The Federation Strikes Back 0.2 (alpha)

[5thHorseman]

I haven't had a chance to play, but it's on the list. I should be able to give it a try this weekend.

[aaaaaa50]

Try making a new topic in the working mods section, and embed some pictures?

[Kieve]

Cleared out some of my more obsolete monologue from the OP, it really serves no purpose.

Edit: Could this by any chance be moved to Working Mods? I have a feeling there will be no feedback unless there's somebody trying it out, and apparently that's not easy to achieve while in Mod Development.

Consider it done.

[dalolorn]

Try making a new topic in the working mods section, and embed some pictures?

I can do the former, but I'm just as clueless as to what I'd say in that one as I was when I originally posted this one.

As for the latter, Steam's unwilling to grant your request, as the last time I tried that, you couldn't even see half of the picture, and it was usually in the worst possible place. The links are there to stay, sadly.

[dalolorn]

Well, if I don't get any responses telling me to make a standalone version by this time tomorrow, I'll check with Sleeper before making an integrated version. Just an integrated one.

Well, it's 26 hours since I said that, rather than 24...

Time to get to work on 0.2.

Edit: kartoFlane's Auto-Cruiser is almost done with its refit - I'm thinking about a Mk II Light Laser and a Mk I Artillery Laser as well as 2 boosterless boarding drones to replace his custom gear, as well as a Drone Reactor Booster to replace his recovery arm and his stolen tech. The layout stays the same, though, and no starting crew.

[dalolorn]

0.2 changelog - if my plans aren't changed and are executed as intended:

• Auto-Cruiser by kartoFlane, mentioned in my last post, will be implemented, replacing Stealth A
• To implement it without breaking the UI, a slight modification to the drone UI by speedoflight will also make an appearance
• Courtesy of Superluminal's latest update and the FTL modding wiki, the Dominator's room layout will be altered to match the NPC version, with the exception of the doors leading from the corridors, cloaking room, and drone room to the weapon rooms
• TFSB will now have to be patched in after Captain's Edition 1.02 or later, assuming Sleeper Service hasn't caused any compatibility issues between later CE versions and the segments I'm using, which is unlikely
• Furthermore, the doors leading from the above places on the Dominator to the weapon rooms will no longer act as airlocks, venting atmosphere out of the corresponding weapon room

I'd expect it somewhere within the next 16.5 hours, but as always, my estimates could be off. Terribly off.

Edit: Forgot a note:

• Several ships will have their weapons and/or drones replaced by various CE weapons. This is most easily noticeable with Drone AA-81, the Dominator, and the Red-Tail, and non-existent in the Reaper

[dalolorn]

Okay, I think I implemented and tested 0.2, but just in case, I'm going to test it out one more time, then release.

I'd say it'll take me anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to get it over with.

Edit: Oops, got carried away.

Okay, as far as I can tell, the easiest ships to play are the Red-Tail and the Reaper, followed by AS-2901, I guess - and the hardest is AA-81, with very little to defend itself with, followed by the Sovereign's boarding efforts, followed by the Dominator's intimidating, but useless dual artillery cannons, only one of which can be powered at any given time. Experiences may vary based on luck and the version of CE you're running, but that's a rough estimate.

Sneaking in a few last-minute balance corrections, and then I'm off to upload 0.2 and edit the OP accordingly.

Known issues:

• I screwed up the Dominator's room layout, causing 2 of the doors that are SUPPOSED to be airlocks to become doors to... I don't even know where. The doors are in what used to be the beam room, and the cloaking room.
• Furthermore, life support has a cost of 0 scrap, but since only ships that can't support life support systems can buy it, so no harm done.
• Several systems that do not exist on certain ships can be purchased by said ships. This is not something I can resolve on my end, however you can identify it by taking a look at its system levels while shopping. If there is no info on what the system does with # power, then the system does not exist.
• The Sovereign sometimes lacks its second boarding drone. I believe it may be an FTL bug, as nothing appears to be wrong with its blueprint. While I did manage to bypass the issue, I don't have a clue as to how.

Re-edit: Apparently the last-minute balance corrections I spoke of were already packed into the .ftl file, I just forgot to patch them in. Never mind. The above bug list is still quite accurate, though.

Theoretically, the link should stay the same - it'll just download 0.2 instead of 0.1.

Re-re-edit: 0.2 is up! Updates to the OP are still in progress.

[dalolorn]

So... if anybody's tried it out yet... say something about it?

I really need some kind of input, something to guide my work so that it's not just my semi-random toying with stuff.

[UltraMantis]

judging by past experience, you wont get too much feedback and not vey often. Just the way it is.

[dalolorn]

That could be problematic.