ABOUT

What does the MegaMod even do?


This list is going to be a big one.
And remember, the majority of all these enhancements are optional.

Everything with an asterisk (*) next to it came from HD-mod and was further enhanced.
Everything with a dagger (†) next it came from Nic's Extended Mod and was further enhanced.

  • Combines some features of Nic's Extended mod, see spoiler section below for a full list of Extended Lore changes
  • Adds our own lore additions beyond what was available in Nic's Extended mod. Again, spoiler list below
  • Adds a couple of difficulty modes. Hard Mode for hardcore veteran players and another for those that find the default just a little too unforgiving. A list of difficulty changes will be in the spoiler section below.
  • Adds a difficulty picker when starting a new game
  • Adds Nomad Mode which is a forced "No Starbase" mode that allows you to complete some quests that you normally couldn't going at it "manually", with a more forgiving Easy mode
  • Slaughter Mode which allows you to kill off some alien races simply by blowing enough of their ships up. Even showing their Sphere of Influence shrink on the StarMap.
  • Better support for gamepads without the need of 3rd party software, including support for gamecontrollerdb.txt (Already placed in the content directory)
  • Brings some quality of life additions including...
    • Skip all the intros to quickly to get into the game
    • Partially pick up minerals if your cargo can't fit it all. Refuses to pick up bio units if they won't completely fit as well (*)
    • In-game help menus that show the controls on the StarMap and mineral values while exploring the surface of any given world (*)
    • A "Smart Auto-Pilot" that find the quickest direction out of any given star system and points you in the direction of travel when entering HyperSpace
      • Also shows your Auto-Pilot destination and remaining distance in the blue title bar
    • An "Advanced Auto-Pilot" that navigates to your destination through QuasiSpace for you once you've discovered where some of the exit portals lead you
    • Shows you which stars you have visited on the StarMap by dimming the star itself and enclosing the star name in parentheses when you put the cursor over a visited star
    • Gives you the ability to put markers on stars of interest on the StarMap
    • Additional StarMaps for the War-Era map (*) based off the poster StarMap that came with SC2, Constellation view (*), learned Homeworld & Rainbow World locations
    • Ability to speed up the StarMap and planet lander cursor by holding a modifier key/button (normally TAB/L2/LT)
    • Input star coordinates directly into the Star Search feature of the StarMap
    • Change graphics and some music options without restarting the game
    • Some graphics and sound settings activate immediately within the menu
    • Dedicated starship thrust key for remapping purposes
    • Name your Captain and Flagship at the start of a new game (*)
    • Increment Fuel/Crew -10/+10 using the Left & Right keys/buttons (†)
    • Increment Fuel/Crew by min/max using the PageUp & PageDown keys (LB/L1 & RB/R1 on gamepads)
    • Load saved games from Vanilla v0.8.0, pre-v0.8.0, and HD-mod with indicators in the blue title-bar at top of the menu showing you which type it is
    • Lander reports only respond to the "action" key, no more accidentally skipping reports cause you bumped the keyboard/controller
    • Lander reports can be sped up by holding down the right key/button
    • Pass through allies when auto-pilot is enabled. No more navigating a mine field of unwanted conversations!
    • Ability to sell your remaining credits for fuel
    • Auto-pilot directly to HyperSpace by setting the destination to the current star
    • Create a screenshot by hitting the F8 key (On Windows this also adds the screenshot immediately to your clipboard)
    • Shipyard Storage Queue where you can store and retrieve ships either purposefully or when recieved as a gift and there's no room in your fleet (Storing/Retrieving uses TAB/L2/LT key binding)
    • Shipyard Captain Names: Visual option to display captain's names above the ships in the shipyard
    • Scatter a percentage of the elements in the Lander's hold across the surface of a world when the Lander blows up
    • QuickSave/QuickLoad activated via the F3 (QuickSave) and F4 (QuickLoad) keys
    • Hotswapping controllers is now available. Meaning you can now connect a controller mid-game and use it without restarting.
    • Graphics settings now activate immediately within the setup menu (Some sound settings too, you can hear volume changes "live"!)
    • An option to change the colors of alien Spheres of Influence to make them more easily identifiable at a glance
    • QuasiSpace map automatically adjusts the zoomlevel when entering through the portal (†)
    • A much friendlier options menu
  • The ability to change the seed used by the procedural generation of the in-game universe which affects the following...
    • Planets...
      • How many worlds are in any given star system
      • The type of worlds that make up a star system
      • The type and amount of minerals on any given world
      • Which worlds devices can be found on in their star systems, when not explicitly told where they reside
      • Star background patterns
    • MRQ...
      • Everything from the Planets option
      • The locations of Melnorme Traders
      • The locations of Rainbow Worlds
      • The locations of QuasiSpace Portal exits
    • StarSeed...
      • Everything from Planets and MRQ except it's not bound to the script anymore giving it free reign to shuffle the entire StarMap including...
      • Star types and colour
      • Starting location (It's still named Sol, but you might be on the other side of the map)
      • Homeworld locations
      • The location of plot-relevant devices and curiosities
    • And a separate option which randomizes alien ships, allocated within three tiers
  • Faithfull remasters the HD-mod graphics (Always a work in progress)
