What is MM working on ?

Mad_Dog · #1 June 13th, 2002, 03:39 PM

Shadowstar, that is porting MOO

Baron Munchausen · #2 June 13th, 2002, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Shadowstar:

There's an interesting idea: have one tech field that's reserved for artifacts. It can't be researched, but you can group together all kinds of crazy components into that field and let people find them. Perhaps there could be one super rare artifact that you could find that would open up that field for research, like some kind of ancient alien data crystal that has all of the technological information for an ancient, all-powerful alien race that mysteriously dissapeared eons ago. Researching that field would simulate scientists attempting to decode the information from the crystal. You'd get some cool new gadget every now and then. Course, it would have to be expensive and the artifact that would let you do that kind of research would have to be pretty rare. A gamemaster could even design an entire PBW or PBEM game around it; the goal being to find the planet the crystal is on and maintain control of it for a certain number of turns.

Ahhh... sorry about the run-on folks.

Yes, you can do this. Look at the TechArea.txt file and you will see that 'ancient ruins unique' techs are tech fields like any other. If you gave them multiple levels you could then research them after you got that initial find. So you could have entire 'ancient artifact' fields off the main tree.

Tenryu · #3 June 14th, 2002, 03:18 AM

For all the *****ing and moaning, SE4, is remarkably 'moddable', if you are willling to think carefully about just exactly what 'effect' you want to 'affect'. Many pleasant surprizes await the patient thoughtful modder.

geoschmo · #4 June 14th, 2002, 04:41 AM

[quote]Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:

Quote:

Yes, you can do this. Look at the TechArea.txt file and you will see that 'ancient ruins unique' techs are tech fields like any other. If you gave them multiple levels you could then research them after you got that initial find. So you could have entire 'ancient artifact' fields off the main tree.

You know what? THIS is what has always bugged me about ruins, but I didn't relize it before now. Anyone that has read my Posts knows I am not one the use the "R" word that often, but this would be more realistic. This is how Ancient ruins should be anyway. The ruins shouldn't give you the ability to build a component right away. They should just open a new branch that you can research to get the component.

Geoschmo

Baron Munchausen · #5 June 14th, 2002, 05:29 AM

Yeah, the way 'normal' tech fields are arranged needs to be dramatically altered, too. We could probably create an equivalent to the MOO 3 system with expanding 'rings' in the general sciences holding advances in the various technologies with the existing SE tech system. If we did it right, you'd tend to get bunches of various technologies in clusters at more-or-less parallel levels instead of the current 'rush down a tech tree to the end before using it' style of research that the current 'stand alone technology' tree tends to encourage.

Then 'ruins' techs could be the root of whole new fields of really cool stuff that you can't research in the normal techs.

Shadowstar · #6 June 14th, 2002, 07:19 AM

Now that's a great idea, Baron.

By the way, I wasn't thinking of MOO, I was actually thinking along the lines of an old VGA Planets game scenario type called the Tantalus Machine (I think). Although in that scenario, the first person to find and occupy the goal planet would get a tech item that could kill entire races... I think... VGA Planets is hard to remember...

Q · #7 June 14th, 2002, 10:47 AM

[quote]Originally posted by geoschmo:

quote:
Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:

Quote:

Yes, you can do this. Look at the TechArea.txt file and you will see that 'ancient ruins unique' techs are tech fields like any other. If you gave them multiple levels you could then research them after you got that initial find. So you could have entire 'ancient artifact' fields off the main tree.

You know what? THIS is what has always bugged me about ruins, but I didn't relize it before now. Anyone that has read my Posts knows I am not one the use the "R" word that often, but this would be more realistic. This is how Ancient ruins should be anyway. The ruins shouldn't give you the ability to build a component right away. They should just open a new branch that you can research to get the component.

Geoschmo

I agree with you. The problem as often are the AI. You would have to include even more possibilities in their research file. That's why I haven chosen in my QMod the possibility to combine the unique ruin technologies with standard research: e.g. you get 3 levels of the massive planetary shield generator according to your reseach level in shields.