Babylon 5 Wars SEV Mod Update

Sweet Nova and Warlock. And, of course, another excellent shot of my favorite ship, the Hyperion.

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Hi Shrike,

I sleep...I just have not had a weekend for a few weeks. Programming the mod has actually been very fun...and kinda relaxing.

The carrier may look a little big because the Brakiri Avioki's in the IA shipset are used to represent frigates. These are actually cruiser sized vessels in Babylon 5. About the same size as an EarthForce Omega...which is what is being used to represent the carrier in the shipset.

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BlackSwan did an awesome job on the Vorlon Scout ship he uses for a colony vessel in the IA shipset. So if he is doing a full Vorlon set it will be the bomb.

BlackSwan, no need to update the Brakiri cruiser thing for me. I am simply happy the models even exist. Staying true to Babylon 5 cannon is not necessary...just the look and style of the Babylon 5 ships is nice to have in a game. Now, if you do a Brakiri shipset then by all means move the Avioki up to cruiser status.

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Update: The Drazi are now programmed and fully functional. These will be tough guys to fight...grappling claws and boarding parties and solar cannons will ruin any players best strategy. Mahahaha!

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Funny idea Shrike. I may have to look to see if I can make a random event that would work that way.

Update: EarthForce and Gaim are now programmed. The mod is moving along at a good pace.

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Update: Grome and Hurr now programmed.

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I plan to release a beta to test as soon as I have all 35 playable races represented. The reason for this is so I can make a good first initial attempt to balance the more powerful races using resource costs for their more advanced technologies. I am making no attempt to balance the actual weapon strengths or techs for each race. Instead I am using direct formula conversions straight from B5W. A race will have access to similar technologies that they have in the B5W game...at the same strengths. The B5W game was never meant to have each race play a balanced game. But if I can get the resource costs right then a player using a fully upgraded Shadow cruiser should be paying about ten times the cost of a player using a fully upgraded EarthForce cruiser. A single EA cruiser will be quickly obliterated by the Shadow Cruiser but a fleet of EA cruisers that cost the same as a single Shadow Cruiser should fair well. So far I am VERY pleased with how the mod plays. Some of the techs I still need to work out a few bugs with, or come up with an equivalant benefit that can be programmed in SEV, but other than that the B5W conversion is really fleshing out well in SEV. Plus it is fun to watch the much more B5W sturdy ships duke it out for a lengthy battle...something that is lacking in the standard game where a single hit destroys many ships at greater levels.

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Update: The Hyach are now programmed.

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I thought about doing that first but it actually turned out to be easier doing the races in order. Many of the smaller races have a bunch of the earlier "main" races' technologies. So by doing the little ones in order it has actually made programming the major races that much easier.
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Can you program scripts? If so, once I get all the races programmed for multiplayer you are welcome to make AI scripts for the mod so it will play in single player. Other than that any ship models will be good since I do not plan to do those either...instead I will use ships already created in the community. BlackSwan has done some excellent shipsets that will be great for this mod. Other than that, when I release a Beta you are welcome to help me test and debug it.

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Latest Update: The Ipsha are now programmed. These bad boys have some NASTY electromagnetic weapons...but lack jump engines. A little trade off: Powerful weapons but no ability to open new warp points.

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Update: The Kirishiac are now programmed. They were a tough one...took a minute.

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Update: Kor-Lyans are now done. These guys are a purly missile, proximity, and particle weapon race. They are fun as heck to watch in battle. More missiles than you can count with tones of anti-missile missiles as well. It is like watching fireworks all over the place. Will be an interesting race to defend against...better think high PD weapon placement. PD plays a pretty big role in B5W...so REALLY don't be stingy with it if you go up against the Kor-Lyans.

The more of this mod I build the more excited I get to play it. This thing is really taking shape. Mahahaha!

