Young Freedom Force: A Mod Concept In Need Of Critique

[The Hitman]

Hey folks. I have this mad mod idea that's been rumbling around in my head for a while now, and I think it' ready for some sort of creative feedback. It takes place between FF1 and FFvTR, and the basic concept is that the adult members of the team go missing, and it's up to a team of FF- analogue kid heroes, led by Liberty Lad and Sea Urchin, to save the day.

I'm thinking the main bad guys could be Mr. Mechanical and Deja Vu. Together, they develop a robot that can duplicate basic powers from the team (kinda like Amazo). There could be inferences to The Dominion, Pinstripe, there could be another evil Microwave robot from the future, just about any villian except Nuclear Winter. This would explain why he was able to team up with the German villians without being noticed, I guess.

Hero- wise, Liberty Lad and Sea Urchin are a given. Possibly The Ant, not quite sure about that one. Other ideas I had were:

- Kid- Bot; Basically Man- Bot with Electric powers, instead of straight- out Energy.

- Miss Witch (needs name); Alchemiss's younger sister who was tapped by the goddess statue when the older one went missing.

- Rocket; Bullet- like speeder.

- Unnamed El Diablo-esque Hero; Standard Heat hero, or possibly Ice- based powers?

That's all I have so far, without getting too into the details. I know a lot of this kind of modding talk is idle chatter, especially from me, but I really think I could start, work on, and even complete this kind of project. What do youalls think? Would anyone play this kind of game? Would anyone like to help? Do you know the Muffin Man?

[yell0w_lantern]

Alchemiss and Magica -  Has a nice ring, doesn't it?
The Comeback Kid (young friend of Iron Ox) - pugnacious strong with reincarnation
Magpie (Black Bird's sidekick) - fast flier with ranged throw and pull attacks along with a sonic scream and, of course, Dr Mike's bird-a-rangs.
For El diablo's buddy, I'd just give a nod to his catch phrase, "Hot Stuff" - I would make it a child-like magma imp - think Bat-mite.
And Eve's pet serpent should be in the group as well.

[GogglesPizanno]

I personally never had much interest in the "kid" or "young" storylines of any comic. They always seemed sorta contrived to me.

That being said, I would love to see more Mods and stories using the original FF or extended FF characters and locations. I have a few ideas I've bounced around but never had the time to actually implement. So while I'm not a big fan of the kid concept itself, I think a mod like this would be a cool idea, if just to help add to the FF universe.

[Epimethee]

I'd certainly play it. :D

And Eve's pet serpent should be in the group as well.

:thumbup:

And, as everyone know this "serpent" is amere disguise for no other than the dreaded supernatural lord himself...

...the god Quetzalcoatl!

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

And Quetzalcoatl is himself a teenager, at least in his human form, so he'd fit as well.

Also feel free to borrow any applicable LB characters.  You don't even have to make it the same continuity.

Or just make your own.  Whichever works for you.

[The Hitman]

I was actually going to ask you about that, Cat. What LB characters would fit this concept? I actually had my eye on the villian "Coppertop" as a way to introduce a playable hero.

Well, it looks like a few people are interested in this, so that takes care of Goal #1... the mod won't be a waste of time. Now to sit down and write the basic story out. When I have something of note, I'll let youalls know.

[stumpy]

I like the idea. And, I think a young, tough-talking variation on SuperCollider would be hilarious. And maybe El Diablo's analog should be female...

Maybe Time Master is behind the disappearance of the older heroes? Although, that's a little more complicated, since Time Master was apparently in stasis before FFvT3R, but maybe this story could explain how he got there.

(BTW, when did Nuclear Winter team up with German villains?)

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I was actually going to ask you about that, Cat. What LB characters would fit this concept? I actually had my eye on the villian "Coppertop" as a way to introduce a playable hero.

Goo and Pyre are both teenagers.  Pyre also fits the bill of a female El Diablo analogue.

