Hale
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Posts posted by Hale
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I'm starting the game up again after having my save corrupted a few months ago, so look forward to some new iterations of the Cyclops II, compatible with the new thrusters! ;D
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This is already included. Just hold Left Alt and pick your "center"
Oh cool, thank you! Suggestion withdrawn.
... although, this useful functionality is not documented anywhere.
It's in the tutorial.
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I think this is good, but I think that there should be a base salary, that's based upon ship size/ship cost. The cost of salary for crew members can be added on.
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Spotlight blocks would be neat. Useful, too, for when you're flying around in dark areas and want to see salvaging wrecks. Almost like headlights for your ship.
OH. EDIT. There NEEDS to be a drop down list of every block currently on your ship, categorized by type. A menu of sorts with sub folders inside that you could navigate through to see all the blocks. You could select a block like that and maybe change it to a different materiel or type easily. Also just a list of how many blocks of different types you have. I actually don't know how many generators are in my ship anymore. x.x
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I agree wholeheartedly with all of these, especially the fighter one. I actually have a fighter-esque ship I made, properly scaled and all. It's great for automated mining and can actually have a tiny amount of shielding for extra survivability.
Here it is: http://filebin.ca/3AlaxU5IGOGv/Betsy2.xml
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In my playthough I originally made one of my ships for storage, and I named it storage. But then I discovered that even though it didn't have any engines or any sort of tech, it needed tons of crew members! I think it would be nice if you could designate what kind of thing you want to build from the drone founding menu. So when you go to create a new ship there would be two buttons, one for "ship", and one for some other name that would mean that you're creating something that isn't going anywhere and doesn't have any engines or weapons, so it needed less upkeep, and therefore less crew members, and therefore you need less money to keep it! I'm not incredibly keen on needing to have a huge ship just to be able to tote around all the stolen things I've gotten over time, so I'd like to be able to create a storage hub of sorts, that would just sit around and do nothing except store things.
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So the upgrades we have now are great and all, and are very useful, but I keep thinking about what the capacity for more -physical- versions of those upgrades would be. Or perhaps even the capacity to make the standard ship functions we take for granted not come immediately. What I mean is this: You build your first ship, like you normally would, but instead of it having scanner and radar and all this tech, all you can do is fly it around, see the HP and such. In order to detect allies or enemies or asteroids and what they have in them, you would need to build a radar antenna. You'd have specific parts you needed, such as the scanner core and then the actual antenna itself, and you could add booster pieces to up the range, as well as being able to add your standard upgrade computer chips, that would then take effect and add upon the stats your physical scanner has.
I've taken a screenshot of a mockup I've made.
The blue could be the scanner core, the very base block. The pink-ish block, the next one up, could be a booster core, that increases the range. The yellow section above the light blocks could be the antenna base or some sort of sector core, though you might just integrate it with the orange piece above it, which is the antenna. Without a scanner core you wouldn't be able to scan at all, without a booster core you wouldn't be able to scan for things of interest in other sectors, without the sector core you wouldn't be able to scan for anything within your own sector, and without the antenna you wouldn't be able to do anything at all. The upgrades you put in the ship gui could be made for the programming of the antenna.
Just a neat idea, I think. It would greatly increase the immersion of the game.
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Accidental quote.
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Imagine how cool that would make the UNSC ships people are making. MAC cannons. Yessssss. I think that those weapons could turn out really unique. Instead of it being one single piece that you just plunk down, you would have to build them. For instance:
The first block you put down is a loading/firing mechanism. But that just sends the round down the barrel, which you need to build yourself. So you put down the base mechanism and try it out. You fire it, it uses up a small amount of whichever material you set it to use, or perhaps special crafted rounds, and... The shell kinda just goes floating off at 5 m/s. There's no power for it. So you build a barrel. Super long, just fits around the 3/3/5 shell that emerges from the mechanism. Fire. Nothing. See, a gun that big would be practically impossible to fire using gunpowder. Really the only practical way to fire one would be magnets, or electricity, or something like that. If you're using a simple material, likely magnets.
So you take the barrel down and build it back up, but with a series of four round accelerator plates built in. Not very big ones. Fire!
