Dream - Story-based Total Conversion mod for Endless Space

Trello Page (still in progress)



Currently working on Dream 1.0: The Vision. Over 5000 added lines of XML and dozens of pages of localizations!



What you can expect from this mod:



Story: Forget everything you know about vanilla Endless Space! Play as the imperialist United Earth, seeking fortune and glory; meet the kind but mysterious Sophon, and discover their dark secret; join the Pilgrims in a hopeless crusade against the Swarm that devoured their homeworld.

More ships: Unique ship classes for each race (with or without custom graphics)

More modules: From Point Defense Lasers to old-fashioned autocannon, Mac Cannon to Thermophotonic Xasers, each race has more custom weapon, defense, and support modules than you can wave a tentacle at.

More buildings: Most system improvements are race-unique, and almost none of them will be taken from 'vanilla' ES.

Favor: Events, diplomacy, victory conditions, battle cards, heroes - we will craft an interesting, diverse, and deep universe for you to play in!

Technology: Geek out as the Sowers develop real-time NP-hard problem solution, the Terrans unveil their masterful Space-Atmo-Ground Battle plan, and the Sophons unlock the secrets of the Higgs boson and matter itself! Over EIGHTY new technologies, fully localized and with total pseudorealism, will transform your game experience.



There will be things which don't make sense....yet.

There will be unbalanced features....both intentional and not.

There will be missing features.



Community feedback is welcome!



Endless Dream Team:

Hupailija













Endless Dream changelog

-----------------------



0.70 version:



* contains playable version of Sower and Swarm (well some members of Dream team can argue with that)

* contains completly rebuild heromod (and again some members of team complains about that

* contains various other minor stuffs (hey, this time no one complains)

Swarm

- Hupailijas Chosen race



Swarms were poor subject of terrible experiments.. and so they because ultra powerful biological soldiers.



Still something is stirring inside them and old habits don't die quickly. They are master farmer and ranchers who if given nice little Arid planet can turn that planet to paradise.. for swarms.



Swarm is the race you choose if you:

* Don't like wormholes but values freemovement (this is in project)

* Like evolving ships (this is inbuild)

* Like to create fleets of different ships and confuse game mechanism by making nearly immortal ships in the middle of heavy hitting ones



In difficulty curve Swarm is mediocre, when it comes to Exploring and Expanding everything depends how fast your expand, when it comes to war it depends how varied fleet you can build.

Sowers:



They were dropped, ages ago, onto a lifeless rock under orders from the Endless they turned it into a paradise.

They are called the Sowers.

And they seek other planets to continue their mission.



Sowers are robots, they don't live, they don't eat, they don't sleep and they are hard to kill. Their ships are huge factories (without windows) full of space but slow, so very slow.

Their buildings are mostly made to do what they do best... to manufacture and produce more production. They lack any kind of food producing buildings.



Their development tree includes various AI and frame improvements

Their switch varies from producing more Sowers, producing more production, terraforming faster to building fleets



Sowers main weapon is Kinetic, their weapons fire way more bullets than any other race but each bullet does less damage.

Their defence is better than average especially against exploding and thermo weapons.

Sowers capital ships is called Automa (ok, I thought about the Golem but Automa is better), it's huge factory, costing fortunes to build but unlike other races Automa can hold 2! ultimate weapons.

Sowers ultimate weapon is Shower, it fires thousands of small mines towards any ship standing it's path.



The worse planets Sowers live the better they are.



(again numbers values coming later)



Traits:

x0 Food per planet

100% Production to Food

+1 production per population (opens 3 techs where max is 4 prod per population)

Workshop, cost 5 dust per turn, gives 2 production per turn per population, building 60 production



further traits openable via technology

Rajesh, i have a question. Could you explain to me how sonic weapon works in space vacuum?

United Empire:



(Lupines call us monsters for we enslave them, Forest Dwellers calls us demons for we burn their trees and sell their elders, Middlelanders are afraid of us for we can buy their religion, Planes people are terrified of us because we don't feel remorse or guilt, Forsakens loves us... because without us they wouldn't have army.

