some one has used a  creature that can control gravity and redirecs asteroids  in the starwars books the black hole thing ismuch cooler

The Yuuzhan Vong dovin basals can pull down moons on top of planets. But since we don't have moons in SoaSE, no worries.

ShadowMastiff:

There are plenty of XSI tutorials available through Google, too many to list here. Also, you can check out the built-in help file, which often contains useful information and even step-by-step instructions. If you want really high quality (and I daresay as high quality as you can get without actually attending CGI classes) video tutorials, check out Digital Tutors. Unfortunately, they tend to be on the expensive side so are only useful if you're serious about improving your handling of various tools (going pro, as they say) - however, they also have a forum which contains a lot of useful tips and tricks and also link to other information resources.

As for suggestions, go ahead, I always consider them.

Fireships is something that I have actually planned, but not for Xin - Clans Remnant, in Episode II, should find a lot of use for decrepit, cheap scaffolding fitted with tanks full of explosives and a pair of giant engines. Repair ability (along with a few extra defensive roles) is something I plan to include as a special ability for one of the as yet veiled cruiser types for the Xin.  Though, as everything Xin, it will come with a twist.

No.1 suggestion (if it can be modded in), I feel, fits again more with the Remnant, with their lightning fast fleets bent on outmaneuvering the enemy, where Xin are a defensive race and stealth and backstabbing don't really fit with that. They are more "go in there and steamroll over everything" strategists.

what about.... a death star... type weapon.  for example, what faction would be most like the empire in sw.  whichever one give them superpowerful superweapon capable of destroying planets from across a star system, but it can onldy destroy it if it is in its gravity well.  as well, it is a space station so it has a large fleet that will follow it aruond and land in it when it phase jumps.  it can also shoot its laser at frigs and cruisers and destroy them but if it hits a cap it will only do damage, due to it having to take aim at the target rather than to just blast away.  and only one can be made, mua hahahahaaaaaa... ever.  so if it is destroyed, none can be made again the rest of the game.

Interesting.....what other valuable ideas do you guys have to offer?

Seeing as the Xin race seems to be complete...time to generate ideas for the next faction!!! The Nephil

1)Now that would be an interesting idea...I had the idea of a salvage ship that would recuperate a certian percentage of ressources out of a destroyed ship, friend or foe, (you know why let all those pretty space debries go to waste when you can put them back together and form a new ship (the idea behind the salvage ship...capable of, with the resoources he gathers to create, a makeshift ship (which can be from weaker to stronger depending on the amount of ressources you carry))).

2)Or how about a ship that would shoot a high frequency beam inside space, creating a vortex which would over time grant vessels (a little like returning armada but more manageable)...!

3)And also, the prototype Turtle Ship, which would have the 'irresistible target' special ability, meaning every enemy in the gravity well would automatically attack him and only him until destroyed. Thus you could send him ahead and thanks to his INCREDIBLE shields (which would have a fast recharge time) would take the bulk of the initial assaults while the other ships destroy as much as they can free of harm...

Anyhow, just a bit more ideas...hum..cant give too many ideas away..gotta keep some for my Nephils LOOOL

Indeed they do, since they are semi-organic, and they do it better than Vasari ships self-repair, although you would need tech upgrades to reach full potential. That's why I said the repair ability would come with a "twist".

The turtle ship sounds like a good idea for Episode III and the Hegemony, actually. I am looking to make the three factions as diverse as possible, so am toying with the idea to make the Hegemony a faction for master strategists and those who like to milk their fleets for all they are worth with micromanagement, where every ship class would have a distinct and clearly defined role, relatively vulnerable on their own, but deadly when used in properly combined fleets and with someone who is not afraid to get down and dirty their hands with some furious commanding.

Gamerking, what about a ship which can generate a black hole powerful enough to produce gravitational tidal waves which can snap the backbones of battleships? I think that's way cooler than Lucas' "giant lazerball" idea.

The titans will have a large fleet following them - if you build one, that is. As is, they will, in addition to their main superweapon, also be equipped with some anti-ship weaponry of large caliber for regular spearheading duty, but will cost so much that you really would be better off building several battleships, you'd get more conventional firepower. Titans are meant for one thing only - to go in and crack tough defenses. This will *especially* be felt if you get the new Entrenchment mini-expansion, which promises to add powerful defensive starbases and minefields to vanilla races.

Of course, the Xin starbase (both variants) will look cooler and kick more donkey ass.

Damn forgot to ask...is their no way to alter the game mechanics in the way that ships would continue moving when they engage instead of stopping and just shooting at each other??? (I know it helps to coordinate fleets during the battle...but from a cinematical point of view...it would be soooo much sweeter!)

Seeing ManShOOter works alone...the're is no timeframe but he is expecting to finish for Christmas time (Episode I only)!

As for version..I suspect it will work on all the most up-to-date software!

wtf happened with that?? ahh well. i love the idea

Hehe.

Xin > Yuuzhan Vong.

The Xin would be pissed off at the Vong's feeble imitation of true starships, and decide to kill the Vong for giving organic starships a bad name.

Edit doesn't work... anyway, keep in mind that the anti-fighter drone is actually my first ever texture and normal map made in ZBrush, so the fugly blue dots around the collar will go. Must go. Ugh.

sorry for the double post but my edit button isnt working and i have to correct somethings jut=just, bot=both, and by carrier i mean strikecraft.

Initial concept of the Clans Remnant, due to appear in Episode II, has them as a highly mobile race. As such I am considering the possibility to downplay planet roles to the minimum for the Remnant, instead focusing on mobility, even with production units.

The trouble is that you cannot have more than three abilities per unit, or so I remember. So one way around this would be to have a sort of "tiered" construction process. You would have a Fleet Mobile Yard, which would produce a, say, Master Skirmisher Platform (I'm making the names up as I go), Forward Fleet Support and Giant Huge Scaffolding, which would in turn produce frigates, cruisers and capital ships, some of which could produce lowest-tier ships like scouts or such.

So in theory this could be doable, a completely mobile race. I doubt that you could actually drop the planets entirely though, as you need them for resources. But you could certainly minimize their importance for that particular faction. The Xin, however, are a territorial race - they like to grab a planet and then dig in. Where the Remnant can just pack up and leave and be back five minutes later, the Xin are expensive to set up but are then really hard to drive off too.