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| I am the dark side! |
Ghostrider - July 20, 2010 |
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Caprioril and Kaikielius have fallen. Renegade Imperials troops are under siege on Coruscant. Imperial strike fleets led by Klev’s Silencer-7 and Pellaeon’s Chimaera are poised over Nyasko and Abregado-Rae respectively. The Dark Side Elite await orders on Vjun and Prakith. Orders have gone out to annihilate all traces of the New Republic throughout the galaxy. But all pales before the vast armada of gunships, assault transports, cruisers, Star Destroyers and giant Battlecruisers in orbit over Byss and even these behemoths are overshadowed by the brooding menace of Palpatine’s flagship – The Soverign.
The New Republic has withdrawn from the Core Worlds, with the exception of a few critical strongholds such as Metellos, Anaxes and Brentaal-IV determined to slow the Imperial advance at a heavy price. With the fleet regrouping over Da Soocha 5, the shipyards at Bilbringi and Kuat have been deploying Republic-class Star Destroyers to boost ageing fleets of medium frigates and cruisers, while the secret shipyards of Hast and Krinemonen-III have been producing state-of-the-art Mon-Calamari frigates, cruisers and capital warships to strengthen the new bases in the Outer Rim Territories, with brand new E-Wings from Norval II adding additional punch to the starfighter force.
In these desperate times, weakened by the loss of Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side, the Republic must strike at Byss and destroy the Dark Empire and the Emperor at its source before the galaxy is consumed by the Sith.
Operation Shadow Hand is reborn.
A Devastating Addition
The key to accurately portraying Operation Shadow Hand accurately was simply to go back to the original source material - Dark Empire graphic novels and the Dark Empire Sourcebook. Where possible, the composition of all forces has been taken straight from the art of the Dark Empire and care has been taken to accurately portray every blip, indistinguishable dagger and ship class as closely as possible. We are therefore pleased to announce the addition of several new Imperial units to the campaign, starting with the World Devastator.
These capital-class terror weapons come with exceptional shielding and a good array or turbolaser cannons, and of course the Molecular Furnaces, which produce an almost limitless quantity of automated fighters- TIE Drones- in neverending waves. At point blank range, these furnaces can be turned upon enemy warships, consuming them utterly. And finally, if WD’s survive the space conflict and are part of the blockading fleet above an enemy world, those same molecular furnaces are capable of sucking enemy ground bases right off the map!
Titus Klev commands a squadron of these war machines in preparation for the assault on Mon Calamari, while the remainder are stationed above Byss.
Operation Shadow Hand is also the campaign most closely associated with the Dark Side of the Force, and to that end two new starfighters closely associated with the Dark Side Elite have been added. The first is Luke’s personal transport (also flown by Sedriss) – the I-7 Howlrunner.
Although the latest in the Incom Line, it was designed by those Imperial scientists that did not defect to the Rebel alliance along with the X-Wing schematics, and the old stigma has resulted in limited acceptance with the Imperial Fleet. The ship is sleek and fast, able to outpace X-wings, and with superior performance to the Tie Interceptor and although it has heavy shielding, the twin laser cannons are rather light by Imperial standards and this fighter performs less well in an extended space battle. Its high speed makes for an excellent reconnaissance craft, especially when piloted by the Dark Side Elite.
Following experimentation into Ssi-Ruuk type entrenchment processes, Umath Lek has extracted the brains of mortally wounded Tie Fighter pilots and implanted them in nutrient solutions into heavy droid fighters, creating exceptional war droids that use the Dark Side of the Force – Shadow Droids. These are easily the nastiest starfighters in the galaxy. With the speed and manoeuvrability to outpace the best Republic fighters and firepower to rival an B-wing/E bomber, these are dogfighters par-excellence, made from warhead-duping stealth material. A squadron can probably outgun an Acclamator Assault Ship! Their only limitation is the lack of a hyperdrive. A full wing of Shadow Droids is stationed on Byss to protect the Emperor.
Focus on Byss
The other major challenge for this campaign was the sheer scale of the conflict. The art of the Dark Empire graphic novels depicts hundreds of ships in orbit over Byss or assembling from the Deep Core. While we cannot hope to have every unique ship in the mod, they translate fairly well into upgraded Mark II and III Star Destroyer variants.
Our interpretation of the Byss fleet is as follows, most are at least Mark II variants, unless otherwise stated:
6 Shadow Droid Squadrons; Gamma-class Assault Transports; Lambda T4d Shuttles, Skiprays and Guardian-class Light Cruisers in patrol / defense roles.
