Space Monsters!!!

[Trachmyr]

Well good news! I got permission to use the shipset (and sound files!), so I'm now in the process of making 3 Versions:
1) Stock SE4
2) TDM
3) P&N


Suicide Junkie... your offer of the AI patcher is great! you'll save me a ton of work, changing all those AI_General files was a bit daunting...

Here's The Info:
All exisiting empires need to have: "Civilized Race" (without the quotes)
This will open racialtech area 10, for 0 points...
P.s., all tech areas with racialtech # set to 0 are changed to 10 for this mod.

If you could make 2 Versions, one for se4/tdm and 1 for P&N, I would be very thankful...

[Suicide Junkie]

Now, all of the AIs that are run through the patcher will get the civilized trait, so if you want one or two to be monsters, be sure not to patch those ones.

Hmmm. Looking back, I don't see an official name for the mod.
I've called it "Trachmyr's Space Monsters v1.0".

If you have a quick description of your mod for the readme, I can copy it from the forum.

Also, I have your mod listed as "supported but untested", so if it works great, tell me so I can update that.

quote:

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If you could make 2 Versions, one for se4/tdm and 1 for P&N, I would be very thankful...

---

I'm more than willing to have any number of Versions, of any number of mods, supported by the patcher.
Now that I have the serious code done (read/write files, analyse lines), almost any mod can be added in less than 5 minutes.
Typing up the help entries takes up most of the time now .

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The latest Pirates & Nomads.
-<Download V1.6>-
-<Download compatible EMPs for P&N v1.6>-
-<SJ's Latest AI Patcher Version>-
Visit My Homepage



[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 10 July 2001).]

[Trachmyr]

Well, as a lot of the mod comes from others... I don't want to put my name on it. Let's Call it SPACE-MONSTERS v1.0


Again, thanks a bunch... When I start the P&N Version I'll let you know...

[Suicide Junkie]

Changes done.

Do you have a description for the mod? Three or four lines for the readme, just so players can be sure they're using the right patch on their mod.
(This could be different for different Versions)

The uploaded files are just for updating my sig links, don't worry about the duplicate patcher zip.

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The latest info onPirates & Nomads (forum thread).
-<Download V2.0>-
-<Download V1.6>-
-<Download compatible EMPs for P&N v1.6>-
-<SJs latest AI Patcher>-
Visit My Homepage

[Trachmyr]

Let's See... How about:

This Mod adds the most dreaded creatures in all known space... the Giant Ether Squids. These foul beast rampage through the galaxy infesting worlds with their larval spawn and feeding on unsuspecting ships. They said space was empty, they were wrong... for monsters lurk in it's darkness.

You Might want to call the patcher: SJsAI_MonsterPatcher v1.0

P.s. Just for clarification, this patcher is for Stock SE4/TDM NOT P&N, correct? Hopefully, Space Monsters can be made a permanent feature of the next P&N Version, thus no seperate patcher would be needed to add Space Monsters to P&N.

[Suicide Junkie]

Just Re-updating the links with the latest changes (only affects the readme, not the EXE)

quote:

---

You Might want to call the patcher: SJsAI_MonsterPatcher v1.0

P.s. Just for clarification, this patcher is for Stock SE4/TDM NOT P&N, correct? Hopefully, Space Monsters can be made a permanent feature of the next P&N Version, thus no seperate patcher would be needed to add Space Monsters to P&N.

---

Since I have to include modified AIs for P&N v2.0 anyways, when I add the Space Monsters, the monster AI would just be bundled in. The AIPatcher is just for adding extra AIs that I haven't dealt with yet.

The AI patcher is one program for all mods.
You use a pull-down menu to select anything other than the default P&N v2.0, and it will patch any classic SE4 AI into the mod of your choice.

There are currently four settings in the patcher, PiratesMod, P&Nv1.2+, P&N v2.0, and SpaceMonsters v1.0.
All of these mods are serviced by the one (and only) AIPatcher.exe

Click "Mode", then the mod of your choice.
The next time you hit "patch AI", it will do the changes required by the mod you have selected.

Sorry for the long-winded spew above .
------------------
The latest info onPirates & Nomads (forum thread).
-<Download V2.0>-
-<Download V1.6>-
-<Download compatible EMPs for P&N v1.6>-
-<SJs latest AI Patcher>-
Visit My Homepage


[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 10 July 2001).]

[Trachmyr]

Hey just started using it... it's VERY helpful (Now if you could only get it to generate .emp files ).

Sorry bout the "dumb" suggestions, I hadn't tinkered with it yet, didn't know it was an all n' one kinda program.

Well, again thank-you... it'll save me a good deal of time.

[Trachmyr]

SJ, just wanted to thank you again.... The aipatcher worked great!

As a side note, found a quick (subjectivly) way to make .emp files:

Step one: Make sure all empires have a "quick-start" entry in settings.txt

Step Two: make sure all AI_General files are patched

Step Three: Make(or copy the old ones) .emp files in the empires directery... they don't have to work or have any info what-so-ever, renamed txt files will work as will the old non-working .emp's.

Step Four: Start SE4 and do the following for each empire...
1) Quick-start a game
2) Set the password (to "1" for instance)
3) Save the .emp file under a tempoary name (i.e., first 3 letters of the empire)
4) select a NEW GAME, and repeat for the next empire

Step Five: In the Setup for a new game (not quick-start), load all the tempoary .emp's and for each do the following:
1) Select edit & remove the password
2) Select the Designname.txt file (this is the only entry that AI_general.txt dosen't specify, either write down the correct ones or choose appropriate ones)
3) Create the empire and Save it to the Permanent file (This removes the AI's intial ship designs that were in the temp. .emp file)

Step Six: go to the empire directory and delete all the temp. .emp files.

Although this is a bit long, it's quicker than cut & Paste or remembering/writing all the entries... one problem, it only works for 2K setup, you'll still have to hand do 3K & 5K Versions.

Hope that info can help you!

[Lastseer]

If you want to make it so that players/AI can't take the space monster's hive planets, give them a facility that give +10000% ground combat. Their militia will make conquest nearly impossible, forcing players to bomb their planets into oblivion. (The facility should be pretty high in their priority, so you can't take a hive planet after they build the other goodies but before they their anti-ground stuff). Just make it cheap to build.

[Taqwus]

To prevent capture, you'd also have to either ban intel entirely, or make the monster race in such a way that they don't have planets.

Otherwise, there'll be a planet path, and they will be vulnerable to CI/PPP. (And CI applying to, oh, a giant space squid is just... weird. ) If you give them powerful intel to defend, they'll probably also use that to attack -- which is also rather odd.


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-- The thing that goes bump in the night