Vegastrike:Features

Translation Info

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Mission

Manual

Game credits

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Current Vega Strike Upon The Coldest Sea Game Features

• 15 species - 6 main species and 9 client species
• 39 different powers, factions, or groups
• Randomly generated universe which will vary with any new created game
• More than 5700 different systems connected by an extensive jump network
• 21 different planet types
• More than 80 different ships in 230 varieties
• Each ship gives you a unique individual flight feeling
• Multiple-ship ownership
• Three 3D cockpits
• Around 10 different stations
• 110 upgrade items
• 190 weapons and turrets
• 240 different cargo items
• Exploration
• Missions
  • Cargo trading
  • Patrol missions
  • Rescue missions
  • Combat missions
• Dynamic news keeping you up-to-date with the progress of the universe
• Dynamic progress of the universe with changing system ownership as the war progresses
• Plenty of shoot 'em up action
• Preliminary multi-player death-match (testing server only)

Current Engine Features

Graphics

• Per pixel specularity, glow, and damage (fades in when the craft gets damaged) maps
• Detail textures (tiles that fade in when you get close to the ship, to add detail)
• Planets with 3D atmospheres
• Basic mesh animation (frame by frame)
• Engine flares
• Damage 'sparks'
• Shields that glow where hit
• Explosions

Sound

• 3D positional sound (openAL)
• Built-in sound and music server

Python (dynamic universe)

• Simulated universe changes as you play, with the war resulting in lost/gained territory and ships, all tracked persistently
• News events are generated to let the player follow these events
• The players actions do affect the universe, and are also reported in the news
• Missions are generated randomly according to the events around you

Python (bases)

• 2D interactive bases, point and click

Python (campaigns)

• fully scriptable campaign system, allows for the construction of linear (and not so linear) plots

Base GUI

• base gui allows for the viewing of news, ship stats etc ... and the purchase of new ships/upgrades and commodities

Flight Computer

• View faction relations and ship stats, and plot courses around the galaxy

Flight simulation

• Fully newtonian (well, with a couple of random relativity bits thrown in) flight model, compensated by a flight ai to allow provision of the traditional ww2 fighter feel
• Cool stuff

System Requirements

• Operating System: Windows 2000 or later, Linux, Mac Intel / PowerPC
• CPU: 1.0 GHz or above
• RAM: 256MB or more
• HDD: minimum 500MB free
• GPU: nVidia 6600 family or later, ATI ??
• VRAM: 256MBor more
• Driver with OpenGL support

Changelog

Vega Strike 0.4.3 to 0.5.0

10 year anniversary of Vega Strike.

Engine

• Installers for 5 major platforms (Windows, Linux-32, Linux-64, Mac Intel, Mac PPC).
• Shader support for normal maps
• Better physics system
  • Support for simultaneous simulation at variable fidelity of all ships present in a system
  • Support for large numbers of active vessels per system
• DDS image support
• Faster loading speeds
• Preliminary multiplayer support in deathmatch mode
• Replacement of collision library
• Integrated Soundserver
• Removal of obsolete launcher (Windows)
• Basic video playback support
• More configurable camera options
• Improved idling star streaks
• Introduced a minimum spawning distance
• Improved planet layout in systems
• Python mission reorganization
• Code improvements (unit iterator and collection, many more)

Gameplay

• More intelligent autopilot for fast navigation
• Added ability to generate a route from one system to another on the map.
• Added a screenshot key (i)
• Keyboard remapping
• New and restatted units, weapons, and upgrades
• New music, models, and factional textures
• Civilian traffic and increased the number of ships in each system
• More flight control indicators
• More comm messages visible for longer time
• Jumping while in SPEC no longer allowed
• Shields should also drop on jump
• Upgrades now have more colors
• Ammo levels are somewhat more sane now
• Changed required volumes of some of the key upgrades
• Pricing for basic vessels, ammo, and weaponry was modified

Artwork

• Completely new planet textures and planet HUD images
• Improved planetary ring textures
• New base art
• New ship models
• New nebula graphics (system background images)
• Improved shield and armor HUD images
• Better and new cargo and upgrade images

Administrativa

• Web page redesign
• A lot of Wiki improvements
• Distro specific distributions (Ubuntu, RedHat, Debian)
• Move to SVN, addition of masters repository for originals and sources

Vegastrike 0.4.0 to 0.4.3

• Gameplay/Interface
  • Dynamic universe (+ related messages in the news)
  • Better weapon balance
  • Changed insystem jump type (+new jump animation)
  • New windowing system in the station-menus
  • 3d-map (insystem and systemmap) , relations-menu
• Artwork
  • New or replaced ships/models
  • New engine-flame animation
  • VDU background graphics
  • Back and front radar
  • Stars (dots) generated by the engine; They draw lines when ship is moving.
  • More communication dialogs/texts
  • New splash screens
  • Reconstructed SOL system (finished before 4.x?)
  • Better planet textures
  • Better system backgrounds

Vegastrike 0.3.9 + 0.3.9.1 (more or less a tech-demo for 0.4.x)

• Dynamic universe (demo)
• 3D-map
• some more things i forgot

Vegastrike 0.2.9.4 to 0.3.3

• Owning a Whole Fleet - With the new One Fleet Plan You can own as many starships as you wish. Shipping to your system is only 6000 per ship! See the My Fleet Section in the ship dealer.
• Original Music Ken Suguro and PeteyG have come up with an original score for Vega Strike that beats out commercial games. Listen to it and be immersed in Vega Strike as it should be.
• Polishing the Engine - Docking boxes come up automatically, the Upgrade interface has a repair option
• Plot Mission and Fixers - You can meet people in the various bars and strike deals with them. Dont cross anyone or you may suffer retribution!