9 Armed Action IV gunships; 6 Bayonet Patrol ships; 12 DP20 Gunships; Carrack & Dreadnaught Cruisers; Escort Carriers; 8 Acclamator II Star Frigates; 4 Acclamator III Star Frigates;
2 Immobiliser 418B’s; 2 Taskforce Cruisers; 2 Victory I’s; 3 Victory II’s; 2 Victory III’s; 14 Imperial I; 2 Imperial II; 2 Imperial III SD’s; 4 Tector I; 4 Tector II; 1 Tector III; 4 WD’s; 3 Praetor I-Class Star Battlecruisers a massive Praetor II Star Battlecruiser, Dark Luke, Singularity & Soverign!
Even if we ignore the Soverign entirely, there is more firepower in orbit over Byss alone than Grand Admiral Thrawn had under his entire command.
Republic and Independent forces
We aim to replicate this level of accuracy throughout the campaign, using existing variants where new or currently unobtainable starship designs are shown.
However, I can say that Rebel A9’s are in place on Kuat alongside the latest E-Wings, and the occasional Bulwark Battlecruiser is in evidence as a New Republic Command Ship. The MC90 Defiance class - which debuted in this conflict - is currently represented ably by the MC80b variant, and is present at Hast, Kuat and Mon Calamari.
We are, however, able to bring you the MC80 Evacuation Cruiser, which Mon Calamari technicians converted from Reef Home Star Cruisers in record time to evacuate civilians during the Battle of Mon Calamari, and the terror of the World Devastators.
Darkness has shrouded the galaxy, and many independent worlds have joined the arms race to survive, with Palpatine’s influence spreading fear and aggression, and for the first time ever, this is without the stabilising influence of the Republic/Empire. Many worlds such as Aargau are now fortresses, especially since the Invincible-class Heavy Cruiser has been further modernised following the original CSA retrofit in 18BBY and is seen in the Mark II format over many worlds, but this is not the real danger.
These violent upheavals have devastated many worlds and as a result, pirates, outlaws and organised crime syndicates have made the most of the situation, rapidly expanding their activities, especially since the recent development of the StarViper-class Attack Platform.
This is a murderous pirate craft, heavily armed and shielded. Worse still, many criminal organisations have made increasing numbers of illegal craft, both large and small, from salvaged battle debris leftover from the recent conflict with Thrawn, and shadowports such as Columex and Nar Shaddaa are not to be entered lightly.
One desperate thrust
Given the scale of the Imperial Fleet, it is only a matter of time before the Core falls. Once the last bastions of defence crumble under the onslaught the last few Republic worlds will be rapidly overwhelmed. The last remaining hope is to collect every last ship in the Outer Rim and plunge towards Byss in an attempt to destroy the Dark Empire at its very heart.
This is an explosive campaign with titanic fleets and conflict on an unimaginable scale, together with a new, more detailed vision of the Deep Core and the Dark Empire.
QUOTE ….We of the New Republic are pledged to end this long night of misery. We are pledged to defeat and destroy the Empire and restore the Republic to the Galaxy in fact and name. Those who are currently under the threat of despotism and anarchy know this: the New Republic is committed to justice and peace and will fight to free you. Join us if you can.
DO NOT ALLOW THE DARKNESS TO RISE AGAIN
Mon Mothma’s holomedia broadcast following the Imperial siege of Caprioril.
Comments (61) |
| Win A Copy Of The EaW Gold Pack |
Phoenix Rising - May 29, 2010 |
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Hard to believe Empire at War is over four years old now, which inevitably means it's becoming more and more difficult to find a copy of it at the local retail, despite some pretty big releases still pending from the mod community. If you're looking forward to any of these titles, but don't already own a copy of the original game and expansion, are you simply out of luck when it comes to this exclusive content?
Fortunately with the recent addition of the Gold Pack to Steam, conversions like PR can live on years after the game has disappeared from stores. On top of that good news, Petroglyph and Petrolution want to give you a copy for free. This is the perfect opportunity to check out the countless hours of replay value offered by the community, all for the price of a click. Follow the banner!
Comments (2) |
| Polishing up the Campaigns |
Ghostrider - March 26, 2010 |
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All seven of the Phoenix Rising Campaigns have undergone a major overhaul in recent months to add a bit more spice to each world. Just don’t alert imperial customs!
Over new 50 planets have been added to the mod, with still more heroes, more units and a few more developments, each of which affects the campaigns and starting forces. Along the way, PR has also refined and tweaked many of the graphics, with more detailed models in evidence for a number of units.
While the Thrawn Offensive and Operation Skyhook have been covered and are largely unchanged, recent testing (many thanks to Reedek, Kacen and Feld) has added a few tweaks here and there, with the addition of Sulon as a new rebel base to Skyhook and Hockaleg as a potential 3rd location to build the DEATH STAR.
Construction News
In other news, I can finally announce some more unit developments with the introduction of Container Yards and the independent Xiytiar freighter.
The Xiytiar Freighter is a new independent freighter seen on most of the safer hyperspace routes, in both a standard and upgraded armed variant but the four forward pointing laser cannons are still about as much use as Womp rats in Beggars Canyon.