Green Genie, by the way is also a teen.

As a matter of fact, this whole concept is almost identical to one of the possible LB extensions that I've had in mind--a teenage group joint led by Goo and Liberty Lab consisting of all teenage members of both teams plus new characters.  I was wanting someone else to take it anyway, and I really had no idea of what a campaign story would be, so I am quite glad of your interest in it.

I was actually wanting to do a single mission where Coppertop had been dumped by Hawk and was wondering around aimless and more or less mindless causing trouble.  I had no way of fitting it in LB, however, so I would love to have you do it instead.

[Carravaggio]

there is a female_teen_urban mesh that comes with a female El Diablo skin, i presume its his sister as seen in his origin cutscene. It would be perfect for this.

[Outcast]

Great concept Hitman! Would love to play the mod someday. The more levels the better.  :thumbup:

[The Hitman]

(BTW, when did Nuclear Winter team up with German villains?)

Well... I'll admit I've never found a playable copy of FFvTR. I just assumed that's what happened- Nuclear Winter teamed up with Blitzkrieg (I think), went back in time, and messed with history. I guess I'm wrong. Oops!

Since this mod is taking place between FF1 and 2, Green Genie and Quetzalcoatl weren't originally planned on being in it, but if someone can convince me enough, I'll squeeze them in.

Opinion Time: Would it be too much of a stretch for Iron Ox to be as beloved and famous in England as Minute Man is in the US? I've kinda had the idea of Comeback Kid (which is a GREAT name, by the way!) as a "Brit" Liberty Lad, similar origin and all.

Cat- Would this be in character for Coppertop: Kidnaps a kid, dumps an Energy X canaster in him, and has him absorb Electrical powers to help fuel a doomsday device, or something? I keep jumping back and forth between using Coppertop and Preator, the 2nd in command Dominion alien.

Pyre could work for an El Diablo analogue, so can the female_teen_urban as The Sister, but how about this- a character with Ice- equivilant powers? There isn't an Ice character because of Nuclear Winter being a bad guy, and Fire- Guys (and Gals) to me a little overrated.

[Carravaggio]

Pyre could work for an El Diablo analogue, so can the female_teen_urban as The Sister, but how about this- a character with Ice- equivilant powers? There isn't an Ice character because of Nuclear Winter being a bad guy, and Fire- Guys (and Gals) to me a little overrated.

Sure, playing as an ice blaster in COH has left me with a new-found appreciation of all things frosty, but man, why not both characters? i mean it wouldn't take a HUGE amount of work either way. I'm not a big fan of fire users either, but it seems like the mesh and skin are too good not to use somehow.
anyway this mod sounds cool, i hope it comes to fruition.  :thumbup:

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Well... I'll admit I've never found a playable copy of FFvTR. I just assumed that's what happened- Nuclear Winter teamed up with Blitzkrieg (I think), went back in time, and messed with history. I guess I'm wrong. Oops!

I believe he merely took advantage of the situation.  They are never shown working together.

Since this mod is taking place between FF1 and 2, Green Genie and Quetzalcoatl weren't originally planned on being in it, but if someone can convince me enough, I'll squeeze them in.

Green Genie and Quertzy are introduced as former members that were no longer on active status, meaning they were assumed to either join as one of the customs during the original game, or some time in between.  You could even potentially introduce them as new characters and have this be how they joined FF in the first place.

Cat- Would this be in character for Coppertop: Kidnaps a kid, dumps an Energy X canaster in him, and has him absorb Electrical powers to help fuel a doomsday device, or something? I keep jumping back and forth between using Coppertop and Preator, the 2nd in command Dominion alien.

Coppertop is stupid.  I would say he has the brains of a rock, but I think there are rocks smarter than he is.  All he is capable of on is own is rampaging through the streets.

Hawk might do that to hold the city for ransom, but he's more of a merc.  Another villain could easily get him to do it without him really knowing what he's doing.  Coppertop is easily manipulated.

