Oh you know, a little of this, a little of that.

Dawn of Victory (DoV) is a modification currently under development by Slipstream Productions for the RTS Sins of a Solar Empire. Dawn of Victory is a total conversion, replacing the game's original assets with completely new and diverse ships, structures, and gameplay elements. Dawn of Victory pits players as one of 3 intergalactic superpowers: the Democratic Federation, Greater German Reich, and the Soviet Union. These three factions wage war amongst themselves even as a greater threat, the Scinfaxi, threaten them all.

Story

While Dawn of Victory started out loosely based on Harry Turtledove’s “Worldwar” and “Colonization” book series, since then, the backstory has expanded to the point where it has taken on a life of its own.

For centuries an alien race known as the Scinfaxi had been the dominant power in the Orion region of space, their slow but steady expansion brought them into contact with dozens of other races, each one conquered and exterminated to provide the resources and material necessary to support the continually expanding empire.

 

In the 14th century, the first Scinfaxi probes reached Earth: it was surveyed, catalogued, and the plans were meticulously laid for its capture and assimilation. However, the Scinfaxi concept of time was very different from humanity's, and so when the first ships of the conquest fleet arrived in 1943, they were stunned to see Terran society had progressed to an industrial state in an unimaginable sliver of time. The initial landings took humanity by surprise, as the Scinfaxi advanced upon every continent.

It was in this darkest hour that what once divided humanity now brought it together, as the old prejudices were put aside and every free nation on Earth united against the alien aggressors. The tide turned in 1945 when the Soviet Union detonated an atomic bomb on its own soil, destroying a Scinfaxi landing site.

 

With the total conquest of Earth impossible without destroying everything of value, the Scinfaxi retreated to the Southern hemisphere, content with half the planet. Decades went by with no contact from the Scinfaxi, but as humanity grew bolder, the aliens' plans accelerated. As spacecraft from the last free nations made landfall, and eventually colonized new worlds, the Scinfaxi slowly began to advance. City after city was lost until, in a final act of desperation, the various Terran factions agreed to pursue a literal "scorched earth" policy, sacrificing their remaining positions to nuclear bombardment and quarantining the planet.

 

Humanity has expanded to the stars, and dozens of planets and moons now belong to the remaining Terran nations. There has been almost no contact with the Scinfaxi, and the former nations of Earth have become so complacent with their apparent safety that the old prejudices have returned and they once again war amongst themselves. The Scinfaxi are still expanding however, and it is only a matter of time before they decide to stamp out the potential usurpers; if humanity is allowed to advance another hundred years, it may be human soldiers landing on Scinfaxi worlds. The dawn of victory is approaching: the only question is which side will claim it.


Features

 

  • 3 unique sides: The Soviet Union, Greater German Reich, and Democratic Federation.
  • Completely reworked combat model, with each ship possessing dozens of weapons and defenses.
  • Military Based Expansion, with research and economic aspects reshaped to support combat.
  • New particle effects, skyboxes, and planets.
  • Diverse environments ranging from open space to clouded nebulae.
  • Several unique ship classes like corvettes and interceptors
  • New planetary defenses like minefields, missile arrays, and defense bases
  • Nine new levels, ranging from two player deathmatch to heated ten player battles
  • New invasion mechanics, with troopships that can invade and colonize planets simultaneously
  • Customizable cruisers and capital ships

Past Updates



 

 


Comments (Page 16)
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on Apr 16, 2008
^^
...riiight.

I don't think this is exactly the place to discuss the finer points of futuristic weaponry and astrodynamics. Suffice to say that I wasn't complaining about the mod, I was stating how "dogfighting" spacecraft, miniguns and artillery in space (and actually having a human being at the fire controls for that matter) is wishful thinking on the part of us humans who get excited at the prospect of inducing pretty explosions. Hence why games tend to have all of the above, and real space combat would have none of it.

I don't want to derail the thread, so this will be my last comment on the issue: it would be wise of you to consider the more refined problems, such as ones linked with hauling thousands of tonnes of munitions needed for your missile racks, autocannons and railguns; massive recoil generated by some of these weapons; then the assumption that space ships would actually have steel plating inches thick, or the fact that a laser travels with the, eh, speed of light and can be trained on any object pretty much indefinitely, especially when you actually plug in computers to do the job instead of imagining someone trying to aim the thing with a joystick.

