really big games
 

If you want a really challenging game, try a rich quadrant. Most of the AI problems stem from a lack of resources. There are several things to be done.
1) In data directory modify SystemNames.txt to have at least 255 system names. Be sure to start each name with a capital letter.
2) In data directory modify QuadrantTypes.txt under name Mid-Life to be chance 1 for all types except standard 3 52 (1 star) Binary 3 21 (2 star) and Trinary 1 13 (3 star). This adds up to 100 86+14x1. You could remove all the variety but it makes the map more interesting if there are systems which need improvement.
3) In data directory modify Settings.txt increase AI values by a factor of ten :
a) Maximum Number of Systems to 255. More will crash.
b) c) d) Minimum Empire Minerals (Organics Radioactives) Generation to 2000.
e) Minimum Empire Point storage to 500000.
f) AI Mega Evil Empire Threshold Score Thousands to 5000.
g) Default Number Of Units Per Player to 10000.
h) Default Number of Ships Per Player to 2000.
4) Create an Ancient Race which sees all the quadrant and include it as the first race in each iteration of the procedure below. Select Game Settings Players Can Save The Map During The Game on every iteration. Generate games until you get a midlife quadrant with about 255 systems and a few waste (black hole nebulae asteroid) systems. It should have about 2000 planets. This is your start point - save the map.
5) Make up a list of races which uses all possible planet combinations (rock,gas,ice) times (None, Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Hydrogen) except Gas-None makes 14.
6) On each iteration add all 14 races and select Player Settings - Home Planet Value as Good and Number of Starting Planets as 10. Load the Lastest Version of the map. Select Generate Random Computer Controlled Empires and deselect Neutral Empires. Select Number of Computer Players High. This adds six of the unselected races to the creation making 20 times ten good planet hits per iteration. Generate a new game, save the map and exit to New Game and repeat. My experience was planets 2158-2325-2456-2560-2647-2728-2787-2843-2896-2954-3012-3032-3059-3113-3175-3212-3247-3293-3323-3327-3351-3383-3412-3443-3468-3506. At that point I had half of the planets I wanted and was tired of the slow progress.
7) On each iteration select the Ancient race and one of the other 13 repeated 19 times. This generates the same planet type 10 times for each of 19 start locations. Save the map and move on to the next race. After the first pass I had 4734 planets. After the 2nd pass 5505. After the 3rd pass 6085.
8) My target was about 7000 planets but I also wanted them evenly distributed amoung the 14 types. So on the fourth pass I modified the race characteristics of the first of each set of 19 to be an ancient race and repeated the race until it had over 450 planets to be settled of the proper type and atmosphere. The end result ranged from a low of 465 to a high of 619 for rock none due to moons. The total was 6839 planets of which at least 4681 were large with about 120 minerals organics radioactives and a good climate.
9) The game changes planet numbering from roman numerals to 31 32 33 etc when it gets too many planets in a system but seems to have no upper limit. I checked the map editor and it barfs when one of my planets is selected, but who needs the editor anyway ? So if you want to revise the map warp points or something with the map editor, do it BEFORE you follow the procedure.
10) You thought the AI was too easy ? Well just try invading a sytem with 10 proper atmosphere planets to blockade/invade of 35 total in the same system. Instead of one dreadnought per system you need a fleet ! You had better expand VERY quickly because the AI will be all over the map with its resource problems solved. My answer is to research more than the AI.
11) You can make the AI emphasize research by changing directory Ai file Default AI Settings item Maximum Research Point Generation from 100000 to 500000 or more.
12) While in that file, you also need to change item Get Angry Over Allied Colonizable Planets from True to False. Otherwise you can not settle more than about 39 planets before they declare war on you, which is about one half of one percent of the planets available rather than five percent in a standard 100 system quadrant. You might also change by a factor of ten the AI anger over planets to keep it in scale by modifying Percentage of Planets to consider as Attack Locations For Anger from 10 to 1 and from 5 to 1.
13) The procedure took about seven hours at 2-3 minutes per iteration. You can test the results by trying it yourself. After a dozen big games with a blitz strategy that Lasted from turn 120 to 150 I got tired of the AI not being able to put up a good fight....

