I'd have to agree with Fox on one point, there really is no such thing as 'complete' originality when it comes to writing these things, anything can be linked to something given the right perspective

Regards Wolfe

Fair enough, though i do ask one thing, why have you created 5 races all with the same description? i.e the Y2K one?

Regards Wolfe

One aspect that you have forgotten about, most of the wars in history didn't start with massive upheaval but stated in a way that wasn't very noticeable. The most important key to suspense is not to hide that a bullet is coming or even who is firing it but the reasons why the gun was fired by the perpetrator in the first place. Doing it any other way would create a story, regardless of how intricately formed, that could be fully understood at the half way point or even sooner effectively eliminating the desire to continue reading unless there is something more that is hidden just below the surface. That is the true key to crafting a good and enduring story, not flashy upheaval and total chaos. This is the reason why the origins of all of the major races are separated from each other in the storyline. To enable each of them to develop fully independent from one another and to allow for each of their gradual introductions as opposed to the whole notion of making people or factions entirely transparent right from the start. At this moment, if I were to post everything I know about the races of BOTE in the open forums than that transparency would destroy the very purpose of crafting the storyline in the way that I did, which is to gradually introduce the races in such a way that would ensure that even in the closing minutes of the campaign there would still be many secrets and actions left to be explained. To do anything less would be, in my mind, a disservice to all those who would be playing the game by effectively telling them that they are to dense to understand intricately an interwoven storyline so I must describe everything outright. That is part of the reason why I have left explanations of the main races so vague, to allow for the gradual revealing of them in the game itself.

So, please understand and remember what I said in my previous post Riptokus, what is happening on the surface is rarely an accurate measure of what is actually going on. If ever you need a reminder of this please feel free to read my signature because it is something that I enjoy holding to as my personal motto.

good lord 'Tact' seems to be an oft lost art these days

Regards Wolfe

So I get my own empire in the new BotE, right?
We am thy Borg. Resistance are futile. *stab* *stab*

What?

I want my own empire too. Me and thousands of orion slave girls and no one else!

@Riptokus, all changeable things are to be found in the english translation data.zip file that is linked various times in other posts here. you can change them either via plain notepad which is required with all files that cannot be edited by the provided 3 editors, namely the shiplist.data, the buildings.data and the minorraces.data.

Download this file from and start right away if you want.

Thing is that we don't believe in doing things in the same way that people have done things in the past and not just doing them with a slight twist. We believe in doing things our own way and getting them done right.

Where can I find the associations of abilities of Major races and the technological bonus of the minor races?

I can't tailor my races until I figure those out. Once I have these, I should have the initial description of all majors and minors given 20 hours of available time to work on it (Not one and a half days, but 20 working hours, which may be as little as two days, or as much as five months.)

it's all in the buildings.data file. download the latest buildings.zip linked here in a recent thread and then open it via the buildings editor downloadable here http://www.botf2.com/bote/Shared%20Docu ... _V1.05.zip .

you will see the exact differences in number in the output and costs of all buildings, e.g. the old Federation has got one of the best University Research output throughout all 9 possible building upgrade levels or the Ferengi all have the cheapest but least efficient buildings. Same goes for the ships in the shiplist.data viewable via the ship editor.

I'm afraid you need to quickly sift through all the data the 2 editors present you. In the building editor you'll also find each minor race special building where you can see its bonii there. As for the type (researcher, farmer, militarist, pacifist, etc.) of each minor race, well you would need the extended editor for this. But be aware this editor is not for the public cause it reveals too much info about the minors which should remain a little mistery in-game for the sake of fun in-game, so I pm you the link to the file and "require" you to keep it a secret .

anyway, lookin forward to reading your stories and descriptions too. In the end the more the merrier ain't it .

1. Zindoan – The Zindoan is a race ravaged by the horrors of endless wars. After centuries of constant warfare among themselves peace had finally won out. Not through diplomatic efforts but by the elimination of rival factions. The Zindoan, realizing that they had severely depleted their systems resources took to the stars for the purpose of taking what they want by force. Not long after achieving warp flight the Zindoans discovered the Cytorans whom they viewed to be a weaker race poorly utilizing the bountiful resources of their planet. The Cytorans quickly attacked and the two races have been at war ever since.

