Space Food Empires!
 

Greetings.

Some of you know that I've been working on a mod for the Last few months entitled, "Space Food Empires".

The Premise:
"...In a strange universe unlike our own, everyday food has evolved into complex sentient lifeforms and have developed their own civilizations and cultures that now hover on the brink of the final frontier, space..."

I've finally got around to updating the website to the mod's latest content, with updates to the following sections:
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• <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Features</font>
• <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Empire Descriptions</font>
• <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Technology (Components, weapons)</font>
• <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Space Yards (Ship Sizes and types)</font>

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Aside from working on the data files, I've started building some of the 3D ship models. I'll post those at the website as they are completed.

I know some of you will be inspired to silliness, but feel free to ask questions, or make comments and suggestions.

You can visit the website via the link provided in my signature below.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

/me Cheers

This really sounds like it should be a very fun mod.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

/me crosses fingers in hoping that a tragedy such as the one that befell the Star Trek ConVersion mod does not happen to Space Food empires.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">The Space Food Empires Mod is backed up in triplicate on an almost daily basis. How does that saying go? "Hard disk failure once and data loss, shame on the computer, hard disk failure and data loss twice? &%$##@!"

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

/me jumps up and down in anticipation.
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
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Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Looks awesome...I wanna play it NOW!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase:

I'm having a big Mac attack! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Sorry! Taz couldn't resist. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Now hurry up and finish that mod! Taz can't wait to kill some Broccoli... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Top 1000 reasons to play this mod:

#1: Saying to another player: 'If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.'

Ain't nobody gonna beat that.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Defeating the Broccoli will be a challenge - you'll need to avoid their ship capture technologies while maintaining a significant numerical advantage.

If you do have some free time available, read through some of race descriptions - there's a lot of little hidden gems. Or at least I think so.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Here is a little background on the whole Space Food idea in general, so at least you'll understand a bit more where it comes from and that I'm not really insane.

The Space Food universe dates back to about 1992. My cousin and I were into Star Trek and were doing a spoof of it in the form of a "radio play" called Food Trek. We developed a little script and a backstory about the food universe and the different cultures. That's probably why you might see some Trek influence in many of the races now. Over the next couple of years we did some "comics" and sketches of ships. I also went as far to create a whole Space Food lore, which in a way I've adapted to suit Space Empires.

Of course, I outgrew the Food universe and didn't think about much until I discovered the Space Empires series. After I lost the original Star Trek mod, I was thinking of something I could do that was more original and not as creatively restricted. So, I decided to revive the idea of my Space Food universe and hence, Space Food Empires was born.

In an ironic twist to the whole story, I now work at a major food ingredients manufacturer and developer so I've been able to incorporate all sorts of stuff that I never would have thought of before. I'm also a geeky science student majoring in biology/chemistry so I've tried to incorporate some of that into the mod as well.

Anyways, I just thought it might be interesting to share that with you guys.

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[ June 18, 2004, 04:42: Message edited by: Captain Kwok ]

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Trust me, that's not insane. I'm kind of an expert on insane or not. Insane is when you start tapping nearby objects constantly because you think it'll give you good luck.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

OK then, maybe you could explain... I thought pumpkins were fat-free, so why do they have Hyper-Lipid drives? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

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Re: Space Food Empires!
 

*cough* me as beta tester *cough* http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Just being funny. I am very happy about the mod. I was about to email you on what happened to it. I maybe jumping the gun here but...

The award for best Space Empires 4 MOD idea goes to...

Catain Kwok for "Space Food Empires"!

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

FOOOOOOOOOOOOD FIIIIIGHT! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Looks to be a great Mod, Kwok!

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Ah. Pumpkins may not be composed of fat, but they certainly can utilize fats for propulsion.

The propulsion system itself is interesting and is more or less based on actually catabolic effenciency. Proteins and Carbs produce about the same amount of energy per gram, but proteins generate more "pollution", hence why proteins are the lowest available engine. Carbs are plentiful and easily broken down so I made them the most extensive engine available. Fats provide lots of energy per gram so I made them the top of the propulsion tree.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

what about nuts?

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I don't suppose you won't make an "Atkin's Diet" racial trait? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Don't even get me started on the silliness of the Atkins diet and the current low carb craze. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon8.gif

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I should be posting an update tomorrow with more of the weapons listed, updates to some of the components, and adding the facilities listing.

