Up to date beta patch info..
 

Okay you guys wanted to see what we were doign in test so here is the newest revision as of tonights load:

Version History for Space Empires IV
---------------------------------------------------

Version 1.15:
1. Fixed - Fixed a problem in the VehicleSize.txt file where the
"Combat To Hit Add" ability was used to make bases easier
to hit. This ability has now been changed to "Combat To Hit
Offense Plus" and "Combat To Hit Offense Minus". The ability
"Combat To Hit Dec" has been changed to "Combat To Hit
Defense Plus" and "Combat To Hit Defense Minus".
2. Fixed - Simultaneous Games: The Host would ask for missing player
files from players that were dead.
3. Fixed - Simultaneous Games: The Host would ask for missing player
files even when being run from the command line.
4. Fixed - Improved the AI Retrofit minister.
5. Fixed - Improved the AI Minesweeping minister.
6. Fixed - Access Violation in Combat Replay where the combat only Lasted
one turn.
7. Fixed - Combat Replay was skipping the first turn.
8. Changed - Simultaneous combat resolution to now be triggered off of
movement (It used to occur every 5 phases regardless of movement).
9. Fixed - Victory Condition "X% of Tech Levels" was displaying incorrectly
in the Victory Conditions window.
10. Fixed - Modified Victory Condition min\max\default values.
11. Fixed - Occasional index error bug when starting a new game.
12. Fixed - Improved AI Max Range movement strategy.
13. Fixed - Improved AI dodging of seekers.
14. Fixed - Improved AI Optimal Range movement strategy.
15. Fixed - Range Check Error would happen sometimes when you looked at
the designs in the Designs window after using an existing
empire from a previous game.
16. Fixed - Hotseat Simultaneous: Missing player file message should not
be displayed.
17. Fixed - Hotseat Simultaneous: if the player didn't do anything on their
turn, the computer should not take over.
18. Added - A Weapon to Hit modifier to the weapon mounts.
19. Fixed - Changed "Set Colony Type" (in Colonies Window) and "Send
Colonizer" (in Planets Window) lists to show all planets in
the list, not just those in the visible portion. (Too
many players were confused by this feature).
20. Fixed - If asteroids or a planet was hidden by a storm, you could get
a range check error when you clicked on that system.
21. Fixed - A race that was created from a rebellion would retain all of
its source empire's communication connections. They could
send a message to an empire that had never seen them.
22. Fixed - Miscellaneous manual link fixes.
23. Fixed - Speed-ups for combat with fighters.
24. Fixed - AI Fleets who had a transport and set their strategy to
"Capture Planet" were not changing it back to "Optimal"
when the transport was lost.
25. Fixed - Error in ability name in Abilities.txt.
26. Changed - Fighter Bays to launch 1, 2, and 3 fighters. Same for satellite
bays.
27. Fixed - Added descriptions for Boarding Party and Security Station
abilities in Components.txt.
28. Fixed - Captured ships should lose any experience bonus they had.
29. Added - Captured ships will have their reload times increased by 10
combat turns (this is modifiable in the Settings.txt file).

Version 1.14:
1. Fixed - After only one turn of emergency build, you would
not get slow build for one turn.
2. Fixed - If the item currently being constructed was deleted,
the accomplished resources stuck around.
3. Fixed - Weapon damage was maxed out at 999. It now has a
maximum of 50000.
4. Fixed - A satellite group cannot remote mine with all of the
satellites present.
5. Fixed - Minefield report would reference an individual sector
location.
6. Fixed - The list of damage types in Components.txt was wrong.
7. Fixed - AI Colonize minister would send another ship to colonize a
planet even if it already had one in orbit with just the
colonize order remaining.
8. Fixed - When copying or upgrading a design, the old name is now
present in the Edit Design Window.
9. Fixed - Planets that are hidden by storms or nebulae were still
being drawn on the system map.
10. Fixed - Stars cannot be hidden by a storm or nebulae.
11. Fixed - AI Player turn text was not centered.
12. Fixed - Problems with AI control over their planets and fleets
introduced in the Last Version.
13. Fixed - An empire loaded from a previous game might allow you to
colonize planets other than your home planets that you had
gained the technology for in a previous game.
14. Changed - Show production values with parenthesis in the Colonies Window
if the colony does not have a spaceport or is blockaded.
15. Fixed - A ship with a construction queue that was run on emergency build
could be run at normal without the slow period if the ship
was mothballed then unmothballed.
16. Changed - The Colonies Window now displays the complete facility and cargo
list.
17. Changed - The Ships Window now displays the complete cargo and orders list.
18. Fixed - Added a "Number Scrapped" design statistic to better display the
results of a ship that was retrofitted or scrapped (instead of
showing the design as being "Lost").
19. Fixed - In the Designs Window, you could right click an item in the list
and have the selection change, but the report would not change.
20. Fixed - If you were not the current player during a tactical combat, the
launch units window would not show your ships \ planets to launch
from.
21. Fixed - Ships with "Endless" supplies were shown in the Ships window with
"60000 / 60000" supplies.
22. Fixed - Clarified the description for the Neural Net component.
23. Fixed - The "Send Colony Ship" button in the Planets Window would not always
pick the closest colony ship to the target planet.
24. Fixed - Improved the Population Transport minister so that it will not
deplete planets completely with multiple transports.
NOTE: The Population Transport moves population from planets with
over 1000M to planets with less than 500M (if the target planet
is not at its maximum).
25. Fixed - Typo in the description for the Robo components.
26. Fixed - Increased the cost of the Chemistry tech area to 50000.
27. Fixed - Increased the cost of the Resource Manipulation tech are to 200000.
28. Fixed - Improved the AI's use of the Open Warp Point component.
29. Fixed - Improved the AI's detection of when it is cut-off from the rest
of the galaxy.