2. Cytoran – The Cytorans were once a peaceful race that eagerly sought out contact with other races without a concern for what that contact might bring. While on the brink of achieving the capability to travel to the reaches of their own solar system they encountered a Zindoan scout vessel. Eager to start diplomatic relation and exchange of technology the Cytorans kindly reached out to their new ‘neighbor among the start’, an action that the resource hungry Zindoan viewed as a sign of weakness. Soon after the Zindoan attacked with the sole purpose of wiping out the Cytorans and claiming their resources. The resourceful Cytorans adapted quickly and soon achieved advanced weapon and warp technology by reverse engineering captured Zindoan technology allowing the Cytoran to fight on equal footing. The intensity of the struggle forces the Cytoran youth to mature quickly as well as serve in the Cytoran military at a relatively young age. As a result of this there is a surprisingly large number of capable Cytoran diplomats and officials that are still in their mid-to-late teens.

3. Toali (Toe-ah-lee) – The Toali are a peaceful space faring race that has taken their love of computers to a whole new level by implanting a computer interface directly into their own skulls. This interface allows them to link directly to their research computers via uplink helmets greatly increasing their ability to do research.

4. Keshant – The Keshant are a fierce and proud warrior race that despite being a technologically advanced space fairing race still places a great amount of value in the art of Kasha, a martial art focused on the use of their double sided scythes.

5. Miari (Me-are-ee) - The Miari are a peaceful and somewhat reclusive race of amphibious people. They have developed powerful medical devices capable of gathering large amounts of data and diagnosing even previously unknown diseases with surprising speed. The technology itself is highly sought after by other races.

6. Minali (Min-ah-lee) - The Minali are a strange race of people that are afflicted by a genetic condition that stunts their growth is such a way that causes them to look like children in both size and appearance. In order to compensate the creative and industrious Minali have developed a wonderful aptitude for engineering and construction design.

7. Cybortonen - The Cybortonen are the product of an computer experiment gone awry. Long ago as an experiment Phiori (Phi-or-ee) developed a computer intelligence that became capable of advanced independent though to the point of developing something resembling curiosity. The Phiori, excited with the potential of their creation began creating robotic servants in order to aid them in their everyday lives. All was going well until one day a small number of Cybortonens developed 'operational flaws' causing them to become violent and attack their Phiori masters. The Phiori and unaffected Cybortonens quickly disabled the offending robots and quickly discovered tampering by what appeared to be an alien race. Realizing the danger of the attack happening again, the Phiori decided to dismantle all of the Cybortonens. Unfortunately, a previously undetected programming attack on the Cybortonens had been undetected and gave them the ability to rewrite and prioritize their own operating priorities. Unaware of this the Phiori proceeded with their plan only to find that a large number of Cybortonens were not obeying the command to go to the dismantling facilities. After further investigation the Phiori discovered the alterations made to the programming of the Cybortonens as well as the implications of the situation. While overjoyed that their creations were now capable of independent thought the Phiori also realized the danger of letting the Cybortonens live among them so long as the possibility for their programming to be altered remained. As a result of this the Phiori chose to relocate their creations to a nearby star system so that they would be able to continue functioning without posing a potential threat. Since that time the Cybortonens developed a means to prevent altering of their programming as well as a way to manufacture additional Cybortonen units that, upon construction are cared for and taught by Cyraonen family units until they reach a level of mental functionality comparable to adulthood. Despite being computers and robots, the Cybortonens have developed a surprisingly complex social and diplomatic system. Also, in a strange and almost twisted turn of irony, the Cybortonens excel at computer research making them valuable asset to any empire that can obtain their cooperation, whether by diplomatic methods or by force.

Xiandos (Ks-zahn-dough-s) - A strange multi eyed race native to a desert planted dotted with large oasis that serve as the cradle of the Xiandos civilization. The Xiandos themselves are a strange and enigmatic race that enjoys developing and spending their time developing complex and confusing games that have become so engrossing that few races can resist playing them. As impressive as their games may be, the engineering skills they have developed to allow for their people to expand beyond the sanctuary of the moist oasis is truly astounding and quite possibly has the potential to revolutionize the engineering of any they may choose to befriend and share their knowledge with.

