by Chris Hechtl
We had two different ideas for the maps, something we thought would be an interesting twist. The first was a split with maps on the ground or in space. The space maps would be similar to those in Homeworld and other games.
The other idea was carried over. A mission might be to protect a site and gather resources to produce an army and navy for the next mission. The player would stuff the ships with units with only what they were given as intel and a sketchy basic TOE to go on. When they got to that map, they would have to lay siege to the system in a space battle, protecting their landing ships, then land their forces and fight on the ground. So they would have to have the right force mix in both space and on the ground for the mission to succeed. The battle maps would have limited production. The player would establish a beachhead and then the forces they had packed would be parceled out according to whatever priority they set.
With the team's feedback, I worked out many of the designs and sketched them. A few like the Octobot were thought of by Afz the team leader. (It actually had four legs not eight and was based on Doc-Oc's robot.) Anyway, I started the timeline, history, characters, and then short stories in between modeling the various units and buildings in 3D. I even went out and got a website and set it up.
I made all the models in rough high poly and then began exploring how to make low poly versions with UV mapping. It was horrible though; I admit I suck at textures and UV wrapping. Things bogged down.
I got bored, so I wrote several stories (“Ambush” was the first then “Hunters”) to try to get the others interested again. It was also another way to illustrate the universe. I created all sorts of animatics too. They are still in my files somewhere. Lol.
Then reality hit. I had become annoyed by the team and lack of progress; only a few people other than myself did anything. I had to increasingly nag them to get feedback. It wasn't just the enormity of the task involved that had inhibited them, nor life getting in the way, it turned out many just didn't have the skills required. I found that 99 percent of all mods fail within the first week or two when I started to research just what I'd gotten myself into. Like many projects people get grand ideas but rarely have the time or necessary skills to put those ideas into reality. Our situation was no different. (You gotta love hindsight; it's 20-20.)
We took on new team members to fill in the skill gaps…but none performed as expected. I found some of the old and new were 11 years old! Needless to say, that explained a few things like their lack of time, skills and focus. What can I say; over the internet everyone can be anyone, of any age. Grrr.
The second thing that hit was the inclusion of two guys, DarkOmen and Enetheru. Enetheru was a former Project Revolution member with breaking news; the mod team was dead in the water for over a year and was only putting up a public front of progress. They had been stymied by the limits of the WC3 engine; there was little they could do since they were legally banned from cracking the engine code and fixing the bugs. He wrote an expose article with other former team members exposing it all to the public. Needless to say the um…shit hit the fan.
What happened with PR is well, a different story. Not really my problem. But with Metalwar it was profound; we shifted about looking for a different game engine (Torque 3D was my favorite), then gave it up and went our separate ways.
Enetheru, DarkOmen, Spoon, Trogdor, Aikanaro, I, and a few others got back together to start our own game house, but we fell apart for various reasons. I even came up with another RTS game during the discussions, which I still putter around with from time to time. (You may have seen the Chrome Hive on my blog or on my Devianart page.)
I puttered about with various stuff, explored game engines for a bit, but the story bug had bit me again. I was freelance modeling, but that dried up when the economy tanked. I started coming up with new stories, this time for other things. That grew and eventually I started in with established books/universes…and then started creating my own with Bootstrap....
And well, the rest is history. But here is a look at what got me on that road (with some new additions).
Timeline/History:
Demon Mecha:
Not much is known about the history of the artificial life known collectively as the Demon Mecha. Many millennia ago they were created in a war between two species. But their creator's haste proved their own undoing; their machines turned on their creators, destroying them and then moving outward to destroy any other life form as their program dictated.
The following is in Terran date format for simplicity sake.
1000: Demon Mecha reconnaissance probes discovered a loose affiliation of star systems led by an alien species known as the Treth. Capture of their databases for intelligence was given a priority for the initial contacts. However, this led to an error; the hive minds were soft against their opponents, attempting to take them intact. This allowed the Treth to fight off the initial attacks and arm themselves.
1200: The Demon Mecha encountered two other species and eradicated them. Their contact distracted the central worlds from the Treth threat for two centuries.
1400: The Demon Mecha returned to the Treth cleansing. The aliens managed to fight off the initial attacks but were hammered in the process. A century of probing and attacks followed.
1550: Seeing the Demon Mecha were relentless, the Treth sent out scouts to find allies or slaves to use against the alien machines. Their home system fell shortly thereafter. The survivors fled into the void along a preplanned route.
1600: The Treth, fleeing the Demon Mecha, jumped into Zerinoth space. After analyzing the Zerinoth, the Treth decided to enslave them to use as cannon fodder for their war against the Demon Mecha.