Version 1.13:
1. Fixed - Differentiated AI players a bit more. Also made them more
aggressive and more intolerant of players in their territory.
2. Fixed - Fixed problem in combat replay where you would get an IO Error
if in a Turn-Based game the combat log was completely empty.
3. Fixed - AI should not build research facilities if they have all techs.
4. Fixed - If an empire was created with a password, that password is required
to edit it.
5. Fixed - Beam lines drawn during tactical combat were sometimes slowing down.
6. Fixed - The feature that would warn the Host if not all of the player
files was present was not working.
7. Changed - When a construction queue is in slow mode, the rate is now 25% of
normal.
8. Added - Added an option to a game setup to disable intelligence entirely.
9. Fixed - The map would be displayed if you started a new game from within
a game. Now, the map will only show if you generate it.
10. Changed - Both ground based and component based space yards are all within
the space yard tech area.
11. Fixed - The Fleet minister would disband fleets even if the individual
minister toggle was not on.
12. Fixed - Retrofitting a ship would sometimes heal damaged components.
13. Fixed - Time Distortion Burst would not work against weapon platforms.
14. Fixed - The AI would not always fire its weapons before moving away
from a target.
15. Fixed - Removed the ability "Resupply Pod" from the Abilities.txt file
because it was not being used.
16. Fixed - Added a new damage type "Disrupt Reload Times" so that the Energy
Dampner weapon would not be stopped by a Master Computer.
17. Fixed - Fixed the minimum speed requirement on ai Attack Bases.
18. Fixed - The AI would change construction queues for planets even if the
individual minister was not toggled on.
19. Fixed - Retrofitting a ship should not add a "destroyed" statistic to the
old design.
20. Fixed - AI was not corretly recognizing the extended range capability of
weapon mounts.
21. Fixed - Small Combat Sensors would upgrade to Ground Cannon.
22. Fixed - A minefield that is hit by your ships should only show the explosion
once (not per ship hit).
23. Fixed - Planets that were on the edge of the combat map in Tactical
Combat, when fired on would have weapons fire that would go off
the map.
24. Fixed - You cannot change the Colony Type of you homeworld.
25. Fixed - The Hide obsolete button should not be disabled in the Designs
Window when all of the designs listed are obsolete.

Version 1.12:
1. Fixed - Game_Racestyle.html was missing from the manual.
2. Fixed - On rare occasions, the AI Patrol minister would generate
a Range Check Error.
3. Fixed - In Finite Resource games, the deduction of resources from
planets was incorrect.
4. Changed - Reduced the cost of Solar Generators.
NOTE: Solar Generators do not reduce the value of a planet
even in a finite resource game. Also, they generate
points independent of the planet's value.
5. Fixed - Simultaneous Game - If a trade was offered, and then another
message was sent the next turn, the acceptance of the trade
by the other player would be lost (the message would come
through, but not the items).
6. Fixed - Intelligence Projects - Fuel Leak, Anarchy Groups, Ground
Contamination, Food Contamination, and Weather Disruptions
were having a few problems.
7. Added - Combat Replay capability to the log window. By pressing this
button when looking at a combat report, you will be able to
replay the entire combat in a view only mode. This replay
does NOT contain all of the details of the combat such as
exact damages of ships on each turn. It contains the movement
of the ships and their firings against other ships. You can
also point the mouse at a ship and view its design. Combat
Replay is available in both Simultaneous and Turn Based games.
In Simultaneous games, the host must send the .cmb file to
the players for them to be able to replay the combats. Whether
is it is used is determined by the "Create Combat Replay"
field in the Settings.txt file.

Version 1.11:
1. Fixed - Improved routine for checking if filename is valid.
2. Fixed - Fixed religious Talisman for Weapon Platforms (again).
3. Fixed - Ships could initiate first contact but a planet path
was needed to keep it. Now, first contact will
only occur if you see another player's ship, and there
is a planet path.
4. Fixed - Change Recover Units Remotely order to not show Mines
as a selection.

Version 1.10:
1. Fixed - Two objects cannot have the same name in a game (Caused
problems in the combat report).
2. Added - Added Manual button to the Help Window.
3. Fixed - Fixed problem with incrementing old tech cost level by one.
4. Fixed - Increased tech cost of racial tech weapons.
5. Fixed - Fixed problem with tech costs lower than the starting value.
6. Fixed - When a construction item was completed, it and the item below
it were removed from the list.
7. Fixed - Fleets would not always attack during combat.
8. Fixed - AI ships would fire weapons at a target they had taken with an
Allegiance Subverter.
9. Fixed - AI controlled fleets would sometimes clear the combat group for
no reason.
10. Fixed - A nebulae that's destroyed through stellar manipulation could
sometimes still hide items within it.
11. Fixed - A constructed sphere or ring world would use all of the resources
present in the system, not the sector.
12. Added - Added savegame directory path on the Mechanics tab of game setup.
This will allow you to specify a remote path for savegames.
13. Added - A Change Directory button to the Load \ Save game window.

Version 1.09:
1. Fixed - Religious Talismans were not working on Weapon Platforms.
2. Added - Ability to set the fleet leader for a fleet. (Just
left click on the ship in the fleet report).
3. Fixed - A ship with orders to move to a waypoint that was deleted
would cause an error when it tried to show its movement
lines.
4. Fixed - Changed the reproduction and maintenance characteristic
costs a little more (they were too expensive). Also
fixed the AI's use of them.
5. Fixed - A Construction Queue on repeat build would build items
which were not allowed.

