a shank to the kidneys.
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tinsoldier

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Re: The Confederacy of Free Stars
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2012, 10:12:17 PM »

you have antimatter blasters mixed in with your pd lasers? that seems really odd to me.

i mean ones a defencive weapon and the other is the naval equivilant of a shank to the kidneys.

Looks like maybe he just ran out of weapon groups.  They're on alternating so it's easy enough to pick one or the other.  Likewise, AutoFire would toggle between handily.

I like the ship though.  What parts are the sprite pack?  It looks quite polished though obviously a different art style than the onslaught :)
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InfinitySquared

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Re: The Confederacy of Free Stars
« Reply #3 on: February 03, 2012, 04:32:26 PM »

The sprite packs I predominantly use are the Shiny sprites by Kaelis, though a few by DSMK2 have managed to sneak in.
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tinsoldier

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Re: The Confederacy of Free Stars
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2012, 08:17:02 AM »

When do we get to play with it :)
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InfinitySquared

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Re: The Confederacy of Free Stars
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2012, 08:35:51 AM »

Soon.


ED: There are even bigger fish in the sea.

Also, does anyone know what the variables in the weapon file do?
« Last Edit: February 04, 2012, 08:48:09 PM by InfinitySquared »
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InfinitySquared

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Re: The Confederacy of Free Stars
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2012, 02:49:54 AM »

Bamp: Release added. Enjoy!
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tinsoldier

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Re: The Confederacy of Free Stars
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2012, 01:47:48 PM »

Houston, we have a problem!


---------------------------
Starfarer
---------------------------
Fatal: JSONObject["id"] not found.
Check starfarer.log for more info.
---------------------------
OK   
---------------------------


 :'(
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megal00t

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Re: The Confederacy of Free Stars
« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2012, 02:02:45 PM »

Ahhh i had this problem with junk pirates... i fixed it by removing ALL "  things in all csv files. See if that works
« Last Edit: February 06, 2012, 05:55:48 AM by megal00t »
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InfinitySquared

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Re: The Confederacy of Free Stars
« Reply #9 on: February 06, 2012, 12:56:03 AM »

Houston, we have a problem!


---------------------------
Starfarer
---------------------------
Fatal: JSONObject["id"] not found.
Check starfarer.log for more info.
---------------------------
OK   
---------------------------


 :'(

Huh. Is anyone else getting this problem?
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aerandir

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Re: The Confederacy of Free Stars
« Reply #10 on: February 06, 2012, 04:29:02 AM »

Love the weapon set-up on those ships, especially the phased array cannons and the particle lance, best sense of power of any weapons i've seen in the game thus far (and horribly overpowered as well of course  ;)).

It seems like the mod would probably work better as a total conversion, or else every battle is probably going to consist of a single sovereign wrecking a vanilla fleet.
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Thana

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Re: The Confederacy of Free Stars
« Reply #11 on: February 06, 2012, 04:47:34 AM »

I have to admit that with the rest of the armament, the missiles and torpedoes felt simply unnecessary. The antiparticle lances were hideously powerful, especially in such numbers. I think might well serve as pretty cool weapons in lesser number in somewhat less absurdly over-powered ships.  ;D

They do look really cool, though. Both the new ships and the new weapons.
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InfinitySquared

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Re: The Confederacy of Free Stars
« Reply #12 on: February 06, 2012, 06:11:56 AM »

Thanks guys! The Sovereigns are imba by design, as in canon they are the next step up to Dreadnoughts, but in any case the main weakness is their size. One would have to be blind to miss one when it's broadside is turned towards you. The rest of the ships I'm working on are less overpowered.

The missiles and torpedoes are merely placeholders for something less... superfluous.
Here's a sneak peek of the missile lineup I'm planning:
Mercury
Mars
Jupiter
Pantheon

The sprites are also going to be replaced.

Also, how does one make an energy based flak type weapon, or an energy projectile that blows up on contact.
ED: ALSO, my PD weapons just throw out nice looking streams of fire, but fail to consistently hit incoming weapons. They're off target by just a little bit.
« Last Edit: February 06, 2012, 06:44:24 AM by InfinitySquared »
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Alex

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Re: The Confederacy of Free Stars
« Reply #13 on: February 06, 2012, 12:02:53 PM »

...
Fatal: JSONObject["id"] not found.
...

Hmm, are you sure you have the latest version of Starfarer? 0.35a-RC2. It was released 1-2 days after the first 0.35a release and this is one of the bugs that got fixed.
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InfinitySquared

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Re: The Confederacy of Free Stars
« Reply #14 on: February 07, 2012, 05:07:03 AM »

I'm honored to have Alex posting in my thread, even though it's just a suggestion to update. :D

Added release 0.2, with two new weapons and a new ship. The faction it belongs to is going to be asymmetrically balanced to the CFS.
Creds for the weapon sprites: HorseMonster and Se7en.

The EFN Mars:
« Last Edit: February 07, 2012, 05:14:35 AM by InfinitySquared »
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