Re: really big games
 

I believe you could get the same result (many good planets for the AI) by modifying the quadrant and system files in less time. And once you did this you can create unlimited new maps with your parameter.

Re: really big games
 

The attached is the map I created. It was renamed as a .txt automatically, but I assume the file contents are unaffected. Modifying the system generation files would not really do what I wanted since I wanted good productivity in all three resource types AND a good climate on 2/3 of the worlds. Also I wanted a random number of planets per system from the starting half dozen in trinary systems to about forty in the biggest systems, which would not happen if I just added new system types. I also wanted random placement of worlds within systems. It also seems likely that I am exploiting a bug in the multiple starting point placement routine which does not seem to have an upper limit on worlds per system. But the change from roman numerals indicates that some provision HAS been made for super systems. It may be a little boring with 2/3 of the planets large rather than evenly distributed but that too looks nice upon consideration. So the result varies from near standard systems to near impossible ones requiring huge fleets to subdue. On the other hand the 100 mines limit on warp points makes the initial entry into system relatively cheaper. Since this was my first attempt and I kept checking things it also took about twice as long as it should.

My philosophy is to have as much variety as possible, so I have not tried making everything colonize the same. To me that would be boring because it eliminates the challenge of getting the right race to the right atmosphere.


THIS ATTACHMENT WILL NOT WORK. SEE LATER POSTS FOR EXPLANATION.

[This message has been edited by LCC (edited 16 May 2001).]

Re: really big games
 

Thanks for the map. i'll give it a try, if I can load it I'm computer challanged you know http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif
The reason I asked about a single type map is that if all races need the same planet types there is greater competition for the planets. It adds a small twist to the game.

Re: really big games
 

You are welcome. I just rechecked seven systems and the stats on climate are 2/7 unpleasant 2/7 mild 2/7 good and 1/7 optimal. That sure beats over half unpleasant and optimal rare indeed in a typical map.

The climate can probably be fixed by tweaking a file but I still want over 100 in all three resource types because the stupid AI persits in mining farm worlds and farming mine worlds. I have seen mines on 2% minerals 110 % farms. So this way he can not miss whatever his tiny brain decides he needs will be good. And he can even waste dozens of them on tech/intelligence out of his 450 and still come out ahead.

Re: really big games
 

See my posting under basic strategy for a recommended tech sequence.

I took twenty minutes to check the complete planets list for my map. The biggest systems are Sun at 46 planets plus 3 moons followed by Tessana @44 Eskirk @44 and Ixe @43. Invading those systems once they have been colonized would be a real challenge. Imagine twenty shipyards tossing out battleships as you move from world to world. Best to go in with at least a dozen dreadnoughts to visit them all in a turn or two before they can build ships.

On the other hand it occurs to me that the automatic AI empire management has probably never been tested for over 200 worlds. I tried turning on all AI on one of my games I was tired of at 600 worlds and the computer locked up. So it is possible that I have generated a monster that will just crash about turn 100 before I am ready to conquer the map. I hope not....

Let me know if I also need to post the system names file I used. I do not know if it pulls system names out of the file or has them in the map itself. They should be in the map. On second thought I will just attach it. The names I made up are all three letters because I get tired of writing long names on my plans.

If you want to make things interesting generate the game with your race Last rather than first. That way the AI gets to move new ships before you move.... I find it interesting enough being first so I can decide which sitting duck to pursue. My ships experience reaches Legendary +50% quickly....

One thing I forgot to mention is to turn off automatically claiming any system you colonize. This just makes the AI mad especially when it has a colony there. Do not claim them, just colonize them and grin...

Re: really big games
 

Maybe the crash is related to the Max number of units. IIRC there were some Posts about a month ago concerning a limit on what the game could handle.
I bet you get some monster AI fleets with this set up!