Version 1.08:
1. Fixed - You will lost contact with another race if they do not
have any planets left, or there is no path between one
of your planets and one of theirs.
2. Fixed - Typo in the AI Speech "The [Emperor Name] shall remain
our enemies".
3. Fixed - Fixed text problems in Research chapter of manual.
4. Changed - Due to the confusion, made the satellite weapon mount
increase the size of the component by 120%.
5. Added - Population bonuses up to the 10B mark.
6. Changed - Tech Areas Allowed to display almost all of the tech
areas in the tree. The items which cannot be removed are
specified in the TechAreas.txt file.
7. Fixed - Research projects would sometimes show negative completion
times.
8. Fixed - Old games were being loaded at 1 level lower in tech cost.
9. Fixed - Small Incinerator Beam moved to the correct tech area.
10. Fixed - Seeking Parasite component fixed up. Correct speed and damage.
11. Added - Scroll buttons to the Quick Start window to display the first
16 races to choose from.
12. Fixed - AI was getting angry way too fast.
13. Fixed - Added text descriptions to the new facilities indicating if they
are non-cumulative or not.
14. Added - Quickstart gives the player pre-made designs.
15. Fixed - Put additional fixes in to detect the CD player and play the
music.
16. Added - Option to have all players start with planets of the same size.
17. Fixed - Specifying stellar size in the SystemTypes.txt file for a planet
would not work.
18. Fixed - Remote Mining Decreases Asteroid Value option in the Settings.txt
file was not working.
19. Fixed - Changed the Reproduction and Maintenance racial characteristics to
be true percents which are added to your current values. Due to that
the cost was increased, and the max \ min were changed.
20. Fixed - Ship names with a dash at the end of the name next to the number
(ex. "Super-003") would cause a Range Check Error.
21. Fixed - You cannot create stars in a system with a nebulae or a black hole
(Sphere worlds created in a nebulae system would dissappear).
22. Fixed - Increased the fighter shield strength.
23. Fixed - Improved the "Empires allowed to start in the same system" setting
(Empires should NOT be starting in the same systems).
24. Added - Added a note window which is displayed in the Set Construction Queue
Window when you try to add a facility which has system wide abilities
and those abilities are already present in the system.

Version 1.07:
1. Fixed - Access Violation on the AI's turn.
2. Fixed - Incorrect spelling in Tachyon Cannon description.
3. Fixed - When starting a New Game, if you select Finite Resources,
and then did a Generate Map Now, all of the planets in the
game would show 1kT in value.
4. Fixed - Bonuses which effect a planet or a system should not be
cumulative.
5. Fixed - Simultaneous Game: Stellar Manipulations report that the
ship does not have movement remaining when it moves to a
location and tries to execute the order.
6. Fixed - The View and Clear orders buttons should be enabled for
mothballed ships.
7. Fixed - High technology was not calculating its cost correctly.
8. Fixed - Range check error when attempting to drop population on
to a Sphere World using the Drop Population order.
9. Fixed - Experience points for loaded empires which had zero
experience would show as a large negative number.
10. Fixed - Fixed text description for "Score of X% of second player"
in the Victory Conditions window. Also set minimum to 100%.
11. Fixed - Happiness Type would not display correctly when editing an
empire in the Game Setup window.

Version 1.06:
1. Fixed - Ships which are constructing items cannot move. This includes Warp.
2. Added - Base weapon mounts with increased range modifier.
3. Fixed - Simultaneous Game: If the victory conditions were met, then sometimes
the Victory window would not be displayed and the game would just
continue on.
4. Fixed - Fixed confusing text related to Victory Conditions not applying until
after X turns.
5. Fixed - Improved the AI's determination if there are support ships for a
transport trying to land troops to capture a planet.
6. Fixed - Simultaneous Game: AI players would accept a gift message but the items
would not change hands.
7. Fixed - Added "non-cumulative" descriptions to components and facilities.
8. Fixed - Fixed problems with system-wide damage bonus.
9. Fixed - Fixed problems with system-wide combat bonus.
10. Added - Added 3 facilities and 2 weapons to Crystalline Technology.
11. Added - Added 3 facilities and 2 weapons to Temporal Technology.
12. Added - Added 3 facilities and 1 weapon to Psychic Technology.
13. Fixed - Application of planet resource modifiers was not quite right.
14. Fixed - Added spaces to all component and facility names with a dash in them.

Version 1.05:
1. Fixed - Simultaneous Game - Retrofits would sometime result in weird designs
or a log message saying the retrofit was in error.
2. Fixed - AI players were not growing angry at players who were not on their team.
3. Fixed - The AI will still try to build units on planets with maxed out
storage space.
4. Changed - All bases now get a 50% modifier to maintenance cost.
5. Fixed - Defensive intelligence projects would sometimes show negative points.
6. Fixed - Large numbers of fighters were taking too long in combat.
7. Changed - Increased the cost of defensive intelligence projects.
8. Note - Defensive projects are effective while they are in progress. In addition,
more defensive projects are better than just one.
9. Fixed - Sometimes fleets would uncloak from turn to turn.
10. Fixed - Sometimes a ship with a spaceyard would not allow you to set its
construction queue (this was usually for ships that could cloak).
11. Note - A ship that is cloaked cannot construct anything. If you cloak a ship
that is currently constructing something, its queue will be cleared.
12. Fixed - Clicking from one satellite group to another would not display the unit
grid.
13. Fixed - Sometimes a happiness event would say that they were from winning battles
when in fact the battles had been lost.
14. Changed - Planetary rebellion has now become more difficult. In addition, there is a
chance that the rebellion will forms its own government instead of joining
your empire.
15. Fixed - The combat notification window will have the third empire be overlapped by
the begin button.
16. Fixed - AI should not design colony ships with Multiplex Tracking or Combat Sensors.
17. Fixed - The default fleet name would sometimes be the same as an existing fleet. This
has been changed so that the name will represent the total number of fleets
that you have ever built.
18. Fixed - There were spelling errors in some of the data files.

