Adding Chlorine atmosphere. ??

[pathfinder]

I am going to see if chlorine armospheres can be added to SEIV. Looks to me like all one has to do is add appropriate lines (with calls to appropriate green plant pics of correct size) in secttype.txt and systemstype.txt file in data folder.

only question I have is do I HAVE to add chlorine atmosphere to rock & ice for this to work? My intention is for this to be gas giant only IF possible.

if any one has any ideas or comments (no profanity please!) go ahead and please make them.

a post by Markavians in the no atmosphere post sparked this

always veddy dangerous to get pathy thinking...mah head might just blow up!

Rats...no go. game won't load properly

[This message has been edited by pathfinder (edited 17 February 2001).]

[This message has been edited by pathfinder (edited 17 February 2001).]

[Baron Munchausen]

Try Argon. Last time I searched the executable (yeah, I'm a desperate enough snoop to do that ) there were still mentions of Argon atmosphere. Maybe we could persuade MM to change it to Chlorine since that makes more sense as an atmosphere for life -- it's chemically active while Argon is nearly inert.

[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 17 February 2001).]

[Instar]

Well, I guess that you'd have to do a lot of work to get it in the game.
Youd have to make the pictures of the planets, describe the planets in the proper file(s), place the planets in the galaxy, etc. etc.. A good deal of work sounds like.

[pathfinder]

Baron, I don't have any of those programming Languages to fiddle with the .exe file.

So, unless I can merely change a .txt, I won't be able to mess with it.

Now if one of the true Mod Squad folks took on the project....

[raynor]

*chuckle*

When folks on this forum suggest changes which require game engine changes, they don't want to disappoint you by saying that this will require Malfador's assistance. Instead, they tell you the absolute truth. If you can re-program the game, you can make the change.

Silly, silly people. But what do you expect from a man who has been both to the moon and to Hades itself. For a man like that, nothing is impossible.

[Baron Munchausen]

How does pointing out that there are still mentions of Argon atmosphere currently EMBEDDED IN THE EXECUTABLE require a rewrite of the game engine? Is it really such a huge leap of logic to suggest that the game might still recognze the Argon atmosphere? Planets can be found for either the argon or chlorine atmosphere by editing the planet types file and reassigning some of the current pictures. Lots of those green "Carbon Dioxide" planets look more like chlorine planets to me.

[pathfinder]

That is what I tried to do earlier today Baron. The game wouldn't load properly. All I got was the opening screen but with only a quit button and the credits button "do-able".

I may have missed something??

Maybe it requires some kinda call from the engine to be usable?

Dunno myself....shame one can't modify those data files to include chlorine. or so it seems.

[This message has been edited by pathfinder (edited 18 February 2001).]

[This message has been edited by pathfinder (edited 18 February 2001).]

[raynor]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:
How does pointing out that there are still mentions of Argon atmosphere currently EMBEDDED IN THE EXECUTABLE require a rewrite of the game engine? Is it really such a huge leap of logic to suggest that the game might still recognze the Argon atmosphere? Planets can be found for either the argon or chlorine atmosphere by editing the planet types file and reassigning some of the current pictures. Lots of those green "Carbon Dioxide" planets look more like chlorine planets to me.

---

When you see a value in a text file which has a value of TRUE, you assume you can turn off that feature by modifying the text file and setting the value to FALSE. That's a pretty safe assumption.

When you ask that space monsters be added to the game but don't see any mention of them in the text files or by using a hex editor on the game executable, it's safe to assume this would require some serious mods to the game executable.

I think the idea of adding a fourth atmosphere Argon falls somewhere in between these two. Because you had to use something other than a text editor to find a reference to 'Argon', I would tend to place this one more on the space monster side of the scale.

I hope I'm wrong. But your reference to a hex editor was followed by a comment by PathFinder to programming Languages. I think *he* thought he was going to have to do something other than use a text editor to make this change.

Personally, I think it *will* require a change to the se4.exe file because of the significance of the atmosphere types. For example, you can choose the default atmosphere for your race at the start of the game. Which text file are you going to modify so that you can see that as a choice for an empire at the start of the game? That issue is 90% of my feeling that this one is going to be pretty hard. Then, too, there are other relatively minor issues. For example, you can't choose a gas giant with 'none' atmosphere. Does Argon work like 'none' or is it just like H, CO2 and Oxygen and Methane? Are these values in text files somewhere or are they embedded in the EXE? Does the atmosphere mod plant know to convert Argon into your race's default? Does the game know to make a domed colony if your race doesn't breathe Argon?

Did you see the known atmosphere types in close proximity to Argon in the executable?
Hopefully, Argon meant atmosphere type in the executable. Hopefully! But what if it meant something completely different? You yourself said that Argon is a pretty weird atmosphere type since it is an inert gas?

Of course, I hope you know that I picked your Last post at random to respond to so I could make a poor attempt at a reference to the movie which is your namesake. For the less fortunate folks reading this, the movie is called: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Here is a link to a review of this movie by Roger Ebert:
http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_...03/343110.html

[pathfinder]

darn, I didn't want to start any flaming ;(

just mebbe a little post to see if any of the experienced folks had a clue as to what to do ...