Star Trek Armada II: Fleet Operations

Merry Xmas and a happy new year to the Fleet Operations Community!

The Borg took a great step from "models and ideas" to "balanced and playable" during the past few weeks. The Borg will feature, as already announced in the forums, a complete new set of models and a complete new playing style.

What are the first things that come in mind when thinking of a Borg vessel (besides cubic of course).. right, large and powerful! Its hard to balance these two aspects in a real time strategy game. A powerful and large vessel has to be expensive of course. But its no fun for a player to save an immense amount of resources and then has to wait for a long time until the construction is complete.
Fleet Operations will go another road. Borg vessels are no longer build like normal starships. They are composed of different modules which improve different aspects of a vessel. The player can choose between all available modules to construct specifically the vessel he or she wants for a certain purpose. An Assimilator for example might be tuned up to a very powerful assimilation unit or a heavy torpedo carrier, laying devastation to starbases.
Each chassis has a different number of free slots to build modules in and the maximum number of installed modules of a certain type might also differ from vessel to vessel. I want to show you a small preview of this unique module system by presenting the Sphere.

(http://www.fleetops.net/images/newspost_images/sphere.png)
The Borg Sphere features a total of up to 4 modules slots. She may carry Beam, Torpedo, Regeneration and Holding-Beam Modules.

(http://www.fleetops.net/images/Gallery/FleetOps3Borg/thumbs/screen.png) (http://www.fleetops.net/images/Gallery/FleetOps3Borg/screen.png)
A Borg Sphere during construction



(http://www.fleetops.net/images/newspost_images/beammodule.png)
Beam Module
The Spheres primary module. The Sphere may carry up to 3 Beam-Modules. The Beam Module increases Offensive and Defensive Value by 8. Each Beam-Module will add an additional energy phaser and allows the sphere to simultaniously attack an additional target. up to 4 targets if three modules are installed.

(http://www.fleetops.net/images/newspost_images/torpedomodule.png)
Torpedo Module
The Sphere may carry one Torpedo Module. The module increases the Offensive Value by 15. Per default the Sphere is only equipped with one beam weapon and this module is the opportunity to add some additional offensive power.

(http://www.fleetops.net/images/newspost_images/regenerationmodule.png)
Regeneration Module
Another very important module for the Sphere. Each module increases all attributes by 5 and the Sphere may carry up to three modules of this type. The module increases the repair rate by 10 percent for each Regeneration Module installed. The Regeneration special ability already known from previous releases will become available if you have at least 2 Regeneration Modules present.

(http://www.fleetops.net/images/newspost_images/holdingmodule.png)
Holding-Beam Module
The Sphere may only carry one Holding-Beam Module. The module will increase the Defensive Value by 5 and the System Value by 10. As probably guessed from the name this module grants access to the Holding-Beam special ability. As the Cube may install up to 3 Holding-Beam modules, the Sphere's Holding-Beam will be weaker, but its still a good choice to assimilate smaller units like Sabers or B'rels.


So, whats your choice? A multi-targeting sphere with 3 Beam and one Torpedo Module? A though and durable assimilation base with 3 Regeneration and one Holding Beam Module? Or something in between?
Thats the Borgy way to play! Adapt to your enemies strategies, customize your giant, expensive and powerful vessels! Crush fleets with just a hand full of units!

And never forget.. resistance is futile!  :borg:

so that means, we build only the empty husk and then upgrade them?

Does the install process for these modules take time?

How's the multitargeting gonna work?

great work!.
How long before we can finally sink our teeth into it?  :sweatdrop:

So let's summarize, you'll be able to increase offensive and defensive value by 8 with the installation of modules(a large number), and destroy entire fleets with a handful of units? I'm trusting that the game is going to be a bit more balanced so to speak, and you can't take out 39 starships with one cube.

I can here Riker now, "You've got to help us...THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!!!"

That's really amazing!  :woot:

Merry Christmas to all of you and a happy new year!
Keep it going!  :woot:

Construction of Borg ships starts differently then for other races. At first you will have to build a Collective Uplink with your Assembly Node (the constructor). The Collective Uplink is the basic node of every starship. Here you can chose the chassis you want to build (a Sphere for example) and then chose your modules as the Sphere builds around the Uplink, that looks and feels a bit more Borgy then yards.

