Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Check to see if there is an extra line between the 400kt design and the next larger one in AI_D_C. Been there, done that!

My stock AI_D_C now seems to work entirely as intended. Next is customizing the ship sizes and types.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

Brakiri now back on track. I had to make a new .emp file and then they worked. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

Looks like me gonna make a few new Brakiri weapons as they seem to be missing.

Gawd, my eyes and hands hurt but the Brakiri have their weapons now. Install tommorow to see if they work http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[ March 29, 2004, 02:54: Message edited by: pathfinder ]

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

Thanks, guys, I got at least part of the problem: "Num Misc Abilities" is actually the number of ADDITIONAL abilities. Thus, the AI was adding engines because it put in four per the speed and then filled the remaining spaces with engines as Misc abilities. And yes, "speed" in this case is purely the number of engines. But with the engine mounts, this is moot.

Which also solves Path's Shadow Living CPU problem as well: the AI adds a LCPU as the required bridge component and then again as the misc ability "Master Computer" (I tested it, Path, and the Shadows use only one LCPU if you delete the Misc ability "Master Computer").

However, this doesn't resolve the issue of the AI not using armor. I read long ago in one of the threads that an "Armor Spaces Per One" setting of zero causes the AI to fill in all spaces with armor after completing its other requirments. Is this not true? I have tried adding armor as a misc ability and the AI will leave empty spaces before it will install armor. This kinda makes the great armor system of the game kinda redundent.

Anyone have any ideas?

Also, IF wrote:
<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">That isn't true in this mod for weapons tech - Max Tech gives everyone all the racial light weapons, medium, etc, but IS true for other stuff (like the LCPUs). Not sure where the weapons discrepancy crept in, but you are right and I shouldn't have doubted it! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

[ March 29, 2004, 23:04: Message edited by: TNZ ]

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

Argh! What are you guys doing to my poor defenseless techs!?!

Just do #3 and #4 directly, don't destroy all my work with 1 and 2 http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon8.gif

Please don't dumb down the armor techs. The AI already knows which are best from each Category; all you have to do is tag the categories for use.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Nice work heh, making weapons?
I've been working on the Ancients and now they have their weapons (not the Shadows and the Vorlons). I'll continue to work on weapons, this is a hell of a job I tend to like it. Strange huh?

Edit: I'm not going very fast but that's because of RL, so much work. And my GF is nagging my head of for a vacation in Paris. Sigh... the "delights" of a realtionship...

[ March 29, 2004, 14:17: Message edited by: Timstone ]

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">SJ, I was this close to deleting the armor mod and trying over with something simpler to apply ability tags to... but I didn't because it was just slightly more work than tagging the existing 148 components. Mind you, I think the concept of many armor components that changed only ever so slightly as tech improved was great, but its creation without tags almost made it more trouble than it was worth. I did change "midrange armor" to "medium armor" since "medium" is the term used in the mod for everything else in the Category between "heavy" and "light."

At 100 spaces per one for each type of armor, you end up with about 10% of the hull devoted to armor. Seems about right.

[ March 29, 2004, 16:36: Message edited by: grumbler ]

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

Hahaha... SJ almost collapsed under the imense pressure of a heartattack. Catastrophe avoided.

Nice work on the AI tags Grumbler.
I still haven't read your Last mail (worky, worky, worky), but fear not I'll read it before the weekend, maybe I'll continue work on the facilities this week. The work I neglected yesterday has caught up with me. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

All I can say is....some of the challenges in the Version (old one) are due to use of "boiler-plate". I am ripping out inappropriate abilities as I go. That is if they seem inappropriate to me (based on the AoG books and the few show re-runs I have seen).

I'll make a basic (weak?) gravitic based shield as both the Abbai and Brakiri had some. I'll probably just use the data from "normal" game components to make the shields up. They'll probably be the weakest ones (just re-name them and use different tech requirements).

Refresh my memory: If I make a change to components.txt, I have to make new .emp files?

[ March 29, 2004, 22:49: Message edited by: pathfinder ]

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

Would any one dare say when this will be done?

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Well, for the "Pathy Special": with the progress I am currently making....maybe by the end of the summer...IF I can get three more pet peeves "fixed".

And depends on what you call finished. My definition is with the current races (less nomads) and no more races (ancient or standard) then maybe by summers end. Also, no new graphics. Mainly a simple bug stomp.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Nope, only if you make changes to RacialTraits.txt or to the characteristics settings in Settings.txt.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Nope, only if you make changes to RacialTraits.txt or to the characteristics settings in Settings.txt. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Ahhh...ok, thanks. Mah poor haid hurtin' trying to figger that out... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">"Done" is kind of a funny word to use with a mod, isn't it? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif I would say that there is a "playable" mod right now, but with lots of bugs in terms of weapons matchups and the right races using the right weapons. The problem with posting such a "buggy" mod for people to download is that updates would be massive and it wouldn't be a lot of fun trying to make "patch" files for the mod.

