Contingency - A Warzone 2100 Expansion Pack Mod (Preview)

[Iluvalar]

I'm now planning on remaking some of the maps, like Vision, High Ground, or Fishnets.

[Shadow Wolf TJC]

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I know WZ is the first RTS you ever played so you are probably not familiar with the genre history but I thought to mention one of the all time classic RTSs called "Total Annihilation" from 1997 (same lead designer who many years later created "Supreme Commander" - Chris Taylor). My reason being the sole expansion pack for "TA" was called "The Core Contingency" (1998). Not that it makes any diff as far as CR but fans of the genre could mistake it as a homage to "TA". Then again that may not be of any importance and "Contingency" is a cool name afterall.

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Maybe not from a 1st hand experience, but I have, in more recent years, read up on the rts genre's history, including its roots in games like Herzog Zwei and Megalomania, and in the influential success of classics such as StarCraft, Total Annihilation, and Earth 2150. I've also watched gameplay footage of some other rts games that I've seen in more recent years, including StarCraft 2 (which I later decided to get for myself), Supreme Commander (which, at one point, I considered getting, though I might get Supreme Commander 2 in the future), Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (which I'm considering getting in the future, though not Tiberian Twilight), and Universe At War. I've also heard about some upcoming games like End of Nations, which is supposedly going to be the 1st MMORTS (multi-million online real-time strategy) game.

As for why I decided to go with the name of "Contingency", well, I'm thinking about using this mod as a base for working on a new campaign that takes place during, and shortly after, the main campaign, from the perspective of a splinter group of the New Paradigm, with a new plot about NEXUS's contingency plan to take over a satellite launch facility (like the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida) should he lose control over NASDA's satellite network. I admit that it's pretty coincidential in that it sounds like "The Core Contingency" though, though I heard that that game's about a Core commander's contingency plan to wipe out the entire galaxy and rebuild the Core from there should the Core fall.

[Rman Virgil]

.........

As for why I decided to go with the name of "Contingency", well, I'm thinking about using this mod as a base for working on a new campaign that takes place during, and shortly after, the main campaign, from the perspective of a splinter group of the New Paradigm, with a new plot about NEXUS's contingency plan to take over a satellite launch facility (like the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida) should he lose control over NASDA's satellite network. I admit that it's pretty coincidential in that it sounds like "The Core Contingency" though, though I heard that that game's about a Core commander's contingency plan to wipe out the entire galaxy and rebuild the Core from there should the Core fall.

Every Commander worth their salt (or first class leader, outside the military sphere) has a contingency plan... There is no better word to decribe what is happening in that context.

That also sounds like a good narrative hook you have concieved with your mod for continuing into a new campaign sequence.

Besides the concept of a contingency plan there is another tactical notion that I think fits the Dr. Reed / NEXUS devious profile so I'm just gonna throw it out there without explaining or any details - it's called a False Flag strategm.

As for the Kennedy Space Center.... we have already entered a new era of routine space flight from other parts of the world that are actually more optimal than Florida. You should feel free to create such an installation whole cloth, IMHO.

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[Giani]

When is this mod going to be released for downloading?

[Shadow Wolf TJC]

Sorry to keep you guys waiting. StarCraft 2 kept me busy for the past week or 2. Anyways, it'll be ready once it's ready, which I believe would be by the end of this month.

In the meantime, here's a picture of a bunch of bunkers that are mounting laser-propelled missile launchers, which I recently finished the .pie model for.

They may not look like much (and they may look strange compared to most of the other weapons systems of today), but these beam-propelled missile launchers have the same range as an Archangel Missile launcher, and a much higher rate-of-fire, that's more comparable to a Lancer's rate-of-fire. Moreover, despite having less dps than an Archangel (and consequentially, they're rather cheap and lightweight compared to one), they typically have their own advantages, depending on the variant. The anti-tank variant has a much higher initial shot damage, comparable to a Lancer, the anti-personnel variant deals large amounts of splash damage, especially to Cyborgs, and the incendiary variant can set a sizable area on fire, dealing flamer damage in the process.

[aubergine]

BEYOND AWESOME!!! WANT!!

[Shadow Wolf TJC]

Here's a screenshot of the new tiers of Rocket Pods and Rocket Arrays mounted on some of the new vehicle bodies, using some new TCMask patterns for the propulsions (so that they're more easily identifiable from a zoomed out position):

Left bottom: Mini-Rocket Pod Falcon Wheels
Left center: Twin Mini-Rocket Pod Warhawk Wheels
Left top: Mini-Rocket Array Eagle Hover
Center bottom: Rocket Assault Pod Gladius Tracks
Center: Twin Rocket Assault Pod Longsword Tracks
Center top: Rocket Assault Array Claymore Wheels
Right bottom: Erinyes Missile Pod Wyrmling Tracks
Right center: Twin Erinyes Missile Pod Salamander Tracks
Right top: Seraph Missile Array Wyvern Wheels

Please note that these body designs are not final. I'm currently using these recolors of existing bodies as placeholders until I work on their .pie models, which, due to me wanting to get this mod out to betatesting ASAP, I'll be putting off until the 1st beta is out.

Oh, and here's a Devastator BB Missile Salamander Half-tracks in action:

Not the best target to use this T3 version of the Bunker Buster on, but whatever.

