Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

I recently added separate designs for each hull size for the design type Attack Ship to an AI design file. When I ran the race on full AI (full tech), I noticed they only built the escort Version, which was at the top of the design file. When I cut/pasted the baseship Version to the top of the file, they only built baseship-sized attack vessels. I know that the AI will mix sizes for designs which specify a range of allowable hull tonnage; is there any way to get this behavior with the designs set up the way I have it?

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

I am not absolutely sure about this since i never ever actually played high technology start except for "final" design check, but to my best knowledge, AI redesign ship when and only when new advance ih ship components/hull is achived. In your case it is physically/mathematically impossible and AI stuck with the first design in the list

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

I had thought of this, and so I modded research to go faster by orders of magnitude (to take less time to test) with low tech start, but with same result. When I ordered the designs from largest to smallest by hull size, then the AI would use the largest (read: highest up) design it could build. Sorry; I should have mentioned that in my first post.

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

The Ai will not mix sizes any more after 1.60. It will just build one attack ship time. If you want diversity, you have to call the ships by names.

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

This is taken from the history.txt file and should explain:
The Default_Ai_Construction_Vehicles.txt file will now allow for the design name or the design type. The term "Colonizer" is still hard-coded to be evaluated to the needed type of colonizer. When looking for the design to build, the game will look for the latest design which matches the design name. If no match is found, then the latest design which matches the design type will be located. If neither is found, this purchase item will be skipped.

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

So, I can enter the design *name* in Construction_Vehicles.txt now, if I want? I thought I tried that, and it told me "Massive Death Ship" wasn't an accepted design type. I'll have to test that again.

[edit] Oh, look! I'm a "Seargeant" now...whatever that is. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ 25 April 2002: Message edited by: Krsqk ]</p>

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

Okay, I just tested this, and it did work. I must have had a typo before. Great, now I can specify the exact content of my forces!

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

I have an interesting question related to this; my problem isn't getting the AI to build particular items, it's trying to get the AI to DESIGN an item. Details follow:

I had a bright idea to add a Temporal Space Yard for ships (since the Temporal races had special Yard facilities, why not ship-based ones?). Anyway, I thought I should make the new ship-based TSY's bigger than standard SY's. Well, the temporal AI's choked on that, creating space yard bases and space yard ships with no space yards (still trying to figure out why it didn't automatically choose larger ship/base sizes, but I'll leave that for further testing). So, first, I limited the new TSY to bases, then I created two designs for base space yards: one was space station sized, and I added the "Star - Unstable" ability to the standard space yard & tried to use it to force the AI to use standard space yards in the smaller base space yards. The AI never created a design for the smaller yard, even when I finally remembered to use different names for the design. At turn 41, the AI created a design for a starbase-sized base space yard, using the new TSY (and LOTS of shields, armor and PDC - kinda scary, really). Now, calling out names in the Construction file won't help because the design doesn't even exist... or will that force the AI to design the ship? Hmmmm... I'll have to test that...

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

Some more info on my testing: obviously, the AI is set up not to bother with ship/base sizes larger than 500kT until after turn 20 (and ship/base sizes larger than 600kT wait until after turn 41). So that's the main reason it didn't just use a larger base for the initial design (and why it designs an appropriate-sized base later). However, I still can't get it to design a space yard base that calls for the "Star - Unstable" ability. It just ignores the entry completely. I even tried different combinations of "Must Have" and "Majority Comp" abilities; the AI either designs a base space yard with no space yard components, or it ignores the entry.

Any advice?

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

Put it in as the first Miscellaneous ability call.

In other words, treat it just like the quantum reactors on ships.

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

I didn't use the majority/secondary comps or must have at least 1 settings (except for transports). I just added a misc. ability setting with spaces per one set at 10000 (which results in one per ship). I also did this when I wanted to use three or four types of weapons on a ship. I called them as useless abilities, but they aren't "useless" in combat! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[edit] S_J: Great minds think alike. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ 25 April 2002: Message edited by: Krsqk ]</p>

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

All right, I tried that and it still doesn't work. I went so far as to make the "useless" ability the ONLY miscellaneous ability, no "Must Have" component, and no "Majority Comp"; the AI creates a design with the right name, but REFUSES to put a @!#$^%!#$^& space yard on the design. I even tried a variety of "useless" abilities, just in case. I then tried increasing the VALUE of the abilities, in case it was looking for some kind of threshold value. Still nothing. I guess I'll just have to make my temporal space yard component the same size as the regular one, or else the temporal AI's won't design/build base space yards until after turn 41 (or they'll cripple their economy trying to build HUGE base space yards). This is terribly upsetting, that I can't make the modders' favorite trick work on my own mod. I actually used to believe I was intelligent, too...

I'll see if I can upload the appropriate files so y'all can take a look and tell me what picky little detail I missed.

Edit: just adding link to a zipped Version of the appropriate files (a Components.txt and a Sallega DesignCreation file): TsaarxFailedMod.zip

[ 26 April 2002: Message edited by: DirectorTsaarx ]</p>

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

DirectorTsaarx your problems sound very familiar to me:
I made different cloacking components and used the "nonsense" abilities in order to call the components in the AI design files. After a long try and error time I had to conclude that if a component has any cloacking ability all other abilities are ignored in the design file! Perhaps the same is true for the space yard ability?

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

I don't see anything obvious here. I can tell you from my experience that if you set shields and armor to 0, the AI will add them as fill at the end of the design. I tried adding your design to one of my saved games, but my tech levels are too high, so the AI will not redesign as it does not see any new tech.

[ 27 April 2002: Message edited by: Gandalph ]</p>

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

OK. I got the design created by the AI so the design is not the problem (although my AI used normal ship yard), so perhaps I can test the component itself, however I will have to change tech requirement as my race is not temporal.

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

I put the TSY III into my components file and changed the tech area and my AI designed it, so I cannot tell you what is going wrong on your end.

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

Gandalph: Did they create a space yard base with the TSY or the regular yard? My problem has been forcing the AI to create a design using the regular yard for use during the first 40 turns in a high-tech start, or for use during the time between researching Temporal Tech 4-6 and researching Battle Stations. The problem is that, until the AI has the larger bases available, they won't create a space yard base; either no design is generated, or a useless design is generated. So I'm trying to force the AI to create 2 different space yard bases, a small one with the standard yard and a larger one with the better yard. If the AI created both in your game, then something is REALLY strange...

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

I used your TSY design and component and the AI created both (yours and my normal). If you want the AI to create one normal until TSY is researched then create 2 designs or put the TSY comp in design b-4 normal and the AI will design with normal until TSY is researched then use it.

Re: Modding Q--AI DesignCreation
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Gandalph:
I used your TSY design and component and the AI created both (yours and my normal). If you want the AI to create one normal until TSY is researched then create 2 designs or put the TSY comp in design b-4 normal and the AI will design with normal until TSY is researched then use it.<hr></blockquote>

I'd created both designs in the file, but I had the TSY one AFTER the normal one; that's probably the error I made. I knew it was something easy...

Thanks for the help.