[A.62] {WIP} Beyond Extended Universe (DW:U 1.9.5.9)

[Blackstork]

Dev Blog for ALPHA.5 upcoming release

The current plan on the mod is obcourse releasing all races Character systems, because only once all races have their sets of characters the whole game will recieve complete shape. Character system is awesome way to redesign, redefine, deepen, add more specialization, add immersion and re-balance the race. Its subtle, but bearing big influence change.
Next release will focus on:
- Building character systems for "OP" races, making them more balanced, specialized, interesting to play while maintaining their high, but more in-line with other races good performance. This will touch Gizureans obcourse, Quameno , which are "almost" fine balance wise, will recieve Energy field specialization, this will become as slight nerf towards their capability in weapons and hi-tech fields, but overall will make them specialized, powerful research race. Other contenders are Securans, and while maintaining their powerful growth and expansion, they will have some downsides at certain character professions, that will make them, as well more specilized and bit less universal.
- The current released Beyond races are polished and well tuned after countless testing runs and adjustments, they are well balanced, but in order to finalize them Laaran, Yereni and Veey still need their Character systems, so they are also planned.
- We currently looking for more easier way to describe the characters portfolio , this may be improved at A.5 or later releases.

Plan for ALPHA.6 release (after all A.5 + adjustements will be finished) - One more new race (Archei, Mechanoid), more character systems, and full set of race-specific diplomacy music , due 1.9.5.7 update which allow setting race-specific diplo tracks.

Thats it, so far. I hope you like what been done, there is alot to do to complete final plan. Once all character systems released and game will stand firm with all new character race-specific specialization, game will pass to BETA stage, and extensive work on unique face art (following Ergreagd example with unique art faces) for each race will begin.
Thank to people who are interested in this mod, your playing ,testing and interest are appreciated.

[Blackstork]

Teaser: new Character portfolio screen which will summarize character/race leadership specialisation for each race - WIP.
Will be done for each race CS starting from ALPHA.5, and will be included into in-game pedia.

[Blackstork]

updated preview of WIP progress of new character portfolio screens in the post above to more advanced versions. New release will include Character Portfolio (CP) for all races that their CS been released before + all new CS which will be added in A.5

[bugbear777]

Thanks Blackstork, you are God. [&o]

[Blackstork]

Thanks mate, alot, i am not THAT big, though, hehe
people interest, excitement and desire to have new features this mod will provide are appreciated, and are great fuel for it development and big satisfaction and joy to me
cheers...
I'll let people to absorb, see and try things included into A.43, and will let to me gather some more CS and new CP feature, and in few days to week will release A.5 with alot of new stuff

[bugbear777]

I will play with A.43. Thanks again. You make me happy! [:)]

[Blackstork]

You are welcome mate, same here

[AKicebear]

Started playing with this tonight and so far enjoying it - love the interface refresh and also finding the AI a bit more competent. Both when I leave some task to automate, but especially among the AI empires that seem to hold their own a bit better.

By chance are pirates also affected by the AI improvement? My feeling is they are quite buffed but maybe that's just because I have bad placement in a the middle of a few vipers nests!

Comments:
- When I click a button near the top (e.g. ship design) within that new window the top left mini-icon is the generic from Das' interface update, not the race specific one. Perhaps this is intentional - not a problem for me, just pointing it out.

[Blackstork]

I'ts intended, Das mod included into Beyond, and aside from race-specific main panel design i wanted to keep his work.
So, yes, when you click and open window you will see Das design images, which are generic for all races. They have low influence on immersion/design/feel and are far from dominant, so they skipped by me - and this leaves bigger part of Das module in the game, and saves quite some extra work from me, and have non-existent influence on immersion/game
AI comes from Icemania's AI improvement mod, which latest version been fully and completely integrated into Beyond, with adaptation for some newer stuff, character influence and for newer races. Big props to Icemania, and we kinda doing the megamod thingy with all this
Pirates are influenced as well, plus i think there is some improvement that came with 1.9.5.7. I know that pirates could be very annoying now, as well some speed-oriented ai (i watched as Laaran troop ship got pirate cruiser into flee mode while been running from him damaging him into low shields hehe)