Vegastrike 0.2.9.3

• Python Scripting - Upgraded various for-pay missions and the basic missions
• Quests And News - Linked the local happenings to gameplay challenges and cash opportunities
• Surpluses and Shortages - Trading is now affected by the live news model
• Rendered Bases To Explore - Beautifully rendered bases to explore--but there's more than meets the eye
• Locals to converse with - The bartender always has the latest news for j00
• Trading with the enemy - It's always profitable to run the front lines, selling pricey weapons to evil Aera, or running back high tech bionics for terran research!
• Music Player - A music player is now included in vega strike...it can play midis, ogg, or mp3... just dump the files into music/ and edit the playlists in .vegastrike
• Ingame Map - A map of the local sector may be accessed with Shift-M. Sure accurate maps are expensive, but this one should be well worth whatever you didn't pay

Vegastrike 0.2.9

• Installer/Uninstaller - Allows players to easily install OpenAL and VS
• Splitscreen Multiplayer - Coop gauntlet with a friend or blow him to shreds--even trading and exploration i spossible in this mode!
• Save Games - Having persistent gameplay over multiple sections is possible
• Large Star System Size - Vegastrike engine has been upgraded to use double precision floating values so that realistic system size is possible
• Communications/Orders - Allows the player to contact neutrals and taunt enemies. Wingmen can be ordered.
• Autopilot - Lets the player quickly go from one zone of combat to another
• Trading - Lets players run guns to make money
• Missions for cash - Players can now contract out for spare cash
• Ship Upgrades - Don't like your ship? buy a new one or get some better weapons or engines!
• Missiles - Missile can lock on to their targets and track them with ease (ECM systems err...almost ease)
• Autotracking Weapons - Guns may be updated to seek to their targets
• Tractor beams - Small pieces of cargo may be taken into a hold. look for these when a large cargo-laden ship has exploded
• Energy Removing Guns - Leech energy down to nada on their targets
• System Damage - Hud displays flicker and weapons blow off... maneuverability decreases and many more horrible things happen when you get damage... don't get damage
• 3D Cockpits - With accurate lighting and damage effects these cockpits add a whole new dimension to vegastrike
• Mission Launcher
• Better Communications (always has eight choices)

Vegastrike 0.2.0 to 2.1

• Time compression
• Multiple Systems
• Entire Sol sector and Vega sector included!
• Fly through huge multilayered asteroid fields
• Explore nebulae where your radar fritzes out
• Jump to other systems at blue jump points with the 'j' key
• Respawn with the ';' key (semicolon)
• Switch Ships with the '[' key
• Joystick support for a full featured joystick
• Sound effects that make starships roar as they pass and zap as they die
• Bolt weapons with glowing lighting effects
• Cloaking that renders a ship partially/fully invisible
• All new starships
• Customizable fully working HUD with targetting displays, etc
• Customizable Alien Race logos that will change on all starships by editing TerranPriA.bmp and TechPriA.bmp
• Intelligent, Programmable AI
• Varied weapons on different starships
• Explosions that literally tear a starship into pieces
• Shields That Glow upon hit (in the location hit)
• Customizable missions
• Stars that fly past as you explore the system
• RAPID collision system that allows no problems with collisions
• BSP Trees that allow one to fly close to a starship, and in the runway of (well formed) models...unlike the victory from WC3.
• the Normal Force which bounces starships off of each other

Vegastrike 0.0.9 to 0.1.0

• Joystick support for a full featured joystick
• Sound effects that make starships roar as they pass and zap as they die
• Bolt weapons with glowing lighting effects
• Cloaking that renders a ship partially/fully invisible
• All new starships
• Customizable fully working HUD with targetting displays, etc
• Customizable Alien Race logos that will change on all starships by editing TerranPriA.bmp and TechPriA.bmp

Vegastrike 0.0.7 to 0.0.9

• Intelligent, Programmable AI
• Varied weapons on different starships
• Explosions that literally tear a starship into pieces
• Shields That Glow upon hit (in the location hit)
• Customizable missions
• Stars that fly past as you explore the system
• BSP Trees that allow one to fly close to a starship, and in the runway of (well formed) models...unlike the victory from WC3.
• the Normal Force which bounces starships off of each other
• The rings of saturn--a feature oft-missed in previous versions... now added for all to enjoy... just don't fire at 'em ;-)

Vegastrike 0.0.3 to 0.0.7

• REAL Asteroid belts, which will soon have AI.
• Planets with correct orbits and realistic textures.
• A huge sun with detailed textures in cluding hotspots.
• WC style physics with afterburn slides.
• Programmable AI for complex functions like Shelton sliding, rolls, loops, and kickstops.

Vegastrike 0.0.2 to 0.0.3

• Clicklists are built in... so you can click on ships and it will report so on console (same with selecting)
• There is a location selector built in, but with this build you cannot see it
• Utilizes SPHERE_MAP in OpenGL to produce fantastic spheremapped ships... shiny+fast
• Made it faster on software.... but backgrounds are still textured
• Physics works, but is disabled to allow viewing of sphere_map

See also

• Development:Roadmap
• FAQ:Feature Requests

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Mission

Manual

Game credits