Multi Targeting allows a unit to target more then one vessel at the same time. The larger portion of the firepower will still listen to your attack commands and target the vessel you chose, the rest will target nearby units automatically.
If you are interested in the formulas: Multi Targeting does only apply to Beam Weapons for the Borg. The damage of the Beam Weapon will be split into parts according to the Multi Targeting value (3 parts if you may assault 3 targets). One part - and the single-target weapons like Torpedos - will follow your orders, the rest will chose its targets separately.

You wont have to face a Wolf 359 scenario in Fleet Operations, but the feeling you get by commanding Borg units should be a lot better then in Beta2. The most offensive Sphere configuration already reaches the 70 Offensive Value, which is far above all other battleships. A Borg player will command only small amounts of highly customized units. The gameplay goal for a Borg Player should be the management and usage of his or her vessels, rather then building up fleets. The special abilities will underline this even more.

This is incredible!  :woot: I wish you guys were in charage of designing a lot of the other rts's out there, cuz those are just plain inferior to how V3 is looking!  :thumbsup:
I reeeeeeeally can't wait until it is released. So darn amazing I can't stop repeating myself  :blush:

This looks great, much more Borg-like than the current construction system :)

hmm UaW has a similiar approach (hierachy faction)

on topic:: thanks for the info

I know UaW does... but I don't like the way it was implemented. I.e. once one of the sockets is destroyed, it can't be fixed... plus it wouldn't suit the Borg that well, as these advances (at least I think so) are integrated into the whole ship, so they can't be destroyed that easily. Although admittedly, it would be cool to see chunks of the ship being disintegrated.

I know I really like the idea of fewer, much more powerful Borg ships. A few of them should definitely be able to hammer a fleet of almost anything else. I gives it my seal of approval!

Fleetops is a strip tees they show a little but never put out.


Will the borg get extra restores from recycling assimilated ship?

For me it seems like it makes more cents for the borg to relay on assimilating ships as form of reassure collecting then they have in the past.

Is there a way to gimp there reassure collectors and ad bigger bonuses for assimilation?

I am very proud of all the work you guys have done, even after years you keep up at it.  Thanks for all your work  :thumbsup:  Borg look really innovative now and way better than the original game

You guys are AMAZING. I don't know where you come up with this stuff! If I had a penny for every time u came up with a good idea...well... u know the story!  :thumbsup: :woot:

wow, this does look very promising!
When it comes out i'll be sure to make time for it to play...

The idea of a strong borg ship versus an entire fleet....gets me going!
I mean, you build a couple of scouts for early protection get a cube up and going, upgrade it and take on an entire starbase with them having to throw everything they got to defend....shit that sounds awesome!

ps is there some kind of info file to see what all the values mean,
like offensive value, defensive tho I can guess those two, what does system value do and stuff like that?

I understand that wessels will be built by constructors. So will there be any yard (f.e. repairs and restaff)?

Oh...my...god... :o

You have made the Borg...truly Borg.

How did you get the module research working while the ship is building? Is it a segmented thing (so selecting each option triggers a part of the build process) or do they run simultaneously?

Definetly gets my approval! Just wow!

Time to face it people...

Resistance is, and always has been...futile...

Prepare to be assimilated! :borg:  B)  :borg:

Nope, the Borg will no longer have yards. Borg ships can not be repaired on yards, but their native regeneration rate is higher. In exchange all Borg vessels can be re crewed like stations (a Borg ship is some kind of floating station after all).
There might be a small repair station for assimilated ships via Mixed-Tech, thats currently in our minds.

The modules are completely integrated in the vessel and can not be selected, targeted or destroyed separately. A Borg vessel is still one solid vessels as for every other race, just that you customize it and chose what it is able to and what not.

I explained what each attribute does in detail here :)
Star Trek Armada II: Fleet Operations - System Value? (http://www.fleetops.net/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,3/topic,3256.0/)

Where are they built?

I think it was mentioned before... you build the main "node" at the Collective Uplink  :D

What about the small borg vessels, like the Interceptor for example? How are the Diamonds special weapons handled with the new system?

