Star Trek - The Final Frontier (Beta 1.0)

[rjord2021]

Distant Worlds Universe includes the option to play the game in a pre-warp society.
If this option is taken this means the people of Earth have not discovered warp drive.

Hence Zefram Cochrane will be in the mod with his warp capable spaceship... The Phoenix.
But before The Phoenix is built warp core technology will have to be researched and the resource verterium cortenide manufactured as it is a composite material used to fashion The Phoenix's warp coils.

For verterium cortenide to be manufactured you need 2 minerals to exist on Earth.

1. polysilicate verterium
2. monocrystal cortenum


Warp coils are structures within the warp drive nacelles that are bombarded by high energy plasma which then results in the formation of the subspace "bubble" in which the ship travels at warp speed. The coils surround the warp core which is made of tungsten-cobalt-magnesium.

The warp core reactor is then fueled by:
1. Matter - liquified deuterium
2. Anti-matter - liquified anti-deuterium

Dilithium crystals are used to moderate the combining of the matter and anti-matter and sending the resulting energy to the warp coils in the ncacelles.

Therefore for warp engines to be a reality on your ships you need the following:

1. polysilicate verterium
2. monocrystal cortenum
3. Tungsten
4. Cobalt
5. Magnesium
6. Deuterium - matter
7. Anti-deuterium - antimatter
8. Dilithium crystals

You need a supply of these 8 items on your planet at all times to produce the warp core as well as the verterium cortenide needed to construct the inner layer of the warp nacelles. Without a good supply of these resources you are not going to have warp engines and you are not going anywhere fast.

If you run out of any of these resources and all your ships need refueling you will have to rely on trade to barter for the much needed resource. Therefore it is important to monitor your resources at all times.

And so it begins with the first item in the research tree and first 8 essential resources that you need plenty in stock.


I have now added the Phoenix into the mod and worked out some story lines of what happens to The Phoenix as well as Zefram Cochrane and explain how someone who was prior to Archer's era is in the Kirk era.... think the Metamorphosis TV episode.

[rjord2021]

Work in progress on the Research Titless for Starfleet in this case.
There will be different research screens depending on race being played.

[rjord2021]

Changes to the way warp drive propulsion systems are researched and added to Federation ships.

By default in Distant Worlds Universe the ability to research hyperdrive is disabled until you do some exploring around the system.
This has been changed in this mod as Starfleet did not travel around the Sol system and then find ancient ruins which gave them the secrets to warp drive.

What has changed?

In the Starship Research Screen you now have the ability to begin research on warp propulsion systems whenever you like as they are no longer disabled.

Before I release the mod I will be adding 2 more research steps in front of what I already have.

However at the moment, you begin research into warp drive using the following research projects.

1. Research : Plasma Injector Systems
2. Research : Reaction between Matter and Anti-matter
3. Research : Warp Core Main Reactor
4. Research : Warp Drive Propulsion System

During the research into propulsion technology the warp engines will begin giving you a top speed of Warp Factor 1.

Additional research and upgrades will give you additional warp speed until you reach the maximum warp speed for the Kirk TV era of Warp Factor 6.

I know in the Archer era they had the Warp-5 engine however with this timeline the Archer era never occurred so the Kirk era will get up to Warp 6 which is the maximum safe speed for a Constitution class starship.

[rjord2021]

When Warp Drive has been researched and is available this will unlock the Earth's first starship The Phoenix.
The Phoenix will be the first warp capable ship seen leaving Earth.... not the Enterprise.

The character Zefram Cochrane will appear on Earth and will board The Phoenix and make Earth's first warp flight into space.

There will be No First Contact with the Vulcans.
There will be no appearance by the Enterprise-D, Captain Picard and the Borg Sphere.
These will be added later in the role play as a nod to the movie Star Trek VI - First Contact.

After The Phoenix successfully achieves Warp using Cochrane Warp Drive, a new Research begins into Warp Drive Factor 1 Speed.