Well this time it goes 100 m/s. That's better. You test it out on something and it doesn't do much damage, maybe 50 or so, and it goes flying off somewhere else. So you take the barrel down again and this time you build it back up with a -lot- of accelerator plates. This time it goes 800 m/s, and destroys the little bandit ship you fired it at. The only problem is that you don't have enough power to effectively use it. The instant you click it starts to charge up, with the charge time taking longer the more accelerator plates you use. After it fires the massive amount of power it charged up to has to cool down, and for that entire time your little dinky ship was running on fumes. It also takes more power total the more plates you use. This means that you aren't just going to be running out and making yourself a massive cannon the instant you start the game, it will take time. You'll need a big generator to take the power load you put through it if you want a big gun. Essentially if you want to have a big spinal cannon you need to plan your ship accordingly. Make sure you have the space for a big generator, make sure you have a spot to put the barrel, however long and however big you want for it to be. The longer it is in terms of the width/length ratio, the more accurate it will be. So if you want a round that's only 1x1x3 flying out, it wouldn't have to be as long because the opening is smaller.
There would be other requirements, too. You'd need to make sure you had enough materials to fire it, which wouldn't really be all too much. 10-1000 of one type, depending on the shell size, and the density you want. The higher the density, the higher the damage, at the expense of shell speed. If you want to be firing an incredibly dense round, you'd need a lot more power accordingly, because you'd need a lot more plates for it to be effective. This means that typically the bigger the ship, the better the cannon. You could be firing a shell 6x6x10 and literally just smash little ships to pieces with it.
As you might be able to tell I like the idea. There are a lot of cool facets about it and it might only be useful in pve combat, where the player-to-target lag isn't a big deal, and the shell will be more guaranteed to hit.
Just imagine the capacity the game would have for ambush combat if shields were reworked to include the need to turn them on, the need for them to charge up after you turn them on, actually having to scan your surroundings in areas closer to the core due to there being higher densities of ships that had spinal mount cannons... Coming into sectors that didn't like you would be really scary! You'd have to have your shield on at all times which would drain your power, or leave as soon as possible, or try and kill everything before they kill you.
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1. It's not only legendary variants that highlight items, I believe, and when object detectors say they'll highlight objects they always do, for me. The statement on whether they will or not is located in the item description. There aren't always things to find in every hidden mass sector or every energy signature sector. Sometimes the hidden mass sectors are just asteroid fields with no hidden objects or claimable asteroids.
2. Also yes, that would be nice. There would need to be a size filter, though, so that little tiny pieces don't get highlighted, just the big stuff.
3. You can sorta do that now by making notes on sectors and when you need to come back to sectors you look for the note icon in the bottom right hand corner of the sector square. What you're suggesting would be nice, and if you refer to this thread you'll see that map features are a much-wanted thing, and koonschi likes those sorts of ideas. Devs will probably do something about it soon. :)
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After reading all of this I do agree with morbo somewhat. Shields are very easy to use to the point that all you really -need- to do is -build- one and you've got a lot better chance of surviving. Having more facets to shields would make the game more exciting, but my only question is how they would be implemented into NPC play while still being dynamic and exciting.
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Well, since you asked, here it is.
Cyclops IIH (H is for Hale!)
Images
As you can see, it's pretty prickly with all the guns it has on it! My next few changes are going to be cosmetic ones, likely smoothing out edges around the engines and such. The main improvements with this one are two new gun emplacement for .5 cannons. One low on the front and the one on the far right. I've also changed the engines back to titanium because I like the thrust effect color more. It's only a sacrifice of .7 m/s/s for all engines combined, I believe.
Download: http://filebin.ca/3C7jjtX77GeH/CyclopsII33.xml
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Very nice, Ertil! I like the lengthening of the 1/4's, it looks nice. I might do that myself, in a later update. However, for now my personal ship (which is the ship I've done every extensive modification to up until this point, from the prototype stage to current) has gotten many more weapons emplacements, and in total I can effectively and neatly hold about 16-ish weapons, including about five .5 sized weapons. If it's sitting still and you fire them all at once, the ship sloooowly accelerates backwards. cx
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That would make everything perfect in the world. @-@
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There's also the typo for distress beacons. Instead of "Unknown" it's "Unkown"
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There could be a few new settings for the map that I think could be useful.
1: Map toggling, between several different versions. There could be the standard navigation version, like there is now, but there could also be a different version devoted entirely to faction workings. Reputations, enemies... This separate map wouldn't have warpgate paths or civilization sector markings, but instead would give you the option to hover your mouse over the discovered faction territory areas, highlighting it, displaying who owns the area, who they hate and who they like, as well as how strong they are. At least for how much you've discovered so far. The map as it is now is very good, but a map in a game like this has the capability to be a very powerful tool for making your way up the food chain.
2: Note toggling. So there would be several different kinds of maps you could switch between, and what the "note toggling" allows for is to have a sort-of overlay for each map that you could switch on or off. The overlay, when on, would allow for drawing on the map, creating text, and in-general note-taking. It would be useful for writing down trade routes, plans for the future, so on and so forth.