Great work, finally mighty borg ships...  :borg:

Will additional weapon ports be visible on the models?

Damn, I really like the idea of making any Borg ship completely customizable! :thumbsup:

Does Borg ship behave like romulan - You build first the basic ship and then You can upgrade it, or do You choose all modules before construction.
Posted on: December 28, 2007, 05:43:39 pm

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About the multi - tageting: If there is only one target, will all weapons fire on it, or will only one beam nad torpedoe?

If you look at the first post from the developers, I think it explains it all. I guess, if I understand it correctly, you choose one of the available basic nodes, which you then upgrade into a limited class of ships: "Each chassis has a different number of free slots to build modules in and the maximum number of installed modules of a certain type might also differ from vessel to vessel"

It would be really cool if you could see the weapon emplacements and stuff on the ship!  :shifty:
Resistence is futile.

Wow, this is really cool.

You guys keep surprising me.

It's gonna be well worth the wait. At first it restored the joy of A1, but now it's greatly surpassed it. Well done indeed!  B)

So will there be just one node for all types of chassis, or will there be like a node then an advanced node or something?  Also, will the ships be bigger as well?  And finally, will there be the tactical cube armour as an available upgrade for the cube, a seperate chassis, or not in the game at all?

Bravo!

All vessels are built from the Collective Uplink.

Yep, vessels have been scaled in order to fit the series as close as possible. The Command Cube will even be a bit larger then the TNG or Voyager Cubes.

The Tactical-Armor Module is available for Cubes and will add the optical armor elements as seen in Voyager.

Awwww sweet! :woot:

How is the AI taking to these changes in the gameplay dynamics?

Sounds great, I can't wait to see the FO version of the armour :)

I bet the AI's fine, fewer ships bumping into each other, trying to find their way around!

ok can we get a visual about this I know some of us are having trouble picturing the diffrence between this and a shipyard (my self included) so can we see some shots of the ships being built and the node that builds them.

and guys this looks fantastic. :woot:

The difference is that the starship is built arround the Collective Uplink and that the Collective Uplink becomes part of the final vessel. You will have to build a new Collective Uplink for each unit. A Collective Uplink features no repair or disassembling functionality.

...So, that seems to imply that the Borg have another station featuring those capabilities.

Or, in a unforeseen twist, will the borg completely lack station-borne repair and disassembly options?

yep, Borg can neither repair their ship at yards (hell where to dock a cube on an Antaras yard..) nor recrew them via yards. They can recrew all vessels like stations.

Can't wait to play 'em  :D

Can't wait to LIVE them!

Will the Borg ships and stations all have a Regeneration button that makes repairs on their ships, But the ship cannot move or fire at other ships, and at the expense of not being able to untoggle this feature until the ship is repaired?

nope, the regeneration special ability is only available if a unit carries at least 2 regeneration modules. the only "basic-borg" unit capable of that is the sphere (there might be additional avatar units)
A single regeneration module can how ever be installed in all borg units, passively increasing the repair rates.

Any screenshots of Borg structures?

in the gallery: Star Trek Armada II: Fleet Operations - Borg Collective (http://www.fleetops.net/gallery/catid,3/)

Can't wait to COMMAND them  :thumbsup:

What can I say... You guys just keep improving and improving FO. You have incredible ideas and I really am happy that you wait long enough to see them trough to perfection so it really does improve gameplay A LOT. That of course means that it takes a long time between mod releases which sucks for us fans :'(. It also has to be said that the old A2 engine is starting to show some serious signs of ageing, especially if you compare it to the new RTS's. Oh well, Im always going to be a fan of this mod thats for sure since it brought me countless hours (days even) of pleasure by playing online (the only game I was really into online till now).
I only hope, for the sake of all of us that some gaming studio sees some more potencial in Star Trek and starts developing Armada 3, or any other ST RTS so maybe, just maybe the FO team starts working on it ;)

Anyways, real good job as always  :thumbsup:
Maybe the Borg will become my favorite race again ;) :D

I think the engine will get some anti-aging capsules someday :)

Good news! (comes to people who wait)
Will you be administrating those capsules by any chance Optec?  :woot:

anti aging is nice lol


an A3 would be nice but it would only work if you could use A2 mods and it would be huge very very fast. the only problem is it would be hard to make it as nice as games nowadays and still use our old mods :blush:

Meaning like you creating some graphic improvements? Or more like MadDoc updating their game engine?