When this finishes this will unlock the Constitution class starships.

At this stage the USS Enterprise will be built and the adventure begins.

[rjord2021]

Prior to researching Warp Drive Technology, research will be done on the following:

- Research into Mark I Radio Telescope Operations on the Moon Jan 1, 2062
- Research into Mark II Radio Telescope Operations - enhanced
- First planet discovered in a nearby system. Planet is called Terra Nova. Talks begins to colonize the planet.

This gives Earth the reason to research warp drive so they can explore and potentially colonize Terra Nova.


Zefram creates historic first flight at warp speed.
Research begins into warp capable scientific probes
A Scientific Probe with warp engine launched towards Terra Nova and is lost.
The Enterprise is built and crew and Captain assigned.
The Enterprise explores the system cataloging resources in the system.
The Enterprise travels to Terra Nova looking for the missing probe.

Research into interstellar probes MK I - which are launched to nearby stars
Research into interstellar probes MK II "Nomad" series.
Nomad Probe is launched... is then lost and presumed destroyed.
Terra Nova hit by asteroid whose fallout eventually kills all the adult colonists leaving the children.
Kirk is given command of the enterprise and his first mission is to Terra Nova
This is an Archer era mission to Terra Nova (Season 1 episode 6) now in the Kirk era.

[rjord2021]

More planetary enhancements.......

The original image on the left
The modified and larger image on the right used in the mod.

[rjord2021]

Testing the new colors for water worlds

[rjord2021]

All planets will be getting a makeover in this mod and created from scratch.

Each planet that is capable of having an atmosphere will show an atmosphere around the planet.


Created in photoshop..... 3 different planets with one texture

The blue planet took 10 minutes to create
The other planets took less than a minute each.

These gas giants have an atmosphere around them which is composed of 80-95% Hydrogen and 5-20% Helium...gases which are poisonous to us. The gas giants do have a solid core but you cannot send a landing party down there as the pressure is too great.

[rjord2021]

Test within the mod with shadows.....

The 3 boxes shows some of the steps in Photoshop used to create the texture using Photoshop's gradient tool and FSX tools.

With this test successfully over the planets will be made bigger and the atmospheres enhanced.

[rjord2021]

When picking the color atmosphere for a world which has 50% water and 50% land the question would be what color should the atmosphere be.

Neptune for example is blue but not because it is covered in water but due to the trace of methane in the atmosphere absorbs the red light from the sun but reflects the blue light from the Sun back into space.

There are 3 factors which determine what a planet looks like from space.

I eventually decided based on the opening of Star Wars IV where the desert world of Tatooine has a blue atmosphere not a brownish atmosphere.

Version 2 of the atmosphere effect will have the color the same blue as the Tatooine shot as this was a very effective look.

[rjord2021]

Adding a Star Wars Tatooine type atmosphere to one of my new desert planets.
Colors still to be tweaked.

[rjord2021]

A slightly different version of the planet this time with the planet having an atmosphere above the planet as well as the blue line around the planet.

In my view this looks a little more realistic.

[rjord2021]

Q and Guinan have known each other since the 22nd century and Q has indicated that her name of Guinan is only her current alias and that when he first met her she had used another name.

Guinan has shown she is well able to defend herself from Q and it has been suggested that Q is somewhat afraid of Guinan.

Both Q and Guinan have been added to the mod to explain their part in how the Borg arrive in the Alpha Quadrant.

The picture below shows the race on the right known as the Caeliar who were indirectly responsible for the creation of the Borg.

[rjord2021]

How did Guinan first meet the Borg?

In 2265, the Borg assimilated the homeworld of the El-Aurians.... a race that Guinan belongs to. Only a handful of survivors managed to escape and tried to find refuge on other worlds.

The El-Aurian system is in the Delta Quadrant and Guinan and the other El-Aurians escaped to the Alpha Quadrant.

