Descendence is a port of several weapons and powerups, as well as the Pyro-GX from Descent and Descent II, into the Transcendence game universe.
A readme.txt file is enclosed with the mod, but I will use this post to list down several of the delightful things that this mod adds to the game. If you're not too interested in the details, here's a convenient link to the mod on Xelerus.de.
Primary Weapons
Here are some of the primary weapons that this mod adds:
Level 4 Laser
Damage: Laser 1d6+20 / Mining Level 6
A pretty standard weapon, just like how the Laser was back in Descent. It does double up as a mining gun, though.
Level 6 Super Laser
Damage: Laser 10d8+40 / Mining Level 7 / WMD Level 4
That's right. At level 6, super lasers are strong enough to deal considerable damage to stations that are not immune to laser damage. Laser resistance is not enough against this weapon.
Vulcan Cannon
Damage: Kinetic 1d6
This is a decent weapon against many vessels in the early game, and because of its high rate of fire, it is still somewhat effective even against Steel Slavers in the systems inhabited by the Sung. You do need to have good aim, though, as well as a huge supply of ammunition.
Vauss Cannon
Damage: Blast 3d4 / Momentum Level 4 / WMD Level 1
This weapon does useful blast damage in addition to knocking targets silly on occasion.
Gauss Gun
Damage: Kinetic 5d6 / Momentum Level 1 / WMD Level 2 / Mining Level 7
A mining gun in every respect. Good for mining, great for smacking up anything that does not heavily resist kinetic damage.
Mass Driver
Damage: Nano 2d6+30 / Momentum Level 4 / WMD Level 4 / Device Damage Level 4 / Mining Level 7
The Mass Driver may have mining capabilities, but as the only weapon in its level range that does nano damage, you will most definitely want to use it only against the most dangerous targets as ammo is very scarce.
Spreadfire Cannon
Damage: Particle 3d4
A very standard particle spread weapon, unlike the next weapon below...
Helix Cannon
Damage: Particle 5d6+30
So legendary, it can make your fuel supply history. If you can get past its ridiculous power consumption, however, you're looking at a truly fantastic weapon that can do serious damage even to stations.
Napalm Cannon
Damage: Thermo 1d6+2 / Mining Level 4
180 particles per shot
How do you like the smell of toasted armour segments in the morning? It can even burn through Iocrym shields in seconds, although it is predictably less effective on Iocrym armour. It also consumes a lot of fuel, but thankfully, the fuel it uses is very light. A single and dual version is also available.
Microwave Cannon
Damage: Thermo 1d8 / Shatter Level 1
The Microwave Cannon shown above is the Black Pyro version from Descent 3: Mercenary. Dual and quad alternating as well as slower-firing triple-linked versions of this weapon are available. The most notable trait about all Microwave Cannons is their ability to completely destroy unshielded ships weighing less than 50 tons. This is something worth thinking about since most swarm vessels fall right into this weapon's shatter range.
Plasma Cannon
Damage: Plasma 1d6+20
This wouldn't be a true Descent mod without the presence of the Plasma Cannon. Shown here is the Plasma Cannon from Descent 3, which does more consistent damage per shot. The classic Plasma Cannon, which is also included in this mod, has a greater damage range, while the Black Pyro Plasma Cannon from Descent 3: Mercenary has the same damage rate as this one, but is linked to a capacitor that allows it to fire in bursts, making it more dangerous when used correctly.
Phoenix Cannon
Damage: Plasma 8d6 / Fragment Plasma 8d6 / Fragment Plasma 8d6
This is one of the more interesting weapons in this mod. At first glance, it just looks like a more powerful Plasma Cannon, but it's a bit more than that. When you fire a shot from this weapon, the shot will "bounce" off whatever it hits or when it expires, so it can go anywhere. In close quarters, you could kill yourself with this weapon if you're unlucky. This is why the Phoenix is occasionally called the bouncing cannon.