Tsounda (T-sound-ah) - A race from a harsh barren world that is plagued by horrendous storms of gaseous poison. Because of these storms the Tsounda civilization was forced to retreat to caves and caverns to develop. In the safety and shelter of the underground their civilization boomed and eventually began running out of room. Rather than resorting to war the Tsounda banded together and developed new and inventive excavation methods often utilizing energy based tools capable of removing vast amounts of matter in a short amount of time. While not developed as such, the excavation equipment technology has the potential to revolutionize weapons development.

Phiori (Fi-or-ee) - A long necked race of explorer/scientists that pursue scientific advancement and explore for the sole purpose of furthering their knowledge and understanding of the universe. While they pride themselves on being skilful scientists they have proven to be especially adept in the development of propulsion technology. Despite their skill at propulsion research they are without a doubt best known as the creators of the Cybertonen, a 'race' of highly advanced self aware robots.

Nigholen (Nigh-oh-lin) - The Nigholen are a militaristic race of people that while peaceful are always prepared to wage war should the need arise. They place great value on honor and strength in battle yet frown upon waging war for the sake of conquest and are disgusted by those who would start fights for the sake of starting fights. Because of their great emphasis on preparing for war they have made great strides in the area of weapon development. Because of this and the highly advanced training methods they employ in training their soldiers if battle they would prove to be powerful allies or truly formidable foes.

Gorath (Gore-ath) - Suspecting many and trusting few, the Gorath are a mysterious people that are, unlike most factions, are not a civilization so much as they are a coalition of members from various races that appear to be held together by a common goal. Little is known about what their ultimate goal is but what is known is that they are experts at the gathering of intelligence and masters of intrigue and are willing to sell information on others to the highest bidder.

Cyroperans (Sie-rop-er-ans) - Despite their frightful appearance the Cyroperans are a peaceful race content to live out their lives in isolation from other races and focus on various fields of scientific study. In particular the Cyroperans seem to have a knack for energy tech research and have discovered the means to generate large amounts of power while having to expend very little amounts of fuel.

Kretonian (Kre-tone-ian) - The Kretonians are a strange race of aliens that prefer to spend most of their time on entertaining themselves and developing new forms of entertainment and have become well known exporters of toys and games. Undoubtedly any race that manages to achieve the cooperation of the Kretonian civilization experience a great increase in morale.

Zaltori (Zal-tour-ee) - Hundreds of years ago a harsh solar storm collided with the Zaltori home world ripping away much of their planets atmosphere. Once the storm had passed so little of the planets atmosphere was left that the Zaltori were forced to retreat underground and helplessly watch as their beautiful and lush green planet was transformed into a near lifeless desert. If there was any good news to this is that the Zaltori had advanced far enough technologically to where they were able to detect the building of the storm in their planets sun and had decades to prepare for it ensuring that they would be well prepared to carry on life in the storms aftermath as they sought the means to transform their planet back to its former glory. In order to achieve their goal of restoring their once beautiful world back to its former glory the Zaltori have invested a great deal of time and resources into biotech and founded the Biotechnical Institute in an effort to consolidate their research.

Sendocot (Sin-dough-cot) - The Sendocot are a violent and ruthless race that gained the capability to fly among the stars by slaughtering well meaning Cortobin explorers wishing to make peaceful contact and help better the Sendocot. Despite their seemingly primitive technology the Sendocot managed to reverse engineer the technology allowing them to spread their terror among the stars.

Bicyon (Bike-yon) - The Bicyon are a very religious and normally peaceful race that welcomes contact with new races but dislike those who would quickly resort to violence. That is not to say that they are all war as when threatened they will defend themselves with all the fury of religious zealots. The Bicyon spend the majority of time contemplating on their faith and doing research in their great monasteries and have made great strides in most all fields but because of their emphasis on peace they choose not to place great emphasis on weapons development.

Pusak (Poo-sack) - The Pusak are a pleasant and friendly race of aliens of incredibly small stature. Because of their small size the Pusak found that they found it difficult to associate with people of other alien races without accidentally ending up underfoot. In order to remedy this situation the Pusak developed a series of mechanical suits allowing them to move around freely and mingle with other races. It is not known exactly what the cause is of their small size but there is some evidence that suggests that they were not always of such small stature and that their predicament may have even been caused by their own scientists' research gone wrong long ago. This possibility has spurred on the Pusak to research what exactly is involved in the process of living organisms growing in hopes of one day finding a way to reverse what their ancestors research may have caused leading them carry out an extensive research project which they have dubbed the Organism Growth Research and Experimentation Project, or OGREP for short. While they have yet find any clues for solving their dilemma the results of their projects have proven to be very promising when applied to farming methods greatly increasing their available food resources.

