Warhammer 40k DW:U Mod

[mensrea]

[center]"Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war."[/center]

TL;DR: See the bottom of the post for the download link. Download the latest version.

Set in the Warhammer 40k universe, this mod for Distant Worlds is a total conversion, meaning that just about everything is different from the vanilla game. The player takes control of one of 25 different races that were present in one of the Warhammer universes most tumultuous eras: The Great Crusade. The aim of the mod is to introduce more intense battles on both land and in space, more tricky diplomatic situations and more fog of war while minimizing logistical and economic challenges. In general, you will find that races are much less friendly, more powerful and more aggressive. Gameplay is faster and more intense with empires falling in nuclear hellfire and others rising from their ashes. Capital ships the size of small moons bristling with arrays of destructive weaponry clash in orbit as hordes of troops fight their way across scarred wastes below. The cunning avoid overt conflict and strike at you by proxy while the mighty raze your worlds with devastating plasma and viral weaponry. Peace is an unlikely prospect without careful diplomatic maneuvering as in the grimdark of the far future there is only war.



Here is a list of noteworthy changes from vanilla:

Lore: This mod derives all it's lore from the rich, dark, and entertaining lore of the Warhammer:40k universe. I urge anyone who is not familiar with the 40k universe to consult the lexicanum here: http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Warhammer_40,000 . The website is a vast storehouse of all WH lore that has been wrought from games, books and other publications.

Components: All vanilla components have been replaced and altered to fit with the technology of the Warhammer 40k universe as well as to ensure that players have a wide variety of meaningful options, especially when it comes to naval combat. Players will find that most components behave very differently from their vanilla counterparts. Due to the elimination of many redundant components the mod has around 160 in total. Every component has a specific role and no two are so similar that a player may question why it exists. In addition to the component changes, maximum ships sizes were also greatly increased, enabling players to build some truly massive capital ships.

Research: The vanilla technology tree has been completely replaced by our own tech tree. Redundant components have been eliminated; gone are the days of constantly outfitting ships with new components that are 10% better and functionally the same. Instead, players will be able to upgrade their favorite components and focus on research that is relevant to their interests. Hundreds of new technologies have been added and the mod currently has over 900 techs with around 120 different tech paths (in addition to a dozen different super techs that represent the convergence of multiple paths). Every component will remain relevant and competitive so long as upgrades are kept up to date.



Races: Races are divided into two main categories: major and minor. Major races are the well known and popular races from WH and include the Eldar, Dark Eldar, Imperial, Necron, Ork, Tyranid and Chaos. Minor races are typically obscure xenos or footnotes of WH history. Minor races include Auretians, Diasporex, Ghassulian, Gykon, Hrud, Interex, Jorgall, Kehletai, Kinebranch, Lacrymole, Laer, Megarachnid, Quietude, Scythian, Stryxis, Tarellian, Tushepta, and Vrakk. All races have been carefully balanced and many include such things as their own ship and troop art, dialogs, behaviors, characters and user interfaces. To learn more about races check this out: http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Xenos



Facilities: There are 100 facilities in total. The majority are composed of wonders, which can be research in every other tech line.

Economics & Logistics: Maintenance rates have been reduced, particularly for troops. Many races also specialize in economics and have been granted considerable bonuses. Players are encouraged to build huge fleets, colonize every planet they can and station more troops on their worlds. They are free to invest in huge orbitals and space stations for staking out their territory. Upfront costs for facilities and wonders were inflated in favor of the removal of their maintenance costs. In general, players will be able to expand faster and harder than with vanilla.

Resources: Vanilla resources were replaced by a more broad and rational system. Rather than having strip mined an entire planet and not found any iron ore or Makebelieveium, players will be dealing with the basics like ore, minerals, food, water, gas, hydrogen and uranium. Celestial bodies presumably contain enough of everything a civilization would need if properly exploited. Further, there are usually substitutes or alternative means of constructing things. Unique instances of resources are used only if the resource in question is otherwise sparse enough to warrant special consideration for large, concentrated deposits. Reactors are built with large hydrogen or uranium requirements, but the concept of fuel no longer exists. Instead, ships are simply picking up generic gasses to be used as propellant.

Governments: Vanilla governments have been completely replaced with 10 new basic governments and 2 new special governments which conform to the three basic ways in which political power is organized: authoritarian, totalitarian and liberal.



