Working on a Star Trek Webgame MMOG

[CaptainNet]

Hello,

The site's url for all of you wondering is http://www.shadowsofthefederation.com.

The game is far from being even workable, but it will allow you to be the first on your block to register when I get the functionality of the revised site up here in just a little bit.

Thank you,

~Joel

[CaptainNet]

Hello,

I stand before you ready to make a vow. Even now, while I am writing up new Species Descriptions for all 36 of the playable species I have in the database now, I will not rest until you all are able to register for the site and select a species and other game settings.

I am quite serious about this.

While the point of me doing this game is to keep social, have fun, give back to the trek gaming community, and feel a part of the world, I vow to you all now that I will not rest until registration and logging in and out is complete.

If you haven't checked out the site yet, check out it's new look at the url in the previous post.

I promise you will begin to like how it looks.

It's far from a finished look for the site, but it is a start.

I will get back to writing species introductions and just ask that while the dopamine levels in my brain get all screwed up and I start seeing dead masonic US Presidents, that you all bear with me, reply to this post, or even drop me an email @ captainnet@shadowsofthefederation.com with your words of encouragement.

You all have done so much for me already and I just want you all to know that I am greatful.

I will not let anyone down in this matter.

Thank you,

~Joel

[jigalypuff]

would you mind if i posted this news on star trek fan games?

[CaptainNet]

would you mind if i posted this news on star trek fan games?

Jigaly... I have always found your moniker to be fun to say. So how can I say no? Besides its a free internet, go for it

I will keep posting all my updates here, because this site is like a home to me, and I mean that very deeply.

By the way I have the first ten species descriptions done.

Here they are:

Cardassians

The Cardassians were among the first to be attacked by the Qindu. The once mighty empire that had already suffered from a long war with the Federation and the Klingons, decided to set out for other areas of the galaxy in mass numbers. The Cardassians embraced a new philosophy of spirituality mixed with strong military tactics and cunning intelligence. They can be a formidable opponent to any empire.

Humans

While the Federation fought long and hard against the Qindu, the citizens of the Federation headed out for parts unknown of the galaxy under Directive 2352.731. The directive was geared towards taking the seed of humankind into the galaxy in specialized high-warp colony ships in order to preserve humankind if all else failed. Humans became increasingly isolationist when they arrived at their new colonies and shunned most interspecies contact. Carrying with them the most complete database of Federation Technology, they tend to dominate in the fields of research.

Ferengi

A once plutocratic society, the Ferengi now openly embrace new concepts such as clothing of women in public and doing deeds without expectation of profit. While the Divine Treasury still remains their vision of the afterlife, they now view it as being a place where all positive virtues of Ferengi-kind are stored on streets paved with gold-pressed latinum. Ferengi warp-technology makes their ships able to make lightning fast strikes on those who would threaten any colony who follows the creed of their society.

Klingons

The Klingon expansion into the galaxy was viewed as an important strategic move to ensure Klingon Warriors would ultimately re-take their homeworld which was taken from them and stripped of all its resources. Klingons still put high marks on loyalty and honor, but have changed their stance on espionage. Many Klingons now feel that without adequate intelligence victory cannot be secured. Klingon ships are heavily armored and can make devastating predatory attacks.

Romulans

In the early years of the twenty-fourth century when the war with the Qindu was proving to be a nearly impossible fight to win, the Romulans were given admittance into the United Federation of Planets. It was hoped that by fully joining forces the worlds of the Federation would stand a chance at possibly turning the tide in the war. Romulans sent out colony ships under Federation Directive 2352.731 along with other member states to the far reaches of the galaxy. While the Romulans publically endorse peace with their neighbors, they still keep a watchful eye on neighboring civilizations with their powerful intelligence arm.

Acamarians

The Acamarians nearly went extinct when their homeworld was taken by the Qindu. With the help of the vagabond clans of their world, the Gatherers, they set about heading for the far reaches of the galaxy where the Qindu have not yet seen. Acamarian Terraforming techniques developed during the long years of travel through the galaxy give them the upper hand when it comes to rapidly developing systems to claim new territory.

