Re: Pointer Mod
 

I've just opened a new game at PBW called "The Pointer Mod game."

Please join and enjoy the mod. The game is open to everybody.

http://seiv.pbw.cc/

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Three spots left for those who want to get in on this game.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Pointer Mod v1.1 released. Fixed a few bugs, balanced a few things, got rid of a few loose ends. Don't forget to sign up for The Pointer Mod PBW game. We're starting Friday (tomorrow).

1/26/05
increased resouce generation for standard resource facilities
removed Space Port II-V
added Supply Generation and Spaceport abilities to later City, Organic City, Crystal City, Arcology, Orbital Tower and Orbital Ring facilities
removed Quantum Reactor I-III (same as Hyperspace Tap)

1/25/05
increased range of Seeker Decoy
increased reload rate of Counter Missile
reduced supply usage of all weapons
now only troop components available for troops

Re: Pointer Mod
 

I'm checking the mod out in singleplayer right now. The only bug I've found is this: When in the build queue for a planet I right click on Commercial Mineral Storage I, I receive a stream error and it displays no information.

One positive thing I can say is that you've made organics and radioactives more important, which I think is a good thing.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

The facilities pics "Images 601 to 655
- Images extracted from Galactic Civilizations (© 2002, Stardock) and compiled for use in Space Empires IV by Imperator Fyron" NEED to be redone to standard http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/redface.gif BMP's

I redid mine with Irfanview [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/icon29.gif[/img] and now work fine http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

Re: Pointer Mod
 

I ran into that problem too. I just opened the images in Photoshop and re-saved them as .bmp files

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Thanks for the advice, I'll try that when I get home today.

So far the mod is pretty interesting. It seems to slow down the inital rush for colonization nicely.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

I found a bug that's a pain. It happens when upgrading facilites.

Specifcally with Commercial Radioactive Storage facilities.
WHile on the main screen click on the wrench to view all build queues. Then click upgrade facilites. All colonies with commercial radioactive storage that are due to be upgraded to the next level will be upgraded to the next level of organic not radioactive.

EDIT: I've done some looking in the facilites.txt, it looks like Commercial Organic Warehouse and Commercial Radioactive Warehouse have the same facility family number, which is 1041.

So:

Commercial Radioactive Storage I
upgrades to
Commercial Organic Storage II

Re: Pointer Mod
 

They work just fine for me... What OS are you running?

Re: Pointer Mod
 

win xp pro with 512 mem and 40 gig hd it's a p3 duron chipset ati 32 mg video card

Re: Pointer Mod
 

No problem. I'll fix that in v1.2.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Now that is really weird... There have been problems with BMPs created in MS Paint under win2k or winXP not working in SE4 in win98, but I've never heard of them not working in winXP. I could have sworn SE4 was able to load these images before... There is something terribly buggy in how SE4 reads image files.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

well we ARE dealing with Microsoft here [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/WinLogo.gif[/img] http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/confused.gif

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Urendi

I just wanted to say this a great mod, and it's gotten me motivated to dig through the data files and to learn the nuts and bolts of the different files.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

I'm working on the AI again. The most troublesome has to be the DesignCreation.txt.

1. The Required Ability seems to work for some ship types and not for others. I have two required abilities. The second one is Supply Storage. It works on attack ships. Designs add engines, then one weapon (req 1), then the supply storage (req 2)component, then the rest of the components as normal. But the transports seem to add the engines, then five Cargo Bays (req 1) before adding the supply component. This leaves smaller ships without a supply storage component. How does this field actually work?

2. Prefabricated Fortifications (PF), a troop-only component is showing up on Ship and Base designs. It has a unique family number and so it shouldn't be an accidental upgrade. For some reason the AI designs a ship without the PFs and in later turns it will design an identical ship with a whole bunch of PFs tacked onto the end (they're small components). Is there something I can do to prevent the AI from doing this?

3. The AI will have perfectly useable ships and plenty of unexplored warp points, but all the non-colony ships will just sit there. I ran a test game and the AI didn't seem interested in the other warp points until about turn 42. What could keep the AI from exploring?

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Ahh!. Thanks to Atraikus's AI Modding cheat sheet, almost all my AI problems are now solved.

If you have a Req Ability like Cargo Storage that has a required percentage on the hull size, the AI will add that percentage of component plus one.

The default AI is now completely working!

I have no idea why the AI wasn't exploring before and I still can't figure out why the AI keeps putting the Prefab Fortifications on ships though. The AI's just adding them at the end. They don't affect ship performance, so I'm not really worried yet.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

They're not the same family as some other component which is used on ships, are they? The AI is notorious for ignoring restrictions such as "small weapons only go on fighters and troops" http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Yeah. I checked the families. They're fine. I even changed the old family number to a new one just in case, but that didn't work.

The only ability the Prefabs have is the Armor ability. That's the only thing I can think of that would cause the AI to put them on a design.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Latest progress on v1.2

2/18/05
Abbidon, Amon'krie, Terran and Cryslonite AI now works
increased supply storage for reactors
added tech requirement to High Energy Magnifier
fixed Navigational Shield maintenance reduction
normal missiles now have a standard refire rate of 6
normal torpedos now have a standard refire rate of 5

2/17/05
increased damage of Laser
reduced size of Rotating Gravity Module
default AI now wickeder than ever before!
Railguns now target Fighters and Drones

2/6/05
reduced size of Chemical Booster
changed family number of Commercial Radioactives Warehouse
reduced zero gravity penalty for 100kt Transport

2/1/05
added Supply Storage ability to Tactical Fighters and Tactical Drones (they now work as advertised)

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Pointer Mod v1.2 released. Some of the AI works. It will keep you busy, but it's not going to crush you.