  • Faithfully scales the HD graphics
  • Faithfully recreated DOS and 3DO platform UI including viewing area and game resolution, allowing one to make UQM look exactly like classic Star Control 2 for DOS and 3DO
  • Faithfully recreated DOS-style ship description screens from SC1 for every ship when not using 3DO videos when picking a ship in Super Melee and the Shipyard
  • Recreated the DOS option to change text speed during conversations when voices are disabled
  • Allows you to mix DOS, 3DO, and UQM modes/UI for some truly cursed looks. (Think 3DO mode but with the DOS lander view at the bottom right of the screen)
  • Custom resolution support (Still only 4:3 or 16:10 aspect ratio depending on which Platform UI you've chosen)
  • Text kerning has been revived and implemented using data from the DOS version of Star Control 2
  • Brings a complete music remix composed and executed by Volasaurus
  • When option enabled currently owned lander modifications will appear on lander sprites during planetside
  • A "non-stop oscilloscope" which switches on-the-fly to using music data when the voice overs stop speaking
  • Options to make UQM look like its DOS and 3DO counterparts, in addition to the options already available in UQM, including...
    • Flagship engine colour
    • Screen transitions
    • Oscilloscope style
    • Interplanetary planets style (When textured IP planets is disabled)
    • Star backgrounds
    • Scan stats display (including Project 6014 colouring)
    • Scanning style
    • In-orbit planet sphere style
    • Colouring of the planet sphere while scanning
    • Lander viewport style, also changes the Lander's cargo size to match the chosen option
    • Added the 3DO's much bolder font when choosing the Flat Font Style option
    • Added an option to switch color saturation of hyperspace and quasispace (between DOS and 3DO colors)
  • Add-on autoload support for, admittedly MegaMod specific, addons which include...
    • Classic HD-mod graphics
    • Real planet textures for Sol (*)
    • Yellow F.R.I.E.D. (Original colour for the Kohr-Ah's secondary weapon)
    • Volasaurus' Complete Remix Pack (Includes the ambient Space Music pack)
    • Volasaurus' Space Music Remix Pack
    • Lance_Vader's Utwig redub pack
    • Soul Reaver's Voice Fixes
    • Purple Ur-Quan, which is just the Ur-Quan with a purple background a la Children of Infinity
    • Future support for translation packages
    • Throwaway addons named "automods-sd" and "automods-hd" for testing your own packs without having to use commandline options
  • Adds a host of visual options...
    • Change the date format
    • Enable the use of a custom skinned UI
    • Show the "true" fuel amount where applicable
    • Fuel range indicators for point of no return and remaining fuel at destination
    • HD specific animations
    • An alternate Orz font for untranslatable words and phrases (*)
    • A "non-stop oscilloscope" which switches on-the-fly to using music data when the voice overs stop speaking
    • Colorful nebula over the star backgrounds (*) in star system view along with the ability to adjust the opacity
    • Enable worlds to orbit around their respective stars and planets (*)
    • Show planet textures instead of primary planet colours when traversing star systems (*)
    • Enable unscaled star backgrounds and orbit lines a la original HD-mod
    • Show other ships pointing in their direction of travel (*)
    • Colour the hazard stats based on severity (*)
    • Change the planet map textures to either 3DO or UQM textures. Also moves minerals around to match 3DO or UQM placements
    • Shipyard DOS Side Window: Platform option to always use the DOS side menu (in place of flagship window) for buying ships
  • Cheat options for fun and/or testing including
    • Kohr-Stahp which stops the Kohr-Ah sphere of influence from moving after the death march has started (*)
    • Kohr-Ah De-Cleansing which pushes the Death March 100 years into the future. Does not work if the Death March is already in progress
    • Multiple God modes where you can Choose between infinite energy, no damage, or infinite energy & no damage
    • Time Dilation slows down or speeds up the game clock depending on the option selected
    • Bubble Warp which instantaneously warps you to any point on the StarMap and uses up the appropriate amount of fuel
    • Head Start gives you one radioactive, the Moon base in your devices, and Fwiffo in your fleet to start the game quickly
    • Unlock Ships while enabled allows you to build every ship in the ShipYard
    • Unlock Upgrades when enabled unlocks every tech upgrade
    • Infinite R.U. gives you virtually infinite R.U. while the cheat is active. Does not persist through game saves
    • Infinite Fuel does what it says on the tin. Fuel is no object
    • Infinite Credits so you can buy as much information and tech from the Melnorme
    • A submenu where you can choose which devices to add and/or remove from a new or loaded game
    • A submenu where you can choose which module and lander upgrades to add and/or remove from a new or loaded game
    • No HyperSpace Encounters when enabled you will encounter nobody in HyperSpace
    • No Melee Obstacles when enabled this option removes the planet and asteroids in Super Melee. Local play only
  • Commandline triggers for every option, including a few not available in-game
  • Adds optional main menu and melee menu music
  • Adds alien theme music to their area of interplanetary space, with a "No Spoiler" option, composed by Volasarus
  • Adds the option to enable music to resume where it last left off during a game session. With the ability to set a reset timer for 5 minutes or keep it indefinite
  • Enable fun Game Over screens for the various ways you can fail your mission
  • Enable short SC1-style descriptive blurbs in Super Melee when picking a ship (Only available in UQM Platform UI)
  • Print the name and value of biologicals upon pickup (†)
  • Shooting the tractors on the moon makes them explode. They still provide zero bio data, though (†)