Fusion Cannon
Damage: Antimatter 6d6 / WMD Level 7
100% Passthrough chance
Oh yeah, yet another stalwart from the Descent series. The Fusion Cannon still does its job of going through every object it touches, excluding station wrecks and rocks. A triple version of this weapon is included, which uses the Descent 3 weapon image, but apart from an extra shot and increased power use, it has the same damage rate.
EMD Gun
Damage: Nano 4d6 / Device Damage Level 4 / Stealth Level 10
The EMD Gun was not a very practical weapon in Descent 3, so I decided to rectify that in Descendence. In addition to nano damage, each projectile has Level 10 Stealth, meaning that they are unlikely to be detected by missile intercept devices. It does drain a lot of energy, though.
Omega Cannon
Damage: Generic 1d32
If you have or can buy a reactor that can support this weapon, good for you. No shield or armour can resist the bolts that the Omega Cannon fires. Good against ships, somewhat mediocre against stations, this is the one weapon that you will want if you can find and have the resources to buy it.
Ships
Central to this mod are the two ships I included. Both of them are the Pyro-GX, but while the first one is meant to be a starting ship, the second one is a "wildcard" ship.
- - ISI C-91GX: The Israeli-manufactured C-91GX was originally designed as an unarmed geological surveyor. Subsequent revisions to the model turned it into a versatile medium fighter with an extraordinary storage capacity.
- ISI C-92GX "Pyro-GX": Modified from its original configuration by an inidividual going by the alias "MetalBeast", this heavy fighter contains unknown ordnance as well as an extremely secure cargo hold.
Both ships come with a special launcher that fires all the secondary weapons listed below, as well as the most basic NAMI, Strelka and MAG ammunition. This launcher cannot be purchased; it is only included when you start off a game with either ship included in this mod. In addition, both ships have one segment of Damascus armour, which is unique to both ships and cannot be bought or ordered.
Secondary Weapons
As mentioned above, both of the ships included with this mod come with a special launcher. This launcher is compatible with the NAMI KM100 and KM500, White Strelka and 400 Hexagene MAG, but it was primarily designed to fire its own variety of ordnance, listed below.
Concussion Missile
Damage: Blast 10d4 / Momentum Level 2 / WMD Level 3
The Concussion does more damage than a KM100, but less damage than a KM120, and has a weaker knock-around and station-damage effect, although it travels faster.
Flash Missile
400 radius fading blast
Damage: Generic 1d6+4 / Blinding Level 7 / EMP Level 7 / Device Disrupt Level 7 / Inner Shockwave [Damage: Generic 1d4 / Blinding Level 3 / EMP Level 3 / Device Disrupt Level 3 / 100% Passthrough] / Outer Shockwave [Damage: Generic 1d4 / Blinding Level 3 / EMP Level 1 / Device Disrupt Level 3 / 100% Passthrough]
The Flash missile cannot destroy any ship because of the EMP attribute, but its area of effect is huge. If you hit a Phobos Deadnaught with this missile when you get past its Kaidun shield, there is a high chance that it will be completely helpless for just long enough for you to destroy or severely damage it.
Homing Missile
Damage: Blast 5d10 / Momentum Level 2
The Homing missile is essentially a slightly weaker, slightly faster KM550 and should be used as such.
Frag Missile
Damage: Blast 5d6 / WMD Level 2 / 20 x Fragment [Damage: Blast 2d6+10 / WMD2 / 1d4 x Fragment {Damage: Blast 2d6+10 / WMD2}]
Just like its Descent 3 origin, the Frag Missile is a hit-or-miss weapon that spews a cluster of damaging shrapnel upon detonation. These shrapnels bounce once. While it can sometimes do almost nothing against what it hits, it does fantastic damage if everything hits.
Impact Mortar
Damage: Blast 150 / WMD Level 5 / Mining Level 5 / Shockwave [Damage: Blast 4d4 / Momentum Level 7 / Mining Level 4 / 100% Passthrough]
270 radius fading blast
Unlike the original Impact Mortar, which could bounce off walls, the Impact Mortar here flies straight and explodes upon expiry or first contact. It is no less damaging, though, and the shockwave can still kill you if you are lightly defended.
