Thanks for your hard work Kwok.
An amusing thing happened with the AI. I haven't played since 1.13, uninstalled the game, installed it anew, patched to 1.20 , installed the Balance Mod v1.01 and started a new game. In the first neighbouring sector I have explored I bumped on the Zholhuk protectorate. (btw, when a race description says "[..] has prevented them from developing interstellar travel", is it safe to assume that the race is a "neutral" one?).
Turn 1 I send them a general message. Next turn they reply with a treaty proposal with just one clause - non-aggression in neutral systems. Grats, this is a huge improvement over the random half-dozen clauses we used to receive.
Now, I am not satisfied with this, he has some green planets and I have to try and fool him into letting me colonize planets in his system. So I send him first a counter-proposal with just one clause, non-aggression in all systems.
Next turn he replies with TWO messages. First a counter-counter-proposal where he insists in having non-aggression in neutral systems only, which makes sense. And another with a new treaty proposal with one clause: allow colonization in each other systems. So, this behaviour (sending a counter-proposal together with a new proposal) is still in. Also, if the race description is correct, and depending on what "interstellar travel" means (if it means "moving between stars", as in "use jumpgates") he can't even jump into my any of my systems, and shouldn't even bother with a clause like that. And since the only system he knows and can travel to is his, he shouldn't also have the notion of a 'neutral system' to propose a non-aggression in.
Now, I of course have accepted his second treaty proposal about colonization, and he went from indifferent to displeased
. So now I am supposed to be able to colonize planets in his system without driving him nuts, but have already pissed him off by just signing a treaty that he proposed, AND still have no non-aggression treaty. Logically the former shouldn't go without the latter, we'll see how it evolves
.