|
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
I'll check the Abbai's Ship and Propulsion levels when I get a chance, probably be tommorow before I get back to you.
|
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Earlier than I anticipated.
Well of course now that I'm lookng for it the RCE doesn't occur. But anyway the Abbai are currently level 11 in Ship Building and level 11 in Propulsion. An oddity - the Abbia have Basic ECM III but all of the ships only have Basic ECM I installed. Abbai current Dreadnought design : 20 Ultraefficient Fusion Engines Massive Fusion Reactor 7 Heavy BLast Cannon IV 2 Fighter Bay I (wish the AI would load fighters on all these bay equipped capital ships) Basic ECM I Basic Combat Sensors III Required Bridge, Life Support, Crew Quarters and Military component. No armor though ? [ January 23, 2003, 07:04: Message edited by: AGoetz ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Quote:
nor do I know why "no armor". The 'resource generation - organics" misc ability is the call for armor...*shrug* |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
I have all of the major races but non of the smaller ones. Where can you find those sets?
|
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Atomannj: I made a number of shipsets (Abbai, Dilgar, Drazi (some), Pak'Ma'Ra, Cascor (some), Gaim (some), Brakiri (VERY rough)). Val was finishing them up while waiting for me to finish their AI_designcreation and AI_research files but that fell through as he hasn't been "seen" since before Thanksgiving.
In other words, they not "published". [ January 24, 2003, 01:27: Message edited by: pathfinder ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
ALL: How close to 'canon" do I need to have the weapons in AI_designcreation. As is the Dilgar would be very easy victims to most other races unless I use a bit more "modern" weapons, as in Shadow War era Versions versus Dilgar War Versions. Thinking along a single-player game, not a PBW or RP PBW/PBEM game.
|
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
To remain competitive, the Dilgar should not have extremely sub-par weaponry. Remember, this is a mod, not a scenario. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
[ January 24, 2003, 03:22: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Unless someone is going to go to a lot of work, of course this mod will be unbalanced. Even ignoring the power of the Ancient Races, the differences between what the various races have available will add up.
For example in an older game (as Gaim) I captured a bunch of Vree tech, enough that I could research their Heavy Antimatter Weapons line. I looked at the results, compared to the Particle Concentrator I already had and stayed with the PC - longer ranged and it was so much cheaper that I ignored the slightly higher damage and smaller size of the Vree Antimatter Cannon. As it currently is, no-one has more choice than the EA for weapons (for that matter, does anyone else have a mine clearer that can wipe out 20 mines per use? 5 of these on a ship and that 100 strong mine field is gone). Races with fighter mounted missiles have a huge advantage in battles over those that don't. A weapon that is definety broken - the HARM Missile. A single hit from the mark I variety will eliminate the ship from the rest of the battle as it's weapons will not recover before battle timeout occurs. A human designer will make sure that there are other missiles launched first to absorb the PDF. |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
AGoetz: You are absolutely right. The whole mod is very unbalanced. I thought (hoped) Val knew what to do with it, since he was the founder of the mod. I thought he all had it calculated. But now he's goen. The whole persepective on the mod has changed dramaticly. With him out of the picture (maybe). I think we seriously need to remake the mod. Nobody knows excatly how the mod works and what the endresult must look like. I think we need to rethink our mod.
Okay, this won't be a very popular anouncement, but let's begin from scratch again. The first thing we need to do is to make an inventory of all the races we want to include. Then we take a look at which races are already included. After that we pick volunteers who's job it is to make ajustments to the particular races they want to do. Then step by step the whole mod will emerge agian. And this time with all the stuff in the right places. We have accumalted enough knowledge to do this. When we decide to remake this beautiful mod, I volunteer to do the Ipsha and the Ancients (minus the Vorlons and the Shadows). We can even call in some help from other people around this forum. What do you guys think about it? I think if we don't do this, this mod will be a never ending proces. (the sentence above was edited in) [ January 24, 2003, 10:28: Message edited by: Timstone ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
The message below is for everyone to comment on of course. Come on people, say something about it. I'm really interestd in your thoughts. I was pondering about this plan for a while, but AGoetz was the proverbial drop. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
Two questions: If I want to give a groundtrooper a weapon. What do I select as "Can Traget" and "Vehicle Type"? If I give "Ftr/Trp" to it, can a GroundTrooper use the weapon? |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
For infantry-type weapons take a look at the infantry matter gun in data/components file. that should at least give you a method of how to set-up the weapon data to be placed in the components file. Troop (armor) weapons follow a similar pattern.
