Idea submissions
 

I'm starting this thread for the purpose of submitting ideas for changes/mods to the game.I haven't found a thread that already or seriously covers this,so i started my own............

On with the first idea....i've created a facility that effectively cloaks planets,it's playtested and works perfectly.The enemy can't see the cloaked planet on any of thier maps and you can uncloak and cloak the planet just as you do a ship.If this hasn't been done successfully before and anyone's interested i'll post the file here

Re: Idea submissions
 

Ummm, post the file, I have never seen this work.

On a side note: Spaghetti is delicious.

Re: Idea submissions
 

Does anybody know what happened to the idea of making SE IV into a naval game? A long time ago SOMEONE proposed changing the graphics and data files to do a navy wargame. Has this been shelved? I for one would like to see a well done Version of this.

Re: Idea submissions
 

i will post the file tomorrow...seems there is one lil bug..it does work,but after you build it you have to save your game,reload for the cloak icon to become available...after that all works perfectly..just a lil annoyance comes along with it....gonna tweak it and post tomorrow evening....if ya want it anyway let me know and i'll post it as is.....maybe ya don't care if ya have to reload.....but i figure would be pain in the rear for pbw games

Re: Idea submissions
 

I have an idea for a mod, but i have no idea if it will ever work.

It would be neat if there was a racial tech that would allow the construction of widespreading weapons, like some kind of beamweapon that will hit everything in an arch of say 30 degrees inside a certain radius. Of course the damage of such a weapon would have to be tone down but anyhow, I think it would be cool.
Another idea is to use this multihit ability only with tractors and repellers. Wouldn't it be great if you could repell a whole bunch of those nasty enemy vessels and just sit and whatch while your planetary defences pumnmel them to dust?

I don't have enough modding experience yet to say if this is even possible, but I bet there is someone out there who knows.

Re: Idea submissions
 

Sabaoth, Area Affect, Multi Hit, etc.. are not currently possible. Mabe SEV?

Re: Idea submissions
 

Some things I would like to see more of:

Leaky Shields and Armor:
- give shield generators only a small amount of shield generation points. Add crystalline ability.
- remove armor ability from armor, and make armor components very small with large amounts of hitpoints.

Fix Maintenance Reduction
- In settings.txt, change "Empire Starting Percent Maint Cost" to 100.
- In vehiclesize.txt, add a maintenance modification ability to each ship of -75, and to bases, -88.
- Optionally, increase the maximum allowed maintenance reduction, increase the culture maintenance modifiers, or decrease the cost per % of maint. reduction
This will make maintenance reduction appear to multiply instead of add with the base amount.

Multi-dimensional technology branches.
Also known as grid techs.
The idea is to have two or more tech areas provide pieces of a single component.
Instead of researching simply "torpedo weapons", the tech could be split into "Torpedo Warheads" which increased damage, "Torpedo Guidance" which increases accuracy, and "Torpedo Manufactuing" which reduces build cost.

Re: Idea submissions
 

I would like to see a weapon that sort of feeds of shields. If the enemy has sheilds gens on their ship and you have this weapon, your weapon would do greater damage. Not much more but slightly. Like 10 more points of damage then usual. Basically it would pull energy from the shield into the beam and use that shield energy against the ship.

Re: Idea submissions
 

Perhaps another idea would be a shield feeder beam.
One that 'steals' supply from the ship with the shields, passing it to the recipient.
Indeed, this weapon need not work only against shields if it can target supply compartments etc.

Re: Idea submissions
 

Say, DarkAngel, you probably should have specified whether this thread was meant for POSSIBLE TO MOD ideas, or just wild and random ideas.

I gathered from the fact that you had a specific example facility in the first post that you meant the former...

Re: Idea submissions
 

If they are going to have the multi tech tree, I would like to be able to spit my research over 2 or 3 techs.

Re: Idea submissions
 

Just put them all in the queue. The way SE4 (non-divide evenly mode) distributes the points means you don't have to worry about spreading your points or losing the excess. Not to mention that you get all techs except the Last one faster.

And, the point of the grid techs are that you don't HAVE to do all three at the same time or the same rate.
Two players could have torpedo weapons, and while one player researched excellent range and accuracy, the other researched damage only.

[ December 16, 2002, 20:22: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]

Re: Idea submissions
 

Well, you can get multi-hit by putting multiple weapons and a multiplex components on your ship...

