Ahhhh, so many nerds. I must resist. I failed. I hated anything Star Trek after TNG. But I have to admit that I, being a super nerd, would probably at least load the mod up once to see how it looked. I havent seen a ST or SW mod yet that I kept on for more than a few hours. They are always poorly conceived and ruin the original game.

I have a few ideas, something like a Jules Verne vision of space would be something special, but I'm waiting to see how well I could achieve them, and of course I want to enjoy the real game first!

Wow. Now this is an awesome idea!

(Though I can't stop thinking about a Babylon5 mod...)

You mean *Terminus*, not Trantor, don't you?

Yes you are correct. That would also invalidate Harry as leader since he was already dead. I was looking for the flavor over accuracy.

My memory may be faulty on this but didn't Harry rule the Empire from Trantor for a short time before the "mule" and after the emperor's assassination by the gardener. It may have been Daneel instead of Harry.

I read most of the robot novels when I was a teenager and I should read them again. The Foundation series (and Asimov in general) is hard to beat, especially the first three.

Cheers to you fellow fan,

My first shot at a custom race was The Foundation with home planet Trantor and leader Harry Seldon.

I'd take you and your Second foundation down ... as soon as the First Citizen of the Union gets done with his concert.

I've been pushing for stargates for a decade. It complicates the AI programming considerably.

I guess it is a matter of teaching the AI to use them correctly. I can see how that might be a problem

You mean *Terminus*, not Trantor, don't you?

Depends on whether you want the 1st or 2nd Foundation - Harry developed his theories on Trantor and then set up Terminus to shorten the Dark Ages after the fall of the Galactic Empire - Great series

Wow, I can't believe all the Foundation fans we have here! I realize there's probably only a few of us on this board overall, but there's only two other people I know of that had read the series besides myself; so I'm astonished to suddenly see so many of us come out of the woodwork. That's awesome.

I myself was introduced to the series by my high school librarian (she knew I had a bit of a sci-fi bent), and I was immediately hooked. Then when I discovered Asimov had penned both a Robot series and an Empire trilogy, I had to pick up those books as well. To this day, I still make a point of reading all 15 books (I'm not including Positronic Man or the "2nd" Foundation trilogy, although I do own them) about once a year or so. They're classic reading, and I never get tired of them. I have no problem understanding why Asimov was awarded the Hugo Award for the best science fiction series ever.

Anyway, yes I agree that a Foundation/Empire mod would be pretty sweet!

A Star Trek mod would be cool, but I would prefer to see a Babylon 5 mod instead. That's one show that doesn't get much justice with video games.

I'm also a Foundation fan, if it helps any. Hari Seldon was my favorite character, along with Arkady in Second Foundation. Anyhoo...

The Babylon 5 idea is also very cool, but I've been tempted by Wing Commander personally. Maybe a triad between the Confederation, Border Worlds, and the Kilrathi... with Hellcats and Banshees and Dralthis, oh my...

Peace & Luv, Liz

I have friends who want a Firefly mod. I'll have to get them searching the net for Firefly fans who know their way around a 3D modelling program.

I second that motion. It would be a little confineing w/o adding new factions to the mix, but you could have Alliance, Brown Coats, and Reavers.

By the way, will there be a central database for modders to post? I'm sure fan sites will come along, but it would be nice to have a one stop shop.

By the way, will there be a central database for modders to post? I'm sure fan sites will come along, but it would be nice to have a one stop shop.

Yep.
Link

I'm also a Foundation fan, if it helps any. Hari Seldon was my favorite character, along with Arkady in Second Foundation.

Hey Jeysie, nice to see another one. I'm impressed you managed to narrow down your list to just two characters, though--I don't know that I could do the same! There's so many to choose from: Hari, Dors, Salvor Hardin, Hober Mallow, Stor Gendibal, Preem Palver, Raych, Wanda, Janov Pelorat, even good old Emperor Cleon.....and of course, the inestimable (and ever-present) Daneel Olivaw.

By the way, I just want to second everyone else who's suggested a B5 mod. It would be awesome if we could change the Dreadlords to represent the Shadow!

If I haven't said it.. I too would love to get a Babylon 5 game play going. Oh hey guys while I was surfing the net yesterday morning, I came across a website that has the staple ships of sci-fi, and has them to scale on a grid style map. Of 2 meters per pixel.. but anyhow I thought I would share it here.

http://www.merzo.net/2mpp.htm

There's a whole website to that, not just the 2 meters per pixel resolution

I look forward to seeing various tv-show scifi ships in this game.
While I have no graphical modding skills, I found a web site that already has some popular ships (Trek - Enterprise, Defiant, BSG - Raiders, Vipers, Wars - X-Wings, etc.) in 3D model format. I wouldn't have a clue how to get this into the game, or if they even are compatible formats. To anyone with the modding skills, here 's the link: Link. Good luck!

I think a B5 mod has great potential, particularly for the Earth Alliance it would be so cool to have access to rotating sections for your ships, though i don't see how that could be possible

By the way, sorry for appropriating the thread for B5, but it is that cool!

Hey Jeysie, nice to see another one. I'm impressed you managed to narrow down your list to just two characters, though--I don't know that I could do the same! There's so many to choose from: Hari, Dors, Salvor Hardin, Hober Mallow, Stor Gendibal, Preem Palver, Raych, Wanda, Janov Pelorat, even good old Emperor Cleon.....and of course, the inestimable (and ever-present) Daneel Olivaw.

Heh! Well, don't mistake me for saying those are the only two characters I like... Asimov's lineup of Foundation personalities is quite enjoyable. I'm also fond of Dors, Raych, and Pelorat specifically... as well as Bliss and Novi.

And if we go back further, there's Elijah "Jehosephat" Bailey... and even further than that, Donovan and Powell. I *loved* the D&P stories.

By the way, I just want to second everyone else who's suggested a B5 mod. It would be awesome if we could change the Dreadlords to represent the Shadow!

Having those freaky Shadow ships flying around would be all around cool. But personally, I wouldn't mind flying around a White Star. Heck, I'd even name it "Maria"!

Peace & Luv, Liz

Heh! Well, don't mistake me for saying those are the only two characters I like...

Don't worry, I knew what you meant. I'm just saying that for myself, I doubt I could even say which character was my "favorite", as there are so many deserving of that distinction!

Asimov's lineup of Foundation personalities is quite enjoyable. I'm also fond of Dors, Raych, and Pelorat specifically... as well as Bliss and Novi. And if we go back further, there's Elijah "Jehosephat" Bailey... and even further than that, Donovan and Powell. I *loved* the D&P stories.

[chuckle] "Jehosephat!"--I love it when Elijah says that. I really enjoyed the rapport and friendship he came to share with Daneel, *and* that it was a gradual process that took several books to develop. Bailey's deathbed scene with Olivaw in "Robots and Empire" never fails to move me, no matter how many times I read it. And of course you've gotta love Donovan & Powell (good catch, Jeysie!); they were sort of like Abbot & Costello set in the future.

Having those freaky Shadow ships flying around would be all around cool. But personally, I wouldn't mind flying around a White Star. Heck, I'd even name it "Maria"!

LOL. Good choice with the White Star. Personally, though, I'd love to take my Earthforce battleship Agamemnon into battle!

Just a word of warning to anyone who wants to invest a lot of time and effort into mods based on popular sci fi franchises. Let's all bow our heads in rememberance of mods that have been "foxed" because they were infringing on copyrights. Those ship designs are all trademarked and you can get in trouble for using them. At best you have to stop production on your mod, turn over all materials and copies to them and sign away your life promising never to do it again, and at worst they'll take you to court (havne't heard of that happening before, just threats).

Some companies who will "fox" your mod are less likely to do it once it's been released, but if they see it before you've "finished" it, then they might be inclined to shut you down.

Remember that most of these franchises are actively held by their owners and people seeking to make mods out of them without licensing or permission might be taking business away from a game they themselves plan to make.

I myself have enjoyed some mods that make use of copyrighted material, but more and more I tend to think that mods based around original ideas tend to be better. All that said I can't wait to see how good of a Galactica ship model I can make out of this engine. I've seen some hulls that look pretty close.

That pretty much depends on the franchise, though. While Star Wars, for example, is guarded by the largest legal department on this side of the moon, settings like Babylon 5, Wing Commander and even Startrek are usually tolerated or even welcomed (in the case of B5 - I found her for example) by their creators or legal rights holders.

I personally would like ot see those mods, although it remains to be seen how much work it would be to create elements for the modular construction system (which, I believe, would be A LOT harder than just creating a single model per ship).