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Author Topic: Fan made Star Control sequel - story ideas  (Read 3222 times)
Cedric6014
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Fan made Star Control sequel - story ideas
« on: January 14, 2009, 09:04:33 am »

A bit of a pipedream, but isn't that how all great things start?

This is inspired by general_klefenz's related post in Starbase Cafe:
http://forum.uqm.stack.nl/index.php?topic=4345.0

I believe that within the Star Control community lies the passion, enthusiasm and talent to create a fan-based star control sequel. I know this has been tried before, but that doesn't mean we should try again.  So let's do it.

The first question is WHY

We've been hanging out for a sequel for 15 years. Many of us would love to re-live the magic of Star Control 2, however we know it so well that this can never happen. The thrill of stumbling across a new treasure is gone forever.

The more ambitious option would be to create a whole new game from scratch (ala Timewarp). Personally though I would prefer a mod of the existing game.

I can't speak for for everyone, but what I want is to enjoy the same universe but face new challenges. I guess its more of a nostalgia thing, but nostalgia is fun. Does it mean keeping the same cruddy outdated graphics? Probably. But really, when you're thrust into a hostile universe who cares?

I think using the exising engine and graphics would do just fine. All we need is a fresh new universe to explore and new aliens to meet (along with some of the old ones).

I wouldn't mind Meep Eep or someone giving us some kind of indication whether they intend to make UQM moddable in the near future. This makes the difference between this being a gargantuan task or just a huge task. Either way, we still need to write a story.

As I said in the Starbase Cafe post, we should start the creative juices flowing to get some ideas. I invite you all to post some ideas about how the plot may unfold, when and where the story actually takes place, etc. We don't need lengthy desciptions of new alien races at this time, but that time WILL come.

Ultimately I'd like a community endorsed story line to be picked up by people will to take charge of the project, particularly one person with the drive to oversea it form start to finish and call the creative shots.

In the mean time, story ideas please! Tim, if you could repost your ideas in this thread that would be super.

Ideas do not need to be super fleshed out.

And some contructive feedback would be invaluable. I'd prefr readers to pick up on bits they like rather than dislike. This will save time.



« Last Edit: January 14, 2009, 09:11:30 am by Cedric6014 » Logged

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Cedric6014
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Re: Fan made Star Control sequel - story ideas
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2009, 09:09:11 am »

I'm gonna kick this thing off:

Universe/Location

In SC2 You start in the far bottom left of the screen. In this new game, I would start in the top right. So to an extent it would keep the SC universe(or some of it) and open up vast tracts of unexplored space. All those stars south west of Pkunk space!

I’d keep the bottom-left 400x500 (20%) of the old region. This includes Spathi, Yehat, Orz, VUX, Chmmr. It means we miss out on visiting the home worlds of Slylandro, Druuge, Supox, Utwig, Zoq-Fot, Mycon.  Sad  But this is fine, it’s a new story, and what’s to say some of our old friends wont resurface somewhere along the line? Arilou for sure.

Or, perhaps we can just make it a monstrous 2000x2000 map and keep the old quadrant, plus 3 others.

Or 1500x1500, keeping the old quadrant. The unexplored section would still be huge.


Story

Don’t have much idea here really.

I’d mostly like to rehash the original magic of SC2. A big-ass exploration vessel that meets aliens, collects minerals and solves problems. It should be set in the aftermath of SC2

Goes without saying that the Orz/Androsynth subplot can resurface. Maybe we can stumble across the Mmhrnrhm home world? Or the Melnorme? Definitely Arilou and Quasispace.

We’d need an evil nemesis. Kohr-Ah? Ur-Quan? Something else? With all that unexplored space there will be a dozen new alien races to meet. Maybe the Chmmr’s hybridisation was flawed and they turn bad and need to be redeemed/fixed? Now that’s a formidable enemy.

After reading Tim's post in Starbase Cafe, Perhaps the race is on to turn the Chmmr back into good guys in order to repel this new Orz finger menace?


As I've said in my earlier post, my preference is a mod to try and retain the cool atmosphere of the original. however clearly this story can be used as part of a whole new game.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2009, 09:12:46 am by Cedric6014 » Logged

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Re: Fan made Star Control sequel - story ideas
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2009, 01:12:12 pm »

Backstory:
Immediately following the destruction of the Sa-Matra, the Chmmr systematically hunted down all the slave shielded planets and cracked them. The Syreen, Human, Spathi, Chmmr, and the Captain's homeworld were all freed. The Chmmr then turned their attention to the Ur-Quan and Kohr-Ah vessels. The Avatar vessels proved more than a match for the Dreadnaught and Marauder designs. The Ur-Quan and Kohr-Ah even pushed against the Chmmr and their allies together in a push for their survival. But the Utwig, Chmmr, Yehat, and Pkunk fleets combined were too much for even the great Ur-Quan to compete with. The Ur-Quan and Kohr-Ah were scattered in the end, and their fleets torn to shreds. The Ur-Quan eventually surrendered, while the Kohr-Ah fought until their last ship in the quadrant.