If interest is high enough, I could get the simplified "crude Version" posted with a caveat emptor.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

How does the game restrict number of shipyards---hard coded? I couldn't find a restriction....

Trying to "fix" AI use of aggressive facitlities at start-up of full tech games. This has the potential of causing the AI resource problems in a full tech game.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I believe that it is hard-coded.

Quote:

Trying to "fix" AI use of aggressive facitlities at start-up of full tech games. This has the potential of causing the AI resource problems in a full tech game.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">My solution was to make the aggressive facilities 90% as efficient at 50% the cost of regular facilities. This emans the AI won't use them, but they still have a use for a human player who wants to basically strip-mine small domed planets not worth retaining forever. Building full-sized facilities on those sites simply takes too long due to population limits.

If we change the ability tags we could make the AI use this strategy as well. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Is that 50% MORE or less costly?

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

I know the Shadows had some sort of cloaking (dimensional shift?) but did any of the other races...particularly the Vorlons?

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">50% less costly. It makes the facilitities easy enough to build on a domed world in less than years and years, but they screw up the planet - but if it is domed and of limited utility anyway, why not do it?

Because they are not the most effective facilities, the AI won't use them unless specificaly told to do so. And I don't see any way for the AI to distinguish between domed and undomed worlds, it may not be something they can do - but is still a cool thing for the human player to do.

Note that remote mining satellites are more efficient, probably (though slower) but I am not sure we want anyone but the nomads to use remote mining. I think of Marcus's facility on Whatsitsname Somenumber to be a facility, not a satellite.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

Grumbler: Kewl, mostly worked in my little test. The AI only used one aggressive mining facilty http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif


Now, all I have left to "fix" are the Vree. Then all I'll have left is some weapon load-out tweaking.

Next project is shields....

Then starting techs tweaking...

[ March 31, 2004, 02:40: Message edited by: pathfinder ]

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I believe that it is hard-coded.

Quote:

Trying to "fix" AI use of aggressive facitlities at start-up of full tech games. This has the potential of causing the AI resource problems in a full tech game.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">My solution was to make the aggressive facilities 90% as efficient at 50% the cost of regular facilities. This emans the AI won't use them, but they still have a use for a human player who wants to basically strip-mine small domed planets not worth retaining forever. Building full-sized facilities on those sites simply takes too long due to population limits.

If we change the ability tags we could make the AI use this strategy as well.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

I have two things to say, and a minute or two to say them:

1) For AI armor, I suggest having them use 30% light armor.
They aren't bright enough to know when the others are useful, and it will cut down on the research they need to throw at armor techs.

2) What shields?
There is a point defense grid, and lots of interceptors, but shields??

The passive armor (one step up from the inert armors) uses some shield ability in order to work the crystalline ability. The primary/secondary/additional subdivisions make it so big ships can't load up on crystalline ability to become relatively invulnerable. It also gives the small ships a half-decent ability amount.
I think that these should probably be given MUCH fewer hitpoints, so that you can layer the inert armor over top of it, and it dosen't die first...

PS:
Adding some super-armor techs for the ancients to start with would be good though. Various mixes of Organic and Crystalline armor for most ancients, some with "hit first" armor, and perhaps one with -999% to-hit "armor".

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

SJ: Shields, yes. Abbai and Brakiri both have gravitic shield generators..1 each for certain class ships. Based on the AoG "Ships of the Fleet" books.

Not 100% sure me gonna do the brain work to figure out how strong and to do all the setup for designcreation and so forth.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

interesting, though i watched approx 80% of the bab5 series and have 2 seasons on dvd i never noticed shields reflecting/absorbing fire. I always thought firepower was sucked up by armor... ?!? Can you give the name of a episode where i can see shields b5-style ?!

Thanks

p.s. HURRY !!! Im waiting for this since the release of se4 gold, i cant hold it any longer...

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

There are some episodes with the Vorlons. They receive some fire and their shields absorb it.

Anyway. 2.0 tries to follow the B5 Wars book (2nd edition). In those books some races have fairly weak shields. The Ancients don't excell at it either. But there are shields.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I have only seen 1-2 episodes. As I stated below my data is based on the Agents of Gaming books "Ships of the Line". These contain data sheets used in a table top game made by AoG.

So, not sure if "canon" by TV series BUT they are listed in the major components some of the ships data sheets.

