[MOD][WIP] The Federation Fleet

[Fergulous]

The goal of the Federation Fleet mod is to replace the non-federation ships in the game with Federation ones. It will also eventually extend to possibly adding events and/or weapons. For now, the mod is not ready to be released as only a few ships have been completed and are still in testing. Since I am a novice modder I can't really make hull textures, cloak textures, gibs, or thumbnail images very well so any help would be appreciated. So, here are a few notes about the mod:

1. Type A ships will all be Federation ships, along with Type B ships.

2. Type C ships will probably be civilian ships using the Nisos color scheme. They will be designed to challenging, as they are freighters, transports, mining, or science ships.

3. The Federation fleet ship background will be used more often, since the only place I have seen it used in the vanilla game is at the entry to The Last Stand and at rare events in the Last stand. The Federation-Rebel fleet fighting background will be used more as well because why not.

4. Friendly ASBs will be used much more often, along with hostile ASBs

But now I've rambled, to the point of the actual mod. The goal is to make the game more about the Federation and the Rebels by increasing the amount of flavor for both. Also, it will have potentially lore-altering effects; it will also add new lore to both sides.

Pictures:



This is a Federation Dropship. They are used to drop soldier off at land battles, and are in times of peace used as freighters. - Credit to Justin17 for Textures



This is a Light Federation Fighter, the same design as the Rebel Fighters. They were mothballed after the Federation-Mantis war along with the riggers. - Credit to R4V3-0N for texture in the Shipyard



These are the same ships as the Rebel Riggers, but these have not been painted over and altered. They had mostly been mothballed after the Federation-Mantis war along with the light fighters.- Credit to R4V3-0N for texture in the Shipyard



This is a Federation Fighter. They are much more suited for fighting alone than Light fighters, and are much stronger. Unlike Light Fighters, they can have more systems and have not been adapted by the rebel fleet. - Recolor to Federation by StromblaaD, initial design as a rebel ship by Kieve.



This is a Federation Assault. They are heavy ships used for destroying small fleets and space stations. They were removed from service many years ago due to design flaws, but have since been reinstated into service due to the lack of ships. - Credit to JeffTheBoardingDrone



This is a civilian freighter. It is used by civilians to transport goods from place to place. They are mainly used by brave merchants or couriers nowadays, but some have joined up with the Federation or formed local militias to defend against the Rebels. - Image credit to R4V3-0N.

Sadly, because I am just figuring out how to mod this game, I can really only do ships, so it will probably take a while to get into beta or alpha version; contributions are welcome, and people who help will be credited.

Credits:

JeffTheBoardingDrone for Federation Assault texture

Justin17 For Federation Dropship texture.

R4V3-0N for various textures

Credit to Kieve for creating the Rebel Destroyer which StromblaaD's Federation Destroyer was based off of.

Credit to StromblaaD for making the Federation Destroyer cruiser.

[stylesrj]

Sounds ambitious. I probably won't be able to do much more than provide quick tips though... so here's a few:

3. The Federation fleet ship background will be used more often, since the only place I have seen it used in the vanilla game is at the entry to The Last Stand and at rare events in the Last stand. The Federation-Rebel fleet fighting background will be used more as well because why not.

I recommend looking at how Captain's Edition does the beacons with a Federation fleet around it or finding out how the game does it (events_boss.xml) and working from that for those encounters.

But now I've rambled, to the point of the actual mod. The goal is to make the game more about the Federation and the Rebels by increasing the amount of flavor for both. Also, it will have potentially lore-altering effects; it will also add new lore to both sides.

The Rebellion are the good guys or you'll be ramping up their xenophobia a lot more?

[Fergulous]

Sounds ambitious. I probably won't be able to do much more than provide quick tips though... so here's a few:

3. The Federation fleet ship background will be used more often, since the only place I have seen it used in the vanilla game is at the entry to The Last Stand and at rare events in the Last stand. The Federation-Rebel fleet fighting background will be used more as well because why not.

I recommend looking at how Captain's Edition does the beacons with a Federation fleet around it or finding out how the game does it (events_boss.xml) and working from that for those encounters.

