Okay so what do you think?
 

So now that you know the news what do you guys think...

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

I already answered in the "Big announcement tomorrow" thread, but I'll repeat:

I can't wait for SEIV Gold to come out. Looks like it's practically SE 5... well, except that the promised drones are incorporated.

I'm especially looking forward to the new system types & the "better AI tactics"...

Edit: Oh yeah, and with TCP/IP support maybe I can get some friends interested...

[ 03 December 2001: Message edited by: DirectorTsaarx ]</p>

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

was so impressed that I ordered my copy already! Wonder if I am the 1st?? LOL

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

Great news! My only question is what is defined as a 'piece of the CD'...does that mean we destroy our CD?

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

That's up to you guys, we just need to ensure that you owned the game so we need the part of the CD that has the logo on it.

For that matter you can just ship the old CD to us. But this won't even apply until after Gold is out so you don't have to worry about any lost gaming time.

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

For customizability purposes, there were some things over which the modder had no control...AI States, for one...can you give us some idea what additional controls the modder will have?

As for my reaction, I think that it's great that you've taken the community's advice and incorporated it into the newest Version. I know that the IP support will make lots of folks happy, and that the smarter AI will make ME happy http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

Will you be able to divulge any information on abilities...

What I mean is, there were a number of abilities which were "switched off" in the code, any of these activated, and any new ones added?

Any changes / updates on what's "officially in" - like the ability to inflict a plague on a planet through an Intel op, which was possible even though the "intel projects" file didn't list it as such?

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

Sounds pretty good. I have few questions about this.

Are the mods made for SE4 compatible with SE4 Gold? I think new AI files are needed to make AI build new things like drones.

How is the support for original SE4 going to continue? Is the SE4 Gold a must buy if you want to get the new features? Can you play multiplayer games with some people having original SE4 and some SE4 gold?

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

Let me just say that I am extatic. So many new features. I will definitely be ordering this game. I can't wait to see the new features. I wish we had more info on what all is going to be in it. I like the new system types, drones, and better AI. One question though, will all these new enhancements make all our old mods incompatible?

The only real complaint I have is, did you have to release the week before I start collage? You know this is going to kill my college career.

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

Hell yes! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

BTW, where's that "piece of the CD" thing? I didn't see it..

I was thinking about submitting the techmod for the new CD, but I think I'll hold off. The new stuff mentioned is giving me ideas! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Phoenix-D

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

you shuold open up the private beta forums to us....

Ok, maybe not....

Please?

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

We are constantly in touch with Malfador to ensure that the TDM-ModPack is fully compatible with the Gold Release. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

Will you be able to divulge any information on abilities...

What I mean is, there were a number of abilities which were "switched off" in the code, any of these activated, and any new ones added?

Any changes / updates on what's "officially in" - like the ability to inflict a plague on a planet through an Intel op, which was possible even though the "intel projects" file didn't list it as such?

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>That's up to you guys, we just need to ensure that you owned the game so we need the part of the CD that has the logo on it.<hr></blockquote>Wouldn't the cover of the printed manual serve the same purpose at less cost and effort? I've seen other companies use that as proof of purchase for rebates.

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

My first thought was "oh, no the new CD burn!"
I've got an important bugfix in P&N (now v2.4c)
Is it too late?

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

This is really fantastic good news.
I will order the Gold Version immediately.

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

No you have time, but time is geting shorter and shorter...

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Richard:
That's up to you guys, we just need to ensure that you owned the game so we need the part of the CD that has the logo on it.

For that matter you can just ship the old CD to us. But this won't even apply until after Gold is out so you don't have to worry about any lost gaming time.<hr></blockquote>

This could be good for the people in US... But I suspect that will be unable to send a part of the CD with the standard mail... then probably with the money that will need for send the CD, the price reduction advantage will be gone!
I think that Shrapnel should keep the transaction where I have purchased the game, then, honestly I believe that request a part of the CD is not a good idea.