Characters: The mod contains many custom characters based off Warhammer lore. In addition, I have added named characters in honor of modders, developers, contributors and generally anyone who commented on the thread.



Plagues: Vanilla disease has been replaced by several diseases based off the foul influence of the Chaos gods and their minions.

Text: System names are based off actual systems in the vicinity of Sol. Gametext has been replaced where necessary for the sake of immersion and the establishment of background.

Art: Thanks to the efforts of numerous contributers, fellow modder's and volunteers the mod has accrued a substantial amount of custom artwork. Almost everything was changed; consult the credits section to see a more comprehensive listing.

Music: A custom soundtrack with Warhammer themed music has been included.

Credits:
-The whole WH40k universe and lore is property of Games Workshop and all credit goes to them.
-All artwork is attributed to its authors and I take no credit for any of the art in this.
-All credit for this awesome game and its modding support goes to Matrix.
-Credit for almost the entire soundtrack goes to Phocian.
-Credit for the artwork goes to Japhet, Blackstork, Phocian, Swizzlewizzle, Vargius, and theniceshakturi.
-Credit for our awesome UI's goes to Japhet and Blackstork (check out his mods here: tm.asp?m=3657646 )
-Credit for star/system names goes to Osito for his fantastic work (check out his mod here: tm.asp?m=3656168 )
-Credit for helping to make this mod better goes to all those who provide input, feedback and bug reports.

Copyright notice: There is no copyright, do what you want with this mod and all of its parts not attributed to another author, just give me credit and shoot me a link so I can post it to this thread (if you public it).

TO DO:
-balance races better
-more custom ship and troop artwork
-premade scenario which takes place in Osito's realistic galaxy map and follows the great crusades/heresy storyline
-empire policies and dialog for trader and tech races
-custom predefined characters for major races and notable minor races
-galactopedia entries for new additions
-optimized ship designs and research pathing

The Mod:

v.13: https://www.dropbox.com/s/c541ohcyqqrha ... 3.zip?dl=0
NOTE: v.13 was an experimental version. This package contains all my dev notes a well.

v.10: https://www.dropbox.com/s/oykja20ab6rf3 ... 0.zip?dl=0

Mod Variants:
Swizzle's Fleet battle mod: This variant focuses on shorter games with more intense and prolific fleet battles.

v.1 Fleet Battle: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/q3gw3lnyweys ... 9CbLsqqCUa

Contact info:
Email - mensreamc@gmail.com
steam - foughthelaw&won
Error reports and feedback welcome.

[mensrea]

Here is the info on the mods resources.

I.Strategic resources

A.Ore
1.Metal bearing materials.
2.Necessary for colony growth.

B.Rare Ores
1.Ores which are valuable but typically not abundant.
2.Only necessary for ship construction; trace amounts are found enough in normal ores to maintain civil industry.

C.Minerals
1.Valuable, non-metallic mined products.
2.Necessary for colony growth.

D.Rare Minerals
1.Minerals which are valuable but typically not abundant.
2.Only necessary for ship construction; trace amounts are found enough in normal minerals to maintain civil industry.

E.Gas
1.Though gas can be produced through various industrial processes involving minerals this unique mention pertains only to vast, highly economical sources.
2.Primarily a source of propellant utilized in early uranium powered spaceships.

F.Food
1.Calories for creatures. Any species which managed to make it this long has learned how to produce the stuff without much effort. However, hydroponic labs do not compare to vast tracts of fertile soil cost-wise, and many times the availability or lack there of of cheap food can make or break a developing colony.
2.Necessary for colony growth.

G.Water
1.Water. While quite plentiful in a gross sense, nothing beats positively enormous amounts of it concentrated in one location.
2.Necessary for colony growth.

H.Uranium
1.A radioactive element. One of the most energy dense substances in the universe and ideal for the generation of electricity.
2.Necessary in fission and quantum reactors, weapons and armor construction.

I.Hydrogen
1.The most abundant element in the universe. Despite this ranking its value to industry is enormous and large, concentrated deposits are a sought after resource for both civil and military purposes.
2.End game fuel used in fusion reactions, the byproducts of which are used as a propellant.

