As someone who has fond memories of BOTF: I had it on a crappy laptop in the 90s which could barely run the game and fried the graphics card after a time! Despite the interface niggles it was a great game. So I am delighted to find the spirit of that game lives on, I have been waiting for some kind of sequel for many years.

I would like to submit a few suggestions in the hope I can add something to this opportunity.

It may seem like a lot, this is more a of a brain storm. Its easy to have ideas when you don't have to build them I know!


1. Customisation: One of the things that set the Civilization series apart from most games even in the 90s was how easy it was for relative novices to customise the game. I would like to strongly suggest that perhaps a feature similar to Civilization III's standalone editor be considered. Anything that will allow players to create their own species/civ and have it in the game. I would also strongly suggest that players be able to edit the graphics of their civ relatively easily. Emblems, flags, colour scheme etc.

This would also be good if you wanted to play as the Klingons, with Martok or Worf as Chancellor instead of Gowron for example.

2. I would also like to suggest that perhaps only 5 playable empires may be too small a number. If seven or so slots were available, and a number of civs were available to choose from, this gives two benefits: 1. choice, and 2: To restart eliminated AI's to give the game longevity.

Species/Civilizations I suggest should be in the game as playable empires:

United Federation of Planets
Klingon Empire
Dominion
Tholian Assembly
Romulan Star Empire
Remans
Breen Confederacy
Ferengi Alliance
Kazon – Maybe a choice of sects represented by the choice of leader, which gives different benefits? (Relora, Ogla, Nistrim etc.)
Hierarchy
Cardasian Union
Vaadwaur Empire
Yridians
Sheliak Corporate
Krenim Imperium

As for the Borg: I would suggest they stay as the Barbarian element: Perhaps playing as the Borg, even starting from scratch, would be quite imballanced and difficult to put assimilation in the game well without making the Borg too powerful.


There could quite easily be two games worth of empires here – a DS9/TNG/TOS game, in the Alpha Beta Gamma quadrants, and STV based game in the Delta. Voyager Civs expansion pack maybe?



Random event type components:

Hirogen hunting ships as a random events like the Crystalline entity and the Borg from the original game.

Q random events such as stellar objects moving from their original positions or other such chaotic events.

Caretaker arrays – the large one and the smaller one

The Maquis could have a place in the game to some extent.

I liked the original Trade route system in BOTF, I hope this is in ST:S


An idea for a Scenario or mod:

The Vaadwar: Rebuild their empire. I always wanted them to be in more episodes of Voyager, and it would be great to have a Delta Quadrant based game where you start with a couple of ships and have to build an empire whilst surrounded by bigger and better empires.


Regions of space which could yield resource benefits (anyone who has played Alpha Centauri will know what I mean), or indeed hazards, or there just as landmarks:

The Mutara Nebula – It could be a prerequisite to have this within your empires borders to build the Genesis device

The Badlands
The void
Celestial Temple
Barzan wormhole


People who might be gettable, and quite good for voice parts (I know, but its worth mentioning anyway):

Garret Wang
Alexander Siddig
George Takei
Walter Koenig
Jeffrey Combs
I would add Will Wheaton to the list but for some reason he doesn't seem to popular among Trekkies.

Might be worth contacting a few others, especially the older ones. You never know, someone may be happy to just do it.


Vassal state concept: If you are conquered, being able to exist as part of another empire, or maybe somehow being able to bide your time and stage an insurrection or something.

Infinity concept: The main flaw of 4X games: They end! In my opinion, everything in a 4X game should be there to make a single game last for weeks. In my view there shouldn't be anything that actually results in a 'game over' in a game like this. Things like the Borg, who can't really be negotiated with, being exceptions. Allowing a game to go on and on until someone wins or there is simply nothing left ot achieve - the 100% threshold. Also important: even if someone gains a victory, scientific, domination etc., the player should have the opportunity to continue playing anyway, even if there are no scores.


Clarity: Be clear as to what the game is: Is it a building game first and a war/strategy game second? Or the other way around?

