Proportions Mod: Multiplayer anyone?

[Osweld]

Can't wait.


Might aswell get the shipsets and stuff out of the way now. I plan on using the "seorfleet" shipset.

By the way, will altering the "default" files (strategies, formations, empire titles, ect...) cause any problems in multiplayer?

[PvK]

quote:

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Originally posted by Osweld:
By the way, will altering the "default" files (strategies, formations, empire titles, ect...) cause any problems in multiplayer?

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Have to answer on a case-by-case basis:

1. Strategies. I don't know for sure - I think it might confuse the game if a player has altered their strategy files and expects them to work as they are defined on his computer. The worst this would do, though, is have it so your ships won't really follow the orders you think you are giving them. So, unless someone knows this causes no problems, I would say you should start with the default strategies, and then alter them during play.
OTOH, if you gave the server the same AI strategy file as you are playing with, it should work, but the server will be on PBW, so probably not.

2. Formations. These are per game, so you should have the same ones the game is using, or you will be giving orders that may get mixed up by the host.

3. Empire titles and ship names files. These you can mess with as much as you like on the player side, and the host computer won't care, since it deals in actual names, and those files are just pick lists for players. Only exception is if you use your design minister - it will use the names file on the host computer.

PvK

[PvK]

Ok, I think 1.5 is ready, and I'm about to post the readme it on a new thread, and the file on PBW.

PvK

[Fyron]

Altering formations.txt will definitely cause problems. Altering strategies.txt shouldn't cause too much of a problem, because you can alter your empire's strategies within the game. Emporertitle.txt, empirenames.txt, and those like them are only accessed when games are created, so having modified ones on your computer will not cause a problem.

I plan on using the Vorlon Empire ship set.

Edit:
Hmm... seems as if PvK responded at the same time I did. Oh well.

[ 17 March 2002: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

[PsychoTechFreak]

I have already read the FAQ section of PBW, but I still have two semi-newbie questions about shipset and AI.

1. PvK, in your mod there are some altered ship classes, isn't there any need to upload some special shipsets for this Mod ?

2. In the rare case, I would miss a turn, the AI takes over my action. I guess it takes the strategies out of the downloaded shipset, right ? Do you recommend to take one of the AI files out of the Proportions Mod ?

[Fyron]

You can make the AI not do anything if you miss a turn. Inside SEIV, go into the empire options window and select Ministers. Scroll all the way to the bottom and select the option about the AI not making any changes in a simultaneous move game.

[PvK]

PTF, SE4 Gold has a neat feature that allows modders to specify two pictures per ship class: a preferred and a second choice. If the preferred isn't found, the second choice will be used, and the second choice is one found in the default set, and looks fine IMO. As of Proportions 1.5, all new ship classes first look for a picture with a name as defined in the SE4 Image Neo-Standard. See http://www.sandman43.fsnet.co.uk/neostand.htm for lists of ship sets that include the extra ships.

As for when the AI takes over, Fyron has the best answer, which is turn turn all (or almost all) of the ministers off in your empire settings, so your existing orders will be followed, and the AI won't go rampaging around like the nut it generally is. If you had to pick an AI file to use, though, I would use the Proportions Amon'krie one, as it is the most tailored to the mod. This would mean you would need to make a shipset with the AI files you want in it, and upload it to PBW so the server can use those files. I'm not 100% sure PBW will even do that courtesy, though - it might not bother to load custom AI files from a player's ship set - I dunno.

PvK