Andorians

Andorian culture has developed drastically since the great exodus from the Alpha-Quadrant. While they are still prone to violent behavior, they have taken on some techniques used by their once great rivals, the Vulcans. Latent telepathic talents became developed and the Andorians use these talents to bolster the security of their colonies.

Angosians

The Angosians re-initiated their Super Soldier projects in an effort to help defeat the Qindu. While they had outstanding success in turning back Qindu invasions, it was still foreseen that the homeworld would be overtaken. The Angosians set out in colony ships in order to prevent the extinction of their kind. Angosian ground defenses and combat troops are second to none.

Antedean

The Antedeans were helped by the Ferengi to build colony ships that would take them far into the galaxy where the Qindu could not reach them. Antedean sea-floor harvesting technology gives them a strategic edge when it comes to producing the ships and defenses their new colonies need. While their ships are based upon Ferengi design, they can be produced in such mass numbers as to be a threat to any empire.

Anticans

The Anticans took their despise of the Selay species to the far reaches of the galaxy when they were forced to abandon their home. When they colonized the Qindu-free parts of the galaxy, they instantly began setting up hunting colleges to train their forces in the ways of how to properly dispatch the Selay. The effect of the colleges is cumulative as all hunting colleges of all Antican Colleges are interlinked via a secure subspace network.

[CaptainNet]

Hello,

Jigaly,

In case I wasn't clear I should state, yes wholeheartedly post it where you can. The more interest that is generated in this game the less likely it is that I will get some silly whim to leave it partially done or just abandon it.

The more feedback I get the more motivated I get, becuase it makes this disabled person feel a part of the world.

In other words, it would mean quite a bit to me for you to do that favor for me.

Hope that clears it up.

Thank you,

~Joel

[CaptainNet]

Here are some more new species descriptions...

Bajorans

The Bajoran people are a strong willed people who have endured the hardships of war before. The loss of Bajor almost sank the hearts of their people. However, with determination they set forth into the unknown and colonized new worlds, vowing to never allow their worlds to be taken again. The Bajoran people were bequeathed with a gift from the inhabitants of the wormhole with the knowledge of how to create artificial wormholes. This gives them an enormous strategic advantage.

Bandi

The Bandi hitched a ride to safety with the Ferengi. The New Ferengi Alliance, or what remained of it, was more than happy to share with them technology which allowed them to develop advanced geo-thermal plants to power Bandi colonies. This abundant source of energy allows the population to be freed up for other uses such as production of goods, facilities and ships.

Benzites

The Benzites headed for the corners of the galaxy in colony ships under Federation Directive 2352.731. They took with them the efficient methods they used on their homeworlds for various things such as production, energy production, and research. These efficient methods were improved upon when they reached their new homes.

Betazoids

The Betazoid people followed the rest of the fractured federation in the twilight years of the war with the Qindu. They set their sites upon the vast unexplored regions of space and hoped they would find new planets for which to call home. Their empathic and telepathic abilities give them a strong advantage when it comes to securing their colonies. The added intelligence they are able to gather often times gives them the heads up when it comes to securing valuable intelligence and research.

Bolians

The Bolian cosmetic talents was not lost when the civilized galaxy fell to the Qindu and in all reality only improved. Much of this improvement came from the mastery of making Federation Operatives look like the Qindu Species for intelligence gathering purposes for the war effort. When they found new homes in the galaxy they took with them this cosmetic mastery which gives them an edge in intelligence matters.

Bynars

In order to make escape possible and colonize other worlds in the galaxy, the Bynars developed decentralized computing capabilities which acted to supplement their Planetary Computer on the homeworld. This technology was later adapted when they reached their new homes to give Bynars a mastery in computer research by linking all of the colony world’s decentralized computer networks into one giant living network. This computer research is often times sold by the terraquad to other empires.