But now I've rambled, to the point of the actual mod. The goal is to make the game more about the Federation and the Rebels by increasing the amount of flavor for both. Also, it will have potentially lore-altering effects; it will also add new lore to both sides.

The Rebellion are the good guys or you'll be ramping up their xenophobia a lot more?

The rebellion will not be the good guys and they won't necessarily be more xenophobic. My goals for the Rebellion/Federation flavor mainly concern their politics and how their governments work, as well as making them both step into the grey are a little more rather than having a 2D bad guy and 2D good guy situation. By 'potentially lore-altering' I meant I would just add a lot of lore and change some of the background of the war. Also, the war will be called the "Federation Civil War" in this mod.

EDIT: Also, is it OK to use ship textures if they were made over a year ago? It's just that there is a texture that would be perfect but I couldn't ask the person for permission without necroing and I'm not even sure they are still on this forum.

[stylesrj]

The rebellion will not be the good guys and they won't necessarily be more xenophobic. My goals for the Rebellion/Federation flavor mainly concern their politics and how their governments work, as well as making them both step into the grey are a little more rather than having a 2D bad guy and 2D good guy situation. By 'potentially lore-altering' I meant I would just add a lot of lore and change some of the background of the war. Also, the war will be called the "Federation Civil War" in this mod.

Just so you know, I prefer the Federation being mostly the good guys, with some dark secrets while the Rebels clearly are just "racists r us" which would appeal to a surprising lot of people, including aliens.

I'm guessing it'll be analogous to the American Civil War in those respects?
Because I can dig it.

EDIT: Also, is it OK to use ship textures if they were made over a year ago? It's just that there is a texture that would be perfect but I couldn't ask the person for permission without necroing and I'm not even sure they are still on this forum.

Check their profile to see when their last post was, then PM them if they're still around.

[Fergulous]

The rebellion will not be the good guys and they won't necessarily be more xenophobic. My goals for the Rebellion/Federation flavor mainly concern their politics and how their governments work, as well as making them both step into the grey are a little more rather than having a 2D bad guy and 2D good guy situation. By 'potentially lore-altering' I meant I would just add a lot of lore and change some of the background of the war. Also, the war will be called the "Federation Civil War" in this mod.

Just so you know, I prefer the Federation being mostly the good guys, with some dark secrets while the Rebels clearly are just "racists r us" which would appeal to a surprising lot of people, including aliens.

I'm guessing it'll be analogous to the American Civil War in those respects?
Because I can dig it.

EDIT: Also, is it OK to use ship textures if they were made over a year ago? It's just that there is a texture that would be perfect but I couldn't ask the person for permission without necroing and I'm not even sure they are still on this forum.

Check their profile to see when their last post was, then PM them if they're still around.

They last got on the forums in 2014, so I assume it's ok to use it if I credit them?

Yeah, but I was thinking of making the rebels seem more human in a manner of speaking. A lot of events, such as when you enter a Rebel sector, they say it has been mostly abandoned and destroyed.

[stylesrj]

They last got on the forums in 2014, so I assume it's ok to use it if I credit them?

Probably a good idea to credit them then. Then wait for the user to complain if they don't want their texture used.

Yeah, but I was thinking of making the rebels seem more human in a manner of speaking. A lot of events, such as when you enter a Rebel sector, they say it has been mostly abandoned and destroyed.

More Human? I know it's in our nature to destroy things but isn't abandoning and destroying stuff more of a Mantis thing?
Wouldn't it be more "realistic" or "human" for the sector to show signs of battle but for the most part, the inhabitants surrendered once their fleets were subdued? Or are you thinking more of the Somme with the destruction?

[Fergulous]

They last got on the forums in 2014, so I assume it's ok to use it if I credit them?

Probably a good idea to credit them then. Then wait for the user to complain if they don't want their texture used.

Yeah, but I was thinking of making the rebels seem more human in a manner of speaking. A lot of events, such as when you enter a Rebel sector, they say it has been mostly abandoned and destroyed.