II.Luxury resources

A.Helium-3
1.A stable isotope of helium. Able to be fused for net positive energy using relatively primitive technology. Helium-3's properties make it an extremely coveted source of fuel for civil industry.

B.Biodiversity
1.Flora and fauna. Everything from food, to medicine, to mind altering substances. Can be caged, clipped or bottled to be sent off world to the delight of the masses.

C.Hydrocarbons
1.A diverse range of substances stretching from methane to heavy, sour crude. Useful in many industrial applications, and possessing a high EROI in such abundant quantities.

D.Artifacts
1.Remnants of bygone civilizations. They range from artsy and ethnic to advanced and deadly. Sought after by numerous institutions and individuals.

E.Rare gas
1.Though industrial processes enable civilizations to manufacture certain less abundant gasses to an extent, sizable deposits of such gasses are never the less a massive boon to industries that exploit them effectively.

F.Gold
1.Its here because I apparently cannot remove it. Moving on...

G.Exotic matter
1.Substances that exist beyond the fringe of current scientific knowledge. While novel uses may exist for them, they are mostly relegated to study at civil R&D institutions, which for a intergalactic empires constitute a notable amount of economic activity.

H.Thorium
1.The second most energy dense form of matter in the universe. Thorium can be utilized in cheap, effective, and safe reactors. Though thorium is less effective than uranium, its less destructive byproducts lead to its widespread appreciation and utilization among civilian populations.

I.Precious metals
1.Gold, silver and platinum, and in tremendous quantities. Though civil and military industry can generally work with small enough quantities of the stuff to guarantee a supply given even the most uneconomical sources, amounts this large are a tremendous boon to society. Further, their use in establishing stable monetary systems in certain cultures cannot be overlooked.

J.Industrial goods
1.Manufactured products for use in civil industry. Though colonies are more than capable of producing their own goods given enough time and population a prefabricated source of such necessities certainly expedites the process of development.

K.Consumer goods
1.Manufactured products intended to be used by civilians for private purposes, chiefly entertainment related ones. Whether booze, video games, or all terrain hover craft, everyone wants to have fun, and these products make it happen. An intergalactic trade in a variety of consumer goods is the basis of a healthy economy, and the diversity of products and prices are especially appealing to civilians.

III.Rare luxuries

A.Dust
1.Masses of inert nano particle sized robots. Imbued with programming that makes them susceptible to the neural impulses of an organism that consumes them, these robots are then able to manipulate the form and function of that organism to suit its will. Depending on the cognitive abilities of the organism, they range from helpful (keeping teeth clean) to incredible (prolonging life, enhancing strength, dexterity and intelligence).

B.Entheogens
1.Flora and fuana which possess powerful mind altering properties which range from the profound to the practically supernatural. Unique properties in the soil and atmoshpere of certain planets make reproduction of these substances very expensive. However, when grown or raised in their native habitats the entheogens are not only far more profitable but also more potent.

C.STC's
1.STC's, or Standard Template Constructs, were used extensively by advanced civilizations which dominated the galaxy before the Age of Strife. A complete STC would be capable of producing everything a colony needs to not only survive but thrive an almost any environment. Unfortunatly, this one has succumbed to entropy and has limited functionality. Nevertheless, the tech can be replicated and distributed to other worlds for further study and occasional use.

D.Rare artifacts
1.Remnants of ancient civilizations which contain extremely sophisticated technology, often verging on the incomprehensible. This technology holds the key to advancing societies at exponential rates and is extremely valuable.

E.Armillaria fruit
1.Not so much a fruit as a fungus. The Armillaria organism has in several instances managed to take over entire worlds, crowding out, consuming, or converting native organisms until the whole surface of the planet (and possibly the crust and mantle) is one giant fungal organism. In its dominance the immense thermal, chemical and solar energy it is capable of gathering actually becomes a liability; this fruit is the product of that liability. Though it is perhaps one of the most energy dense forms of matter known it is also edible and quite tasty, leading it to become valuable for survival and culinary delight.

Here is the info on the mods governments.

I.Authoritarian: Authoritarian governments are characterized by their de-facto power over legislative, judicial and executive functions. They control a population by atomizing them and using various policing agencies to keep them in line. Authoritarian governments come in many forms but are defined by their emphasis on a monopoly on force rather than legitimacy.