The next version will be 2.0 and contain a new tech tree that's easier to use and AI_research.txt friendly.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Urendi

I do like the technologies you've made and the tech tree itself, hopefully you won't have to make too many changes to it.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Perhaps you are falling victim to this line:

Armor Spaces Per One := 1200

The "most advanced" armor component will be used to satisfy this requirement. You can force the AI to view something else as the "most advanced" armor by adding a bunch of redundant tech reqs to it so that it requires more total tech levels than the Prefab components do. You can have 5 or 6 "Armor 1" tech reqs if necessary.

Alternatively, you could add a tech area with a bunch of levels (20 or more) specifically for this purpose. All races would start with max levels in it, and all it is for is to make the AI view what you want it to view as the "most advanced" component. Since it will always have every level of this tech area, the tech tree itself will be wholely unaffected. I have put such practices to effective use in Adamant.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

That could be it. I've used the extra techs trick on other components. I'll try it on the Prefabs.

The new tech tree will be a little easier to use. It will be easier to mod the AI to and it will eliminate researching useless things before you get something you like.

ie, if you're using phasers and all of a sudden you want turbolasers you won't have to start by researhing puny little 6 damage lasers first.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

A side thought about technology...

Have you considered having the progression from cities upto orbital towers be upgradible?

It could help AI's who do build urban tech because when you get to the highest level city you must destroy the city in order to build an arcology, ect.

I'm not sure how much the tech tree would need to be changed, but I'd think that it would be easier for both people and the AI to take advantage of the tech that way.

Second question: What does the commercial shipping tech do?

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Urendi

I'm playing/testing the new mod right now and I'm curious about Shipping Office I. As I understand it, it should be improving the value(mineral, organic, radiation) of all my planets in a system by 1% per turn. It doesn't look to be working right now.

Thanks

VaultDweller

Re: Pointer Mod
 

It might be 1% every 10 turns or so.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Hmm...That does sound about right, I'll have to double check the description for how often the improvement occurs.

EDIT: Checked the description and it does say per turn, not per year.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Those abilities only take effect once per year (10 turns), not once per turn. Do they say once per turn in the mod files?

Re: Pointer Mod
 

The description of the the facility states once per turn. I'm just going to run 10 turns by and check the planet values.

EDIT: Ran through the 10 turns after construction and it worked like a charm.

Thanks for letting me know that it takes 10 turns Ed and Atrocities.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

I thought it was just once per turn like every other ability. I'll change the description to say "Once per year"

I am actually going to combine the families in v2.0 for a lot of things making them upgradeable. I'm combining all the reactors into one family as well as the engines. I'll do the same for the cities since Arcologies are on the high end of the Urban tech anyway and they do the same thing.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Urendi

I've been checking on the AI periodically to see how it's doing. The Abaddon seem to be making ships well and playing strongly. The Sergetti on the other hand are making ships with engines, but not reactors. The Praetorians seem to be up to the same foolishness. Another thing of note is that they are putting multiple navigational shields on their designs as well. I'm not sure if the benefits for the nav shield stack or it might be a good idea to find a way to make that component limited to 1 per ship.

By the way I'm enjoying the PBW game we've got going with the older mod.

Hope this stuff I find is usefull.

VaultDweller

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Some of the races don't have the ai done yet, so they're building ships according to the stock data files, which means they don't build ships with reactors and use too many engines.

They're using multiple nav shields because that's the only shield component they have.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Unfortunately my computer caught a virus and now won't boot up. I'll have to do a system resore from the factory partition, which means SE4 will be gone from my harddrive along with Pointer v2.0

I'll be back to work though as soon as my computer is resored and I get my SE4 gold cd mailed to me from Wisconsin.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Urendi

How's things going with the system restore?

Also, have you heard anything from Ekolis?

VaultDweller

Re: Pointer Mod
 

I haven't gotten ahold of a Windows XP disk yet. I should be getting mine in the mail any day now.

I haven't heard from Ed, but as soon as I do and my computer is running again, we can continue the game.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Urendi

Is your computer up yet? I'm looking forward to keeping the PBW going. I've also still been testing the newest version of the mod.

VaultDweller

Re: Pointer Mod
 

My computer's running fine now and I managed to save the work I'm doing on Pointer Mod 2.0. As far as the PBW game, we're waiting for Ed Kolis's turn.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Sounds good to me.

By the way the cryslonite AI seems to pretty well building facilities, colonizing, and making attack ships. All AI races seem to need a little help with building Carriers better(they don't put any cargo bays in).

Hyperdrives don't seem to work at all. Although, the jump drives are great. I like the many choices of engine you make available. In each speed range you can choose from cheaper drives that are just good for propulsion to higher end drives that give bonus movement or shields...I'm a big fan of the gravity well drives.

One of the silly things that the AI does is put Prefabricated Fortifications on somee of their ships. I know that's a troop component, but somehow they do that.

Glad to hear your machine works!

Vaultdweller

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Yeah. I have no idea why the AI does that. If I could figure it out, maybe I can use the same effect in the Cheaters AI I'm working on.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

When there's extra space on a ship design that can't be filled by the majority component - the best armor per kT (that fits, troop or whatever) is put on to fill the leftover space.

Re: Pointer Mod
 

Ahh, So the game does calculate the best armor as a size/strength ratio.