Try The Original Secret Ops Mod: Unknown Enemy (September 29, 2005)

ChrisReid · 09-28-2005, 17:00

Although there's been a ton of attention on Standoff for the last couple years, it wasn't the first complete fan made addon for Secret Ops. Some of the same people released Unknown Enemy in 2002. UE doesn't have all the video cutscenes and impressive graphical improvements that Standoff features, but the game did pioneer much of the underlying modding techniques. The game takes place during the Prophecy timeframe in the Border Worlds. Many familiar ships play central roles as the crew of the BWS Dauntless finds itself in the midst of the Nephilim invasion. Cockpit voiceovers augment over one hundred pages of in-game fiction to detail the story. Their FAQ details a bit more of the foundation and potential issues some players may face. Once you grab the Secret Ops starter pack, you can download the 74 megabyte Unknown Enemy pack here. Check out their download area for an additional patch and a number of neat bonuses for the game. And finally for all the programmers out there, the UE source code is also available.

Quote:

The Border Worlds Defense Ministry has long believed that there's no need for strike carriers - like the Bengal-class BWS Dauntless - in the Militia. Instead of joining the rest of the fleet, the Dauntless is heading for the scrapyard. Most of its fighter squadrons have already been transferred off to other ships. Even now, the Dauntless awaits a rendezvous in Kurasawa System with the BWS Intrepid to transfer the Dauntless' last squadron of Scimitars. Lt. Colonel Johann Daniels, in command of that squadron, knows that his pilots will soon see action against the Nephilim invaders. He only wishes that when the time comes, his squadron could still be operating off the Dauntless, not off some decrepit escort carrier.

But sometimes, it's better if wishes don't come true...

--
Original update published on September 29, 2005

2fb · 09-29-2005, 15:22

I don't remember seen this image in UE

Eder · 09-29-2005, 15:46

I think it was supposed to be the Dauntless's room, but got re-worked at some point and turned into the room we all know. I still like this version better, though.

Quarto · 09-29-2005, 17:19

Hehe, that just reminds me how out-dated the screenshots page on the UE website is (this image isn't from the website... but this one is).

The problem with this room was that it wasn't implemented correctly, so when it was animated in-game, it looked very bad. Unfortunately, by the time we realised this problem existed (remember, this room was made for the original UE, and then waited for several months while UE was on life support), it turned out Hadrian lost the files at some point. So, rather than fixing the room, he ended up making a new room for us.

(one neato thing about this room was that it had been rendered in two versions - this one, and a red-lit one for scramble missions; for some reason, however it didn't occur to us to have this done for the new room as well)

2fb · 09-30-2005, 07:18

that room looks better, to bad it was lost.

@Quarto, ~~~ at the happy face of your image, anyway I think UE is THE MOD, is the first one and no one can't take that out,

i wonder if there will be a UE2

FleeBalls · 09-30-2005, 11:45

Aside from the Dauntless room being changed from the one pictured in these screenshots, I also noticed that the screenshot with the picture of a scimitar cockpit show the ship equipped with a "dust cannon"? Is that an old screenshot as well? Was the dust cannon the precursor to the viper canno? What's up with that, cuz I'd really like to know where the dust cannon can be used.

FleeBalls · 09-30-2005, 11:48

I also have heard people talk about the Tiger's Claw cockpit easter egg, which I found all by myself the first time I played through the game. It was not hard to find, but there is something that has been posted that I'm curious about. Someone said that if you play the simulator in the Tiger's Claw bar and you play the first sim mission, the miner drones are replaced with those experimental rapiers that don't show up anywhere in the game other than the technical display monitor. I've tried to do this over and over, but the miner drones always show up. What am I doing wrong? I'd like to see those fighter's in action!

Quarto · 09-30-2005, 13:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by FleeBalls

Aside from the Dauntless room being changed from the one pictured in these screenshots, I also noticed that the screenshot with the picture of a scimitar cockpit show the ship equipped with a "dust cannon"? Is that an old screenshot as well? Was the dust cannon the precursor to the viper canno? What's up with that, cuz I'd really like to know where the dust cannon can be used.

Well, at some point between when that shot was taken and the final version of UE, we learned how to edit guns. So, we changed the dust cannon into the viper cannon, in order to avoid the inevitable (and perfectly justified, of course) question of what the Border Worlders were doing with a gun that hadn't been placed in the Confed arsenal yet. We actually did originally have a stupid backstory about how Confed would sometimes send equipment to the Border Worlds for testing, but it was... well, stupid, because why would Confed do that?

(of course, the viper cannon solution is only a little bit less stupid - even assuming the Border Worlds were capable of developing such a weapon, who in their right mind would place high-tech experimental weaponry on Scimitars? Yes sir, if I was making UE today, I'd do a few things differently

)

Quote:

Someone said that if you play the simulator in the Tiger's Claw bar and you play the first sim mission, the miner drones are replaced with those experimental rapiers that don't show up anywhere in the game other than the technical display monitor. I've tried to do this over and over, but the miner drones always show up. What am I doing wrong? I'd like to see those fighter's in action!

To unlock the Rapiers, you have to fly the first mission (not the first sim mission). At the navpoint where you fight the smuggler, there's a crate of brilliance floating about. Kill it, and that will unlock the Rapiers in the sim mission.

Chevieblazer · 10-01-2005, 05:37

i have a problem with the vids. they play at an ridiculous speed. is there anything i can do about this?

Quarto · 10-01-2005, 14:02

You may be able to, by switching off sound hardware acceleration (run dxdiag, go to the sound page). In Standoff, we had an additional DLL patch to solve that issue, but in UE this is the only way, so if it doesn't work, I'm afraid there's nothing you can do.

cff · 10-02-2005, 01:46

How hard would it be to replace the UE DLL with a modified (Standoff?) one?

