Star Trek - The Final Frontier (Beta 1.0)

[rjord2021]

ORIGINAL: Jagdtiger14

*DW:U is currently the very best space-themed 4x out there. You would be missing out on a great experience by waiting.

Hi Twigster! I'm not surprised anyone with this game would say its the best, but what do you base your opinion on that this game is better than Polaris Sector or Stellaris? I see Polaris Sector has a Star Wars mod, but of course the Star Trek world is much better...so that's my reason, but I would like to hear what others say their reasons are.
Thanks!

Have a look here

tm.asp?m=4130699

[rjord2021]

My next post will explain how the characters are added to this mod and how crew transfers work.....

but before I explain all that below is a picture I have photoshopped showing who is likely to be the first Klingon Captain you will encounter in combat.

Rebel Klingon Captain Koronin on board the Klingon Bird-of-Prey Quundar

Captain Koronin is one of the many Klingons in the mod with the Klingon ridges on their forehead while most Klingons in this mod will have the smooth forehead as seen in the TOS series.

[rjord2021]

Just a quick redesign of the in game Role Play card as I was having a few issues with the previous layout.

[rjord2021]

The following is used in the role play and is entirely optional for players of this mod.
First and foremost I am developing this mod the way I want to play it and am going to make it available for those who want to try it with or without role playing active.

When Distant Worlds Universe has finished building the USS Enterprise it is not a matter of clicking a mouse and straight away heading out of space dock.

The picture below shows the initial procedures (version 1) I follow with each step completed by a dice throw.
This should only take a few minutes to complete all 7 steps.
While the Enterprise is in space dock there is no room to begin construction of the next ship so you need to move this ship out using these steps before space is available for the next ship to be built.

I have almost completed a revised version with 2 additional steps necessary before a ship can leave dock.

Some may look at the following and think this complicates things.
It actually adds to the immersion while playing the mod in Distant Worlds

Once all 7 steps are complete you then begin the Shakedown cruise at impulse speed before returning to Earth to be fitted with warp engines when the technology is available.

[rjord2021]

Captain's Log

Finally after 6 months the Enterprise has been completed and I have beamed aboard to meet key personnel and the bridge crew to go through last minute preparations before we leave space dock in a few hours. Our shakedown cruise is on track but not without issues with Leonard McCoy still unavailable as Chief Medical Officer for the next few weeks and Starfleet has yet to assign a First Officer to the Enterprise. Mark Piper will act as our Medical Officer for the shakedown cruise and I have been advised that Lieutenant Brent will be beaming aboard momentarily as our temporary First Officer.






It is 2264 and Mankind is about to travel further than he has gone before. Our first starship has been commissioned the USS Enterprise and is only a matter of hours away from taking it's first voyage around the solar system to test out key systems and technology. James T Kirk has completed his final briefing with Starfleet and has transported over to the Enterprise as her first Captain. The eyes of the world will be on this new Constitution class starship which will take us beyond the solar system with the imminent release of warp technology.

[rjord2021]

67 new images were added to the mod yesterday similar to the one seen in the last post and these images introduce the mod player to the range of aliens that will be encountered as the Enterprise crew travel beyond the Sol System.

Most of the images can be created in 10 or 15 minutes while others such as Kirk in one of the Enterprise's corridors as seen above took a little longer. Transferring a character into a background shot can be tricky depending on the background and steps are followed to merge the character into the background picture so it does not look like one picture copied and pasted into another.

A lot of research goes into the mod to keep the story line real....such as how to deal with the absence of Mr Spock as both Science and First Officer since First Contact with the Vulcans never happened.

After several days of scanning through episode scripts and novel highlights I discovered that crewman Lieutenant Clifford Brent played an important part in some key episodes and novels and had been relief Science Officer for Spock in several instances and his experience made him the most logical stand in for Spock.

I have worked out the scenarios on how to introduce Spock to the mod when First Contact is made with the Vulcans and established rules that need to be set when you setup the game in Distant Worlds Universe.

Different game-plays of this mod will have different results and sometimes the Federation and the Vulcans may not see eye to eye and may even go to war. In cases like this I have looked into Spock's character to see what he would do when faced with a choice to stay with his fellow crew members or go back to Vulcan in times of war.

This mod is designed so that 4 races need to be in every game.