Napalm Rocket
Damage: Thermo 20 / Mining Level 2 / 1d4+10 x Fragment [Damage: Thermo 10 / 100% Passthrough / Fragment {Damage: Thermo 10 / 100% Passthrough}]
While writing the line above, it dawned on me that I could have used the Pteravores as a base for this weapon. I didn't, so what you get is a missile that does considerable thermo damage on impact and spews a cluster of small flaming blobs that damage anything that flies through them. I may change the Napalm Rocket some day and look at the Pteravore code in Heretic.xml for inspiration, but don't expect anything soon.
(NO IMAGE)
Mercury Missile
Damage: Thermo 9d6 / Momentum Level 2 / 5% Passthrough
The Mercury Missile is a bit like the Gotha-10, but it flies faster, hits ships harder, and can pierce through targets on very rare occasions.
Cyclone Missile
Damage: Blast 10 / Shockwave [Damage: Blast 1d6] / 6 x Fragment [Damage: Positron 1d6+15]
When the parent missile of the Cyclone expires, it spews 6 smaller missiles that will track the nearest target. The explosion also causes a tiny shockwave that will damage any ship in its range.
Smart Missile
Damage: Plasma 5d6+30 / Fragment [Damage: Plasma 7d6+50 / WMD Level 4 / Mining Level 2]
The Smart missile has no failsafe value, unlike most vanilla missiles with the Fragment attribute. This means that the parent missile must hit the target or expire before it spews the plasma blobs. The plasma blobs have a relatively long lifespan, so if the missile misses the target and expires, the blobs will still find their way back to the target.
Proximity Mine
Damage: Thermo 3d4+20 / Shockwave [Damage: Thermo 2d4 / Mining Level 4 / 100% Passthrough]
This mine creates a rather large shockwave when it detonates. It is best used in numbers.
Smart Mine
Damage: Plasma 3d4+20 / Shockwave [Damage: Plasma 2d4-2 / Mining Level 4] / 5 x Fragment [Damage: Plasma 1d6+20 / WMD Level 4 / Mining Level 6]
Functions in the same way as the Proximity Mine and Smart Missile combined. By the way, the description is wrong: it's a mine, not a missile.
Mega Missile
Damage: Antimatter 400 / Momentum Level 7 / WMD Level 7 / Mining Level 7 / Shockwave [Damage: Antimatter 3d6+10 / Momentum Level 2 / WMD Level 6 / Mining Level 6]
Hoo boy. The Mega missile was meant to be well within overkill levels, and against almost everything, it is. If the target somehow survives 400 antimatter damage, the resulting shockwave will ensure that it does not. Entire flight wings can be destroyed with just one hit from this thing. No Ares Commune or Sung Citadel is safe. Even the Iocrym will find its rather profound statement to be quite difficult to ignore repeatedly. The drawback? It's huge, it's heavy, it's expensive, and it's rare. You can definitely find it, but can you buy and carry it?
Earthshaker Missile
Damage: Graviton 220 / Momentum Level 7 / WMD Level 7 / Mining Level 7 / Shockwave [Damage: Antimatter 4d6 / Momentum Level 4 / WMD Level 4 / Mining Level 4] / 6 x Fragment [Damage: Graviton 22d10 / Momentum Level 7 / WMD Level 7 / Mining Level 7 / Shockwave {Damage: Antimatter 4d6 / Momentum Level 4 / WMD Level 4 / Mining Level 4}]
It's back. The most fearsome and most dangerous secondary weapon from Descent II makes a comeback in all its glory. Unlike the marginally lighter Mega Missile, which does more single-hit damage, the Earthshaker Missile is many times more dangerous because of its overall damage output and faster flight speed. There is very little else in Human Space that can match it both in power and price.
Devices and Usable Items
This mod also adds a modest variety of the miscellaneous powerups from Descent.
1.00 Flux, ACM Grade Magneto-Repulsory Wave Device
There are eight different fluxes and four different grades of this shield type available. In true Descent fashion, they do not recharge and can only be boosted via a Shield Orb or Energy-to-Shields Converter.