A.Fascist: Fascist governments usually concentrate their power in a monolithic party. The lower echelons of the party are usually stocked with bureaucrats, loyalists and collaborators who aided the party in its rise to power. Party leaders are usually selected through nepotism, though occasionally appointees are selected for merit. Relative to other authoritative governments fascists are usually well organized and progressive.

B.Theocratic: Theocracies are defined by their zealous devotion to a religion. Fanatics seize control of the government to administer their people based off tenants espoused by their faith. Religious figures are usually the leaders and power players in this form of government and they rule with absolute authority, typically forbidding their citizens from openly participating in any faith but the states. The effects of clergy controlling a state range from stifling to outright repressive and such states tend to suffer from a lack of intellectual pursuits and scientific progress.

C.Despotic: Despotic governments are defined by the will of the despot (or despots) who wields absolute power over their people and the state. Unlike other authoritarian forms of government despots unabashedly embrace monopoly of force as the justification for their existence and make almost no motions towards establishing legitimacy. Features of despotic governments are as varied as the personalities of the despots.

D.Monarchical: Monarchies typically rule through divine right and heredity though some monarchs go as far as establishing basic codes of conduct to satisfy a fraction of their citizens desires for fair treatment. The worst monarchs are little more than dictators and the best can actually be quite benevolent. Monarchs are typically selected according to their blood ties to the leader while their advisers and underlings range from nobles to businessmen to military personnel or simple bureaucrats.

II.Totalitarian: Totalitarian governments not only exercise absolute authority over legislative, judicial and executive functions but maintain the right to manipulate every aspect of their society to achieve their goals. Unlike authoritarian governments who rule principally through force totalitarians emphasize legitimacy; belying all their motives is an all encompassing ideology which drives their states direction. That is not to say that they will hesitate to use force to maintain their hold over the population as vast networks of spies, loyalists and collaborators often diligently root out any who dare oppose the will of the decision makers.

A.Communist: Communist governments are typically loosely organized around the principles expounded by Karl Marx. However, due to varying interpretations and observance of his works they can range from true communists to communists in name only. On average they tend to purport to work to better society and specifically, the lives of laborers and soldiers. There is an extreme emphasis on legitimacy and it is established in the administration and investment in government institutions that address every aspect of society ranging from medicine to education. This is not to say that opponents of the status quo will not be silenced by the states military and police arms, but rather that legitimacy is the governments first line of defense. Government control over the economy is absolute and focuses on the ideal "to each according to his needs and from each according to his abilities". Power is focused in tight-knit omnipotent parties, typically staffed with high ranking party members whose careers are an expression of ridged adherence to party lines and ideals.

B.Technocratic: Technocratic governments are organized around principles of efficiency and technical ability. Like Communist governments in their approach towards economic matters yet very unlike them in their approach to politics and the governments role in most institutions. Rather then deriving their power from an underlying political ideology they are driven purely by engineering and scientific ideals, aiming to build societies that are lead by the best people in their fields who are selected for their positions based on merit rather than connections or adherence to certain politically motivated ideals. Technocratic governments see themselves as the de-facto providers for all peoples in their society not based off politics but instead technical skill, know-how and in extreme circumstances, possession of all means of production. Institutions are effectively individualistic in this respect, never holding one party line other than their belief that the best and brightest are the ones who ought to rule. However, determination over who is best and brightest and what is the most efficient decision is often the greatest (and only) point of contention, with those who disagree with the logical consensus often being politely told at gunpoint to stand down.

C.Imperial: Imperial forms of government are organized around an emperor and vast bureaucracies that follow the laws and edicts of the land to the letter. Politically, no parties or outwards expression of political ideals are allowed. Dissidents are relegated to unessential roles that leave them with no soap box and rebels are ruthlessly put down by massive police and military institutions. Imperial forms of government would be considered strictly authoritative if not for their relatively new spin: that of being organized around the ideal that the empires leading race has a manifest destiny that demands that they alone inherit the galaxy. To these ends the government is very inclusive and the whole of societies institutions are driven to expound on the development of every member of the race to be as great as they can be - so long as they strive only to better the lot of their race and empire. Politics are viewed as irrelevant so long as society functions and effectively pursues its mission of intergalactic dominance. Economic control is only loosely established by those merchants and corporate titans who have personally sworn fealty to the empire and are in effect bureaucrats who have earned their place through deed.