Version 1.04:
1. Added - "Scrap Facil Types" button to colony window.
2. Fixed - Shard Cannon V and VI damage should be different.
3. Fixed - Starting a new game from within a tutorial game would leave the
tutorial icon.
4. Fixed - If you scrap a spaceyard on a planet, any ships in the construction
queue will be removed.
5. Changed - Increased speeds of seekers and fighters. Made fighters harder to hit.
Decrease damage of Point Defense Cannons. Thanks to AJCaton!
6. Fixed - Made Intel Defense more effective.
7. Fixed - Seekers should self-destruct if they are targeted on anything that
the seeker's owner now owns (like captured planets).
8. Changed - Increased size of repair bays to 150kT.
9. Fixed - Transfer window would displays ships that you did not own.
10. Fixed - Tractor\Repulser beams would still move ships on top of each other.
11. Fixed - Mines would show up in combat.
12. Fixed - Combat Log will now say "Taken" for a ship if it is captured in combat
(instead of "Dead").
13. Fixed - Save\Load dialog was not wrapping the filenames.
14. Fixed - Trade and Research Alliance text was not showing completely in the Politics
Window.
15. Fixed - Nebulae and Asteroids were not showing in combat simulations as map filling.
16. Changed - Satellite Groups can fire on as many targets as there are satellites, or up
to the multiplex level. Fighter Groups can only ever fire on one target.
17. Fixed - The AI would sometime stop firing when it had weapons available.
18. Fixed - AI should not fire the Allegiance Subverter against a ship with a Master
Computer.

Version 1.03:
1. Fixed - Ground combat would continue from turn to turn even after a
peace treaty or a surrender.
2. Fixed - Experience bug would sometimes cause experience points for an
empire to jump up to 2000000.
3. Changed - Increased maximum experience from 2M to 500M.
4. Fixed - Planet creation would error if the system did not have a name.
5. Fixed - Simultaneous Game: AI was not always responding to political Messages.
6. Fixed - Simultaneous Game: AI could respond on the very next turn to a message
that was sent. This should be 2 turns later.
7. Fixed - If the leader of a combat group is blocked in their movement, then the
combat group will be disbanded.
8. Fixed - Replicant center would only produce your population. They will now
proportionately produce the populations that are present on the planet.
9. Fixed - When you viewed your Empire Status, and you have ships performing remote
mining, you would lose value in your asteroids. (Dough!)
10. Changed - Tweaked the happiness modifiers on reproduction. They now range from
-5% to +5% to reproduction based on happiness.
11. Added - A confirmation message if you want to remove the first item in the
construction queue.
12. Fixed - Internal damage to fighters was not correct in combat.
13. Fixed - Simultaneous Game: Problems where changes made in a game turn would not
be reflected in the next turn. This may be fixed. We think it was caused
by running the Movement Replay.




------------------
Sarge is coming...

Richard Arnesen
Director of Covert Ops
Shrapnel Games
http://www.shrapnelgames.com

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Wow... I just pooped my shorts...
This is great stuff!

Aloid

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

I´ve never seen any product getting so many upgrades and so fast. It seems that MM works 48 hours a day! It´s my first time posting here and it´s very unusual to see a good quality forum like this. Can anyone tell me when the new patch will be available.

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Looks good so far. I like the 'AI wont tolerate' stuff. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

Any luck on getting a master list of exactly which files contain changes? I would LOVE this feature and I think it will be necessary if people intend to have custom data sets. It will take far too long to File Compare EVERY data file in the game to scan for changes.

Thanx,
Talenn

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Looks like the bugs I've been seeing have been fixed, but can't you pull an NVIDIA and post new Versions daily as beta's with a "Use at your own risk warning?"

------------------
I AM Canadian.

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Superb. I think in all my 29 years of living on this earth I MAY have used that word twice. Superb. There, that makes four.

Thanks for the update, Richard, just what I've been looking for. I will go to bed happy now and dream of getting systematically slaughtered by merciless aliens. Ahh...

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

New Versions daily as beta's with a "Use at your own risk warning?"
Danny, great idea!
I would love that and to MM that could be productive. So it looks like it would make everione happy.

-------------------
I´m Portuguese http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/ima...ons/icon12.gif

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Thanks Richard for this great news. As I am trying to mod some of the ship designs it is always usefull to know what MM is planing. I don't want to spent a lot of time tweaking and fixing something when MM already has done this. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

I was expecting to see retrofiting of weapon platforms on the list. I have all my cargo space consumed on planets with obsolete weapons.

Long term I would like to see diferent strategies for diferent types of targets (seaking, direct, unarmed). This may be fixed by the optimal/max firing range mods.

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Great, this seems to address the most urgent AI stuff.
I do not want to appear an eternal pain, but hopefully things like AI memory (of attacks and their outcome, of minefields,...), AI identification of "dangerous areas", AI target evaluation, AI "strategy", etc. will also be addressed soon.
I am looking forward to this patch for the time being.

