AI Anger Data File

[Talenn]

Lintman:

I've been toying with the idea of changing the number of RPs that Research Centers generate too. Out of curiousity, what change did you make (up or down?) and why?

Thanx,
Talenn

[Baron Munchausen]

Changing data files and then reloading an old game is tricky. The game seems to use tables built on-the-fly when it loads the data files, so changing tech levels or components can make things "shift" and produce very weird results like armor components replacing engines in a ship design or something like that. Small changes to the abilities of components (weapon damage, shield strength, cargo storage) don't seem to be a problem, but changes in cost or size usually will be. I think you can change the AI files without the game getting screwed up, but many of the changes won't have an effect on an existing game. It's generally better to start a new game when you change the data files.

[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 04 December 2000).]

[Jubala]

Sounds like the game needs a convert function to convert a saved game to use new datafiles without going bonkers. When you load it says something like "This is being played with a different dataset then the active one. Do you wish to convert the game to this dataset?"

It would also be good if the game asked at startup which dataset I want to use based on which ones are available somewhere in the gamefolder. Since all tweakable data isn't in the data folders alone (AI's for instance) maybe some way to tell the game what files to use for a specific dataset would be good. Like dataset.txt in which all datasets are listed with names of textfiles, like mydataset.txt in which all modified files are listed and their path. Any file not listed gets to be the default file instead. I hope I made any sense there.

[LintMan]

quote:

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Originally posted by Talenn:
Lintman:

I've been toying with the idea of changing the number of RPs that Research Centers generate too. Out of curiousity, what change did you make (up or down?) and why?

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I bumped the numbers up to 700/800/900 (I think - but it might have been 800/900/1000 - I changed it to match the mineral facil output) for research levels I/II/III.

I bumped it up because when I applied the patch during my current game, I lost 20% of my total research points due to the computer facils becoming non-cumulative, and also some techs had skyrocketed (more than tripled) in cost. I started my game at low tech, and wanted to see the whole tech tree. I already had a huge empire going with 40-50 planets, and I was barely managing to get 200K RP's/turn post-patch. It seemed that at my current rate, the game would be over (the AI players were way behind) long before I got to the coolest techs.

I don't know if I'll keep the points at this higher level, but it does seem to me that in a low-tech start, you'll never get up to those highest techs in a game with the research points set at 500/600/700.

There's just so many techs to get and not enough research points to get them. What I'd really like to see is the amount of research points doubled, but only if you spread your points among several fields. I.e.: if you research 3-4 techs at once in different areas, you'd get a big bonus percentage that you'd lose if you put all your research into one area. That way, it would encourage wide coverage of more tech areas (instead of narrowly following just one branch at a time), while allowing decent progress to be made in all the areas.

[Talenn]

Lintman:

Yes, I play low-tech start and on a small map too so most of the games are resolved by the light cruiser era of technology. I was toying with upping the numbers to see the better techs in the smaller games as well.

I tried playing on a larger map, but 100+ turns of build-up to find that there was NO competition was pretty boring. The AI seems to really only have a chance when the conflicts are early and brutal...ie before the player can put his/her superior ship building and expansion management to good use. In the early 'frigate wars' the AI does a fair job, and at the very least it trips you up long enough for OTHER AI players to get a jump.

Talenn

[Repo Man]

I am probably the only one who tried this, but I reduced the research by a factor of 10 for one game. The effects are rather interesting, I felt there was a whole world of technology out there, and I would never run out of things to research. I have to say, its pretty scary when light cruisers show up and you are still 5 years away from producing them.

My next game may be a forever war varient, increasing the tech by a factor of 10 or more. Each ship will be obsolete as it rolls of the shipyard. Not unlike my clunker of a computer.

[JDL]

What data file did you change to change the research factor?

JDL