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I am programming the races in alphabetical order so I do have the EarthForce done. The Minbari are coming up soon. At last count I believe I still had about 16 races to program with the Llort being the next project. I am doing as strict of a conversion that I can do using SEV from the B5W rules. So the game mechanics are pretty well established. It would be very difficult for me to explain my conversion formulas at this point to others...so it is just easier for me to program the races. Once that is done I will leave it to the community to build AI if they want to be able to play this mod in single player. Otherwise it will be an awesome multiplayer mod.

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Update: The Llort and Markab are now programmed.

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Troops/units will be outfitted with their races weaponry. They will also have racial bonuses specific to their race. e.g. Kirishiac were a dominant ground force followed by the Gaim...thus their bonuses reflect this strength in their ground troops. All racial weapons are being built in the mod...to include their B5W damage rates, range penalties, combat bonuses, etc. So you name a weapon, it is in the mod. Every type of particle beam and cannon have been programmed. These weapons also have PD features if they had PD features in the game.

Weapon sizes are reduced from other mods and the standard game to allow a player to build a realistic B5W ship (e.g. a Light Particle Beam takes 5 structure spots on a ship...so you could pack a ship with them...how effective that would be is up for debate as they are REALLY short range weapons...it would be death to a fighter squad and no seekers would touch it). All components increase in structure strength (not size) with levels to allow for ship staying power.

Damage types are as consistent with B5W as I can make them so expect raking, piercing, flash, etc damage. Mines can be outfitted with smaller weapons to produce a wide variety of mines just like in B5W. Instead of running into all explosive mines you can now have the pleasure of running into explosions followed by particle beam fire, etc. Makes mines pretty nasty. All components reflected on a B5W ship control sheet are now in the game to include structure...a nice way to absorb hits without getting your vitals gutted...especially with raking and piercing fire, which works beautifully.

Reactors and Engines are needed just like in B5W for supplies and ordinance. SEV engines are now Thrusters. Ships will need to be built with extra supplies and reload racks to keep their weapons operational...some weapons do not carry ammo, thus no supplies/ordinance = no boom, boom.

Drones have been outfitted to act as either big missiles, piloted drones (think the large Drazi fighters) or breaching pods (this makes security stations a must if you do not want to lose your ships...especially to ground combat specializing races...like the Gaim).

I could go on, and on. Basically, if you enjoyed playing B5W then you will REALLY enjoy this mod because they play VERY similar. As I program, I try to fix all the bugs I find, but I expect beta testers will locate them as well since the scope of this mod is huge and it is hard for one person to catch them all. As I have play tested the races I have been impressed with the game play. This mod will add many dimensions to game play, strategy, and tactics. Space battles between two fully outfitted, and equal tech race ships, is not a fast affair. These ships can take a pounding...which is good since only VERY few races have access to gravitic or em shields. Armor will be your friend...and I have added all armor variants from B5W to the game.

New, Young, and Ancient races are represented. I am going to try and find a balance using costs associated with building and maintaining the ships. Thus, one Shadow Cruiser should cost the same to build and maintain as a fleet of EarthForce Cruisers...which would be needed to destroy the single Shadow Cruiser.

Oh yea, jump engines are in the game as well...whew, I'm leaving now because otherwise this post would never end.

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I toyed with the idea of representing Hyperspace but this is not really done in the B5W game...at least not alot. It would add another element to the game, but I do not know if I will have the energy to do it. All good ideas though...maybe someone can add it to the mod once I get the beta testing done. I toyed with using the BSG warp point model but it is scripted to close all warp points each turn. I do not want all warp points closed each turn so I simply copied a similar design jump engine that can both open, and close, a warp point. Thus a fleet can jump through in turn 1, then close the warp point on turn 2, preventing enemy ships from using the warp point for transit. Since warp points are a major feature of B5W it is good to have the system warp points remain and then when a race researches jump engines they can choose to destroy their system stationary warp points, if they wish, and then open new ones as they need them.

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The Jump Engines work that way now in single player mod (not automatically, the player must activate each sequence)...but in simultaneous mod it will not work that way. I don't know if it can be scripted...I don't see why not...it may take some toying with to figure out.