[ubergreendragon]

Was thinking about thing young FF concept you have in mind ...sounds cool  :thumbup:
Isnt The Ant a fairly young person high school early college age ?

[BentonGrey]

This is a great idea!  I actually had toyed with doing something like this, but lost interest.  Not TOO long ago, there was a discussion about sidekicks for the FF heroes, and there were some really good ideas put forward that would help get past the straight analogue nature of kid heroes, which would make this more fun for me, personally.  Does anyone know if that happened before or after the site went down?  If before, then there's no hope of finding it.  Either way, I vote for the Ant being included, he's always been one of my favorite characters, and he provides the necessary science deus ex machina.

[Mystik]

this sounds cool

lil Adam- teenage kid infatuated with eve, get in the middle of pans second attempt to kidnap eve and gains powers

kid dominion- lord dominions son who rebels against his father and comes to earth seeking his old teacher mentor

[The Hitman]

Thanks guys. Yeah, both Fire and Ice Blasters can be in it. Why limit anything? If someone can make a Green Genie and Quez that can work in FF1, they're as good as in, too.

Would it be interesting for Liberty Lad to use Minute Man's staff? Or would that be too much?

[Carravaggio]

this sounds cool
kid dominion- lord dominions son who rebels against his father and comes to earth seeking his old teacher mentor

Hitman you have to add this one!

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

That old sidekick thread had the idea of Mentor's sidekick being a robotic probe.

I've further developed that idea.

My concept:  O.R.B.--Observation and Reconnaisance Beacon.

O.R.B. is an intelligent robotic probe created by Mentor and microwave and incorporating some technology from Microwave with some imput from Doc Astounding.

O.R.B. contains an artificial psychic communication circuit that allows for mental communication without the need for Mentor himself.  This also solves the problem in Liberty Bay, as I'll just add a line about Doc Astounding using some plans that Mentor gave him to build such a circuit into the LB base.

O.R.B. was designed as a scout, so he is fast, flies, uses sort range electric shock defenses, and can also clone himself, scan enemy powers, scan for nearby enemies and would have some vertigo and confusion inducing attacks, as well as possibly a new power that disrupt brain signals, causing all damage by enemies to go down, using a new swap that I can code up very easily.

Liberty Lad activates and uses O.R.B. toward the beginning when he doesn't too many folks to help him, and it proves so useful that he continues to use it on missions throughout the mod.

[GGiant]

I like the idea. And, I think a young, tough-talking variation on SuperCollider would be hilarious. And maybe El Diablo's analog should be female...

Maybe Time Master is behind the disappearance of the older heroes? Although, that's a little more complicated, since Time Master was apparently in stasis before FFvT3R, but maybe this story could explain how he got there.

(BTW, when did Nuclear Winter team up with German villains?)

Ha ha maybe he returned when manbot did. :lol:
Hey there's a ale_basic_manbot mesh out there looks "young" to me:

And maybe mr_mechanical teamed up with him?
Hey and the liberty lad with minute_man staff is humorous.

[detourne_me]

Theres also a mini-bot,  i believe Bearded made.  he's even cooler.

[Reepicheep]

Hey and the liberty lad with minute_man staff is humorous.

Liberty Lad deserves no sticky thingey.

[GogglesPizanno]

Liberty Lad deserves no sticky thingey.

NOONE should have a sticky thingey....

[The Hitman]

Kid Dominion's in. I liked that one too. Kid- Bot was planned to be on Bearded's MiniBot mesh. I love that thing. ORB would definitely clear up the "how does Liberty Lad know where to find the other young heroes" plot hole, thanks Cat. Would that work on one of Ink's Drone meshes?

