Proportions mod Version 2.2 released

[PvK]

Download it from the Proportions mod web page.

I thought this was going to be a small release a week or more ago, but it turned out to be a lot more. The basics are more or less unchanged, and old 2.0-2.1 games should be upgradable without particular weirdness, but there are several extensions and additions in a number of areas (see below).

Players wanting acceleration to planetary development will I think find that a lot more speed is possible now with research into Cargo & new Starliner modules, and use of the new lower-level urban facilities.

The AI has been improved in a number of ways. John Sullivan has started helping me test and tweak the AI, and has been spending a lot of time figuring out how to get the AI to handle Proportions better. His Abbidon weren't quite ready for this release, but they are getting close and I expect they will be quite good in 2.3, which will appear as soon as they are ready.

Version 2.2:

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Gameplay:
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* Changed drone Anti-Ship Warheads to only be usable against ships and
bases (not fighters/satellites/planets/etc).
* Extended Temporal Shifters three tech levels with diminishing results,
to fall in with null space boost to adapt to Proportions armor. Note
that Temporal Shifters are easier to research and to build but shorter
ranged and somewhat less destructive than null space projectors.
* Control and life support components will no longer upgrade to more
expensive types when a design is upgraded.
* Adjusted speed of Light Missile System IV to originally intended speed.
* Increased research cost of Neural Computer Interface and added several
levels of development to it with different cost/size shifts and new
side-effects.
* Decreased research cost of Massive ancient techs, and increased their
maximums so they could actually be developed.
* Extended Massive Shield Depleting Weapons to tech level 6.
* Increased cargo & supply storage tech branch to level 5, and added
a new cargo component type, Starliner Module, that makes some larger
population transport capacities possible with advanced research, and
makes population transports a little easier to design and also to
maintain. Starliner modules require both Cargo and their own Starliner
tech area to be researched. This was done mainly to make it possible
to adjust the AI to build transport hulls without using Starliner
modules.
* Doubled organics costs of (racial tech) Organic Generation Facilities.
* Rearranged (racial tech) Solar Generator facilities. The more advanced
ones now cost more to build, and they now produce more rads, fewer
organics, and fewer still minerals.
* Added new non-racial-tech Solar Power Plant facilities. These are
inexpensive but produce only rads, not organics or minerals.
* Increased costs of higher-level Monolith facilities.
* Added four new cultural facilities below the previous "City" facility,
and re-named "City" to "Major City". See Major City, City, Minor City,
Colonial Community, and Settlement.
* Cultural facilities are now broken into four families to limit abuses
of the current SE4 facility upgrade mechanic: Settlement/Community,
Cities/Metro/Megalopoli, Arcology, and Cultural Centers. Upgrades are
allowed within but not between these Groups.
* Added Psychic Intelligence Centers.
* Increased size and cost of high-tech combat sensors and ECM, to make
smaller Versions a more viable alternative on larger ships.
* Added Ionic Shield Generators (provide protection against ionic
engine-destroying weapons.
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Cosmetic:
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* Expanded descriptions of cultural facilities to better explain what
these represent.
* Corrected cosmetic typo in "Spatial Rupture 2".
* Fixed cosmetic duplicate Rad Storage III.
* Removed some bogus warnings for system-wide ability duplication from
some urban facilities.
* Separated small combat sensors and ECM from large Versions when "only
latest" is selected, instead of only offering small ones.
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AI:
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* Added ability to have AI use efficient engines.
* Added ability to have AI choose between light and capital missiles.
* Added ability of AI to deploy Mental Flailers after Allegiance
Subverters have been developed.
* Implemented planned method for AI to build intel centers.
* Implemented planned method for AI to build system happiness facilities.
* Stopped AI loading some AFV weapons on fighters.
* Enhanced Amon'krie AI.
* Enhanced Neutral AI's.
* Modified Drushocka AI.
* Enhanced Terran AI.
* Enhanced some default AI files that will improve all AI's.

PvK