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Talenn:
Any luck on getting a master list of exactly which files contain changes? I would LOVE this feature and I think it will be necessary if people intend to have custom data sets. It will take far too long to File Compare EVERY data file in the game to scan for changes.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Get CVS; this will allow you to merge your
changes with theirs and prompt you when there
is a conflict. Try http://www.wincvs.org

C//

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Believe me, they keep the beta testers hopping! We are usually seeing 2 to 3 patches a week. They are working as fast and hard as they can to make this the best game you have ever played. Don't be surprised if they get there.

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Nifty. I'm definitely curious about what changes were made to optimal/max-range strategies and so forth; right now, I find myself using tactical for almost every battle (except, say, fast attack ship vs colony ship, or planet known to be undefended because I'd just finished an attack there).

------------------
-- The thing that goes bump in the night

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Comar:
Believe me, they keep the beta testers hopping! We are usually seeing 2 to 3 patches a week. They are working as fast and hard as they can to make this the best game you have ever played. Don't be surprised if they get there.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Sounds good to me.

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

How does one get access to the betas?
Do you apply at Malfador?

C//

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Yes, I'm sure everyone and their mother would like to access the beta's as they come out too. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

FWIW, I would, of course, like to look into it as well. Coming from the 'modding' point of view, I'd like to see some of the changes and provide some input in the 'creative' stages as well.

If anyone at SG or MM is interesting picking up any new testers, please let me know. I've done testing for various other mods and tweaks (Close Combat, TANKS!, TOAW) and am familiar with NDA's etc.

Hehe...hmm, that came out kind of 'resume-looking'...oops. Anyways, just figured I'd offer since I seem to be spending an awful lot of time messing with this game, forum and the data anyways. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

Talenn

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

the main thing i want to see is a TPC/IP ability to play a game...saveable and workable. Email with auto fights have little interest to me.

im sure some diehard wargamers would actually like to play "Online" over time rather than turn a day ..jees thats just depressing.


less work on Ai..more work on Tcp/ip...learning a game then playing others it the point of the endeavor, an AI (at our technology today) cannot stand up to a human without some sort of cheat codes....

Basically, i really dont want to play a computer..its just a interface to play others. i would like to see a good stable...
and i mean stable..way to play overnet. it shouldnt be hard on turn based game like this.

my two cents worth. and yes..the game is excellent.



------------------
Waves his Red flag

Socialist

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Socialist:

&lt;snip&gt;
Basically, i really dont want to play a computer..its just a interface to play others. i would like to see a good stable...
and i mean stable..way to play overnet. it shouldnt be hard on turn based game like this.

my two cents worth. and yes..the game is excellent.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I would vote for better AI as top priority.

My experience is that coordinating a group of players to be Online at the same time is very difficult. This is caused by differing timezones, personal commitments to work and family, business travel, unreliable connections from some players frustrating the others.

Even finding a reliable group of 4 pbem players and maintaining a game other a couple of months can be quite difficult. Large Groups of tcp/ip direct connect would be harder.

If you can find a hard core group of reliable players with plenty of time and good connections for all night sessions then tcp/ip would be a lot of fun.

Personally I wouldn't be able to manage more than a couple of 2 hour sessions a week at best. Not going to get very far at that rate of play.

My priorities are a reasonably credible AI so that I can play for an hour or two when I have time, followed by simulataneous PBEM, then if that all works direct tcp/ip would be a nice to have.

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

If I recall, MM only spends a few hours a day on SE4.

Plus all these new betas, while great for the game, is driving me up a wall becuase I keep needing to adjust my custom AI scripts and technologies.

------------------
--------------------
HADRIAN AVENTINE
snpacifica@yahoo.com
http://www.hyperionbase.com

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Richard,

Thank you very much for the update! This is very exciting stuff! http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/ima...ons/icon10.gif

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

I understand your position..yep. lots of solo playrs out there.i agree

well MM got back to me today and said that they are coming out with patch for that
early next year, good enough for me..(gives me time to learn game better ..grin)

thats all i needed to know was that they were going to try.


PS. smaller games with 4 or so players, maybe more..could be played 2-4 hours on weekends (or hell, 10 hour game if my child is entertained..grin)

hope to play some TCP/IP games when they do bring it out...

------------------
Waves his Red flag

Socialist

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Socialist, that's great news! Looking forward to play a TCP/IP game or two.

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Beta's are only avail to the beta testors which have been locked for now ( I think)

------------------
Seawolf on the prowl

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Let's see... Seawolf locked up. Yep, sounds about right :}

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Only in every ladies fantasy http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/ima...ons/icon12.gif Comar.

I meant the beta testers have been selected and there are currently no openings.

------------------
Seawolf on the prowl

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

We have all been beta-testers, if you haven't noticed.

Jonathan

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Bah. You clearly don't play that many
computer games. SEIV is far more "finished"
than many games which are released to the
market and then patched at most ONCE. This
is a very good game and quite stable by
the standards of such things.

This is a very high quality production.

C//

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

BTW, if y'all want to see a turn-based game that plays over a LAN via TCP/IP, look at www.freeciv.org. It's a Version of Civilization, developed for Linux, that does exactly what Socialist (and a few others) have been looking for. I'm not certain how SE4 combat would fit into the model (imagine waiting for someone to finish a tactical combat involving 30-40 ships and 100 fighters on a side!).

While I'm thinking about it, what about porting SE4 to other OS's? Run SE4 on a Mac? or a Linux box? OS/2? Any other Favorites?

Just some things to think about.

Long live the Moebius Consortium!!!!

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Courageous:
Bah. You clearly don't play that many
computer games. SEIV is far more "finished"
than many games which are released to the
market and then patched at most ONCE. This
is a very good game and quite stable by
the standards of such things.