This mod will follow the El-Aurians as they establish themselves on a new homeworld in the Alpha Quadrant unaware that a Borg ship has been tracking them.

[rjord2021]

Q has been added to the mod and for the first time in Distant Worlds Universe you can play as Q himself.

To work out how to add Q to the mod I watched the first episode of The Next Generation as well as downloaded the script for the episode. Reading the script I discovered some interesting details I had not been aware of about the original concept for TNG. This has actually given me an idea for something from TNG which may be added to the mod.

One problem I had was that there were only 7 notable members of the Q seen and 6 of them will not be in this mod.

The only Q that you will see is the one played by John de Lancie

This means that I will only have one character Q in the mod.

So how do I have different characters for the Q race with only one Q?

I worked out an interesting way of adding characters to appear with Q which will be different to any other race in the mod and it will highlight that you are dealing with someone as dangerous as Q.

Spaceships. Does Q have a spaceship?

Actually he does and I have added it to the mod with 4 other variations.

Q is one of my all time favorite characters in Star Trek so I am really happy to have worked out how to add him in to the Kirk era.

Since the Q are beings who use time travel, it will be a slightly older version of Q in the mod than the one seen in Episode 1 of TNG. He will have done something while time travelling which will end up with him being sent into the Kirk era.

[rjord2021]

Q spaceship (Work in Progress)

[rjord2021]

The mod currently has 65 playable races included.

These are as follows with a few more possibly being added later from the Mirror Mirror universe:

Federation
Klingon
Romulan
Vulcan
Khan
Borg
Cardassians
Bajorans
Q
Ferengi
Andorians
Jem’Hadar
Trill
Xindi
Vorta
Talosians
Betazoid
Organians
Tholians
The Gorn
Tamarians
Tellarites
El-Aurians
Metrons
Nausicaans
Cheron
The Salt Vampire
Breen
Orions
Denobulans
Acamarians
Roylan
Lurian
Bolians
Caitian
Edosian
Arcturian
Fesarians
Dominion
Kzinti
Harry Mudd
Thasians
Elasians
 Eminarians
Fabrinians 
The Gideons
Iotians
Kalandans
Kelvans
Landrusians
Medusans
Melkotians
Metrons
Platonians
 Sarpeidons
Scalosians 
Troyians
Zetarians
Zeons
Suliban
Catullan
Deltan
Capellans 
Sheliak
Mirror, Mirror Terran Empire

[rjord2021]

Please let me know if I missed any races that you think should be in the mod and that are not in the Delta Quadrant.

[rjord2021]

I have added the Xindi to the mod ..... however there will be changes.

With the timeline of this mod all the events covered in Season 3 of the Archer era never happened since First Contact with the Vulcans did not eventuate.

I have never been a fan of how the Xindi species were portrayed in the series and the threat to Earth should have been Romulan and not Xindi.
Focusing on the Romulans and Klingons would have been a much better idea for the writers.
Season 3 was practically all Xindi and I seriously believe this ruined Star Trek for many.

However I am happy to put the Xindi in the mod but as I said there will be changes.

I am not going to say what those changes are and will leave it a secret until you guys get to play the mod.

[rjord2021]

With the pictures of characters and races I will not be showing the standard pictures you see on the Internet but instead am going to have a different and more interesting look.

Example below for the Talosians.

A lot of work is also going into the dialog you will have with these races with the dialog being more what you would expect from that race.

For instance, while the following phrase would work for some races outside Star Trek you would never hear a Klingon say:

"Hi funny alien! Klingons we are.Friends with you, we be!"

The dialog is being customized for all races and of course you will have the Borg only being interested in assimilating you not wishing to trade rare items from the Delta Quadrant.

Speaking of the Borg a lot of work is going into how they interact with other races with their entire focus being to add others to the collective rather than make allies and friends across the Quadrant.


The Talosians