The quadrant was reborn with the New Alliance of the Free Stars, and the defeat of the Ur-Quan. With the threat neutralized, the question now became, "What do we do with them now that we have them by the tail?" The Chmmr suggested that we indoctrinate them into the New Alliance, while certain clans of the Yehat suggested the Ur-Quan be imprisoned as they had done to the Alliance. The Pkunk strongly opposed this, and suggested we free them entirely. The Syreen were apathetic to the plight of the Ur-Quan, as were the Orz. In the end, the choice fell upon the Human Captain and Humanity. This particular historical option will be left open. The player will decide whether the Captain obliterates, enslaves, or offers friendship to the Ur-Quan. This will only directly effect if the Ur-Quan are in the player's game and in what capacity.

The Spathi were freed from their Slave Shield by the Chmmr, though on their request they were immediately put right back underneath of it. Several Spathi however did not wish to be encased underneath of the shield like the others. These Spathi were known as the Black Spathi Squadron, they would colonize a small planet some light years away from their homeworld, to watch over their brethren.

The Thraddash and Ilwrath were not completely annihilated by their war that the Captain set them on. Remnants remained of both, and while the Ilwrath would not submit to the Alliance or join them, the Thraddash recognized the power of the Alliance. The Ilwrath in the end destroyed themselves by throwing their troops against the Alliance. The Thraddash become members of the Alliance, some remembering that the teachings of the Captain had kept them alive, while others just wanted the chance to rebuild and avenge their defeat.

The Yehat and Pkunk cultures meshed to one with the Pkunk Queen. The breed of the Pkunk slowly faded away, while the Yehat became the predominant culture, as many had expected. However, the honor of the Yehat, and the peace and forgiveness of the Pkunk had produced a reborn Yehat. The new highly spiritual, honor bound, and slightly psychic Yehat become fantastic ambassadors for the Alliance, embodying all that is good about it.

The Utwig stayed with the Alliance, but have had no significant socio-political or weaponry advances since the wars ended. They have no interest in Alliance politics, and only concern themselves with their influence of space.

The Suppox were more than willing to stay with the Alliance after the defeat of the Ur-Quan. Having made many new allies in the Humans, Chmmr, Yehat, Pkunk, Zog-Fot-Pik, and the various other cultures that made up the Alliance, the Suppox set out to learn as much as they could from every culture and eventually create their own.

The Umgah became funny blobbies for the Alliance. Though what that means isn't really known. Contact with the Umgah is scarce at best, though the Umgah produce many biological fixes for many races in the quadrant. Humanity in particular is able to live a significantly longer time. On occasion, someone gets some sort of 'joke' in their blood and explode.

The Syreen and Human cultures eventually intermingled with the union of Talana and the Captain. The physiological similarities made the breeding of the two cultures possible, and beneficial for the Syreen, which lacked males, in particular. Humanity eventually breeds out the Syreen culture, though Humanity reaps the benefits in absorbing the Syreen features into it's culture. Humanity advances its own development nearly two hundred years with this process, and their technology, culture, and general physical well being are increased almost ten fold.

The Shofixti culture left Delta Gorno, and set out on their way to find a new homeworld. The Chmmr suggested a planet not too far off from the Yehat sphere of influence. It turned out to be a perfect place, as the Shofixti quickly populated the planet and rebuild their star faring capabilities. Their culture has not changed much since the Yehat uplifted them, and many do not think they will.

The Slylandro while still unable to leave their star system, are visited regularly by Alliance fleets at the request of the Captain.

The Arilou once more disappear from known space, though they appear on occasion to speak with the Humans in the Sol system.

The Druuge continued to do business the way they always had, until the Alliance attempted to place restrictions on their slave trade. The Druuge took offense to this, and left the quadrant of space. They haven't been heard from since.

The Melnorme still inhabit various supernova stars in the quadrant, and on occasion do business with the Alliance.

The Mycon were unable to find peaceful relations with the Alliance, due to their necessary destruction of a certain class of world, in order to rebirth their race. Their lack of any perceived notions of morality, and the lack of any understanding of what an Alliance means, caused the Alliance to have to eradicate the Mycon from the galaxy. Alternatively, the Mycon could be regulated to a single planet like the VUX and Ur-Quan would be.

The VUX were unwilling to submit to the Alliance even after the defeat of the Ur-Quan and continued to fight on. The Yehat took it as their personal project to make the VUX submit. Eventually the VUX were defeated, and regulated to a small sector of space where they do not have to make any contact with other star faring races, and are allowed to live out the rest of their wretched existence.

The Zog-Fot-Pik exported Frungy to the quadrant. That's really all they did.

