[SHIP] Federation Light Artillery A & B (Updated!)

[R4V3-0N]

UPDATED!!! v 1.30

Update Changes - only mentioning the patches that matter, no 0.82 or 9.69 mentioned.

there are some cut content to things I do not have enough experience to over come, no matter how hard I worked or how much help I received.
Notably this is the "Missile Drone" nerf, new Missile drone II in stores and random loot, and custom images for said drones.
My first mod (that I released publicly). Feel free to leave a suggestion to make this ship better and ballancing. Keep in mind the Layout A is meant to be a bit challenging with the lack of weapon system.
Also I am still new to modding and I can't successfully mod a weapon yet and I don't think it is possible to fix the UI problem on the A.

quick tip: it is suggested to keep your Engines and Artillery to max power at most times and it's a good idea to invest in drones power and extra reactor power, I have beaten the game with these 2 ships, it is possible.


Updated!
Download link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/l92txa2ex19u0 ... nd%20B.zip
Download Link with Crew: https://www.dropbox.com/s/megmvql0zlcel ... rew%29.zip
Download Link with Recolors: https://www.dropbox.com/s/00929jsfcowtz ... red%29.zip
Download Link with Recolours and Crew: https://www.dropbox.com/s/mbi8ov8afjs3h ... rew%29.zip

Screenshot of alt. colours:



Engi A and B replaced
Federation Artillery A replaces Engi Cruiser A.
Federation Artillery B replaces Engi Cruiser B.
Federation Light Artillery B recolour replaces Engi Cruiser B.

How to install -just for the confussed
Extract the .zip folder to get to the 2 .ftl's inside.
Then you install as normal with SMM recommended.

To Update

Nothing at the moment! post on this thread if you found anything!

Update Changes - only mentioning the patches that matter, no 0.82 or 9.69 mentioned.

Code: Select all

1.30 - big update!

 = Ships
-F.Light Artillery A: updated hull image and shadowing.
-F.Light Artillery A: name change, it is now "Harpy"
-F.Light Artillery B: updated hull image and shadowing.
-F.Light Artillery B Recolour available: now the vanilla colour F. Light Artillery B is available.

 = Drones and Misc
-Old Ion Drones added!: Ion drone buffs and nerfs, new drone 'hull' and engine.
-Ion Drones added!: updated hull, buffed heavily, 5 energy, made for the later sectors that have 3+ shields
-Ion Drones II added!: not available at start, only found in stores and random drop, faster then the 1, costs 1 energy less. but more expensive.
-Store: all drones available at store! (should be)

 = Bugs
-Dark rooms are fixed for A and B
-Ship with crew do not have strange file error, '22 bytes size'

1.20 - Custom missile drones removed

1.00 - release!
- F. Light Artillery A: Defence drone mk II added,
- F. Light Artillery B: Lower down most system levels to 1

0.95
- F. Light Artillery B: 3 Ion Drones Added

0.90
- F. Light Artillery B: 2 basic lasers switched to 2 more mini beams

0.80
- F. Light Artillery B added

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Federation Light Artillery A - Harpy

Hanger and Room image: http://i.imgur.com/0JssWGbh.jpg?1

With crew: 2 Engi, 1 Zoltan.
Hull reduced to 20

Brief Description:
The ship is meant to be a fast mobile Artillery unit tagging along with Federation cruisers to take out a target, It has drones to help keep the pressure on and to defend itself from all attacks but Beams. This ship is meant to be a bit challenging with no weapon system or shield, but instead an Artillery and drones.

Systems that can be purchased In stores:
-Can get Sensors, Teleporter, and Sheilds


Description:
The Federation have recovered some new technology and equipment from the Rebels during the war, putting a Ferro-Fibrous hull and Endo-Steal Frame, Quad Zues XL Fusion engines and an AI navigation and targeting computer. This is made to be a fast, light, small, and agile artillery unit to help assist Federation Cruisers to take out enemy ships cheaply and efficiently.

It can be independent or to be hunting in packs against other Rebel ships after the battle of the last stand, But it has sacrificed a lot to support an Artillery and Speed.

It losses a third of it's durability (20 hullpoints instead of 30) and it can not support a standard weapon system or shield.

The ship is based on the frame of the other project running along side this called the "Road Runner" Federation Scout, It is fast and Agile and some parts and components are based of the scout superior in speed scout.