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

Well, for a while now many people have been saying,
"Give us drones. Give us TCP/IP. Give us a better AI. Give us more options. We want it so bad that we'll pay for it."
So, here it is! Time to put your money where your mouth has been! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

For myself, I am excited http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif -- this is definitely an improved Version of SEIV http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif -- but I have a non-minor complaint. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif I still don't see the two things that I've been asking for (almost since Day One):
1) A scenario editor (like a map editor but with the ability to control everything) to facilitate role-playing with SEIV; and
2) An "external" mode for combat resolution, which would allow you to resolve combat outside of SEIV with any program/game/method of your choice and then enter the results manually.

These two things would be fairly simple to implement, yet would add GREAT potential to the game, so it is kind of aggravating to see them passed over once again. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon8.gif

What do the rest of you think? Will the new empire options plus the map editor be a good enough scenario editor for you? Am I the only one who is acheing for better combat simulation (especially planetary invasion)? Am I a lone wolf, or a cry-baby, or am I on-target? Any insiders care to comment?

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by dmm:
Well, for a while now many people have been saying,
"Give us drones. Give us TCP/IP. Give us a better AI. Give us more options. We want it so bad that we'll pay for it."
So, here it is! Time to put your money where your mouth has been! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif
<hr></blockquote>

Well... although can understand the reasons of other people, I always considered the TCP/IP and Drones not very important to me.
Anyway, of course that I can pay a new copy without cry, but IMHO, if Shrapnel really want to make a discount to the people that have supported the game, should not request a so high requirement.

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

OK, I'll buy it!

However, I must comment on this requiring us to break our Original SE IV CDs to qualify for a $15 discount stuff. It just pisses me off.

If it was some genius in your marketing department who thought of that idea, do yourself a favor and shoot him/her/it now.

[ 03 December 2001: Message edited by: Tenryu ]</p>

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

I understand you need to know if we have bought SEIV. Don't you have records of who bought what? I also don't like the idea of breaking or sending my CD back. Is there any other solution to this?

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

Hi Guys:

Look for the Rebate Topic.

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

Sounds good, already ordered a copy. But I will not be breaking my old cd. (curious Q, is this similar to what happened when se4 came out? ie, send in a piece of the cd?).

Mr. Deathstalker (hiding from the new wife and hoping she dosn't see him on the computer http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif )

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

"curious Q, is this similar to what happened when se4 came out? ie, send in a piece of the cd?)."

Not really.. considering that SE3 didn't *have* a CD! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Phoenix-D

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

I still have somewhat mixed feelings about the Gold Edition.
I love SEIV, been having a whale of a good time playing. And the modding level, the ability to customize and recreate so many of the variables, has been a real treat for a creative, obsessive like myself.
I've been looking for a game with this level of complexity and depth of features most of my gaming life it seems.
And even better is the user support group I've found here and at other sites. I hadn't seen this level of involvement and feedback in a long time. The difference seems to be that with the Space Empires series, the user's opinions actually matter. In my short time here, I've seen ideas proposed, debated and actually implemented into the official product in a matter of a couple weeks. That is absolutely amazing. I received my copy in October, and I've already seen the updates flowing like maple syrup from the tree.
I will buy the Gold Edition, because I support the Space Empires series, and really like the game, but my SEIV copy is still shiny new, and I don't actually believe that the new modifications from 1.49 to Gold Edition are worth the cost of essentially buying the same (great) game twice in half a year. I think the game is worth more than I payed for it the first time (especially counting the free updates and Shrapnel support I've leeched so far), but that is a different story. That's just my opinion, and I have to admit that I am unable to use the new internet multiplayer features that feature so prominently in the Gold update.
Also, I am worried about an impending sense of abandonment in the support that I've seen for those who do not go Gold. What will happen to those who don't, or can't, huddle the "Gold Divide"? Will any new mods or future updates that use the Gold Standard ever be useable by those left behind?
Anyway, that's my nickle's worth, and its a pleasure to know that someone actually will listen.

CombatSquirrel

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

"Will any new mods or future updates that use the Gold Standard ever be useable by those left behind?"

