Theres no rush Jamie, and it's too late anyways; Mike has told me not to make any more updates until he releases the Easter update. Any updated files would simply be incompatible with the Easter update so there is no point in doing any, so even if you were to write them, they wouldn't make it into the Easter update.

We've always agreed on the forums that personal stuff will always take priority over game stuff - so do your work before you concentrate on the descriptions. There's always time to put the new descriptions in the update after the Easter update...whenever that will be.

I am sorry that i haven't posted anything. I have been very busy. This has taken a back burner, and i am almost never one the computer. I will have those Klingon ship descriptions to you as soon as i can work on them.

That's ok Jamie, as I keep saying, there's no rush so take your time. They won't make it in until the next update anyways, and we're still waiting for the Easter update.

I finally got round to working on the Klingon ship descriptions. I went to this thread to find the links to pictures so i could have a better idea of what i was working with, and i tried both links. The first one wouldn't load all of the pictures, so i tried the second on and i got the picture. However, when i looked in the TechObjects folder in Supremacy's Resources folder, they were different pictures. Could you straighten me out as to which one i should use?

Hi Jamie, sorry about the confusion. You can find all of the Klingon ship images Here.

Don't worry if they are different to the images in the game, the game images take longer to update because they have to be sent to Mike, then he has to upload them to the update server and release them as a proper update. The images on Sharepoint will always therefore be more up-to-date because it is just a matter of deleting the old ones and uploading the new.

I'll have a look at the links.

Okay. Thank you.

I just looked at them and i noticed that there was only one construction ship picture, but there are two construction ships in the game. Does that mean that it will be the same picture? If i find anymore like this, how should i handle it?

If an image is missing, it's because the model hasn't been made yet. In these instances, you can either send a PM to Kenneth_of_Borg and ask him whether he has started working on the model yet (And if so to describe it or make an example picture) or you'll just have to leave it for the time being.

SharePoint has been winking in and out for the last two days. I am running a new backup of all my work there. The unreliable connection to SharePoint will also bugger the loading of new images in our forum links. I see one Klingon Construction Ship here
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1836&start=0
so that is all I made. Should there be two?

Okay. Thank you again. I leave for a two month vacation in one week, so i will have them done before then.

Unfortunately, i was not able to finish the descriptions before i went on holiday and i don't have them with me on this computer and i won't have access to them until i get back on August 6th. I was nearly done, but you might want to get someone else to write them since i seem to be so unreliable(mostly busy, but unreliable too).

Sorry that i was not able to complete them although if you are willing to wait, i will get them done when i get back.

We will leave a light on for you.

Thank you. Sorry again.

Hey are you guys still looking for writers? If so have you got any samples for the kind of writing you're after?

Do you want it to be creative or just a bland description of a ship with a bit of history thrown in?

What's been done so far?

I'm a graduate with a 2:1 in English/Creative and Professional writing (missed my first by a single A grade).

Let me know.

Hey Torrad, welcome to the forums!

Thanks for your generous offer; unfortunately, much of the writing for the starships is now done. You can find pretty much all game information in Dafedz's Database. However, if you look at the links on the left of that page, you will see the Klingon and Dominion sections are not yet clickable. The Klingon and Dominion writeups are not yet available, but other forum members, Dafedz and Jamie, are in the middle of writing these missing descriptions.

However, that doesn't mean you can't write you own ones - we only want the best, so if you write a better description we will use it. The ships aren't the only pieces of writing in the game either; there are race descriptions, building decriptions, (Both of which can be found in Dafedz's Database), or there are my incomplete Random Events.

As you can see, the random events list that I have created is pretty big, but it's full of holes. I created that list of random events purely as an example, but people seem to really like them and they've become the basic template for what we hope will become the random events system. I then wrote messages to go with them that are from the points of view of each of the five empries. However, you need to know a couple of points about them; the list isn't set in stone and is subject to change - just because a random event it written, doesn't mean it can actually be programme din the way i've suggested; we don't know if multi-part randoms will actually be possible; and we don't know if Mike (The developer) will actually allow multiple event messages to be written.

These points therefore all mean that potentially much, if not all of the list, or even the messages, might not et used in the game. Writing it has therefore been a low priority for me, which is why it is full of gaps, even though i've been writing it for almost three years. You're welcome to have a go at writing some additional mesages if you want, though. Just right-click save-as on the link above to save your own copy of the file.

Ok I have some thoughts on what I’ve read from that list you gave me and I was wondering if I could share some ideas and possible changes here on the forums?


If this is the wrong way/place to handle this then just remove this post and PM me. I’ll have a hardcopy on my computer of it as I always write in word before posting long messages!


To begin I’d like to criticise a bit! Lol


I’d like to ask about context and length – I noticed when browsing through some of the ship descriptions that some of the entries are longgggggggggg; is this just because they haven’t been edited yet or are they final versions? I’d like to suggest that you try to find a word limit and stick to it – it may be a cliché but “less is more” couldn’t be more concise.


There is also a tendency for the voice of each race to get a bit lost and a lot of messages feel like they’re being spoken in the same voice just using different words – would you object to me rewriting some of messages you’ve already written to see if you like them or not?


Just to emphasise this isn’t a personal attack – I just get the feeling you tried to write all the responses for the 5 different races in a single sitting.


Onto the bulk - regarding the Borg invasion messages; isn’t a bit out of context to have a message come up spoken by a member of your race in this instance? Since you/we are the omnipotent commanders of our races wouldn’t we ourselves be the ones giving these speeches?


