Mod questions
 

I've noticed this being in a few mods. How do you get this to work? Every time I try it it just screws things up (adding ANY new colonies does that..)

edit: name change

Phoenix-D

[ 30 November 2001: Message edited by: Phoenix-D ]</p>

Re: Mod questions
 

What is the problem exactly? If you'd be more specific, maybe I could help.

Rollo

Re: Mod questions
 

Well, whenever I try to add a new colony component, strange things happen.

For example: I added a new component "All colony", family 5004 (not shared with anything). It needs Ship Construction 2 to get.

Start a new game. The colony doesn't show up, as planned, but *neither do any of the normal components*. Check the technology screen, and all the colony techs are set to level zero. One of them should be set to level one, but isn't.

EDIT: and worse.. that was with a Low tech start. If I select a High tech start, everything works normally.. except for the fact that ship construction is still at the default for low tech start! (the next level gives the colony component)

Phoenix-D

[ 30 November 2001: Message edited by: Phoenix-D ]</p>

Re: Mod questions
 

That is similer to what we had with Devnull Mod. Devnellicus mad a new tech area called Universal colony and the universal colony required 1 level of that. Then you needed all three colony tech to get universal tech and the ability to research the uni-colony comp.

The problem was if you placed the uni-colony comp after the others in the comp.txt file, everybody got it by default in a low tech start, but if you put it before the others in the comp.txt file, the AI would never use the component, even after researching it.

Obviously colony comps are treated different than regular comps in the code somewhere.

We tried fixing it by making the uni-colony comp a level 2 comp, and had the same result you did, in a low tech start, you got no colony components. It was giving you level 1 of uni-colony tech, but since the comp was a level 2 comp, you didn't have it till you researched it.

We did fix it though by removing the uni-colony tech area, and making the uni-colony comp have three tech area requirements, all three colony techs. Then the game only gives you your soecific colony type in a low tech start, but once you research your third colony tech, you can build with all four comps. And the AI can use it too.

Not sure if this helps you or not. I'd have to see your data file to know exactly what you are doing. Was level 2 of ship construction the only tech area requirement? That seems kind of cheap. Was your uni-colony just a comp or did you have a uni-colony tech area that opened up at level 2 or ships const?

Geoschmo

Re: Mod questions
 

"Was level 2 of ship construction the only tech area requirement? That seems kind of cheap."

That was the point http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

It was just a copied Gas Giant colony, pasted below the GGC, upped the family number by one, and added the abilites for the other types. Then I changed the requirement to shipcon2 so I wouldn't have to bother with making a new tech area.

EDIT: the point here was to test it, hence the cheapness..

Phoenix-D

[ 30 November 2001: Message edited by: Phoenix-D ]</p>

Re: Mod questions
 

All right, I guess the three-colony requirement is good enough.

Next question: does anyone know how the events system works? I.e. does adding an identical copy of an event (or one with only a few values changed) make that event more likely?

Also, how does everyone feel about a mod making combat longer? Leaving the turns the same but lowering damage and/or upping armor/shields/general toughness of components. Some of the battles in SE4 seem awefully short and lopsided to me. Lopsided because one side is dead before it ever gets to fire!

Phoenix-D

Re: Mod questions
 

Thanks Geo,
you just saved me a lot of typing http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif .

events: sorry, can't help you there. haven't tried anything with events, except making an "experimental warpdrive" by triggering that wormhole event (or whatever it's called) on purpose. couldn't get it to work http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif .

edit: have you looked into Dracus event mod, yet? There are a lot of new events. I am not sure, but I think all the events do have the same "likeliness" (does that word exsist?). Maybe a minor event is more likely than a catastrophic one. Not sure.

longer, less deadly battles: good idea. You could still initiate combat a second time, though. But you would have more problems with resupply (maybe even make weapons use more supplies), so part of the enemy fleet could actually escape, bring in reinforcements, whatever.

Rollo

[ 30 November 2001: Message edited by: Rollo ]</p>

Re: Mod questions
 

"longer, less deadly battles: good idea. You could still initiate combat a second time, though. But you would have more problems with resupply (maybe even make weapons use more supplies), so part of the enemy fleet could actually escape, bring in reinforcements, whatever."

Exactly. You can attack again, but each attack requires a movement point. This would also allow warp-point blockade running- survive the initial onslaught, run away from the blockaders, and use your remaining stratgeic movement to sprint away from the WP..

Phoenix-D

Re: Mod questions
 

Hmm, I just noticed something with the uni-colony that we use for Devnull Mod. When you play a gas race, you'll get rock colonization. Well, at least in my Version, because I put rock colo as the first requirement. Maybe I did something wrong with the fix that Geoschmo came up with a couple of days ago.
edit: But it seems to me that you don't get your specific colony type, but whatever is placed first in the requirements.

Whether or not we can fix that, Uni-colonies can still be made, if placed before the other colonization techs in the comopnents file. Only problem then, of course, that the AI won't use them http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif . That would be a pity, because the AI uses them good. Meaning that if you have a Colony(Rock) ship with a uni-colony, the AI will also use that to colonize Ice and Gas Worlds.

Rollo

[ 01 December 2001: Message edited by: Rollo ]</p>

Re: Mod questions
 

Here's the text for the Uni-colony that I have tested, and it works fine, if you put it before the other colony comps. (If you put it after then everybody gets the gas colony comp for some strange reason in a low tech start. Not the uni-comp, gas tech.) But if it's before the others it works fine.

And the Ai uses it once they have researched it. I know we had that problem before, but it seems to have disappeared. It must have been a compination of factors and not just the comp order as we thought causing the ai problems with using the uni comp.

Geo

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Name := Universal Colony
Description := Materials needed to start a colony orbiting a gas giant.
Pic Num := 53
Tonnage Space Taken := 200
Tonnage Structure := 200
Cost Minerals := 2000
Cost Organics := 1000
Cost Radioactives := 1000
Vehicle Type := Ship\Base
Supply Amount Used := 0
Restrictions := None
General Group := Colonizing
Family := 5004
Roman Numeral := 0
Custom Group := 0
Number of Tech Req := 3
Tech Area Req 1 := Gas Giant Colonization
Tech Level Req 1 := 1
Tech Area Req 2 := Rock Planet Colonization
Tech Level Req 2 := 1
Tech Area Req 3 := Ice Planet Colonization
Tech Level Req 3 := 1
Number of Abilities := 4
Ability 1 Type := Colonize Planet - Gas
Ability 1 Descr := Can colonize a gas giant planet.
Ability 1 Val 1 :=
Ability 1 Val 2 :=
Ability 2 Type := Colonize Planet - Rock
Ability 2 Descr := Can colonize a rock planet.
Ability 2 Val 1 :=
Ability 2 Val 2 :=
Ability 3 Type := Colonize Planet - Ice
Ability 3 Descr := Can colonize a ice planet.
Ability 3 Val 1 :=
Ability 3 Val 2 :=
Ability 4 Type := Cargo Storage
Ability 4 Descr := Provides 20kT worth of cargo space.
Ability 4 Val 1 := 20
Ability 4 Val 2 := 0
Weapon Type := None
<hr></blockquote>