Outpost: Genesis Info Leak

[TH300]

You guys should make a research thread and a buildings thread to go along with your Units thread

We have still not a final solution for the new organization of ideas. I suggest you wait with your ideas on structures/research till be have it.
You should also consider that you don't know the exact settings of the game yet, so you risk that the technology that you post doesn't fit in the game.

[leeor_net]

Agreed on all counts.

I think that the suggestions threads would be best served once I finish the final version of the story docs and send it on its way for finalization. After that it'll be pretty clear what technologies, structures and units will be made available to the game.

As a note, I had released some information here to help me refine our original ideas (such as the random explosion idea. It's helped tremendously to a) find a more plausible version and B) create the grounds for the first confrontation in the story.) So as a result of a few of the things released, I ended up restructuring and rewriting the entire outline.

Also, I was originally hoping that this thread would be for the juicy bits of gossip and news about the OP3 project. So far, it has been primarily that. Afterward we ended up with a whole lot of other suggestions which are really great but end up cluttering this particular post (it's not easy to read each post to make sure I know what everyone is saying).

So long story short: Here's the news and gossip section. Feel free to challenge something that doesn't make sense (I love being challenged) but make sure that you'll be able to back up your argument.

Suggestions should be posted in the appropriate threads. So far we've got some great ideas for other aspects of the game but for now not too much will be necessary when it comes down to units and structures until we've finalized our story.

Anyway, I do want to thank everyone for their enthusiasm. It's refreshing to say the least!  (thumbsup)  

[Freeza-CII]

Hmm it seems that most of the thing you want are going to add up into this story and if it is finished wont that mean all the ideas are pointless?

[leeor_net]

Nope. Actually, your challenging my whole salts explosion is what helped to procure the changes to the outline in the first place. After asking you several times for a possible explanation, someone else had made a suggestion (pockets of gas trapped within the rocks that when mixed with surface gasses can react violently with a catalyst, e.g. mining sparks or lightning). By having that idea, I was better able to explain various situations in the story outline that were never really explained before hand.

Also, just becuase I say that the story outline and design docs are finalized doesn't mean they're set in stone. When I say finalized, what I really mean is that between myself and the other members of the OP3 team that we're completely ready to release it to everyone here so that we can get feedback. Then we'll go back around between ourselves to review the feedback and incorporate it however is appropriate to the story itself (as well as allowing for a proffesional feel to the game/story).

So in essence, what stormy, zanco, TH300 and I are doing is laying out a foundation for everyone to build off of. While I myself will be doing much of the programing and stormy will be doing much of the modeling, everyone who is interested will, in reality, have had a serious helping hand in the development of the game itself.

Great graphics, sound, music and interface is only part of what makes a game awesome. The other part is the story backing the game. Actually, that's easily the most important part of any game seconded by a clear and precise design implementation.

I hope this all makes sense.

[Freeza-CII]

I see

[Stormy]

Yea, Thing is, when i started out, i had no idea that I would be the lead modeler. Look at me now :lol: . So, Yea, It's amazing that this is really really coming together and isn't just a big dream. It is very real and will become more so as the days pass.

Wow, I have gone off-topic.

[leeor_net]

Moving back on topic... More info leak! (actually, I was just talking to Hooman and Freeza on IRC)

In Outpost, the starship Conestoga launched from the orbit of Jupiter after having loaded its human cargo.

However, in Outpost 2, the opening animation shows a starship launching from Earth's orbit:

http://www.genesis.outpostuniverse.net/Files/op1-op2_inconsistency.jpg

OP2's story definatly takes place from Conestoga's launch because of the two colonies Eden and Plymouth, Plymouth being the 'Rebel' colony.

As various official sources from SIERRA On-Line state (from the mouth of Bruce Balfour, designer of Outpost 1)

Bruce Balfour basically tells the tale of how the governments of the world don't have enough resources or intelligence to build the starships. So a 'Multinational Conglomerate' takes on the task.

The original plan called for four colony ships to be built and to be launced in two pairs. One to one star system, the other pair to another star system (thus improving the chances of survival). Being that this would be extremely expensive and would cause a series strain on the resources of the conglomerate, they scraped that idea in favor of just one starship (named Conestoga in OP2).

<explanation of the inconsistency>

Several weeks after Conestoga launched, the plan to break apart the asteroid dubbed 'Vulcan's Hammer' by the media failed. The asteroid was broken into two large chunks both of which would hit Earth destroying human civilization.