3: Additional customization. This would allow for you to create your own coordinate points, like the game generates for you. For instance if you wanted to make the location where you set up a station to stand out more, rather than just being the standard purple/blue point, you could change the color and perhaps the size of it, allowing for you to see it more clearly when zoomed out on the map. You could also create your own lines between points, sort-of like how the warpgate paths look now.
Edit: On another note, I think it would make sense that if you find a faction's HQ, you can dock with it and there would be an option to get all of the faction's locations. Not to put them on your map, but to upload them to the missions tab as a coordinate list, along with all of the names. You would still have to go to them for them to show up on your map, but at least you now know where they all are.
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Thanks for the comments all. I might do a second lore post about the Cyclops I at some point, though it won't be anywhere near as long, due to the Cyclops I not having as many variants.
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Part Two... The ADVANCED SHIPS.
Cyclops IIC:
Cystern's beginning to the end. An amazing ship plagued by lack of production, and a failed marketing plan.
Hull 2555 hp
Shield 0 hp
Blocks 750
Mass 10162 tons
Thrust 40.7 m/s/s
Brake thrust 7.7 m/s/s
Max Velocity 508 m/s
Yaw 0.15 rad/s
Pitch 0.23 rad/s
Roll 0.48 rad/s
Hyperspace Cooldown 33.5 s
Hyperspace Reach 2.5 sectors
Radar Reach 14 sectors
System Upgrade Slots 4
Cargo Hold 202.1
Crew Quarters 45
Fighters 0 -
Generated Energy 3.11 GW
Req. Energy 0.68 GW
Storable Energy 24.57 GJ
Required Engineers 3
Required Mechanics 5
The Cyclops IIC is where most of the technological innovations begin to take place. After the IIB's production run finishes up, humans have begun to sound out for contact, and right about the time where the IIC started the be produced, with all of its improvements--humanity's call was answered.
The first few models were created without any sort of combat improvements, as merely a further improved IIB--and by extension a further improved IIA--but Cystern saw the signals as something that needed preparing for. Not many changes were made for the C originally, but within a month or two the model was rolling off of the production line in a completely different way. The first ten thousand were the basic, barely-upgraded IIB's. And through the IIC's more limited 500,000-ish production run over another thirty years, most, if not all, would see the vast depths of space.
An extended, long-range warpdrive was added. That bumped it up to the standard three sectors we know today, and is visible through the extended engine bay, to the rear. The C also got rid of the very top middle Hadron 1/4, making that area just a flat slope.
Additional thrusters were added underneath the left (if driving the ship) extension bay, allowing for further lift, stopping power, and side-to-side adjustment. The frontal vent was improved, the grating made finer and more polished. The Hadron engines got sleeker, more polished-looking shrouds.
There were a total of nine weapon emplacements of different design placed on the frontal portion of the ship, designed to protect the bases of the weaponry, or the mining lasers, or whatever you might use. The old mining laser mounting positions were also reinforced with a frontal cover as well, and they are included as part of that nine.
Note how much longer the IIC got. All of that extra length was due to the extended warp drive and the engine shrouds.
But perhaps the most important change of all...
The IIC was upgraded to titanium, through-and-through. The IIC did lose a Hadron 1/4, but it lost over a thousand tons of mass, so the tradeoff is trivial. With the extra auxiliary thrusters added in, the IIC is the first Cyclops II series ship that actually felt -tossable-. Not only did the IIC get changed to titanium, but much of the exterior plating was changed to armor, rather than just hull plating.
Also upgraded was the IIC's energy production and capacity, giving it the ability to use upgrades mostly as it pleased, with little worry about being able to handle the power needed. It also got an integrity field, however it was slightly weak.
What was possibly the most striking about potential buyers of the IIC was its price. At a rate certainly not sustainable for Cystern the IIC was sold, for the first ten years of its production, at a modern equivalent of 15,000 credits. Yes, you heard it, 15,000 credits. For a ship of this quality, this pedigree and this capability, you would be stupid not to buy one. Orders were piled up so high they began to float out of earth's gravity well, and Cystern vastly overestimated its production limits. The company had already begun to slip after the original founder's son died due to unexpected complications, not having an heir, Cystern running leaderless for a month while they sorted things out. When they came back everything was jumbled, and they scrambled to get the orders back out in time for the initial wave out into deep space. But a storm was brewing on the horizon for Cystern, and a rival company had sprung up, catching a following. Markolocek. In the short amount of time Cystern was out, Markolocek began their simple line of spaceships, the Javis series, beginning at 20,000. Even though it was slightly more expensive than the IIC and slightly less effective, Markolocek was a fledgling company, giving them a reason for the quality difference. They got their product out and to the public at an acceptable rate, giving them a head start against Cystern. Luckily Cystern did get a few IIC advanced models out before the problems began, allowing for the IIC to be the first to make contact.