Character systems will add some more spice to races because they add alot of specialization and alot of tools to deepen racial difference, and Character systems are fit to Icemania's mod weapon/ship focuses, policies. Only 4 of them released and they might seem subtle, but they influence game alot, for example if you fight Such-Oos as Ergreagd in Beyond (its already in a.43) you better know that Such-Oos have weak spy defence, trusting, and have powerful hi-tech scientiests from Iocho, which can boost their hi-tech research up to +80-100% easilly, and some govrenors and diplomats that can make you mess bringing (it is common, really) some Tairoshans or Terapins to fight for them versus you, and its time to unleash your Kerengd beast assasins (like that one on my avatar )and kill all the leadership character flock of those snails.
As Such-Oos you should be piling everyone versus that beast who attacks or annoys you, while having backseat with your manipulating diplomats and work on make your private sector intergalactic beast, etc

Next release i plan to add more Cs (Gizzies, Sluken, Quameno, Securan(hotties!), Laaran, Yereni, Veey), CPs (for 11 races total) and it will be much less subtle and more clear to players because they will have some info on what their race can possible have, what your foe can have and use versus you, and what your secondary population could bring to your character rooster. Here comes also serious importance of desicion-making with regard to secondary population - it is the design that optimal play will account on possible complimentation of needed specialization/skills for empire from secondary populations, and this should be a part of development strategy , especially on highter complexity levels

Also I will appreciate comments about diplomacy state vs other races - should i keep the elvels as they are now or go towards much more contrast version from Icemanias Mod (only thing i didnt implemented from his mod into Beyond, yet, is the raceBiases.txt file)?

[Blackstork]

Update - i wanted to include 1.01 Alien Immersion diplo music into the ALPHA.43 release (release hotfix into .44), but there is some small bug which wont allow diplo music playing from themes, so i hope our devs will patch it soon, and i will probably release it as stand alone diplo pack with ALPHA.5 to allow its installation into DW:U default folder,

[Blackstork]

I've issued upgrade to 1.01 of 01- 14 issues of Alien Immersion Project - this means 14 races have now race-specific diplomacy music, ints reccomended to use with this mod:

Due certain 1.9.5.7 bug it will not work if installed into the theme folder, so download and install into DEFAULT game folder so it will work (and wont change anything just add files to it, so its ok)

DIPLO ONLY PACKAGE: http://www.mediafire.com/download/h59zb ... _Addon.zip
(For now instal it into default directory , not theme)

[Solarius Scorch]

Perhaps you could use this pic for the Securans somehow?

It's not green, but it screems Securan to me. (War paint maybe?)

(Attaching in z zip because lol, png not allowed. On a modding site. For a game that runs on pngs. Ingenious.)

[Blackstork]

ORIGINAL: Solarius Scorch

Perhaps you could use this pic for the Securans somehow?

It's not green, but it screems Securan to me. (War paint maybe?)

(Attaching in z zip because lol, png not allowed. On a modding site. For a game that runs on pngs. Ingenious.)

Well, it is helpful for the stage when i will be building the unique portraits, because i do that with vecotr graphics (as everything i do, i am vector artist)
The new , Beyind-version,current Seccuran picture is made by 3d modelling by 3d artist and its is amazing, and i will take it as starting point, but will use vecotr graphics for portraits (after BETA will be released).
Then this pic will be helpful, because i will need to do alot of stuffs that will make alot of different faces with Ergies character tool portrait module , and this pic giving me some hints , tips of what kind of accesory, hairs i can use and how i build them, since they are also built in vector. Thank you

[Solarius Scorch]

No problem, the pic is obviously not mine. Sadly, the author is unknown to me.

[Blackstork]

TEASER:

FINAL version of Dlakar Leadership Portfolio Graph with legend.
Those will be provided for each race both in mod thread/page and in-game as part of pedia. The screen, despite being bit complex. shows in most compact form possible racial traits, focus, balance and specialisation of race-specific character system (pre-designed rebalancing character set of approx 400 characters per race)

[Blackstork]

Let me introduce more new "features" in upcoming ALPHA.5 Release (in a week) in addition to all what been released before:
- more 7 or so charcter systems (after that it will stand on approx 4000 characters implemented )
- 11 race-specific Leadership Profile charts for old 4 and new 7 character-system-released races.
- full diplomatic music collection (which played on diplo screen) of race-specific diplo music sets for 48! races
- coversion to "Alliance" system in example to Icemanias race Bias sample, i worked with this concept alot, found it great, and developed it even more , all races will be more-less evenly devided on 4 groups, which will also determine race alignment, 4 groups stand as they are : mechanoid-friendlies, shaktuir-friendlies, 2 neutral groups which are hostile one to other. This adds spice to the game, really. Thanks again to Icemania with his awesome ideas, i working on it further and it going to be fun, i promise
- all updates from advancement of Alien Immersion project.
- minor fixes and tiny tunes
- 2 new races! (major "good" Gondor-ish anti-Shakturi alliance reinforcement):

