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Re: Balance Mod Available for SE:V

Greetings.

I've posted v1.19 of the Balance Mod. Version 1.19 makes some significant improvements to the AI's starting technology selection, improves its handling of warp point defenses, plus the usual assortment of fixes and tweaks.

It's savegame compatible with any Balance Mod v1.15+ games.

You can download it here:
http://www.captainkwok.net/balancemod.php

Code:

Version 1.19 (14 April 2009)

----------------------------



1.  Changed - Increased damage amount for Alloy Burner Missile

2.  Changed - Increased regeneration rate for Shield Regenerators

3.  Changed - Decreased movement (damage) amount for Tractor Beam and Repulser Beam

4.  Changed - Increased firing rate for Tractor Beam and Repulser Beam

5.  Fixed   - Error in cost for Psychic Technology tech area

6.  Fixed   - Energy Refractors were not working when used on armor slots, must now be placed on outer hull slots

7.  Fixed   - Sometimes when an AI surrendered it caused a turn to hang

8.  Fixed   - Corrected and revised racial trait and starting technology selections for AI

9.  Added   - Some AI functionality to escort ships

10. Changed - Adjusted the conditions for the AI to remain in its Explore & Expand state

11. Changed - Made improvements to the AI's ability to use the Ancient Race trait

12. Changed - The AI's Warp Point Openers would sometimes be vulnerable to attack after opening a new warp point

13. Fixed   - Possible turn hang when an AI made a gift request

14. Fixed   - The AI tended to clump warp point defenses in less useful locations

15. Fixed   - Sometimes the AI would drop units in the wrong warp point location

16. Fixed   - The AI was sometimes not adding a Shield Generator to a design when it should have been

17. Changed - AI players will respond more actively to add resource storage for surplus resources

18. Updated - AI Scripts

Re: Balance Mod Available for SE:V

As usual, thank you very much for your excellent work.

Re: Balance Mod Available for SE:V

Thanks Q!

Just a quick note to Small Systems users, they'll be a quick update tomorrow to bring some of the component data changes in the mini mod up to v1.19. Nothing that will interfere with savegames etc., and you can continue using the current Small Systems v1.01 without problems with BM v1.19 until the v1.02 update is posted.

Re: Balance Mod Available for SE:V

I've posted the v1.02 of the Small Systems mod. It includes the component updates from v1.19 of the Balance Mod.

Find it here:
http://www.captainkwok.net/balancemod-extras.php

Re: Balance Mod Available for SE:V

Besides the (usual) minor troubles with the AI behaviour (I'll get to that later, after more testing), I'm really having trouble with migration - did you change anything else in your mod than:

Code:

Race Starting Percent Reproduction := 8

Actually, the problem I'm having is that I have too few troubles, crazy as it sounds :rolleyes:
Migration movement outwards from the homeworlds is so strong that I don't need any pop transports in the first 10, maybe even 20 turns or more. I started with 3 evenly sized homeworlds, and only those with "good" conditions barely keep their pop level, the other is slightly draining away with only 3 additional colonies founded in the starting systems.(no racial reproduction modifiers, no med labs build, "+12" means coloniser send out on that turn):

Code:

unpleas./domed     -     -         -     -    14  (6%migr./6%gr.)



good              66   103       123   139   176  (4%/10%)

unpleasent      2477  2461+12   2457  2453  2449  (8%/ 6%)



mild            2483  2474+12   2477  2480  2483  (7%/ 8%)

domed/good        17    18        19    20    21  (4%/10%)



mild              70    85       118   155   171  (5%/ 8%)

good            2485  2484+12   2485  2485  2485  (6%/10%)

I have never noticed such a pronounced effect of migration in SE before. Maybe because I normally go for medical tech/centers very early, and the added +1% growth overcoming the problem? Anyhow, homeworlds depleting on their own ain't that great IMHO.

edit: PS - Thanks for this mod, keep up the good work !!

Re: Balance Mod Available for SE:V

Migration to newly founded breathable colonies is strong at first and then they level off and start to rely on their own reproduction for further growth.

Re: Balance Mod Available for SE:V

I've been playing two games... large maps and lots of AI opponents(17 and 18). It seems they show very little interest(almost zero) in building research facilities, which seems to be one of the most important buildings. As a result I have 4X their research each turn. I've only played two games... so maybe it's just bad luck.

Re: Balance Mod Available for SE:V

Approximately how many systems are in your quadrants? Often a crowded galaxy stunts AI growth because there's a lot of early interaction between players and fewer colonies per player, which doesn't always allow for an AI to get a good distribution of their facility types.

Re: Balance Mod Available for SE:V

It's a large randomly generated map with approximately 125 systems.

Half of the AI opponents have the same research as when the game started. Here are the settings I've used: The year is 2406.0 (60 turns?), everyone started with one planet with good equal conditions, medium AI difficulty, starting racial&technology&resource starting points were low, and balanced starting setting for planets.
I did include neutral opponents so perahps they are the ones not building research facilities??

Re: Balance Mod Available for SE:V

Are you using any custom ship sets?

How many colonies do these races with stagnant resource totals have?

You can send the savegame to contact at captainkwok.net and I can take a look at it to see if there's any issues.