As we have begun working on the BC version of Legacy, I will use this area to show what the Legacy version of Aftermath looks like and what its purpose is.
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Star Trek Legacy: The Aftermath is the first mod of its kind, a hybrid mod unique in approach and creation. One part mod the other part tutorial, this mod not only offers a unique playing experience but also encourages the average user to take their game skills to the next level-teaching them how to go about creating their own game.
The tutorial half of the game has been designed to offer up and coming modders the info and encouragement they need to set out on their own mod. Whether they wish to create new game modes or add to the growing list of Historical battles they could create; the know how is there for them to go about and create their own gaming experience.
The mod half, with enhanced AI, challenging scenarios and much more push the foundations of Legacy to make it a different experience each time you play. With many new maps each with their own perils and wonders will see the Legacy engine in a different light. The re-designed interface that carries through every menu throughout the game is to provide a change of scenery to the generic look of the old stock look.
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That was the initial goal when Aftermath first started back in April 2007. Two years on, the tutorial aspect has since been removed (that gets treated separately) and Aftermath has focused on being a full TC mod. Aftermath was for many years a code based mod up until late last year when ships started to filter in to the Aftermath releases. Aftermath has seen several major TC releases and 6 add-on releases, the current release being Aftermath 2.0 (Jan 09 build, add-on packs E and F).
Aftermath was the only Legacy mod that paved its own image and built its own base. Unlike the other mods out there, Aftermath was the only mod that was built entirely in-house. The physics, AI, balancing, graphics and all mechanics were all built in house. No mods were compiled with Aftermath (such as the Community Mod, Tactical Enhancement Mod, Miri's Graphics, New Races mod etc). Everything was built from the ground up to Aftermath specifications.
From Aftermath keeping all development in house, it led to streamlining the Legacy engine and provided the highest quality assurance ever seen in Legacy modding. Aftermath was gaining a reputation of having a level of quality that was faultless and solid gameplay. Thats not to say the mod was bug free but it was very close.
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Two years on and here is the new Aftermath release, Aftermath 3.0. Promo for 3.0 has begun since April but I wont be putting it all up at once, you get the main promo announcement for 3.0 and over the next couple of weeks I be putting up all the other promo shots taken over the last few months of development.
As many people now know, all development on Aftermath 2.0 has officially come to an end with Add-on Pack F. Aftermath 2.0 was the most successful Aftermath release to date and not only made its way to many people but saw the mod gather recognition for its efforts in showcasing the best aspects that the Legacy engine is capable of to not only the Star Trek modding and gaming communities but also to the much larger modding communities thanks to heavy exposure at ModDB.
Since late September last year, I decided I would like to do another major release but wanted to hide development of it until the time was right to bring it to public attention. That time has come. Aftermath 3.0 is not just additional features thrown onto 2.0, this new release is a complete rebuild of Aftermath and Legacy itself. Everything that made Aftermath in the past has come in for mass overhauls. Everything in 3.0 is changing.
The first change you will see is the introduction of Legacy's most advanced interface to date, the Nepthys GUI. This new type of interface has built in Ascension features plus many new features of its own such as the QID (Quick Info Display), Showcase Applications and Media modules. Apart from the new features, the interface is a complete new and original design taking the Romulan themed interface into new territory. The minimal look achieves a sense of elegance yet a sinister overtone to bring the interface into a life of its own.
Something very new to Aftermath are the inclusion of new music from one of our new team members. All new music making its way into Aftermath 3.0 are composed by Ermis Koukaris. The track playing in the video is one of his tracks and is the new theme track to the 3.0 intro video. Ermis also has come up with new music for the interface and other races too. More area in the sound department has been made by Trekky which are new effects for some of the new and older races that are in 3.0
Aftermath 3.0 not only ventures into sound for the first time but also into the graphics department too. Featuring a new dynamic lighting engine that gives off more defined light, the changes have resulted in more consistent shadows, more tonal depth to the lighting and more realistic shadows. Other changes to our graphics have resulted in higher detail in the ships and in the environments themselves.
