Tiberian Sun: Callisto
Tiberian Sun: Callisto (TSC)
“The world’s greatest asset is now the world’s greatest threat”
TS: Callisto has reached PPM!. Some may have allready seen the thread on TibWeb, but I thought I'd post it up here too, as I thought I might as well. I'm going to try and keep the two threads updated together as much as possible.
I am hoping that this mod will one day rise up among the other respected and popular mods. But only you guys can make that happen. Read the text, look at the screenies, and make your own minds up
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This mod is based in the tiberium universe, aside from that I cannot say more. Originally it was planned as a conclusion to the tiberium storyline, but Tiberium Wars messed that plan up. So now it has become a possible between three options: If Tiberium Wars is terrible, it will continue the story how I feel it should have really gone. If Tiberium Wars is brilliant, it will become a sequel on that. Saying this, the mod will have more of a TS feel that TW, as I want it to be more of an add-on, rather than a whole new game. Hence the reason the menu is so similar yet different to FS’s – it has elements of TS/FS, but is enhanced. Note that you will not need FS to play this mod when it’s done. If all else fails, the mod will become something not unlike the Tiberian Sun 3.0 mod – a “patch” to improve the existing stuff, as a “better version of what you already have” type thing.
A hard decision I have had to make regarding the mod is the use of the “Extended Tiberian Sun Engine” or ETS by C&CVK. I have decided overall that NOT using ETS is the best option for TS: Callisto, as firstly, I am not sure how stable/bug-free it is yet, and also simply because it was not made by me or a team member. The second reason may sound selfish, and you are forgiven for thinking so, but honestly, I feel that me and the TSC team should be the only input into the mod where possible, as it makes the mod far more unique. I know several ideas are not strictly unique, but there you go.
There is no current estimated completion date for the mod, and as many have said before me, “it will be done when it’s done”. I will however notify the world when it’s nearing completion, as I will need some beta testers to…well…perform beta tests.
Main features:
Some of these things will seem familiar to anyone who has played any decent mod, but that doesn’t mean they are any less important.
> New gameplay strategies
> New units, structures, terrain and graphics
> Improvements to the older units/graphics
> Minor tweaks to improve balancing and realism
> More civilian/mutant things
> Units are more “side-specific” in colour scheme.
> More varied voxel debris from all structures and units
> Tweaked reload times and weapon bursts
> Revised technology tree
> Certain “beta” TS features will be enabled
> Improved AI, though how much improved I’m not sure yet.
> New music tracks (mainly from TD) and sound effects.
> Custom Game.exe and Language.dll files
> A “new” form of tiberium, coloured orange that has its own, unique mutations.
> Particle systems – TS: Retro claims to use the “most voxel debris” in any mod, and TS: Callisto will feature what I hope to be the most impressive particle effects seen yet.
> “AlphaLighting” – A criminally underused feature in TS, this will be used much more.
Obviously that is not all that is new, but carrying on the list would take some time…
The claims made on the back of the TS box are also something I want to make the mod live up to:
"Fight on Dynamic Battlefields
Nature itself provides tactical opportunities - destroyable and deformable terrain, forest fires, treacherous ice fields and many more surprises that help or hinder your strategies."
The environment will hopefully be more of an enemy in TS:C – Tiberium mutations will damage infantry significantly more, and the mutant creatures will be more abundant and threatening, not to mention any new ones that will appear….
"Exciting New Strategies and Units
Jump Jet Infantry, Hover Tanks, Tunnelling APC's, Hunter Seekers, Laser Fences, Mechanized Battle Units, Firestorm Defence and many more."
Well yeah, speaks for itself really. I also want to try and bring back elements from Tiberian Dawn, like some of the ideas, units and gameplay elements. This will give the mod (again) a refreshed gameplay experience that doesn’t differ too much from its original roots.
The sides will be defined by their units - GDI forces will be concentrated around slow, powerful units, and a superior air power, while Nod forces will be sleek, stealthy, speedy units, with the advantage of subterranean units (which are underused I feel in TS with only two subterranean units). Colourscheme will also be important, meaning that even if the two sides have things that have the same function, they dont have to look the same (Like the engineer).
"The "Veterancy" Factor
Units can become faster and stronger as they gain combat experience."
I hardly noticed this when I played standard TS. Veteran units will gain more significant upgrades as they are used more. Also, GDI's verterans from drop-pods will be superior to most other infantry - Heavy infantry/Disk throweres here we come...
"Dynamic Colored Lighting
The mood and attitude of the battlefield comes alive like never before - covert night missions, searchlights and new defenses intensify the thrill and excitement."
This is more up to mapping on the lighting side of things, though pretty alpha lighting effects will be used here and there. I can’t believe that only one alpha light was used in TS – I feel that this feature has a lot of potential if used correctly.
"New Kinetic Battlefields
Flying shrapnel, shock waves and crashing debris are just a few of the exciting new technologies developed to enhance the in-game experience."
Particle effects, more voxel debris, more explosion anims…well obviously.
Mod team:
The current team stands at:
Creagor (Me) – Leader, anything that the other members didn’t do.
Derox - Mapper
Derox is still happy to be continuing with the mod, and has been a very handy person to talk to in general, so thank you.
Recently (since my exam revision) the mod has died internally, but I have re-started the project. Even if they both wish to continue participating, new team members are welcome. For further details on becoming a member of the TSC team, either PM or E-mail me.
EL_Serpinte has before now contributed some voxels, which may or may not be used, I'm still getting everything sorted out.
The mod is inspired by the great mods of nowadays, released (TS: Retro and Deezire) in particular) and unreleased (TS: Oddysey/Recoil), and I thank the creators of those mods for simply inspiring me.
Screenshots
The fun part. Each image has its own description. This section will be updated as newer versions of things/more things to show off come about. I hopefully will have more to show over the next few days too. Remember that none of this is necessarily final work (some of it isn’t even coded yet) - I am open to suggestions on how to improve any of the things that can be seen below.
Some city cliff designs, and some broken monorail lines. Note that the cliff has been edited slightly since this image (see the image below, the newer version is in that). The GDI and Nod logos can go on either prespective. The coloured Nod logo is proving difficult as the temperat.pal doesent support many reds...
A photoshop mock-up of the city cliffs. Had to be done in photoshop, as I have not yet coded the corner bit. If you look closely, you can just about see the join - I need to fix that....
The TSC title screen - the same, but different at the same time.
One of the things that I have done recently, in line with my text experiments. I'm not sure if this has ever been done in a mod before. This isn’t the final version of the text - some things are a little buggy, and I also want to experiment with different fonts, to see what looks best. But its a start. If anyone is interested in exactly how this was done, please PM me. Map by Derox
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A quick ingame screenie of some of the tiberium. As you can see the new orange stuff is...orange. Notice also the cracked ground terrain, the two crashed things and the lack of mapping skills on my part. Also, don’t worry about the blue outline around some of the flora/faunas - that’s photoshops damn anti-aliasing getting in the way of things.
Some random particle effects. Its hard to capture them on screenshots, so they obviously look better ingame - the lightning ones in particular.
A random image of a new tall light post (why not?!), based off beta screenshots. Ill try and get better ingames soon.
Progress updates:
Progress updates can be found at the main forum for this mod on TibWeb - HERE
And there it is! Post your comments, ask questions, whatever!