Xiytiar Freighters
Container Yards appear on planets with a large trading base and like ocean ports today are simply stacks of goods waiting to be shipped or imported, and have no military significance, as they are unarmed and lack a hyperdrive. These are the goods containers that the BBF-1, CTF-1 and MCF-1 haul around the galaxy and then drop off in large orbital storage yards waiting for local shipment to the planet’s surface. 5 different varieties exist:
Class-A, multipurpose
Class-B, vehicles, manufactured items
Class-C, gases, liquids
Class-D, bulk dry goods (e.g. grains, ore)
Class-E, valuable/urgent multipurpose (e.g. munitions, provisions)
The original idea was to have these as half-cost freighters with a light income stream but the game engine requires freighters to be moved before the income is unlocked, which is kinda tricky for a box with no engines, so for now these are purely visual extras to make planet look more interesting.
Finally to round off the construction news, we have a new Space Structure – The Research Station. This is a straight replacement for the old Ground Research Facility, and works in just the same way, and the only difference is that it's now orbital to reflect the type of research it handles. This is heavily shielded and expensive, but unarmed, so protect at all costs!
Freight yards under attack
From Core to the Outer Rim
The main focus in recent weeks has been updating the quartet of historical GFFA campaigns of Core Worlds, Inner Rim, Outer Rim and Galaxy Far Far Away. All of these campaigns are set in 18BBY just after the end of the Clone Wars and portray the ‘what if’ scenario at the very beginnings of the Galactic Empire on the one hand and the number of independent resistance groups opposing the New Order on the other.
Apart from tweaking forces to meet the various technical changes, the key focus was to eliminate the problems of slow build up that plagued the original release. However, the development and expansion of the advantages has meant that these campaigns are now much more lively than before, especially as we have radically increased the number of starting worlds on each campaign, and expanded the manufacturing capacity and added more starting heroes. I would also like to add that each sub campaign of CW/IR and OR has its own unique hero-set, so you won’t find any recycled heroes across these campaigns. 
This will have several effects. First, it creates more strategic options and improves the speed of your initial offensive. Secondly, the increase in the number of starting worlds means significantly fewer independent/pirate worlds and we hope that this has an added bonus of reducing the lag and improving game performance.
Finally, each of the sub-campaigns now has an individual theme.
Return of the Corporate Sector Authority
As an added challenge, the Corporate Sector Authority returns to the Core Worlds Campaign, albeit as a second non-playable AI faction, turning the already crowed Core into a cramped three-way fight, with opposing planets in very close proximity to each other. CSA Planets: Byblos, Metellos, Rendili, Tepasi, Vulpter.
Byblos is a high-rise metrolpolis and the home of Merr-Sonn while Vulpter is a very strange junk world and the home of Arakyd Industries, makers of all droids that probe.
The player controlled Core-Worlds have a very idealistic theme, and represent core values for the Imperial and Rebel factions alike.
The Galactic Empire starts with Byss, Corulag, Coruscant, Carida and Kuat, and as you would expect the advantages for the bigger core worlds are among the best in the galaxy. The Imperial Palace on Coruscant gives a huge recharge bonus to all units, and the Senate offers a significant 25% discount on all purchases, both of which stack very nicely with Palpatine’s leadership bonuses. The KDY yards at Kuat are probably the best military corporation in the galaxy and offer significant benefits. Apart from the production bonus on all yards, as well as production bonuses on all KDY products, the KDY yards give a massive 20% boost to starship health, starfighter speed and a very nice 20% health bonus to all vehicles!
Combine this with the leadership benefits of Coruscant, and these two planets alone become more valuable than a fleet of Star Destroyers or several years’ worth of individual upgrades, and this surely is the driving force behind the Galactic Empire’s military domination of the entire galaxy in years to come.
The Rebel faction starts with 6 planets that exemplify the spirit of rebellion ~ Alderaan, Chandrila, Corellia, Fresia, Ghorman and Ralltiir. This gives the rebels two key starfighter advantages with the Incom and Koensayr corporations, but also gives the rebels access to arguably one of the best corporate worlds in the Core – Corellia. This has a massive 9 separate advantages including the CEC corporation and the Golan Arms company. The Corellian Security force also adds a very nice 12.5% bounty on all pirate kills, giving a nice little income stream to any combat situation.
Inner Rim
As we move out to the Inner Rim, the campaigns expand the scope of starting worlds and the theme moves to the non-human influences in the galaxy with 8 worlds apiece, and of these only the rebel planet of Contruum and the Imperial facilties at Anteevy and Bilbringi are true human colonies.
Aridus, Champala, Chardaan, Contruum, Dressel, Ithor, Kashyyyk, Tibrin on the Rebel side with the usual mix of resistance cells, outraged populations and corporate worlds, simply looking for independent rule.