Needless to say, the IIC was the right ship to be in when humanity first met extraterrestrial life, if you got one.
If one would have to pick the most important Cyclops series ship, the IIA and IIC would be neck-and-neck. Because they both have merits. The IIA was the first. The basic ship. But it is still around today, and arguably in the largest numbers. That speaks volumes about Cystern's craftsmanship, though it's not to downplay the IIC's merits in the slightest, because the IIC was more intricate and was produced in about 1/4 the numbers the IIA was. There was more to break and less ships to provide replacement parts. The IIC did make the first human-alien contact. The Cosmos broke the ice with the Ziembijuo some three hundred years ago, and ever since then it has been smooth(ish) sailing. Both ships have done humanity immeasurable services.
Cyclops IID:
The warship of middle-class people. The IID is one of the rarest Cyclops series ships available, after the IIE.
Hull 3984 hp
Shield 16364 hp
Blocks 798
Mass 8900 tons
Thrust 51.3 m/s/s
Brake thrust 13.2 m/s/s
Max Velocity 554 m/s
Yaw 0.39 rad/s
Pitch 0.47 rad/s
Roll 1.07 rad/s
Hyperspace Cooldown 32.3 s
Hyperspace Reach 2.5 sectors
Radar Reach 14 sectors
System Upgrade Slots 4
Cargo Hold 202.1
Crew Quarters 58
Fighters 0 - 0
Generated Energy 6.97 GW
Req. Energy 2.7 GW
Storable Energy 24.57 GJ
Required Engineers 7
Required Mechanics 7
Also known as "The Behemoth" by those who drove it, for very little reason.
The first thing most people notice about the IID in relation to the IIC is the size change. It's quite obvious, the ship looks very tall compared to all of its predecessors, and that is for a very simple reason.
The IID was upgraded to trinium, and therefore was a little heavier than the IIC. Cystern decided it needed two more Hadron engines, and added those on underneath, giving it its height. Not only did it increase the Cyclops's height, it allowed for more space for internal improvements. More storage space, more crew quarters. Not only did it get more of both of those things, Cystern spent quite a while studying the internal layout of the newly resized Cyclops, and with the IID came more used space.
They added generators, an increased integrity field... They had fixed the problems with the Hadron engines leaking heat and used the buffer plate for the warp drive, giving the warp drive's old spot to something new. A shield generator. Not only was this new Cyclops even more mobile than the old one, it used its internal space more efficiently and had a shield generator to boot.
Note the IID's vastly increased height. Not a difficulty for experienced captains, but for newer ones it was a little to get used to.
The IID was what the IIC had always wanted to be. A peaceful ship when wanted, but a warship when needed. By this point Cystern was waning in their hold of the spaceship market and had long been neck and neck with a rival company, Marcolocek, who produced ships in multiple size ranges. The Marcolocek ships weren't as long-lasting as the Cystern ships, but Cystern made their ships well... And they had begun to dwindle in employee numbers after the profit bomb the IIC was, without the planned lifetime follower benefit the company's previous owner had held for the IIC.. Their products got more expensive with time and complexity, and the IID's price was bumped up to about 500,000 in modern credits to make up for the deficit in earnings they had managed to pass off with the IIC. It didn't work.
The IID only sold about 100,000 after twenty years, a record low for Cystern. The company was dying, its spirit waning, and even though it did make a profit off the few ships it sold the profit margin wasn't enough to make up for the losses after the IIC's attempt at a market steal.
The IID was a massively capable ship, the best on the market. And it was even priced competitively with the models of new companies, arguably with benefits over all of them. But the public's trust was broken, even though the reason for Cystern's product failure was widely known and widely broadcast, and from that incident they would never recover.
The Cyclops IID was the last Cystern ship that would ever sell above 100,000.
Cyclops IIE:
Cystern's last gasp. Not many technical improvements over the IID, but improved visibility, usability, and extra flashiness make this ship a legend among explorers beside the IIA, and is the second rarest, after the IIA.
