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Forums > Home› The Foundry for Star Trek Online› The Foundry for Star Trek Online - Mission Database

I have a mission idea, but I'm not sure it'll work?

uncle2fireuncle2fire Member Posts: 68 Arc User
edited May 29 in The Foundry for Star Trek Online - Mission Database
So, I've had a story idea bumping around in my head for about a year now, and have been developing it when I've been bored. The problem is, I don't know if it will actually work in the Foundry.

Essentially, the story takes place in an alternate timeline in the past. I would like to just plop the player into this era (to play from the perspective of a resident of this alternate timeline) without any kind of transition putting him/her there, but I feel like that would be confusing for the player. Any suggestions here?

The other idea I've had is a rather complicated one. In this alternate timeline, there is no Federation, so most species have their own governments. This makes me want to have a mission for each major species group. They would all be similar, just with slightly different contacts and events. For example, if you were a Vulcan playing through the Vulcan mission, there might be references to something going on with the Andorians, which you would experience first-hand if you were to play the Andorian version of the mission. I realize that this would be a LOT of work to make a mission for each major species, but after thinking about it, I'd really like to do that. I'm aware that there's a copy mission function, and I think I'd use that to share the basic outline between the different missions.

Anyone interested in helping, or have any suggestions or anything?

Thank you!
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Post edited by baddmoonrizin on

Comments

  • stoutesstoutes Member Posts: 4,219 Arc User
    edited October 2013
    There's one foundry rule;

    1) Everything is possible, only your imagination is holding you back.

    To be honest; this idea can be fitted fine in the foundry, there are bunch of foundry limitations, tricks and such which you probably don't (yet) know about. There's what this sub-forum and sites like StarbaseUGC are all about.

    The best suggestion I have is; just start with the foundry.. Don't be afraid to test stuff, try your ideas. If things don't work, then be flexible and try to "reroute" the story a bit (I was unable to replace an NPC after an explosion; this made me make a new and additional storyline which helped the story get along).


    Well, those are my $0.02 ...

    Good luck
    maxvitor wrote: »
    Nerf is OP, plz nerf
    That's quite the paradox, how could you nerf nerf when the nerf is nerfed. But how would the nerf be nerfed when the nerf is nerfed? This allows the nerf not to be nerfed since the nerf is nerfed? But if the nerf isn't nerfed, it could still nerf nerfs. But as soon as the nerf is nerfed, the nerf power is lost. So paradoxally it the nerf nerf lost its nerf, while it's still nerfed, which cannot be because the nerf was unable to nerf.

    I call it, the Stoutes paradox.
  • drogyn1701drogyn1701 Member Posts: 3,606 Media Corps
    edited October 2013
    Essentially, the story takes place in an alternate timeline in the past. I would like to just plop the player into this era (to play from the perspective of a resident of this alternate timeline) without any kind of transition putting him/her there, but I feel like that would be confusing for the player. Any suggestions here?

    Best advice here is to simply state at the beginning in big OOC text "This mission takes place in the year XXXX in an alternate timeline."

    I've seen some good missions do this. There was one on the KDF side, and I'm afraid I can't remember the mission title or author, that told me up front that it takes place in the TOS era. I thought it was cool, and if I had had more time when playing it, I would have gone and changed all my uniforms and ship to TOS era stuff. I don't know about other players, but I'm totally willing to go along with whatever an author wants me to (if it's done well, natch).
    The other idea I've had is a rather complicated one. In this alternate timeline, there is no Federation, so most species have their own governments. This makes me want to have a mission for each major species group. They would all be similar, just with slightly different contacts and events. For example, if you were a Vulcan playing through the Vulcan mission, there might be references to something going on with the Andorians, which you would experience first-hand if you were to play the Andorian version of the mission. I realize that this would be a LOT of work to make a mission for each major species, but after thinking about it, I'd really like to do that. I'm aware that there's a copy mission function, and I think I'd use that to share the basic outline between the different missions.

    Certainly interesting. My first thought, and you may have done this already, is that I would make a "bible" for your alternate timeline. Included in this should be a fairly comprehensive history of how everything got to be in the state that it is from the point where it diverged from the main timeline up to the present. You should map out the current situation of each species and its current relations with the other species. This gives you a good reference to fall back on when making the different missions.

    As for the missions themselves, you could use the import to make a copy and rework each mission to suit each species. I think that would be kind of cool. For instance I've got a Trill, a human and an Andorian and I think it would be fun to experience the story from each perspective. I would advise that you make each one fairly different to encourage people to play more than one.

    Anyway I think it sounds like a cool project and I'd be happy to play it when it comes out.
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  • lincolninspacelincolninspace Member Posts: 1,843 Arc User
    edited October 2013
    This is a great Idea. If you choose to have the player get introduced to the timeline you could go the route they did in the Temporal ambasador mission or Yesterday's enterprise. As far as resources there are many civillian Andorian npcs and A few Tellarite civillians in the Hamlet collection in our npc library so you don't have to scratch build every npc.
    A TIME TO SEARCH: ENTER MY FOUNDRY MISSION at the RISA SYSTEM
    Parallels: my second mission for Fed aligned Romulans.
  • uncle2fireuncle2fire Member Posts: 68 Arc User
    edited October 2013
    Thank you, you guys. I will definitely get started on fleshing some things out.

    I've been thinking about including in the first scene, and probably throughout the mission, optional dialogues that will help explain some parts of the storyline, like a computer library with some historical info, or by having a conversation with some characters. I think the story I have set out would make a good two- or three-parter, but that would be so much work to make two or three missions for each species. Any tips there?

    Also, I'm both quite bad and quite impatient when it comes to making maps, and I don't think I'll be content to use only pre-made ones, so I'd really like to see if I could do this as a collaborative project. Do you guys have any experience with something like that? If so, did it work out well? Or should I keep this project to myself and just do my best with what I can do?

    Thanks again!
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • yorktown1997yorktown1997 Member Posts: 16 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    I see what your trying to do. Yes a lot of work, but well worth it. Try making the characters mission to try to preserve the Federation/Klingon Empire.
    Nothing is impossible, merely extremely difficult.
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