And yeah... try to dodge a laser beam. Or use decoys. Last I heard those things work with kinetic weapons and missiles. Especially when they need an hour to get to you.

Anyway. I think a game using big guns and lots of strafing and dogfighting is far more fun than a game with invisible beam weapons, no sounds and accurate newtonian physics. In case you mistook my earlier comments to be some sort of moaning about the lack of the above in the Dawn of Victory...
on Apr 16, 2008
The mod has Space Nazis fighting Space Communists, the characteristics of the fighter planes are hardly the most pressing inaccuracy. So maybe we could just give this whole thing a rest.
on Apr 16, 2008
^^...riiight.I don't think this is exactly the place to discuss the finer points of futuristic weaponry and astrodynamics. Suffice to say that I wasn't complaining about the mod, I was stating how "dogfighting" spacecraft, miniguns and artillery in space (and actually having a human being at the fire controls for that matter) is wishful thinking on the part of us humans who get excited at the prospect of inducing pretty explosions. Hence why games tend to have all of the above, and real space combat would have none of it.I don't want to derail the thread, so this will be my last comment on the issue: it would be wise of you to consider the more refined problems, such as ones linked with hauling thousands of tonnes of munitions needed for your missile racks, autocannons and railguns; massive recoil generated by some of these weapons; then the assumption that space ships would actually have steel plating inches thick, or the fact that a laser travels with the, eh, speed of light and can be trained on any object pretty much indefinitely, especially when you actually plug in computers to do the job instead of imagining someone trying to aim the thing with a joystick. And yeah... try to dodge a laser beam. Or use decoys. Last I heard those things work with kinetic weapons and missiles. Especially when they need an hour to get to you.Anyway. I think a game using big guns and lots of strafing and dogfighting is far more fun than a game with invisible beam weapons, no sounds and accurate newtonian physics. In case you mistook my earlier comments to be some sort of moaning about the lack of the above in the Dawn of Victory...





The mod has Space Nazis fighting Space Communists, the characteristics of the fighter planes are hardly the most pressing inaccuracy. So maybe we could just give this whole thing a rest.



ManSh00ter =

FAILS again!
on Apr 16, 2008
maybe you could just let that go too.
on Apr 16, 2008
maybe you could just let that go too.

lol... so calm and collected, yet the voice of the masses...
on Apr 16, 2008
maybe you could just let that go too.


how about no?


PWND!

U FAIL 2
on Apr 16, 2008
Wow, I actually started a small flamewar, who knew? Stealth huh, like others have mentioned before WTF does color have to do with FRIGGING STEALTH. Have you seen the f-22? Second of all, to radically change tactics such that artillery, dogfighting, and whatever you mentioned becomes useless takes a huge technological revolution DIRECTLY related to military tech. Ok so we fight in space now, the concept of long range fire, agility in combat, and covering fire stay similar. No dogfighting, just do not make me laugh. While I agree that fighters wont use the same principles of aerodynamics that have been applied for so long, dogfighting will still remain an essential part if, and a very likely if, fighters exist. They said the same things when air to air missiles came out close to the Vietnam war. What the hell does the F-4 need guns for? its got missiles! Eventually in combat was the value of dogfighting recognized and the top-gun academy formed after the Vietnam war. Even during many pilots requested to retrofit their planes with guns. Agility in space will still be necessary for close range, high speed combat. As such dogfighting will exist. Artillery, I see nowhere that they have mentioned artillery all! Your point is just grasping at straws there. Miniguns, ok so rapid fire will no longer be necessary? As for your point about humans no longer piloting anything: I refer you to Ray Kurzweil and something called the singularity. At what point are we still human?

Pretty explosions? Have you seen a laser melt through tank armor! That is pretty enough for me . Also explosives in some shape and form will exist. Maybe not in the chemical but definitely the nuclear. Big ships need lots of firepower to take out. Do you really think that combat will be ALL high speed ships, well instead of high speed I should point out incredibly maneuverable as well. Capitals will exist, they will be relatively clunky and relatively slow(if we are going the separate FTL drive route).
I will concede the no sound. Of course ships wont need armor silly, well use shields!(incase you missed it I was being SARCASTIC) Shields, we dont know the FIRST thing about shields! Till you point out something that will project invisible force I will tell you that armor will be needed, it may be radically different but it will be there. I wont diss your lasers point as it is technically correct but I will point out that directed energy weapons are still in the testing stage and are very clunky at best. They wont be portable enough for normal use for a while. The boeing aircraft refered to here: http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-space/article/2008-03/how-it-works-airborne-laser-cannon
is still short range and takes up all of the room, making it vulnerable to fighter fire.
Please before trying to make me sound naive do some research.
Addenum: no matter how focused laser fire will disperse eventually. It takes a lot of photons to deliver a lot of energy required to use lasers as a weapon.
on Apr 17, 2008
I think that, in the face of such overwhelming opposition, I shall bow out gracefully. I suggest we return to the topic at hand.
on Apr 17, 2008
Actually Matte black or however its spelled is NOT a good color for stealth. Its a commen misconception that black is a stealthy color in reality it isnt shades of gray to black are far better.