Hull 4005 hp
Shield 16364 hp
Blocks 1407
Mass 9079 tons
Thrust 50.8 m/s/s
Brake thrust 14.1 m/s/s
Max Velocity 554 m/s
Yaw 0.58 rad/s
Pitch 0.75 rad/s
Roll 1.51 rad/s
Hyperspace Cooldown 32.5 s
Hyperspace Reach 2.5 sectors
Radar Reach 14 sctrs
System Upgrade Slots 4
Cargo Hold 202.1
Crew Quarters 58
Fighters 0 - 0
Generated Energy 6.88 GW
Req. Energy 2.73 GW
Storable Energy 24.57 GJ
Required Engineers 7
Required Mechanics 8
But the story is not all sad. Not by any means. Cystern was still a happy company even though they were going out, and they knew they were. They were a family company through-and-through, and had by then gone through several generations of the same families working together. The Cyclops IIE was Cystern's "out with a bang" ship. It was souped up, ready to go, and knew it was a mean machine.
150 years after the beginning of the life of the Cyclops II series, the E began rolling off the line, and after a measly 10 years, it had only sold 20,000. Priced at 5,000,000 in today's equivalent credits, 250 years later, it's clear Cystern was at least trying to make up for lost credits at the last moment. And it paid off.
It got even taller, with an additional large thruster placed on the bottom of the ship, the plating curving over it and covering it up. All of the weapons emplacements got resized, fitting around the older turrets more snugly and providing new places for larger, more advanced weaponry. Its generators were merged as they could be, increasing power output, and the shield generator was repositioned again, nearly doubling in strength.
It was still made out of trinium, the new materials being too expensive to buy for such a limited-run, complex ship. But that wasn't a problem. The amount of firepower the E can hold is mind-boggling, the shield giving you a total of 13,000 points of blocking... Nothing is getting through that. If you do manage to get your hands on a IIE, somehow, hold onto it. It will take care of you, if you take care of it. That much is certain.
Two rear shots, displaying the new rear lookout.
A front shot. Notice how all of the previous lookout areas have been improved, the windows made larger and opaque, rather than one-way.
Three more shots, displaying the lower frontal viewport, the upper frontal viewport, and the crew tower looking in, respectively.
A close-up of the side, a closer look at the entrance door and a .5 size turret emplacement.
A low frontal shot, showing the even further increased height of the Cyclops IIE.
The Cyclops IIE, shielded.
The Cyclops IIE was the last bastion for Cystern, and after the IIE the company... More-or-less fizzled out, with no excitement. Cystern, once small, then big, then small again, was dead. But the Cyclops isn't.
Here are some assorted ship lineup photos, for some more comparisons between models.
Thanks for reading through all of this, if you did. I hope you liked it, I sure liked making it. I've always imagined these big stories to vehicles and things and I'm a car enthusiast for the same reason. Every car has a story. It's always worth knowing, worth sharing and keeping alive, and the same goes for ships.
Even if they're just fake stories.
Anyway, if you'd like to use one of these for a ship to use in general I'd really recommend the IIE. It's got a lot of capable space inside, and come to think of it, I've used a LOT of space in these ships for crew quarters, when I didn't really need to. That's a lot of potential cargo space, or generator space, or battery storage space. Go ahead and snatch one up and fiddle with it a bit in creative, then use what you make in a normal galaxy!
If you've got any questions, feel free to ask!
Downloads:
Cyclops IIA: http://filebin.ca/3BF0zXkoWPFK/ship0.xml
Cyclops IIB: http://filebin.ca/3BF1EWun209B/ship1.xml
Cyclops IIC: http://filebin.ca/3BF1RxHw1lur/ship2.xml
Cyclops IID: http://filebin.ca/3BF1dC9uuOqY/ship3.xml
Cyclops IIE: http://filebin.ca/3BF1mYstyX9u/ship4.xml
Enjoy!
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(PSA: YOU CAN RIGHT CLICK ON THE IMAGES AND OPEN THEM IN A NEW TAB IF IT'S INCONVENIENT TO SCROLL BACK AND FORTH ALL THE TIME)
Edit: Spoilers, for better ease of reading and navigation. It's the fuuuuuuuture!
(Skip to the next if you only want the downloads, the download links should be there.)
The Cyclops II is a ship of a time long past, whose shape, while not beautiful, has matured to the point that the respect it once got is gone. Not because of it falling out of favor, no, but because of the pure fact that nearly everyone who used one has been gone for generations.
The Cyclops II is--or was--a ship in the hayday of the first forays of our ancestors to outer space. No, not the first ship TO space, but one of the first ships produced in numbers, intended for consumption by those who couldn't afford to have one custom-ordered.