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If you are short on browsing time, I recommend reading just the features page - that summarizes most of the major ideas incorporated into the mod.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Hey, Ive been on the Atkins Diet all my life.
(I just didnt know it had a name) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Nahhh actually Im a carnivore.
(forget 4 basic food Groups. I eat the 4 basic food animals)

[ June 19, 2004, 02:12: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">#2: Except me: 'The frying pan or the fire. Choose.'

[ June 19, 2004, 03:15: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

I've updated the technology > weapons page with the remainder of weapons, which more or less has doubled it's size. I didn't realize it at first, but I have almost as many weapon entries as I do component entries. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Next up is an update to facilities. I have the basic ones in place, but I'm still working on generating new ideas for racial facilities and other specialized ones as well.

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One item I'm considering modifying is the propulsion system to use mounts to size engines to a ship size, rather than the current pseudeo-newtonian system I have now. The general idea here either way is to ensure each ship size has the relatively same proportion of space dedicated to propulsion. Why do you guys think?

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Here is a direct link if you are struggling to find the weapons page:
Weapons

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Nice. I like it.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Greetings.

I've been doing work on the facilities this afternoon and would like to share some information with you guys.

One of the features in the mod is its economics. Macromolecules have replaced minerals, organics are still organics, and radioactives are now inorganics.

Macromolecules are plentiful, easily collected, and the primary building resource. Organics are relatively easy to gather and also used in construction. Inorganics are difficult to extract, and are often associated with more advanced technologies and are more of an "exotic" resource.

Here are the relevant resource facilites and their extraction rates at each level:

Macromolecules Collector I-X: 350-450-550-625-700-775-850-900-950-1000.
Organics Harvester I-X: 300-375-450-500-550-600-650-700-750-800.
Inorganics Extractor I-V: 225-300-375-450-500

In addition, the build rates at space yards are also variable:

Construction Yard I-V:
1000-1500-2000-2250-2500 Macromolecules
750-1000-1250-1375-1500 Organics
250- 375- 500- 625- 750 Inorganics

In this setup, macromolecules will not always be the deciding resource for build time. Advanced ships using more Inorganics may take a few turns longer than older ships that have the same Macromolecules cost.

Overall, the effect I'm going for is to make ships more substantial. It will take longer to build them and a higher percentage of resources to maintain them. This puts more of an emphasis on placement and use of ships, unlike many stock games where building ships is like building fighters. Overall fleet sizes might be smaller, but individual ships become more important.

Anyways, feel free to comment.

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I'll try and get the list of facilities posted at the website later tonight.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

It sounds fascinating, with a steady proportional growth along with interesting construction rates also implying a welcomed and steady growth that may yield advantages to some Cultures and disadvantages to others.

I look forward to following its progress and actually playing your new mod - you have put much thought into this and it does sound fascinating.
- - - - -
<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">This is refreshing to see.
It is my belief - there are many Players that do not want to move several hundred Ships and maintain hundreds of Planets just to afford this. The game, to some - becomes a burden and more like a second job {when only in its mid game} and they may lose interest.

= = =
I look forward to your style http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Goofy names http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif , but it is understood the mod is only in beta http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[ June 20, 2004, 22:54: Message edited by: JLS ]

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Looks great, Cap'n K, I can't wait to sink my teeth into this! (/me ducks flying vegetables)

This will be a useful mod for those extra-long SEIV binges during which I sometimes forget to eat. It's got a nifty reminder built right in!

I want it finished, and I want it finished yesterday!

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">They're NEAT, I can see you as the patato head race JLS http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

The religious trait can be the "Vegan" trait. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Hey Narf, how about this: #3. "You're such a Fruit."

Or...

"An apple a day keeps the vegatables at bay."

"We come to preserve you."

Have any of you ever seen the famous "Mona Lisa Fruit Bowl"?

Speaking of, are you ready for some Fruit Ball?

"Yamses, let my Pickles go!" http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

"Carefull, he has a banana in his pocket and he dosen't look happy to see you!"

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

You should create one evil super-powerful race that's against everyone (sort of like the Antarans in MoO2). They could be the only non-organic race, like sentient cybernetic food processors. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

"Captain, long range sensors are detecing a massive fleet of incoming Cuisinart and Salad Shooter class ships!"

"On screen.... What the hell is that thing?"