And now for the spoilery bits...


Extended

  • Utwig and Supox now give gift ships on a calendar similar to the Yehat and Pkunk (which now use standardized functions)
  • Added missing Supox rumors to neutral (but helpful) Supox dialog
  • Druuge SOI revealed when Supox tell you to look for Ultron parts there
  • Apply unused Melnorme dialog when filling tanks to their full capacity
  • The Kohr-Ah lose a tiny fraction of their SOI when the Supox and Utwig attack them
  • Added ability to open up a HyperSpace portal in QuasiSpace to go right back to where you opened up the initial QuasiSpace portal
  • Ships exploding in Super Melee do not lose all velocity
  • Add small chance of weather and tectonic hazards to level 2
  • Give Zex an alternate uniform and more medals differing him from other VUX
  • Give the Kzer-Za their baton on the comm screen
  • Use alternate colour palette for the Ur-Quan's talking pet which is more faithful to the DOS version
  • Show gas giant type on the scan screen (I.E. Blue Gas Giant)
  • Charon, the moon of Pluto, is now explorable (generates previously unused element "Charon Dust")
  • Unzervalt now has a single moon as per the intro artwork
  • Show the Sa-Matra as a planet on the penultimate battle screen
  • Use the Sa-Matra as a planet for the penultimate battle
  • Set Zex's Beauty free upon the planet after it devours Zex
  • Ability to fill Syreen crew to max in the Shipyard
  • New Androsynth excavation site on Alpha Lalande 1
  • New Precursor artifact on Alpha Apodis 4
  • Added the ability to tell the Ilwrath to GTFO of any star system in their SOI via Hyperwave Broadcaster a maximum of 5 times before they wise-up and attack you
  • New reports for the Syreen and Chmmr when they are cleansed by the Kohr-Ah
  • Give the Chmmr and Syreen ruined planets and StarBases when "cleansed"
  • Changed the size and location of the Chmmr SOI to be more logical (Combined Chenjesu & Mmrnmhrm SOI size and location)
  • Make Beta Arae (933.3:093.7) an Orange Super Giant (Because there are no Orange Super Giants)
  • Set encountered world to moon when applicable
  • Enable Sa-Matra sound effects
  • Start a new game with only 31 crew to account for the epilogue story
  • "Pop" Beta Ophiuchi's slave shield on Arilou destruction
  • "Pop" Spathiwa's slave shield and generate 3-4 ruins on Orz destruction
  • Moved around and added more dead Zoq-Fot-Pik colonies to these locations: Beta Tucanae, Gamma Cassiopeiae, Beta Cassiopeiae, Beta Carinae (†)
  • No longer possible to encounter random Ur-Quan ships in the Zoq-Fot-Pik home system, like their dialogs say (†)
  • Add a "dead" slave-shielded world and starbase @ Beta Ophiuchi I (047.9:887.5) (†)
  • Destroyed Ur-Quan(*) / Kohr-Ah(+) starbases
    • Beta Reticuli (702.0 : 529.1)
    • Metis (570.8 : 460.4)
    • Gamma Cancri (500.6 : 501.1)
    • Alpha Lentilis (462.5 : 600.0)
    • Theta Chamaeleonis (514.5 : 695.8)
    • Antares (647.9 : 754.1)
  • The Syreen will have a Sphere of Influence at the completion of their Vault Quest (†)
  • The Chmmr will have a Sphere of Influence once you help them complete their Process (†)
  • Add a defunct Mother-Ark @ Delta Virginis IV (†)
  • Add a stripped Precursor Starbase at Alpha Centauri (†)
  • Add ruins and lore on Algol IV to match with the lore as told by the Melnorme
  • Add a Spathi erected monument to the peaceful negotiatons of colonization between them and the Mmrnmhrm on Beta Herculis II
  • The Thraddash will survive the Ilwrath war if you are allied with them. And they will let you take the AquaHelix peacefully
  • The Melnorme will now disappear once the Death March starts
  • The Kohr-Ah will now respond to HyperSpace broadcasts during their Death March
  • Allies will not chase you if you get close to their ships