1612: Over the next century, the Treth callously collected and sold the Zerinoth to other worlds under attack from the Demon Mecha. The Demon Mecha were fought to a standstill by the alien dragons for the first time since the first encounters with the Treth.
1727: The Demon Mecha withdrew its forces in Treth space in order to consolidate its position and then reform a new attack plan.
1782: Recon probes told a story of the Treth in full retreat. Cautiously, the Demon Mecha moved forces into the vacated space. They were repulsed by Treth ships under the control of the alien dragons. The ships fought differently, and so the Demon Mecha retreated again to consider the changes.
1797: The Demon Mecha encountered the Quarn after capturing a fleeing Treth ship. They also discovered the Zerinoth had freed themselves and had new weapons and technology. An expedition was sent to capture samples for analysis and assimilation.
1800: The Zerinoth first home-built warship was attacked by Demon Mecha. A fleet of Demon Mecha broke through the faltering defenses and began orbital bombardments to cleanse the planet of all life. As it did so a Zerinoth fleet arrived, momentarily distracting the Demon Mecha from its task. A chase ensued, but the Zerinoth escaped. The Demon Mecha returned to cleansing the planet.
1877: A Demon Mecha recon drone found a Zerinoth Colony. Attempts to locate additional colonies by tracking ships transiting in and out of the system was only partially successful. The delay before returning to the hive mind was ten years.
1900: The Demon Mecha attacked a Zerinoth colony but were beaten back. The hive took heavy losses due to the usage of EMP weapons and computer viruses.
1910: The second attempt to take the Zerinoth colony met with the first encounter between hellcats and hellhounds. The robots did not fare well in the initial engagements. Additional new weapons including cyborgs were detected, and the force was ordered to retreat.
1912-2050: The Demon Mecha initiated a war of attrition against the Zerinoth, their greatest opponent. The colonies were worn down but were evacuated. That forced the hive mind to expend recon forces to find additional colonies, taking time.
2050: The Zerinoth battled with the Demon Mecha, but they realized it had become a losing defensive war. Unexpectedly, the alien dragons sent fleets to attack the home hive worlds, throwing the hive mind into a
defensive posture. The Zerinoth raiding force struck close to the Demon Mecha hive planets, destroying many of the planets and disrupting industry in the area before the Demon Mecha withdrew their forces invading the Zerinoth space to counter them. The raiding force managed to withdraw a few survivors before being destroyed. The Demon Mecha went on a defensive posture to rebuild and rearm, and the Zerinoth front became a stalemate.
Both sides built up a massive industrial complex and war machine. They sniped at each other along the front lines, attempting to send in recon forces to find and exploit weaknesses. Any that were exposed were quickly plugged by the opposing side. Weapons and tactics were tested. Counter measures were instituted when a new weapon was encountered. Hacking by both sides was only partial successful.
2301: A Demon Mecha recon probe discovered a Terran ship. It sent back data on its course and speed and then backtracked its course.
2305: Present day
Terran time line:
2007: Dr. Li proved the force emitter theory.
2009: Room temperature superconductor breakthrough.
Dr. Li's force emitters put into production.
First private spaceship begins use as tourist carrier.
First successful test of space hab (expandable habitat module).
2011: ISS completed.
2020: First force emitter space ship drive.
First artificial gravity experiments on the space station.
First shield test on ISS.
First space tether began production.
First fusion reactor using new superconductors begins construction for public use.
Second generation grav induced fusion reactors begin research and development.
First moon landing by private enterprise.
Dr. Hash posted the theory of hyperspace and rudimentary hyperdrive engineering using Li force emitters. He began a startup company called Hypertravel.
2022: First gas giant helium 3 mining venture began with grav drive; transit to Uranus took less than one year.
First private space station began construction using heavy lift vehicles and grav shuttle.
First team to land on Mars left earth orbit for two-month grav drive transit to Mars.
2023: January: First team on Mars broke ground on permanent base that later became Landing City.
Seeds of a proper world government began to form.
First tourist space station built by Japan and American consortium.
Medical science perfected organ cloning.
2024: World government began final negotiations. Individual countries would be considered states in the union.
The space population exceeded one hundred people.
The first Atens asteroid captured by space tether incorporated team as space anchor for space tether.
First child born off earth at moon colony. Three months later first Martian child born.
2034: Hypertravel launched first ever hyperdrive and tested it with drone to Proxima Centauri and back. The total transit time took nine months.
Medical science perfected life extension treatments lengthening lifespan by three times previous.