"It looks like a... like a giant blender, captain..."

"Order the retreat! Run away!"

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Bunnies. Giant, blood-thirsty, warmongering, fluffy, bunnies.

Or the blender. LOL!

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

'Captain Nana! It's the Evil Primates!'

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Come on guys, stop spamming my thread. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

At least post something useful first, and then be silly. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

For a mod like this, I thought I WAS being helpfull. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Sorry. No offense meant. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

How about some weapon suggestions?

DUC becomes "Pea (pod?) Shooter"
Mines become "spores"
Plague devices become "Rot"
PDF -> Weed Whacker
Colony Types can become Gas, Rock, Ice hydroponics
Troops might be trained carnivours.


Racial traits can be translated into various ecology types: Arctic, Desert, Ocean, Garden, and of course the Vegan's.

Just some thoughts, good luck. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I wasn't offended, it just makes it harder to follow the thread when it's interspersed with lots of jokes etc. I may even add some of them to AI speech files when the time comes.

Anyways, I have many of the items you listed. I'd recommend when you visit the website, take a look in the technology section - not just the common areas either. Each race has a list of their own components/weapons etc.

Racial traits are actually based on each race, i.e., if you are playing the Bananas you need to choose the Banana Racial trait. I'm still debating whether or not to add extra traits like the tradional propulsion experts etc, into the mix.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Greetings.

Fyron has created a forum for the Space Food Empires Mod at his spaceempires.net website.

You can find the forum here:
Space Food Empires Mod Forum

I'm still working on that facilities update, shouldn't be too much longer. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I think you should offer all the se4 conventional items, Captain: this will offer the Non-Role-players a chance to really appreciate your work. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif

IMHO:= No offense Fyron. I also would like to see the Space Food Empire Posts here on the Space Empires Forum - not all, may have the time to scoot between alternate sites to follow your progress and this, may prevent your goal to become fragmented.
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ July 03, 2004, 14:44: Message edited by: JLS ]

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

For certain, the old racial traits like temporal or crystalline etc., are toast. I might take certain elements from those areas and implement them in tech areas instead.

I think I'll keep a few items like propulsion experts but make them racial tech areas in the manner that Fyron has in the Adamant Mod. That was a good idea.

Also note, it is not intended for the user to choose one of the major races and not choose the matching racial trait.

I asked Fyron to create a forum for the mod at SE.net so I could introduce multiple threads, polls, and things of that sort. It gives me a lot more flexibility. Keep in mind I'll surely duplicate or link any important Posts made in either forum to keep interested parties informed.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

What is your planed settings for the Population Mass?

[ July 03, 2004, 20:15: Message edited by: JLS ]

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Likely 25.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

You have indicated that maintenance would be higher then stock se4, have you decided what the expected (average) or your modeled and (desired) = Human Player total Ship\Base maintenance expenditures will be?

For example at:
Turn 100
Turn 200
Turn 400
Etc.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

The actually percentage isn't higher - it's the ships that cost more, while resource collection is more or less the same. So in that case, maintenance will be a slightly higher percentage of your income.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Do you have any idea as of yet - what the Ship and Base totals could be on average and at some defined (turn) points in the game?

[ July 03, 2004, 23:09: Message edited by: JLS ]

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Not really. I haven't really got a good sense of the economics yet, since many items haven't been entered or their costs finalized. I might be able to come up with some numbers based on the construction rates since those have been finalized...

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

For what I have seen - I really do like the way you planed the structuring of your economy, Components and Facilities and do look forward to playing the mod http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ July 04, 2004, 16:21: Message edited by: JLS ]

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Greetings.

I've finally added the current list of facilities for both the general and empire specific tech trees:
SFEmod Facilities

Also check out the weapons section as there are lots of updates there as well:
SFEmod Weapons

Be sure to check each of the empire technology pages as those are updated as well.

I could use some more ideas for facilities, especially for some of the major races as you will notice. So post your ideas here or at the forum here:
SE.net SFEmod Forum

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Is the "Intelligence Thing" so secret that you dare not speak of it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Coming together very nice Captain - looks great.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Not quite. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

One of those items I haven't come up with a name for. There are a few of those around.

Re: Space Food Empires!
 

Well, the potato's would have eye's, of course and the corn would have ears.

See, this is the benifit to liking puns. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ July 12, 2004, 17:35: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]