Dekuuna: Elcor Extraction
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The elcor are among my favourite races in science fiction. I grew up on the science fiction tv shows of the 90's and 00's (Star Trek, Stargate SG-1, Firefly.) and the elcor were a revelation - they were so alien compared to the usual aliens with some prosthetics on their faces. While playing through successive games I got annoyed that they reduced races like elcor and hanar to memes. So, when I received the assignment for an evacuation on the elcor homeworld, you could say I was excited...
...and it turned out to be a bloody fetch quest!
Suffice to say, I was annoyed. Dekuuna: Elcor Extractions was one of the most disappointing moments I have ever had in my many, many years of gaming. When I eventually started modding the games, my goal was to remedy one of the big faults in the Mass Effect sequels - how they treated certain races.
First this led me to the Hanar Embassy for LE3 Diversification Project, and now it has led me to Dekuuna...
* * * * *
What was the original elcor plotline?
The sad truth is that the elcor were an afterthought. The alpha-beta scripts hold almost no text strings about the elcor, except for Allers comment about "making an elcor cry". When you think of the wealth of cut plots and dialogue found in those scripts, it makes it clear that they had no real intention of giving the elcor any content until the last minute. This means that the content we have ingame is the original elcor plotline.
When we look at the dialogue files, there is some evidence that we're missing a few lines, but nothing that appears to be substantial in any way. Nothing that helps us with our new mission.
* * * * *
Challenges & Concept
When deciding how to handle Dekuuna there are certain considerations that are required for it to make sense. These are art, story and gameplay:
- Art:- to present a high-gravity environment and a settlement that suits a quadruped species, but to do so with existing art assets and to replace an existing map with new terrain.
- Story:- the mission takes place during the last stages of the vanilla storyline when you're starting to fail. We know that the evacuation is only partially successful, so the story needs to present a loss without the player feeling like they failed.
- Gameplay:- this is my first new combat mission. Not only must it be competently handled, but it needs to feel like a desperate, unwinnable battle even when you continue to fight. It also needs to show something people have wanted for a long time - elcor soldiers.
I've said it before, but making a new map is very far from easy. I found this when I made the Hanar Embassy, and that was for a non-combat mission, and a combat mission is much harder by comparison. Balance is key otherwise it'll suck. Even if the gameplay is perfect, people will tire of it if there is no story to reel them in, and even if there is story they will struggle to get immersed without the proper art. Everything needs to come together into a greater whole that is the new mission. So, what is the concept?
"The Systems Alliance has deployed prefab defences to protect the city, but they have failed. Your task is to reboot the system and get the defence grid back up and running before an army of husks reaches the city. The evacuation will begin as soon as you land. As the mission progresses, the background terrain will reflect the efforts to evacuate the elcor and the growing intensity of the battle for Dekuuna."
By saying it is a Systems Alliance prefab, I can skirt around the need to rebuild every inch of the combat area. The mission itself is pretty simple in terms of gameplay mechanics, but it will become noteworthy because of terrain changes that happen as you defeat successive waves. The deeper you get into the N7 mission, the more desperate the evacuation will get and it will reflect the canon story events that it is a failed attempt.
* * * * *
Progress
This mission is going to take some time, but the important thing to know is that two of three combat waves are complete, the introduction cutscene is pretty much done while the middle and end cutscenes are being drafted. The background terrain is done and features new foliage meshes by Mellin, who has made Baobab trees. Additionally, the first terrain changes have been made to make the battle feel more desperate, with one terrain change left to set up. Below is an image of the second stage of the city:
Additionally, I have had a lot of success with setting up the elcor allies that will fight alongside you. It should be noted that they will not move around the map (except for cutscenes), instead they function like heavy weapon turrets that support you in battle. Though I am not ready to show a full video detailing how they function, I can reveal a screenshot of them in battle:
When it comes to the story, I am still writing the dialogue for the elcor squad and for the cutscenes. I hope to have these written by mid May, and this should allow us to begin working on cutscenes around then.
My core focus now is getting the final combat wave to feel exciting and tense, without being too difficult. It will not only be a tough fight, but it'll introduce the Reaper Tyrant in the mission it was always intended to be in. Additionally, I want to complete all terrain changes for this final wave so that all remaining work on the mission will be cutscene based.
* * * * *
If anyone has any questions, then feel free to ask. I'm happy to answer anything :)
* * * * *
The elcor are among my favourite races in science fiction. I grew up on the science fiction tv shows of the 90's and 00's (Star Trek, Stargate SG-1, Firefly.) and the elcor were a revelation - they were so alien compared to the usual aliens with some prosthetics on their faces. While playing through successive games I got annoyed that they reduced races like elcor and hanar to memes. So, when I received the assignment for an evacuation on the elcor homeworld, you could say I was excited...
