[Clovis]

This has been most informative, Professor Mephisto!

I must confess I had not considered what might be included in those 'sleeper' .EMP files! I have been loading them and reloading them right and left. Obviously it is something in those files that is not recognizing the 'Drone Attack' strategy name! And, by the way, those files are *code* in every meaningful sense of the word. This means that us run-of-the-mill gamers can't mod them except through the game creation interface, right?!

Ergo we have to START with .EMP files that have been created in Version 1.60 -- or are otherwise 1.60 compatible -- in order to have our customized or altered Versions of the stock 'out of the box' races take any advantage of the drone-use coding whatsoever!

This crucial insight, coupled with your sage advice on file-searching for all the text file references, *may* enable me to get 1.60 functioning to my exacting specifications -- with another few hours of modifications, testing, etc. I sure hope so! And personally I certainly see that the game is worth the effort!

However, it doesn't solve what could be seen as Malfador's and Shrapnel's problem of having a game come out of the box functioning in less-than-optimal mode. Still the best one out there, mind you.

.... but could the patch include a clearly-articulated and thoroughly-implemented bipartite or tripartite drone strategy for all races, at the 2000, 3000, and 5000 levels? I'd hate to see those two different types of warheads go to waste!

Otherwise us folks who thought it was clever to copy our old (sometimes customized) .EMP files from previous Versions -- or from the mods that are available here and there -- may encounter the same kind of difficulty over and over again!

[Hmm ... no wonder I couldn't save over that Ferengi .EMP file yesterday!]

[ 05 April 2002: Message edited by: Clovis ]