SMAX Scenario: Odyssey

[Buster's Uncle]

SMAX Scenario: Odyssey
by Darsnan, August 4, 2013

Directions 

1) In your Scenarios subdirectory create a folder called "Odyssey", and download and unzip the “Odyssey” files into it.

2) Start up SMAX, then select "Scenario", "Play Scenario", and then go to the subdirectory "Odyssey" and choose the scenario. The game will automatically load with the Peace Keepers.

 

 

Background 

Other than hosting a small scientific outpost, the Morgrath solar system has been an unassuming backwater in the human confederation of planets. But recently a nearby anomaly called the Vemushan Artifact, an immense ice crystal cloud of indeterminate origin, has inexplicably started moving towards the Morgrath solar system and its one inhabited planet, Crete. After analyzing the density of the Vemushan Artifact and calculating its trajectory, the resident University outpost anticipates the planet Crete will be bombarded by enough water condensate from the Artifact to completely engulf all landmasses on the planet.

At the behest of the University, the Peace Keepers have dispatched a spaceship to coordinate the evacuation of Crete.

 

 

 Premise 

Your parents, citizens of the city New Ithika on the planet Crete, decided to honor their ancestors by naming their offspring after the heroes of ancient Greece, and so it came to pass that you were given the name Odysseus. You had never given this unusual naming ritual a second thought until the events of the last few days had unfolded: because of your position in the planetary government you had been tasked with being the liaison between the Crete planetary government and the U.N. Relocation mission headed by the spaceship Argos. After boarding the Argos to coordinate the planetary evacuation effort, the spaceship was attacked by a nannite-based weapon, disabling the spaceship and forcing it to crash-land onto the far side of Crete. During the descent to the planet the escape pods were ejected, haphazardly crashlanding on a remote coast on the farside of the planet.

Now, after taking nominal command of the surviving forces, you turn from your battleship's helm and stare out across the sea to the distant horizon. Somewhere out there is your home, and your family, both in mortal danger from the coming apocalypse. But there is one small, desperate hope at rescue remaining: the con from the Argos is still broadcasting. If that element of the ship survived, then perhaps other pieces of the ship survived re-entry, as well. You must gather the surviving elements of the expedition, locate the Argos and determine if the Stasis Chamber and Booster Rocket can be salvaged from the wreckage. It is a longshot at rescue, but with the remnants of the Argos crew looking to you for rescue you must lead and undertake a journey of epic proportions across the surface of your planet to the one functional spaceport – a journey, which if you survive, will truly be an odyssey rivaling that of yor!

Overwhelmed by the moment you shout out to the sea "I am Odysseus, and I will see my homeland again!".

 

Your Communications officers have homed in on the location of the Argos con (it is in the lower left hand corner of the map). Now you must gather your forces and salvage whatever artifacts you can from the Argos wreckage.

 

 

 Rules 

The object of the game is to get the Stasis Chamber and Booster Rocket to the DRACa at the spaceport. As such here are the rules for the game:

1. If the spaceport is destroyed, you lose the game.

2. If the DRACa (Drop Re-entry Assault Carrier - armored) is destroyed, you lose the game (Warning: there are no facilities on this planet to repair the DRACa).

3. If your Faction is eliminated, you lose the game.

4. If the Stasis Chamber or Booster Rocket are destroyed, you lose the game.

5. You cannot break your Pact with the University in order to teleport your units home.

6. You cannot build a city on top of the spaceport to protect it.

 

Other than that, enjoy the game!

 

Acknowledgements:

I would like to thank wgabrie for providing the textures for the game - I have always loved his texture update!

 

If anyone would like to re-host this scenario at the other SMACX sites, please feel free to do so. I only ask that credit be given to myself, and wgabrie for the graphics.

 

D


Changelog

 

The following are some (but not all) of the changes to the alphax.txt file:

 

#RULES

 

- Max Artillery Range is now 4.

- Combat % -> intrinsic base defense now at 40%

- Combat in range of friendly sensor has been increased to 30%

 

#RESOURCEINFO

- Ocean squares yield 1/1/1.

- Monoliths give 2/3/2

- Boreholes induce -2 nutrients: simulates the horrendous working conditions the laborers have to endure down in the holes.

 

#CHASSIS

- Needlejet movement has been reduced to 6.

- Copter movement has been reduced to 4.

 

#WEAPONS

- most weapon values have been reduced by one.

 

#DEFENSES

- most armor values have been increased by one.

 

#UNITS

There are 44 units in the alphax.txt for this game. Because this is a themed scenario, I would recommend not viewing these beforehand.

 

#FACILITIES

To simulate a different environment than that of SMACX I've renamed some of the Centauri-specific facilities.

 

FACTIONS

There has been heavy modification to the factions involved in this game. One item is that all factions have been given the ability to capture native units.

https://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=379