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True-to-Life Ships
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Cheap-ass MOD by Matt_el_g, A.K.A. Matt Lever

E-mail: mattelgreato@hotmail.com

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Acknowledgements:
ME, all ME, thought the idea for the tractor beams I saw from MrPsycho on a comment somewhere.

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Introduction/Brief Description:

This is V1.2 of my Authentic Ships mod. There are a few minor tweaks to one or two of the ships, but the main part of this upgrade is to add tractor beams and self destruct to nearly every ship of every race (bar Species 8472). Adds that extra touch of realism.

This 'update', as there is no real complicated coding involved (its all in the balance of things) CAN run without the full V1.0 mod or its V1.1 upgrade, Rescaled Ships & Stationsv1.0. However, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you install these first, as only a few of ship ODFs are modded here, and it really doesn't have the same play effect. Besides, it would be hugely unbalanced as you would have most of the modded ships, but none of the modded starbases or gun turrets, so attacking an enemy base would be that much easier. Also, 8of5s assimilatable cloak isn't here, so unless you have it seperately that will be another piece of realism lost.

Finally, I very kindly put it in .zip format; I've noticed that a lot of you pro modders out there are using .rar archiving, and that can pee people off who only have Winzip. I had to download Winrar on a 56k connection, dammit. So this file can be opened using any archiver.

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Installation Instructions:

OK, first off you'll want to backup all the files under
(Your drive letter, e.g. C):Program FilesActivisionStar Trek Armada IIodf
in the subdirectory 'Ships', coz these'll mostly get replaced, and if you had a wonky download, then you might be looking at a reinstall without the backups.

OK, once you've stowed them away safely, unzip this mod into a seperate directory, and copy all the files in the unzipped folder into the relevant folders. The files inside the zip are laid out in the right pathways, so you should be able to figure it out. If it asks to overwrite some files, don't worry, just make sure you've made back-ups and click 'yes'. If you still have probs, e-mail me at the address at the top of this read-me. If you've installed mods successfully before, you should have no problem with this, it doesn't require any mod packer or anything like that. Just some common sense.

Of course, I have checked the entire .zip for viruses before sending it off with a fully updated (as of 18/08/2002) version of Norton Antivirus 2002, so if you do find a virus in there, please don't look at me.


To use the mod:

Once you've copied and overwritten the relevant files successfully, the mod will just work... simple. Start up your game, and the ships will be updated when you enter a Quick Battle or Single Player game (still haven't tested Multiplayer yet).


Testbed:

This mod was made and successfully tested on the following system spec:

Clean Install Armada 2 V1.1
1Ghz AMD Athlon Thunderbird Processor
768MB PC100 SDRAM
64MB Geforce 2 MX400 graphics card
Soundblaser Audigy Soundcard
24GB 5400RPM Quantum Fireball Hard Drive
28X CD-Rom
Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer
Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro
(Told you I'd be thoughourgh ;))

It worked fine with no real slowdown at 1024x768 32bit resolution, though I haven't arranged the new functions of the ships in the way I would have liked... nothing major, really, just makes things more tidy. Perhaps I'll do that in another update.

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Disclaimer:

He he, I know its not necessary, but it makes this read-me look good ;)

If this mod completely screws up your system, or contains a virus, its not my fault and I take absolutely no responsibility for it. You download at your own risk. I have tested all the files inside for viruses and stability and found them to be fine, if you don't blame a faulty download or something, not me.


THIS MOD IS NOT MADE, DISTRIBUTED, OR SUPPORTED BY Activision
TM & (C) INTERPLAY & PARAMOUNT PICTURES.

Copyright notices:

Star Trek, Armada 2, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next eneration, Star Trek: Voyager (and the various logo devices used in them) are copyright Paramount Pictures, as are the characters, related images, and sound from the productions.

This mod took me hours to make, not the coding, but the balancing of it. You can modify it for your own use by all means, but if you make a change to it that you intend to put up for download or just share with mates, I would like you to ask me first, and maybe show me what you've done so I can learn something...

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Ship Backgrounds/New Stats:

Thanks to MrPsycho for inadvertantly giving me the new ideas, as I'd nearly run out of ideas. This mod installs a tractor beam and self-destruct on nearly every ship with warp capability. As on TV they all had the ability to do such things, it seemed right to add them on a mod designed for realism.

There a one or two minor, almost un-noticable tweaks to one or two of the ships, such as slightly increased or decreased specs, and longer build times or shorter build times on some. I'll give you money if you can figure out which ones in-game, though. But you will notice a slight difference.

While I'm planning a new weapon mod now, I'll still be upgrading my first baby from time to time, so if you are one of the god-knows how many who surprisingly downloaded both the original file and the new patch and LIKED them, you should be kept happy. Remember the comments section on the armada2files.com file info page; if you'd like to see a change, stick it down there; i regularly check back to see if anyone's left a message. Or, more convieniently for me, you could e-mail me at the address at the top of the read-me. If I agree with your suggestion, I'll implement it. If not, I'll try and make a compromise and use that. Either way, I'm always looking for ways to improve it.


Tractor Beam:
A focused linear graviton force beam used to physically manipulate objects accross short distances. Tractor beams are used by Federation starships and assorted other vessels as a means of towing objects. Tractor beams are also used to provide short-range guidance for approaching or departing shuttle-craft.

Self-Destruct Sequence (A.K.A. Autodestruct):
A procedure used on starships as a last resort to prevent the ship falling into enemy hands if it looks to be a no-win scenario. The self-destruct sequence is initiated by the most senior officers, and requires them to use their security access codes and, sometimes, a dermal handprint identification or a retinal scan. A self-destruct sequence is usually set on a timer, allowing the crew time to reach the lifepods. Once the self-destruct sequence completes, the magnetic fields maintaining the stability of the anti-matter storage tanks are released, allowing the anto-matter to react with everything, causing a huge explosion (a deliberate warp-core breach, if you will). On some battle-ships or science ships (the USS Defiant, NX-74205 is one example) photon warheads line the outer-hull (protected, obviously) and around the warp-core, detonating as the core breaches, to amplify the explosion and ensure the destruction of any sensitive materials.