FP-400 Reactor
Rating: 52% Efficiency / 200000 Fuel Capacity / Level 1-8 Fuel Compatibility
I needed a good excuse to give the Pyro-GX a special reactor to start off with. This is one of the two reactors that were created as a result. The FP-400 has an efficiency like no other stock reactor and can use almost any fuel source available, but it balances these out with a ridiculously low fuel capacity. You will definitely want to be careful if your ship is running off one of these in Pteravore territory, because they can easily exhaust all your fuel in one shot if you get swarmed.
Energy-to-Shields Converter
Usable Device: Drains 4000 fuel to recharge 1 to 4 shield hitpoints
This little device does exactly what it says, transferring a small portion of your fuel supply into shield hitpoints. It works for any shield and uses no energy when you are not using it, so feel free to leave it enabled for as long as you want. The converter will only work if your fuel supply is over a certain level; ask Vegeta for more details.
(NO IMAGE)
Afterburner Cooler
Propulsion Upgrade
The middleman between the Tritium Propulsion Upgrade and the Titan 440 Fusion Drive.
Shield Orb
Usable Item: Recharges 3 to 27 shield hitpoints
This is a one-time-use item that recharges shields. Beyond the Energy-to-Shields Converter, this is the only way for you to recharge a Magneto-Repulsory Wave Device. It can be used on other shields to give a small boost; Superconducting Shield Generators will get a slightly higher recharge, though.
Energy Unit
Fuel / Usable Item: Recharges 6000 fuel
This is a one-time-use item that recharges ship reactors. Although technically a Level III fuel source, it can theoretically recharge reactors that are normally incompatible with such a fuel level if you use it directly from the Usables menu. This retains its usefulness even as you approach the edge of Human Space.
Credits and Thanks
I got my sources and help from many places. It is a necessity that I mention all of them.
Credits given to:
- Justin Krenz: ISI C-91GX model
- MetalBeast: ISI C-92GX model and Pyro-GX missile system, HS-180, Descent II primary weapons, Proximity Mine, Smart Mine, FP-230, FP-400, energy-to-shields converter and Vulcan/Gauss rounds dock screen images
- Dizzyrox: Descent II missile dock screen images
- Koolbear.com: Shield orb dock screen image
- Parallax Entertainment/Aenn Seidhe Priest: Spreadfire/Helix projectile sprite and Descent II sound effects
- Outrage Entertainment: Descent 3 weapon and missile dock screen images and sound effects
Psionic3d.co.uk: Napalm Tank dock screen image.
- Ttech: "Encouraging" me to finish Descendence
- Avan/Azar Wolf/Wolfy: Uploading the game's XML resources onto Xelerus, which is a useful reference feature as I cannot use TransData
- Amariithynar, Atarlost, Jeoshua, RPC and Star Weaver: For providing useful feedback and lots of assistance
- Amariithynar: Balancing the shockwave damage of the Mega missile
- Atarlost: Advice on shockwave damage rates
- Jeoshua: Helping me with the creation of the energy-to-shields converter and teaching me how to check for errors using the console
- RPC: Help with adding hull damage sound event
- Star Weaver: Help with adding global events and explaining ticks and game seconds
- Darth Saber: Uploading a Roadside Assistance station with his Wolfen Mark III mod onto Xelerus.de, which I used heavily for weapons testing during early development of this mod
- digdug: Encouraging me to upload Descendence onto Xelerus.de
- Periculi: Creating a very comprehensive weapons tutorial and reference thread on the Transcendence forum
- PM: Assistance with nerfing the initially-overpowered Mega and Earthshaker missiles as well as uploading Godmode onto Xelerus.de, which I replaced Darth Saber's and Prophet's mods with for the same purposes as I used those two mods.
- Prophet: Uploading a Godmod Ship and its respective equipment onto Xelerus.de, the latter of which I use in tandem with the Wolfen Mark III created by Darth Saber during the early development of this mod for weapons testing
- TheLastBrunnenG: For uploading his own Descent mod on Xelerus.de, which compelled me to finish working on this hound
Initial release: August 2010
Mod finished: 3 September 2012
Time taken: > 2 years and 1 month
Download page at Xelerus.de