Mods, maybe. Updates, no. you kinda came on board riiight at the wrong time..

Phoenix-D

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

Well, I'm very excited about it and I will definitely be ordering. I do have some questions though:

1&gt; For the community: Now that TCP/IP is out, will I still be able to gt PBEM opponents? I won't ever have the time to sit and play TCP/IP for 6 hours straight, but I can spare an hour a day for a PBEM / PBW game. DOs anyone else share this concern?

2&gt; I've read all the threads and press releases, but I haven't seen this one clarified, so this question's for Shrapnel: Let me get this straight, 1.49 is the Last ever patch that can be applied to the non-gold game. Is that right? The Version history listed on the other thread applies to Gold-CD owning players ONLY.

3&gt; Have the Gold CDs gone into print yet? What Version wil be on the CD? 1.55? Later? If the CDs go into print soon, but the game doesn't ship until Feb, will that mean there will be a patch on the website by the time the game's released? Or shall we let Aaron enjoy Christmas without bugging him for features?

4&gt; Richard, you said there's still time to update files which are to be released on the CD. How much time?

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

The Version number will be later as we still have a month of testing to go before we go Gold.

I would say that it would be good to get your mod info in ASAP so that it can be tested with the new code, but we will not actually go Gold until early Jan 2002.

The person who can help get your mod on the list is Chris Traber, he is helping me with this.

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by dogscoff:
1&gt; For the community: Now that TCP/IP is out, will I still be able to gt PBEM opponents? I won't ever have the time to sit and play TCP/IP for 6 hours straight, but I can spare an hour a day for a PBEM / PBW game. DOs anyone else share this concern?<hr></blockquote>

PBW will still be around as long as people still want to play PBW. TCP/IP is just a new option for play. SEIV Gold will still support non-TCP/IP simultaneous turn games. In fact according to the Gold release announcment there will be some stuff on the new CD related to PBW.

Geoschmo
PBW Admin Team

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

I'm looking forward to the new release and it has really sparked my interest (again) in the game. Some of the features that I'm liking are:

Alternate Bitmaps!
New Sectors types!
Drones!
Lots of Goodies!
300 systems!

The only problem is that February is so far off!

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

Thanks for the reply.

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>
The Version number will be later as we still have a month of testing to go before we go Gold.
I would say that it would be good to get your mod info in ASAP so that it can be tested with the new code, but we will not actually go Gold until early Jan 2002.
<hr></blockquote>
OK. I believe the Vikings are already on the list (So far Rollo has handled that side of things) but I have some graphical updates to go on there.

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>
The person who can help get your mod on the list is Chris Traber, he is helping me with this.
<hr></blockquote>

OK. I'd like to ask him including about the neo-standard then. It would be nice to get it included into the official release. With the new secondary image feature it would be a powerful addition, and it might only take up as little as a few extra kilobytes of disk space.
I think the best way to do implement would be to include the neo-generic images (not necessary, but a nice touch) and then add a page to the manual explaining to shipset creators and modders what the standard is aboout and how to use it.

If this makes no sense at all, go to the non-standard ship sizes thread. There's a summary there somewhere.


I think I'm going to alter my .sig file: "I can't wait until February"

[ 04 December 2001: Message edited by: dogscoff ]</p>

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

There is one open question for me:
Can you make reasonable mods for the gold Version if you don't have the beta Version of it??

E.g. any AI you make with Version 1.49 will not use drones.

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Q:
There is one open question for me:
Can you make reasonable mods for the gold Version if you don't have the beta Version of it??

E.g. any AI you make with Version 1.49 will not use drones.<hr></blockquote>

Correct Q, all of the modders were supposed to have been contacted about that. Did you have a mod you wanted to get on the CD and didn't get contacted?

Geo

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by dogscoff:
Thanks for the reply.



OK. I'd like to ask him including about the neo-standard then. It would be nice to get it included into the official release. With the new secondary image feature it would be a powerful addition, and it might only take up as little as a few extra kilobytes of disk space.
I think the best way to do implement would be to include the neo-generic images (not necessary, but a nice touch) and then add a page to the manual explaining to shipset creators and modders what the standard is aboout and how to use it.

