By Maasenstodt
8 May 2003
Author: Gul Darheel
Category: Mod
Year Published: 2003
Available From: Gul Darheel's Mods
Score
Style: 2
Substance: 2
Synopsis
The T10 Mod adds a few unique items into Birth of the Federation that contribute
to the game's Star Trek feel, but on the whole the Mod makes a number of strange
changes and doesn't improve playability.
After recently discovering Gul Darheel's website and his T10 mod, I was very
excited at the prospect of trying out this new (to me) piece of work and putting
it through the paces. Over the past several days, I have done just that and am
now reviewing the experience. I should note that the version that I am reviewing
is the latest as of the date of this publication, released on 5 May 2003.
In this review, I will break down the T10 Mod into a number of sections that look
at the various changes that have been made and their effect on the game. First,
however, I want to give an initial impression of the Mod. I usually play from
lower starting civilization levels (typically Beginning or Early) but playing
T10 in this way doesn't really provide a good overview of how the Mod affects
gameplay. Gul Darheel's work emphasizes the Advanced civilization level, and
that is where I had to spend time to get a good feel for the Mod. Those who, like
me, start earlier will not see the full effects of the T10 until much later in the
game. Two other notes: first, while I tried each empire to get a taste of their
changes, I played the game primarily as the Romulans. Second, I did not try this
mod in multiplayer. Take from those admissions what you will.
Empires' Structures
The most significant change that the T10 Mod makes to BotF is in the adjustments
made to the major empires. These adjustments are sometimes interesting but are
often inconsistent and typically in need of polishing. The most basic changes
apply to the basic construction units. Gul Darheel states on his page that "all
races are 50% more productive using level 8 or 9 fabricators." This is true to a
point. The jump from level 7 to level 8 is BIG for every empire and allows for
large production boosts after upgrades. A benefit here is that players starting
with earlier civilizations who maintain research leads and then reach level 8
construction will have an easier time with the endgame as they can produce ships
at high volume. Those starting with Advanced level games will simply produce
ships quicker, though not necessarily more so than their opponents.
The problem with this setup is in the execution. After level 8, upgrading one's
construction units results in either no effect or actually losing production. In
the case of the Romulans, upgrading to level 9 causes a loss of 44 industry points
per Fabricator! With no benefits past level 8, research in construction (and, as
I'll show, in ALL areas of research) is discouraged.
As significant as the changes to construction are, the biggest impact is made by
an overhaul of special structures. Some empires are more affected than others.
Suprisingly enough, Gul Darheel, with his Cardassian moniker, doesn't adjust the
Cardassians at all here. On the other end of the scale, both the Federation and
the Romulans have three structures changed. Generally speaking, the changes made
remove area specific research bonus providing buildings like the Federation
Daystrom Institute and Klingon Combat Testing Center. The Romulan and Klingon
dilithium structures are also altered so that they don't provide dilithium but
credits instead.
Individually, some of the changes are very interesting. The above mentioned
Romulan Singularity Plant is now a Reman Dilithium Mine, harkening to the latest
Star Trek film, "Nemesis." The Ferengi lose their Commerce Authority but now have
Quark's Bar, which while serving a similar intelligence role, adds a great deal
of flavor to the game. And with perhaps the most intriguing addition, the
Federation now can build Section 31. These are all excellent additions in terms
of flavor, but thier execution is questionable. Few of the new structures sport
new descriptions. In terms of realism, they are also rather iffy. Section 31 not
only adds +15% to sabotage but +1 to morale. With the Federation's hesitance to
support Section 31's measures, a -1 morale penalty would seem more appropriate.
The Ferengi, Romulans and Federation all have the ability to build special
Fabricators, which use large amounts of energy to give 45-50% bonuses to industry.
In Gul Darheel's words, these are designed "to give total prouction levels
similiar to what Klingons and Cardassians can achieve on large systems." In
practice, these only serve to neutralize race advantages. This last point is a
recurring one. With new intelligence structures, the Romulan and Cardassian
strength in this area is negated. The elimination of science enhancing structures,
as noted before, dilutes Federation and, to a lesser extent, Romulan strengths.