As for re-doing the MOD. Not me. |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
PF: Thanks for the info. Stupid me, could have thought about that myself. To quote Geo: Doh!
About the remake. Why not?! Do you really think this mod is ever going to be finished?! No, I don't think so. Not as long doesn't Val returns. And even if it's going to be finished. It will need a thousand hours tweaking period. That's not the way to go. Well at least in my vision. Why not make the mod very small at first and add more races as you go along. At least finish the core, then you'll be a lot further than we're now. All we've got now are some bits and pieces. Stupid typos. [ January 24, 2003, 11:46: Message edited by: Timstone ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
If you're going to start from scratch (I won't say "if we" start from scratch, cause I wouldn't be much help) I'd just like to suggest a few things.
1) don't have a separate tech tree for each race. There is currently a "general" tech tree for lasers (for example) and then a separate laser tech for each and every race. This redundancy is killer on both file size, etc. etc. Proposal: Have a single tech tree, and then have all the race specific components have the requirement of the general tech + the racial trait (level 1). 2) make the mod "ready" for the eventual synthesis into the Sci Fi Cross-Over Mod (X-over). You may ask yourself "Self, why would I want to do this?" And I would say to you "because it will increase the number of people interested in playing your mod!!" Not everyone is a B5 fan - yet. But they are a SW fan, or a ST fan, etc. And maybe they'll get bit by the B5 bug when they play against the B5 universe in a cross-over game. It may be a tiny bit more work initially, but it will save a lot of work later. This would be pretty easy to do, and if there is interest, maybe this should be worked out with Andres before the project goes too far. just my thoughts, feel free to ignore. |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Re: a "restart."
I think that if we decide to follow Timstone's suggestion, we should first "clean up" the existing mod. Not adding anything, just taking out those techs that don't yield anything (like Ship Enhancement Level 4, or Armor under basic sciences) and creating a stable "Version 1" mod. Then, we can come back and look at the new mod in light of what was learned from the first go-around. Like engines. I HATE having to wade through 20+ 5 ton engines trying to figure out my reactor needs. Like the weapons techs, which as jimbob points out are hard to calculate. In fact, unless you know how to read the components files, it isn't possible to rationally decide what weapons techs to pursue. E.g., unless you can read the components file, what tells you as the Minbari to research (almost exclusively) Molecular weapons? Or as the narn, ballistic weapons? This could all be re-evaluated in the light of experience. The overall thrust and feel of the mod are outstanding, IMO. It really is a completely different game than the original, and more "different" than any mod I have played. however, it really does require a good knowedge of the nuts and bolts of the system to play well, and I think we can do better. I will help with this effort. I would like to also suggest that you reconsider the idea of making this a primarily 1.49 mod, with a port to Gold. Conidering the amount of time you are spending on this, the fact the Gold continues to be patched and 1.49 won't be, and that judging by PBW there are twice the number of Gold players as 1.49 players... is the money really an obstacle? I will continue to be willing to port over the games, but think going "native Gold" makes a lot of sense. |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Guess this is my post-logue or whatever. Not up to a re-write myself. No hard feelings on my part but I won't be a part of a total re-write. Not that some things aren't broken, weapons sure are, LCPU are, trading Posts are. *shrug* I been too deep in the weeds to stomach a total re-write, so I guess I am out of here.
Later... Oh and BTW...The main thrust for Minbari may be the molecular weapons but their BEST (damage & range) weapon is the neutron laser (laser tech)! [ January 25, 2003, 00:49: Message edited by: pathfinder ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Quote:
The question is, what needs to be done to make the mod stable? |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Trading Posts: limit one per planet (same as space yard). AI builds them like fleas.