The Cyclops II is a relic of a bygone era, a wistful remnant of what once was--and could still be--a galaxy of wonder, awe, and exploration. But the Cyclops has never been truly -dead-. Of the millions that were produced to scale the insurmountable vastness of outer space together, a few still live. Pieced together from the remnants of their fallen comrades they soldier on, lonely in their antiquity, but driven by those who appreciate the history, and know they deserve to be kept alive. For what they've done. For who they've stood by, so loyally, for centuries.
The Cyclops II was the second model of three to come from Cystern industries, originally a company started for making boats and tractors and farm supplies, and was by far the most successful model. The ship's predecessor, the Cyclops I, was to the earliest explorers of space as the horse was to the American frontiersman of the 19th century. It was vastly superior to whatever simple craft they first passed through the atmosphere in. But it was still nothing compared to the Cyclops II. The Cyclops II, by comparison, would be the vast network of steel beasts, the rails laid and the engines powered, that would overtake the nation as it started to form its own economy and its own style--its own image. The Cyclops II was humanity's workhorse for hundreds of years, passed down from father to son, friend to friend. They survived because they were well made, and over time they developed spirit. A story, attached to each and every one. History, a timeline of humanity's leaps and bounds into space. It is your job to keep them alive, keep the story and the life and the history around, for at least a little longer.
I have taken the liberty of borrowing some of the more well-known models of Cyclops here for you all, in a little showcase. There are six major updates, consisting of:
1: Cyclops Prototype (no download link--there's only one!)
One left today, and one produced.
2: Cyclops IIA
Somewhere near a hundred left today, estimated, out of an estimated two million produced.
3: Cyclops IIB
About two to four thousand left today, estimated, out of an estimated 1.5 million produced.
4: Cyclops IIC
About three thousand left today, estimated.
5: Cyclops IID
About five hundred left today, estimated, out of just over 100,000 produced.
6: Cyclops IIE
About two hundred left today, estimated, out of just 20,000 produced.
With each model showcase there will be some info on them, numbers of production, new features and other interesting info.
Enjoy.
Cyclops lineup:
From left to right: Cyclops Prototype, Cyclops IIA, IIB, IIC, IID, IIE
Cyclops Prototype.
The predecessor to hundreds of years of history, and innumerable accomplishments.
Hull n/A hp
Shield n/A hp
Blocks n/A
Mass n/A tons
Thrust n/A m/s/s
Brake thrust n/A m/s/s
Max Velocity n/A m/s
Yaw n/A rad/s
Pitch n/A rad/s
Roll n/A rad/s
Hyperspace Cooldown n/A s
Hyperspace Reach n/A sectors
Radar Reach n/A sectors
System Upgrade Slots n/A
Cargo Hold n/A
Crew Quarters n/A
Fighters n/A
Generated Energy n/A GW
Req. Energy n/A GW
Storable Energy n/A GJ
Required Engineers n/A
Required Mechanics n/A
Note how you can still clearly see the finished product's shape, even without any of the smoothing. That shows just how well Cystern knew their trade.
It's the one and only prototype of the Cyclops II, and for a long time has resided in a museum. I convinced the owner to let me have it for about five minutes to take these photos. Between the Prototype and the A model there are only few changes, and almost none of them have an impact on how -useful- the ship is. The Cyclops Prototype is just the Cyclops IIA minus the angles and the entrances, as well as the crew's tower clearly visible on top of all of the others. There is a single hatch underneath for entry and and it is made purely out of iron, as was the norm for the time. This is one of the most legendary ships that still exists as of now, and I can't be grateful enough to have seen it, let alone had some time to spend with it.
Some other information--the only thrusters on this ship are the two on the sides. Yes, there are only two. This thing handles like a barge. And as was the norm for several generations of the Cyclops II, there are four Cystern Hadron engines--the large ones-- and twelve Cystern Hadron 1/4's. Cystern was creative with their naming, yes.
Another feature that was retained, at least in spirit, throughout all models--the buffer plate between the engines and the cargo compartment. The Hadron series of engines-the Hadron, the 1/3, the 1/8 and the 1/4--all had an early reputation for getting unreasonably hot. That big slab of metal was designed to shed heat, so the engines didn't melt themselves into--and through--the cargo bay.
Cyclops IIA:
The stalwart explorer, even after being made for the average man just outside of Earth's orbit. Hardy and longlasting.
