SE3 mod for SE4
 

The goal of this is to include as much from SE3 as possible.
Re-Mods can be done later, and should be done elsewhere.

Some basics:
- Direct fire weapons can all be copied easily.
- Shields and regenerators can be copied.
- Hull sizes, C&C requirements, engines per move and engine limits can be copied, along with cost and other modifiers.
- E-build removed (100% ebuild, 100% slowbuild)
- Construction points: Organic and Rad resources removed, leaving one resource; minerals = construction points
- construction centers provide resource storage.
- Population bonus levels

Some harder items:
- Missiles can be set to infinite range, provided that mounts are used to bring the launch range back down.
- Construction... build tiny ship-cores and then retrofit on all the components to repair over time?
- supply... engines and weapons use none, but supplies degrade over time (somehow)
- armor layer: limited armor, probably through the X-Per-Ship limits. Additional armor components would be limited to leaky-style only.
- Spaceyard at 100M population
- Asteroid colonies; incompatible with planet creation/destruction tech, but easy otherwise.

Some "maybe" items:
- Resampled SE3 components and facilities, brought up to SE4 mini and portrait sizes.
- multiply hitpoints and damage by 10x so that the combat bar graphs work better.


PS:
please add suggestions for SE3 features to include, and ideas on how to do some of the hard items.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

So you want to edit the hard code then? That is the only way I can see to remove Orgs and Rads unless you set all components, facilities to 0 org and rad and then remove all production facilities for them. Also set them to 0 in the settings tab.

Is this what you plan on doing?

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Well, yeah. Remove them from having in-game effects. They'll be reduced to flavour text.

Although in trivial amounts, they may still come in handy for setting up some of the construction features.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Be sure to use Andres' beautifully re-rendered SE3 shipsets.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Funny, I wanted to do a SE2-ism mod for SE4 one time (single "tech area", fewer warp points, smaller ships), but the one thing stopping me was my lack of a registered copy of SE2 so I could see the entire tech tree... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

intresting but on se3 were more atmospheres i wonder if it's possible to add them to se4, if it's possible i haven't figure out how...., if it's possible maybe someone on the forum knows how

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

No, you can't add more atmospheres or planet types... have to wait for SE5 for that http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

You can add more planet SIZES, however...

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

About that... I think we will probably have to leave the surface research in, and forget about the atmosphere research.

Unless we could somehow add more surface types, and then match them up with atmospheres, or something...

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Well, I've gone through and changed all the basic components over to SE3 Versions. Also done the core of vehiclesizes and units.
Trimmed out the non-se3 like facilities; copying over stats for the remaining ones will be for tomorrow.

PS:
If somebody could map out the tech tree prerequisites and max levels, and also find at which level the component families start, that would come in really handy.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

i once made a tech tree for se4 on power point, noone seems to be very intrested on it, i think i can make one of se3, but it will take a some time.... 'cause i'm working on a mod also, but i can do both.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

The tree should be pretty simple...
As I recall, there were only a handful of techs that had any prerequisites, and those should be listed in the help files.

What I've got so far is available here:
http://imagemodserver.mine.nu/other/...miscellaneous/

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

So, let me see if i get it, what you want is for example,
to get shields you need to research Physics first and so on with other techs.... in a tech tree form don't?

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Basically, yeah.
A list of the areas, noting the basics of prerequisites and price.

Getting a note on what tech level the first component of a family becomes available would be nice. We can assume things start at level 1 by default so only the odd ones need be written down.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

ok, i'll see what i can find, 'cause it's a bit more complicated than se4, but sooner or later i figure it out i think.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Well i've attached a file with a research tree but there seems to be various ways to get to a tech area, for example, to get Phased Polaron Beam you can research:
1st Method:
1-Weapons: Beam (all of it)
2-General Science: Mathematics/Physics (All of it)
3-Shields (on level three you get the polaron beam, the tech area)

2nd mehod:
1-General Science: Mathematics/Physics (all of it)
2-Shields (all of it)
3-Weapons: Beam (on level 3 you get polaron beam, not the weapon the tech area)

3rd method:
1-Shields (all of it)
2-Weapons: Beam (all of it)
3-General Science: Mathematics/Physics (on level 2 you get the phased polaron beam tech area)

and for phased shields there seems to be various ways, anyway the tech tree i've attached is one of this way maybe it's usefull.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

That sounds like just:
1-Shields (all of it) : Minimum Level 3
2-Weapons: Beam : Minimum Level 3
3-General Science: Mathematics/Physics : Minimum Level 2

Try looking for "hidden tech" in the help file.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

ok, i'll check out and see what can i find, another thing if you need help somewhere else, tell me http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

That PDF looks good, and I'm grinding through the techarea.txt now.

I'd like to get the images out of SE3 too, and add them to the imagemod (appropriately resized into minis and portraits, of course).

