Re: Starting facs for homeworlds...
 

I'm not to good at modding the AI files. I just look for the resupply facility and delete it? This must be done for each race I guess http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon9.gif
If you don't make the value higher, tried lower but not equal, on the shipyard than the standard facility the AI will pick the standard facility at start.
You could add the Spaceport ability also and get 3 yards at start and that might work too but that doesn't seem as logical, I can see the yard and resupply being done by the same facility.
Do you think having 2 yards on a planet is worth it? I was hoping to get 7-10 yards and create a real important planet. Doesn't seem possible though.

Re: Starting facs for homeworlds...
 

Now that I think about it, you might not have to delete the resupply entries... I'm not sure what will happen though, it might work fine, it might build an extra resupply fac when the shipyard covers it, or it might frezze up.... I'm not sure. You'd only need to delete a "resupply fac entry" when it also occurs with a shipyard entry... and you would have to do it for each race plus the defaults.

I don't think you can have a homeworld start with more than 2 or 3 shipyards w/o causing serious problems in the game, sorry. I just wish MM would remove the 1 shipyard per planet/ship hardcode restriction, and just enforce it with the "Restrictions" line in componets.txt and facility.txt.

Re: Starting facs for homeworlds...
 

I know that 9 shipyards on the homeworld caused the AI to pump out ships! Maybe I will try a few games with three yards on a homeworld, I think I could modify 2-3 AI's to get a feel for how they handle it.
I'm definately gonna try 9+ in a hotseat game though. Then you would have a planet worth risking you entire fleet to capture, or defend!

Re: Starting facs for homeworlds...
 

I had an interesting thought: maybe the restriction on planetary spaceyards should be "one per [x] facilities on planet". And make [x] a settable option. Make the default high (as in more facilities than you can put on a sphereworld) so it doesn't affect the current setup, but then modders could change it. Setting the value [x] to 20 would allow huge worlds to build 2 spaceyards; [x]=10 would allow 2 spaceyards on medium and large worlds, and 3 on huge worlds; etc.

What do y'all think? I know it requires hardcode change by MM, so would it be worthwhile?

Re: Starting facs for homeworlds...
 

I like it!

If you rounded off instead of rounding up, then you could have a restriction of no spaceyards on tiny worlds.

Perhaps it should be based on atmosphere; for airless worlds, spaceships would have a natural environment on the surface, and could take off easily. So, vaccuum worlds could have more spaceyards than other atmospheres, which could be limited to one...

Separately, what if ships can only be built at space stations, but bases can be built from planetary spaceyards.

SO, you need a space yard to get the base, which builds the ships in orbit.

Re: Starting facs for homeworlds...
 

Taking that thought a little further, how about limiting the number of certain facilities on specific colony types. Right now the colony designation doesn't mean much, it mostly just tells the AI what to build.
What if you could only build one of any facility on a planet except the facilities that fit that type of colony. For example you designate a colony a mining colony. The only facilities you could build more than one of were ones that directly provided or improved mining.

Re: Starting facs for homeworlds...
 

I'm not sure that would work out unless your allowing the players to setup several different colony blueprints and they have to follow those. Personally I liked mixed ability colonies, such as multiresource colonies and my military colonies usually combine the different shield facilities, training facilities, and such. Besides there could be problems, when you colonize a planet you can hit cancel when it tells you to choose a colony type, if you hit cancel the colony has no type. Or you could continually switch colony types to build the facilities you want anyhow. It's an interesting idea, but in a game like this I would prefer less hard rules to follow and more flexibility. Just my opinion.

Re: Starting facs for homeworlds...
 

I see both sides.
Switching or mixing colonies give the human a distinct advantage over the AI. The AI follows rigid rules so I don't have any problem with the same rules for me.
In a hot seat game where everyone is tailoring the colonies to their style of play it is more enjoyable to have the flexibility.
Sorry to have gotten away from the original thread.

Re: Starting facs for homeworlds...
 

Like I said it's an interesting idea, I'd prefer for it to be an option really or be able to design and load up my own facility queues. Better yet give the AI a little more flexibility in being able to pick planets and what facilities to construct.

Re: Starting facs for homeworlds...
 

The other option is simply to add more population modifiers in setting.txt, since your big planets will eventually have more popualtion... if you base production/construction more on population instead of planet size, you can get the results your after. Currently I've modded it so all habitable planets have 25 facilities, this way the facilities just represent how you populations efforts are divided, but I have added numerous new lines of population modifiers... a huge world CAN but out ships twice as fast as large worlds... because huge worlds can have twice the population, and all my modifiers are linear in their bounus (although I gave a slight "increase for tiny and domed worlds, since the population would more likely be specialist than normal citizens)