Please Help

[alien2]

Please tell me exactly how you go about importing a downloaded race into the game.

The standard documentation seems to be very lacking in terms of explaining the finer points of the game.

Is the game too easy when playing as a single player against the computer ?? I.E. does the AI need beefing up as a priority ??
Every game I have played so far, I have never found my systems being invaded by the computer opponents.

Hope you can help

Cheers

[Phoenix-D]

You need to place the race into "yourSE4directory"/pictures/races/racename folder.

Get the TDM modpack for more challenging races. That you just place into your SE4 directory, then make sure your path.txt says TDMModpack.

Phoenix-D

[Suicide Junkie]

Additionally, don't bother with "None" or "Low" AI bonuses. Start with Medium or High.

Yes, its "AI cheating", but at least SE4 admits it.

[capnq]

Also, if the downloaded race includes any .emp files, those need to go in the Empires folder. I've seen a few races that have their own design names file for the DsgnName folder, as well.

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Cap'n Q

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the
human mind to correlate all of its contents. We live on a placid
island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was
not meant that we should go far. -- HP Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu"

[alien2]

Thanks for the advice. However, I did as you suggested after downloading a suitable race, but when I started a new game and got to the Game Setup - Players screen, I clicked on "ADD EXISTING" but the race did not appear. Any ideas ??? Will the race only appear as a random one picked by the computer occasionally ??????

Cheers.

[Deathstalker]

For downloaded races do the following (I am probally repeating others, but here goes):
(this is the way I do it for myself, idiot proof for me!)
1. Download race/shipset
2. Unzip
3. Manually move the race folder (whatever the name of the race is) into the se4 folder pictures/races.(where the others like Phong, Xi'Chung etc are listed)..
4. Any other files included with the races manually move them into their respective folders. a shipnames.txt type file (names for the ships) goes into the Dsgnname folder. Empire files (.emp) go into the Empires folder. All that should remain in the shipset folders should be the AI.txt files and bitmap files.

Note: the folder name of the shipset MUST have the same names as the files inside to work. IE. Cardassian shipset folder must have Cardassian files inside, not Card or other names.

Hope this helps


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"And what the hell would you know about sanity?" demanded Beatrice. "There are depressed lemmings on the edge of cliffs who've got a better grasp on reality than you have. And more common sense."--Simon R. Green 'Deathstalker Rebellion'.

"We are all...the sum of our scars"....(paraphrased) Matt. R. Stover-'Blade of Tyshalle'.

"Memory," the old man said softly, "is tricky. I have learned two things from it. One: That without meaningful memories, there is no life. Two: that we are desperate for our lives to make sense, to have meaning,--and at a great enough remove , all memory is malleable." -Michelle West 'Sea of Sorrows', SunSword book IV.

[Deathstalker]

EDIT!!!

If you are using a mod such as the TDM-Modpack or some such then these new races MUST go inside the modpack, in the pictures/races etc folders inside the modpack as the 'Path.txt' gets the files from where ever it is 'tuned' into.

[capnq]

quote:

---

I did as you suggested after downloading a suitable race, but when I started a new game and got to the Game Setup - Players screen, I clicked on "ADD EXISTING" but the race did not appear. Any ideas ??? Will the race only appear as a random one picked by the computer occasionally ??????

---

If I understand it correctly, Add Existing only displays races with .emp files. If the download did not include .emp, then what you need to do is keep starting new games with the highest setting for number of computer players, until the race you want is chosen randomly. Go into Options/Players and change that race to human control, and when you play that race's turn, Save Empire. Make sure to give the new .emp a unique filename, rather than overwriting an existing one.

I have not actually tried to do this myself yet, but this is the explanation I remember reading here in the Forum.

------------------
Cap'n Q

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the
human mind to correlate all of its contents. We live on a placid
island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was
not meant that we should go far. -- HP Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu"

[Suicide Junkie]

Well said, Capnq.

When you save the empire, I suggest following a format such as: "<racename> - <#of racial points>"

Unless you always play with the same settings, you will probably want to make three EMPs for each race, using 2K, 3K & 5K racial points.

[alien2]

Thanks to all concerned. The race has now appeared under "Add Existing" Just a final question: I presume you can add an existing empire in the "Game Setup - Players" screen and have the computer control it, as well as generate random computer players for the same game (?).
Final final question: I also presume you can manually add to the races folder any of the races contained within the TDM Modpack, in the same manner detailed previously, if you don't want them all. Sorry if this is an obvious question but I'm fairly new at the game and a total novice when it comes to modifications.

Cheers.