If this makes no sense at all, go to the non-standard ship sizes thread. There's a summary there somewhere.

I think I'm going to alter my .sig file: "I can't wait until February"

[ 04 December 2001: Message edited by: dogscoff ]<hr></blockquote>

Go ahead and e-mail me a zipped Version of the mod as well as a summary.txt (basically a short text file which contains key information such as a short description of what the mod does, your e-mail address for contact purposes, etc.). We would like all of the submitted mods that make it onto the Gold CD to be used with with the Matryx Mod Launcher. I will post more information in the "Definitive Mod Thread". E-mail it to me at ctraber@ngn-tampa.com.

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by geoschmo:


Correct Q, all of the modders were supposed to have been contacted about that. Did you have a mod you wanted to get on the CD and didn't get contacted?

Geo<hr></blockquote>

Ahem, I didn't get contacted. Dogscoff and I want to submit the Space Vikings. Is there anything else that we need to know, besides the AI not using drones?

Rollo

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

I will DEFINITELY pre-order the game. SE4 is the best game i've ever played, and i'm very interested in the new improvements. However, i think that sending the CD (Or breaking it!) is a silly idea. 15$ is not worth.

Thanks for the release! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by geoschmo:


Correct Q, all of the modders were supposed to have been contacted about that. Did you have a mod you wanted to get on the CD and didn't get contacted?

Geo<hr></blockquote>

I would make an update for my CueCappa, Phong and Borg Mod and combine it with the Intel Mod. Because I was not aware of the gold Version I did however not post this intention on the thread for Mods to be included on the CD and probably was therefore not contacted.
No big deal, I still can make it later and post it here in the Mod section, but if you think it would still be time and space on the CD and there is a possibility for my to have access to the Beta gold Version, I could post it earlier (not before end of december however).

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

Did you fix the order that the weapon modifier was applied? In case you don't remember the e-mail I sent and the post I made about it, the short Version is like this: When factoring chances to hit, the weapon modifier is applied Last, when it should be applied earlier, and here's why:

Let's say a fighter (+50 accuracy) is firing at a Baseship (-40 defense) with an inherently innaccurate weapon (-30, let's say) and the base chance to hit is 50. His final chance to hit should 99% (rounded down from 110%), right? Because the proper way to make the equation would be chance to hit = 50 + 50 - (-40) - 30 = 110 = 99.

Not if you apply weapon modifiers Last. The way SEIV works now, the chance to hit would be 69%, not 99%, and if you had a weapon with a weapon modifier of -100, but you were firing at a moonbase with -100^100 defense, you're chance to hit is 0%. The way it would calculate the above equation is chance to hit = 50 + 50 - (-40) = 140 = 99 - 30 = 69. This seems easily fixable, and it's a pretty serious problem, especially for me since it prevented me from making a mod where small ship sizes are viable late in the game.

If this isn't currently in the plans for Gold Edition or just the next patch, would you consider it?

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

Just sent this report to Aaron again. He gets so many Messages that your could have been lost.

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Q:


I would make an update for my CueCappa, Phong and Borg Mod and combine it with the Intel Mod. Because I was not aware of the gold Version I did however not post this intention on the thread for Mods to be included on the CD and probably was therefore not contacted.
No big deal, I still can make it later and post it here in the Mod section, but if you think it would still be time and space on the CD and there is a possibility for my to have access to the Beta gold Version, I could post it earlier (not before end of december however).<hr></blockquote>
There is probably not a way to get you access to the beta gold ersion at this point. And the end of December would be too late for the CD anyway. Just wait till you get your Gold CD and then post your stuff. My guess is people will want to play around with the unmodded Version of the Gold CD for a while anyway before they get back into their favorite mods so it won't be a big deal.

Geoschmo

Re: Okay so what do you think?
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Just sent this report to Aaron again. He gets so many Messages that your could have been lost.<hr></blockquote>

K, I'll do that. Thanks.