Re: really big games
 

LCC I congratulate you to your "monster map" and please don't see my proposition as a critic. I just thought that you might be interested in ways to create such maps in less than seven hours.
The planet value you can change very easyly in the settings file. If you change "planet value low percent" from 0 to 100, you will have no planets with less than 100% value!
A little bit more effort, if you want systems with 40 planets. But if you create in the system type file a stellar system with 40 planets (and you can chose the size of each planet too!) you could easily modify the original to let's say ten different systems each with forty planets. Now you just use mainly these new system types in the quadrant text file and you've got what you want. Just the planet condition can not be pretermined IIRC.
All in all it might take you 3 or 4 hours, but then you can create randomly as many maps as you want in seconds.


[This message has been edited by Q (edited 16 May 2001).]

Re: really big games
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Q:
Just the planet condition can not be pretermined IIRC.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That is my point 2/2/2/1 distribution for planet climate beats the default all hollow. I want those suckers to GROW so that when I conquer them I have more than 50 population per planet to distribute on new colonies. With a single world starting point of 4 billion times three races multiplied by a MAXIMUM of 2.3 percent per turn compounded 130 turns there is only (at best) a factor of 19 increase to 230 billion to split on 1400 worlds. The ACTUAL increases observed in my games have been a factor of three to five not 19. An increase of just .2 percent jumps that by 67 billion or about 30 percent. And the distribution observed is much better than a .2 percent increase....

This discussion applies only once the planet really gets rolling. I am aware that you get at least an increase of one per turn regardless of the population so long as at least one population is on world.

Besides, the time needed to generate a map is less than a third of the time I estimate will be needed to PLAN the exploitation, which is also less than a third of the time needed to do the FIRST wave of expansion to 390 worlds. And THAT is about a third of what I estimate will be needed to get all the races to surrender. So about four percent of your time in a huge map game will be spent actually generating the map. As I said, my first hack took me twice as long as it should have.

So find me a way to get better climates and I will concede that my procedure is unnecessary. But you still will not get the even distribution of systems from six to 46 plus planets unless you make a huge increase in the system types file. And it seems likely that it will barf if you go beyond thirty planets per system roman numerals.

Re: really big games
 

Upon consideration you can get the effect of higher population due to improved climate by a change in settings.txt
Modify the list of Pop Modifier x Population Amount to be lower values and lengthen the list from 12 to about 16. That way you do not need the higher population goal I desired.

On the other hand you STILL would need a huge increase in the System Types.txt file to get the variety of systems my method produces. And that variety is half the reason I did it in the first place. Some systems will be easy as usual but others will be horrendous. If you examine the generated map then you will see that as many as a dozen planets have the same atmosphere type in a single system where a random allocation would give only 9 in a 45 planet system.

I examined the history.txt file to see if there has been any change in population growth lately, but no soap. Apparently it has been cast in concrete. If you want faster growth you have to select it in your racial characteristics. It applies to any race you conquer so that is a bonus. You can also improve your environmental resistance if you have the points available, which should upgrade your apparent climate but I have not checked that out....

Some of the Posts I have been reading mention races available in mod packs. Are they really better than the standard ? If so then why the **** are they not added to the standard game releases ? Is it a case of not invented here or lack of resources to do an official checkout for official release ?

I do not use game handicaps since my goal is to test my strategy against the AI on a *level* playing field. If the wimp AI can not hack it then that is a major indication that some work must be done on the AI strategy. Of course it has been less than a year since the demo came out and MM has been working overtime to fix bugs so AI seems to have fallen by the wayside. Am I on target or speaking from ignorance ?

Re: really big games
 

The AI could always use work but the races in the Mod Pac are much tougher than the standard races. The AI has been reworked on some of the standard races to provide a generally tougher opponent and a few custom races have been included.
Overall the Mod Pack is a great addition to the game. The creators also only limit improvements to tweaks of the original game items, no new stuff is added.
I would recommend you give it a try with you new maps, you should get an even better game than you do now.