The mystery of the Androsynth went unsolved for some time, and eventually the Orz completely disappeared from Alliance radars. No one is really sure what has become of them. Even after multiple searches and scans of the area, the Alliance is still not completely sure what happened to the Orz and the Androsynth.

If the Ur-Quan are destroyed, they are destroyed. If the Ur-Quan are put under a slave shield, they are underneath a slave shield where the Sa-Matra was. If the Ur-Quan are allied to the Alliance, they are regulated to just one planet, and are not allowed to build any ships unless specifically commissioned by the Alliance. They live out their lives on a single planet where their greatest defeat occurred.

 In the years after the Ur-Quan Hierarchy was humbled by the New Alliance of the Free Stars, the famous Captain that rebuilt the Alliance retired to obscurity on his homeworld. Some years after his retirement, he was asked to serve on the council of the New Alliance of the Free Stars as the Admiral of the fleet. Though he initially denied the request, he would take them up on their offer and take up the head of the Alliance.

Fifty years pass, and the Alliance sufficiently builds up. Under the guidance of the Admiral, the council mediates many successful peaceful talks. The Humans, Chmmr, Yehat, and Suppox all have high ranking positions on the council. The Zog-Fot-Pik, Shofixti, Thraddash, and Utwig also have positions, but do not seem too interested in the political goings on.

After the quadrant is built up sufficiently, the Alliance decides that it is time to clean up the mess that the Ur-Quan left throughout the quadrant, and so the second great mission of the New Alliance of Free Stars begins. The mission to free the races that the Ur-Quan left enslaved in their wake before the battle against the original Alliance of Free Stars.

The Alliance decided that a small scouting force would be best for such a long expedition, since sending a large force would cost too many resource units, and be highly ineffective. An exemplary young Captain is given control of a prototypical human class Claymore vessel, and sent to begin the process.


Things that could occur within this plot line:
An introduction to 10 new alien races, that will be developed later, which will be freed from the Ur-Quan slave shields.

At least one scripted encounter with the remnants of the Kohr-Ah. Despite being defeated soundly in the Alliance quadrant, there are stragglers of the Kohr-Ah in the galaxy. They could possibly retreat and rebuild on another planet, and prepare themselves for another run at galactic cleansing.

The Druuge could become a minor nuisance to the new Captain, as they try to capture or trick the races that you free. It will be up to the Captain to either interfere and confront the Druuge or allow the races that you free to make their own choice.

The Melnorme could appear, reveal to the Captain who exactly the are, and what exactly the color of their bridge does mean. They can also be used as they were in Star Control as a hint system.

The Orz can return in this particular plot line and reveal themselves to be mere servants of the true evil of the story. The Arilou will return to warn you exactly of what is happening. The race that the Orz serve punch a hole in Quasi-Space and are finally able to materialize in Hyperspace. The story will explore the darker side of the fish people we all love, and add a villain that actually might make sense in the context of the original story. What exactly the race will be, what their motives are, and what they're capable of are unknown of course. They obviously have used the Orz as a simple scout race, to examine the various races of the quadrant, or galaxy.


Possible game play things:
Traditional Star Control combat.
Traditional Star Control conversations.
Someway to break the monogamy of collection resource units.
Ability to establish star bases in the new quadrant.
Meeting the goals of the New Alliance's council.
Ability to request reinforcements from the New Alliance's council, which could simply be named Star Control.
The ability to upgrade vessels within the Captain's fleet, perhaps only Alliance races.
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Re: Fan made Star Control sequel - story ideas
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2009, 05:31:53 pm »

For inspiration you guys can always check this place out, loads of older ideas in there. Look for topics about races, antagonists, new story or whatever tickles your fancy.
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Re: Fan made Star Control sequel - story ideas
« Reply #4 on: January 14, 2009, 05:50:05 pm »

I wouldn't mind Meep Eep or someone giving us some kind of indication whether they intend to make UQM moddable in the near future. This makes the difference between this being a gargantuan task or just a huge task. Either way, we still need to write a story.

That has always been the plan, and the game is already a lot more modable than it was originally, though still nowhere near how I'd like it to be.
Development has slowed down a lot these days, with the big stuff coming from McMartin at the moment. Fortunately, his work is very much related to making the game more modable.
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Re: Fan made Star Control sequel - story ideas
« Reply #5 on: January 14, 2009, 09:00:05 pm »

I wouldn't mind Meep Eep or someone giving us some kind of indication whether they intend to make UQM moddable in the near future. This makes the difference between this being a gargantuan task or just a huge task. Either way, we still need to write a story.

That has always been the plan, and the game is already a lot more modable than it was originally, though still nowhere near how I'd like it to be.
Development has slowed down a lot these days, with the big stuff coming from McMartin at the moment. Fortunately, his work is very much related to making the game more modable.


Well, considering that a lot of UQM is done, it makes sense development is slow.

A little off-topic, but when exactly will the resource option thing be put in?
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