New Mod

[Kingpin]

I plan on starting a new mod soon and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in helping? It's going to be a subhouse oriented mod, but unusual in that your choice of subhouse will unlock certain units. For instance, the Ordos with the Ix subhouse will be able to build a Fighter Mek, a modified Mongoose with a rapid fire laser (Inflaser like the Elite Sard). Also the combination of two subhouses will also unlock other units; for instance, the Berzerker, created by having both the Tlieaxu and Sardaukar subhouses, is a Sardaukar warrior fanatic. Finally, at the height of the tech trees, new subhouses emerge, such as the Bene Gesserrit, the Smuggler/Mercs, Richese, the Great Schools, CHOAM and others, all predicated by what sort of combinations of House and Subhouse was selected. Maybe there can even be a Final House that can be heralded by the consumation of a full tech tree.

Moreover, certain units will get certain special abilities, such as expanded veterancy levels, and capturing the enemy's buildings may allow you to build a prototype weapon system; for instance, with the Atreides and Ordos combined tech tree, the Grand Kobra emerges, a giant artillery piece, unmovable on sand so it needs to be positioned by air, but with a fanastic range and humbling area effect.

[DjCiD]

now this sounds cool as hell! i dont know how to mod but if i did i woul dlove to help ;D hey i'll test it for ya ;D

[Apollyon]

i thought of doing that for my own mod (guild wars) but i decided it would be too time consuming.

Sure I'd be more than willing to help.

When u say expanded veterancy levels do u actually know that that is possible?

[Kingpin]

Here is a list of the few ideas I have for units...

Javelin Gunner- Mercenary Antitank missile deploable infantry

Stinger Gunner- Mercenary Antiair missile deployable infantry

Rogue Fremen ('Water Stealer')- Uncontrollable Elite Fremen Warrior that hunts independantly, perhaps a replacement for the sand storm

Mentat- Standard Infantry with great see stealth range

Suk Doctor- Medic

Assassin- its a secret

Reverend Mother- also secret

Acolyte

Stealth Trike

Hammership

Demolisher

Chimera

Grand Kobra

Spotter

Thumper

There are quite a few more actually, but thats all for now, if anyone is interested, please email me, or post on this thread.

[Kingpin]

I wrote a thread on that earlier; yes it is, up to seven distinct levels, from out of the factory, Level 0, to Level 6. After Level 3, instead of chevrons you get triangles, like the height advantage designators, for rank. Only, maybe six units will get this lengthened veterancy, but you can do a whole lot with it.

[Apollyon]

ok a few spanners in the works

apparently the see stealth doesnt actually work altho i could be wrong

it is impossible (to my knowledge) to have both a repair vehicle and a medic unless they are both in 1 unit

[Apollyon]

THATS SO COOL!

I HAVE TO GET GOING W/ MORE LEVELS ON MY MOD!!!!

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Kingpin]

The Suk Doctor is a minor unit, if it works that's great, but if not <shrugs>, so is the Mentat. The real goal is not to create bigger, badder, meaner units with the tech tree, but fundementally alter the strategy of the whole game by including abilities and defenses that simply weren't there before. For the Mentat, that would mean that you could build a unit that could blanket protect your base from stealth attacks, which is a fundemental unbalancing change to the game without making a single super weapon.

[vidiware]

All i want for help is to host it on my site with my name written somevere...

I can du images/textures/icons ini almost everything i think!

[Kingpin]

A name shouldn't be too hard to fit in somewhere. :) Actually, I don't even know what to call this Mod. Any suggestions?

[Apollyon]

Battle Field : Dune

heheheheh ;)

[DjCiD]

you are gonna supply us with a tech tree build order right? that way we kow which houses and subs to combine? but this is later like with the release or will it be a secret? and also ponder this lets say we had a 2v2 game of this mod online if u had guild and i had telaxea and u had sards and i had fremen. if we gave each other a building of each (with O command so each of us had four subs) would there be a super tech unit? or is taht to much to wish for?

[Apollyon]

its perfectly possible id have thought but its whether there is room for that many units

remember u can only have 15 new units and if u remove some of the incidentals emperor gets stroppy (so ive learned...)

[vidiware]

E:BFD: The Guild's Revenge //do u recognise this?E:BFD: Doom is hereE:BFD: The emperor worm (was defeated)E:BFD: A new emperor wormE:BFD: Tleilaxu's RevengeE:BFD: The Game of the Face DancerE:BFD: The Lord of the Dunes //I saw a book im my bookcase whene i wrote this!!!E:BFD: Diplomates of Dune!E:BFD: Victory is the only option //The orods mentat said something like this! Or directly:E:BFD: Failture is not an option!E:BFD: Bigger, Longer and UnCut //The southpark title is true!!!E:BFD: Fanatics of duneE:BFD: Fremens fightE:BFD: Generals //the newest westwood release ... look at westwood.comE:BFD: Full Throttle //A old Game tittleE:BFD: God bless you all!E:BFD: Messiah will help us!I can make this list 100 times bigger but i don't have time and i don't want it to be too difficult for u to choose...Why are you called kingpin?