D.Chaotic: Chaotic governments are very similar to Theocratic governments, with the exception of the Gods of Chaos actually bestowing gifts upon their followers and supplicants. To spread their faith and bring about their ultimate plan for the universe the gods of Chaos, Tzeentech, Khorne, Nurgle and Slaanesh, all seek to court the beings of the material universe. Those mortal individuals are granted powers beyond their wildest dreams, but they invariably advance the agenda of their patron god, and often the cause of Chaos undivided. They are in turn rewarded with greater amounts of knowledge, strength, resilience and pleasure. The most powerful and devoted become champions, gathering groups of slaves and lesser followers together to wage war, seek plunder and destabilize the universe. The greatest of the Champions become lords, and may even achieve daemonhood, a state which grants them eternal life and powers that rival those of entire armies. Societies that embrace Chaos worship are depraved hellscapes ridden with inequality, slavery and suffering. Only the strongest individuals prevail, and indeed they are the only members of a Chaotic society that matter, with the remainder being locked in inescapable bondage or gibbering madness.

III.Liberal: The hallmark of liberal governments is tolerance: even the most radical beliefs and persuasions are allowed given they do not impede anyone else's rights. Typically these governments are controlled by constituents either through direct democracies or the election of representatives. Direct democracies could be considered to be the most extreme form of liberal governance while republican forms could be considered the least (though it does depend on the disposition of the representatives).

A.Democratic: Democratic governments derive their legitimacy through the use of voting rights being granted to either the entire population or sections of it that are deemed to be more responsible and educated. Though voting can be achieved by many means, the end goal is to put decision making into the hands of as many people as possible and derive policy from their conclusions. Though democracy is often associated with representative democracy, the latter emphasizes mass rule while the former focuses on the stability brought about by having elected leaders rather than the body politic decide on individual issues. While empowering, true democratic governments often rely on the opinion of those who are uninformed, misinformed, or just simply idiotic. At its best civic leaders arise and lead voting blocs in some cohesion; at its worst the mob rules and the minority suffers.

B.Republican: Republican governments rule by means of representatives who are normally elected but occasionally appointed based on merit or necessity. These representatives range from being empowered above their constituents until their term expires to being at the whim of recall elections, censure and replacement through no confidence votes. Typically seen as a more stable variant due to the lack of "mob rule" that is more prevalent when the people themselves vote on individual issues. Republican governments also carry the benefit of being more affordable to manage as the masses only need to be mobilized occasionally rather than every time an issue arises that requires government attention.

C.Unification: Unification governments are a modern variant on the classic democratic model. However, in effect they function more like republican forms of government with one major exception: sophisticated software rather than sentient representatives acts as the interpretor between the people and their government. The votes of all citizens are taken into consideration but in the end open source algorithms determine the most fair and logical course of action which is weighted according to public opinion. The major downside to the system is also its cornerstone: sentients are wary of machine intelligence, even the relatively crude sort used to manage the decision making process. While software can be made open-source to partially mitigate the effect of inherent distrust, it is often only a matter of time before popular or influential individuals manage to find a way to leverage their charisma to claim a disproportionate amount of power in such a society.

D.Neuristic: Neuristic governments represent peak democracy enabled through the employment of sentient, thinking machines and nano-bot networks. The first step is to inoculate all members of the population with nanites. Once inoculated, the nanites form a networked connection with the central AI which is then able to interpret the wishes and desires of every networked individual. This data is then used to determine a very precise balance and grant as many people as possible their desires without infringing on the remainder. The system is almost perfect with the exception of almost completely depriving people of their right to privacy. Further, the system itself is cause for concern among Luddites and those who have a natural (and perhaps not unwarranted) fear of sentient thinking machines.

IV.Anarchy: Little "a" anarchy. There are no official laws, regulations or ruling bodies. It's every man for himself and only the strong survive, typically using their might to hold bits of society together tenuously, though not for very long. Only the hardiest of races can manage to keep themselves together under such a system.

[necaradan666]

I'd suggest getting an image of the 40k galaxy to use as a galaxybackdrop... purely so the eye of terror is visible.

[mensrea]

That's a great idea, man. I'm definitely gonna do that, I just need to find an image that matches up right.