Being the only entity on Earth to have working plans for a colony ship, the Conglomerate was asked by the governements of the world to build a second starship. The starship Frontier, fueled by the last remaining resources on Earth,  was loaded up and launched just as the asteroid chunks plunged into Earth's Atmosphere. The people of the Frontier looked for the last time as Earth was destroyed knowing that they would never see or feel the comfort of their world again. (oooh... I think I just got my creative writting back! Be prepared, you just might see that in the opening for OP3's novella!)

Anyway, so Frontier was launched just months after Conestoga. I leave it to speculation for everyone to try to figure out what happened to the Frontier.  :whistle:

EDIT: Removed 'img' tags and left the original links instead. Unfortunately I no longer have these images.

[Leviathan]

It ran out of fuel?

[leeor_net]

A bit more that might help to make sense of my above post:

Frontier didn't run out of fuel and Frontier's fate is part of OP3's story (actually, a major part of it).

[Freeza-CII]

So the ship that made it to New Terra is the one that launched from earth and the OP3 ship came from Jupiter?

[Axalon]

Meh, I don't really like the idea as it is. Sounds too much like a rushed attempt to cover up a plothole (which it is).

Perhaps the colonists on Conestoga II (the ship that was built on New Terra, and I just made up that name) pick up a random transmission (like some random news broadcast) from the planet Frontier colonized.

This could happen halfway withing the story, after your colony is well established ("Tutorial" missions over with). The scientists at the New Eden advanced lab (there I go with names for the new colony) try to track the signal. All the skeptic's conjectures that its an old Earth transmission are dissipated when the lab publishes that it originated in the Orion system (other possible locations: Sirius, Epsilon Eri, Procyon, Kapteyn's Star [Don't use Alpha Centauri as that is rather close to Earth and Consetoga probably scoped it already]).

Maybe it could tie in to using the multiple-planet gameplay mechanics that were theorized a few pages back. Please comment.

-Axalon

[Freeza-CII]

Oh my a radio transmittion eh?  Well seeming how the people were in a Cryostasis sleep.  Meaning they when really far away.  If the ships go in different directions then the length need to transmit over would be huge.  Even tho radio waves move at the speed of light or close to it.  it would take a very long time for either of the colonies to hear some thing from each other.

As for the stars It dont think it said where they eventually ended up.  But the even though these stars have planets in ther games dont mean its true lol.  side note(What i want to know is why they didnt go to mars.)  Plus the possiblity of these place having a solid planet that is some what habitable is very slim.  I really dont like the multipul world stuff.  This isnt a space game its a survival of the colony RTS.

[Axalon]

I agree with the multi-planet thing being kind of iffy. Although my logic around the radio is that the time frame for the Conestoga's voyage, to my understanding, was +/- 100 years. If Frontier landed earlier or at the same time as Conestoga, then factor in how long it takes for the New Terran ship to colonize, you have quite a few light-years to play with.

If you are uncomfortable using star system names, it can just be referred as a outlying star system.

Well, keeping as far away from FTL as possible (lets be reasonable, okay?), we could assume that Frontier and Conestoga did not take straight, opposite paths, but sort of bent near each other. You could also say that Conestoga did not know about Frontier and its launch, so it could be possible that they may have covered each other's tracks at one point in their journeys.

Yeah, going to Mars seemed like a better idea...

Theoretically, you can relocate people onto the moon and sort of ramscoop the dust cloud out of Earth's atmosphere. Would make getting a breathable atmosphere easier. I mean, unless Vulcan's Hammer shattered Earth (which is REALLY hard, as a planetlike entity named Orpheus hit Earth early on, and simply coalesed, though ejecting a lot of magma into space, which is how the Moon came to be).

[Freeza-CII]

A little off topic but a a big ass meteor would make the planet very inhabitable.  It would raise the temps 100+ and then there would be a fall out from all the dust in the atmo.  Not only that but there could be a great possiblity of the atmo burning of making mars look lik the whitehouse lol.

Oh yes i am attempting to make a Crab Avata.  Crab you know that explosive aracnid unit i spoke of some here above lol.

[Stormy]

Lol, you guys are wayy wrong. I am not saying anything else but just to let you know, a transmission isn't exactly right. Go read the ending to OP2s novella and think about what could happen next

Good Luck figuring out what we have in mind

This could be fun lol

One thing: Conestoga DIDN"T know DIP about Frontier!

[Betaray]

well for one, the Moon dosnt have all the resources to support a civalization, expecially with no Earth to support it

but Mars would be capeable of creating a civalization, and it would be alot easier and alot less risky than going to another planet

mabe after the conastoga leaves, another faction makes a coloney on Mars, and because they dont have the disasters, combat, and blight to worry about, they made their own starship to send out and find out the fate of the conastoga

I know, im not a writer, but its a start right?

