Installation: Unzip all files to ...\Homeworld2\Data

Version 0.9 (08/12/2003)

-------- Changes:

- Defense Field generator module like the Defense Field Frigate replaces Cloak Generator for construction on build capable ships.
- Squadronsize set to 1. Cost and buildtimes changed accordingly. Fixed various values.
- Torpedo Frigate can cloak itself.
- Improved Torpedo research now works in reverse. The Torpedo Frigate starts with anticap torpedo and gets MIRV anticorvette with the research.
- Hig Destroyer now has Ion beam main turrets, with fixed effects and is really cool. Most stats kept the same. (I wonder if giving it the improved torpedo up grade would be balanced)
- Friendly fire set to 100% from 0%. (Funny thing is I originally set it to 10000% or 100x by accident silly me)
- Missile and torpedo speeds increased (about 20% to 40%).
- MS, SY and Carriers now have (concussion) missiles (range 3000m) instead of defense guns, similar to Missile Corvettes. Carrier has firepower equal to 4 MC and MS/SY equal 12 MC (3 old squadrons). Retaliation range decreased to 3300m (from 4800m) in order to pick targets more wisely.
- Mobile Refinery (like the true heavy frigate that it is) slowed down from 225m/s to 125m/s. Health increased from 18000 to 25000.
- Changed attack types a bit. Hopefully platforms will turn vertically too. And Destroyer minor changes/fixes.
- Laser Corvettes now have 50% more health and 50% less firepower. Command Corvettes health increased to 800 (from 600).
- Platforms now move at 150m/s (down from 200). Plat's now pack/unpack by building engine and targeting modules. Yay but still needs balancing with ideas. They cost twice as much RU and buildtime, double the firepower, have more health (20000) when unpacked/immobile and less when unpacking/packing (10000), normal (15000) for moving. I also want platforms to be twice as big but I need a friendly 3D modeller to scale the model up. Help please. I reduced their unitcap to half so you don't have so many platforms clog the build manager. Also added some regen because of a bug with replacing subsystems causing minor damage (collateral) and they need it anyway without any other means of repair. I also had to do a trick with damage because the plats open fire as soon as their engine module is retired and before the targeting module is built though you can't order them to attack. I gave the targeting module 40x damage ability and the plats have 1/40 the firepower. Bug with maxhealth multiplier; removed them and fixed a few other things including firing with no targeting module ;)
- Vaygr can build detect cloaked sensors.
- Fixed icons and stuff for all other ships too.
- Ion Frigate's beam range increased to 6000m (from 4000m). May need to make them move a bit slower though or make it a research upgrade. May give EMP disabling damage instead. And an EMP missile for the Vaygr.
- True 3D space movement. More realistic movement for capital ships. Finally!

-------- Ideas:

- Engines do not stop ships from rotating, only moving when destroyed. So far only solution is to make engine slow down to 50% instead of 0% when destroyed. Engines allow hyperspace.
- BC a bit faster all around and DD slightly faster too. BC main guns damage is 1/4 but firetime is 1/2 too.
- Fixed some missing subsystem armors and FCT bonuses to their build-ship.
- Harvesters that don't have to dock.
- Vaygr still need more cloak detection maybe in scouts
- Advanced sensors need to be more usefull maybe more range or ECM/SDP piercing. Or ping like Destroyers, but then upgrade cloakdetect sensors too.
- Cloak frigate a clone of Defense Field Frigate maybe for Vaygr only.
- Ion Platforms changed to pulsar. Give them to Vaygr too with lance and give torpedo platforms to Hig too.
- Vaygr Destroyer to get laser or beam turrets. Or maybe missile defenses instead of gun. Or maybe not...
- Frigates able to dock. Balance docked repair rates, especially collectors which is too slow and has some bugs. For example it can dock externally and refuse to free the drop off point even if ordered to move.
- A ship that shoots down missiles would be nice. Cant be done though mecha says :(
- New Cloaked platforms like Torpedo Frigates. Also change plats a bit. Make Ion into pulsar and make a Vaygr version using Lance similar weapon. Make a Hig torpedo version of missile plat.
- New capships to add more variety.
- Maybe allow opposite sides build enemy frigate types. May require capture like Beast in Cataclysm if it can be done.
- Change ping. Maybe give it to Vaygr too (maybe with avanced sensors). Or change it to cloak detection for scouts. Give minor ping research to Destroyers so they can hunt subs. Does ping reveal cloaked units? YES ;)
- May change starting fleets setup.
- Vaygr Command Corvette changed so it scrambles enemy targeting instead of raising friendly. Also may have an upgrade to also scramble sensors like ecm probe. Hmm reducing enemy accuracy may not hav a mincap so is uberpowerfull and I should change it to increasing the friendly ships' health. Besides it makes sense that the CC remains inside the swarm not inside the enemy fleet, which was what it had to do with scrambling. BUG with maxhealth :(