Caldonians

When the Caldonians reached their new homes in unoccupied space, they devoted themselves full time to research. They are more easily prone to developing new technologies which give them a distinct edge in the untamed expanses of the galaxy. Their technology is not to be underestimated due to the sheer power of their Devoted Research facilities.

Chalnoth

Chalna fell like so many other worlds of the galaxy to the unrelenting wrath of the Qindu. The Chalnoth, however, felt it wise to move on to other parts of the galaxy. They took with them their ability to garner extra recruits when it comes to defense of their planet or invasion of other worlds. Their shock warriors can bring an unwelcome surprise to any empire.

Edo

Even the Edo Guardian was no match for the mass attacks of the Qindu. Unable to protect its children on Rubicun below, it transported via unknown means the Edo to new colony worlds on the far side of the galaxy. There they would be safe, and with technology given to them by the Guardian, they began to do what they had never done before: work to build a new society.

Ktarians

The Ktarians fled the war-torn reaches of space rather early in the Qindu Invasion. Along the generation-long trips across the galaxy, they developed new technologies which allowed them to become a potent new force to contend with when they reached their new homes. Ktarians can deal more sabotage out than any other species, and have a distinct advantage because of this.

Malcorians

The Malcorians developed sufficient warp technology just in time to leave their homeworld when the Qindu came. They set out on the long trek across the galaxy to found new colony worlds where their people would be safe. Still somewhat xenophobic, the energy and propulsion technologies they have developed can be called uniquely their own.

And just for the record I am taking a fifteen minute break... not to relax... but to let my legs streach out..... I have been in this chair all night and my legs are killing me, LOL

I have brewed a fresh pot of coffee and I have taken in enough caffiene to counteract the sedating effects of my morning medications (heavy dosage)......so I should be good on delivering my promise....

I will be back on the job and get the rest of the species descriptions posted within an hour an a half.

Thank you,

~Joel

[stardust]

Wow :O

good work...i'm looking forward to the rest of them

[jaruler]

one thing of i may about bajor. would the wormhole beings allow them to be moved? taken over? they see all time and know what would come so could prevent it could they not? just as they stopped the dominion reinforcements.

what would be nice if we are to bring other cultures in to our fole like vulcans into federation. it would be nice to keep building there ships still? one way to do this was if each ship to each race had a specialility that we seen in the series?

can we add the repair ship yards? the one forund in enterprise? where they repaired the ship in exchange for warp plasma and a crew member almost.

it can be in the universe once? maybe even controlled?

plus there was the alien race that said humans. kingons and romulans are there decendents. maybe there could be hidden tech to find of these or weapons?

[carcher]

i'm looking forward to this joel,sounds like your doing a hell of a lot of work! take a break man
hows about the caretaker thing from voyager..sending unsuspecting ships,or even a fleet ,hundreds of light years away?maybe a borg nexus?perhaps a highly advanced race "hiding"inside a dyson sphere?maybe whoever built the edo guardian is out there? just a few thoughts

[matress_of_evil]

Hi CaptainNet, i'm Matress_of_evil - i'm one of the admin for the BOTF2 project over on star-trek-games.com. I don't visit these forums anywhere near as much as I used to, and only found out about your project because Jigalypuff posted a news item on our site portal.

As one of the forum admin, I have the power to force activation of user accounts. Did you ever receive the activation email? It has been a little slow in the past and we're planning on scrapping Joomla in favour of Silverstream (Or something like that, I'm not very good with dabases and content management systems all stuff) so it may have been the activation system was interfered with by that process. If you still haven't received the email, could you provide me with some info regarding your account, ie. username and/or the email address you used for activation and/or the name you entered as your real name. You can send me the info in a PM if you'd rather keep it secret. I don't need to know your password to activate your account, so please don't tell it to me or announce it on the forums for security reasons.