...and it turned out to be a bloody fetch quest!
Suffice to say, I was annoyed. Dekuuna: Elcor Extractions was one of the most disappointing moments I have ever had in my many, many years of gaming. When I eventually started modding the games, my goal was to remedy one of the big faults in the Mass Effect sequels - how they treated certain races.
First this led me to the Hanar Embassy for LE3 Diversification Project, and now it has led me to Dekuuna...
* * * * *
What was the original elcor plotline?
The sad truth is that the elcor were an afterthought. The alpha-beta scripts hold almost no text strings about the elcor, except for Allers comment about "making an elcor cry". When you think of the wealth of cut plots and dialogue found in those scripts, it makes it clear that they had no real intention of giving the elcor any content until the last minute. This means that the content we have ingame is the original elcor plotline.
When we look at the dialogue files, there is some evidence that we're missing a few lines, but nothing that appears to be substantial in any way. Nothing that helps us with our new mission.
* * * * *
Challenges & Concept
When deciding how to handle Dekuuna there are certain considerations that are required for it to make sense. These are art, story and gameplay:
- Art:- to present a high-gravity environment and a settlement that suits a quadruped species, but to do so with existing art assets and to replace an existing map with new terrain.
- Story:- the mission takes place during the last stages of the vanilla storyline when you're starting to fail. We know that the evacuation is only partially successful, so the story needs to present a loss without the player feeling like they failed.
- Gameplay:- this is my first new combat mission. Not only must it be competently handled, but it needs to feel like a desperate, unwinnable battle even when you continue to fight. It also needs to show something people have wanted for a long time - elcor soldiers.
I've said it before, but making a new map is very far from easy. I found this when I made the Hanar Embassy, and that was for a non-combat mission, and a combat mission is much harder by comparison. Balance is key otherwise it'll suck. Even if the gameplay is perfect, people will tire of it if there is no story to reel them in, and even if there is story they will struggle to get immersed without the proper art. Everything needs to come together into a greater whole that is the new mission. So, what is the concept?
"The Systems Alliance has deployed prefab defences to protect the city, but they have failed. Your task is to reboot the system and get the defence grid back up and running before an army of husks reaches the city. The evacuation will begin as soon as you land. As the mission progresses, the background terrain will reflect the efforts to evacuate the elcor and the growing intensity of the battle for Dekuuna."
By saying it is a Systems Alliance prefab, I can skirt around the need to rebuild every inch of the combat area. The mission itself is pretty simple in terms of gameplay mechanics, but it will become noteworthy because of terrain changes that happen as you defeat successive waves. The deeper you get into the N7 mission, the more desperate the evacuation will get and it will reflect the canon story events that it is a failed attempt.
* * * * *
Progress
This mission is going to take some time, but the important thing to know is that two of three combat waves are complete, the introduction cutscene is pretty much done while the middle and end cutscenes are being drafted. The background terrain is done and features new foliage meshes by Mellin, who has made Baobab trees. Additionally, the first terrain changes have been made to make the battle feel more desperate, with one terrain change left to set up. Below is an image of the second stage of the city:
Spoiler: 
Show
Additionally, I have had a lot of success with setting up the elcor allies that will fight alongside you. It should be noted that they will not move around the map (except for cutscenes), instead they function like heavy weapon turrets that support you in battle. Though I am not ready to show a full video detailing how they function, I can reveal a screenshot of them in battle:
Spoiler: 
Show
When it comes to the story, I am still writing the dialogue for the elcor squad and for the cutscenes. I hope to have these written by mid May, and this should allow us to begin working on cutscenes around then.
My core focus now is getting the final combat wave to feel exciting and tense, without being too difficult. It will not only be a tough fight, but it'll introduce the Reaper Tyrant in the mission it was always intended to be in. Additionally, I want to complete all terrain changes for this final wave so that all remaining work on the mission will be cutscene based.
* * * * *
If anyone has any questions, then feel free to ask. I'm happy to answer anything :)
11 comments
The big issue would still be balancing and spacing as there would now be 6 (Phantom Company + Shepard's Squad) instead of 3 (Shepard's Squad) members of the Normandy Crew participating in the evacuation mission with the Elcors.
I do not doubt that balancing so many soldiers fighting against the waves of reaper forces would be difficult. Still, I strongly believe it would add an extra layer of intensity and dread to the plot, and would hammer in exactly what you want to convey. "Despite the efforts of Commander Shepard and the System Alliance, the evacuation of Dekuuna was a failed attempt, not enough Elcors were saved."