- Feline leader: Lio in War of beasts. )



A faction of highly organized corporations, the United Empire's strengths are economic and military.



People from Terran are first and foremost traders, for them money is lifeblood and only reason for existance. Their life goes after getting more rich. Their ships are cheap, mass made products with full of specialized equipments.

Their buildings build under idea: "if it doesn't generate money, it's worthless". They despise schools and laboratiories unless either of those teaches how to become more rich.



Their business evolution tree includes various corporation specialization, expansive and aggressive competitive technologies.

Their switch varies from specialized markets, mass production, quality production to advertising.



Terrans main weapon is Kinetic, usually cheapest and easiest possible which are put to sacrficable ships commanded by slaves.

Their defence is less than average, not really shining in any deparment

Terrans capital ship is Emperor, Giant ship containing massive amount of weapons but none ultimate ones. It's cheapest of all capital ships.

Terrans lacks of ultimate weapon, they balance this by having space for 20-30 normal weapons in their capital ship.



Terrans favor planets which brings them income



Traits:

x0 Science in solar system level

50% of dust goes to science in empire level

no approval penalty from taxes

all taxes gives exactly same amount of money (25%)

the more planets one have the higher science bonus from dust is



further traits from techonology

CaptainPsilon wrote:
Rajesh, i have a question. Could you explain to me how sonic weapon works in space vacuum?

It's magic!



Can you explain how laser beam which lasts couple seconds deals more damage than bullet size of small stone in same vacuum?



I am not going to put laser spewing flies to space just because it makes more sense than having Dragonfly with sonar weapon

Hupailija wrote:
It's magic!



Can you explain how laser beam which lasts couple seconds deals more damage than bullet size of small stone in same vacuum?



I am not going to put laser spewing flies to space just because it makes more sense than having Dragonfly with sonar weapon

Well what we currently have in the game is not the laser beams. It is some kind of plasma projectiles. Anyway i think that high energy laser pulse (not beam) can do a lot of damage and can be very accurate. It is hard to hit target in space with kinetic weapon due to the distance but then you need only one hit.



Don't forget about gauss cannons!

Horatio



Horatio, founder of the Horatio, would beautify the universe by filling it with beings that look like… Horatio



Horatios are cloners, for them anything who births naturally is mistake happened, everything must have been well organized and similar for them. Their ships are usually made for one purpose only and as long as they can stick to that task their ships are superior to others.

Horatios buildings rely heavily under idea of improving their clone lab and making exactly similar looking beautiful cities with gardens and museums filled with exactly similar looking arts.



Their evolutionary technology tries to help them to produce better and more stabile clones.

Their switch helps them to focuse certain part of civilization development.



Horatios main weapon is Missiles, for idea of scratching their beautiful ideas is awful for them.

Their defence against missiles is superior but due to always been long range fighters they are lacking in short range combat.

Their capital ship is called Cube, for it looks exactly like living Cube.

Their ultimate weapon is Twin Missiles, huge missile silo which spews (sadly in gamewise 1) missiles towards enemy causing massive damage.



Traits:

x0.15 Food

Unique building Clonelab which gives 25% food from production (more levels from evolution, rank 4 gives 100% (totaling to 250% of production to food (with 0.15 that means 20-30% less than other races))

Able to clone heroes

CaptainPsilon wrote:
Well what we currently have in the game is not the laser beams. It is some kind of plasma projectiles. Anyway i think that high energy laser pulse (not beam) can do a lot of damage and can be very accurate. It is hard to hit target in space with kinetic weapon due to the distance but then you need only one hit.



Don't forget about gauss cannons!

Which is one of these things I wonder about scifi games, whats really difference between "kinetic" weapon and missile in space.

Well ok, Missile is accelerating all the time (think about what happens if there is enough distance) and it has more mass...

but in theory even if you throw small stone (with enough speed or in correct place) to spaceship you destroy it.