The Civ franchise has almost committed suicide by making Civ V basically just another war game. It is vital that the game has a depth and a moderate pace so that you have time to immerse yourself in the environment. So the building side of the 4x game is as important, if not more important than the strategic or war elements.

Small details make a big difference: Red Dead Redemption: A flawed game, but packed tight with little details and elements that make the game stand out and give it real depth. Even seemingly insignificant things like having the Hupyrian Beetle Farms as their unique wonder, can make the difference. Little touches that raise an eyebrow or force a grin.

Welcome Classicus
It is good to hear from you. You have a lot of good ideas. It will take a bit to answer all your suggestoins but for now just let me say the game is very mod-able. There will be an editor but most of the variables you want would take some mod skill. I am sure MOE will have more to say so I will leave it for him for now.

Fell free to ask these actors to contribute to the project. If you got just one it would be a huge contribution to the program.

Hey Classicus, welcome to the forums!

1. Customisation: Supremacy originally came with an editor. In fact, the bulk of the game updates that I personally worked on until the May 2009 update were made using that editor. However, Mike, the developer, decided before the May update that he was going to build a new editor. Since he was going to buld a new one, he didn't bother updating the existing editor when he released the May update, so it was no longer compatible with the game. It was therefore useless, so he removed it from the download.

Fast forward to the present, and the new editor still hasn't surfaced. Mike has reassessed his priorities, and the editor just isn't one of them at the moment. (To my personal annoyance, but there are other ways to edit the game) He has a million-and-one things to do on the game, and time he spends working on one issue or feature is time he isn't spending on the other million things. And by his estimates, he recons it will take up to three months to make a new editor, not to mention the time and work needed to ensure it stays up to date and compatible with the game. He has to prioritise his time on the most important thing, and work through the list. So the editor is unfortunately a long way off. But one is most certainly planned.

As for editing the graphics, that is easy to do without an editor. All you need to do is replace an existing image; (These are contained in your Supremacy/Resources/Images folder. The images are in a number of subfolders) as long as the filename is the same as the image you're replacing (It isn't case-sensitive though), the image will load ingame. You don't even need to worry too much about the filetype, as Supremacy accepts all of the most common image filetypes. The images are currently being made in .png purely for quality reasons, but .jpg and .gif also work. You don't even need to worry about the physical size of the image, as the game will automatically resize an image to fit; be warned though, that a replacement image that is smaller than the existing image will be stretched to fit when displayed ingame, and will inevitably lose quality because of it.


2. Five playable Empires is only how the game will work by default. It is already possible to make ANY of the minor races playable.

Unfortunately, to do it requires a little editing of the files, since there is no editor at the moment as explained above. But i've already posted step-by-step instructions on how to do it Here.


As for the Borg: they're going to be in as a random event, albeit a much more powerful one than in BOTF. They will not be playable, although the above mod will likely also work for the Borg, so there will probably be mods released to make them playable.

You can see the specifics of the random events Here. (Warning: post contains lots of images. May take a long time to load. Also note that what is written in that post is not finalised and is subject to change. Events may be added, changed, or removed over time)

Hirogen Hunting ships: a good idea, BUT the Hirogen are in as a minor race. It would be odd to have them attacking you when they are members etc.

Q: we already have a Q event, although ours is different to yours. But as stated above, all randoms are subject to change so we could use yours or even have multiple Q events.

Caretaker Array: already in the random events. The big one is, anyways.

The Maquis: we couldn't think of a suitable event involving them that isn't too similar to an existing event, but they're certainly worthy of one.

Trade routes: they're at a very early stage of development. Expect changes.

Scenarios will likely only be in the game as either pre-made save files, or mods. These won't be made until after the release of the game, however.

Nebulas: nebulas are placed randomly, and are then assigned a random name from names in a text file; this text file already includes the name Mutara, so you may see a Mutara nebula in the game. It is currently impossible to specify the existence of a Nebula in a particular place during Galaxy Generation however (Except in specific circumstances, such as when a nebula replaces a star in the home system, ie. the Dominion homesystem). Also note the text file is editable, so more names can be added.