Frankly, I am finishing the MOD mainly to suite myself. There is no way to host/upload here now and the MOD is ~50 MB so e-mailing is out of the question. Yeah, I guess I COULD beg someone here to host but I am not going to as again no way I know of to get the mod to them.

[ March 31, 2004, 20:22: Message edited by: pathfinder ]

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

Any ideas on how to make all the races to have initial race-specific techs? Other than totally trashing the tech file?

[ March 31, 2004, 21:08: Message edited by: pathfinder ]

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

I think their shields act more like ECM than SE4 shields

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Simple, they set up a FTP account on their web server. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Simple, they set up a FTP account on their web server. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Well, that someone would have to say something and allow that transfer to occur.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

I think Path is correct that some ships in B5 (such as the Excaliber have something that works virtually identically to the SE shield system - Something like "eighty percent of the energy weapons' impact is diffused back out into space." This is NOT like Se armor, it is like SE shields - the value of the armor doesn't decrease until it is destroyed.

Since the Excaliber is based partially on Minbari tech (and thus partly on Vorlon) it is entirely reasonable to assume that the Vorlons have something like this, only much better. And if they had it, then it was likely available to the other Ancients as well.

I would, of course, be every careful about using that "eighty percent" figure! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

Radiated into space, that's like emissive armor.

Or leaky shields

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

And is exactly what the conductive/refractive/etc armor is meant to model.

They could probably stand to be beefed up a little in ability amount along with a decrease in hitpoints so they Last longer.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Agreed. The "reactive armors" have what are in SE terms shields. I was just responding to the post that said that firepower was always "sucked up by armor."

I am happy with the way reactive armors work, though agree that one of the tweaks will be to make sure that their abilities are in line with the weapons.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

Problem with those advanced armors is that the only "younger" race "allowed" them are the Minbari. So.....

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

What is the status of this mod? Playable, yes no, under construction, yes no, ETA for completion?

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Version I am fooling around with:

Playable-yes.

Under Construction-yes. Mostly tweeking.

ETA finish: Late summer IF I can get two irritants taken care of. Longer if I try to get Nomads to work.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

Interesting game: "Playing" as Centauri (full AI)---Centauri tearing the Minbari a new one. Mainly uncontested planet capture. Though the Centauri ships are not slouches (up to destroyers with matter cannons and ballistic torpedoes) very few ship-to-ship battles.

[ April 04, 2004, 21:42: Message edited by: pathfinder ]

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Actually, they are fully attainable by all the races except the ancients, as far as I can see.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Actually, they are fully attainable by all the races except the ancients, as far as I can see. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Well, when I asked Last year, someone, SJ?, suggested that only the Minbari and Ancients got advanced armor so that is the way I made the research.txt files up. Of course, very late game the AI will research any "left-overs". *shrug*

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

Does any one have a link to this mods web page that works?

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

I don't think this mod has a working website.
It's obscure you know, this mod is a big secret. Nobody is to hear from it. So if you talk abut it to someone outside this community you will be shot. I you survive, you'll be shot again. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Rambie's site is the only one close to a B5 site:

http://www.xmission.com/~rstulce/B5Web.htm

For the GOLD files you have to search here.

This is the Last revisions I did:

Latest Version of the B5 MOD Gold.

B5 Gold "Main" files:

1055690978.zip

B5 Mod Race AI:

1055720287.zip

I have done some tweaking since but no where to upload them (MOD is about 50 MB in size).

[ April 06, 2004, 10:22: Message edited by: pathfinder ]

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

so, someone need to give pathfinder access to a ftp or something http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Yeah, I don't even have a place to put the files that have changed (patch so to speak).

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

How big is this patch? If it is a lot smaller than the full mod, such as no images people already have, I can put it on SE.net. Email it to admin spaceempires net (insert @ and .) and I will add it.

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

Suicide Junkie should be able to host if for you -- see this thread for details:

http://www.shrapnelgames.com/cgi-bin...;f=23;t=011425

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Not sure. I'd have to pull the files into a folder and see. I'll check it out. Though some of the stuff IS new ship images (guess I could leave those out).

How would you recommend I organize it? separate folders for each race? and a separate one for data? or would a big "glump" do?

I'll need to re-do the neutral races' designcreation files and then I should be ready to send something.

[ April 06, 2004, 23:51: Message edited by: pathfinder ]

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

Well I meant images that are already in the current full Versions, so are not needed in a patch file...

A big glump would be easier.

[ April 06, 2004, 23:58: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

Re: Babylon 5 Mod
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Ok, glump is easier for me too. So far, without any updated images and no updated neutrals it is running 6.55 MB.