Resistance cells are exemplified by Aridus, where Chubbit resistance fighters worked closely with Yutrane Trakata to convert mining equipment into blaster-carrying hovertanks, Dressel and Tibrin, while Champala and Kashyyyk have planet-wide rebellions against imperial rule, especially on Champala, where the Empire strip-mined and polluted the former utopian resort-world in a failed attempt to suppress the alien population. Chardaan, Contruum and Ithor are less obvious in their support, but form key manufacturing and trading centres for general resistance movements. Key leaders, including Bob Hudsol, Orimmaarko on Dressel and chieftain Tarfuul add additional weight to rebel forces.
In contrast, the Empire is typified by military and trade strongholds such as Bilbringi, Naboo, Thyferra and the KDY research facility at Gyndine, with more secretive facilties on Anteevy, Falleen, Umbara and Yinchorr. These latter 2 planets are very mysterious. The Umbarans – including Sly Moore - make superb spies, diplomats and assassins (Spynet), while on Yinchorr the locals were persuaded by Darth Sidous to attack the Jedi, and the entire planet was placed under the interdict and is now the home of the Royal Guard, led by Ved Keneede. While Vader and Palpatine are currently elsewhere in the galaxy, local leadership is given by Dark Side Adept Janus Greejatus on Naboo.
Outer Rim and GFFA
The Outer Rim is the biggest mix of all, from key military strongholds to hidden outposts, often overshadowed by the CIS remnant.
For the rebels there are the obvious key production sites of Mon Calamari, Sluis Van and to some extent Telos IV as well as the separatist strongholds of Felucia (home to the Recusant), Mygeeto and Mustafar ~ a very bad bunch led by Gizor Dellso that don’t think the clone wars have ended. Dellso was the main droid designer for the CIS and was also the creator of the Droid Tri-Fighter that now makes it’s way into the mod for the first time, adding considerably impact to all CIS forces in the galaxy, armed as it is with heavy blaster cannon and excellent manoeuvrability.
The Droid Tri-fighter
A range of different resistance groups including Dantooine, the Atrivis Resistance Group on Generis commanded by Travia Chan, the Allied Tion at Rudrig and a group of rebel Stormtroopers on Kamino. Smuggler groups at Ryloth, Polis Massa and Teth round out rebel controlled worlds.
Imperial forces are somewhat concentrated on Eriadu, Lianna, Rothana and Yaga Minor with a mix of subjugated worlds including Ciutric IV and Sevarcos II as well as a large number of small imperial bases, including the key research facility at The Maw. We also added Bly as the local commander on Naboo.
With all the above changes, expect your military offensive to start much faster, and with infinite more variety, especially with new heroes scattered through starting worlds. As always though, beware of pirates, as many have significant strongholds in the Inner and Outer Rim.
Comments (21) |
| There Isn't Enough Life On This Ice Cube To Fill A Space Cruiser |
Phoenix Rising - March 17, 2010 |
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I don't know about anyone else, but to me, planets in EaW never really felt like the bustling oases of civilization that they are. You chase off a few pirates, plant your flag on a world, and start building bases. That, in addition to the given advantage, was the extent of life from the strategic view. The galaxy outside of the conflict did not seem to exist.
Since Ghostrider joined as campaign designer, we've come a long way towards reanimating a dead galaxy. We've attained the most diverse and detailed starting forces of any mod, each individualized by planet and timeline. Now it's my turn to correct planetary advantages.
The concept of the advantage is a great one for strategy; the idea being that certain worlds perform better than others in certain roles. Unfortunately vanilla advantages tended to be either overly mechanical - inexplicable outside of the context of gameplay - or dependent on future circumstances that may or may not occur in a given campaign. Endor's reflective armor bonus is a dual example: it was never a producer of vehicle armor, but could've been so associated because AT-ST were historically stationed there in 4 ABY. On top of that, advantages were one-dimensional, such as to imply a planet could have but a singular focus.
When I originally started adding new planets to PR, I didn't put much thought into formulating a comprehensive scheme for their advantages; it just occurred piecemeal. Each planet got at least one advantage and that was it. About midway through the development on v1.1, I began to see the flaws in this approach - there was no uniformity in the design and every bonus stacked - but it wasn't until recently that it became crippling. There was a point after hero leadership was put into place where you could combine bonuses to cut unit costs by 90% or ignore the majority of combat damage. Thus began the overhaul.