I’d suggest making a Borg encounter begin with a first contact screen like the messages you get when encountering a minor/major race in the original BOTF, only a little different.


Like a screen should come up without the “new race encountered” message and just have a picture of the queen with the message:


“We are the Borg, lower your shields and surrender your selves to us. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile”


If this occurs in an altercation between vessels then the combat would occur and then the message would be played (assuming the turn mechanics are similar to that of the original BOTF); however if the encounter occurs at a planet or colony then the message would be played and followed by a summary of casualties etc.


… and then that’s it. The only time I could see you wanting custom messages for each race would be for when you attempt to form an anti-borg alliance with other races. For example the Federation proposal could be something like:


“The Borg are malevolent and without mercy or compassion. Only together, united, can we hope to withstand this invasion. We all stand before our greatest challenge, under the threat of extinction – let us chose not to stand alone.”


I’ve been looking through some of the other events you’ve written and would – as before like to suggest some subtle changes to others – for example the civil war event on a minor planet – exposure to alien races aren’t the only cause for civil war; could the message for such an event be as simple as “the ______ species has entered into a civil war making diplomatic relationships impossible until it is resolved” (obviously this message would be different for each race and would embody their respective characteristics) – but, races like Klingon, Cardassian and Dominion would USE a civil war as the perfect setup for an invasion – so surely, whilst diplomatic relations during such a time would be impossible, declaring war and subjugating the system should actually be made easier.


During the civil war the systems defences should be either completely deactivated or at least halved and the population should fall by small increments per turn. The downside to subjugating such a system would be that the moral would be especially tough to increase and would start on defiant. This would give the sense that the invasion once again united the people of the world as they have to fight off a threat.


I don’t know if that’s programmable or not, and they are just suggestions – I’ve had a load of others but I thought I’d get some feedback on what I’ve said so far first.

Hi, give me a ship name /type and i will send submit a paragraph for your approval, to see if we are on the same wavelength, cos i would love to contribute.

I have been involved with several Mods as a Beta Tester in the past, and I would like to do a bit more with this Game, Cos i have been a Trek Fan since i was small.

http://www.trekmania.net/temp_files/botf2_home.htm

All minor races starships need their descriptions.

Here you can see how description should look:

http://www.trekmania.net/temp_files/botf2_home.htm

I think we should proceed in order and start eg by the Romulans spatial structures such as Outpost, Salvage Rig, Strarbases, Science Station, Orbital Batteries..etc in the OTHER VEHICLES/STRUCTURES section
http://www.trekmania.net/temp_files/rom_ship_descriptions.htm

Is anyone else doing this, as i dont want to end up doing duplicate descriptions, and what do you want me to start with. ?

Place for minors starships is empty,, empires stations and outpost there is no much work to do

ok i will tackle the Minor Races starships, can you reccomend a good source of information , and where should i post my results ?

You can't just copy-and-paste the link from Dafedz's database if you're trying to post specific info, Zeleni. You have to right-click on the side links and copy the link address of those if you want to post a specific link.

...

The minor race ships can be found Here, Asimoff. Since this is the ship descriptions thread, you can post anything you come up with here and i'll implement them in the game once the editor is working again.

I have one word of warning though. The descriptions for the minor race ships will only show up ingame when you build them - and you won't necessarily be able to do so. It all depends on programming constraints and the way we set up the database. So i*f* players can't build minor race ships, then your descriptions will never be seen, so unfortunately they be wasted.

Since I don't yet know how it's going to turn out, it's therefore your choice *if* you want to start working on the descriptions or not. *If* you decide to write them though, you can find the descriptions for the Federation, Cardassian, and Romulan ships in the links below for inspiration. The information pages for the Klingons and Dominion aren't yet available, but the descriptions have been written.

Federation Ship Descriptions
Cardassian Ship Descriptions
Romulan Ship Descriptions

So do we just post them straight in here. 1 at a time or ?

I assume that means you're going to do it then. It's your choice how you post them. Do it as one long post or save the descriptions in a .txt file (Notepad) and attach the file to a post.

ok, as soon as i get a free moment i will start, I guess all of the minor race ships need descriptions then ?

so i will start at the beginning of the list with the A's

It would be nice for example that player by "right clicking" can see stats, type and description of enemy ship. I didn't like this in botf, you couldn't know how powerful is minor or major ship is. I think player should have some info on enemy ships since we have hundreds of ships types in the game.

I Agree, It would also be nice to know what ships are in your own fleet.

Good idea Zeleni!!

In some respects, you COULD see this info in BOTF, Zeleni. If you turn Tooltips OFF, then hover your mouse over an enemy (Or friendly) vessels icon in the fleets panel (Whilst on the map) then instead of displaying help information, the game will display some basic info such as the shield and hit points of the ship in question. You can turn the Tooltips on or off in the BOTF game menu. I always turned it off.

I imagine it would be possible to add a similar system to Supremacy. Mike would have to implement such a system though, it's not just something that could be added via the editor. If he likes the idea and adds it in though, I think it should definitely include more information than BOTF provided. It would also be nice if the information was context-sensitive; so, for example, the amount of information available would be based on the strength of your scans, whether the enemy is cloaked, etc etc.

That should be one of core things. Big strategy game without "knowing your enemy"? IMO there should be under intel separated screen for all encountered enemy ships,with all theirs stats (depending on your intel strenth, your agents in alien power, more your agents are succesfull you should have more info), also you should get intel report when nearby major power builds new starship class.