Voiceovers: we actually already have a large amount of voice acting recorded. This work was done by people like yourself who submitted their own recordings. If you would like to do the same, contact Kenneth_of_Borg above by PM. As for getting famous people to do it, whislt it would be cool to have them help on our project, i'm not quite as enthusiastic about it as Kenneth, simply because legally, our project isn't exactly soundly based. First off, we're an unlicensed game; we don't hold the Trek licence to produce games. Second, we have no money to pay them - and we can't raise money through the game because doing so is illegal because we're an unlicensed game - and third, it could potentially attract unwanted attention. The only reason why our project still exists is because Paramount and the other companies that hold the rights to Star Trek haven't tried to close us down, which they certainly could do if they wanted to.

Vassal states: this is an interesting idea, but there are a million other good ideas out there. As i've stated above, Mike has a million-and-one things to do, and he's working on the programming alone. It's certainly worth discussing, but he will make the ultimate call on whether it will be in the game, and it will have to be a fully-fleshed out idea, with all the pros and cons weighed up, before he will even consider it.

Infinity Concept: Supremacy is actually already being made with this in mind. It will have victory conditions of course for those who want to play against some conditions, but those conditions will be customisable, and will likely be able to be turned off. I'm the exact same sort of plyer you are; my record in BOTF was a game of over 4,000 turns. In the end I had to give up simply because of the turn processing time. But i'll certainly be campaigning for an "Infinity mode" in the game settings.

Clarity: part of the problems with our game production style is numbers. We've got a lot of people working on the game from around the world, and each of these people have their own ideas of how the game should work. And there are many more people on the forums with their own ideas too. This inevitably means some ideas come into conflict, or actually detract from the overall game if implemented.

Fortunately, Mike is particularly stubborn in this respect; ideas don't make it into the game unless they specifically add something that is useful to players, is fun, adds strategy, or adds something else to the game that actually improves it in some way. To get past Mike, it has to gain a positive score based on its' own merits - the higher the score it gains, the more likely it will be added (And also the higher its' addition will be prioritised). However, all new ideas start off with a -100 score. They therefore have to overcome the -100 on their own merits just to break even.

This might sound like a system designed to kill off ideas, but it works to make sure only the best ideas make it into the game, and helps to ensure his list of a-million-and-one-things-to-do doesn't become twenty-million-and-one. The scores also help him prioritise how soon he needs to start working on them if they make it through, so the better the idea is, the sooner he starts working on its' implementation. Ultimately this benefits the game and its' development as a whole. After the shambles that BOTF was, our primary focus is quality, rather than release speed or quantity of features.

Small details make a big difference: oh, we certainly know about this. We're all Trekkies afterall! We all both look out for and expect to see the little details. All I can say is expect easter eggs. I can't go into any more detail than that though. It's a secret...

I had a thought about the Maquis:

In Civ II you had partizans: sometimes when you captured a city, partizan units would be created randomly in the vacinity.

My idea: have a random script whereby if you conquer a minor race (it could be any), it triggers the maquis as random events.

For example:

1. You conquer Bolaris or Chalnoth or somebody - could be randomly assigned to any minor race
2. A notification appears that the maquis have formed and will attack you and your allies until their planet is liberated or becomes independent.
3. Maquis random events: Attacks on outposts, shipping, trade routes and raids on planets from time to time.

This doesn't mean they attack you all the time, but occasionally.

This should only happen for one minor race per game, and if you view the maquis in the game as a generic representation of a rebellion, it makes sence.


I'm not expecting every idea I come up with to be taken on board, but I thought it might be a good resource if I post ideas when I have them (I have loads), if some are useful then great.


Also, when considering the copyright issue, I would suggest this makes an easy to use editor even more important. If the point comes when you have to change the names of things to keep the game legal, the ability for people to easily edit names and simple graphics is vital. There are games that have flourished despite not having official licenses, because they have good editing facilities.