LCPU...make it exactly like master computer...only one per ship (that IS a requirement but AI ignores that). Above are annoyances not imbalances. Weapons are broke/not balanced. Mostly what needs is re-write of designcreation to use MOST effective (instead of neo-"canon") weapons available. Some weapons are WAY to powerful (eg molecular slicer for shadows {matter of fact ALL shadow weapons have way too much range in comparison to other races--should ahve more but not as much). fixing the weapons MAY fix the "canon" weapon imbalance. Not sure if any more RCE inducers are there. MOST are gone (at least the ones that have plagued the testing since I started in May). Work needs to start on both the construction facility and construction vehicle files to get the most out of the AI's also. I been mostly fixing those RCEs and except for a trial foray into getting fighters to work, nothing has been done with these two files. [ January 25, 2003, 12:06: Message edited by: pathfinder ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Restarting the mod from scratch would be a bad idea.
|
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
PF: Agree in principle, but ROF should play into the calculation as well. Assuming that it takes 5 turns to get within range, a fighter IT (ROF 1/15 turns)would fire twice in a combat, while the ship Version (rof 1/2 turns) would fire 15 times. The imbalance isn't as great as it seems at first blush.
My real problem with the ship-based ion torpedo is simply that it doesn't get any of the economies of scale that large, etc mounts give to equivelent DF weapons. I think we need to look at creating component enhancements for seekers as well. I also think that the way to increase range might be better handled using compnent enhancement (like currently done for satellites and bases) rather than just improved weapons themselves. As it is, ships like the shadow escorts can considerably outrange other races' capital ships. By considerably lowering the range of the weapons themselves, and especially light weapons, and then adding back in range using large+ component enhancements, we could restore the advantage ship size gives in the real world - not just more weapons, but bigger and longer-ranged ones. All: When I talk about a "complete re-write" of the mod, what I am talking about is a re-thinking of the mod from the ground up, based on experience with the game. Not all that much would have to be re-written or changed - mostly just the components and vehicle-size files. For instance, do we really want to cripple the speed of the larger ships in order to have a few "x50" ton ships? Doersn't it make more sense, now that we have played the game, to make the engine per move divisor 100 rather than 50? Planet killers should be slow, sure, but a max speed of 5 (9 with all possible bonuses)? Why, using newtonian physics as our model, are we deliberately letting the 253 limit, rather than space avaiable for engines, drive the max speeds? Anyway, those are the kinds of things I am talking about when I say re-write (and probably mean re-examine). If no one is really very interested in this, then I can live with the decisions made to date (after all, I can just mod things to suit myself and leave the "official Version" as per the consensus). Seeing all the work that was done before I came on the scene, and having read all 160+ pages of this thread, I know that lots of this has been hashed out in some form or another. I just think that experience may give folks a different view when re-examining decisions made in the past. |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Comp enhancements for Seekers can only affect size, cost, supplies, and range fired at (but not actual range). They can not affect damage at all.
|
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Grumbler: hmmm...agree in principle, mostly anyways. weapons definitely, IMHO, need some re-evaluation. Not sure about the tonnage thing (the math makes my head hurt http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif ). I am re-doing the AI_designcreation files in an effort to make some of the races more competitive while still retaining some racial "flavor". also making race-specific AI_construction facility files (done with that, though they'll look similar). Gonna try and make AI_construction vehicle files too but those will be more difficult (racial differences)...
[ January 25, 2003, 21:55: Message edited by: pathfinder ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Example (IMHO) of weapon imbalance:
Cenaturi: Light Ballistic torpedo (fighter weapon): Range 10, damage 47. Ballistic Torpedo (ship): range 10, damage 39 (!?). Fighter-based weapons IMHO should be weaker in damage than the ship based ones and probably shorter range. Though here a balance of PD range vs fighter weapon should also be looked at. [ January 25, 2003, 12:12: Message edited by: pathfinder ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
PF: Agree that the contruction_facilities files almost have to be very similar, otherwise there will be sub-optimal ones. I've never seen mining as a very key priority, since maint costs are so low, for instance, and you only ever really need one educational center, since arch digs are so much cheaper and nearly as good. Maybe the facilities files themselves need some work.