More Human? I know it's in our nature to destroy things but isn't abandoning and destroying stuff more of a Mantis thing?
Wouldn't it be more "realistic" or "human" for the sector to show signs of battle but for the most part, the inhabitants surrendered once their fleets were subdued? Or are you thinking more of the Somme with the destruction?

I meant that how currently it seems in the vanilla game as though the rebels destroy everything. Plus, if they destroy so much, then it is odd how people see them as liberators. I want to make them less destructive because there is no way they can just destroy everything they see.

[Fergulous]

Development Update 1

So, I will be making 'development updates' to show how development is going. Currently, only 4 ships have been made and several are W.I.P. But the main focus of this will be ideas for how the Rebel and Federation governments work and their relations with other aliens and a small secret I call 'gib cheating'

First is Gib Cheating. Gib Cheating is the term I have for making it so the gib is just the hull, so the ship appears to explode but stays in one piece and floats off. I did this because I can't do gibs. Not all ships in the mod do this, but many do. Sorry if this seems lazy or effortless, it's just that I can't really get gibs when almost all of my hulls are taken from the Shipyard or other open source ships.

Second, and more importantly, the politics of the Rebels and Federation. In this mod, the Federation is, obviously, lead by a federal government with a Parliament. They are a parliamentary democracy, with representatives from major planets in the upper house or parliament, and groups of colonies have their own parliaments and assemblies which operate under the main parliament. It is a Parliamentary Democracy with a Prime Minister. Under the federation people are given freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of protest, and human rights regulations are enforced. Administrative Zones are groups of solar systems that have their own parliaments, with planetary colonies having their own assemblies. In short, people are given rights and regions are given decent autonomy under a Federal Parliamentary Democracy with a Prime Minister as head of state. The national motto is "Federation Aeternum" meaning Federation Forever

The Rebels have a quite different political system. They have a president and an "Upper Assembly" consisting of the 4 cabinets. These cabinets include Military, Political, Diplomatic, and Trade. The candidates for members of the cabinets are said to be chosen by vote, but are really appointed by the President who is elected every 8 years. The President is chosen by electors who are, like cabinet members, appointed by the president but said to be chosen by voting according to the rebel Constitution; so the President is able to stay in office as long as he wants. Several people in Rebel lands are attempting to shine light on this corruption, but they have been unsuccessful. Ships in the Rebel Fleet have a "Letter of Marque" allowing them to confiscate goods and take control of local industries and businesses. The starship manufacturing business has been almost completely seized and is a state-owned industry, except for a few local businesses making small freighters. This "Letter of Marque" also allows them to commandeer freighters, trade ships, transports, science vessels, and mining vessels. They are officially called "The Galactic Republic", but are widely regarded as the Rebels as many people do not recognize their independence. In the self proclaimed Galactic Republic, non-humans are not allowed to run for political offices. According to law, Aliens are not citizens of the Republic, and are by default residents, but an alien that commits an honorable act for the Rebels gains the status of "Honored Resident", though few have gained this status. The Rebel national motto is "Man Kind Forever" which is shortened to "MKF" on their ships, and their national logo is the eagle with "MKF" on a shield in front of it.

Constructive criticism on the lore is welcome, just don't be too hard about it because it took me forever to write.

[stylesrj]

I meant that how currently it seems in the vanilla game as though the rebels destroy everything. Plus, if they destroy so much, then it is odd how people see them as liberators. I want to make them less destructive because there is no way they can just destroy everything they see.

The way the vanilla game portrays them seems to be harsh fascists - Rebel sectors are heavily taxed and everyone is oppressed. There's quite little on their destructive side as far as I know...

[Fergulous]

I meant that how currently it seems in the vanilla game as though the rebels destroy everything. Plus, if they destroy so much, then it is odd how people see them as liberators. I want to make them less destructive because there is no way they can just destroy everything they see.

The way the vanilla game portrays them seems to be harsh fascists - Rebel sectors are heavily taxed and everyone is oppressed. There's quite little on their destructive side as far as I know...

This text from the entry portrays the Rebel's destructive side: "This sector was bustling with activity just a few years ago. Now, more than half the beacons have been destroyed, many settlements have been abandoned and the Rebels patrol constantly."