About case plasma projectile... it's bit like firing fireballs underwater. It's true that plasma is destroyable and really efficient but I wonder what happens if you bring plasma to space and let it fly more than second.





Of course thing is that we are speaking super creatures fighting in far future with techonology we don't understand.



There was good advice in Rolemaster back when I used to be storyteller in it:

"If you have to ask whether x is possible, it most likely is and you can add it".



About case insect and their weapons:

We are speaking about organic creatures here which use their own body as a weapon.

Of course one option would be that it would be dead and used as a both food source / traveling form and people inside would defend it with fighters / cannons.

But honestly I have always loved living ships, not sure why but I just like idea of ship which can transform it's shape and regenerate itself.



With that idea only possible option is that it uses some part of itself as a weapon, since none living creature can form laser or plasma (or more like we don't know any)

options are either to have somekind of hedgehog ship which fires it's spikes towards enemy or ship which forms waves to destroy it's enemy.



Now problem with waves as you said is that environment is Space and wave like advancing in space is bit problematic. So either that ship has to build it's own field or it has to fight close to planets.



Anyway I like this idea enough to have it in this form :P (and I really do need 2-3 races with laser weapon primaries, Energy creatures, Swarms and Sophons would make sense enough)

Pilgrim:



A group of scientists and explorers, unhappy with the United Empire, hijacked a mission to an outer planet and set up an independent government.

Accustomed to orbital living and constant movement, during the early years of their development they had a proportionally greater contact and familiarity with artifacts and remnants left by the Endless.



Pilrims are always traveling race, living in ships, tending these to their last breath. Their ships are technologically way advanced than others and thus way better in combat, sadly they have less ships than others.

They lack any building which improves anything in planet, instead all their buildings (named as a different ships) rises their system values.



Their evolution tree contains different kinds of ships and ship components, they also gets different bonuses for their ships.

Their switch varies contains different government forms



Pilgrims uses missiles as their main weapons, every ship is valuable for them and thus idea of losing one is awful.

Their defence is superior to anyone else.

Pilgrims capital ship is called Leviathan (hey, it's my favorite races titan), It's one of the hugest and best equipped ship in entire galaxy

Pilgrims ultimate weapon is called Oblivion, it fires thousands upon thousands missiles towards enemy fleet... after one use it has to reload long time, due to sheer amount of missiles it's more kinetic than missile weapon



Pilgrims don't have approval penaltys no matter what planets they live



Traits:

x0 planet approval bonuses

x0 planet fids

+15% starsystem bonuses (rises from evolution)

90% maluses but able to colonize any planet at start (maluses really doesn't matter)

population cap in planets based to commanding points (if possible)

"Did you see that? It seemed like he teleported in the air and then just tossed that zeppelin down" "What you saw was ultimate warrior who just heard that someone dared to burn his house"

- fall of lupine king, conversation between forest dweller elder and lupine mercenary relating to lupine king.



Hissho



Traits:

+5% max damage (tech rises)

+5% min damage (tech rises)

+30 approval if in war with somebody

-2 food per turn if not war with somebody

"so you brought me nearly dead person of person who apperantly judged by you spoke with goddess and then slaughtered entire battallion of men with rifle... and you don't allow me to little poke him from inside to see what kind of person he is?"- Rise of the King, chapter 1 page 30, Middlelander Forsaken doctor to army commander



Sophon



Curious, analytical, and inquisitive, the Sophons are a people who value knowledge over all. No theory -- or machine -- is so perfect that it can resist a bit of tinkering;



Sopphons are philosophers, doctors, scientists, researches and foremost engineers. For them no knowledge is too difficult to grasp. Sophons ships usually have best and most expensive equipments made and ships itself are marvelous.

Sophons tend to aim to increases their science and no matter what building they build it has some kind of place to learn and meditate.



Their evolution tree is path of learning, they want to learn everything about everything.

Their switches are different government forms



Sophons favorite weapons are plasma, for they are master to manipulate it. (though Spirits argue about that)

Sophons have defensive components against every possible type of damage, usually components are highly specialized.