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Federation Light Artillery B - Scorpio

Hanger and Room image: http://i.imgur.com/O8nyQtIh.jpg?1

With Crew: Engi, Slug
Hull reduced to 20

Brief Description:
Unlike the A, this is meant to be more offensive and independent, It has 4 Mini Beam mounted in front along with the Artillery, and 2 ion drones (2 drone slots) and it is used for hunting down rebel stragglers after the War was won by the Federation.

This ship is a bit of a challenge through out the game and has a strange difficulty curve just to make it a challenge.
While in the start you are trying to juggle with your reactor and scrap to try and improve your ships offensive and passive capabilities, you are also soon going to end up finding it harder and harder to take down the enemies shields and require to use more and more ion drones, and then other challenges along the way, this ship requires some prediction and to be used planned ahead.

Systems Purchased in stores:
Teleporter, Doors, and Sensors.

Description:
A variant to the original now known "A" variant, It switched the hull for a Standard platting to give more space but it is in return heavier making less room for the high power engines.

It got shields and a weapon system, an improvement of the A variant, but also the artillery taken some sacrifice as well, this ship being a Hunter instead of a support, usually fighting against Rogue Rebels after the fall of the Rebel Flagship, it is made to hold it's fire power against Cruisers, Fighters, and Riggers alike. how ever the initial design required to much reactor power then currently possible and is forced to use limited systems and cannot reach it's full potential and thus specialised configurations were introduced later on for certain rolls and scenarios.

It has made successful operations in the following years of the Federation.

Due to the Weight vs Space issue, the med bay and drone bay smaller then the original ship.

[fireclaw2006]

The ship only needs one drone recovery arm, not two.

[5thHorseman]

Those are some crazy looking ships right there. Well done. I don't know if I've ever seen a ship where you simply CANNOT buy weapons, or shields, and I'm sure I've never seen one you can't buy both on. That's worth taking for a spin right there.

And other than giving you free scrap at your first store, does the 2nd drone recovery arm do anything for the ship? Like give you 2x the drones when you finish a battle?

[R4V3-0N]

I must have lagged when I put that drone recovery arm in, it was originally supposed to be one. Oh well.
I'll go update the download ASAP, I will switch the second arm for a Repair arm, just to make it a bit more harder in the beginning due to lower scrap income and help ease of near the end game.

Anyway my goal was to be as original as possible without it looking like something a 4 year old done.

Link updated, the B should now no longer have a useless double augment.

[Sleeper Service]

Looks good! The hull design is really intriguing. Some people might find it nice to see some room-plan previews as well.

The splicing is really well done. It took me a while to realize that you actually collided the Fed scout and bomber into a new ship. The hulls are well shaded as well, but as so often I have some suggestions for that:
The cockpit in both variants could drop some shadows, just in the manner like the front part of the ship does. The section directly right and left behind the cockpit of type B seems unnatural bright. This two little sections simply could be made part of the bomber top deck.

I personally also like the colour schemes. Vanilla colours are always cool for coherency. Type B is nice too, although it looks a little stealthy for a support ship and would be also cool in type B Fed cruiser colours in my opinion. (Yeah, I really like vanilla colour schemes... the Federation just seems very reluctant to paint anything in different colours than in their standard sheme)

The actual game play concept also looks well thought out, fresh and challenging. So, seems you created a pretty good first mod there.

[R4V3-0N]

Thank you, and the images of the Rooms are in link form under the main images, I will go edit it to make it more obvious by making it bold and slightly larger.

I will go fix up the shading and hull images but don't expect me to make those changes into the gibs, those bloody things took me days to create

And I'm glade I did good on my mod.

I love vanilla colours as well, but the only 2 Human Federation playable ships in game have 2 different B colour schemes.

Kestrel Cruiser: it is in Rebel colours and stripe pattern, meaning I will need to re do all my stripes, which I am not to found of seeing how I only owned a digital art program that isn't "Windows paint 95" (even then I barely used it, like twice a year).

Federation Cruiser: to me personally the colour scheme is really odd... in fact from my experience on the forums it is the only player ship in game that people make mods specifically to change the hull images colours.

And I kind of find it ironic how out of the A and B, the B looks more stealthy yet the A is the only one that can have a stealth, how ever I was actually going to go somewhere with the B's colour scheme and was planning to make more ships in it, a sort of a spring of from the Federation that specifically hunt down Rebel Stragglers and fugitives after the Flagship was destroyed and the Federation won the war.

