[SHIP] The Black Opal (Haunted Rigger)

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5thHorseman
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[SHIP] The Black Opal (Haunted Rigger)

Postby 5thHorseman » Mon Sep 16, 2013 3:39 pm

Death can't stop this crew from exacting revenge on the rebels who killed them.

Download version 1.0 here: http://pulpaudio.com/ftl/Rigger.ftl
(if you have trouble downloading, try right clicking and selecting "save link as..." in the menu)

This ship replaces the Kestrel.

Image

The Black Opal is a pretty unique ship, though you will recognize similarities in basic strategy to Jonfon's Robotic Cruiser. Unlike that ship, though, if you lose your crew you lose the game.

Themes:
  • You've died plenty of times while fighting the rebels. Now it's time to return from the grave and exact your revenge!
  • This ship can do no direct damage. You must send your ghost crew members to the enemy ships to kill crew and take out systems.
  • The beam you're given is designed to slice hulls in half for easier salvage. It simply shreds rooms and causes breaches. Good thing ghosts don't need air!
  • There may be even more powerful versions of these beams available in stores.
  • You cannot get ghost crew from stores or normal events, but they say when it's dark and quiet, a new ghost will sometimes emerge from the pod to help you. The pod will also heal your crew no matter where they are on the ship, so long as the medbay is powered.
  • You probably don't want to take on any non-ghost crew. It's extremely difficult to keep them alive, not to mention terribly non-thematic.
  • I removed the oxygen warnings (though the alarm still sounds) and "no-air" lines from the floor. It's kinda hard to see the ghosts with the lines there.

This ship is complete, playable, and I find it quite fun. However it may not be totally balanced and many story elements in the game don't work well with it. No matter what you do, people will insist on joining your crew and then choking to death before you can even make 2 jumps.

I'm strongly considering modifying ALL events to not give crew, and maybe even modifying their reactions to you, however I want to make sure the mod is worth that much effort first. Let me know!

Story:
Your ship was destroyed. Your crew was killed. You made it to a stasis pod but as you sealed it, you felt you deserved to join them in death. You had killed them. Your decisions. Your drive. Your bad, terrible luck.

Your soul was in torment.

You were almost happy when the girder broke loose from the ceiling and smashed in the glass of the stasis pod, letting the air escape from the last oxygenated place on the ship: your lungs. You faded from this world, mind body and soul wrapped and warped with pain, torment, and a thirst for revenge.

Later, The Opal, a rigger scouring battle zones for scrap, came across your wreckage and your stasis pod. They made the worst and last mistake of their lives bringing it aboard. You and your undead crew sprung from the cursed pod and overcame their crew quickly. You ripped the oxygen system from the ship and tossed it into space. You wouldn't need it. Unholy energy emanated from the pod, healing you and your ghastly crew as they got to work.

Somewhere deep back in your mind you knew you still had a mission. You still had information to deliver to the Federation. They had to get it, and if you had to kill every rebel between here and there... so much the better!
My Videos - MY MOD HUB
Simo-V - The Potential - Automated Scout - "Low O2" Icons
The Black Opal - The Asteroid - The Enforcer - The Pyro

"Every silver lining has a cloud..."
SquidMcGee
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Re: [SHIP] The Black Opal (Haunted Rigger)

Postby SquidMcGee » Mon Sep 16, 2013 3:52 pm

That's a great looking ship. I love the back story as well. Very well written!!
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Sleeper Service
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Re: [SHIP] The Black Opal (Haunted Rigger)

Postby Sleeper Service » Mon Sep 16, 2013 8:31 pm

Well thought out idea and sweet design. Maybe part of this whole curse ghost stuff is that fed friendlies do not recognize your ghastly condition and are draw to their own suffocation death as well for letting you down in the first please. Modifying all crew giving events or even the entire reactions to your ship would be a huge job.

Do you have a Rebel colour version of the ship as well? Does it fit the enemy window?
aaaaaa50
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Re: [SHIP] The Black Opal (Haunted Rigger)

Postby aaaaaa50 » Mon Sep 16, 2013 9:23 pm

Boarding with ghosts? 50hp means it should be quite the challenge. Also, I'd like to recommend the Low O2 icons mod for everyone who still wants an indicator for when a room is out of oxygen.
First ever AE-exclusive ship mod: The Extra Features!
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5thHorseman
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Re: [SHIP] The Black Opal (Haunted Rigger)

Postby 5thHorseman » Mon Sep 16, 2013 11:12 pm

aaaaaa50 wrote:Boarding with ghosts? 50hp means it should be quite the challenge. Also, I'd like to recommend the Low O2 icons mod for everyone who still wants an indicator for when a room is out of oxygen.