First of all, virtually none of the advantages you're familiar with from the present release remain unchanged. The revamped lot has been extensively researched and rebuilt from scratch. Borrowing a page from SoaSE, planetary advantages, those with a local effect, are now mostly standardized. These include:
- Academy (Branch) - Production Bonus (Infantry): Cost 25%, Time 25%; Production Bonus (Non-Infantry): Cost 10%, Time 10%
- Agriculture 1-3 - Population Capacity: +10/level
- Archives 1-3 - Production Bonus (Research): Cost 5%/level
- Automation (Land/Space) - Production Bonus (Structure): Cost -50%; Production Bonus (Non-Infantry): Cost 25%
- Cloning - Production Bonus (Infantry): Cost 100%, Time -100%
- Corporation (Corporation) - Production Bonus (Corporation): Cost 25%, Time 25%; Global Production Bonus (Corporation): Cost 10%
- Factories (Class) - Production Bonus (Infantry): Time 10%; Production Bonus (Non-Infantry): Time 25%
- Force Nexus (Alignment)
- Mining 1-5 - Income (Mining): 100 * 2 ^ (level - 1)
- Research 1-3 - Production Bonus (Research): Cost 5%/level, Time 5%/level
- Shipyards (Class) - Production Bonus (Class): Time 25%
- Spynet
- Stealth (Land/Space)
- Underworld - Income (Planetary): +0-100%
- University 1-3 - Production Bonus (Infantry): Time 10%/level; Production Bonus (Research): Time 5%/level
Should two similar advantages be located on the same planet, such as an army academy and a university, they never stack with each other; only the highest of the bonuses is taken. The only exception to this is for combined personnel and materiel production: if a planet is lucky enough to have both a navy academy and a civilian starship shipyard, the time bonus can reach 32.5% (0.9 * 0.75). This is on top of any bonus from building multiple military shipyards and hero motivation, so a planet can become very specialized. I should point out that most bonuses, including cost, are actually additive for the purposes of stacking.
If you read the bullet about the mining advantage and got confused, you probably should be. This is a radically different approach to the concept of mining. Mining facility income used to scale with a world economy, with the old mining colony advantage imposing a simple bonus multiplier. That meant, all else the same, Coruscant had the best mines. It made no sense to us. Instead, we created five fixed-income facilities that increasingly double in value depending on the type of ore being mined. Now, every facility you build on Gromas 16 to collect phrikite is worth an impressive 1600, while the miners that eat Coruscant's duracrete rate a lousy 100. Also, in case it's not clear, every planet is automatically afforded Mining 1 and Agriculture 1, so those won't show up in their advantages.
Planetary advantages are useful for making infrastructure decisions, but they're relatively minor compared to galactic advantages. These are the coveted combat bonuses that affect your entire war effort. They operate like - and in addition to - hero leadership bonuses, but on a global scale. Of all the various galactic advantages in v1.1, I was able to narrow everything down to three stacking categories: materials, technology, and knowledge.
In a nod to Civ, a materials bonus comes from access to a resource. This includes everything from strategic metals to exceptional food, drink, spice, and recreation. Remember that mining facility on Gromas? It's now doubly important because it also improves your droid armor.
A technology bonus represents having the best product for the job, commonly in association with controlling a corporation that expertly produces said product. These are the unequivocal finest goods on the market - Mandalorian armor, Kuati walkers, Corellian engines - and they're more difficult to come by than resources.
Probably the most elusive bonus, however, is the knowledge bonus. To rate this bonus, a planet must know how to do something exceptionally better than the rest of the galaxy - a rare feat in the age of HoloNet. Stormtrooper training, Duros piloting, and Ssi-ruuk entechment are all examples of this type. There is usually no more than one per discipline.
If you can acquire an advantage from all three categories, it will generally combine to produce the effect of a five-star hero bonus, materials being worth one star and the others worth two. The two differences are reveal and recharge advantages, which can only be half as good as leadership, at best. There are also a few partial advantages that are weighted less than the cap. Even without a full bonus, galactic advantages are powerful enough to plan your entire long-term strategy around should you connect several complementary ones, including which lines you pay to upgrade.
With the depth and variety that's been added with advantages, we've effectively reinvented the galactic level of the game. Between this and heroes, research is no longer the certain trump that it was; it is now viable to pursue alternatives. Innumerable strategies await in PR v1.2.
Comments (19) |
| We have no weapons... you can't possibly!.... |
Ghostrider - January 11, 2010 |
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One of the biggest challenges for the Skyhook campaign was to accurately depict Alderaan, as the obvious question of ‘How do you prevent a planet with no weapons from being immediately overrun by Imperial forces?’ was a bit of an obstacle to the development process.
Whatever answer arose had to fit within 3 major guidelines;
1. The solution must fit the Canon
2. Defending forces must be believable and portray a realism similar to other worlds
3. Alderaan must be sufficiently protected from major Imperial raids and still be balanced in the Mod for sensible campaigning
In the original campaign map, Alderaan was directly connected to the Imperial Fleet over Kashyyyk, giving a major challenge to point no 3. This was fairly easily fixed with the addition of buffer worlds between Alderaan and Kashyyyk, and to date Kattada has been added as a minor Rebel world, and there is the possibility of yet more neutral worlds being added, thereby delaying the contact between these two key locations.
