Zippy's SE IV Mod (Note: It's HUGE!!!)

[Tarkin]

Would love to hear more feedback on Zippy's new mod. It really sounds great and I don't have time to give it a try myself this weekend. So bring forth your experiences and comments on it.

Thanks

Tarkin

[raynor]

The TDM ModPack is a carefully play-balanced Mod that seeks to improve the AI without making any changes to the tech tree. In order for a Mod to be compatible, it must not rely on any changes to files such as components.txt. This makes sense... you wouldn't want one AI race researching superweapons available in a customized components file that aren't available in the stock components.txt.

[zippy]

Comment on TDM ModPack compatibility:
After reading raynor’s comment on the TDM ModPack, it seems like my mod would be difficult to make fully compatible with the TDM ModPack since I changed nearly everything in the Components.txt file. If I have time, I will see if my mod would benefit from parts of the TDM ModPack.

Reply to Cranex’s Reply, Edited 5/13/01:
First off let me just say WOW! I never expected such a terrific response. I’m hesitant to admit this, but Zippy’s Mod has been in a useable state for over two months now (and I haven’t worked on the mod for the Last month, but that is another story). I guess I should have been more aggressive with the advertising of my mod.

I have updated the Design Notes section on my Readme web page to address most of Cranex's questions/comments. The Readme is found at: http://www.commplusis.net/~levend/Ga..._IV/Readme.htm

The following questions/comments are not addressed on my Readme page:

Cranex: “Can you develop a program to change tactical combat into simultaneous movement and fire…”
Zippy: No, sorry, this would take more than editing the text files.

Cranex: “Zippy, the save game feature needs improving in my opinion. Maybe you can fix it???”
Zippy: See above.

Cranex: “Zippy … deserves, in my opinion, to even go so far as to ask for a small $1 donation for downloading his mod.”
Zippy: I am very flattered. Believe me, the wonderful replies that I have been receiving are more than enough payment for my efforts.

Cranex: “How many hours did it take Zippy?”
Zippy: It is hard to say because I would work off and on (and mostly while I played the game). Sorry, but I really can’t even make a rough guess . It also would be difficult to separate the problem solving from the actual mod creation.

Cranex: “or is it just a bloodfest,eh?”
Zippy: “Boodfest,” I love your wording. Anyway, yes, this mod is currently designed to be a kill-them-all type game. I would have liked to incorporate more diplomacy, but I just haven’t found the time to create a race that allows for diplomacy and remains as aggressive as I like. Also, I always play in Team Mode, so diplomacy isn’t a big issue for me. Maybe the AI in my mod personifies how much I dislike strategy games that don’t require any strategy.

[Chill_Factor]

Kudos Zippy on a fantastic Mod. It taught me that I wasn't as good at SEIV as I thought
I know you recommend team mode but do your AI's handle it alright if I turn that off? I apparently have a lot to learn judging by the smoking ruins of my homeworld...

[zippy]

Chill_Factor: turning off team mode will probably be ok, but I can't say for sure because I've never tested it. You also might want to try setting all of the AI cultures to "Easy" or "Very Easy".

Just to let people know, I'm currently working on a little program that lets you quickly, safely, and easily modify the AI bonuses in my mod. (The program is just a replacement for notepad so don’t get too excited.) The program will be released as v1.8 of my mod once it is ready.

[zippy]

I have a new Version of my mod available for download (v1.8). The only significant addition is a program for editing the AI settings in my mod. This is to address people's comments about the difficulty of my mod. Try it out ... I'd love to hear your comments!

[zippy]

I released v1.9 of my ZippyMod. This Version has been fully tested with SE IV v1.49 and adds a number of enhancements. You can download it at my home page. Also, please make sure to check out ZippyMod AI Setup Utility that is included with my mod.

Please visit the ZippyMod Readme for more information.

I hope you enjoy!

[ 05 January 2002: Message edited by: zippy ]

[Wardad]

OK, I'll try it after I finish with UM.

Odd that almost everyone on this thread is unrated.

Maybe Zippy should be thanked with a few stars?

[zippy]

I released v1.91 of my mod which fixes a bug where the Temporal race can build bases without any weapons early in the game. If you already downloaded v1.9, then you can download a patch (~22k). Otherwise, you must download the full mod (~700k). Both downloads are available on my home page.

[Atrocities]

Good to know your still active Zip. I recently updated my site, and could not find a banner for yours, and was considering sending you an email about getting one from you.

Glad your back.