Sophons ultimate ship is Merlin, it's rumored that they use same ship to produce minerals and supplies for them (simulating by making system building called Merlin which increase production). In combat Merlin loses to every capital ship but beats any other ship

Their ultimate weapon is tech hack, it fires beam which deals heavy amount of damage (if it would be possible it would also lower other fleets accuracy and defense)



Traits:

+1 sci per pop

school

50% of sci goes to prod

-50% prod

Your traits listings confuse me. It seems that you contradict yourself on how different FIDS are bonused in multiple areas. For example, the Sower's traits would cause all their food production to be zero, and then all production is turned into food. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that result in a race that can never get any production due to all of it immediately turning into food?



Also, you renamed the Amoeba to the Spirits, saying that you don't understand why they're called Amoeba. The Amoeba are just that, Amoeba, why would you need to change that?

Harel55 wrote:
Your traits listings confuse me. It seems that you contradict yourself on how different FIDS are bonused in multiple areas. For example, the Sower's traits would cause all their food production to be zero, and then all production is turned into food. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that result in a race that can never get any production due to all of it immediately turning into food?



Also, you renamed the Amoeba to the Spirits, saying that you don't understand why they're called Amoeba. The Amoeba are just that, Amoeba, why would you need to change that?

For first, it might be bit hard to understand me sometimes. I basically typed those traits like I code them not thinking what is understandable way to say it.



Basically formula is:

X=Y, where in case Sower X = food and Y = Production.

Quess correct way to say it would be: Replaces Food with Production without changing Production.





For your second: (I keep digging this link a lot) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amoeba



Basically I don't understand why being like that would want / could act with others any possible ways neither how it needs techonology and for what.

I tried to make government form earlier to Amoebas but noticed that it just isn't possible.

Basically in this mod I had to think some other way to deal with Amoebas and I decided to replace entire race with something with resembles them and gets their bonuses but is easier to understand (for me).

Of course if I find person who is willing to develop technology tree, different buildings, ships and other things to Amoebas I welcome then back... it's just that I can't do it.

Quess I should update my progress:



I have done most of the traits now, harder part is to remember to edit 4 different xml files (and to find correct lines now when it's not anymore in one huge file).

Also I have nicely got rid of all annoying old affinities and managed to get rid of starting ships "yay!"



Next in order is to finish traits and add Swarms techtree (or what I have made for it) after that I can publish first version. Estimated time for that is going to be tomorrow evening.



Oh and due to my funny way to edit almost every single xml I have to share entire mod folder (other option would be just to share 8 xml files but blah, sharing it all is easier).

Thanks for the progress update and the explanation. I thought that might be what was going on, but I wasn't sure. I guess changing the Amoeba is your choice, so I can't argue. Good luck with your mod!

I guess changing the Amoeba is your choice, so I can't argue.

Actually it's more like I just lack imagination and can't process something what can be easy for others or it is that I try to bring sense to something what lacks it.



Since to be honest, insectoidrobot, martians, race which only clones itself, halfbird and halfmans... none of those really makes sense if one thinks about it.

It's just that those have been done easier so it's easier for me to understand idea behind those.



Where as Amoeba is something new and scary, althought "similar" beings have been brought couple times earlier in different Scifi books none of those really answers: "but how that race works?"



And thats what I really need

Oh right, this just to everybody who reads these pages:

If anyone has any ideas relating to races I am willing to add anything.

Also if anyone wants to "create" any race I am more than happy to accept anything he creates, even to the point where I change his changes to canon of mod and remove what I have written.



This work is just too big to one person .





And then good news: Left side techonologies should be done today, after that I can move to upper side and then to right side.

Left side will have mostly trait relates technologies (hence weak traits).





Version 0.01 comes either today or tomorrow, reason why I haven't updated these is because I have coded last 8 hours (well ok, I have read forums every now and then just to keep my brains bit more clear)

As I said to you in a private message, I'll be really happy to work on the Amoeba race concept as well as Hisshos (and others after that).



If someone wants to help, I'll be happy to give my opinions and to accept what comes from him.