Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

Please post links to any modding thread you have come acrossed. I would like to begin compiling a list of good Modding information.

Questions and answers are good, as well as unique problems and how they were solved.

And one willing to offer up some good techniques and known methods of modding would also be great.

Why re-invent the wheel every six months, if we pool our collective information into one spot we can save a lot of time and trouble.

Please any link or post about modding would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

SE 4 Modding Information

Modding discussion and help topics

Modding Help Document 1

Modding Help Document 2

Modding Help Document 3 Ai Design Cheat Sheet

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas. *DELETED* *DELETED*
 

Post deleted by Mephisto

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

Facilities Modding Discussion

Problem solving an issue (Is there a way to let a base use emergency propulsion without it being able to have engines)

[ June 18, 2004, 09:28: Message edited by: Atrocities ]

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

useful notes i have found

in depth discussion of how an ai works
and the various triggers for the various states
a bit of cleanup and presentation in a standard faq format might condense from the 6 pages

my Ai design Q & A


ship construction ai notes

AI modding : why does my ai put 2 colony modules on my colonizer

[ June 14, 2004, 02:29: Message edited by: psimancer ]

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

Discussion On Modding Diplomacy

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">This depends on what Item you wish to change and will it be the Anger or the Political File:

For example using the stock se4 AI Anger File
Minus numbers = Endearment
Positive number = Anger

Receive Propose Trade := is at default 0 This is default zero in stock to help players to trade and especially new players to se4 move smoothly along.

However, if we raise this to 15, the Human Player better be darn sure he gives a good deal the first time to your AI, if the AI refuses this deal it may be as much as 5 months before the Human Player is in a position to try again. This modification will make it tougher on the Human Player, and help preserve that AI’s Players total net resource reserves. (along with the Percentage Value, but that’s another file)

- - -

With this same above Scenario, the AI did not like the Human Player proposal and refused the trade offer.
You may change the time your AI recovers form this insult, from the above Five month to much less time or actually more time if you wish to punish the ill-mannered Human Player.

Receive Offer Tribute := -3
For example: with -5 and this would drop the time to about 2 or 3 months if the Human Player bribes a few times. (this is cumulative with other modifiers and if all else is even)
To raise the warming up period for your AI, just use less -1 or -2 is also ok in some cases.


For example using the stock se4 Political File
This tends to deal with Triggers - that are set and/or modified by how your AI’s position relates in Anger, Score Percentage and Time. Also at the bottom you will find that Percentage Trade Value I referred to.

Declare War Base Anger Level := 80
If you raise 80: It will take much more Anger for that AI to enter a war. This is good if you do not want your AI to make war and have a breather - so that Enemy AI Player (or Human) ships may leave your AI’s contested Systems (one way or the other http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif
Also to allow time for Human Players to bribe with gifts or Tribute. Along with the natural decrease to take effect and avoid war. (Again, this is cumulative with other modifiers and if all else is even)

However, this cool off time should be considerable for most AI personalities, but this is better then total war - when achieved...

- - -

Now for example you have a Psycho Impulsive Race and/or you wish that your AI never take any crap from another Player, then you may reduce the below modifier to lets say just 5 http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif for example: then your AI will declare war on the next ill-mannered race at 85 anger and then the next at 90 etc. However, as you can see the default is set at 15 and this is a good safe number as to prevent to many costly wars for the default se4 AI.

Declare War Anger Modifier Per Other Wars := 15

= = = = =

It depends on what you want that AI to do, and most of us adjust the settings to that AI’s general personality as discribed in that AI's General File http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif


I have been told I tend to get too technical on my replies (more so if I have had a long day), please forgive me if this is so. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

Wanna know how to build mount based QNP propulsion scheme (mQNP)? What's the answers:

Pax Mount Based QNP System-PMBQNPS

mQNP

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

AI Retro-Fitting Q&A

How do I get the AI to Retrofit?