PopsiclePete · 10-02-2005, 06:12

Very easy to do. I thought we'd add it to UE's DLL for a future "final" release.

Quarto · 10-02-2005, 08:17

Yeah, which we've been planning to do... for quite a while now

.

Pedro · 10-02-2005, 11:38

Ahh come on now Q, you know come 2055 you'll come back to the UE code to tweak the mission balancing (oh how much would I like to go back to the K'ha'ha'haf (sp?) mission)

PopsiclePete · 10-02-2005, 13:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedro

Ahh come on now Q, you know come 2055 you'll come back to the UE code to tweak the mission balancing (oh how much would I like to go back to the K'ha'ha'haf (sp?) mission)

Why ? What's wrong with the K'ha'haf mission ? Carefull with what you say !

Mace · 10-02-2005, 14:56

As running prophecy under win2k remains hell, I'll try my hand at running the mod under my new athlon64 X2 system coming in this week.

any comments/experiences at running these games/mods under XP64?

Pedro · 10-03-2005, 02:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by PopsiclePete

Why ? What's wrong with the K'ha'haf mission ? Carefull with what you say !

Don't worry pete, nothing you did, its a conceptual issue, i.e. that the devil ray wouldn't blast an asteroid banging into its shields out of the sky

You had to get close enough that the pilot would see you in the cockpit IIRC.

Edfilho · 10-05-2005, 11:11

I liked it, but I was a bit frustrated by how quickly the Scimitars and Epees died...

09-29-2005, 15:46	#3
Eder Mr. Standoff Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil Posts: 3,243	I think it was supposed to be the Dauntless's room, but got re-worked at some point and turned into the room we all know. I still like this version better, though. __________________ Hi, I'm Ed. You may remember me from such great fan projects as 'Standoff' and 'Unknown Enemy'...

09-30-2005, 11:45	#6
FleeBalls Cadet Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Rockford ILL Posts: 52	dust cannon? Aside from the Dauntless room being changed from the one pictured in these screenshots, I also noticed that the screenshot with the picture of a scimitar cockpit show the ship equipped with a "dust cannon"? Is that an old screenshot as well? Was the dust cannon the precursor to the viper canno? What's up with that, cuz I'd really like to know where the dust cannon can be used.

09-30-2005, 11:48	#7
FleeBalls Cadet Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Rockford ILL Posts: 52	easter egg I also have heard people talk about the Tiger's Claw cockpit easter egg, which I found all by myself the first time I played through the game. It was not hard to find, but there is something that has been posted that I'm curious about. Someone said that if you play the simulator in the Tiger's Claw bar and you play the first sim mission, the miner drones are replaced with those experimental rapiers that don't show up anywhere in the game other than the technical display monitor. I've tried to do this over and over, but the miner drones always show up. What am I doing wrong? I'd like to see those fighter's in action!

10-02-2005, 06:12	#12
PopsiclePete Mission programmer Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Amos, Québec Posts: 845	Very easy to do. I thought we'd add it to UE's DLL for a future "final" release. __________________ PopsiclePete's WC Page : http://popsiclepete.solsector.net E-mail : PopsiclePete [at] hotmail.com

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09-29-2005, 15:22	#2
2fb Cadet Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 64	I don't remember seen this image in UE

09-29-2005, 17:19	#4
Quarto Unknown Enemy Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Poland Posts: 9,915	Hehe, that just reminds me how out-dated the screenshots page on the UE website is (this image isn't from the website... but this one is). The problem with this room was that it wasn't implemented correctly, so when it was animated in-game, it looked very bad. Unfortunately, by the time we realised this problem existed (remember, this room was made for the original UE, and then waited for several months while UE was on life support), it turned out Hadrian lost the files at some point. So, rather than fixing the room, he ended up making a new room for us. (one neato thing about this room was that it had been rendered in two versions - this one, and a red-lit one for scramble missions; for some reason, however it didn't occur to us to have this done for the new room as well)

09-30-2005, 07:18	#5
2fb Cadet Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 64	that room looks better, to bad it was lost. @Quarto, ~~~ at the happy face of your image, anyway I think UE is THE MOD, is the first one and no one can't take that out, i wonder if there will be a UE2

10-01-2005, 05:37	#9
Chevieblazer Captain Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 431	i have a problem with the vids. they play at an ridiculous speed. is there anything i can do about this?

10-01-2005, 14:02	#10
Quarto Unknown Enemy Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Poland Posts: 9,915	You may be able to, by switching off sound hardware acceleration (run dxdiag, go to the sound page). In Standoff, we had an additional DLL patch to solve that issue, but in UE this is the only way, so if it doesn't work, I'm afraid there's nothing you can do.

10-02-2005, 01:46	#11
cff Disciple of Murphy Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Austria Posts: 2,546	How hard would it be to replace the UE DLL with a modified (Standoff?) one?

10-02-2005, 08:17	#13
Quarto Unknown Enemy Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Poland Posts: 9,915	Yeah, which we've been planning to do... for quite a while now .

10-02-2005, 11:38	#14
Pedro Swabbie Banned Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: England Posts: 1,346	Ahh come on now Q, you know come 2055 you'll come back to the UE code to tweak the mission balancing (oh how much would I like to go back to the K'ha'ha'haf (sp?) mission)

10-02-2005, 14:56	#16
Mace Major Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Netherlands Posts: 526	As running prophecy under win2k remains hell, I'll try my hand at running the mod under my new athlon64 X2 system coming in this week. any comments/experiences at running these games/mods under XP64?

10-05-2005, 11:11	#18
Edfilho Cry some more! Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil Posts: 3,522	I liked it, but I was a bit frustrated by how quickly the Scimitars and Epees died...