The future of Fleet Operations

posted on April 4th, 2014, 2:53 am

Who gave the FleetOps Devs permission on making a standalone Star Trek Game and if we can see that permission in a post from one of the Devs?

The NX Version of FleetOps I have a feeling is going to destroy the other mods, the other mini-mods, especially if the FleetOps Devs change the model format from SOD to something else and somehow inadvertently break the a i laity to used SOD or even ODF files. All old mods then will be forgotten, and all the work put into them won't be able to be enjoyed by anyone. Would be nice if you could offer support for the modding facility for the older mods and for Armada 2.

Considering this is a non-profit venture they don't need permission from anyone. There are other stand alone fan produced non-profit Trek games out there, If memory serves me, Star Trek Excalibur is a stand alone Trek game made by fans.

Also Doca Cola or Optec (forgiven me I can't recall) said that while they are going to go their own format, they will still support SOD format. As for ODF, anyone with a notepad can convert a mod to the new engine as Doca Cola mentioned that the coding won't use ODF files but something similar but superior.

To be honest this is a great move and I know many non modeler modders who will be jumping on the band wagon converting older mods to the new engine after NX's release. Can't wait to see if anyone takes a crack at converting B5 Armada II to NX.

posted on April 4th, 2014, 2:30 pm

Can't wait to see if anyone takes a crack at converting B5 Armada II to NX.

YEESSS!!!!!!!! A MILLION TIMES YESSSS!!! LOL

posted on April 4th, 2014, 7:54 pm

Some interesting game engines (Ideas for your NX Project) :

SW Empire at War: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP24E2-iFBY

Imperium Galactica II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HhI8tv24Pc

Vega Conflict: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn1YCL6O-J0

Another of my favorite space strategy game is SW Empire at War, and maybe would be nice to adopt some kind of engine like that game and you can use formats like MOD or ALO for your battle cruisers and space stations and yes, some animations would be nice like rotating turrets.

posted on April 5th, 2014, 1:29 am

Can't wait to see if anyone takes a crack at converting B5 Armada II to NX.

YEESSS!!!!!!!! A MILLION TIMES YESSSS!!! LOL

If I ever manage to get my mod Yesteryears completed I plan to do a new B5 A2 if I still have the bug. At the very least a model upgrade.

Some interesting game engines (Ideas for your NX Project) :

SW Empire at War: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP24E2-iFBY

Imperium Galactica II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HhI8tv24Pc

Vega Conflict: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn1YCL6O-J0

Another of my favorite space strategy game is SW Empire at War, and maybe would be nice to adopt some kind of engine like that game and you can use formats like MOD or ALO for your battle cruisers and space stations and yes, some animations would be nice like rotating turrets.

I too like many of the features from Star Wars Empire at War and I do play it from time to time. I'd like to see the ability to have your forces built and stay in a reserve and able to warp them in when they are needed like SWEAW.

If you want to make suggestions for the Dev's I recommend posting in this thread: //www.fleetops.net/forums/features ... -see-12619

Is where I have been throwing all my ideas down.

posted on April 6th, 2014, 6:23 pm

shame that v4 isnt coming but its good to hear that the developers of the engine are also on-board with the project
the ability to do stuff the armada engine couldnt or was difficult to do with makes sense to move sooner rather than later.

question what kind of requirements will the new engine need? something similar to armada or a lot higher specs?

posted on April 7th, 2014, 1:30 am

...
question what kind of requirements will the new engine need? something similar to armada or a lot higher specs?

Kinda curious too, how graphically shiny and scalable the engine will be.

Btw.: do you mean stock Armada II, or FO Armada II?
I doubt they will go back to requirements of some Pentium II (stock A2)

posted on April 7th, 2014, 6:31 pm

Well thats true if you are someone how does stop when everyone else stops.

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. ~Henry Ford

If you can dream it, you can do it. ~Walt Disney, It's kind of fun to do the impossible. ~Walt Disney

Often it isn't the mountains ahead that wear you out, it's the little pebble in your shoe. ~Muhammad Ali

A man either lives life as it happens to him, meets it head-on and licks it, or he turns his back on it and starts to wither away. ~Gene Roddenberry

The problem is not the problem the problem is that we keep saying problem. If you want it there are always ways. what sets ordinary from extraordinary is extraordinary people don't have problems they have solutions. It all comes down to a chose. do you want it or not.

cabalUser avatar
512 posts
posted on 03 April 2014, 01:02:05
ewm90 wrote:You could start making Fleet ops for profit soon.