Also on the line of a stealth space fighter assuming its near futuristic it wouldnt be useing any kind of *paintjob* whatsoever for visual stealth as any paintjob would be picked out by an oboard weapons computer against the backgroud starscape. What they would use is a more sophisticated and advanced version of the technology already out there in wich mini cams mounted 360 on the craft display the surrounding starscape on the fighter/bombers skin anything beyond that up to an including a matte black paint job would eclipse the starscape anytime it moved thus voiding any visual stealth it was meant to have.

And as to recoil etc there are plenty of ways around that from recoiless mounting for cannon to simply dropping missles away from the craft's hardpoint that dont ignite for a preset time much like the U.S. Navy's MK 48 ADCAP torpedo's are able to do wich has the added benifit of increasing your stealth. After all if your in a fighter/bomber in the middle of a giant melee between 2 space navy's a whole shit load of good a bunch of stealth tech does you if you launch a missle and the heat bloom from ignition gives your position away to the sensors on the enemy ships behind you.
on Apr 17, 2008
Shields, we dont know the FIRST thing about shields! Till you point out something that will project invisible force.


Look down at your feet. Ever wonder why the sun doesnt crispy critter us? The earths magnetic shield. Though your right we dont know the first thing about shielding but also as you said energy projection weapons are still extremly bulky and experimental. Once the weapons technology has been developed to the point were it is pheasable to use defenses and countermeasures for it will catch up as they have always done.

Give it another 100 years and we will probably have developed/researched at least rudimentary shielding based solely from the starting point of the earths magnetic shield who the hell knows exactly what 100 more years of technology will bring looking at the advances of just the last century.

After all if you had walked into the presidents office 200 years ago and said hey we can use coherent focused beams of that sunshine outside your window as weapons of war you probably would have found yourself in that centurys version of a mental institution rather quickly.



on Apr 17, 2008
...The Earth's magnetic shield protects us from being crisped by the Sun? Dude. You watched The Core too much.
As far as shields go, there's this idea I've been toying around with that might operate as a shield against projectiles and, to some extent, plasma weapons. Take a few powerful electromagnets, position them so their fields intersect somewhere away from the vehicle, and then synchronise their emissions so the intersecting field travels around the vehicle. Take a few hundred 2mm iron pellets and throw them into the resulting magnetic field. Viola, a swarm of iron bees that kill projectiles, and the magnetic field to cause plasma shots to deflect(not away, but come in at a different angle). Such a swarm could spin around the vehicle at near the speed of sound. It will also murderize any infantry around the vehicle, which is a bonus and a malus in one. I call it an Iron Shield.
on Apr 17, 2008
Mein gott. What have I done. Next thing we are going to be discussing how to build a real lightsaber.

Anyone making a Warhammer 40,000 mod for Sins? Because that Iron Shield would fit perfectly there. I bet the Orks would love it. They'd call it the Murderizer, or maybe the Mutilator 5000.
on Apr 17, 2008
Man go check out the conversion list theres a battlefield gothic mod there, Insane electromagnetic shielding(if it works the same way as the core) does not protect from physical fire and certainly does not work in the way that the shields that we were discussing.
on Apr 17, 2008
shut up, all of you. at least mansh00ter had the sense to understand the argument was derailing the thread. I pm'd kryo to try to get this taken care of but I suppose the mods are busy or don't care or something.

this thread is about the mod. if you don't have anything to say about the mod, say it in another thread. the mod has no shielding, the mod has no lasers, the mod has no plasma, we do not care about what color to paint our spaceships to repel the lasers the mod does not have, and louis you are not funny. this is a mod about space communists vs space nazis. so cut out the threadshitting from here on.
on Apr 17, 2008
well said.
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