Archei

Mechanoid race, which origins and past are barely can be guessed. Archei species are unique kind of species which are, initially of mechanic, programmed origin, consist of some unique "self-reforming", semi-liquid nano-particles, which are, though of mechanic origin as well, "live by themselves" in very similar way to human body cells. They regenerate quickly, and are quite intelligent. Their nanite-particle based construction and all their architecture, or "anathomy" demand very cold temperatures, normally hostile to many other species. They are native to Ice worlds, and they are stick mainly to them, because their cooling systems wont suffice in hotter cconditions and particles may evaporise - the process which is means slow death to Archei specimen.

Their history is blurred, but there many speculations that they might be another experiement of The Ancients, which preceded the making of Guardians. The hints for that are their strong affinity towards Guardians and utter hostility to Shakturi and The Way of Darkness goverments. Some say that they, perhaps, were designed by Ancients as another Mechanoid-like specimen which inteded to be focused on intelligence and building, because their nano-particle nature allows them to use advanced methods of mimicry and camouflage, which makes them potent infiltrators. In addition to that, their main skill is rapid nano-particle construction, which allows them to construct huge ships in incredibly short period of times, but the only and huge limiation to this their rapid building technologies viable only on very low temperature worlds.

The goverment they use opens another riddle before scientists and historicans of the universe - they use similar Super-Link management system to one used by electrovore worms Veey, allowing them to link themselves into one entity while keeping their personality, and transmit and share immence amounts of information between them instantly.

Zadaj

Zadaj, honorable, dependable insectoids are "odd bead" in the Insectoid species family - they are race of fierce, restless protector bees, which are un-commonly empathic, constructive and caring for insectoid race specimen. Their attitude made them arch-enemy of other, certain violent fierce Insectoid races as Sluken, Boskara and Gizurean. Later consider Zadaj as traitors, while Zadaj normally urge to protect softer lifeforms from so-called "brothers and sisters".

Their culture based on military honor, trust, and complete dedication. Their are zalous and fanatic to some obscene measaures, and its common to see at times Zadaj entities running protection services to softer, friendly specimen for low benefit , or no benefit at all, because such kind of behaviour is their social, ethical codex which they follow just because they were grown and educated "to be that way".

More details to come, this will be big release, might take time, and its extencive WIP.
Credits on 3d portrait race artists will be put up on release.

[ParagonExile]

So awesome!

I'll get to editing, correcting and expanding everything.

[Blackstork]

ORIGINAL: ParagonExile

So awesome!

I'll get to editing, correcting and expanding everything.

That would be great, but feel good first mate!

Once you can we need finish pedias for new gvmnts, and those 2 new races + their diplos.
Also those Leadership portfolio charts will save alot of writing. I did it at start and its nice, but also extencive. Once we will be done with basic things and there will be need and desire for augmenting graphs with lore texts we might do that, but its lowest priority because it not making things clear, and i am not sure we will need it at all. Graphs are more clear, better, shiney, and compact. May be more complex than simple old-school text for some people, but alas, DW:U initially is game for people who dont like it easy! And there is so much details in one character system, that text will parely scrap the full measure of it....

[ParagonExile]

ORIGINAL: Blackstork

That would be great, but feel good first mate!

Once you can we need finish pedias for new gvmnts, and those 2 new races + their diplos.
Also those Leadership portfolio charts will save alot of writing. I did it at start and its nice, but also extencive. Once we will be done with basic things and there will be need and desire for augmenting graphs with lore texts we might do that, but its lowest priority because it not making things clear, and i am not sure we will need it at all. Graphs are more clear, better, shiney, and compact. May be more complex than simple old-school text for some people, but alas, DW:U initially is game for people who dont like it easy!

I'll never get better, so I may as well start now :3

I don't think any text outside of the pedia entries or dialogue is really necessary. No real need as those two things convey all the pertinent information fairly concisely.

[ParagonExile]

I'll also need you to PM the relevant images to me so I can include them. The ones above aren't a high enough resolution when taken from the internet.