This is a very high quality production.

C//<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Courageous, you are a blind fool. You speak without knowledge, and therefore without wisdom. Your comment on my experience on playing games is so foolish as to require no explanation. Now look again at the list of fixes in the first post of this thread. Go ahead, we'll wait.........
Very good. I would not be surprised if this was the first time you looked. Those are *fixes*, my ignorant friend, fixes. Things put into the game which did not work. Look through the postings on this board. The AI is a joke. Inconsistent. The experienced Modd'ers have said more than once that all the different AI respond the same, regardless of whether they are serene or Bloodthirsty. But you probably never read those threads, either, did you? Please go back to your regularly scheduled blissful ignorance and quit drooling on your keyboard.

Jonathan

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

BTW do you guys remember this game called Civ II? It had 42 patch revisions post release.

Just an observation...

------------------
Sarge is coming...

Richard Arnesen
Director of Covert Ops
Shrapnel Games
http://www.shrapnelgames.com

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Freyland,

Your attack is uncalled for.

If you had been a fan of SEIII you would know the history behind SEIV. SEIV was delayed many times because it wasn't finished and MM has a high quality standard - the best I have seen from ANY company. We the customer put extreme pressure on MM to release the game even if it is not ready - with comments like - we don't care about features or bugs just release the game.

MM agreed that SEIV would be released minus some features (like a good AI) as long as it had no obvious bugs. But MM also stated that they would continue to support the game with numerous patches to add these features and also fix any bugs that were discovered.

So do not attack MM for releasing an unfinished game - attack the large vocal customer base that demanded MM release the game unfinished.

The big difference between MM and ALL other companies is that MM will keep their word and finish the game, while all the other big companies just take your money and run.

I was against an early release, but am now glad MM did it. The game is fun to play in its current state, but more important MM listens to and incorporates our suggestions. Yes we are all beta testers, but unlike other companies, MM actually listens to and uses our input. A game designed to specific customer specs is the best game there can be.

So be patient. If you do not want to play now, come back in 6 months and then drool at the game - but then don't complain that an important feature wasn't added because you choose not to participate.

The game support from MM is the standard that All other companies should copy, so be happy that you are getting the best support on the market.

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Jourin,

Well said. And I could not agree more. I've been a SE IV beta tester from the outset, and Aaron at Malfador LISTENS and FIXES things when they are broken. Further, suggestions are listened to, and when both practical and good, are added to the game.

In fact, while it's somewhat off topic, I'd say that this is true of all of the game producers that Shrapnel distributes for. I'm also a WDK 2K beta tester and Boku Strategy Games is just as good. They enchance and improve their products constantly - taking guidance and feedback from their customers.

THIS is how game companies should be run.

Is SE IV incomplete? Yes, in ways it is. The AI is mediocre, but the game is FULL of tech and features. And as a PBEM game (which I prefer; my lack of dedicated time for gaming makes RTS impractical for me) it's excellent.

If you want to complain about some aspect of the game, don't ***** at each other on the forum. TELL the people at Malfador. It's their product and they DO listen.

Flame off.

John

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

If you want to call somebody an idiot just write it in simple words please. The "clever" usenet over the top BS style is just so boring for the audience.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Freyland:

Courageous, you are a blind fool. You speak without knowledge, and therefore without wisdom. Your comment on my experience on playing games is so foolish as to require no explanation. Now look again at the list of fixes in the first post of this thread. Go ahead, we'll wait.........
Very good. I would not be surprised if this was the first time you looked. Those are *fixes*, my ignorant friend, fixes. Things put into the game which did not work. Look through the postings on this board. The AI is a joke. Inconsistent. The experienced Modd'ers have said more than once that all the different AI respond the same, regardless of whether they are serene or Bloodthirsty. But you probably never read those threads, either, did you? Please go back to your regularly scheduled blissful ignorance and quit drooling on your keyboard.

Jonathan<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

This isn't the place for a flame war. If you want to go after each other, take it somewhere else. If you want to talk about the game, this is the place.

Is the game perfect? No. I'm sure MM is well aware of it. Are they supporting it and making it better? Yes. In fact, they even ask for your imput to make it the game you want it to be. Are we, the players, perfect? No. Can we have a lot of fun with this game and each other? Yep. If you want to fight, join or start a game and have at it. And may the best man, plant, crystal, etc. win.

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Uh, Jourin? In the post to which you refer, I did not "attack" MM, I "attacked" Courageous. Furthermore, you continue to say it is not MM's fault that the game is incomplete, that it is the "fan base's" fault. Huh? Did someone hack into his machine, steal the program, professionally burn it into disks, and convince Shrapnel it was done? I think not. The responsibility rests well. Furthermore, you continue to talk about how great MM is about patches and committment. As I stated in another thread on the matter, I applaud him for that. Nothing changes that a game is supposed to be "complete" when it is released (and paid for). Your blind faith is leaving you just that, blind. I know I am angering some people, but I am allowed my opinion, and frankly, deep down you all know I am right. You just are too devoted to accept it. The word is "sycophant", I believe.

[b]Resident Alien /[b] stated, "If you want to call somebody an idiot just write it in simple words please.

Okay... you're an idiot. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

Jonathan

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Better smooth this over before ugly turns to fugly...

Courageous was referring to SEIV's status relevant to other games on the market that were released in worse states than SEIV.. He was implying that it could have been worse, but this is well made up for by MM's reputation of pleasing the people.. I heard something along the lines of 17 patches for SEIII!!!