On that note the galaxy map thing may not work out so I'm just going to do my own version until something better comes along. Keep in mind that I will absolutely not put as much work into it as Osito has, I mostly just want a setting for the crusade and an accurate portrayal of the Sol system as it is in that era.

I was actually messing around with scenarios a little last night. I need to review the modding guide again but I'm pretty sure that they will have to be loaded as saved games or else all colonies/starting systems, etc are reset to null and randomized. Whatever. I will just pack up multiple saved games on different difficulties so players aren't stuck with the campaign being too hard or too easy. The only downside to that being that players will have to find their save folder which is different for steam and normal retail versions.

I'm sure we can work something out, though.

[mensrea]

The most recent update has broken my new facilities, which were all based off pirate bases. I will just remove them in the next update. I also need to address empire relations. People don't seem to hate each other as much as they should.

It would be really cool to have more options when it comes to facility modding. There is so much modders could do with that...adding arcologies that improve development, super-computer complexes that improve research...so many possibilities.

The eye of terror map doesn't seem to work out. Firstly, I can't find a good image of the galaxy in WH40k that's not all marked up (if someone can point me to one I would be thankful). Second, an actual map the size of the Milky Way galaxy would necessarily contain millions of colonizable worlds and take a long time to cross even in the context of the lore. I'm thinking of just concentrating on a section of the spiral arm where Sol is located. I just set up a pretty nice scenario centered on the Imperium following that idea and will pack it up with the next update.

I also had an idea in regards to dealing with lag. One thing that I think would mitigate lag issues more than increasing ship size is increasing the amount of cargo that can be held by cargo bays. Doing that would drastically cut down on the number of freighters needed, probably having a huge impact on lag reduction. The same could be said of passenger ships. Any thoughts on this?

[Vargius]

I've been lurking on this forum since I first bought Distant Worlds in 2011. I just registered to say that this is AWESOME.
I've been playing Battlefleet Gothic (probably only one of a very very few in my country) since around 99/00 and been a fan of the 40K universe ever since.
There is a defunct Battlefleet Gothic mod on this very site that has some ship units primarily of the Imperial ships you could use?

Great work! Keep it up!

[Vargius]

OK, so I found the file which contains the graphics I talked about. It's included in as an attachment in a post there and I have downloaded it. It has a birds eye view of the BFG ships.

I don't know who has authored this. I just found this file in the Battlefleet Gothic post.

Contact me if you want me to email it to you. It is too big to include as an attachment here.

[Vargius]

I went through the file and picked out all the relevant graphics. Some of them are great, some of them not so much. But at least its a start. I've included it as an attachment.

[2guncohen]

I did some time ago some research for a 40K mod.
Ill see with what i can help you. [;)]

[Vargius]

OK, I've made a small add on to your mod for those of you who wish to play with some of the ships from Battlefleet Gothic using the graphics I included earlier.

Note: That this small add on only includes shipsets for the Imperials, Eldars and the Orcs and that the shipset is NOT complete meaning you will still see some vanilla graphics for your race.



INSTALLATION: Simply extract this .zip in your \Distant Worlds Universe\Customization\WH40K\image\units\ directory AFTER you have installed the main mod to your \Distant Worlds Universe\Customization\ directory.

[Vargius]

Sorry here is the mod. I tried to add a picture as well.

DOWNLOAD THIS ATTACHMENT TO INSTALL THE ADD ON.


Sorry for my use of caps lock. It is not intended to be rude, only to get the point across for those who quickly scroll down.

[Vargius]

Haha, after I have done some playtesting I see that the ships behavoiur is a bit strange as they are apparently flying sideways. I'll see if I can fix this somehow.

EDIT: I've now uploaded a fixed version. This also includes engines for the Imperials and the Orcs. I've NOT added engines to the eldars as they rely mainly on solar sails. I'll leave it to the author of the mod to decide if they should have engines or not.

[mensrea]

Thank you for the contributions and the encouragement! While you were working I was working as well, and used those images you provided to make new images for the Imperium. I ended up modifying many images to keep to the same theme and am not quite done yet but I will use the ones I have for the Imperials. Though I must say that we basically used the same models and seem to be on the same page lore wise. I mostly just added some new models for civilian ships/bases. I had not begun to work on Orks or Eldar but those are perfect choices, so I incorporated them. I welcome all contributions and will make sure to give credit where it is due.

