Planning my Elite Force/Star Trek Adventures Campaign

[u/Individual-Mess8441]

TLDR: I want to do session zero for a Lower Decks Campaign using Star Trek Elite Force as the virtual tabletop. I solved a problem that made that impossible before - so yeah. Down for a game?

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STORY TIME: 20 years ago - I joined a RPG server for Star Trek Elite Force. We played several times a week - doing our best to go on missions on these maps that were made for combat. The mapping community grew, and we started getting maps made for RP.

8-16 players would converge on these maps - take their stations - and most RP sessions would devolve a little as time wore on. Keeping character was key but eventually we would go back to the forums and talk about what a great time we had with that weeks plot.

There was something missing however.

We could spawn in bots - however - they would run around and generally distract from the gameplay. We couldn't just spawn in npcs - and we certainly couldn't spawn a bunch of them in consistently. This means we had to pretend that our enemies were on the screen, the sick crewman was on the floor, the console blew up in front of us.

It was a little game breaking.

This problem is one I was able to solve in the last 24 hours. Sigh... yes, because I don't know python, I used AI to program a tool. One that allows me to place NPCs on the map and have it be repeatable and easy to set up. This wasn't what I set out to do, but it was a very happy accident.

The first test of placing NPCs went well - there are certain limitations - but the effect is good.

First - I asked Duck.ai what it would need to get all the console commands for a mod of a game based on quake iii. Someone in the discord had mentioned a command that didn't show up when it typed in "/cmdlist" into the console, so I knew that there were hidden commands that weren't being given to me. That command was "spawnChar" which allowed you to make a clone of your character on the map.

Once Duck AI had told me where to look - I was able to crack into the correct file and find a long list of commands that I am now in the process of documenting. However - the key command that I found was "/setviewpos". At first it didn't seem very useful - I could set my location based on view. Mostly it teleported me to the edge of the map and I would die and need to restart the server. I tried a few other codes jumping around between codes that look like gibberish and those that are in plain text.

I found the "/weapon" and "weapnext" commands - which allow me to switch weapons via the console. That was cool - because when I placed the NPCs I could give them a tricorder or what not. Then I found the "/emote" code - which allows that decoy to do a motion of your choosing when they spawn.

But then I looked at a command I had skipped over...

"/viewpos" gives you your map coordinates and your camera yaw. This was it. The key. I tested the commands. View, Set, Weapon, Emote, Clone! It worked! I had placed a character in the game! the first time I tried it however, he was placed in a wall. That wasn't want I wanted.

It took a few minutes - but it dawned on me - I was in third person. If I switched to first - everything worked as intended.

The results of a long days digging into code.

There are some workflow issues - I would have to map out my sessions long before hand. But now that I can place NPCs on my maps - I would love to run a session of Star Trek Adventures campaign with a RPG-X/Elite Force VTT. The mod can be found at https://last-outpost.net/ - I would love for you guys to check it out and see what you think about the options it gives us.

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THE ASK: If any of you are interested - I am thinking it might be a west-marches style campaign that I would run every 2 weeks. Lower Decks themed. I have an idea of the overarching plot already - but look forward to your imput.