Re: really big games
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by LCC:
Some of the Posts I have been reading mention races available in mod packs. Are they really better than the standard ? If so then why the **** are they not added to the standard game releases ? Is it a case of not invented here or lack of resources to do an official checkout for official release ?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

In the past Aaron has used some of the suggestions from the AI modders, but the modpack includes a couple of races that cannot be included cause they're based off races in sci-fi serieses/movies. Copyright issues I guess.

Re: really big games
 

Seems to be an error with the link to the map file. I'm getting some kind of internal server error, anyone else having this problem?

Re: really big games
 

The txt file comes out ok so I changed the name to map3.txt and will try that. It worked but now the computer thinks this is a text document rather than a MAP File so SE IV will not recognize it. See post above for fix.

[This message has been edited by LCC (edited 16 May 2001).]

Re: really big games
 

Its definitely only YOUR file that is not working.

Try using the "View/Delete files" link... you may have gone over your max MB limit, or # of files limit.

If the map is really as big as it sounds, it may be too big to upload. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: really big games
 

LCC you can probably just delete the Posts, just click on edit option below each post then check the delete checkbox when the new screen loads.

Re: really big games
 

If you edit, you can blank out the attachment box and your broken file links will dissapear.

Re: really big games
 

I spoke too soon. When I renamed the file .txt it changed the file type from MAP File to Text Document or some such. So the game will not recognize it. I then used win explorer help File Types adding to add the new file type MAP File with a function of save game to the list attached to application Space Empires IV. It now recognizes MAP File and this attachment is the new hack. On your own computer define the new type THEN try the download, which I will do as soon as this Posts.

Re: really big games
 

Download of map3.map will not work, but if you have defined file type MAP File as instructed in the Last post and download map3.txt to file map3.map then it becomes file type MAP File. So that should fix the problem. I find it hard to believe that nobody has run into this problem trying to share maps before. Maybe it is just us internet ignorant types who get confused. Seems to me the *internet* software is defective here, it should not CARE what file type is used standard or not....

Re: really big games
 

For IE Users: right-click the file, select "save target..."

For Netscape Users: hold "shift" while clicking the file.

You don't need to mess with file associations to D/L stuff.

Re: really big games
 

Sounds like a good idea to help the AI without having any "house rules" to follow.
Could you post one of your saved maps?
Have you tried doing a map for a game where all races start on the same planet type?

Re: really big games
 

QUOTE:
Seems to me the *internet* software is defective here, it should not CARE what file type is used standard or not....
/QUOTE

Welcome to the wonderful world of windoze. Real operating systems use information from inside the file as well to determine what kind of data it is.

------------------
"Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
"Uh, I think so, Brain, but balancing a family and a career ... oooh, it's all too much for me. "

Re: really big games
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dogscoff:
QUOTE:
Welcome to the wonderful world of windoze. Real operating systems use information from inside the file as well to determine what kind of data it is.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh, you mean like the Mac OS with its' resource forks??? http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif (Not to start a flame, but just to point out that virtually all file-type schemes have some inherent problem or two...)

Re: really big games
 

I brought up the map editor and started with a clean slate. I created a single star system. In that system I just kept adding planets. Everything was roman # to xxx, then the next was 31. Unfortunately everything after that was also 31, but it did not crash. When I tried editing my big map I must have selected one of the systems with more than 31 planets so that was why it crashed. I am now working on another map from a generated 253 system rich in ruins which is restricted to 1,2,3 star systems no trash and has warp points located anywhere in system. I am adding sphereworlds rock no atmosphere at three system intervals and will post in the maps/scenarios when I am done. There will be two Versions, one with just the spheres and another with many thousand planets. For me the map3.map is history, it was just a first hack posted to let you know what was possible. I expect the next map to Last me a month or two of game time, but if you have any ideas for what would be really neat in a map let me know here, maybe I will start over again.

