Star Trek Armada II: Fleet Operations

Description
[b][u]IMPORTANT:[/u][/b] The multimedia pack, including all the music for the mod, can be downloaded from the [url="http://www.fleetops.net/download/Download/FleetOperations3.0/MultimediaPack2/"]FleetOps website[/url].
Please visit the official [url="http://www.fleetops.net/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,3/"]FleetOps forums[/url] to report bugs & balancing issues and to obtain technical support.

The latest patch (3.02) reactivating the [b]save function[/b] can be found [file="97926"]here[/file].


After more than 2 years since the last release and about 8 years (!) of development beginning with Armada 1 in 2000 here is the first final version of the highly anticipated [b]Fleet Operations[/b] modification for Armada 2, running great on Vista machines and including full widescreen support.

FleetOps V3 comes with 5 playable and unique races: the Federation, Klingons, Romulans and the Borg, already known from stock Armada 1 & 2. The newcomer race is the [b]Dominion[/b], coming with its own voice set and soundtrack (which is included in the new Multimedia pack for FleetOps).

The mod is also known for its [b]radical changes of the stock Armada 2 gameplay[/b]. It ends up with having no warp, no planets to colonize and collect metal from and the removal of 3D space. Overall FleetOps is also much slower that the original game's one and the ships & stations can take a lot more damage. But we already know those changes from past versions, so what's new here?

The first thing most people will notice are the [b]redone and improved menus[/b]. The main menu has no animations left like those of Armada 1 & 2 or old versions of FleetOps. Buttons are clearly aligned and easy to find now, but it does not look as great as the old one due to the missing animations - a matter of taste. The option menus received some useful additions though, for example anti-aliasing in the graphics menu and a much more detailed map selection screen in the game setup.

For the first time ever seen in a Armada game there is a [b]rank system[/b] for ships. Destroying enemy forces results in being promoted up to 4 times. Promoted ships have enhanced offensive and defensive values - this causes you to take much more care of your "improved" vessels.

[b]Sound and graphics[/b] are just stunning, especially if consider that this the Armada engine we are talking about. Objects in space like planets (only serving as background object though), suns, asteroid belts and most nebula types look fantastic. Also the ships and stations are very well done (although some textures could have gotten a higher resolution). And then the explosions - what a fest to the eye! The team has even added a "screen rumbling effect" to the those. And of course the shuttle traffic between your stations from the last version is still there.

Last but not least comes the [b]enhanced map editor[/b], which has many improved and more detailed windows & options and is directly accessable from the FleetOps main menu.

Sadly, the amount of changes resulted in a [b]defective save function[/b], which had to be disabled. The team promised to work on this problem and to reactivate saving in a future patch.

So what are you waiting for? Download ASAP! :rock:

- [b]TParis[/b]