So, so far, character- wise, we have (in no particular order):

- Liberty Lad
- Sea Urchin
- Kid- Bot
- Magica
- Comeback Kid
- ORB
- Rocket (until better name is made)
- Kid Dominion

With possible characters:

- Pyre [or]
- La Diabla
- Magpie
- Supercollider 2.0 (name pending)
- Green Genie (mesh pending)
- Quetzalcoatl (mesh pending)

Here's two more ideas thrown out there:

- Cold Warrior; A former young recruit for Nuclear Winter's Ice Trooper army, has grown to love Capitalism and the US, and has started developing Ice powers.

- Manotaur; Young minotaur grunt fed up with Pan's frivilous lifestyle.

[Previsionary]

This seems like a cool idea, though, I think you guys may be getting carried away with the character additions. Firstly, you'll need to really define your story before you decide on an ever expanding cast list. How much of a role will all of these characters play in the mod, will they be recruitable or optional, and what happened to all of them after this mod (since this is supposedly a "prequel" to FFVTTR. [didn't Val had a middle story idea as well?])? With all these new heroes, I would find it odd if no new villains appeared since *I think* the young heroes would probably overpower many of the FF1 foes and minions.

Not bashing the idea or anything, but I think your initial cast and story should be padded out before going character crazy since I think you're forgetting how much work a large cast of characters can be in terms of balancing; getting skins, meshes and fx; and giving them their "shine-time" :P. BTW, will this be an ezscript mod or traditional coded mod?

[The Hitman]

While I tend to agree with you, Prev, at this point, everything's just brainstorming. I'm already writing the first 3 major plot points- Freedom Force is missing, intro to Kid- Bot involving Praetor, and intro to Comeback Kid involving Pinstripe. I also have a basic working outline going in my head of what I was planning on doing. I just figure most FF people are more creative than me, and can come up with more interesting plots and characters than I usually can.

No worries about the "bashing," man. That was a very valid point you made, and I'm glad you said something.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Would that work on one of Ink's Drone meshes?

Pretty much what I was thinking anyway.  Something with a roundish shape, which I know I've seen in a mod before.  (It is O.R.B., after all.  Or ORB, use the dots or don't.)

One cautionary note here with the roster.

It's turning into, take you favorite FF character and make a kid version of it.  I think this community has a better imagination than that.  One of two of those are probably fine, but just about all of them are. What's the point of even having this mod, if all we're going to do is have slightly rename versions of the original characters?

I'm in favor of doing these two things.

1.  Some original teen characters.

2. Characters based one previous ones which make an original take on the concept, or are unique in some way.  ORB, for example, is based on Microwave and bits of the FF storyline and universe, yet turns out quite unique in name and abilities.

[BentonGrey]

One cautionary note here with the roster.

It's turning into, take you favorite FF character and make a kid version of it.  I think this community has a better imagination than that.  One of two of those are probably fine, but just about all of them are. What's the point of even having this mod, if all we're going to do is have slightly rename versions of the original characters?

I'm in favor of doing these two things.

1.  Some original teen characters.

2. Characters based one previous ones which make an original take on the concept, or are unique in some way.  ORB, for example, is based on Microwave and bits of the FF storyline and universe, yet turns out quite unique in name and abilities.

My point exactly Cat.

[style]

I like these:

So, so far, character- wise, we have (in no particular order):

- Liberty Lad
- Sea Urchin
- Kid- Bot
- Magica
- Kid Dominion
- La Diabla
- Supercollider 2.0 (name pending)
- Green Genie
- Quetzalcoatl
Here's two more ideas thrown out there:

- Cold Warrior; A former young recruit for Nuclear Winter's Ice Trooper army, has grown to love Capitalism and the US, and has started developing Ice powers.

- Manotaur; Young minotaur grunt fed up with Pan's frivilous lifestyle.

I Agree we need some new blood and new Villians!

The Cold Warrior(s) Should be an army of villians. Like an upgrade to the Nuclear Winter's Ice Trooper army!

And I have just the skope ;)

[BentonGrey]

Cool!