Basic research provided good background material to expand point no 2. Alderaan is a popular trading loction, and would attract a sizeable independent trading fleet, which naturally would require at least a basic planetary defence force to keep order and ensure a flourishing trading economy. Furthermore, the planet is home to the Alderaan Royal Engineers, with a history of starship production dating back 30,000 years to the start of the Old Republic. While these shipwrights designed such craft as the Thranta-class War Cruiser and the Alderaanian War Frigate, the majority of these ships were scrapped when Alderaan demilitarised after the Clone Wars. Despite this political maneuver, Alderaan retained one of the best defensive forces in the Empire, but of what?
Demilitarised ships can only mean one thing – all lethal weaponry has been removed and replaced with ion cannon. While you can’t kill with an ion cannon, it forms the basis for a superb defence system. With no more Thranta’s we have assumed that the Royal Engineers have taken damaged Clone-Wars stock and refurbished/refitted with ion cannon armaments, giving a basic defense fleet of over 150 elite Delta-7 Aethersprite Interceptors; supported by half a dozen ion cannon armed DP-10 Gunships, whose warheads have been swapped out for plasma torpedoes instead of the standard concussion missile systems.
In addition, the Rebel Alliance has also secretly negotiated the purchase of merchant stocks from the bankrupt Gallofree Yards, including the perfect craft for a defensive fleet – the Gozanti Cruiser.
Non-lethal Gozanti Cruisers at work
This heavily armed modified transport was originally designed to defend merchant vessels from piracy and part of the design specification required slow sublight speeds to make it useless for raids and therefore prevent it being used by the pirates themselves. In addition, its configuration often tricks pirates into believing it is a nice fat merchant, instead of an armed cruiser! Although the original armaments included multiple laser and quad laser cannons, conversion of these to ion cannon has not reduced its efficiency and this is a deadly opponent to all but the best starfighter pilots. If that was not enough, the standard proton torpedo system has been upgraded to take magna-pulse warheads.
Although highly effective against pirates and other small craft, the Gozanti cruisers are no match for heavier warships. To handle this threat, Alderaan maintains several dozen ARC-170 bombers, also sporting ion cannons and magna-pulse armaments, to swiftly immobilise any Star Destroyer captain foolish enough to threaten Alderaan’s peaceful existence. A quartet of converted Carrack Light Cruisers provide long range supporting turbo-ion fire.
Star Destroyer in trouble
The covert presence of pro-Alliance and independent freighter pilots, some of which are very well armed, add a final sting in Alderaan’s tail, and these can easily cause heavy hull damage to any cruiser that has been immobilised with a magna-pulse strike.
Finally, with Bail Organa’s Tantive IV and Raymus Antilles’ Sundered Heart in orbit, and with the Royal Engineers providing superb construction yards in support, Alderaan can easily provide excellent intelligence gathering activities to Rebel Commanders, and with a little time, this defensive fleet could be augmented with traditional warships to provide the Alliance with a formidable strike force.
The Alderaanian fleet on a strike mission
Comments (30) |
| Accelerate To Attack Speed; This Is It, Boys! |
Phoenix Rising - January 3, 2010 |
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And the dramatis personae for the Alliance:
Ackbar - one of the primary leaders of the Dac Resistance who was captured and taken as a slave by Tarkin. Ackbar is a talented fleet tactician with no love for the Empire. Should SpecForce ever find the opportunity mount a rescue mission to the Grand Moff's estate on Eriadu, he would certainly aid the Alliance.
Bail Organa – officially Alderaan’s representative on the Advisory Council, having led their resistance forces, Bail serves in a greater capacity as a doppelganger Chief of State on Mothma’s behalf. Whenever she needs to be in two places at once – which is quite often – Mon takes the public role and sends Bail on a clandestine errand. Not being openly identified as a Rebel allows him to move freely about the Empire gathering intelligence. He is a diplomat that specializes securing capital for the Alliance, a cause to which he has donated a considerable amount of his own fortune.
Biggs Darklighter - Rand Ecliptic mutineer and up and coming X-wing pilot based out of Sulon. Helped steal the original T-65As. Knows a few maneuvers from his daredevil youth racing T-16s.
Bob Hudsol – cautious Starfighter Corps general who is the ranking member of the Alliance in the Bothan sector. Operated Ghost Base on Krant before it was overrun by the Empire. Has since set up on Kothlis, which allows Hudsol greater access to his Spynet contacts.
Bria Tharen – founder of Red Hand Squadron, a ragtag Rebel unit violently opposed to slavery. Just liberated the spice factories of Ylesia with assistance from the Desilijic kajidic.
C-3PO & R2-D2 – part of the droid pool on the Tantive IV, although frequently missing from it. Ownership by the House of Organa has led to many adventures, not all of which Threepio remembers.
Davish Krail – veteran Y-wing pilot of twenty years. Leads a squadron of Gold Group charged with protecting High Command. Intimate familiarity with his craft has yielded several unconventional repairs that Alliance techs now implement regularly.