While the game may not have been perfect, at least MM is putting the blood and sweat into fixing bugs and improving the game. Many people are waiting for the game to be 'completed' before they resume playing it. And we have proof that he is working on it with the posted changes they are working on.

But here's the logic to releasing the game before it was truly ready:

Having released it to the public we all have played it, and we all suggest changes to improve the game. Now instead of Aaron and a select few beta testers giving ideas, nearly a thousand brilliant minds are giving thoughts to improving the game (The Modders especially). So it gets built properly the first time without having to go back and completely overhaul the game to get it right.
(We all basically get to be Beta Testers, and we all have a voice!)

Just be thankful MM isn't going to take all our suggestions and make us pay for an expansion pack to complete the game. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/ima...ons/tongue.gif
(Better not give him ideas eh?)

I am not at all ashamed I bought this game in its incompleteness. I'm happy to support MM and his hard work!

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Well, dollar per fun value, I've already gotten my money's worth out of this game....even if I put it on the shelf and never played it again.

I agree that it might have gone out a bit prematurely in the AI department. I think that is one critical element in any game like this where the multiplayer potential is solely a LONG term commitment to a PBEM. I'm willing to bet that most folks want to play it 'out of the box' and have a challenging game.

BUT, I'm also convinced (and using SE3 as a guideline) that MM is doing everything possible to enhancce the game experience. I much prefer it this way to the 'finished product' that has serious issues that you get from many other companies. At least with SE4 I feel like I have a voice in upcoming patches and that counts for ALOT!

I think what is necessary is a constant flow of info BOTH ways. The designer(s) gets input from the fan base and has the responsibility to reciprocate with info and patches in a timely manner. I think MM is doing an admirable job of this. I'd like to see it continue.

Here's hoping that the newest patch is coming up soon at that will at least appease the masses for the immediate future! http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

Talenn

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Isn´t the problem that the MM want to make a AI that doesn´t cheat?
Well if he does that I think he will make history.
Until know I never played a 4X in which the AI doesn´t cheat at least in the higher levels.
I´ve seen here Posts saying that if computers can beat man in chess than it would be "easy" to beat us in a game like this.

1- Chess rules contain little number of variables. SE4 contains thousands.

2-Others say we would need a Deep Blue to run the game to make the AI really clever. Well I think that there´s nobody here, unless there´s here a really good chess player that would win a chess game in my old 48K Spectrum.

Others (very few) complain that they were fooled and bought a incomplete game. Well it was easy to avoid that.
Download the demo (a really good to evaluate tool since it´s not a tutorial, it´s not a mission, it´s a game with some limitacions) and try it.

Being a somekind of BetaTester isn't in my wishes but to many who bought the game is. So it's a think that everyone should respect.

I only started contact with SE series in SE4 and by seeing that MM released the game earlier by request of the long time Users only show the respect he as for the long time supporters (one think that is very rare). In a purely marketing and bussiness way of view it would be much more profitable to wait a few months and launch a much more perfect game.

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

For those who think SE4 wasn't finished on release, go buy Braveheart and you'll see unfinished in all it's glory. The game always crashed at a certain ingame date (don't remember how many turns, but not many, between 30 and 50 I think), half the features advertised on the box didn't work or where not even there to not work. The one(two?) patch(es?) released didn't even fix anything, it(they?) simply disabled the features that didn't work resulting in an even more incomplete game. And the AI was so poor that it wasn't much of a challenge to beat the game before it chrashed. I never did it myself as I was disgusted by the frequent crashes but some dedicated fans on the Boards reported doing it. Eventually even they gave up and the board turned into very ugly bash the developer rants. That game is a prime example of creating major hype about a game, then releasing a piss poor product to an unsuspecting public that bought it hook line and sinker while the developers took their money and ran.

Now compare the above with SE4. I rest my case.

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

A point that has been missed by all I think in this thread the reason why MM puts out the SE series is to make money!. How much do you think it cost to burn and mail the CD's? Don't you think that Aaron and the others have bills to be paid? I agree that a game should be complet but hey there hasn't been any game that didn't need clarification or improvement in my 20 + years of gamming.

Also MM stated that the game was still evolving and since they are working on it and are making patches for it means in the end, at no additional cost by the way, you will have a complete game.

Since this is a democracy, well it was til this election that is, you can voice your opinion. I suggest that you continure to say what is wrong with it so we can get it fixed faster.

P.S Since they sold so many I guess your view i sin the minority http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/ima...ons/icon12.gif

Thus endth the sermon

------------------
Seawolf on the prowl

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

On the one hand, those pointing out that most games need patches these days and that MM released the game early "under pressure" from their fans understandably defend MM.

However, you can hardly fault those that paid for the game expecting it to be complete. Saying "we'll fix it later" might, MIGHT be acceptible for hardware compatability issues, but no software product should be released as "gold" when it is not complete. The fact that "everyone else is doing it" is hardly an excuse. Had it been released as an AI-less multiplayer game, or as a pay-to-play beta Version, noone would be complaining, they'd just be whining for an AI or for the final Version respectively. I've done beta testing myself (Europa Universalis is the latest, if anyone cares), and I know about the pressures on developers to get a product to market.

I guess my point is that, as good as SEIV is, it was clearly not really ready for release. Those who are offended by this are quite justified to do some complaining; those who are trying to defend MM in this shouldn't take it personally! Of course, flaming each other is just dumb, no matter what side you are taking -- accomplishes nothing but to feed childlike egos.