Taourei (T-ow-ree) - While not very technologically advanced by most races standards the proud and noble Taourei have proven themselves to be the masters of their own world by using seemingly simple machines, most of them powered by their planets many rivers and streams, to do complex tasks. So advanced are their designs that without any source of power other than a river driven waterwheel the Taourei are able to run factories that are almost entirely automated. Despite their comparatively primitive technology it is likely that study into their ingenious machines has the potential to yield much fruit in the areas of engineering processes making them very attractive to any alien race careful and wise enough to befriend them without causing chaos among the Taourei people that quite possibly could lead to the destruction of all their creations.

1. Moondrakian (Moon-drak-ee-un) - The Moondrakians are a highly advanced race of peaceful explores that have been exploring the galaxy long before most other civilizations had even mastered the concept of flight. It is not know exactly how they were able to achieved space flight at such an early and debates still rage about the likely explanations. Though, the idea that is most widely accepted is that the Moondrakian people enjoyed a series of prolonged Golden Eras without ever being embroiled in Dark Ages like so many other civilizations plunged into during the course of their development. Also, despite the Moondrakian's achieving spaceflight at such an early age, their technological progress has stagnated due to what many believe is simply a lack of any true coordinated effort among their scientists. If a structure could be completed in which all of their top scientists could coordinate their efforts, it is likely that the Moondrakian civilization enter into another golden age of prosperity and scientific advancement.

2. Gwalardian (Gwah-lard-ee-an) - The Gwalardian civilization is one of very few civilizations in existence that have yet to leave their medieval era and it is suspected that their civilization has been stuck in such a state for thousands of years due to a state of constant warfare and infighting. Though, it is thought by some that the Gwalardians were once a highly advanced civilization possessing technology so far advanced that no other civilization has yet to match it. While this idea was rejected by most all researchers at first there is has been emerging evidence to suggest that this once though to be far fetched theory may indeed be accurate. The most noticeable and convincing evidence is that when researchers from particular civilization known for having a peaceful nature is observing the planet there is, more often than not, one or more monks wearing brown robes with either torches are bon fires directly beneath the ship. A growing suspicion among researchers is that these monks serve as the guardians of the technology their civilization had once possessed and perhaps could be attempting to signal for help. If this theory does indeed prove to be accurate then it is thought that if a large enough structure is built, these guardians of knowledge would compile copies of their information creating an archive of ancient Gwalardian knowledge.

3. Uunktogc (oon-k-tog-c {the c is almost silent}) - The Unktogc is a moderately advanced yet highly superstitious civilization that stubbornly holds to it's ancient pagan ideas and practices, some of which are as barbaric as child sacrifice and the sacrificial slaughter of prisoners. Due to these practices, even some of the most brutal and warlike civilizations are sickened by the Uunktogc and grant them a wide berth. The reason for this isn't out of repulsion so much as a fear that if something were to provoke the Uunktogc to war that they would in the course of the war capture civilian prisoners at the first opportunity and would then use them to make sacrifices to their pagan gods. The Uunktogc people themselves are raised to be hugely fanatical for their faith and the ones that aren't are controlled by the prospect of being made into sacrifices. The Temple of Fear is the ultimate embodiment of this and serves keep the Uunktogc people from misbehaving less they be given a tour of the Temple of Fear, a building where only the Uunktogc priests have ever been known to come out of alive.

(I was only able to get these three done before writers block hit. Hopefully more to follow before the week is out.)

interesting stuff.

unfortunelety a lot of this just go's over my head but i realy like the idea of a main story with objetive play but i dont think much of set amonunt of time to do any thing in just let the player go at his speed that way less peeps will anoyed with not being able to get any were

that's my opinion too. With the bote.ini difficulty settings for the AI you can pretty much determine how fast the AI is progressing thus how fast the game is gonna be. No need to additionally temper with that in any other way, a campaign and main story mode can live without, mods too I think.