Evram Lajaie - popular admiral with the Independence Task Force, presently holding orbit over Yavin. Retired from the Brentaal Commerce Guard. Handles the protection of the Gordian Reach at Dodonna's behest.
Garm Bel Iblis - de facto leader of the Alliance Military, formerly of the Corellian Resistance. Assumes Mothma's responsibilities as Commander-in-Chief by mutual agreement. Currently entrenched on Ralltiir, which is in open rebellion, and there's nowhere else he'd rather be: Bel Iblis is one of the best in the galaxy at coordinating a defense. Frequently argues with the Chief of State over strategy.
Garven Dreis – commander of Red Group, an X-wing unit scattered across the galaxy, but technically attached to the High Command base. Dreis spent countless hours in the cockpit of Headhunter during the Clone Wars and is much respected by the younger pilots for it.
Han Solo & Chewbacca – former Imperial flight lieutenant and slave, respectively; now smugglers for hire. Not fond of politics, but could be persuaded to work for the Alliance for the right price. Last spotted on Ylesia and Tatooine.
Jan Dodonna - Supreme Commander of Starfighter Command and leader of Yavin Base. Dodonna and most of his personnel were cannibalized from Dantooine Base, which was safely evacuated six months ago after security was compromised. He is a legendary tactician and hero of the Clone Wars.
Jek Porkins – free trader who became a bomber pilot when the Empire forcibly relocated the population of his homeworld. Assigned to the semi-active Yellow Aces squadron on Tierfon. A natural at strafing runs.
John Branon – former Support Services pilot who now flies X-wings. Given Branon’s experience with logistics, he has volunteered to organize a relief mission to show Alliance support for the Bith.
Jon Vander – Academy-trained TIE/sa pilot that deserted after being ordered to massacre compatriots on Atravis. Has quickly risen through Alliance ranks thanks to a strong grasp of tactics. Presently with the Specters at Renforra Base.
Keyan Farlander – backwater pilot recruit on tour with the Liberty and her task force out beyond Ammuud. Has standing orders to disrupt Imperial supply convoys in the Corporate sector. Lucky enough to have survived thus far.
Kyle Katarn – mercenary with stormtrooper training hired to steal a copy of the Death Star plans from the research base on Danuta. The Chief of State herself approved this suicide operation, so perhaps it will even succeed.
Leia Organa – the Imperial Senator of Alderaan and Minister of State for the Alliance, frequently at the same time. Uses diplomatic immunity to undertake various mercy missions to besieged planets with Rebel sympathies. Tasked by her father with tracking down and recruiting any remaining Jedi. Fiery personality and charm can get soldiers to do the impossible for her cause.
Luke Skywalker - hotshot bush pilot with dreams of joining the Rebellion - if only he could escape Tatooine. Really just a kid, but Old Ben seems to think highly of him, and Darklighter would certainly vouch for his skill.
Obi-Wan Kenobi - crazy wizard who lives in seclusion on Tatooine. Organa knew him as a Jedi Master, but that was before the Dark Times. Might be willing to aid the Alliance if the stakes were high enough.
Raymus Antilles – acting Supreme Commander of Fleet Command until a proper replacement can be found. Not having much of a fleet to work with, Raymus usually conducts hit-and-run missions with a flotilla of smaller starships that he directs from his Sundered Heart. Works closely with both Mothma and Organa to exploit targets of opportunity.
Tiree - promising young recruit who became a Rebel after his homeworld was brutally subjugated in the Nembus sector campaign. Can make a Y-wing jink as well as anyone Vander has seen - thanks in part to custom thrusters that Tiree assembled from spare parts. Now undergoing advanced "training" at the battlegrounds of Ralltiir.
Vanden Willard - commander of the hidden Special Forces base on New Kisge. Has staged several daring rescue operations on passing prisoner transports headed to the Spice Mines of Kessel. Willard is at his best when orchestrating an ambush.
Wedge Antilles – weapons smuggler with loose ties to the Rebellion. Hates the Empire. Might make a half-decent snubfighter jockey if recruiters could set up on Corellia.
Finally, I’d like to thank Invadious, whose help preparing dozens of images for icons made most of these heroes possible.
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| Several Fighters Have Broken Off From The Main Group; Come With Me! |
Phoenix Rising - December 31, 2009 |
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Nowhere will heroes matter more than in Operation Skyhook. The Rebels cannot destroy the Death Star, and thus win, without a starfighter hero. Fortunately, the campaign is full of them: Skyhook will have more heroes in play than any other historical campaign in the mod. We've added 17 new heroes expressly for use in this conflict - not even counting the others we've accumulated over the years. Thanks to extensive research and our innovative hero mechanic, numerous characters previously relegated to the background, from the ranking commander to the intrepid fighter pilot, will have the chance to act out the drama on center stage. So, without further ado, the Imperial cast in the fight for the Death Star:
Antonio Motti - appointed by Tarkin to be brevet admiral of the Death Star Priority Sector fleet, currently stationed at Despayre. Motti is the ranking Navy officer assigned to the project. He is exceptionally ambitious and self-confident, but owes his rank to political maneuvering rather than outright skill. As a military leader, his focus is on tangibles - keeping his fleet in top form - though he is seen as overrated.