[Desert_Eagle25]

this mod sounds awesome...i'd love to help..lemme help finishing a mod with Apollyon first, then maybe I can help u..i'm running fresh out of ideas for Apollyon's as it is...

[Kingpin]

Hopefully we can modify the incidentals, so that they can be used for the houses, simply a one for one replacement. There should be a Superior/Final House that you can get through at least capturing other people's structures, but as far as team play, I'm not sure if it would work without actually capturing the structure.

I plan to release a shadow tech tree, but still hide some of the connections. Then again, just look in the Rules and you should find out what makes what. Still, first things first, basic units have to be tested and then basic structures, and then basic combination tech trees. Then the captured tech trees and Super units can make their appearance. Finally, the Superior House can emerge after every thing is in proper order. This is quite a chore and by no means a quick and easy feat.

[jacobdouds]

INciental Units are easily made useable, and to make it generic, keep the House = Incidental and give it a priimary building of each house.

[alphabeta4000]

to make it combine just choose secondarybuilding =whatever you want and it should mean you need that secondary building first to build it

[vidiware]

Remember to correct the artini entry give they a sidebar and a cameo... and maby change the strigns...

[Kingpin]

I need troubleshooters, people that know how to manipulate the Rules files so that they can test out and use a few new units. Fine tune and balance them, for the most part. If anyone is interested, email me.

The units I need tested are simple modifications to six units;

ATTrike, ATMongoose, ORLaserTank, ORDustScout, HKAssault, and HKBuzzsaw. These can all become Elite after 3-4 levels, some have extended ranks, some not, but all are designed to make these units more formidable so they will be worth building even when new, more powerful units start emerging. What could happen, if these units were not able to compete after new possibilities open up, is a stalemate, where a few superunits go out and fight a handful of other superunits. That would slow gameplay and render whole pages of units obsolete, as well as remove the whole need for extended ranks (no cannon fodder, no scores).

[Kingpin]

I also understand the balance issue with the Atriedes, I think the best solution is to rebalance them for air combat. Make the Hanger and Helipad buildable from the start and add another gunship or two. A penetration bomber sounds like a winner; rapid, heavily armored, with a single area effect missile that can crack the armor of a tank unit. Kind of an aerial sniper. Maybe a fighter as well, something excelling in air to air, with a rapid fire laser or maybe AMRAAMs. If you control the air, you can control the ground. Harkonnen strength would be in its vehicles and structures. Ordos in its infantry and vehicles. Atreides in its air and infantry.

[jacobdouds]

So its like looping circles?

Kingpin, I thank you for your ideas on hiding units way back, you have no idea how much I used it.

I will help in anyway I can IF you need it. When I finish some other projects.

[Apollyon]

my mod is very nearly complete (only 6 more units to make at the most) once it is i will help u do whatever u want me to do

i can edit the txts pretty well and can make units easily

[Kingpin]

More or less, the tech tree is like a three arm spiral, the goal is the center, the notional top of the tech tree. I'm biting off quite alot in this though, each level up should not just unlock a new unit, but a new potential in fighting, in strategy.

Take the Spotter, kind of a ADF, kind of not. It was supposed to be a uncontrolled defense asset, reacting to harvestor attack calls automatically like the carryall, but that is not really possible unless you delve right into the source code, I suppose the xbf. So the effect has to be simulated somehow, and I have to figure it out. The sole goal of that unit is to have an automatic defense tier, something that you set into motion and then move on.

The Assassin, Javelin Gunner, and Stinger gunner are all one shot, one kill deployable infanrty based on the Kindjal, each one supposed to target only its select prey, respectively infantry, vehicles, and aircraft. Their selective destruction potential is limited by their firing rates, very, very long. The Thumper is an unarmed Fedakin that should deploy its thumper and hopefully call a worm to it, where it will destroy it with a Saboteur like explosion...maybe. So on and so forth, its getting harder and harder to push the envelope with each new unit. Those above are all second tier units, made from recombining subhouses. The Superhouses are simply more powerful conventional units, whereas the hidden units are separate and 'revolutionary,' offer new possibilities. Don't ask about the Superior House...:)

[Apollyon]

sounds extremely cool and complex (all the better) it will be a pleasure to work on :)