I'd like to make one suggestion about the borg.


If as you say the borg are even stronger in this game, maybe if and when the player loses all of his colonies to the borg, he is given a colony ship and a scout and has to start again, placed randomly on the map. You keep your technology knowledge, but you have to build a new.

Also, dot he borg actually colonize/capture the systems in ST:S or do they just destroy everything and move on?

Ion storms: I've been reading other ideas about ion storms on the forum and they are good. Might be a good random event: They could disrupt communications for a period of time (10-20 turns maybe), so diplomacy and espionage become impossible.

This was done in Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri but it had a flaw: You were not able to declare war. Perhaps when the communications are disrupted, the player should be able to stage sneak attacks, without damaging their diplomatic reputation.

Can any major race develop cloaking technology? Just because the 'real' Federation made the mistake of not doing it doesn't mean we should!

Partisans could be a cool way of having the Maquis in without making them the same as another random. It could also spice up invasions a bit and give players something more to worry about. Whether it's programmable though, i'm not sure (Whether any of the random events in their current form are possible is not yet known), but i'll certainly look at adding that to the list for you. Of course, there could be some Trek purists that would complain about the Maquis being generated by invading systems other than Bajor though.

The game is already easily editable without an editing facility; much of the game info is held in .txt files, and all the staff are familiar with editing the files since they're also the ones working on the game in the first place. In the event we need to make changes, we are the ones who would make those changes, so we don't need an editor for it. And many games in the past didn't have editor facilities, or didn't have good ones. A lot of people are comfortable with text editing so it's not as big as a problem as you might imagine.

As for the Borg, we intend it so the Borg start off with Scouts, and their technology would only advance through assimilating (Capturing) systems. They wouldn't be capable of researching themselves, and instead each time they capture a system, they would receive some sort of research bonus, granting them access to more tech. Each system would also produce more ships, so the threat would actually increase the longer they are left alone.

Ion Storms: They're already in as a random event. It's actually set as a two-part random, where you get a warning a few turns prior to the event that an Ion Storm is incoming. Again, whether this will actually be programmable is unknown.

Cloaking devices will only be given to ships that are canonically known to have them. If a ship didn't have one in the shows (Ignoring the Pegasus incident) then they won't have one in the game. Note: the Federation Scout has one but only for testing purposes)

Welcome to the forum. I had a similar idea about rebellions, only in my case your colonies would split off from you and form their own mini empires. Very weak but still a nuisance.

I'd like to put my support behind including the Dyson sphere as a random event. I would suggest it gives a minor research boost per turn for whoever discovers it first. It can't be settled on, I don't see how it can improve production or food. It should be regarded as something that would generate scientific interest and stimulate research.

Will there be the equivalent of goody huts in ST:S?

The sphere is so massive it could literally have anything on the interior surface, multiple planets worth. It could have replicators, factories, gardens, farms and other technology to aid in providing for the thousands of life forms on the interior. I could easily see a fully stable functioning one being an ultimate prize for any player who could defend it. If you want to leave it like the one in the show then, one would assume at one point it did function (and was stable) and that any type of technology could be salvaged from it (including farming techniques, food production, industrial methods and/or production technology). But yeah I agree, simply its existence would spark whole new avenues of thought. It is such an awesome concept.

You really need to read the Random Events, Classicus. We've already got the Dyson Sphere in.

You can read the Random Events list, including Empire-specific messages, Here. Note that the text is incomplete though. The previous link that I posted with the warning about lots of images (This One) is a much more concise and easier-to-read link though, so you might prefer to read that one instead.

As it stands, we've got it so that it only provides a large research bonus, Kaladin. But depending on what is programmable and what people think would work best, that can always be changed.

Here's the Dyson Sphere as it currently stands, including the Empire-specific text.

I did read it when I went to the link above. I was just saying that its important that the impact of the Dyson Sphere isn't overdone, which I see it won't be.

I had an idea about research stations which is another take on Dyson sphere type objects.