Re: really big games
 

Actually the txt file worked fine for me I just changed the extension after I downloaded it and voila huge map... wow really huge map. I'm kinda wondering if I have the organizational skills to actually play this one

Re: really big games
 

How about trying a smaller Version of your map? If the problems are with the size this should help.
Sounds like even a smaller Version would be very interesting to play on!

Re: really big games
 

QUOTE:
Oh, you mean like the Mac OS with its' resource forks??? (Not to start a flame, but just to point out that virtually all file-type schemes have some inherent problem or two...)
/QUOTE

Never used MacOS. I was actually thinking of my amiga (Yup, still going). I believe other unix like OSs have sensible filetype rec as well.

------------------
"Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
"Uh, I think so, Brain, but balancing a family and a career ... oooh, it's all too much for me. "

Re: really big games
 

I posted new maps in scenario/mod archive for those who did not like map3. They feature sphere worlds at strategic locations and a rich ruins environment. There is a starting map then added 67% large good worlds to 3834 planets. Later I will post a final map with 7-8k planets, then start playing the thing to see if it is survivable.

The final map is posted as map6.txt, finishing took 7 hours so my estimate that I could cut the time in half was wrong. It takes a long time to build these maps. As I said before compared to game time it is not all that long.

[This message has been edited by LCC (edited 19 May 2001).]

Re: really big games
 

Using map6 I started a game with 10 good planets and high resources but low tech using the changes mentioned previously to settings.txt but no change to the AI files. I used TDM-Modpack races with my race (Rock None (like the Rage of course), Ancient Race, Physical Stength 90, Reproduction 120) in and around system Ike. The Cue Cappa are in Ein, the Narn in Yak, the Ukra Tal in Red, plus Abbidon, Amonkrie, Colonial 2000, Cryslonite, Drushocka, Eee, Krill, Phong, Piundan 2000, Pyrochette 2000, Rage 2000, Sallegra, Sergretti 2000, Toron, Toltayan, and Xichung 2000 (contact & war on turn 2).

In case you did not get the map, system Central is a nexus with 10 warp points. Sytems Ike, Ein, Yak, and Red are nexus systems connecting to Central.

I ran all on full AI for ten turns to see what would happen. By turn 10 6 races had found and entered Central. All but two races who had contact with another race were already at war. There were a few trade treaties but it was the exception not the rule. There were light cruisers in combat. There were fleets of 25 destroyers, fast work for ten planets 10 turns when they had to learn the tech first....

I will not post any more about the game unless people are interested, but it will certainly require me to modify my strategy since there are at least 7 races able to reach me with warships within the first 12 turns.

[This message has been edited by LCC (edited 19 May 2001).]

Also the Piundan are/were in Oil, which I overlooked in my first glance at the AI. When I got there on turn 10 there was no colony so there must be a war going on. Systems with a race one warp point away from a major nexus (two warps from Central) - Colonials @Hen, Drushocka @Ivy, Krill @Red, Sallegra @Nizzarum, Toron @Zanthis. Two warps away - Cryslonite @Osteo, Phong @Ivy, Rage either Red or Osteo, Sergetti @Yak, Toltayan @Oil, Xichung @Ike. Isolated races are Abbidon 6 from Yak or Ein, Amonkrie 4 from Hen, Eee (also Ancient Race) 4 from Hen or Nizzarum, Pyrochette 4 from Zanthris. I met ten by turn 10 and expect to meet at least 16 by 16. As I said when developing the map, I want to watch the AI and see how it performs in a rich environment - not really cheating, more a simulation than a game.

[This message has been edited by LCC (edited 20 May 2001).]
The Piundan were not in Oil they just claimed it from a system 1 warp point away.

[This message has been edited by LCC (edited 22 May 2001).]

