ManSh00ter ManSh00ter

[MOD] Sins of a Solar Empire: INVASION (new screenshots, May 28th, 2012.)

[MOD] Sins of a Solar Empire: INVASION (new screenshots, May 28th, 2012.)

Previously known as "The Last Stand"

 

 

Sins of a Solar Empire: INVASION is an addon project aiming to expand upon the existing universe of the Sins of a Solar Empire, providing original and high-quality content on top of the original game. Aside from the new content, the addon will also include multiplayer-friendly gameplay changes as well as reworked or new visuals/sounds.

ETA: To Be Announced

Planned changes/content will include:

  •  A new playable race, created to the highest quality standards. The Xin are a race of utterly alien origin, and the massive fleets of their living, semi-sentient ships have been ravaging the galaxy for millenia. Countless races have perished under their onslaught - and now TEC, Advent and the Vasari will have to face this terrible enemy and win - or die trying.
    Assume the role of the defenders and try to stem the tide of death and destruction, or take command of the invading armada and destroy the impertinent insects wherever they choose to make their last stand. 
  • Volumetric Explosions & Damage Effects, providing not only greater excitement to your space battles by transforming all explosions and persistent damage effect into true 3D affairs, but also better visual cues as to how the battle is going, enabling you to spot at a first glance the hotspots and even the level of damage on particular ships.
  • Dynamic Battle System, where each ship class' strenghts and uses are not determined only by its stats and abilities, but also by its flight characteristics. Certain ship classes will be able to move during fleet battles, which, coupled with the reworked stats of all ship classes should prevent "cookie-cutter" or "spam" strategies.
  • New Ship Classes for the new faction, ranging from specialist ships such as the Warmaster or Emperor Battlecruiser all the way to Titans acting as mobile superweapons capable of facing down an entire fleet on their own or even destroying an entire gravity well in one powerful surge.
  • Reworked Balancing, aiming to further focus various ship classes on their roles, removing any overlapping advantages which ultimately make one ship type or the other the ship to produce. Changes will also include increased gravity wells as well as greater class difference in turning rates and top speeds in order to further accentualize fleet placement, strategic positioning of forward bases and other such details which a great admiral make.
  • New Planet Types, which will also be visually enhanced, primarily by increasing their size in order to make them a true centerpiece of a given sector. New planet types will provide greater variety without providing game-breaking advantages to players.
  • Enlarged Gravity Wells which, coupled with the dynamic nature of space combat, will challenge players to an even greater level, requiring careful placements of planetary defenses and orbital structures, as well as fleets.
  • Unique Structures for the new faction, ranging from formidable Heavy Defense Batteries to deployable Outposts which will be capable of guarding even sectors around otherwise uninhabitable astronomical bodies such as stars or gas giants.

==MEDIA SECTION==

 

==SCREENSHOTS==

 

==TRAILERS==

DRONE SPOTLIGHT I

A short ingame exposition of the Scout, Assault and Siege drones.

 

 

 

==BACKGROUND LORE==

Pangalactic War Timeline 

Clicking the above link will lead you to the download of a .pdf document detailing the rich and dynamic history of the factions which will play a major role in the Last Stand mod, so if you are into background lore, be sure to check it out!

 

==UNIT INFORMATION==

 Pending.

 

4,168,074 views 1,794 replies +8 Loading…
Reply #426 Top
What weapon is that in the first screenie Mansh00ter? :SURPRISED:
Reply #427 Top
That's a plasma bolt from one of the long range drones.

I got a few more... :p




As you can probably see, I also incorporated particle effects from Bailknight's graphics mod, and I have to say that coupled with my volumetric explosions and Xin special effects, the result is truly satisfying. Been a long time since I saw a space battle looking so... physical in a game.
Reply #428 Top
Very nice ManSh00ter...

Particles are so much fun to play with...

Can't wait to see the Chuck Norris Class supership explode when scuttled (after all, nothing can actually destroy it) :CONGRAT:
Reply #429 Top
Man I want to use those....btw those particles look amazing ManSh00ter
Reply #430 Top
No, its just the Xin takeover of the world through viruses hidden in Sins of a Solar Empire mods.
End of quote


Xin takeover of the internet will be much less passive than that, especially with such awsome particle effects.
Reply #431 Top
i think this mod will do everything that was missing in SOASE more ship classes,better visauls,new planetary defenses,new race.
Even freakin mines!!!
Reply #432 Top
HEX, I am sure going to try. ;)

Well, I finally got around to opening the ModDB page for the Last Stand, so go check it out and up my rating some more. :p Currently its No. 12, but I have no idea how the ranking works so its probably just it being new or something.

Anyway.

As a part of ongoing polishing of various elements which are already ingame for the upcoming teaser trailer, I have a little video showcasing the latest volumetric explosion effects!
(its also a 30 second peek into the sheer awesomeness that are space battles in the Last Stand, but don't let anyone know I pimp myself so much :p )

Download (somewhat higher quality) available here.
Enjoy!
I go back to tweaking now.

Oh, and if someone can tell me how to post embedded videos on this forum, I'd be grateful.
Reply #433 Top
i have a question regarding the lagginess of this mod

will it kill my computer

looks really good tho cant wait
Reply #434 Top
I have a 2.8Ghz Dual Core CPU, 3Gb of RAM, NVidia GeForce7600 GS graphic card and on this setup there was zero slowdown. It is possible that there will be some lagginness with lower-end computers, but hopefully not too much.

