Proportions Mod 3.0.1 available

TheDeadlyShoe · #1 August 27th, 2004, 05:02 AM

Sweet...

I just started playing SEIV again after a long hiatus. I do wish I had discovered this thread before starting a SP game with the Version of Proportions available on its website....

then again... the AI is reportedly messed up...

Is that something that can be rectified manually (ie; "cheating" and setting the AI's research priorities yourself)?

dogscoff · #2 August 27th, 2004, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Is that something that can be rectified manually (ie; "cheating" and setting the AI's research priorities yourself)?

That's not "cheating", that's "modding". Go for it (and if you manage to mod yourself a fully-functioning, kickass AI, make sure you post it to the forums.)

narf poit chez BOOM · #3 August 27th, 2004, 06:23 AM

Nice avatar, Shoe.

TheDeadlyShoe · #4 August 27th, 2004, 07:19 AM

narf: Thanks, and thanks for your help. I actually took the movie/converted to a GIF almost exactly 11 months ago, but i only found them again when I was hunting for an avatar to use. Had to clip them some.

@ Dogscoff, I meant like, switching the player off computer control, and playing a turn to set their research priorities. I don't have a firm grasp of proportions tech tree, let alone enough to mod the AI file...

I did take a look at the research file just now, and it doesn't seem complicated at all, but, still...

SIDE NOTE: Attempting to view the tech tree generates numerous access violations. This seems tied to the blank space below the "Fighter Power Plants" area, as no access violations are generated when that is not in view... Opening the tech tree or mousing over that entry will cause them. They are not fatal.

Main thing being that it stops you from exporting the txt file.

Excuse me if that is not new... I didn't check previously

Possible bug:

Several of the cultural structures appear to have numbers in their Description that are supposed to be in the value.
For example..

arcology:

Quote:

Ability 11 Type := Resource Gen Modifier Planet - Minerals
Ability 11 Descr := 700
Ability 11 Val 1 :=
Ability 11 Val 2 := 0

agriculture cultural center

Quote:

Ability 18 Type := Resource Gen Modifier Planet - Minerals
Ability 18 Descr := 300
Ability 18 Val 1 :=
Ability 18 Val 2 := 0

Major Spaceport City

Quote:

Ability 14 Type := Resource Gen Modifier Planet - Minerals
Ability 14 Descr := 200
Ability 14 Val 1 :=
Ability 14 Val 2 := 0

TheDeadlyShoe · #5 August 27th, 2004, 11:21 AM

I've managed to browbeat one of the AIs into researching Rock Colonizers tech to level 10 by 2401.2, with minimal waste. However, the AI designs colony ships full of cargo before this. If I obsolete the colony ship, it will create a new, correct one.

Further investigation.... I think this is a game bug. I checked and the AI is creating ships that still have Warnings. Now the problems comes about that it has a colony ship built, it tries to retrofit to the latest design and fails, but since it has a Colony (Rock) (even if its filled with cargo modules) it doesnt seem to want to build any more colony vessels.

Maybe it's seeing the "Prototype" module and thinking "I DO have a component that has the special ability "Colonize Planet - Rock". But when it goes to design it, it cant fit, so it dumps on a bunch of cargo modules and calls it a "budget colony ship".

Possible solutions.... tie the Colony Ship hull to said researches...remove the prototype module. I am not a modding export so someone else may have to figure something out.

dogscoff · #6 August 27th, 2004, 12:06 PM

I'm no modder either (and I haven't had time to explore my precioussss new Version of proportions) but hopefully PvK is keeping an eye on thisd thread and will take your comments on board.

As for the colony techs... I wonder if it would be possible to duplicate each of the colony techs: Have a 'native' coloniser compoonent available at research lvl 1 that means you can build colonisers from turn 1, but make it dependent on some unresearchable tech so that non-natives can't ever research it. Then have a second set of 'non-native' colony techs with the ten-level tree for researching/ trading/ capture. This would have the advantage of allowing 'native' colonisers to have smaller, cheaper, more efficient components.

The problem here would be preventing trading/ capture of the 'native' tech- does anyone know if there's any way of making a tech uncapturable and untradeable? (Apart from using racial traits)

TheDeadlyShoe · #7 August 27th, 2004, 01:27 PM

Just a side note, it appears that if you take the colonization ability off the 'prototype', it, er, causes you to start games w/o a racial colonization tech.

Erm. So, that explains that.

*EDIT*
side note: basic pulse lasers are weapon family 1, while pulse lasers are weapon value 3, basic laser beams are wf1, and laser beams are wf1. seemed odd.