"Backstabber" - Vader's right wingman, known only by this moniker. Savage to the point of recklessness in combat - had he not the skill to match.
Bevel Lemelisk - chief scientist behind the Imperial Death Star, Lemelisk leads the design team at the Maw Installation. A genius among geniuses, he can greatly improve existing technology and accelerate new research.
Boba Fett - arguably the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. Word is, he can be contacted at Ylesia or Tatooine.
Cassio Tagge - top Army commander aboard the unfinished Death Star. Although a Tagge by birthright, Cassio's lot is in protecting Tepasi from external threats rather than unveiling new breakfast sandwiches. Old enough to remember what it cost the Republic by underestimating the Separatists, a mistake he won't see the Empire repeat. He is typical of bright career officers at the height of the New Order: competent, but cautious.
Daine Jir - Stormtrooper officer with the 501st, the unit attached to the Military Executor. Working in such close proximity to Vader has led to an air of informality, and the Dark Lord has come to respect his blunt commentary. Jir coordinates troops any time the 501st attacks something, making him an offensive specialist.
"Dark Curse" - longtime survivor of Black Squadron. Knows how to not get killed in TIE combat as well as anyone.
Darth Vader - the Dark Lord of the Sith and leader of the Imperial Military awaits with his personal attack fleet at the headquarters of Oversector Outer on Eriadu. Vader has been charged with finding the hidden Rebel High Command base and tracking down any and all stolen copies of the Death Star plans... although the Emperor also requires him to expedite construction on the Death Star from time to time, a duty he finds most annoying. His command style is the epitome of terror: all force and no finesse.
"Mauler" Mithel - left wingman in Vader's personal squadron. Mithel achieved this elite position by consistently outthinking - and destroying - his opponents while dogfighting.
Moradmin Bast - Tagge's second-in-command, Tarkin's personal aide, and chief manager of the Death Star. Ideological ally of his superior, the High General. Bast is generally well-liked, which allows for smooth operations.
Mulchive Wermis - senior captain in Vader's armada. In charge of the Devastator, the Dark Lord's flagship of choice over the Immortal when he needs to get somewhere fast. Wermis is adept at procurement, but privately dislikes battle.
Nahdonnis Praji – commander of the Desert Sands sandtrooper unit on the Devastator. Has gained Vader’s trust with a no-nonsense attitude and repeated results. Excels at troop maneuvers.
Natasi Daala – anonymous tactical prodigy and former kitchen corporal that caught the eye of Tarkin. Under the Grand Moff’s command, she is now an admiral responsible for the security of the secret Maw Installation.
Raith Sienar – the brains behind the Expeditionary Battle Planetoid might be persuaded to work openly for the Empire if Imperial forces can get to Lianna. He is a master engineer without peer.
Soontir Fel – disgraced squad leader with the pathetic 181st fighter wing. His skill at starfighter tactics is unquestioned, but Fel has fallen out of favor politically. One glorified victory is all it should take to return him to the front lines; say, at Ord Biniir.
Villian Dance – leader of the first TIE squadron aboard Motti’s Steel Talon. Dance is Corellian flyboy who can spin circles around just about anyone in the Horuz system.
Wilhuff Tarkin – Grand Moff dually in charge of quashing Rebel activity in the Outer Rim and the Death Star project, presently overseeing the final construction phase of the latter. Author of the Doctrine of Fear – and not afraid to destroy a planet or two to prove it. Despite that, Tarkin is more of a New Order figure than a military one and is most adept in the arena of words.
Wullf Yularen – head of the Imperial Security Bureau aboard the Death Star. Yularen is fanatically devoted to Palpatine and is there to surreptitiously maintain the loyalty and morale of fellow personnel.
Ysanne Isard – the ambitious daughter of the Intelligence Director and an Intel agent herself, Ysanne has been sent on an unsurvivable mission to recover data on the location of the Death Star construction site. She could, however, prove more capable than anyone yet realizes.
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| PR For Mod Of The Year 2009 |
Phoenix Rising - December 25, 2009 |
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Hope you all are having a great holiday. It's that time of year again - time to vote for your favorite mods in the 2009 Mod of the Year Awards at Mod DB! This is just a quick reminder to cast your vote for Phoenix Rising in the event.
Although 2009 will be the first year without a major release for us, you can be assured that one will arrive early the new year. We're not rushing this one! Much effort has gone into making v1.2 the best, most playable version of PR yet and, as such, it should feel much more complete than the last release. Many surprises are still in store, so keep checking back here in the coming weeks!
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Star Wars is a registered trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd. All other content copyright Phoenix Rising 2006-2009. |
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