It might be good to have research stations - space stations built on or near random events or stellar objects that would then yeald a scientific/research bonus. Regula 1 etc. Little or no armament, the risk would offset the gain.

Again, Research Stations are already gonna be in. This time, check out Dafedz's Database. He has a section on stations Here, but the Research Station description could do with a bit of work. In fact the entire page could do with some work, but it gives a good overview of how stations will roughly work in Supremacy, along with the stats of the stations (Shields, hull, weapons, etc)

Dafedz is one of the main database compilers, along with myself and .Iceman. Whilst the database isn't perfect, it's the best resource there is for seeing what's going to be in the game. Note that the database is constantly undergoing updates and changes, just as the game is.

About the PARTISANS, Caution must be taken into account that the Maquis terrorism organisation grew in the TNG series. The game begins with the Enterprise series.
The terrorist organistion changing a lot and i do not know if it is wise to give their name (unless it is possible to assign a random event in each period: ENT, TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY). Some are destroyed and others are created over time. In SUPREMACY, there are 4 forms of terrorism (in random events):

Example with the Federation:

Commercial Terrorism (-40% Credit-wide empire for 5 turns)
Domestic terrorists simultaneously hacked into the credit systems of the Bank of Bolia and the Federation Development Bank. Using system overrides, they declared bankruptcies of several major Galactic Trade Consortiums and Companies. This has caused temporary, but widespread confusion in our monetary system.

Domestic Terrorism (Relations with a random Empire / Minor Race worsen, -40% trade on Trade With That road race)
Domestic terrorists overrode security protocols for a Subspace Transmitter array. They altered several parts of a diplomatic transmission to the _____. The message was distorted to appear extremely hostile to the _____.

Terrorist Bombing (A random building in a random System is destroyed)
Domestic terrorism! Terrorists have detonated a small antimatter explosive in system _____. The _____ was completely destroyed. Starfleet Intelligence is investigating the incident, but believe it is the work of extremists rather than foreign saboteurs.

Terrorist Bombing Of Ship Production (A ship is in. That Product is destroyed)
Terrorists set off a bomb in the _____ shipyard. Although the shipyard is fine, the ship in was producing was completely destroyed and will have to be restarted from scratch.

Those seem like pretty good baseline 1-time effects (that in fact might happen again) but something like a major event spawning a rebel faction (to what degree remains to be seen, i.e. what can be programmed as you say) is sort of different than the isolated single event versions.

Theoretically this rebel faction could be dealt with like a minor race that starts off with a hostile attitude towards you (i.e. the initial reason they broke off). You can then deal with them by wiping them out (How dare they undermine you!) Sabotage them and crush their spirit (All is fair in war, and they had it coming.) or reason with them (Words hold great power, use them to usher in a lasting peace and rectify the mistrust). Those just being some examples, but it could be really fun, especially if it happens in the middle of a war with another empire and they are left to grow, potentially spawning something to be seriously worried about. They could then take actions like (Conquering systems, attacking your fleets, performing spy operations and sabotage, disrupting your trade routes, deliberately damaging relations with other empires {Which is very ST:NG/DS9 trying to prevent alliances}, and etc.). They could even be a threat to your allies since they wouldn’t follow any of your treaties (complete autonomy). It would give you an opportunity and some fun scenarios where you could have Feds versus Feds, Klingon versus Klingon, etc.

Depending on how far you want to take this random event and what is possible, it might even be fun to have the event generate a “Reason”; for example: A certain planet was colonized, the rebels want it free from settlement immediately. Another could be a recent alliance with XYZ empire has sparked rage and mistrust amongst some of your people, they demand you break off all ties immediately. These “reason” could then be a way to solve the relations and reintegrate them.

This whole rebel/partisans topic is highly speculative and seems overly complicated to add but would be fun if it was, but fully expect it to be considered wishful thinking.

Side note:
I’m curious is/will it possible without messing with the data files to have Feds versus Fed in a game? As far as I can tell the game simply generates five empires 1 of each, you can’t select which major power is in your game nor can you select how many.