Hull 1156 hp
Shield 0 hp
Blocks 444
Mass 11582 tons
Thrust 42.3 m/s/s
Brake thrust 1.6 m/s/s
Max Velocity 537 m/s
Yaw 0.14 rad/s
Pitch 0.05 rad/s
Roll 0.17 rad/s
Hyperspace Cooldown 34.7 s
Hyperspace Reach 2.5 sectors
Radar Reach 14 sectors
System Upgrade Slots 3
Cargo Hold 202.1
Crew Quarters 29
Fighters 0 - 0
Generated Energy 0.66 GW
Req. Energy 0.6 GW
Storable Energy 20 GJ
Required Engineers 3
Required Mechanics 4
This was the most widely-produced of the Cyclops II run. Over two million were made over a fifty-year production run and it was the simplest variant, as well as the earliest. It was the beginning of the notable "crew tower" on top, harkening back to ships on Earth, the tower proving to be one of the Cyclops series' most distinctive features.
Here you can clearly see the decorative side lines--taken directly from the Cyclops I as a nod to the past for a ship moving into the future. The option for the side line would be removed when the updated Cyclops IIB was introduced. Toward the front of the craft you can also see the front guardrail section, an addon to the prototype.
This ship does have rails on it, useful for zero-G external maneuvering--but this ship was atmosphere rated. Yes, this ship could sustain an atmospheric burn and land on the crust of a planet, and ideally it would land bottom-down. The landing gear was stripped from this model--as it was for almost all of them, by the owners, almost immediately after purchase--so no landing is possible here. A model A with operational landing gear could net you in excess of one hundred million, in some collectors' circles.
Originally though, the A was very cheap--it was the very first entry level localized spaceship available to the mass market, and even though Cystern had no competition whatsoever, they did not hike the prices unreasonably high. 100,000 dollars could get you one new (roughly 20,000 in modern credits, though it's difficult to translate due to the fluctuations in the old dollar compared to the steadfastness of the credit).
Note once more the decorative touches on the side. Also present on this model are more external exits and viewports (white) as well as a field scanner (red) facing toward the front of the ship. In addition to the safety rails lining the outside, there were light markers positioned on the side for safe distance identification from a distance--the ship was so common at one point that the orientation of the lights alone in reference to the rotation of the hull would be enough to give anyone a reference to the ship's velocity.
Notable to this particular example is the ability to use the warp drive. No, the original IIA's didn't have that function, they mainly operated in the Earth cluster and made boost trips between the local planets. It would take several days to get up to speed and then several weeks to cruise anywhere, and originally the engines on the IIA were a lot shorter and the ship was stubbier, but the owner of this otherwise original model has added a warp drive to allow him to use it daily. I could not find a local IIA owner (they number in the tens nowadays anyway) to lend me a factory stock model, and sadly the museum didn't have one either.
Otherwise the performance of the IIA was lacking, to say the least. It had the exact same power layout that the Prototype had, two side thrusters, four Hadrons and 12 1/4's, but much more mass. Needless to say it was produced to be reliable--as proven by it still existing in small numbers today--and not to be a race-winner. The drivers of these ships needed to be skilled in parking and braking, knowing exactly when to turn and reverse burn. As all models were until the IIC, this model was made entirely out of iron, apart from the single upper generator. The early model Cyclops ships were powered somewhat by solar panels, and that includes the IIB as well. The generator didn't expand much until the IIC, but that didn't prove to be much of a problem.
As evidence of the IIA's simple roots as a working man's ship, the "steps" on the slope beside the crew's nest were created for mining tools, and mining tools only. There was plenty of flat space on the ship, but Cystern reinforced those two spots for the added stresses of mining lasers. Another testament to the build qualities of days past.
Even after all these centuries, the IIA is well-known enough through adventurer's tales to sometimes garner the question "where'd you get the time machine?"
Cyclops IIB:
The beginning of the REAL evolution of the Cyclops series.
Hull 1162 hp
Shield 0 hp
Blocks 467
Mass 11816 tons
Thrust 41.9 m/s/s
Brake thrust 2.6 m/s/s
Max Velocity 537 m/s
Yaw 0.13 rad/s
Pitch 0.14 rad/s
Roll 0.18 rad/s
Hyperspace Cooldown 34.9 s
Hyperspace Reach 2.5 sectors
Radar Reach 14 sectors
System Upgrade Slots 4
Cargo Hold 202.1
Crew Quarters 29
Fighters 0 - 0
Generated Energy 1.79 GW
Req. Energy 0.64 GW
Storable Energy 24.57 GJ
Required Engineers 3
Required Mechanics 4
Clearly visible here are arguably the most useful additions to the Cyclops line--A radar system (frontal antennae) and an intership radio (rear antennae).