Anyway, here is the change log. Keep in mind that you can update your mod and keep playing your saved games. You will see the new art but wont see the new changes mechanics wise. Sadly, I didn't have time to do the scenario for this one as it got a little messed up from some changes. I will try to pack it with the next update.

I would also like to say that further graphics may be unnecessary. The major races are covered and since no publication has yet to cover the minor races I think the vanilla models will do. The only other models I needed were for Chaos forces, but the red ones Vargius provided are perfect.

The update is attached to the opening post.

V.2 CHANGELOG
The Imperium Update
-Made races and race families hate each other more
-Fixed racial portrait problem (report and fix courtesy of 12_monkeys)
-Removed pirate based facilities
-Added some new wonders
-Reduced troop costs again via logistics research
-Added graphics for Imperial, Ork and Eldar ships courtesy of Vargius Battlefleet Gothic pack (good stuff!)
-Added Imperium troop graphics and some filler Ork ones
-Made planetary shields cost a lot more up front and in maintenance
-Made planetary ion cannons cost much more upfront and in maintenance. They are also much, much better
-Doubled the amount of cargo that can fit in cargo modules
-Added custom dialog for the Orks and the Imperium
-Added custom policies for the Imperium (beware - they routinely perform exterminatus!)
-Made armor=Astartes and special forces=Eversor assassins for the Imperium. Astartes weren't seeing much action as special forces
-Removed energy requirement for firing missiles. Doubled uranium and mineral resource requirements when constructing missile modules

[Vargius]

Good to hear. Keep up the good work! [8D]

[Glymner]

Wouldn't lowering the fuel consumption and the resource need for components, lower the amount of freighters needed? I think the ai is thinking about the amount fuel cells rather than the capacity and range, since my military ships never get any fuel when they are built.

Plus, Larger cargo bays means more space on ports for freighters to fill. I may wrong though.

[mensrea]

Glymner, I had already lowered fuel consumption of reactors substantially. As far as lowering resource requirements, we shall see. I kind of like how it is now, though, as I frequently strain my resources even with a fleet of construction ships working round the clock. That makes expansion necessary, but to expand you need more ships, food and water, which puts more pressure on getting new ore and mineral deposits, and so forth. This way I'm not just going to war arbitrarily, as my aggression is substantiated by a real need for resources.

I'm not sure what you mean with the fuel cells bit, could you please clarify/elaborate?

As far as there being more space on ports to fill, yes, but there is always infinite space on planets, so nothing really changes in that regard. Freighters will always be doomed to an endless, eternal commute but now you should theoretically need half as many to achieve the same results.

I understand that there will be unforeseen consequences but I'm not going anywhere soon and will be at hand to sort them out when needed (as long as I get reports on whats going on).

On another note: should I try to add racial victories? I feel that only complete conquest of all enemies/potential enemies is grounds for proclaiming victory. That or just being so ridiculously powerful that the outcome of any invasion is beyond a shadow of a doubt. However, that's me, and I'm sure other people have different ideas about what constitutes victory.

[Solarius Scorch]

ORIGINAL: mensrea
On another note: should I try to add racial victories? I feel that only complete conquest of all enemies/potential enemies is grounds for proclaiming victory. That or just being so ridiculously powerful that the outcome of any invasion is beyond a shadow of a doubt. However, that's me, and I'm sure other people have different ideas about what constitutes victory.

I like racial victories, because they force you to adapt your strategy. And I think you exaggerate with the "exterminate is the only option" - it's not really, after all no major civilization was really destroyed at the time, so we can say nobody won. Besides, xenocide is only important for some factions (I think just Imperium and Necrons, and Tyranids in a way), others have different objectives.

[mensrea]

Well, Orks, Eldar and Imperium should definitely have racial victories. What about the minor races? Really, their victories were either in just staying alive by spreading out or being strong enough to repel invasions on the worlds they had. Any ideas for minor race victory conditions?

[Vargius]

Minor race victory conditions could be some of the ones we have seen before like; kill more units than you lose, control x amount of the universes population/territory, achieve free trade with all races etc.

[anthonykevinluke]

Hi Mensrea, just found this mod, looks good; however, I noted the download is only 15.2MB - is that right? The other mods (star Trek etc.) are much larger (300-400MB) in size?

Cheers,

Tony