2045: Hypertravel laid out a public stock offering in the company and announced plans for the first manned starship. Those who invested in the company would secure a seat on one of the ships. The company shipyard began construction in Mars orbit.
2047: First manned hypership began construction.
First L5 space station habitat completed; first space tether completed.
2055: First manned survey ship SEEKER launched and began space trials. Once the trials granted an acceptable rating, the ship made transit to the ten closest stars in sequence.
Medical science successfully tests first stasis.
Space population exceeded ten thousand.
Orbital interferometers successfully found one Terran class planet with life in another solar system.
First colony ship began production.
2056: Massive environmental problems caused drought that severely damaged food production in key areas. Food riots sparked by panic on four continents erupted with massive losses in life.
2060: The colony ship Mayflower with ten thousand colonists in stasis left Earth orbit for transit to Terranova using first hyperband.
Continuous food riots erupt with food scandal, burgeons into civil war. First use of hovertank in combat. Solar space colonies intervened and formed the Solar Republic. Together they formed a colonial mandate.
Sixteen other colony ships began production.
The first shield used in conflict. First discovery of second hyperband by scientists.
2077: First Wayfarer class colony ship completed construction. The ship class was capable of carrying one hundred thousand colonists. She launched for Terranova.
Richard Andrew III was born.
Mayflower arrived at Terranova.
SEEKER returned to a changed Terran homeworld.
First Mayflower class colony ships arrive at Proxima Centauri, Wolf 359, and three other close planets. Centaurians begin terraforming planet three to create a Terran planet.
A refitted SEEKER class survey ship SULCO sent to Epsilon Erindani and ten outer star systems.
2080: Dr. Li died in viral mutation epidemic that spread through solar system. It begun on Mars; the mutant flu virus spread to Earth and ravaged the population. The death toll on Earth alone exceeded ten million. Unrest began over the plague, and the rumors that it was a bio weapon or that the government was slow to respond to it spark unrest. Andrews’s parents died in the plague.
Interferometers discover three additional Terran class planets.
B hyberband driver perfected, cutting transit time in half.
Corporation lobbyists snuck a bill banning heavy industry exports to colony ships.
2081: Wayfarer arrived at Terranova. Peacecraft arrived at Zephrain. Extra solar population passed the one million mark on four planets in seven star systems.
First terror attack on corporations by anticorps rebels.
2096: Andrews joined the military academy.
Corruption in the government scandal investigation led to a whitewash by courts, causing massive unrest. Andrews distinguished himself in riot control and earned early promotion and fast track potential.
2108: C hyperband detected. Hyperdrive engineers managed to engineer new hyperdrive settings to take advantage of this. Hyperphysics postulate upward of eight hyperbands. They also theorized a method for short range hyperspace communications (less than one light year apart between transceivers).
First mecha used in a riot caused thousands of deaths.
Remington class colony ship left for Botany with two hundred and fifty thousand colonists and a smuggled cargo of industrial equipment.
A military coup attempt led by General Micholov and corporate backers was thwarted by a young Captain Andrews who was wounded. He was decorated with the medal of valor and promoted to Major.
2118: Colonel Andrews discovered corporation involvement in previous coup attempt and actions during plague. It was directed by corporation backed with orders to kill rioters. He rebelled and led his own coup. He took control of Earth and purged corporations in a repeat of the French revolution. He quickly took control of space colonies. The riots quickly ended when he promised a new day and ruthlessly dealt with any who opposed him. He declared himself Emperor of the Solar Empire.
2126: D hyperband hyperdrive engineered into latest Remington class ship. In an attempt to make a deal with supporters and opponents, Andrews gave the planet Botany to a group of followers. The ship left, and since it was twice as fast as Remington, it would arrive six months prior to ship. Additional warships were sent to make Remington disappear.
2127: Andrews’s marriage to Presley.
Medical science expanded life extension treatments to six times the normal lifespan. Emperor Andrews ordered the treatments to be available to only government and military personnel of his choosing, sparking u
nrest.
2129: Remington arrived in Botany space and is fired on by Andrews’s supporters. The ship was ordered to surrender but managed to flee back into hyper for parts unknown.
The first prison ships with Andrews’s peaceful opponents sent out to unknown space. Some were lost and never heard from again. Supposition that they were deliberately sun scuttled leads to unrest in both the population and government.
2134: The Remington was officially declared lost. A cover-up was instituted by the administration. Terranova refused Andrews’s rule and declaration of emperor. Terranova declared independence. Andrews affronted, began building a proper war fleet.
2135 The Terran Empire attacked the Terranova Republic, kicking off the first human interstellar civil war. Terranova, however, had anticipated the attack and built its own forces. It managed to beat back the attackers.