Origins of Species 2.0.0

Origins of Species

This mod adds unique origin missions for base game species. (The intro missions for custom species are unchanged.) Every origin mission includes a mandatory Matter Manipulator and Broken Protectorate Broadsword. Optional pickups for each origin mission include at least one piece of cosmetic armor, bandages, salves, and bottled water.

This mod only adds new origin missions. With the exception of some lines of descriptive text and NPC dialog, the rest of the game is unaltered.

Origin Descriptions

Each character of a base game species begins the game in a space station awaiting transport. Their next flight is canceled, and the player is free to explore the station and find life-changing opportunities. In addition to recruitment into the Protectorate, the player may also choose species-specific alternatives:

• Apex: A rebel offers you the chance to join the resistance to the Miniknog.
• Avian: A stargazer offers you the chance to study in the Temple of Kluex. Your parents would be so proud.
• Floran: A greenfinger offers you the chance to live a simple life among your people.
• Glitch: A knight offers you the chance to serve in a great house among the Glitch lords.
• Hylotl: A missionary offers you the chance to join the Hylotl Diplomatic Corps.
• Novakid: A retiring ship captain offers you the chance to roam the stars as your own boss.

Note that, no matter your choice of origin, you end up in the same place, adrift in a damaged ship, in orbit of an unknown planet.

The intro space station has been designed so that other mod authors may create additional origin missions for base game or custom species and incorporate them seamlessly into this intro framework. See the modding guide for more details.

Compatibility Notes

Care has been taken to minimize the chances of mod conflicts, so this mod should be widely compatible. That said, any other mods that alter certain assets might conflict with this mod. Known incompatibilities are:

• Incompatible with "Racial Intros".
• Possibly incompatible with mods that alter the introductory protectorate mission.
• Possibly incompatible with mods that alter or remove ship tech stations.

This mod is, by itself, compatible with Frackin' Universe (tested as of v6.5.4). Additionally, there is a Frackin' Universe compatibility patch that smooths out the few remaining rough edges. However, given that Frackin' Universe is an active and evolving project, future changes to it could break compatibility. Please report any such compatibility issues with it using the collaboration options listed below.

Also, feel free to report incompatibilities with other mods, and I can assess the feasibility of fixing them.

Uninstall Notes

Due to how the Starbound core engine handles changing the intro mission for pre-existing characters, some issues may crop up. None of these issues are game-breakers, but you should be aware of them before uninstalling this mod.

• When this mod is uninstalled, for all base game species characters created or loaded while the mod was installed, when each character is first loaded after uninstall, the game will crash. However, if you re-launch the game and load the character again, play should resume normally. The character may receive a duplicate Broken Protectorate Broadsword in their inventory. There is nothing I can do to prevent the crash or the duplicate sword; these are limitations of the Starbound core engine when a mod that replaces an intro mission is uninstalled.
• Most importantly if a base game character was created and had completed the Visit the Outpost quest while this mod was installed, uninstalling this mod may revert the character to using the magnifying glass instead of the Matter Manipulator to inspect items. There is nothing I can do to prevent this; it is a limitation of the Starbound core engine when a mod that replaces an intro mission is uninstalled. If this happens to your character, load the game with that character, enter admin mode, and run the following command to repair the character:

/giveessentialitem scanmode inspectiontool

Other Known Issues

• While the alternative origins are intended to be full introductory missions, including tutorial messages, they do not feature an "infodesk" person that gives general game advice, as does the introductory protectorate mission. My advice is for new players to join the Protectorate as their first character, to gain insight from the infodesk.
• I am not a pixel or sound artist. The custom cinematics are currently text over a black background with base game sound effects.
• There is currently no human alternative origin. I have a few ideas in mind, but haven't finished any to my satisfaction yet.

Collaboration

If you have any questions, bug reports, or ideas for improvement, please contact me via Chucklefish Forums, Github, Reddit, or Discord (rl.steam). Also please let me know if you plan to republish this mod elsewhere, so we can maintain open lines of communication to ensure timely updates.

Credits

Thanks to sananab's "Racial Intros" for inspiring this mod. I originally had intended to propose a set of small patches for that mod, but as the scale of the changes I wanted to make grew, I decided to do a ground-up rewrite. Nevertheless, that mod inspired me to think about creating custom intro missions.

License

Permission to include this mod or parts thereof in derived works, to distribute copies of this mod verbatim, or to distribute modified copies of this mod, is granted unconditionally to Chucklefish LTD. Such permissions are also granted to other parties automatically, provided the following conditions are met:

• Credit is given to the author(s) specified in this mod's _metadata file;
• A link is provided to the Chucklefish Forum page or the source repository in the accompanying files or documentation of any derived work;
• The names "Origins of Species" and "rl_speciesorigins" are not used as the metadata friendlyName and name, respectively, of any derived mods without explicit consent of the author(s); however, the names may be used in verbatim distribution of this mod. For the purposes of this clause, minimal changes to metadata files to allow distribution on Steam shall be considered a verbatim distribution so long as authorship attribution remains.

Mod Pack Permissions:

Anyone can use this mod in their mod compilation without the author's consent.

Mod Assets Permissions:

You must get the author's consent before altering/redistributing any assets included in this mod.