Pirates & Nomads v2 update

[Suicide Junkie]

Well, I've worked the bugs out of my AI patcher, and will post it with the mod. Some interface changes will make it work for v1.x, too.

Basically, it will update your AI_general.txt file for P&N v1.x, and for P&N v2, it will update both AI_general and AI_designCreation.txt.

I started a Pirate game under the "so-far" v2, adding "living ships" as one of my racial traits.
I could only afford to send out a few ships on my meager 500 point-per-turn budget, and I searched through 10 systems before I spotted an AI ship (escort). By the time my ship had more movement, the AI had disapeared, so I lay in wait.
I had researched FGs, engine IIs, Solar Panel Is, and DUC IIs, but further research would take more than a year per tech.
When the ES re-appeared, I captured it with swashbucklers, but it had no worthwhile tech, and I ended up spending more resources to get it home that I got from scrapping it .
I then sent my fleet of three ships through the wormhole, and got them annihilated by mines

Rebuilding my fleet severly depleted my resource stores, but I now had two capture frigates (MesonII, solar panel, dual swashbucklers, tons of engines ) and went east into unexplored territory. An escort was spotted, and another quick capture operation ended up costing me money, and the AI declared war.
One system away, two AI LightCruisers appeared, and I went in to get me some technology!
Alas, my single meson bLasters could only manage 30% accuracy, and the enemy ships were shielded and had SDDs. When Electric discharge guns and Seeking parasites came at me, I knew I was in trouble. With one FG crippled, I couldn't even ram through the shields and trick one of the enemy ships into self-destructing.
Again my entire attack fleet was lost.

Determined to get the LCs, I recalled all of my scouts for scrapping (and/or mothballing). Designing and building a totally new FG set, I used three designs, 1 nuke ship, 1 capture ship (with 3 meson), and 1 PD ship.
So, I sent in four FGs (2 captures) to get the technology. I arrived in-system to find it empty, but the next turn, a pair of LCs on patrol arrived.
I charged into battle, and exchanged missile blows. The enemy lost shields on one ship, but overloaded the 5 PDL Is in my fleet, crippling a capture ship. To save the mission, the crippled ship boarded and caused the destruction of one of the LCs. The other was bLasted slowly apart by nukes and meson bLasters, until the SDD was destroyed. My capture ship dove in to take the ship, but was hit by an electric gun, and lost its boarding ability. I then bLasted the ship's engines to dust, and left it with only a shield, electric gun, and minor components.
With my missile ship, I fought off one more LC that came in to reinforce the enemy, but before any more could arrive, the (living) FGs had healed, and we captured the ship.
just as the damaged LC became mobile again, a pair of LCs entered the system.
My bonus movement point allowed the fleet to get just one square out of range of the enemy fleet, and the next turn we had accelerated through the wormhole homewards. The enemy pursued, but was still one step behind and the turn after, we had reached full speed, and escaped.
Back at home, I got shields 2, organic tech 1, ship con 3. before ending the game.

Looks like things are going good! The AI had fairly decent designs, although there ma be an issue about optimum ship size.
At least in low tech games, a large number of small ships beats a small number of big ships. Shield technology probably turns this around as the larger ships won't be crippled as quickly.

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