The IIB was the second most widely produced, after the A--just over 1.5 million made over a span of 30 years. At the end of the IIB's production run the Cyclops II had been in the workings, through prototype stage and production and improvement, for about a hundred years.
There were few other improvements over the IIA. The most notable were the additional communications and scanner equipment and natural warpdrive function, as well as additional braking thrusters, mounted in a scoop underneath the ship. There was also an additional small generator added, for more range and versatility. By this time humans had begun to branch out more nominally, exchanging papers and plans and beginning to pave the way towards expanding their horizons. It was at this time that Cystern realized the need for quick travel and developed their own prototype warpdrive, installing it into the IIB. It worked moderately well, though it had short range. It was also at this time that most IIA owners began to perform their own modifications, and it was in some small part due to those garage modifications that a large number of the original IIA's were lost. Bad ignition coils or electric melt downs welded many a ship together, and it was not unheard of to have to throw away an entire Cyclops IIA, unable to retrieve the body of the unfortunate tinkerer inside.
As mentioned before, the side decorations have gone away.
As mentioned before as well, the low-mounted braking thrusters worked wonders for the IIB's stopping power. There is also an additional auxiliary thruster mounted beneath the engine buffer plate (the big slab of metal between the cargo compartment and the engines, designed to dissipate heat due to the poor insulation of the early Hadron engines) to aid with braking and side-to-side adjustment as well. Overall, the B model was a big improvement over the A, and many A owners would modify their ships in the same way Cystern produced the B ships.
Although the B was still "old reliable A" in many people's minds, the price went up about 30% due to the increased intricacy of the warp drives, the radio and scanner equipment, and the thrusters.
And once again, this ship is made out of iron.
Part Two continued on next post!
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New update. To reproduce the steps that -started- the bug, do the following.
1. Download the ship attached to the post.
2. Create it in a galaxy.
3. Buy at least 1 fighter for its hangar, located underneath, facing downwards.
4. Buy crew for the fighter(s) you bought.
5. Deploy the fighter(s) as defenders.
6. If they did not deploy as they should normally (they have not for me), attempt to leave the ship in a drone.
7. If it is happening for you, the game should freeze and begin eating all of your memory, making the game unplayable. Noises will begin to repeat in a rapid fashion, and nothing else will happen until you shut the game down.
8. Repeat the steps again until the game starts displaying the same qualities as explained for the drone crash upon loading into the world. It happened twice for me before I could no longer enter the world at all.
Here is the ship: http://filebin.ca/3BBO5sxsR2WO/autosave57.xml
I will continue trying to find out what the problem is in more detail on my own.
Some more quirks so far: Upon entering the galaxy after reproducing the bug once, it will not let me deselect from a fighter. Normally you can middle click in the middle of nowhere and it will deselect from any ship, and I can look at other ships around me by cycling through with the G button, but if I middle click in the middle of nowhere it defaults to the fighter, even if I'm in a different ship.
It seems that if the bug happens once, even though you can still play the game, you're screwed. Trying to exit into a drone the second time around freezes the game just the same. I'm doing all of this in a new world, as well, so it's not something induced by some world changes. It's a fresh start. Maybe it's just the positioning of the bay makes the fighter deploy in an odd way?
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Alright, it's done. Thanks for the help.
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It is, but changed to text format. I've actually discovered that it isn't just that sector that's causing the issue, I think. The only issue is that even if I delete those two, the problem still happens... I have to delete the whole sectors folder for it to stop. Doing more tests now. I could zip the sectors and send it, if need be.
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So I found out that it has something to do with the sector data. Made a test world exactly like the world that was messed up, deleted the sector I was present in and it allowed the game to start. Is there any way I can edit sector data?
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New bug, though. My game instantly starts to use up all of my processing power upon loading in, and it doesn't get past the loading screen. What happens is it hits the "loading" portion, makes the noise as though I'm in-game, but instead of seeing the ship the loading screen flickers and comes back on again. The game starts to eat up enormous processing power and never loads in, and I either wait for it to not respond or I close it out via task manager.
What led up to the incident: I had a fighter hangar in one of my ships with the entrance blocked. I would try to deploy the fighters after editing it so that it was supposedly no longer blocked and the fighter would deploy but not come out of the ship, meaning that I couldn't use my turrets, they would just spin around uselessly or do a forward lock if I selected another ship or station. I would try and go into my drone and that would freeze the game. I did that twice, and after those two times this bug started.
Same PC stats.
I should note that that bug only happens with that world and that world alone, all the others are fine.
Log is attached.
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