Re: Idea submissions
 

It's true you can get multi hit that way, but I was after a weapon that would do the trick without multiplex. What i was after was a weaker weapon with the ability to hit several ships in the same shot, thus forcing the player using them to alter tactics. But I guess you can achieve the same effect with a lot of low damage weapons that doesn't take very much space combined with advanced multiplexers, but the again, you still have the opportunity to concentrate all your fire on one ship.

Re: Idea submissions
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Or better, Player A researches the range and accuracy; he will ccurately ping you, repeatedly, from long range.

Player B focussed on build-cost and damage. He doesn't hit terribly often, and has to get right up close to even try ... but he's got LOTS of the blighters, and when they hit, something goes *boom* in a [b]BIG[/] way.

Meanwhile, Player C went for range and damage; long range, not terribly accurate, with good punch; Player D went for accuracy and build cost; lots and lots of hyper-accurate close-range "ping"-ing ...

And so on.

Re: Idea submissions
 

S.J. - the grid tech idea has some really cool potential... I like it. To go further:

Maybe bury a few research "Easter Egg" goodies by crossing 2 special racial techs deep down the tree. This could be a really funky weapon or facility. At least make them more useful than the ancient techs in the existing game.

Re: Idea submissions
 

What I would like is improving the longevity for seekers and units (drones, fighters, missiles).

Point Defense is the End-All for units and seekers. The game would be more interesting if your higher tech units were:

1. enabled by a ECM that made them harder to hit
2. beefed up with a substantial damage tolerance
3. reduced in cost, so that someone would actually build large fighters

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Idea submissions
 

how many points of damage does it take to destroy a seeker? i know with a mk V pt def canon 1 hit will destroy a seeker. but it takes more hits with earlier ones.

Re: Idea submissions
 

The seeker damage resistance is displayed at the bottom of the component window.

Compare that to your point defense damage power.

Re: Idea submissions
 

well i intended it for ideas(no matter how off the wall or wild)that through conversation,tweaking,and playtesting become a reality....basically what i'm saying is say whatever ya want,just as long as it actually gets somewhere rather than just bounced around till it dies off,thus going nowhere and taking up space and wasting time

Re: Idea submissions
 

also..i have the specifics for the cloaking planet facility...as i said,it works,but with the side effect of having to reload the game after it's built(dunno if it's only once,or after each one is indivdually built,haven't gotten that far yet)..but if anyone wants it to try and tweak themselves or to use lemme know

Re: Idea submissions
 

Is it possible to make a facility that would attract/repulse ships like the stelar ability?

Is it possible to make facilities which would requie the "use" button? i mean, any facility that would be activated by this?

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hmmm,i don't know,but i know of a way to try...i'll try it and post the results

Re: Idea submissions
 

I'm interested in the cloaking facility. Please post your data or email/PM it.

Re: Idea submissions
 

Monsters in Devnul mod have cloaked planets. Although it is done through bases, IIRC.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">There's at least one mod that has "crossover" techs that require two racial techs. I think those are in Pirates & Nomads, but I'm not sure.

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Yes, P&N does have them, but they're not secret at all http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

The ever-popular Biocrystal armor, harmonic shields, Spirit Crew quarters, etc. One for each pair.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Now that's the stuff I'm talking about! You may have just convinced me to finally try P&N to ckeck it out. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

I guess an easter egg really refers to a tech being buried, or really hard to get. But I like crossover techs in general. Opens the creativity up a bit.

[ December 17, 2002, 20:35: Message edited by: Stone Mill ]

Re: Idea submissions
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hard to get cause it costs lots of research -- sure

Hard to get becuse it requres lots of prerequsites -- sure

But how can you hide it, when anyone can print up a complete tech tree whenever they want?

Re: Idea submissions
 

SJ, how would you propose people to make these tech grids? Doing it by hand is a major PITA.

Re: Idea submissions
 

To elaborate on Fyron's comment for those that haven't tried to make one:

A tech grid needs one component for each possible tech combination. Say you have two techs, each with 5 possible levels. You need 25 components. Now make it a three-way. You need *125* components. Going to 10 levels makes that 100 and 1000, for a 2-tech and three-tech grid.

Phoenix-D

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I think you'd really have to write a program designed specifically to create massive amounts of components.

Re: Idea submissions
 

here's the planetetary cloaking device

1040200171.txt