-------- Justifications (fan fic pseudoscience):

- Squad sizes set to 1 to prevent unrealistic free replacements.
- Torpedo Frigate can cloak so it resembles submarines somewhat.
- Also the reversal of the improved torpedo makes it resemble submarines even more. Added effect is balance in the first minutes of a game. You don't want to face the enemies corvettes without cluster torpedoes.
- What? It's cool. The Destroyer fires its turrets 2 guns separately for cost effective power reasons. Firing both guns of a turret simultaneously would cause the turret to overheat. Also it would require bigger power cables to the ship's power plant to handle the doubled energy spike. Now the drain on the power plant is constant. The idea to have 1 gun turrets that fire continuously was scraped because one barrel alone tended to overheat. So with only minor loss in efficiency the beam is directed to both turret guns that each fire when the other has finished (unless the game engine screws it up which it does sometimes, not my fault).
- Friendly fire set to 100% (from 0) because Hig armor is designed to counter Vaygr weapons so it offers no additional protection against their own. Some weapons check line of fire but I wish I could make missiles TRY to evade friendly ships :(
- Come on they were too slow for a ship that is half engine half warhead or something. The rotation speed was left the same though so they simulate the missile's inability to turn better (Not that it could turn even that well in space).
- Missiles defenses are cool, defense guns sucked (can you say Vaygr Carrier?). It makes sense to put a guided weapon on a ship that maneuvers very slowly and usually doesnt move at all.  Also according to HW canon missiles need a production facility hence the Missile Destroyer. Well what other ships fit that definition? MS SY and Carrier maybe VBC and VDD too (but not yet Missile Corvettes supposedly carry all the missiles they need in a battle to save space on facilities. They occasionally need to dock for rearmament but usually that happens well after the battle is over, or they simply get destroyed before running out (too bad I cant add a finite amount of missiles, about 100, like in Cataclysm Acolytes). The Frigates that use missiles may have a miniaturized facility (or do like MC most likely) hence the slower firing rate or weaker missiles.
- Mobile Refineries are supposed to move only a few times and then stay still by the RU patch. So, since they are based on a frigate size hull, it makes sense to heavily armor them and add defense guns to protect the Collectors get away. Thus like Heavy Frigates are slower and better armored than normal.
- Platforms can turn very efficiently with their internal gyros. I hate that stupid feel of there being a Horizontal plane. Its space for fucks sake! So I plan to remove the sea-level feel for all other ships as well.
- Natural balancers. Besides Laser did way too much damage. They did more damage than a freaking Destroyer!
- My new platforms that simulate packing/unpacking will rock what can I say. I will make only the engine module visible so the can fire unobstructed.
- Well why couldnt Vaygr build detect cloaked sensors in the first place? Well now with the submarines (Torp Frigate) they need to even more, so they can!
- Yay! I did it, and on my own. Had to ditch the cloak ability because ships cant have it together with defense field ability. Its Relics fault, no one I know has found a way to overcome this. It doesnt make sense to cloak big immobile ships, especially when under attack. The enemy could calculate your previous position and simply fire on your big ass. Besides the energy it would take to cloak big ships would be a waste. Still a new Cloak Frigate will be included sometime. It will initially have only sensor distortion capabilities upgradeable to cloaking too. For big ships it makes more sense to have a defense field to protect them until help arrives or they annihilate the enemy.
- However I prefer to have another theory about reaction engines and such. I completely ignore back thrusters as graphical aids in a simulation. I imagine the ships use space distortion gravitic drives (far fetched). That explains why small ships move faster and why ship stop whe they no longer use their engine. So I plan to make ships move like when attacking but all the time. So far I set accelerationAngle to 180 and descendpitch to 180 and banking to 0. Cause it doesn't make sense to bank when turning unless you're a boat or bike. Don't worry when attacking the ships bank to fire all gun if needed.
Also rotation is not done by thrusters only, but by internal gyros as well. So it should still work even if engine is destroyed. May make engines tied to hyperspace ability.


-------- Credits:

ZuiljiN for providing the much needed HOD for the platforms' subsystems.
Many others for ideas and help and tools ;)