Re: really big games
 

try Pasting this to the bottom of the system types file
(before the ===== EOF lines and one line after the Last entry)
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
Name := Bloated 1
Description := Standard solar system.
System Physical Type := Normal
Background Bitmap := Starmap.bmp
Empires Can Start In := TRUE
Mask Background Objs := FALSE
Non-Tiled Center Pic := FALSE
Number of Abilities := 0
WP Stellar Abil Type := Normal Warp Point
Number of System Objs := 29
Obj 1 Physical Type := Star
Obj 1 Position := Ring 1
Obj 1 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Star
Obj 1 Size := Any
Obj 1 Age := Any
Obj 1 Color := Any
Obj 1 Luminosity := Any
Obj 2 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 2 Position := Ring 2
Obj 2 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 2 Size := Huge
Obj 2 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 2 Composition := Any
Obj 3 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 3 Position := Ring 3
Obj 3 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 3 Size := Huge
Obj 3 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 3 Composition := Any
Obj 4 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 4 Position := Ring 3
Obj 4 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 4 Size := Huge
Obj 4 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 4 Composition := Any
Obj 5 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 5 Position := Ring 4
Obj 5 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 5 Size := Huge
Obj 5 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 5 Composition := Any
Obj 6 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 6 Position := Ring 4
Obj 6 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 6 Size := Huge
Obj 6 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 6 Composition := Any
Obj 7 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 7 Position := Ring 5
Obj 7 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 7 Size := Huge
Obj 7 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 7 Composition := Any
Obj 8 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 8 Position := Ring 5
Obj 8 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 8 Size := Huge
Obj 8 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 8 Composition := Any
Obj 9 Physical Type := Storm
Obj 9 Position := Ring 5
Obj 9 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Storm
Obj 9 Size := Any
Obj 10 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 10 Position := Ring 6
Obj 10 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 10 Size := Huge
Obj 10 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 10 Composition := Any
Obj 11 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 11 Position := Ring 6
Obj 11 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 11 Size := Huge
Obj 11 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 11 Composition := Any
Obj 12 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 12 Position := Ring 6
Obj 12 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 12 Size := Huge
Obj 12 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 12 Composition := Any
Obj 13 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 13 Position := Ring 3
Obj 13 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 13 Size := Huge
Obj 13 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 13 Composition := Any
Obj 14 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 14 Position := Ring 3
Obj 14 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 14 Size := Huge
Obj 14 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 14 Composition := Any
Obj 15 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 15 Position := Ring 4
Obj 15 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 15 Size := Huge
Obj 15 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 15 Composition := Any
Obj 16 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 16 Position := Ring 4
Obj 16 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 16 Size := Huge
Obj 16 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 16 Composition := Any
Obj 17 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 17 Position := Ring 5
Obj 17 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 17 Size := Huge
Obj 17 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 17 Composition := Any
Obj 18 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 18 Position := Ring 5
Obj 18 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 18 Size := Huge
Obj 18 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 18 Composition := Any
Obj 19 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 19 Position := Ring 5
Obj 19 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 19 Size := Huge
Obj 19 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 19 Composition := Any
Obj 20 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 20 Position := Ring 5
Obj 20 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 20 Size := Huge
Obj 20 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 20 Composition := Any
Obj 21 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 21 Position := Ring 5
Obj 21 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 21 Size := Huge
Obj 21 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 21 Composition := Any
Obj 22 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 22 Position := Ring 5
Obj 22 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 22 Size := Huge
Obj 22 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 22 Composition := Any
Obj 23 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 23 Position := Ring 5
Obj 23 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 23 Size := Huge
Obj 23 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 23 Composition := Any
Obj 24 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 24 Position := Ring 5
Obj 24 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 24 Size := Huge
Obj 24 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 24 Composition := Any
Obj 25 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 25 Position := Ring 4
Obj 25 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 25 Size := Huge
Obj 25 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 25 Composition := Any
Obj 26 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 26 Position := Ring 4
Obj 26 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 26 Size := Huge
Obj 26 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 26 Composition := Any
Obj 27 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 27 Position := Ring 5
Obj 27 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 27 Size := Huge
Obj 27 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 27 Composition := Any
Obj 28 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 28 Position := Ring 5
Obj 28 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 28 Size := Huge
Obj 28 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 28 Composition := Any
Obj 29 Physical Type := Planet
Obj 29 Position := Ring 6
Obj 29 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet
Obj 29 Size := Huge
Obj 29 Atmosphere := Any
Obj 29 Composition := Any