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So it does appear your idea can be done...in theory at least. I say try and be a hero and if you design the code we can adopt it in the B5W mod. It would be a much better solution than mine.

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Update: The Minbari are now programmed...and they are way cool.

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Not AI. Just their multiplayer components/configurations.

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Update: The Mindriders and Mitoc are now done.

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Update: The Narn and Pak'ma'ra are now done.

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Update: The Raiders are now done...whew, that was a long day.

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Update: The Shadows are now done.

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Depending on how much time I find to work on it...I am estimating about 3 to 4 weeks until a beta release. It will be worth the wait if you are a B5W fan.

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Each race has a pretty good description in their racial traits area. I am also attempting to balance the race costs in the racial traits area. Thus a VERY minor race like the Mitoc only costs 500 racial points while the Shadows costs 5000. Minbari are currently 4000, the Centauri, EarthForce, and Narns are each 3000. Many of the League races are 2000. And the minor races range from between 1000 to 1500.

The different racial techs will be what determines the ability of a race's ships. For example, the Vree use turrets and are the only race with access to them. They also use Antimatter weapons (short range weaponry with a real punch), but so do a few other races so some of these technologies are shared. The Shadows use Molecular Slicers, Bio Drives, and have energy diffusers. No other race has access to these techs. You can purchase a racial trait enhancement that gives your race light molecular slicers and energy diffuser 2s...this allows players to mimic the EarthForce Shadow Omega hybrids. I also have an enhancement for the Vorlon/Minbari hybrids (White Stars). I have many weapon package enhancements listed as "Pirate" technologies. Access to different thrusters is also limited by racial traits, etc. Every piece of tech can be race specific. Gaim have bulkheads...no other race has bulkheads. You get the picture.

For folks who do not know B5W, they will just have to play around with the game to get a feel for the weapons and each race's style of play. Obviously, a race like the Mitoc could reasonably never win against a race like the Shadows. The balance in this mod will be in resource costs...not weapons and tech. The ancient race technologies make the younger races look like ants...thus the younger races will need to be able to field MANY more ships to defend against an ancient. Maybe a Mitoc player could swarm a Shadow player using sheer numbers of very cheap ships and win...we really won't know until someone tries it. Maybe an all out Mitoc invasion could get past the Shadows if the Shadows could not support a large fleet of ships to counter a Mitoc invasion...it would be fun to try out once.

I wished this mod was done but I still have A LOT of work to do. I have about 8 or 9 more races to program and then I need to tackle a few more data files to make it all work the way I want it. Once that is done I can release a Beta for testing. Hopefully in 4 weeks if all goes well. Otherwise folks will just have to be patient...this task is huge. I already have close to 400 different tech components/weapons built. I am not leaving out any B5W tech that I can find. Some of them I have to modify since SEV does not allow for EVERY B5W game rule...but I am getting the techs pretty darn close. I am happy with it so far...and can't wait to play it.

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Update: The Streib and Torata are now complete.

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Update: The Torvalus are now done.

I set up the races using the racial traits text files and then I limited the components to each race in the components text file. When I get the beta out you will be able to see how I did it.

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Update: The Triad are now done (took 3 days to program). These are by far the most powerful race in B5W. They should be interesting to fight against...even other ancient races will have their hands full.

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Yep, a racial trait for each race. I also have many other racial traits that I am calling "enhancements" that will allow a player to pick things like Interstellar Alliance package, which would give access to some minor Vorlon and Minbari hybrid technology...necessary for building a White Star. I have one for the Shadow hybrids...so a person could make a Shadow Omega cruiser. I have a couple pirate add-ons...to enhance the Raiders trait, or add weapons to a different race. And much more. I have the Vorlons, Vree, Walkers, and Yolu to complete then I can work on the various other game text files...such as unique discoveries, etc. I am going to change the unique discoveries to Lorien gifts, Ancient artifacts, and younger race technology plundered after battle, etc.