As a member of the BOTF2 project, you would be most welcome to use some of the resources that we have gathered for our project. I don't know how much you know about us, but we are trying to develop a successor to Birth of the Federation, and have several game projects under our wing, such as Star Trek: Supremacy, Birth of the Empires, Star Trek: New Beginnings, and Star Trek: Allegiance. We also have links with the Star Trek: Temporal Cold War and Star Trek: Excalibur projects.

At first glance, your game actually sounds incredibly similar to our Star Trek: Allegiance project. I won't say anything about it here coz i'm actually talking to the developer of Allegiance on MSN at the moment, so with any luck he'll be posting here soon. It's nice to hear that we might have some friendly competition though. Competition can be a good thing. I'll be keeping my eye open on this thread for updates.

[nemitor_atimen]

I'm the developer of Star Trek: Allegiance, which is also a Massively Multiplayer Browser Based Game. From what I'm reading, your game looks quite similar to the one I'm currently developing.

I can already tell that both our games are going to be different gameplay wise, yet similar enough to be competitors. I'm a strong believer in competition, so like Matress said, it can be a good thing. Allegiance has been under 'development' in one form or another for over two years now. I would point you toward screenshots, but I started fresh about a year ago, scrapping all my old code.

There used to be screens of the most recent version on S-T-G, but they were taken down when I declared my sabbatical about nine months ago. I haven't touched the code since then, being too focused on my studies (which is why I took a break in the first place), writing, and various more important (blasphemy!) things.

Like I said to begin with, your game looks similar to mine. Until you release some of your gameplay ideas, there is no way to tell how similar. Allegiance has a very... unique... style of gameplay, so I'm sure your game wont look or feel the same.

I find it great that someone else is joining the genre - you're the fourth party to start a Star Trek based Browser Game; there's a German based one, and one other group that has since canceled their project completely. Allegiance development has only temporarily ceased.

I know how it feels to start a project like this, and the excitement when you make progress. I just wish I didn't get over my head, and I wish you the best of luck.

[CaptainNet]

Hello,

I am sorry about being late with the rest of the species descriptions. Simply put after 20 hours of being up, my mind simply shut down and I fell into a deep sleep.

For this I apologize.

I will attempt to answer each and every one of you who posted since I last posted.

Wow :O

good work...i'm looking forward to the rest of them

I am glad you like them, and if you think the race intros are good, just wait till the game actually begins to take form.

can we add the repair ship yards? the one forund in enterprise? where they repaired the ship in exchange for warp plasma and a crew member almost.

Good idea, kudos to you for making me think! It does fall in line with the concept of resource trading (research, ships, etc) that I had in mind for a trade system between empires. Just one of the "social" aspects of the game. I don't see why there cannot be an NPC player out there that repairs ships for the same fee type system.

[quote="carcher']i'm looking forward to this joel,sounds like your doing a hell of a lot of work! take a break man[/quote]

My schedule for now until a few days after December 25th is to get up, work on the game, take a break to go to the store for supplies, and then rest when my body gets tired. You witnessed my body telling me it was time to get some rest by my absence from posting. However, I am back up and I will begin work again as soon as I am done with this post.

It's nice to hear that we might have some friendly competition though. Competition can be a good thing. I'll be keeping my eye open on this thread for updates.

First off thank you for allowing me the resources of the BOTF2 Project. The more resources I can bring into play for this the better

Secondly, this is the spirit of open source. I plan on later on tonight or in the wee hours of the morning when the registration scripts are complete, to post on the SOTF site the source code along with the SQL files needed to make it happen for the nightly build of SOTF.

Hopefully there will be one small bit of code or a way of approaching something that you folks at alligence hadn't thought of and can use. The bottom line is that the more ways we can keep Roddenberry's dream of the Future alive, the more we are honoring his (and his recently departed wife's) memory.

Okay...

Well I am back to working on the game. Keep the posts coming, you all are doing so much to encourage me, and making it so I don't want to let my fellow trek fans down!