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

And this to the end of your quadrant types file (before EOF line also)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
Name := Insane
Description := Silly number of planets.
Min Dist Between Systems := 1
System Placement := Random
Max Warp Points per Sys := 6
Min Angle Between WP := 50
Number of System Types := 5
Type 1 Name := Bloated 1
Type 1 Chance := 90
Type 2 Name := Storm 1
Type 2 Chance := 1
Type 3 Name := Storm 2
Type 3 Chance := 1
Type 3 Name := Storm 3
Type 3 Chance := 1
Type 4 Name := Storm 4
Type 4 Chance := 1
Type 5 Name := Storm 5
Type 5 Chance := 1
Type 5 Name := Destroyed Star
Type 5 Chance := 5

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This will create a quadrant with 29 huge planets in 90% of the systems. It takes about a minute to generate the quadrant on my system (celeron466). May lead to range check errors as the AI spreads..... cough.

Rough estimate of 2209 planets of each type with random atmosphere distribution. Enjoy.

Re: really big games
 

JimBob, I already went over that point. I want an even distribution of planets from just a dozen per system to 45 or so, not a lot of systems that look the same. You cannot get that unless you have at least 35 or so different system types with an equal percentage probabilty. Also, this will NOT get the improved climate I noted in a previous posting. One map Lasts a couple or three months of game time. So tedious though it may be, seven hours invested in a map is necessary and worth the effort.

Re: really big games
 

Fair enuf.
Just thought anyone who wanted large numbers of planets and didn't want to spend 7 hours editing a map could use it. I'm still running v1.30, so i haven't played with the editor. i'll update for the next patch (maybe).

Re: really big games
 

To repeat the procedure :
1) Generate games as usual until you find a map you like.
2) Make any changes you want to the map using the map editor BEFORE you move to step 3, because the map editor really HATES planets numbered greater than 31.
3) Generate new games loading the previous Version of the map repeatedly for a 10 good planet start for 14 + 6 random races until it bores you.
4) Then do the same except one race repeated 20 times moving down the list of races and starting over again until you choke on the number of planets.
5) If you are like me and want an even distribution then in step 4 modify the first of 20 to be an ancient race so that you can see how many planets are colonize/breathe each pass.

If you do not like big maps, nobody will force you to play one.....

Re: really big games
 

bump.

See posting TDM-Modpack politics in really big game for current status. A couple of people have emailed me about the map. Just thought those who do not check the board very often may be interested.

Re: really big games
 

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


Besides, the time needed to generate a map is less than a third of the time I estimate will be needed to PLAN the exploitation, which is also less than a third of the time needed to do the FIRST wave of expansion to 390 worlds. And THAT is about a third of what I estimate will be needed to get all the races to surrender. So about four percent of your time in a huge map game will be spent actually generating the map. As I said, my first hack took me twice as long as it should have.
.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

From the 16th. Make that a factor of four on all stages and seven hours is about right - I was too optimistic.

Also the unmodified AI politics will NOT tolerate 390 worlds. I plan a cautious colonization of about 50 worlds (35 sphereworlds) with the remainder one at a time. I will retreat the colony fleets if all the AI get mad because I REALLY need the trade. See TDM-Modpack politics in really big game thread.

[This message has been edited by LCC (edited 26 May 2001).]

Re: really big games
 

bump So you do not have to look for this for the reference in thread "AI tech trade bug", See page 3 the first posting for what to change in settings.txt to use my turn 45 download in the scenario/mod archive.

Make that 5000/5000 on the ships/units
Use the systemnames.txt file posted in this thread.

[This message has been edited by LCC (edited 10 June 2001).]