(a similar turn to the incursor ships back story but instead the federation won, not the rebels)

For you Sleeper, for making such a wonderful mod Captains edition and all your hard work put into it, I will make a Fed Cruiser B colour scheme for my mods B and push away my next ship the "Road Runner Federation Scout" that I mentioned in the description of the this mod's A variant.

I will go update the link into my first post, just in case others would prefer vanilla colours as well. After I finish all the other shading.

Oh and 1 more thing, It is part Federation Scout and Federation Bomber, but it is also Part (recolored) Rebel Rigger and Auto-scout as well as some parts made from scratch.\

edit: I spent nearly every minute since I first posted this.

I do not have the skill to make the Fed Cruiser B colours to be on my ship, it's colour scheme is just to weird, I would have better luck with Rebel/ Red-tail scheme instead....

Sorry mate, I don't know how you do it on your Captains Edition mod with those Militia and Civilian ships in that colour scheme but I simply can't. sorry.

[R4V3-0N]

[quick message: yet again I made my post to big, I will add large bold titals to each section if you can't be bothered to read it all, I will do a TL:DR part on the bottom as well]

Anything wrong with this mod that you want changed?

Okay guys, I want to know if anyone found any bug or balance problem or anything in my ship mod that needs to be done before I patch it up with the shading and alternate B colour scheme besides the UI problem on the A layout.

What do you want for B colour?

Do you want in my future federation mods to be in the Dark blue light blue colour scheme? or in the Fed Cruiser B colour scheme? or the Red-tail Rebel scheme?

a neater list so you can compare the options

-Rebel colours
-New colours
-Fed Cruiser colours

The thinking behind 'Blue"

The blue colour scheme originally was going to lead to some future mod or just a back story for the thread like on some other ships, that it is a spring of faction from the Federation that are specifically to hunt down Rebels after the federation won (so it's a post vanilla time period) and also to prevent a similar event happening.

More about B layout, important for different future mod.

I am also doing a mod in the background, another mod idea I had is you can say similar to the "Foundation of the Federation" but it will be Rebel themed and after the war was turning after the flagship gone down.

The "Blue" faction will be a common enemy (sort of a "elite" enemy) in this mod as well, (yes you will be seeing this ship as the enemy and my future fed ship mods) and I will rewrite the story and most quests regarding rebels and federation ships and how other races treat you.

I can still make it change to be green.

===================================================================================================
TL;DR / Summary: Even if you read the above,A recap summary can help understand a bit more in a simple version
===================================================================================================
Anything wrong with this mod that you want changed?:
Did you find some problem with the mod? bug? balance?

What do you want for B colour?

-Rebel colours
-New colours (blue)
-Fed Cruiser colours

What do you want more?

The thinking behind 'Blue"

Blue = spring of faction from the federation to hunt down Rebels after the war and try to keep peace, kinda like the UN after WWII

More about B layout, important for different future mod

Future mod is a FotF like mod but for the rebels after the war was lost/ there losing.
Blue faction can be included here or I just make it look like a "Elite" ship or different then the others in vanilla colours.

[Starfire]

I've played through this mod (with crew, without seems a bit too hard) and I feel like something has to be done about the rebels trying to escape. With only drones and a beam that you can't aim, you really can't stop them from escaping (unless the RNG wants to help you ) and you do nothing but wait and feel like you are wasting 3 jumps.

[R4V3-0N]

Okay, I assume this is with the Fed. Light Artillery A due to the lack of weapon system.
I will put an FTL jammer in the next update.

up coming update: Visuals and shadows updated
(I will drop the ion drones for the B to 2, one will need 2 power, 1 will need 4-5 power but is more efficient)



Thank you for your response.

[R4V3-0N]

Update Cancelled till further notice

Superluminal decided it hates me and now there is always an error when I attempt to export a ship.
What happens when I export is the (for the B) the shields and engine room are darkened like if I didn't add a glow image or similar, but I did double check if the're there and even re assigned them, still nothing works.

Error message I get when exporting:

Code: Select all

Error: export - miniship image not found.
Warning: export - one of the glow images for room_pilot.png was not found.
Warning: export - one of the glow images for room_weapons_8.png was not found.

I checked the ftl file and it's folders and (in terms of images) everything is there.

If you would like to help I can upload the hull images, rooms, and miniship and I'll give credit to you on my first post for helping debug my mod (debug is the right word right?)

Just send me a PM of post a reply on this thread if your interested to help.

The drones does work though.
And the hull images are fine looking.

The A also got issues with exporting and some other rooms are darkened.



Sorry for the inconvenience.