Also keep in mind that the SoaSE has a built-in limiter of how many particles there can be on screen at any one time, so you don't have to worry about that too much. :)
Reply #435 Top
ok i have a 3.0 ghz non dual core CPU :SNIFF!: 1gb of ram and a 7300 so maybe i wont play the super big maps

and if you have ever played Nexus: TJI, the ship explosions were HUGE. Maybe you could do something like that for the titan explosions.
Reply #436 Top
Don't worry, the explosions will be proportionate to the ships. ;)
Reply #437 Top
hahahahahahahha

mega-super XIN take over!!!

when u say sheear awesomeness, its (sheer awesomeness)^infinite!!!!!!!!!!!
yes, im a math geek, and the ^ is an exponent sign. its how u do it when u cant put the exponent above the base in superscript.

but enough boredom!

ALL HAIL MANSHOOTER AND THE LAST STAND!!!! :CONGRAT: :HOT:

flankers1010
Reply #438 Top
quick question before i get back to doing my hw:

when the expansion comes out, are u going to try incorporating ur mod into it?

and what are the support cruisers, heavy cruisers, and long-range frigates look like? thx mansh00ter!

Rock on!

-flankers1010
Reply #439 Top
It's looking awesome and every time more ^^

Well are you going to modify the Colonize Planet graph?
Because i think a colonize Planet of the Xin would look,
different. Because i don't think they use Machine to
go around the Planet.

Keep up your good work Manshooter

Killy
Reply #440 Top
oh my that video was awesome! It looks like when Captain Sisko (from Star Trek DS9)was going though the Bajorian Wormhole! Beautiful effects!
Reply #441 Top
Will there be a very diverse performance vs quality for the mod? I mean, will the particle effects be even better looking on a high-end PC?

Specs:
3.2 Ghz Dual Core AMD
XFX GeForce 8800 GTX Alpha Dog Edition
2 GB SLI RAM
650 Watt Antec PSU
Reply #442 Top
Specs:3.2 Ghz Dual Core AMD
XFX GeForce 8800 GTX Alpha Dog Edition
2 GB SLI RAM
650 Watt Antec PSU
End of quote


**cries**
Reply #443 Top
Im wondering about the new race,if they were able to topple [destroy] the original vasari empire,wouldnt that make them toooooooooo powerful as a playable race?
Reply #444 Top
can't wait till its our plz mail me when its done or make a new topic so i surtenly not forget it lol :p
Reply #445 Top
Flankers, I am planning on making my mod as a sort of "unofficial" expansion pack for SoaSE. So naturally, I will do my best to incorporate it into official expansions.

Support Cruisers are the Yarlok (Interdictor) and the Minelayer (name to be decided) cruiser, the first one has those two mandible-like arms in front, the later has that great fin in the middle. Long range frigates look like a jellyfish with dreads... can't miss them really. ;)

Killy_Blame, the colonize will look different, though only to a certain extent as possible to mod withing the engine constraints. I'd love to be able to change the textures of planets on the fly to indicate colonization and transformation, but sadly that's not possible right now.

WarxCriminal, the movies and screenshots are taken using the highest possible settings for SoaSE, so I doubt you can get even better looking visuals, though Ironclad promises upgrades in that regard for the core engine with the new upcoming patch, so we'll see. :)

HEX, the Xin have a vast interstellar empire that has been at war with another even bigger interstellar empire for thousands of years, so I think they would eat whatever chased of Vasari for breakfast. :p
But in the Last Stand you only have to deal with a probing attack force, so no worries about them being overpowered. ;)
Reply #446 Top
If you want to kill Xin, you have to shoot them dead. They are a bit too advanced for Holywood tricks like viruses and, khm, computer hacks (he who guesses the name of the movie I am referring to first will get in the credits) .But don't worry - other races will have their toys as well!Strike craft are several in size and strength, and I will make sure they are as balanced as possible. All Xin squadrons will have more strike craft than usual and those are going to be also more frail than usual, but with faster "respawn" time, given enough antimatter.Big Xin drones have, for the game purposes, unlimited lifetime. Perhaps they do grow old and die, but since their lifespan might be hundreds of years... well, no campaign lasts that long anyway.
End of quote


independence day lol

well, i like the feel of the mod so far. basically a three way war of the worlds with something for everyone

rushers
campers
people who like to make spams
etc

and if you need either an alpha tester or a beta tester just give me a ring, im known for testing out mods especially for rts
Reply #447 Top
Wow those effects look amazing I just hope they can run on my crappy computer lol.

1.6ghz Pentium M Processor rated at 2.33ghz
Windows XP SP3 Pro
1gb ram
64mb ATI Mobility Radeon 9600/9700

The funny thing is I can run this game on everything at high settings with planets at highest with no bloom or colored sky boxes since I don't like colored sky boxes on 1440x900 no AA at around 50-60 frames lmfao. I really think the minimum reqs for sins is way off but then again I usually play with only 3 players (1 with each race) on a very large map (multi star). After this mod though gonna use 4 players hopefully it still wont lag :/ So will this mod run on my computer?
Reply #448 Top
manshooter are u still planning to do the remnant? as they actually sounded awesome, just imagine 50+ planets with the remnant against the xin! (sigh of satisfaction)
Reply #449 Top
looks great!

but bigger ships than capital ones are not that necessary imo...
Reply #450 Top
Dragonics, the only noticeable slowdown happened when I artificially (read: used the devmode console) caused a fleet of some 100+ ships to blow up simultaneously. But that's unlikely to happen very often. ;)

Anyway, for those who have low-end computers, I will release a "low-resolution" texture pack, with some minor tweaks like decreased particle density for volumetric fragments and so on...

Milk, yes, both the Clans Remnant and the Hegemony are still planned. Though it will be a while before they see the light of day, since the mod will be released in episodes. Remnant is second, after the Xin.

Iluminated, are you kidding? You can't have truly epic space battles without at least one megahuge ship ruining the day for *someone*... ;)

Eyecandy from my production efforts concerning a certain upcoming trailer... :p