Tell me what I can do to help with the vehicle design Ai files, I am starting to get the hang of the AI stuff by following in your wake. IF: Pity about the seeker enhancements. Is it worthwhile to consider adding back in torpedoes for the torpedo-like seekers (e.g. Ion torpedos)? |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Grumbler: take a race (or two) and look at the race(s)' weapons. See if there can be balance improvements (eg Shadows molecular slicer maybe a little shorter in range and not quite so much damage, also maybe has longer recharge time, [not 1 pop per turn! versus 4 turns for heavy laser http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif ] )
I'll update my weapon spreadsheet and post it tommorow I guess so it will be easier to figure this out without going to the components.txt file http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif all it does is give the "canon" weapons used by any of a races ships. [ January 26, 2003, 01:10: Message edited by: pathfinder ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Okies, me doing a down and dirty convert to Gold using TDM Gold race files.
then gonna test it.... |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Hey all, i have some bad news, im gonna have to drop out of the PBW B5 mod game as RL has gotten in the way. i have 2 mods to do, one on my own for SEIV, a painting for cover art for my friends band TRANSFIXT, and school work so for now i dont have time, but maybe next game during the summer or something ill have time, anyways ill still be around and what not, sorry if i screwed up anything
Peace P.S. whoever is in charge of the PBW game just email me if i need to do anything [ January 26, 2003, 02:25: Message edited by: The Canuck ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Big problem with conVersion: Target type----do you HAVE to add drone to target type?
|
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
PF: Yep, you have to have the target types include drones if they are also ftr/sat, ftr/sat/WP, etc.
You also have to have drones as the using platform if you have ftr/trp, etc. That conVersion alone takes about an hour with the existing components file, and that's using the find and replace feature. that file is just a monster! Then you have to change every vehicle in the vehicles file to include "Primary bitmap image" and "alternate bitmap image" - which takes another 90 minutes or so, since you cannot do it except by hand. Plus some other changes. So, the two Versions do not work together, and conVersion is a *****! That's why I haven't followed each of your imprvements with an improved Gold Version - its lengthy and dull work! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif OTOH, you have continued with your lengthy and dull work on the AI mods, so I am a bit ashamed of complaining. But only a bit! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Quote:
|
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Pathfinder
Do you want me to forward the excel spreadsheet I did for Val on SE4/B5mod weapons to you? Lighthorse |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Naw, I already have it. Maybe post or link it so Grumbler can get/use it.
|
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Timstone: No anger or hurt here. Tired, yes. Weapons are the biggest muddle/imbalance, I think most, if not all, will agree with that. Not sure what approach will get "biggest bang for the buck" and not take another year to implement. But SOMETHING sure needs to be done with them.
BTW I have gotten the biggest bugs fixed and now have a "tarnished" Gold conVersion of what I have on the MOD. Should be fairly up-to-date (based on latest [I hope] TDM AI). Now to figure out how to zip it so the rest of ya can test it...all I have is the basic/non-registered winzip (lost registration data during format of HDD). This what I am going to do. just be patient since I can't auto-exe the zip file, so you folks will have to manually place them. I will make the folder structure like the MOD so it shouldn't be TOO painful. I will upload just the data and AI files I changed to make a Gold Version. [ January 26, 2003, 20:30: Message edited by: pathfinder ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
PF: I have tried a little experiment with the weapons. I simply made a rule: all light weapons have a basic range of 2, medium of 4, long of 6. Lasers get +1 range but reduced damage, seekers +2.