Haha! Someone else pimping my mods for my mods! :D

I don't know how it would look on this ship, but make sure you load the Low O2 mod SECOND because I modify the room images.

All I got to say about boarding with 50-hp guys is... It works surprisingly well as long as you use common sense. Air (or the lack of it) is a great equalizer.
My Videos - MY MOD HUB
Simo-V - The Potential - Automated Scout - "Low O2" Icons
The Black Opal - The Asteroid - The Enforcer - The Pyro

"Every silver lining has a cloud..."
aaaaaa50
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Re: [SHIP] The Black Opal (Haunted Rigger)

Postby aaaaaa50 » Tue Sep 17, 2013 12:24 am

5thHorseman wrote:Haha! Someone else pimping my mods for my mods! :D


*Facepalm* Well, that's quite the derp. :lol:
First ever AE-exclusive ship mod: The Extra Features!
Ye Olde and Outdated Pre-AE Ship Mod Recommendation List!
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Kieve
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Re: [SHIP] The Black Opal (Haunted Rigger)

Postby Kieve » Tue Sep 17, 2013 1:44 am

Okay, I'll be the first to ask:
Why airlock doors on a ship without air? :?

Love the concept though, seems like a very interesting ship to play.
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5thHorseman
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Re: [SHIP] The Black Opal (Haunted Rigger)

Postby 5thHorseman » Tue Sep 17, 2013 2:01 am

Kieve wrote:Okay, I'll be the first to ask:
Why airlock doors on a ship without air? :?

Love the concept though, seems like a very interesting ship to play.


Because the ship was built for a more... typical crew. You and your ghost friends co-opted it for your own use. In short: They are 100% there for decoration.
My Videos - MY MOD HUB
Simo-V - The Potential - Automated Scout - "Low O2" Icons
The Black Opal - The Asteroid - The Enforcer - The Pyro

"Every silver lining has a cloud..."
aaaaaa50
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Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2013 9:08 pm

Re: [SHIP] The Black Opal (Haunted Rigger)

Postby aaaaaa50 » Tue Sep 17, 2013 7:28 pm

:shock: This is fantastic against auto-ships. You can board an auto, knock out systems that you don't want to auto-repair with the Slicer Beam, and then tear it to pieces and quickly level up your fighting. You can even 'set' an enemy's level of weapons/drones after damaging it a bit by putting a hull breach in. With a bit of luck and patience, you can level up your entire crew's piloting, engines, shields, weapons, and fighting on just one auto-ship. All you need is one damage-dealing weapon to finish them off.

On the flipside, CE has some drone ships with defense drones on them, and one enemy with good defenses and a boarding drone would be a nightmare to deal with.

Also, putting all the extra ghosts spawns in the 'nothing happens' events is a genius move. Though when I looked at the files, you made a mistake with the 'hull slicer beam'. It says it damages crew, but it only does system damage.

If you're interested, this old mod has a bunch of ghost-related events. I don't remember liking many of them, though.
First ever AE-exclusive ship mod: The Extra Features!
Ye Olde and Outdated Pre-AE Ship Mod Recommendation List!
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5thHorseman
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Re: [SHIP] The Black Opal (Haunted Rigger)

Postby 5thHorseman » Tue Sep 17, 2013 11:33 pm

aaaaaa50 wrote::shock: This is fantastic against auto-ships. You can board an auto, knock out systems that you don't want to auto-repair with the Slicer Beam, and then tear it to pieces and quickly level up your fighting. You can even 'set' an enemy's level of weapons/drones after damaging it a bit by putting a hull breach in. With a bit of luck and patience, you can level up your entire crew's piloting, engines, shields, weapons, and fighting on just one auto-ship. All you need is one damage-dealing weapon to finish them off.

Yeah it's funny that the big bane for teleporter ships is this ship's bread and butter.

Also, putting all the extra ghosts spawns in the 'nothing happens' events is a genius move. Though when I looked at the files, you made a mistake with the 'hull slicer beam'. It says it damages crew, but it only does system damage.

Oops! That was the original idea but then I never actually did it. However I never changed the text. I'm making an update to the ship so I'll put this in it.

If you're interested, this old mod has a bunch of ghost-related events. I don't remember liking many of them, though.

Thanks I'll check it out :)
My Videos - MY MOD HUB
Simo-V - The Potential - Automated Scout - "Low O2" Icons
The Black Opal - The Asteroid - The Enforcer - The Pyro

"Every silver lining has a cloud..."