1. Federation
2. Vulcans
3. Klingons
4. Romulans

This takes care of making sure that at some stage Spock will transfer aboard the Enterprise

[rjord2021]

The moment has arrived as the Enterprise edges slowly away from space dock and passes in close orbit around Earth as millions of people watch the special event on viewing stations around the globe. It had been indicated to Kirk by some at Federation Headquarters that an occasion like this where Mankind finally was reaching for the stars should be highlighted in a spectacular show.

Kirk fully intended to put on the best show that Earth has ever seen before the Enterprise headed out into the solar system for several months of systems shakedown.










Every planet in this mod has been given an upgrade to a higher definition and the picture above shows what the planets now look like zoomed in as far as you can get. Work is still been done on our Moon but this should be finished sometime this week.

I have heard people say that one of the things that Distant Worlds Universe lacks when compared to the modern Stellaris or Polaris Sector is the quality of Graphics. I would like to say with a little modding anything is possible as the picture above hopefully shows.

[rjord2021]

A little work in progress...... a new Sun?

[rjord2021]

I have implemented a new procedure for the portrait pictures showing the various characters and species seen in this mod. Each character will be seen in a format somewhere between a live picture and a painting or sketch. I have tested this with various characters within the Federation, Klingon and Romulan species and the character pictures will allow me to create a whole new range of characters for the mod.

[Dakkon7]

Any plans for mirror universe content?

[rjord2021]

ORIGINAL: Dakkon7

Any plans for mirror universe content?

Yes the Mirror Universe will be seen in the mod

[rjord2021]

I have tested the mod with military ships restricted to class 1 heavy cruisers, escorts and frigates.

[rjord2021]

Two Romulan Birds of Prey..... one of these was not seen on screen and I am using this design to show another Bird of Prey class that was issued after the Balance of Terror episode. The Romulans were not seen for some time after their first appearance in TOS and I am filling in some of what they would have done in that time period....especially in Distant Worlds if they go to war with another race.

[rjord2021]

The Kzinti.....an alien race of feline creatures who are a warrior culture with stolen starship technology and are raising hell all over the quadrant.

The picture shows the Kzinti from the Animated series and below is an early concept of what their ships may look like.

[border10]

Thank you rjord1 for your attention to detail and dedication. The amount of work you're pouring into this mod is just amazing! I've not played Distant Worlds for a couple of years but this mod is going to change that. Thanks again.

[rjord2021]

ORIGINAL: border10

Thank you rjord1 for your attention to detail and dedication. The amount of work you're pouring into this mod is just amazing! I've not played Distant Worlds for a couple of years but this mod is going to change that. Thanks again.

Thanks border10

[rjord2021]

I was not too happy how these guys appeared in Star Trek over the years so I have given them a 2017 makeover just for this mod.

Their world is a bit dark and gloomy and their spaceships are not much better.

[Dakkon7]

The Gorn?

[rjord2021]

ORIGINAL: Dakkon7

The Gorn?

Yes it is the Gorn.

I know that the Gorn was given a new look in the Enterprise series but the problem is that they somehow changed appearance between Archer and Kirk eras.

With this mod events that happened in the Archer era have changed and the Gorn appearance has changed slightly but hopefully you agree is a lot closer to how they appeared on TOS episodes.

The eyes are different in this picture as the Gorn live in dark environments. On the TOS episode the Gorn was on a planet in bright sunshine and the silver eyes were there to protect the Gorn's eyes from bright sunlight.

[rjord2021]

ORIGINAL: Dakkon7

Any plans for mirror universe content?

An update on this.

In the mod the characters and races will not be referred to as being from the Mirror Universe as this term was not actually used in Star Trek except for example in the Star Trek encyclopedia.

I am working on how exactly to have characters and Empires introduced in the Mirror Mirror episode added to the mod and will it be role play or as part of Distant World's itself. Would you guys like them as a playable Empire?

My understanding is that not all characters were opposites of the TOS characters but events and Empires in existence were significantly different.

The episode occoured after a transporter malfunction during an ion storm and this is something that can not be used in this mod to explain what I have planned.

I am looking at the 2009 movie as an example where the Leonard Nimoy Spock ended up in the alternate timeline and if not for Nemo would he have been able to return to the Prime Timeline.

I may not even explain where for example the Terrain Empire and others come from and handle it in the same way as the episode where the Enterprise discovers a duplicate Earth.