Something New is in the works

**Bwian** · 03-23-2005, 14:39

After much soul searching, I have decided this is something I have to do! I started trying to make a Myth Mod, but I just can't make it how I want it within the skeleton limitations. I might pick it up again if the situation changes, but until then ... I have a NEW PROJECT:

Allow me to set the scene:

It is the future, and mankinds continued growth and expansion has exhausted the natural resources and habitable space, and brought us close to environmental collapse. Colonies have sprung up to strip the asteroids for raw materials and to exploit what we can reach, but the far seeing know this is only a short term answer. The future of the species demands a new home.

Nothing suitable exists within our solar system, so probes are sent and the search begins for a habitable world.

Years pass, and the search is fruitless, until at last, a world is found. Is is primordial and hostile, but it is close enough to the earth in it's earliest days to give life a chance of survival with a bit of 'accelerated evolution'

So, the plans began to Terraform 'new earth'.

First to leave would be the automated factories, bound together in a vast cargo ship, they would be dropped onto the planets surface, there to mine resources, produce machines of ever increasing sophistication, and turn the planet into a new Garden of Eden. Every major corporation on Earth contributed, each producing their own specifications for their dedicated tasks.

Next to leave would be the sleeper ships. The human cargo sleeping for the century long trip to their new home, spreading the seed of mankind.

But...something went wrong. The machines built their roboti offspring, adaptive programming techmology allowed them to react to problems...to think for themselves. They worked, they spread, and they began to compete for certain rare minerals. And, being adaptable, it was only a matter of time before the factories machine intelligences began to see their rivals as a threat to their core mission....they began to develop new machines.

As mankind had done millenia before, these machines learnt to fight!

Ok..wafflng background story aside....I bring you 'Terra-War'

Cities are replaced by factories, key resources are the mineral wealth to build. Population is representing production capability, with all sorts of interesting options here. Most of which I haven't decided yet.... but...well !

Units will be assorted robotic creatures, some humanoid, some definitely not! There will be walkers, rollers, possible even hovering variants, but the military technology will remain very basic. The early units will be fighting with equipment designed as tools, but modified as weapons. Later will come dedicated war machines. Gunpowder and similar volatile chemicals will not be present, so brute force will be the order of the day, with some compressed air type weapons to supplement this later on.

Concept art is being worked on, along with a basec 'look' for each of the Factories ( factions )

No screen shots as yet, since there is very little to actually see. More to follow

**Duke John** · 03-23-2005, 14:54

A very ambitious project! Don't forget to add somewhere in your story that since the robots were primarily designed for terra-forming so the battlefield logarithms are a bit outdated, or some might even say stupid

**Sundjata Keita** · 03-23-2005, 17:38

Sounds cool Bwian and if the units are as good as they were in the Mythology mod then this should be great.

**Kraxis** · 03-23-2005, 17:49

Not trying to be a partypooper here, but you stopped the Myth mod because of the limitations of the skeletons, then I wonder why you would jump into something this complex as it too will need very different skeletons.

**Bwian** · 03-23-2005, 21:01

Not true Kraxis

The Mythology mod required certain designs. It needed me to create creatures which were pretty much already defined in myth, and I needed to work to those forms.

With this, I define the shape....and I will make the shapes to fit the skeletons.

Also...when it comes to making machines, the animations can be used in a 'flexible' way, so to speak. I tried making Centaurs by combining units, but they 'fell apart' when killed. Looked wierd. Such things would be perfectly natural looking for a machine though. Also...I have experimented using just parts of skeletons.

I made a 'walker' using just the back legs and certain key sections of a skeleton, and it is fine. You just allocate the bulk of the mesh to the 'root' bone, and it is great. For an 'organic' object, you expect natural movement...in a 'droid...no worries. As I said.... this is intended to be something DIFFERENT :D

**Sundjata Keita** · 03-23-2005, 21:45

The thing I like about this idea is the need for resources. If you don't start expanding and getting the resources your faction will die out quickly. You should make the resources give huge bonuses to fit the storyline.

Also what kind of other factions would you have considering the culture types are hardcoded? Who will be the senate?

My last idea at the moment would be to give a neo-classical style to the units. You could make them have helmets and capes like ancient warfare but against robots. If you had army uniforms like at present I think it would give the wrong feel to the game.

Anyway good luck with it

**Bwian** · 05-06-2005, 19:42

and

Spanner Boys in action!

**Alexander the Pretty Good** · 05-07-2005, 00:05

I would recommend a name change (for inside the text box that hovers above the unit): call them "Spanner boys" and put "Utility Droid" in brackets []. Just to shorten it and make it more readable.

Other than that, it looks pretty good; I can't wait to see some of the tougher units.

**Laridus Konivaich** · 05-07-2005, 00:27

How are you going to deal with tiring? Will you leave it? Or can units be made non tiring? Or will you just change the names of the tiring effects to be more mechanical?

**shifty157** · 05-07-2005, 03:58

Originally Posted by Prince Laridus Konivaich

How are you going to deal with tiring? Will you leave it? Or can units be made non tiring? Or will you just change the names of the tiring effects to be more mechanical?

Batteries running low?

Awesome work by the way.

**Bwian** · 05-07-2005, 09:09

Yup....tiring will be 'battery' related.

There are a few things I want to change around the text areas, but some of it I can't find right now... I also need to find out where the 'advisor' picture is held. THAT needs swapping for something more appropriate!

As for the tougher units.... I am currently working on the 'combat enhanced' version and a suitable commander unit.

Then I start work on the HEAVIES