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

REFERENCE se4 PATH.txt file

================================================== ================================
PATH DATA FILE
================================================== ================================

This file must be located with the executable to tell it which directories to look in.
(very important from se4's Aaron Hall)
" If you make your own data sets or modifications, you should install them in a {{{new directory}}} under the se4 directory, and then modify this file to be that directory name."

Somehow all this info gets lost with the 3rd Party MOD launcher and this critical se4 {its own "new directory" procedure} - entirely lost with a few MODS/moders.???

Using Mod Directory:
This indicates the name of the directory under which to look for for the game files. If this value is "None" or blank, then the standard SE4 files will be used. If this is set to a directory name, then the game will attempt to load its files from that directory first.

If a mod directory is present, then it must contain all of the files that are
in the original SE4 directory. The only exception to this rule is in the case
of bitmaps. If a bitmap can't be loaded from the mod directory, then the game
will still attempt to load it from the standard SE4 directories.

For Stock se4 play := None

================================================== ================================
*BEGIN*
================================================== ================================

Using Mod Directory := MOD PLAYED ================================================== ================================
*END*
================================================== ================================

Or use the MOD path file that is in that MODS directory and/or just copy it yourself to the se4 Gold Folder - MOST MODS also have the Original Path File stored for you as an aid to resume se4 http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ July 07, 2004, 14:57: Message edited by: JLS ]

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

AI Design Cheat Sheet
Basic Modding Tutorial 1
Basic Modding Tutorial 2

[ July 14, 2004, 18:41: Message edited by: Atrocities ]

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

Dicussion on AI and Ship Construction
Adding new ships and getting ai to use
Discussion about changing weapon target list

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

Bump. I would like to keep this near the top for a day or so.

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

As you are most likely aware by now all of the linked to threads in this topic are now bad. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif I am sorry for this, and I do regret it. If I had had been warned about the forum change I could have made arrangements to save the important data. However that was not the case and now we must contend with the aftermath. Please note that any modding questions will be considered important and I do hope that old threads are brought to the surface so that I can get there links and rebuild our link library, such as it was.

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

oh man, i was just starting to dig into those....good thing i printed a few out. drat
Deposed Emperor Fritsch the Dense

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

Just do a forum search for the title, and it should turn up the thread.

Re: Modding Questions, Answers, & Ideas.
 

Please post links or questions about modding in this thread.

Borg won\'t be assimilated
 

I'm having problems with the borg race.

I've managed to get the race to appear in the races menu.

I used winRAR to install the borg race from the SEIV Gold and added the .emp files to get the races working.

Okay? So far, so good.

Now, I wanted to install the new components and technologies which are detailed in the borg directory, but there is no TechArea or Components files. So I downloaded the file http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/newuploads/1007901835.zip and lo and behold, the TechArea and Component files were present.

Now the problem:

When I follow the instructions for installing the files (Either overwrite or add the relevant sections into the game files) and try to start, the game goes haywire, showing loads of error Messages about how such-and-such cannot be found and so on.

So what now? Do I need a patch?

Re: Borg won\'t be assimilated
 

Shodan_AI,

Many of those older BORG files are way out of date. Since they are seldom if ever used I sincerely doubt they have been updated for use with the Lastest Version of SE IV Gold.

I strongly suggest that you download the Star Trek Mod and update your stock files with the latest Image Mod Add-ons.

The Star Trek Mod - or - STM, can be downloaded from www.astmod.com/startrek/stm.htm
and the Image Mod Add-ons can be downloaded from www.spaceempires.net Image Mod Mirror site.

Also if you really want to use those new new Components, I will see if I can get them to work for you. Just post or email me if you have any more questions.

EDIT: Follow up

Those files that you posted a link to are for Space Empires Version 1.49. They have not been updated for use with Gold. That is why you are having problems. The Borg Varient files were originally intended for use with a mod that never really developed. Please consider just downloading the STM or even the AST mod for Star Trek play.

The differance between the AST and the STM are that the Atrocities Star Trek mod uses mostly SEIV technology with some Star Trek tech thrown in for fun. While the STM is mostly a Star Trek conVersion of the game.