Level 1 weapons lost 1 range, level 6 (the highest I went in a short game) got +1. Medium ship mounts got +2 (large would get +4 and massive +6, but again I didn't go that far). In the short game, things seemed to work out a bit better. Obviously, the low ROF weapons weren't any good - I will try to come up with a reasonable compromise between ROF and range. However, the smaller ships didn't prove as dominating as in the earlier games. In particular, Shadow escorts could no longer zap enemy light cruisers with impunity. I am working on a cost-benefit calculation for range, hitting power, and ROF. It will have to be empirical, though, since the tradeoffs are not necessarily strictly numerical, and they definately change based on strategic vs tactical combat (since the human player can shoot and scoot and the computer cannot). Hopefully, such a formula will allow us to more cogently talk about weapons. ALL: I don't like the idea of abandoning weapons mounts, for somewhat personal "stylistic" reasons. If you get rid of them, especially with the rules as is on reactive armor, then capital ships become a losing game. Take the example of 800 tons of warships in two cases: one battleship and two light cruisers. The battleship has 50 tons locked up in required components, the 2 CLs 60 tons. It will take the BB 245 tons of standard fusion engines to get a speed of 16, while it will take the 2 CLs 250 tons to do the same. At first blush, the BB looks like the better deal, as it has 505 tons to devote to weaponry, armor, and sensor/ECM, while the 2 CLs have only 490 tons. However, when you add in the fact that the 2 CLs can have 2 sets of reactive armor, they seem the better deal. Smaller ships get the advantage of additional reactive armor protection, even if they have to carry more sensors et al to get it. I don't think we want games where hordes of small ships fight it out. Capital ships should be distinctly different, and more powerful, and more expensive on a ton for ton basis. It should take a capital ship to match a capital ship. The way to make that happen it with the weapons mounts. I see a triple-cost/double- tonnage/double-damage/increased-range formula as working better than the double-cost/double- tonnage/triple-damage formula used now. that way, capital ships get range as their primary benefit, and pay for it in cost. thoughts? |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Grumbler: hehe, I'll ley you and whoever else wants that headache (weapons) to work on it all you want http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif
I don't care if one race has a small advantage, as long as there is another with a different advantage so they balance out. I agree on the need for cap ships..it is much more satisfying to see one of them blow http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
You have to remember that range is only good if you've got a chance of hitting the enemy. No point wasting a heavy laser at med/long range with 25% chance to hit as you will have to wait 4 turns for it to reload.
The problem with B5 (which also makes it good) is the fact that there are so many different weapons and it's going to be damn hard to work out a ballace for all (that is if we keep all the weapons. i my self want to keep all) What you need first is a list of all the weapons, firstly general weapons everyone can have and then race specific weapons. Then we can all decide on how each weapons will be different and how it progresses, this allows us in the end to make sure that all the weapons are ballanced before plowing through the component file. Capital ship battles are a must as the main ships in combat, the main thing about Capital ships is there large enought to effectivly hold fighters. my test on the current Version (fighters my be a big unbalanced but bare with me) my EA battle cruiser with 12 heavy fighters ( 4 cobra bay 3's) and assorted laser weapons could take out two EA battle cruisers that don't have fighter bays but more weapons. |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Right click on the B5 Mod folder, and use the winzip button to make a zip file out of it.
The unregistered Version of winzip only gives a registration message. It still has the same functionality as the registered Version. Shadow ships should be able to zap other race's ships easily (except Vorlons), because they can not colonize. If their ships are the same as other races, they have no chance of survival. The same goes for the Vorlons. [ January 27, 2003, 00:04: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Sorry guys for not replying that fast.