Scott

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Does anyone read review or message Boards before ever purchasing things? It took 5 minutes of reading to find out that yes there are things that are still being worked on (Fixes and development). But in the same time I knew this was the game for me to buy.
Easily customizable
A true 4X game without all the glitz
Did I mention no glitz!! Most of the time kills gameplay
A great Fan community
Great support from the Developer
Delphi! nuff said there!
Praying the new patch comes out soon... wanna play with the new changes!

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Don't ya'll think that the release will make the game that much better? Essentially, the game is going through a *huge* beta test right now via the gum chewing public.

I wonder how many people griping about the problems would be griping about another delay in the release.

Geez.

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

I couldn't agree more with you, Repro Man.
I have owned and played and enjoyed EVERY Version of SE. They have always succeded in providing an excellent product. By all means, continue to post your concerns and wish lists. I'm sure MM is hard at work trying to meet your collective desires. But I, for one, am kinda sick of coming into the forum to check what's up and having to sift through all the *****'n and moaning. I think some of you have no idea just how much time and effort it takes to design, build, balance and develop a computer game of this sort. Give MM time. I am certain that their efforts are focused on constant and dramatic improvements of the current game.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Repo Man:
Don't ya'll think that the release will make the game that much better? Essentially, the game is going through a *huge* beta test right now via the gum chewing public.

I wonder how many people griping about the problems would be griping about another delay in the release.

Geez. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tenryu:
I think some of you have no idea just how much time and effort it takes to design, build, balance and develop a computer game of this sort. Give MM time<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Shakes head. Blind......

Jonathan

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Guys please chill out.

The game WAS ready when shipped. Was everything perfect? No. To make a game of this sort perfect would have taken quite awhile. In it's current state I will take it up against ANY other Space based 4X game made in the Last 5 years. In fact it is a compliment that you guys are so pissed because we ahve "raised" the bar so to speak for this sort of game.

The patch should be out on the 19th followed by a break for the testers and MM for the holidays.

Here are the latest fixes as of tonight:

Version 1.17:
1. Fixed - The Amonkrie had their Demeanor and Culture values swapped.
2. Fixed - Combat Replay was only displaying the Last turn of combat.
3. Fixed - Combat Replay is starting with the first move of the first ship
already completed.
4. Fixed - The Xiati Main bitmap was an incorrect size.
5. Fixed - Troops on a planet you own will now increase the happiness of
the populations on that planet.
6. Fixed - Tactical Combat: If you fired weapons from your ship, your
point defense cannons would not always fire at incoming seekers
on that turn.
7. Added - Empire Option for Next/Previous Ship button to skip fleets.
8. Fixed - The Trade disrupted intelligence event should not occur if there
is no real trade between two empires.
9. Fixed - Some game option flags would keep the value from the Last game if
it was from a previous Version of SE4 (most notably "Allow
Intelligence projects").
10. Fixed - Tarrifs that an empire received would be added in even in excess
of the max storage for that empire.
11. Fixed - Right-clicking on the flag for a satellite group would not work.
12. Fixed - Tarrifs were exceeding the points available when payed.
13. Fixed - Using an existing empire would sometimes cause the reproduction
and maintenance cost to be increased from what the empire had
in the Last game.
14. Changed - There is now a limit per game turn in the number of fighters\
satellites\mines that can be launched. There is no limit to
the number of units that can be recovered. The Unit Transfer
window has been modified to display the numbers that can be
launched in a turn per ship.
NOTE: All 3 levels of mine layers, fighter bays, and satellites
bays have been changed to that they can only launch 1
unit per game turn or combat turn. (This was to make it
a little more interesting)
15. Fixed - Sorting by date in the Load\Save dialog should put the most
recent file on top.
16. Fixed - Designs for dead empires were showing up in the combat simulator
list.
17. Fixed - A range check error would occur when a planet was rammed.
18. Fixed - During game creation, sometimes a player's planets would end
up in a nebulae, black hole, or asteroid system. A new flag
had been added to the SystemTypes.txt file which indicates
whether a system type allows an empire to start in it.


Version 1.16:
1. Fixed - Range Check error when using the Maximum Range strategy in
combat.
2. Fixed - Added a check for the Movement Replay to make sure that the
replay file matched up with the current game turn.



------------------
Sarge is coming...

Richard Arnesen
Director of Covert Ops
Shrapnel Games
http://www.shrapnelgames.com

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

BTW lay off the personal attacks guys. Everyone has been fairly cool but some of you are getting close to locking this thread down.

Just take it easy http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/ima...ons/icon12.gif.

------------------
Sarge is coming...

Richard Arnesen
Director of Covert Ops
Shrapnel Games
http://www.shrapnelgames.com

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Richard:
7. Added - Empire Option for Next/Previous Ship button to skip fleets.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

YES!

[This message has been edited by Jubala (edited 14 December 2000).]

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Richard:

Actually, with a few exceptions, I dont think many people are 'pissed' so to speak. I think they are a bit frustrated perhaps. The game is REALLY that good that anything that detracts from the enjoyment is grounds for a lynching! http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

I think discussions like this one and others on this forum are very good for the game. I've seen many of the bugs and oddities that people complained about here showing up as 'fixed' or 'changed' or in the 'readmes' you've been posting. To me, that shows that input as valuable and being acted upon which is a VERY good thing.

I'd hate to see that type of feedback get locked up due to a few people's overly zealous remarks.

From my experience in these types of forums, if people more or less ignore the worst of the comments the better. Sure, if it looks like someone is genuinely interested in helping out, by all means people should jump in and discuss it but its clear that some people's opinion will not be altered at the present time and its a waste of time and energy for people to rise to the baiting.

Talenn

Re: Up to date beta patch info..
 

Well put.