They can't sell FO without first acquiring the Star Trek video game license, which is probably several billion dollars.

posted on April 11th, 2014, 6:56 pm

Sucks that A2 FleetOps is done but, the possibilities...oh the wondrous possibilities! I'd say a public beta release within a year or so sounds reasonable from what I get from the article. Also, you guys get all the fun of finding all the bugs lol.

posted on April 13th, 2014, 1:09 am

Thats good news for me. I'm working together with the Excalibur guys and we have build our engine from scratch - I have to point out, that without great talents and time, this would not be possible.

Now we have two Star Trek games with their own engine that evolves further as time increases, instead of having a fixed engine that stays like it is upon release. This means: In future updates the engine will grow too which means: More capabilities. I guess, once all the assets and the basic mechanics are done, the rest can be translated quite fast, esp. if the team got the manpower for it.

I'm glad this project continues, as this is the only Star Trek RTS currently available. With Excalibur on top of it, we cover practically everything a fan could wish for.

posted on April 17th, 2014, 11:28 pm

Been watching this *MOD* since before it's release on A2. Attempted to help with the Voice Overs for the Dominion, before my PC died so long ago. Always supported and waited patiently for the team's excellent work and connection to the community thru updates, forum posts and just being great folks. If my experience has taught me anything it's whatever project you're about to start is going to be above par and greatly admired. Not just by me but all the fans of Star Trek and the RTS community. Right now the only decent RTS out there is the repetitive StarCraft or the ever MODDED Sins of a Solar Empire. No mater what games come out, I am always looking back for the next FO. Have it installed on any machine I have. Can't wait to see the new updates and best of luck. Thanks for all the memories and future ones to come.

posted on April 18th, 2014, 6:48 am

Wow. I never thought so much progress would be made on the new engine so quickly. Now Fleet Operations can join the ranks of fan-made Star Trek games that beat the crap out of the commercial ones. (Star Trek: Excalibur is another fan-made game currently in development.)

Project CARS... Star Citizen... two great examples of how greedy, old game developers are going the way of the dodo, much the same way the titans of the record industry are, as they desperately push out new auto-tuned shit on a regular basis trying to stay afloat. The times are changing... and I think it's a good thing

Best of luck on project NX, Fleet Ops and the ezEngine!

posted on April 21st, 2014, 6:04 pm

The thing is: The games dev nowadays got a problem: The technological advancement has passed the speed the devs can build the assets and mechanics for a game. While processing capabilities limited the amount of content in earlier games and thus, the content could be crafted in more detail (story-background, mechanics, intelligent behavior of the game world) those aspects fall short in modern games (mostly) because after the engine is set and the models are done, the whole dev-process is a pretty fixed assembly line process. (See EA and Ubisoft in their stiff and uninspired "management")

The only possible method to break out of this boring 0815-game production is to:
a) Have a massive amount of money and time at your hands without demanding fans (Kickstarter to some degree)
b) Make an Indie game
c) Make a game that is not dependent on money (Fleetops, Excalibur, Mods in general)

Only option "c" gives you the ability to go all-out in terms of creativity and both Fleetops and Excalibur fall into this category. The only drawback is the Dev-time. It takes about 2 or 3 times as long as if you would let a full-time team do the job. Still, you can craft everything you want AND: The motivation can always stay high, as you yourself set your limits and not some manager giving you arbitrary deadlines or silly feature-requests. The most crucial aspect on this method of dev is the support from both the community as well as helping hands (people who can code or design or build assets, voiceover etc)

So, to everyone who demand a faster progress: This mod is for free. If you want the game to be made faster, lift your sleeves and carry your part. I've done it myself and you know what? I'm proud of myself now, because I do something. The road is long, yes, but its worth it. Time to grow some backbone.

posted on April 22nd, 2014, 12:06 am

some manager giving you arbitrary deadlines or silly feature-requests.

Hey, we give the silly feature-requests. Managers give silly feature-demands.

posted on April 22nd, 2014, 10:00 am

some manager giving you arbitrary deadlines or silly feature-requests.

Hey, we give the silly feature-requests. Managers give silly feature-demands.

You are right.

posted on June 15th, 2014, 12:24 pm