In fact, all scientific Simulator structures have been eliminated and replaced with
Combat Simulators that give every empire and every system the ability to impart
ships with experience, making the Ferengi as capable as warriors as anybody else.
The Romulan's do end up with more money and ground combat strength, but as a fan
of the Romulans, I actually dislike not having to overcome these natural areas of
disadvantage. I think the same could be said of most empires. Finally, in some
cases, the new structures are almost entirely silly. Most guilty of this is the
Federation's latest attraction, Graceland, Tennessee, which is identical in
function to the Ferengi Franchise Office, providing five trade routes. While I
don't mind some fun in the game, this is a bit rediculous, both in form and
function.
Minors' Structures
Minor races have also been overhauled, and it is here that the modder's intentions
become most clear. All scientific races are now oriented to other areas. The
Vulcans lose their Science Academy to gain Vulcan Agents, giving a 25%(!) bonus
to general intelligence. In short, the Vulcan's have basically given up on their
own way of life to take on the Romulan Way of D'era! The Trill and Caldonians
structures, while keeping their original names, are now bastions of internal
security. Races like the Bynars and Malcorians give up research to provide
extended scanning range structures, while the Tamrian's Mythology Library is no
longer a source of knowledge but rather, like the Bandi, providing extra trade
routes.
I could go on about how things have been, in my mind, made a mess of, but I'll let
one final change make the case for me. The Bajorans' Jalanda Forum still provides
an empire-wide morale bonus (even at +2 instead of +1), but its name has been
slightly altered. Having completely come to terms with their feelings towards the
Cardassians, they now gather around the Gul Darheel Memorial. Ughhh.
Ships
A final area of change is in the ships. Most significant is that all ships are
now available with research at level 8 in all areas, or when beginning with an
Advanced civilization. Once again, research is rendered inessential. Moving on,
though, there are very few changes in ship stats and none that I feel compelled to
address. What isn't inconsequential are ship costs, which have for version 2
warships been adjusted. In some cases, the adjustments are minimal. The
Klingon Vor'Cha 2's cost about 5000 more, while Romulan D'Deridex 2's are 3000
points more expensive. What is really shocking, though, is that the Ferengi
Marauder 2's have been reduced in cost by 7000 points! In combination with their
enhanced construction abilities, the Ferengi become a much tougher force in the
endgame.
My final point in terms of ship changes is a cosmetic one. Ship types have been
renamed on a large scale. The D'Deridex is now the Chang. The Negh'Var's moniker
is now the QuakeDevil. Predictably enough, the Galor class battleships are now
Darheel's. The Federation sees the most bizarre changes. Players can expect to
see Starfleet field B17of23 class strike cruisers, Flyofyipvpi class command
cruisers and SubZeroKling1 class heavy escorts. Enjoy.
Conclusion
The T10 mod seems to be geared for gamers who enjoy quickly getting into slugging
matches with lots of the game's most advanced ships as well as lots of intelligence
mischief. It makes all of the empires relative equals in terms of their
capabilities. If one is looking to see lots of big battles with big fleets without
having to invest much time in the game, and one doesn't mind T10's idiosyncrasies,
then they might really like this Mod. For myself, however, this isn't what I'm
looking for.
While I'm glad to see activity in the BotF modding community, I do not believe
that the T10 mod, as it currently exists, does much to add to the game. Some of
the ideas, like Section 31 and Quark's Bar, are fantastic and, if properly
developed, could add both depth and flavor. On the whole, however, T10 is crying
out for more thought, more polish, and more seriousness. T10 doesn't get us closer
to Star Trek but rather, especially with things like the treatment of the Vulcans,
farther away. I sincerely hope that Gul Darheel decides to continue his work and
molds his mod into something that is more enjoyable to a wider audience and is
of greater value to the community.
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