Thank you,

~Joel

[CaptainNet]

I'm the developer of Star Trek: Allegiance, which is also a Massively Multiplayer Browser Based Game. From what I'm reading, your game looks quite similar to the one I'm currently developing.

I can already tell that both our games are going to be different gameplay wise, yet similar enough to be competitors. I'm a strong believer in competition, so like Matress said, it can be a good thing. Allegiance has been under 'development' in one form or another for over two years now. I would point you toward screenshots, but I started fresh about a year ago, scrapping all my old code.

There used to be screens of the most recent version on S-T-G, but they were taken down when I declared my sabbatical about nine months ago. I haven't touched the code since then, being too focused on my studies (which is why I took a break in the first place), writing, and various more important (blasphemy!) things.

Like I said to begin with, your game looks similar to mine. Until you release some of your gameplay ideas, there is no way to tell how similar. Allegiance has a very... unique... style of gameplay, so I'm sure your game wont look or feel the same.

I find it great that someone else is joining the genre - you're the fourth party to start a Star Trek based Browser Game; there's a German based one, and one other group that has since canceled their project completely. Allegiance development has only temporarily ceased.

I know how it feels to start a project like this, and the excitement when you make progress. I just wish I didn't get over my head, and I wish you the best of luck.

I felt it important to post the quote of your entire post because it means quite a bit to me. And as I stated in an earlier post, I only hope there is some small shred of code I will release in the nightly builds which will help you with your endeavors for the STA project.

And in over my head? I have always been in over my head, but I'll just strap on the scuba gear and make faces at the Antedeans

Thank you,

~Joel

[CaptainNet]

Okay here are the rest of the playable species' descriptions as they stand right now:

Mintakans

The Mintakans were taken under the protection of the Vulcans early on in the war with the Qindu. Under Vulcan instruction they learned to harness their potential to excel at science, mathematics and astronomy. When they arrived at their new colonies in the galaxy, they used this potential to build large astronomical arrays which cannot be equaled. The arrays not only give them an edge in astrophysics research, but also in eavesdropping on neighboring systems.

Mizarians

When Mizar fell to the Qindu, most of the world’s inhabitants wanted to give up peacefully to the Qindu invaders. For these unlucky Mizarians, death awaited. Small bands of Mizarians following a little known code of conduct known as the Code of SheRak felt that the time of surrendering to opponents was over. These Mizarians headed for the stars and set up new colony worlds where they could practice the Code of SheRak openly and never give in like their pacifistic brethren.

Nausicaans

The Nausicaans spotted an opportunity to exploit the growing number of colony ships leaving the Alpha-Quadrant for other parts of the galaxy. They took up the time dishonored practice of raiding those who were weaker than they, in an effort to further their own colony efforts. Their Raiding Centers allow for them to coordinate raids upon other systems with unequalled effectiveness. Nausicaan ships are fast and boast heavy firepower for cutting down the defenses of opposing forces during raids.

Pakleds

In their journey across the galaxy most of the Pakleds died off to attacks by superior enemies. A few colony ships, however, ran across a world that reaped a previously unknown reward. That reward came in the form of a symbiotic life form which, when implanted into a host, acted to raise the host’s mental abilities. This new union of species led to a new golden age of discovery for the Pakleds. However, at the heart of it all they will still exploit any technology they can adapt into their own society.

Selay

The Selay, facing an even more hostile threat from their long time rivals the Anticans, poured all of their research into developing biological weapons which would be more effective at dispatching the Anticans. Some of their weapons were used by Federation forces against the Qindu in the war. In exchange, the Federation built colony ships to take the Selay safely out into the galaxy where their species would be safe from the Qindu. The Selay ability with Biotech research is rivaled only by that of the Sheliak.

Sheliak

The Sheliak were nearly wiped from the face of the galaxy due to their hubris at facing down the Qindu. Rather than accept they would have to leave their homeworld behind, the Sheliak fought against the Qindu on their own using their powerful weapons and defenses. Having been defeated, the Sheliak took their technology and headed outward into the galaxy like so many other species to flee the Qindu menace.

