Campaign Sketch

This is an archived page! This page is very old and the content is not up to date. Not everything (if any) which is written here will be in the final game!

TracNav(TracNav/TOC_Ideas)?

Working Title: Orxonox - Dark Hollow

Introduction

March 25 - 2076
Outer Asteroid Belt - Sector 42
Just outside mining freighter "Sitting Duck"
A small rusty spacecraft is hovering just undocking from the bulky main body of the freighter. You almost hear the metal bolts scream for mercy as the maneuvering thrusters of the mining shuttle kick in, pulling it out of the docking clamps into the emptyness of free space. For a brief moment it just hangs in the vast void, reflecting the light of the sun that comes out of Mars' eclipse. Then a sharp zoom to the small vessel as it launches it's main thrusters and rushes straight into the asteroid belt. A radio communication can be heard as the vessel dodges some incoming debris.
Technician: And this time… PLEASE don't collect the ore with the shuttle's stabilizer wings…
Shuttle Pilot: Sheesh… It was just a damn wing, the debris that stuck in it was worth more than 4 of your precious stabilisers.
Technician: But you're not the only one who has to scrape them of the hull! Just remember to NOT touch the autopilot-off button ever again
Shuttle Pilot: Yes, mommy, why don't ya just gimme a whole newbie pilot lesson while you're at it.
Technician:…
Shuttle Pilot gets a weird feeling
Technician: Well… since you're asking so nicely…

• At this point the player gains control over the shuttle

Mission 00: Learning Curve

• The technician explains to the pilot how to pilot the shuttle. Since the pilot has already heard the speech for a thousand times, he is not very happy about this and makes sarcastic comments everywhere.
  
• While the technician and the pilot annoy each other, the player learns how to control the shuttle.
  

Mission Timeline

• Asteroid debris dodging, technician tells you about maneuvering.
• The first medium asteroid comes into sight, the technician tells you to activate the mining laser and grab some ore.
• Laser malfunctions, you have to dodge the asteroid on the last moment.
• After a few punches at the power supply button the laser sparks online and the next few asteroids can be blasted.
• A rather large asteroid shows up on radar, the technician tells you how to charge the laser cannon for more firepower.
• When the asteroid crumbles it drops some ore chunks. The technician teaches you how to use the scoop to haul objects into the cargo bay.
• The shuttle enters an orbit around a huge asteroid. Objective: While orbiting the asteroid haul as much ore as possible from the smaller asteroids circling the larger one.
• After that the shuttle returns to the Sitting Duck

• DEBRIEFING The technician tells you the basics on how to use the money you got by hauling ore to upgrade the shuttle using a mint stabilizing wing and an extra mining laser as examples.

Mission 01: First Contact

• The main mineral scanning array of the Sitting Duck detects a large quantity of precious minerals on a planetoid passing this sector of the belt. The Pilot is sent to intercept this "bucket of fortune".

Mission Timeline

• The mission starts with a harder part of debris dodging and asteroid blasting.
• The planetoid comes into sight, it looks like a dust covered heap of metal dice that were glued together by a kid.
• Something small and shiny passes the shuttle, nearly ramming it.
• After some more asteroid dodgeing another one of the shiny things passes by, this time it seems to notice the shuttle and hovers around it for a brief period of time until it disappears again.
• Then the shuttle suddenly enters a 'clearing' in the asteroid field as it gets closer to the planetoid.
• A brief moment you see only the planetoid amidst the asteroids in front of the sun.
• Then a small laser-like emission touches the shuttle, scanning it tron-style.
• A few seconds later (the technician and the pilot are being interrupted in their ongoing discussion about safety) a swarm of shiny little things heads straight for the shuttle
• The shuttle turns around and hits its afterburners
• The things catch up and you have to dodge them as well as possible
• First they come from behind, then from the front, as they try to ram the shuttle and destroy it.
• The first thing the shuttle manages to hit with his lasers gets out of control and crashes into the shuttle, sticking to it's outer hull
• In that very moment the shuttles computer system goes black, all HUDs fade and the player has to fly the shuttle 'manually' through the onslaught of shiny things.
• All shiny things change their structure and adapt to the laser fire (firing at them becomes less and less effective) and some of them even start to fire back.
• Since everybody should be panicking now it is time to introduce the Mission climax
• A large asteroid with a narrow cave through it comes into sight, the Technitian suggests to dive the cave and prey the Pilot is a better at maneuvering the narrow passage than the shiny thingies
• As the pilot dives the cave the thingies actually do crash into almost every obstacle (emphasis on explosions)
• After about 75% of the cave all thingies have gone and the remaining 25% are pretty unspectacular (except of the narrow passage
• When the shuttle leaves the tunnel, the camera zooms out as it docks on the Sitting Duck

• DEBRIEFING The Technitian examines the thingy that crashed into the shuttle…