Another groundbreaking effort for 3.0 is the first true enhancement of the Legacy performance engine. What does this mean?? Well through much streamlining of key areas of Legacy, we have officially been able to improve the performance of Legacy itself for all different users. The minimum requirements have been relaxed to allow the low end users more performance without the need to upgrade their computers. High end users have been reporting far smoother and solid gameplay. It is still early days in our performance development but reports from low end users are showing the most improvements with a framerate increase of 40-50%. Mid range users have recorded frame rate improvements averaging around 10fps. High end users have also been reporting frame rate improvements. All this has been achieved along with new graphics to put Aftermath into a league of its own.
As Aftermath has always pushed the boundries, we are also introducing new races into Aftermath. What these have to do with pushing the boundries is one of the races heads into new territory; the Terrans are becoming a seperate race. However, they arent just getting seperated from the Federation. The Terrans will have their own design lineage. This means there will be ships unique to the Terran race such as the Bangor class. Some Terran ships will still be of the Federation with extra's variety but this is the first time the Terrans are being treated as a seperate entity by giving them their own sense of individuality. Some ships already in Aftermath will make a shift over to the Terran race. For the time being, the Terrans are one of a few new races that will be in Aftermath 3.0.
New races also mean new ships. This will be our first release where we pay attention to adding ships into Aftermath. Most of our new ships are developed in-house by Max Loef, Fluxx, Firetroll and Skeeter but we also have ships coming in from the community. Some ships that are making their way into Aftermath are not just a first for us, but also their first venture into Legacy.
AI has always been a very big part of Aftermath and with 3.0 that is no different. Unlike other releases where we have made improvements to the AI, 3.0 sees the introduction of the EAI system (Emotive AI). No it dont mean our ships will throw on the water works when coming under fire, the EAI is the most in-depth AI system created for Legacy. Each race displays their own characteristics and their nature is shown more evidently through characterisations that the EAI emulates. This level of depth is something that has never been attempted before in Legacy and is our largest code undertaking we have attempted since our first physics overhaul.
The team has also expanded too. As mentioned above, Ermis Koukaris is one of our new team members. Newcommer to Legacy modding is Efigy, a new team member that will be assisting myself with promo and be trained in other areas of Legacy. Another new team member is Pheonix from UUM. Pheonix has become a permanent member on the Aftermath team and has already started contributions to the release with ships and more.
There is much more coming in Aftermath 3.0...
(http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/2955/gfxtest2230209.th.jpg) (http://img8.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gfxtest2230209.jpg) (http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/5364/inter1z.th.jpg) (http://img8.imageshack.us/my.php?image=inter1z.jpg) (http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/7696/shadowsbuilda.th.jpg) (http://img8.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shadowsbuilda.jpg) (http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/2930/shadowspretest4409visce.th.jpg) (http://img8.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shadowspretest4409visce.jpg) (http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/8095/gfxtest25209visceron2.th.jpg) (http://img107.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gfxtest25209visceron2.jpg) (http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/1927/gfxtest200209armidus4.th.jpg) (http://img107.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gfxtest200209armidus4.jpg) (http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/3800/buildbshot1.th.jpg) (http://img107.imageshack.us/my.php?image=buildbshot1.jpg) (http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/1448/neperabuildashot1.th.jpg) (http://img224.imageshack.us/my.php?image=neperabuildashot1.jpg) (http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/5289/shadowsbuildbreliant.th.jpg) (http://img224.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shadowsbuildbreliant.jpg)
*Please note that over the last few months, the Aftermath Legacy team no longer exists. Any team members that were still around were shifted to Affiliates. Some stuff contained in the promo above wont be in 3.0 due to certain conditions set forth by those particular modders.
Since the announcement piece, the graphics engine has been rebuilt 5 times...
I dont usually post anything regarding the Legacy version of Aftermath but will do every now and then, only when major news postings will be put forward (a major one coming in roughly week time). This is a small preview of what you will be seeing next year. Aftermath is heading into a much darker territory. This version of Aftermath though will only be for the Legacy version. The new logo also hides a secret that will be revealed next year
(http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/5669/af2010logofinal2.png)
And now a video from the release next year. This video shows off one of the prototype maps, Ar'suan which has experimental lighting and a few other special features. What is also present in the video is proof of something else that is possible... Reverse. The Legacy engine is capable of reverse and this is the first video showing its possibility. Aftermath has a thing called reverse momentum. The engine was changed to be able to take the future possibility of reverse.
Enjoy the video. More videos coming.