• Registered: 2005-04-03
  • Posts: 68

Topic: Designer Inquiry - Empire Rising SX Materials

I did some more work today on converting some of the units from the VBAM / Escalation Wars Empire Rising supplement into Starmada X. However, before I get too far into the process, I thought I would see what the overall feeling from the audience was as to the type of content I plan on producing, and whether I have missed anything.

I have put together, PDF'd, zipped, and you can get it here:

http://www.vbamgames.com/sx/empire_rising_sx_demo.zip

It is a sample of what I am putting together. No cute graphics in there right now, just a sample history piece and the dual-sheet ships to go with it.

What I am looking for is whether or not this kind of background on each class is what you, the players, are looking for -- or if you just want to have the sheets so you can blow your friends up? smile Few of the classes have this breadth of background available, of course, but this is representative of what kind of material would be produced.

-Tyrel

  • Registered: 2005-03-29
  • Posts: 859

Re: Designer Inquiry - Empire Rising SX Materials

The ship designs...wow. Brilliant. Got me wanting to get the book just so I can see what 'Heavy Basing' means...:D

The history is okay, but if I may make a suggestion? I think the history is too long. Good, yes, but if you cut it down slightly it might be a good idea. I'll leave it up to others to explain my viewpoint, or if no-one else does, I will tomorrow, once I've thought about it for a while.

  • Registered: 2005-03-28
  • Posts: 287

Re: Designer Inquiry - Empire Rising SX Materials

Well, I am biased because I love this kind of thing.
To feel like the ships matter and have history to them in a universe where there has been real attention and passion put into the work is just fun.
Just grabbing sheets and fighting is fun, too, but lacks enough depth to hold my interest for too long.

And while I pride myself on being able to put together "fluff" you always manage to show me up, Tyrel.  smile

Now, as part of a core rulebook?
Probably not.

I am working on something similar (though it needs a rework after reading this  :cry: ) for some material I have, but I intend to put it outside the main text and offer it as a freebie extra or a cheap supplement for the interested.



Oh, and intentional or not, I pictured a Battlestar in my head as I read the Kolanis design description...

  • Registered: 2005-03-31
  • Posts: 20

Re: Designer Inquiry - Empire Rising SX Materials

I like what you have created so far, but where are the Chouka and their uber-energy plasma? smile

I am surprised to see you put the Circasians so low on the Macro tech chart, but I suppose it makes sense if you are going to have them evolve up to the EW itself. Their tech development from their Chouka War machine was part of their "escalation" if I remember right. That is what, 10 years away for them? I would be happy to fly them against any of the other races using the KEB system and let you know how they do (Boltians, Kuissians, and so on).

One more question; are you using the full KEB tech system we talked about some months ago where a tech breakthrough must be achieved for each KEB element seperately?

   -Jay

  • Registered: 2005-04-03
  • Posts: 68

Re: Designer Inquiry - Empire Rising SX Materials

At least he reactions thus far have been generally good smile

I know that the length is a bit of a problem, but that is my problem all the way around. By the time the next Escalation Wars book is finished, I have a feeling it will be about 300 pages of *stuff*.

The major classes will get this extensive of a write up, but I don't see the minor classes getting much more than a page. It is kind of like in the old FASA Star Trek books, where some classes got four pages and some ships only took up half a page.

The style behind the current write ups comes from inspiration after spending some time the last week converting early WWII vintage ships over into Grand Fleets. Reading the ship entries on Wikipedia made me get in the mood for writing similar treatments for the existing ships, while expanding upon the backgrounds provided in Empire Rising. Some copying and pasting will still happen in cases where I said all there was to say previously, but putting designs in perspective is important, I think.

I managed to get one other class' text, the Ilustris Heavy Destroyer, written last night. About four pages for that one. Most of the other classes will be one pagers.

I also plan on having either art or silhouetted three-views for most of the ships when the book is 'done' -- if I can pull it off. Or it might just be silhouetted two views, if I get lazy. But that way everyone will at least know what the ships look like.

Jay: No separate KEB tech research; the limitation on tech levels should be the biggest problem for them. As noted, the Circasians are pretty low-tech, largely because they were only in space about 100 years by the time these ship classes appeared. After the war they get some better tech, but they still weren't all that advanced by the time of the Escalation Wars in the 2007-2023 period. They were better, but still not as high tech as the Ukal, Novon, or Kholran.

BTW...
Heavy Basing: A fighter bay equivalent that can base shuttles, breaching pods, and super-heavy fighters, but not normal fighters.

I am also toying with the rules that would be needed to make breaching pods work in SX in the form that I have in mind. I am thinking they will be fighters with a Breaching Pod class added them that will function as reusable Marines -- go to the target, "attack" and deposit troops, and then return to pick up some more. That allows me to apply other custom fighter types to them and make them interesting -- though potentially not worth the hassle, too.

-Tyrel