Hard Mode

  • All Spathi escorts flee when they slave shield themselves (†)
  • Starting crew is 31 to account for the epilogue story
  • Amount of Thraddash to defeat is 30 to become allied
  • Crew Cost is minimally reduced when the Shofixti are revived
  • Slylandro Probes dodge projectiles
  • Mineral worth for Exotics is brought down to 16
  • Slylandro Probes will orbit Rainbow Worlds, their numbers increase if left unchecked and will eventually vanish once you complete their quest
  • When using a custom seed the seed will be randomized on New Game
  • Rainbow World credit value cut in half
  • Bio credit value cut in half
  • SIS: Weapon slots 2 & 3 take double energy
  • SIS: Auto tracking costs double energy
  • Evil Ones are now more dangerous. They move and seek the player out, as well as having 5 HP
  • Melnorme tech catalog spread out between the 9 Supergiants (No tech upgrades in Hyperspace)
  • Melnorme fuel cost upped to 10 credits per unit
  • Reduced viability of the Druuge/Melnorme fuel exploit
  • If player kills Tanaka they do not get a second chance with Katana
  • Portal Spawner costs 20 whole units of fuel
  • Selling more than 10 crew to the Druuge guarantees a price hike in crew cost and the immediate disapproval of the Commander
  • Can only build two of any ship
  • Tanaka's Scout has full maneuvreability and main weapon system (Bomb still disabled)
  • Quasispace portal Hyperspace coordinates are not revealed
  • Defeating Ilwrath at Chmmr homeworld now takes you into orbit
  • Keep time running while orbiting a planet & during a landing excursion
  • Set crew remaining on the Starbase to 1900 per Hayes' dialog, limit the amount of crew one can buy to that amount (with graphical counter in the ShipYard), and lock the player out of buying new crew until they revive the Shofixti
  • Added harder encounters at the Chmmr homeworld, Sun Device, Aqua Helix, Ur-Quan wreck, and Syreen vault
  • Druuge sell the Rosy Sphere on second deal
  • No help before the final battle if the Pkunk are absorbed before triggering the Yehat rebellion
  • Make the Sa-Matra battle more difficult (Faster projectiles)
  • Cut reinforcements in half where applicable
  • Allow VUX to warp in close in Melee for the main game
  • The Kohr-Ah Death March happens one year earlier
  • The natural QuasiSpace portal is delayed by one year
  • Melnorme tech will increase in price as you buy more

Easy Mode

  • Double mineral worth
  • Fwiffo starts with a full crew compliment
  • Amount of Thraddash to defeat is 15 to become allied
  • Tune down the battle difficulty to Weak Cyborg
  • Start with two landers
  • Rainbow World credit value doubled
  • Add a couple more fusion thrusters and turning jets for new game
  • Keep the Emergency Escape Warp Unit enabled after Chmmr Bomb installation
  • Portal Spawner costs 5 whole units of fuel
  • Player starts with 43.38 units of fuel (The difference between a full tank and the amount of fuel it takes to travel from Vela to Sol)
  • Player starts with 2500 R.U.
  • Limit to the amount of crew to sell to the Druuge before crew cost hike is 200
  • Commander will tell you about the Melnorme and ZFP earlier than usual
  • Zex's Beast ferocity toned down
  • The Kohr-Ah Death March is delayed by two years