Takarans

Takaran energy research is second to none. It is an ability they took with them to the stars when they were forced to abandon their homeworld. They used this ability to create impressive power generation structures to power their new founded colonies and also to sell the surplus terraquads of research to the highest bidder. Takarans are survivors and even the Qindu could not destroy them entirely.

Talarians

Even Talarian defenses could not withstand the onslaught of the fleets of Qindu Harvesters that descended upon their system. They departed for other parts of the galaxy in massive colony ships and took with them all of the lessons the war had taught them. They had hoped that the sons of Talaria would one day be able to return to the homeworld and reclaim it.

Tamarians

The stories of Jalad were safely tucked away in the Tamarian databases aboard their colony ships when they headed out into the galaxy to escape the Qindu invasion. Tamarians boast sophisticated technology, which gives them a keen edge over any opponent. Even though they may not be understood by most species, they are never to be underestimated. Tamarian technology ensures that their species will survive the attacks of most species.

Trill

The Joined Trill share a symbiotic relationship with the other sentient species that lived on their homeworld. When they were forced to abandon their homeworld they took with them the best samples of both of their species and headed for the outskirts of the galaxy. Trill technology is impressive because of the ability the joined Trill have in passing on information to the next host of the symbiotic life form. Their technology can make them a match for any species.

Ullians

The Ullians are a telepathic race that has the unequaled ability to patch together fragmented memories from the people they are in telepathic contact with. When the Ullians left their beloved homeworld for parts of the galaxy unknown, they took with them this ability and the vast database of histories of the Alpha-Quadrant residents. Their telepathic ability gave them an advantage when it came to securing valuable intelligence data from the field.

Vulcans

The Vulcan people embrace logic in its purest form. Logic dictated to them that if they were unable to defeat the Qindu, then other steps would be needed to ensure the survival of their people. The Vulcan High Command sent out an edict that all non-essential personnel should evacuate immediately when the Qindu came. Logic, it would appear, saved the Vulcan people a second time in history. Vulcan research because of their sound logic is never to be questioned.

Yridians

The Yridians are brokers of information mainly used for intelligence purposes. No information is too valuable that they will not sell it to the highest bidder. This facet of their culture continued to serve them well when they were forced to start new colonies elsewhere in the galaxy due to the Qindu invasion.

Zakdorn

The Zakdorn are tactical geniuses and it was this genius which was used ultimately in the final hours of the war with the Qindu which delivered a major blow to the invaders. While it only slowed the Qindu advancement into the Alpha-Quadrant, it was enough to buy them the time they needed to make a tactical withdrawal to other colony worlds in the galaxy. The Zakdorn tactical tradition lives on in the galaxy, where many times they offer to train starship crews in the advanced tactical ways the Zakdorn are masters of for a price.

Borg

The liberated Borg of the Alpha-Quadrant lent their technical expertise to the Federation in the war against the Qindu. However, it was foreseen that nothing would stop the Qindu, so the leader of the liberated Borg instructed as many Borg as could be spared to head out into the galaxy to preserve their cybernetic species. Borg ships are well defended and boast excellent weapons and speed.

I am going to back up all files for the site including database dumps, and make the source code for version 1.0.2 available on the site, before continuing on to writing the scripts for v 1.0.3 which will include the login/logout and registration scripts.

I will post here with the link to the source code when I have it ready.

Thank you all very much,

~Joel

[CaptainNet]

Hello,

The source for the very very very incomplete 1.0.2 build (including sql files) can be found at:
http://www.shadowsofthefederation.com/s ... .2.tar.bz2

I will begin working on the registration, login and logout scripts now for version 1.0.3 which I do plan on having up either tonight or sometime earrrrrly (we are talking before the breen get up) in the morning. I feel rested and able to continue scripting the elaborate registration process now.

He he he, looks like another all nighter

Thank you,

~Joel