[Goth Zagog-Thou]

Nicely done! Add a 'Hawk' (the lightest of the 3) body and you'll have the 3 body names I chose for Cam 4! All they need to be are dual-turret and they'll pretty much be the Cam 4 bodies.

Glad to see them applied elsewhere and with a different mindset.

[Shadow Wolf TJC]

Thanks.

Anyways, here's a bit of a showcase of some of the different weapons you could expect to see in the Contingency Mod:

Machinegun line
From left to right:
Front row (T1): Hurricane AA, Vulcan Gattling Gun (T1 Anti-vehicle Machinegun), Twin Heavy Machinegun
Middle row (T2): Whirlwind AA, Punisher Gattling Gun (T2 Anti-tank Machinegun), Twin Assault Gun
Back row (T3, may require railgun research): Sandstorm AA (AA Gauss Machinegun), Leadsprayer (Anti-personnel Gauss Machinegun)
Not shown (but still present): Machinegun, Twin Machinegun, Heavy Machinegun, Assault Gun

Cannon line
From left to right:
Front-most row (T1): Twin Assault Cannon, Assault Cannon, Light Cannon, Medium Cannon, Heavy Cannon
Front-center row (T1): (blank spot :P ), Ripper Gattling Cannon (requires machinegun research), Anti-Personnel Scattergun - Blunderbuss, Fixed-Mounted Heavy Cannon
Rear-center row: Twin Hyper-Velocity Assault Cannon, Hyper-Velocity Assault Cannon, Light Hyper-Velocity Cannon, Medium Hyper-Velocity Cannon, Heavy Hyper-Velocity Cannon
Rear-most row: Jet-Assisted Cannon (requires rocket research), Fixed-Mounted Jet-Assisted Cannon, Shredder Gattling Cannon, AA Flak Cannon, Fixed-Mounted Heavy Hyper-Velocity Cannon

About those fixed-mounted cannons: I've been trying to develop some variants on some of the heavier weapons, that would be lighter than the originals, though to balance it out, I've been trying to limit how much their turrets can rotate so that they'll need to turn the entire vehicle in order to attack enemies at their flanks or rear. This would ensure that they can't fire at their pursuers while they're retreating. However, while I'd like for them to fire at whatever's in front of them while they're moving, for some reason, they keep on rotating well past what rotation linits I set for them. If I'm unable to find an adequate solution or compromise, then I may have to cut those turrets out, so I apologize in advance.

[Giani]

Why is that dualhmg and the sandstorm AA so little? They look weird...
And what about making the T3 mini-pod homing-indirect?

[Shadow Wolf TJC]

Here's some pictures of some of the new fortresses that you could expect: (Move over cannon/railgun and rocket/missile lines!)

Front: Plasma Cannon Fortress
Right: Laser Fortress (T2)
Left: Advanced Laser Fortress (T3)
Back: Plasma Laser Fortress

Front-left: Cannon Fortress (now fires HEAP rounds that deal large splash damage)
Front-right: Gattling Fortress (saturates areas with rapid-fire shotgun blasts)
Rear-left: Plasmite Cannon Fortress (Fires incendiary rounds at a high rate-of-fire)
Rear-right: Autocannon Fortress (Fires anti-tank rounds at a high rate-of-fire)

Front: Gauss Scattergun Fortress (Formerly the Mass Driver, now serves as a T3 counterpart to the Cannon Fortress)
Rear-left: Railgun Fortress (T3 version of the Autocannon Fortress)
Rear-right: Leadsprayer Fortress (T3 version of the Gattling Fortress)

Also seen in that last picture are a couple Wyvern tanks mounting 2 variants of the Plasma Cannon (which has been given a new model). The one in-front mounts a regular Plasma Cannon, while the one further back mounts a Fixed-Mounted Plasma Cannon (which may or may not be cut). Although the new appearance is based off of the concept of using an electromagnetic particle accelerator to project a stream of superheated ions at the Plasma Cannon's targets (hence requiring flamer and railgun research), these new Plasma Cannons fulfill the same role of literally glassing sizable areas with aoe blasts of flamer damage. (The old Plasma Cannon's turret model is being reused for the Plasma Laser.)

@Giani: Point taken, though I'm still working on the models. I've already set most of the direct-fire rockets to HOMING-DIRECT (even the horrendously-inaccurate ones), though since their accuracy may vary, there's no guarantee that they'll actually hit. Thanks for the feedback though.

[aubergine]

Lead is a very soft metal which makes me assume Leadsprayer turrets aren't much use against tanks?

[Shadow Wolf TJC]

Have you ever heard of the phrase "Eat lead"? They'll probably be made out of depleted uranium, so the name "Leadsprayer" would be more figurative than literal. But yeah, I'd imagine that something that sprays out an insane stream of tiny bullets would be more useful against lightly-armored targets, like Cyborgs, light vehicles, and aircraft.

[Scavanger Rockets]

So we can expect anti personnel rockets then?

[Shadow Wolf TJC]

Sure, though aren't some of the weapons in the Rockets line, such as the Mini-Rocket Array and the Seraph Missile Array, already strong against Cyborgs in "vanilla" Warzone 2100?