[Stormy]

um... this is a new solar system -_-

[Freeza-CII]

we know that but we have to scrutinize this transmittion thing which i dont think is possible.

[Mcshay]

Which novella should we read? The Eden one or the Plymouth one?

[DragonLord]

ehm does it really say one of them came from jupiter? I thought it just refeuled there, like plymouth planned to do with their craft. The story as I have in my head: the conastoga leaves earth just before the hammer impacts (op2 movie) then  moves to an orbit around jupiter which is the easiest way to take in the huge amounts of fuel they need(op1) movie. It would be kinda weird to build the whole thing in orbit around jupiter wouldn't it? all industry would be on earth, if they had that kind of industry around jupiter they could survive there easily.

something a bit different but with more (plausible) multi planetary colonies (and just one ship :

The new conastoga was build in an extreme rush so there is a very big possability for things to go wrong. What if for example the power systems fail but they are able to get into a solar system. The solar system isn't a prime choice for habitation though so they decide to repair the ship with materials found in the system and to continue their journey (maybe the savants send them a few solar system coordinates with earth like planets or so)
Problem is that none of the planets have all needed materials. Two of the most earth like ones though have everything combined. One of them is rich in metals and carbon to make casings and the like for new reactors and the other one is rich in hydrogen, deuterium and the like to fuel the reactors. The people decide to start a colony on each of the planets to speed up the proces and be able to transfer to the other one if one of them has problems.

This could give some nice storylines: maybe after a while the shuttles get unesable bacause of the corrosive atmosphere or bad pilotting (great for getting more tension between colonies). Or the colonies grow to big to both fit on the conastoga and have to fight for it. Because both planets don't have all resources aplenty maybe you get raids between them.

[leeor_net]

To clear some things up:
=====================================================

Conestoga is the ship that left from JUPITER to colonize New Terra. Basically, it was assembled in Earth's Orbit, loaded and was moved to Jupiter using Rocket Boosters where it then fueled up for its long journey. This is the official story from Outpost 1 (which Outpost 2 is based on).

The other ship, Frontier, is the one that was launched from Earth. Because of the obvious impending fate of Earth, the multinational conglomerate that built and launched Conestoga also built Frontier. They were able to use whatever resources they could to create the fuel needed for Frontier's launch which they then sent on its way just before the two chunks of the asteroid Vulcan's Hammer hit Earth destroying everything.

=====================================================

There were no transmissions between Frontier and the colonies that were built on New Terra. Remember that the colonists aboard both ships are in a state of 'slow sleep' and will not be woken up until they are ready to be landed on the planet (aside from the brief excersise periods during flight).

=====================================================

If anyone is interested in more in-depth story about Outpost 1 and where a lot of my ideas came from and have based some of the story on, I will be more than happy to scan the entire book that Bruce Balfour (designer of Outpost) and produce it on the website as a PDF file (and of course stick it into the Wiki). Rather, there are specific sections in the book dedicated to the back-story of Outpost.

There is a lot of story here and because Dynamix did not have anything to do with the first game (except that they looked at it for references), there are some inconsistencies which I wanted to explain. Through use of the book as well as help from TH300, Stormy and Zanco, I think we've acomplished it very well and gracefully.

Also, as far as landing on Mars and why they didn't do that in the first place, it's also explained in the book. I think I'll post that expert. I just need to find the book.

[Freeza-CII]

yes I would like to know why they didnt land on mars

And all of that is very interesting  

[Axalon]

I actually enjoy the scrutiny my idea is going under, as it is a civilized discussion and no one has been flamed. Kinda like a debate... Freeza has a lot of good points, some I completely neglected to factor in (and I'm a big astrophysics buff, I should know this, ).

I guess I should clarify that in my story idea Frontier has already established a colony, and that they aren't still in cold sleep in space. But as I rethink it now, I don't think that story would have had a great plot anyway.

PS: End of novella...are you suggesting that the Savant hive mind on New Terra finally DID send their dreams as their gift, blueprints for a new world of wonders? (Yeah, that's from the ending cinematic)

[Freeza-CII]

Hmm I thought the Blight destroyed the Savant computer because of there organic type parts.

[Stormy]

Maybe maybe not

What could happen to the Savants if that doesn't happen? If it does, what do you think would happen.

(this is funny watching you guys try to figure it out)  :lol:


stormy :op2: