4th Weekly Update: August 27th, 2009
I am still playing through FFH2. Man, is this a massive mod! I give props to the design team. They really did a great job. I still haven't explored all the options and I've probably logged well over 120 hours playing with various settings. Anyway here are some key things I have culled from FFH2 so far that I wish to incorporate into the Rifts mod.
-Magic units learn spells as promotions. I think this will fit with Rifts pretty well, at least thematically, as higher level spellcasters tend to have more spells at their disposal. Spell selection in Rifts will be dependent upon the type of unit and level rather than on the type of mana.
-Summon duration. I can use this code to give juicer units a limited lifespan. I'm still unsure whether I can make it random, but I can figure that out later.
-Heroes. I have really enjoyed this concept and Rifts is resplendent with examples of them. The hardest part will be picking which ones to represent their respective civs!
-Mercenaries. This idea is not unique to FFH2, but it is an essential element to Rifts nonetheless. Unlike other mods I have seen, in Rifts the mercenaries available will be based on the highest tech available, not your civ's tech. At least that is my plan. It may depend on my coding abilities.
-Obsidian Gate. Something similar will be available to cities built on a nexus although it will be a late game feature and there will probably be no equivalent of the Nexus.
-Boarding Party. Ship capture is something I always felt was sorely missed from Civ. It will be available in Rifts as well.
-Undead. Duh.
-Orcs. See Undead.
-Other race types. See Orcs and Undead. This also opens the door for a few other D-Bee races. I will go through D-Bees of North America and pick the most prominent ones, such as the Grackletooth and Quick-Flex.
-No healing (from Black Tower). In Rifts it is assumed that most damage is taken to body armor for infantry type units since any single shot from a laser would instantly kill a man, hence most units will be unable to heal on their own (dragons and the like can still heal normally, being supernaturally tough). Certain units, like the Operator, will have the Repair ability, which will function like the existing Medic ability, and give the unit the ability to "heal" certain units in the stack. This will be a defining element of this mod and hopefully make for some interesting and compelling strategies.
-Items. There are plenty of legendary items in Rifts.
-Dungeons. Be they ruins of pre-Cataclysm cities or open rifts ready to explore, there will be plenty of places for your units to rummage around.
-Disease. There are lots of diseases on Rifts Earth. It is good to wear environmental body armor at all times.
-Weapon Upgrades. Better weapons mean bonuses to strength. I like that idea. I will look into incorporating it somehow.
Those are all I can think of for right now. As for the coding, I haven't put much into the XML document lately although I did create a word document with equivalencies for units which I will be using as stand-ins until I get animations. I will post it when I get a semi-complete version. In the meantime, here are a few units I have added to the early game.
Note: EBA = unit is immune to disease
SDC Warrior, Str 2, Move 1, Cost 15,+25% city defense - This early unit is good at defending your cities from other civs early on but not roaming monsters (barbarians), so hurry up and tech to MDC armor!
Scout, Str 1, Move 2, Cost 15, better results from ruins, +100% vs. animals - This early unit is good for exploring the map, but vulnerable to just about everything.
Plastic Man, Str 3, Move 1, Cost 30, +1000% vs. SDC units, EBA - The first laser armed unit with MDC EBA armor. You can finally explore semi-safely.
Vibro-Swordsman, Str 4, Cost 30, Move 1, +500% vs. SDC units, +10% city attack - A decent early attacker.
Huntsman, Str 4, Move 1, Cost 30, +1000% vs. SDC units, +100% vs. D-Bees - Available at the same time as the Plastic Man, the downside is that this suit is not not EBA so they are more likely to succumb to disease if you send them outside your city. Great for monster-hunting though.
Urban Warrior, Str 5, Move 1, Cost 35, +1000% vs. SDC units, +25% city defense, EBA - The light weight of this armor makes it excellent for city defenders.
Bushman, Str 6, Move 1, Cost 45, +1000% vs. SDC units, EBA, +10 city attack - The first heavy assault unit designed for pounding enemy cities.
Gladiator, Str 7, Move 1, Cost 70, +1000% vs. SDC units, EBA, +25% vs. Robot units, +25% vs. Power Armor units - An excellent late-game infantry unit to use against opponents with lots of robots and power armor.
Crusader, Str 10, Move 1, Cost 100, +1000% vs. SDC units, EBA, +10% city defense - The most powerful basic infantry unit, and you will need it!