Okay we don't all agree on what needs to be done. I can see PF's problem with the whole situation. But Grumbler made a very useable reply. My idea was to revise not to completely remake the mod. If we would do that, we would be wiping out half a year of work. That would be a shame. The basis of our mod is very good, the feel and atmosphere is very good. No complaints here. Only the imbalance of some weapons and the total choas in the files is something worthwhile to improve. That is what I wanted to remake. Since I began on TAInT King (The Ancients In The maKing), I was introduced to the mayhem in the components file. It's a real mess in there. When I started with the basic design of the 8 remaining Ancients, I had to choose which techfamilies I had to include for every weapon. That made me realise it all had to be simple. Example: I gave the Triad Combined Aspects a AntMatter Wave. Although this is a AntiMatter powered weapon, I gave it requirements in the fields of Triad Light Weapons and Plasma Weapons. Why? Well, The Triad Combined Aspects use primarily Plasma based weapons and to keep it simple, I gave the requirement to all their weapons. Also I gave every Ancient 8 weapons [tiny (Fighter/Troop), light (Ship), light (PDF), medium (Torpedo), Heavy (Ship), Mega (Ship) and Ultra (Ship, One Per Vehicle)]. This really makes the making of each race very much less complicated. Again the principle of simplicity; don't give each race too many weapons. You won't be able to use them all anyway. And I you do want more weapons, just add them later on. All this simplicity has one big downside though. The diversity is not a big as it could be. Each race has more or less the same weaponstructure. To play each race to it's limits, you just have to master the different weapons (some fire faster, some use them to reder the opponent unable to fight back, etc...), the rest of the tactics behind a specific race is more or less the same as with any other race. So the main question stays. What shall we do? Shall we re-evaluate things and start making repairs to our precious mod? Or shall we mud on with the concept we have before us? PF: In no way I'm angry or something. I just had some thoughts about the way we're handling things at this time. And above all, I think you're currently the most valuable member of our ModCrew. If I offended you of hurt you, I appologise. |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Intersting: Drazi just did a GROPOS on an EA planet.... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
Seen this happen quite a few in the standard game (this is in current Gold test game)... |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
On the topic of fighter ships..
All my large (Drazi) ships have 1 launch catapult. The fighters are more a distraction than a threat unless I can get some good weaps for them. Found those few extra fighters can turn the tide. I have found with weapons: Shadows have long range strong weaps but 1 group has better fighter weap (electrical thingy) Torvalus have long range strong weaps comparible with Shadows but the power laser has longer reload Streib have a nice reload increase fighter weapon Vorlons have stronger fighter and similar ship weapons to Shadows Drazi have big fighters that hold more (less potent) weapons than others Also many weapons have pased damage but no sheilds exist AT ALL! (oh wait emissive armor creates sheilds, are those phased or normal?) |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
ShadowMaster: Not sure if the passive armors are normal or phased, methinks normal shields...
|
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
The passive armors should have phased shield ability.
Weapons that skip armor, or ship shields will negate the bonus effects of the passive armor, and are NOT generally reccommended! Do you really want a weapon that will turn the shadow's armor into cheap inert junk? You can use the Quad-to-shields damage type (and its variants) to tweak the penetration ability of your weapon much more effectively. Quarter damage = 80% absorbed (max 4x crystalline ability) Half damage = 66% absorbed (max 2x crystal ability) normal = 50% absorbed (max 1x crystal ability) Double = 33% absorbed (max 1/2 crystal ability) Quad = 20% absorbed (max 1/4 crystal ability) |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
SJ: all the abilities list is Shield generation/regeneration for the various passive armors.
All: Why would the AI not "turn on" for the neutrals? In other words what did I do to "kill" the neutrals? Only thing that shows up in design menu is weapon platforms...They do not have any facilities on the HW..??!!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/confused.gif [ January 27, 2003, 04:28: Message edited by: pathfinder ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Well, I suppose it really dosen't matter, since there aren't any true shields anyways, and the phased + non-phased = non phased thing is a non-issue.
If you want to make a weapon that negates the bonus protection of some low level armors, but not the top armors, you could add "phased" to them... Not sure how that would make sense, but it is possible. |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Regarding the PBW game...
Ok... Val is MIA. Are the Technomages in a playable state in 1.49.33? If so, we need a replacement. If not, I will finish the empire slot off. The Canuck has posted in Shrapnel that he has no time to play this game. Since I entered a password for that empire file, I know what it is, and so a replacement can take over with no trouble. Zero Adunn seems to be having a few problems getting the mod to work, but I think he will get that fixed soon. Comments? Suggestions? Complaints? |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Fyron: I'd be happy to take either slot, seeing as the nomads/Lorkan need a bit of work still (few facilities available, no research facilities, etc.).
I'd need passwords however... -jimbob |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
PF: what you describe happens when the AI race doesn't get the "B5 standard race" trait. It then has no facilities, ships, etc.
|
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Hi gang! I'm back again from work. Sigh, what a day, what a day, what a day...