I think its the former, which is great. BUT again that time thing ... As much as you work on improving the graphics the better other RTS's will be again lol. But oh well.... I hope its good :D

hmm does that means that we can expect a release in 2015 - shortly after Starcraft 2?

more like between starcraft 2 and duke nuken forever :P
nah, the biggest part is done. most remaining todos are more like those little annoying tasks that you like to shirk from ;)

Wow! Does this mean that the Game will be coming out (relatively) soon? Cuz that would be a big highlight of the 2008 year!  :D

Indeed it would :)

Thats fricking good news right there :D
BTW what kind of improvement pack are we talking about? How much can u really improve that old engine anyway :D
Some demonstration screens, or even better yet, videos would be good right now ;) :D :P

You guys really are doing a great job, keep at it :P

what a joke, were 9 days in to 2008 so they could technically release it in december 2008 and sitll be within the "oh its going to be released in 2008" excitement your gearing yourself up for...

and even then it might not even be released so im sticking to myself portrayed moto for FO, its doen when its done, no sooner no later, no expectations, well actually i predict 2010 that way i cant be disapointed...

Well, you'd be disappointed if it was released in 2011...

Or if the new microsoft operating system no longer worked with the A2 engine...

there will be many small new eye candies in v3 :) you will see

It'll be well worth the wait, great things always are. Keep up the good work FO developers!

great stuff.
Question. Will the queen herself be a playable avatar?
Who will the other be?

I think the Avatars for the Borg will be akin to V2 (?) where they were Assimilation or Adaptation... more a "Collective" fighting style rather than a specific admiral's fighting style (making the difference between the Borg and other races even more apparent)

Regardless, if teh game makes a 2008 release date at all, perhaps it'll take the edge off the Star Trek XI disappointment (assuming there is one) for a few of us...

Indeed  :D

Have you all seen the pictures of the Enterprise from the trailer?

All I saw in that trailer was the Enterprise being build by hand, on the ground, by guys with primitive looking welding tools and protective gear... so much for the canon fact that the NX-02 Columbia was build in orbit... :ermm:

yeah.. lol
Enterprise NX in orbit, but Enterprise NCC on the ground.
NX built by 22nd century tech, while the NCC one is built by 20th century welders taken into the future by 27th century temporal technology. That's cos Starfleet was tired of all the modernity, and wanted the NCC spaceship to be a remodel of the 50s Chevrolet.
See, it all makes sense now..lol.

Jeesh, these remakes and prequels keep miffing up the continuity and fun of the originals!
Look at what AvP and its sequel ended up doing to the 2 franchises....

and to add on top of that, what First Contact, and then Enterprise did. (The part of Starfleet discovering hte Borg before TNG...) Yeesh.

Will ships that have been assimilated be able to then upgrade/regenerate and have the other various borgish abilities available?

Cheers

One thing I've always wondered... would it make sense for other races to even be able to pilot/run most Borg ships? I know this would alter gameplay quite a bit, but wouldn't it only be feasible for other races to capture only the smaller Borg vessels as the bigger ones (such as cubes) require a vast crew as well as a link to the Collective to function?

it is still posspible to board borg vessels, but as for all races you will no longer be able to build their units and stations if you captured a constructor (you will get your mixed-tech features instead). But Borg Vessels have very high crew counts

I just finished watching the Voyager episode "Collective", and it made me wonder if it'll be possible to have cubes tractoring immobilized vessels into their internal hangar and stripping them for crew and resources/parts? :borg:

It could be implemented as a special weapon with a probability to succeed, depending on how big the targeted ship is and the ship that targets it.

For example, a sphere would've little problem with an Intrepid, but a Sovereign would most likely resist. A Tactical Cube should be able to assimilate even the largest ships, but the cooldown would have to be pretty long in order to compensate for it.

Also, while a Borg vessel is trying to tractor another into their hangar, it should be made vulnerable to attack...after all, its hangar bay doors will have to be open :p