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Hmm...
Any ideas on what to do for the Planetary Defense / military base tech?
IIRC, its supposed to multiply the defense strength of troops.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Add combat to hit defense plus ability to troops?

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Adding it to the troops would make them more powerful on the attack too, unfortunately.


PS:
Just an update - I've entered all the tech areas, and no I've gotta patch up all the files that refer to tech areas so the game will load.

Done... Its running now.
I had to back out the renaming of the planetsizes, so currently the SE4 -> SE3 mapping goes like:
tiny -> asteroids
small -> tiny
medium -> small
large -> medium
huge -> large

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

what about colonizing asteroids?, i think there's a way, but i'm not sure, i've to try it, i was think if work to add it my mod but i've to test it first.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

There is no way to colonize Asteroids in SE4. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif The only thing that can be done is to change all of them into "planets." Then, you can colonize them. Unfortunately, they are no longer "asteroids," so you can not build normal "planets" out of them...

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

yeah i know asteroids can't be colonized but maybe they can look as asteroids.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

something like this is what you're looking for the se3 images?

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Ok, all of the ship/base components are in.
I'll add the individual fighters and troops images tomorrow.

http://imagemodserver.mine.nu/other/...aneous/SE3.zip

Does anybody know where those SE3 shipsets are?
And is there an AI modder who would be willing to set some AIs up for them in this mod?

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

were any of my files usefull or they we're just useless?

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Yes, actually.
I don't know what kind of crazy build-from scratch thing I was going to start with, but it would have been pretty bad.

Once I got into the groove, it was faster to make both the mini and portrait at the same time, and paste away like a madman.

The Tech chart came in very handy for reference in the techarea.txt and the tech requirements in facilities and components. I had to double-check a few items because they looked wierd to me, but it turned out the chart was correct.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

I've uploaded an update.

The unit graphics are installed.
EDIT: Another update, with a scaled-hitpoints Version of the components.txt
Hitpoints and damage are multiplied by 25, so its two per block on the bar graphs in tactical combat.

Rename the components.unscaled if you don't care about the bar graphs, and just want to see the original numbers.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

glad i could help http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

So, what's next, folks?

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

i don't know, any ideas?

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Well, we need the facility images still.
And we need at least one AIs to play against.

Some suggestions on what to do with the construction system would help a lot too.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

well, i think i can do the facilities, but as for the AI i have no idea.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Have the Construction Centers produce minerals *and* act as a spaceyard expansion / repair facility, and remove the normal spaceyard facilities from SE4?
As for spaceborne construction, just have multiple classes of spaceyards in increments of 100kT (or whatever 10 SE3 hull spaces translates to in your mod); each would construct and repair proportionally to its size, and unlike other components, would have 10 hitpoints (or whatever 1 SE3 hitpoint translates to) *per* 100kT of size (since in SE3 the component would really be multiple components)... it won't allow a ship to have multiple queues, but it will allow one ship to build at whatever rate you want depending on how much of its hull you devote to spaceyards, just like in SE3...

Or, have ALL spaceyards construct at 1,000,000 per turn or some other ridiculous number so that all ships are built in 1 turn if you have the funds, just like in SE3, though they would be constructed fully repaired rather than fully damaged... of course, they would never be built if you don't have the funds, since SE4 won't let you spend only 50,000 resources on something one turn and 50,000 the next if it costs 100,000 and the spaceyard builds with more than 50,000, even if you have 50,000... is there a way to modify the starting resource storage amounts to make them practically infinite, or will homeworld facilities have to do the job?

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

i've attached a file with the facilities pics, i test them on the mod i have and so far it worked fine.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Good work there.

A slight formatting touchup; the pics are supposed to just cover the red/white box corresponding to their position.
On my copy, I shifted the Last three down a pixel to center them and blacked out the box lines.
Time to plug those new ones into the mod so they show up http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

The file can also be truncated at the 180 pixel height mark. (Since we don't need all those imagemod images, just the stock zone). Makes it a nice 380 kb instead of the many-meg imagemod size http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Hmm.
How about the missile bases and the ground bases...

What about making the ground base into a cargo facility?
That way, you'd be able to add more troops and get something with the same general idea.

The missile bases would have to be weapon platforms, that take up a decent sized portion of the cargo space provided by the ground-base.

So, it would be a ground base, that can be used to either increase the troops on the planet, or hold missile launchers. Sort of a half-way thing.
The ground base cargo amount would have to be scaled to an average sized planet.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

i think it's a good idea, but i was wondering if the defense base can be used to improve the defense modifiers of the troops on the planet so it's harder to defeat them.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

Nope, can't be done, sadly. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif The ground combat modifier ability doesn't work.

Re: SE3 mod for SE4
 

damn, so i guess the ground bases should be used as cargo facilities http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/fear.gif