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Technomages would be cool...maybe as an enhancement somehow. The B5W rules never did a Technomage rules set so this would be something that was all new to the B5W series. I am staying as true to B5W as possible using SEV limitations.

I read the posts of ship layouts, etc. Component limitations are being done using component counts. When I get to ship files I will use percentages for things like cargo/engines. Ship designs will be left to player imaginations to maintain SEV fun...e.g. I am not making special ship templates for each race to ensure that a Sharlin war cruiser only has X items. All races have a tech tree to build upon so EarthForce will not start out with Heavy Lasers...they must build up to them, etc. So an early years EarthForce cruiser will have early years EarthForce equipment...perhaps Light Laser Cannons, Light Railgun, and early basic sensors. This gives the Ancients an advantage since their early equipment is MUCH better than a younger races equipment. This advantage is removed slowly as the younger races advance in technology. But the Ancients will still always have the technological edge...that is what makes them ancient. They are also WAY expensive to play/purchase the racial trait so if you do not want ancients in the game simply set the starting racial points to low.

I envision rules for games with ancients being played with house rules/other game variations done something like this: Only X amount of players can choose to play an ancient race (we'll say two for this example). The remaining X players must play a young or new race (we will say 8 players for this example...so 10 players total). When a young/new race makes contact with an ancient they are now on that ancient's team until the end of the game/that ancient is defeated. Each ancient can only have X amount of young races to "manipulate" (in this example split 8 by 2, thus the first four players to make contact with each ancient is on that ancient's team). The game is played until all opposing races are defeated or the ancient is defeated. If all ancients are eliminated then play to last team standing.

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In the example above, if you REALLY want to make it fun have the Ancients be played by SEV power players. And have the younger races played by moderate/newbs. Thus an ancient is also equipped with ancient "knowledge" that they can pass down to their "puppet races" to ensure their version of the galactic philosophy is enacted (they win). Now the game serves to not only build fun but also to train more expert SEV players. Which benefits the entire community because the games get better players.

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I have not made a custome galaxy setting but I have changed the system names to correspond with all the known systems in the B5W universe from the map found in the B5W rules compendium.

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Thanks. I will check into it.

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Me too. But you must be patient a few weeks longer. I still have the component files for the Vorlons, Vree, Walkers, and Yolu to finish programming. Then I have to change some other game files to work like I want them to work. Then I will release the Beta for debugging.

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I just counted the system names and I am happy to report there are 267 names.

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Update: The Vorlons are now done.

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Update: The Vree are now done.

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Update: The Walkers are now done. All I can say about them is WOW, just WOW. These ancients are incredibly powerful.

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The Walkers are MUCH more powerful than the Vorlons and Shadows. As far as Babylon 5 lore goes the most powerful ancient is Lorien (not used as a race...but I will use him for ancient tech discoveries on planets...gifts from Lorien), followed by the Triad, then Walkers (although they and the Triad would probably tie in powerful tech), then the Shadows, then Vorlons, then Kirishiac, then the Torvalus. The Walkers could move entire stellar bodies via their extra-dimensional jump drives...this is how they won their war versus the Kirishiac. They moved the Kirishiac moon from orbit, which caused there planet to lose its axis, then the Walkers returned the moon in a different orbit to balance the planet. The resulting tidel waves and other gravitic disturbances caused the Kirishiac to surrender immediately...they now knew the Walkers had only been playing with them up until that point.

All the ancients in this mod are FAR more powerful than the younger races. Do not look for balance in weaponry/tech. Any balance obtained will be from resources needed to build/support a fleet. Of course in a game using 5000 racial points someone playing a younger race could purchase many other advantages that an ancient player could not due to the cost of racial traits. I have not tested the walkers versus a younger race yet but I suspect it will take 20, or more, younger race cruisers to defeat a single Walker cruiser.

I do not plan on doing a 3rd space species at this time because the B5W rules never did them. I want to keep the mod true to B5W rules.

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