Ashgard Family Campaign

Important Note Regarding Changes to the Campaign

The Ashgard Campaign has been totally revamped to work with a heavily modified version of XWA. The craft stats in the game were modified to be more movie-like, mainly with adjustments in speed and shielding. As most people know, the default craft speeds in XWA are way too slow. Also, starfighter shields in the movies are much weaker than in XWA. To fix these "problems," all starfighter and transport craft speeds were increased by 50 MGLT and the shields were weakened to a strength able to withstand about one normal laser hit. For example, the X-wing's speed with normal cannon and shield recharge settings is now 150 MGLT. Speeds were also increased for all starships and heavy transports so that their top speed is 50 MGLT. Shield strengths were also reduced for starships, heavy transports, and stations, but the hull rating was increased in many cases to compensate. Another major change is that most stations and starships that were unarmed by default now have laser hardpoints. This means that craft like the Imperial Research Center, Imperial Research Ship, Space Colonies, Shipyards, and Cargo Facilities will shoot at enemy craft. Other changes have been made as well, but an exhaustive description of them all would go beyond the scope of this page. Despite these changes, all Ashgard missions have been rebalanced and tested to work with these modifications.

Introduction and Background

This campaign is an entirely new fictional story line with ties into actual Star Wars history. Due to restrictions imposed by the layout of the default XWA campaign, this story will be similar to that of the Azzameens. However, the time frame will be much earlier, taking place before "A New Hope." Thus, the player will get to experience Star Wars through the entire Trilogy and well into "New Republic" times. Major historical events such as the Battle of Yavin and the Evacuation from Echo base will be covered with fictional missions in between. When finished, the campaign is expected to be at least 100 missions.

Like the Azzameen story, the player will be a young member of a neutral family known as the Ashgards with a shipping/manufacturing business. The Ashgards have developed a sophisticated weaponry system for their Corellian Transports (CORTs) known as the Computer-Automated Turret System or CATS. Armed with an advanced target tracking device, the pilot of an Ashgard CORT can have the turrets autofire at any target without leaving the cockpit. Of course, the turrets can be manually controlled in the case of a malfunction or in special cases where human marksmanship is called for. (Note that the CATS idea is build around the XWA game engine. The CATS is more or less an explanation for how the player can have the turrets autofire with super human accuracy, depending on AI.)

Having exclusive possession of the CATS technology and residence in the relatively peaceful Outer Rim Territory, the Ashgards are seldom harassed or attacked by anyone, including pirates. A single Ashgard CORT is sufficient for escorting family convoys, and this in times past has often been a painful revelation to a number of pirate clans. Ironically, Ashgard CORTS, just by their mere presence, keep the peace rather than making war.

This is all soon to change as the Empire has decided to expand its rule to the Outer Rim. Unlike pirates who can be severely set back by the loss of even a few fighters, the Empire has infinite resources including swarms of disposable and easily replaceable TIE Fighters. Not to be pushed around by anyone, the Ashgards will not submit to Imperial demands. They will have to test their mettle (and their technology) to defend themselves from Imperial attacks. Eventually driven from their home, the Ashgards will have to seek refuge with the infant-stage Rebel Alliance...

Characters

Herschel Ashgard: The middle son of the family, he is the character that the player represents in the campaign. A humble man that only fights when there is no other option, he sometimes gets cocky during the heat of the action or after a smashing victory. He starts out with a conservative attitude toward fighting the Empire, but as the campaign wears on and after witnessing repeated horrible acts against innocent people, Herschel fights the Empire with increasing hatred and lunacy.

Kishar Ashgard: The oldest son of the family. A warrior to the core, Kishar is an aggressive and skilled fighter. Flying his YT-2400 into any skirmish, he is skilled at disengaging into hyperspace at the last possible moment before being destroyed. He keeps his father annoyed with expensive and frequent repair expenses.

Phylus Ashgard: The youngest brother, Phylus is a quiet and shy man. Although able to hold his own in a family CORT, he is so intelligent that he prefers to spend his time in the family think tank. A valuable member of the family unit, he has contributed much to the family's technological accomplishments including the CATS.

Patera Ashgard: The only daughter of the family, Patera is very adept at the controls of any family CORT. In spite of this, her favorite place is riding shotgun with Herschel, the brother who's company she enjoys most. Her skills are more diversified than Phylus' as she has also distinguished herself with her own contributions to Ashgard technology.

Borealis Ashgard: The father of the family, he plans, coordinates, and briefs the family missions. A wise man with a good handle on his childrens' capabilities, he is very accomplished at identifying mission objectives that can be met. His long term planning for the worst has kept the family one step ahead of the Empire.

Installation and Release Schedule

The entire campaign is now in XMOD format, meaning that you can easily install all of the missions and third party OPTs easily with the X-wing Install System (XIS) from Defiant�s Flying Temple. As of this update, the previously-released battles plus one new battle are available in XMOD format. However, the campaign is not done as there will be many more battles to come and more missions will inserted into existing battles to add more to the storyline. This will all come together as one final release of the campaign. In the mean time, more battles may be released on an individual basis as they are completed. Please click the button below to proceed to the instructions page. It is very important that you read this page carefully to ensure proper installation and maximum enjoyment of the campaign.