It's good to see that many people care about our great mod. Grumbler there gave some nice idea's. But the turnside of it is the lack in originality. No more many diverse weapons. A much better way to standardise things is to implement a maximum amount of damage a younger race can do with it's weapons. The medium old races get a higher maximum amount of damage and the ancient races get the highest maximum amount of damage. That way you can still fill in the range and the damage continuation (how much the damage degrades or increases acording to the range). I tell you guys what. This week is a reasonably quiet week for me, if I find the time for it I'll write down the weapons that every race should get (the standard weapons). With that done, we can assign every other weapons to a specific race. In other words. We're going to split up the mess we've created so far into smaller block/modules. If you want another race implemented, you can fall back on the standard tech tree and give the new weapons a requirement in the standard tech tree and a requirement in a new family. (Grumbler's idea) The step beyond that is to kick out every race and evaluate every race. See if it can be standardized 9before that we've got to come up with a standard amount of weapons (which can be upgraded in later Versions)). Example of standard amount of wepaons (basicly the example I gave earlier): Tiny (Fighter/Troop), Light (PDF), Light (Ship), Medium (Seeking-weapon, Ship), Heavy (mainstay Ship), Mega (Rare Ship), Ultra (One Per Vehicle, Ship) Something like this? |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Well, if we are going to be looking at the weapons system, here is what the Gaim currently have :
Tiny -Light Particle Beam -Light Particle Gun Light -PDF Scattergun Medium -Scattergun Heavy -Packet Torpedo (Seeker) -Particle Concentrator Mega -None Ultra -None Special -Life Support (1/2 size, also 1/2 structure) -Crew Quarters (1/2 size) -Fighter Cockpit (combination cockpit/life support) -Bulkhead (First hit armor, size 5 structure 10 so inefficent compared to the leaky armors) -Breaching Pods (higher number of marines than a normal boarding component) [ January 27, 2003, 23:15: Message edited by: AGoetz ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Grumler, et al: Looks like the ORDER that they are listed is important here. "B5 Standard Race" has to be listed 1st in the AI_general.txt file as an advanced trait in order for the neutral to be loaded properly.
Guess I'll d/l the new patch and se what kind of headache I get with the MOD http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif On weapons: SOMETHING has to be, just not sure what. 2 things (may be incompatible ??)...Ancient weapons SHOULD be suprior to the mid and younger races; HOWEVER, there should be counters available to the mid and younger races....also the diversity is what makes the MOD interesting (IMHO) for humans to play; HOWEVER, that is what is giving all of us a headache to program the AI to use. One of the componentenhancement mods (mounts) had a neat concept that worked very well. one set of mounts that gave a slight advantage to the AI but limited them to that small decision set while allowing the human a great number of options. Anyway for the races to keep maybe 1 to 2 weapons/mounts so it easier for them to pick. I think, if there is a concensus, that I can do some limits via the AI_designcreation files but the damage/range/rate of fire issues need fixing to some degree. One personal Comment: Except for the Fuser plasma weapon the Pakmara get, most plasma weapons stink. They have less range than any other weapon and should but even the heavy plasma weapons only have a range of 1-2....bleah no opton IMHO...while their range maybe less the range is too limited IMHO (and they have inaccuracy built in too, IIRC). and they are slow...why not up the range with maybe a faster rate of fall off in damage and keep them relatively inaccurate? just some food for thought... [ January 28, 2003, 00:28: Message edited by: pathfinder ] |
Re: Babylon 5 Mod
Maybe thursday or fryday I can take a look at the core of our mod and write down every weapon we wish to keep. Then I'll just isolate those weapons and put them in a new family tree (the rest of the stuff I'll leave untouched). That way I can make a schedule which weapon has which number (more easy for me to make adjustments).
Now for the standard weapons. We really have to decide how many of which type we consider normal. The rest of the weapons (if a race has more than the standard amount) is optional. We'll put them in later on. You'll hear from me when I've got the core ready. Then we'll begin the process of rebuilding each race. Now, please post a thought for the standard amount of weapons. That way each race starts out equally strong. |
| All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:00 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©1999 - 2025, Shrapnel Games, Inc. - All Rights Reserved.