Space Monsters!!!

[Suicide Junkie]

The way I usually generate .EMP files is:

1) Start a random game, max AIs, no Neutrals.
2) On turn one, set all AIs to human control.
3) As each AI takes its turn, "Save Empire"

If the AIs were patched by my patcher, that is the end of it. If not, then:

4) Start a new game, "Add Existing Empire", then edit and add the required normal/civilized/etc. traits.
5) Save Empire again.

It goes pretty fast that way.

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[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

[Phoenix-D]

Well, the squids don't use the normal tech tree, right?

You could make their ground defense facility *also* provide massive amounts of intel points, but make it so they only research that- and that tech gives them the best Counter Intel level ONLY. So they can't attack with intel- no projects to do it with.

EDIT: here's any example.

quote:

---

Name := Squid CI
Description := Defensive preparations within an empire to prevent enemy intelligence operations. Counter-Intelligence will prevent attacks while it is in progress.
Group := Defense
Cost := 500000
Type := Intelligence Defense
Effect Amount := 3
Num Source Messages := 1
Source Message 1 := Our counter-intelligence operations have prevented intelligence attacks by the [%TargetEmpireName].
Num Target Messages := 1
Target Message Title 1 := Intelligence Project Defeated
Target Message 1 := One of our intelligence projects against the [%SourceEmpireName] was defeated by counter-intelligence defenses.
Source Picture := IntelSabotageByUs
Target Picture := IntelSabotageByUs
Number of Tech Req := 1
Tech Area Req 1 := Squid Protection
Tech Level Req 1 := 1

---

Then just make it so "squid protection" also only gives the ground defense/intel facility, and makes sure they can't/won't get applied intel.

Phoenix-D

[This message has been edited by Phoenix-D (edited 10 July 2001).]

[Taqwus]

Nifty idea... could be turned into a racial trait for intelligence near-immunity, even (could it be overwhelmed with lots of ops? Hrm.). In this particular case, I'd suggest using a sillier message, 'tho.

"Squid. Squid. Squid. Your spy. Which one doesn't belong?"

Or something to that effect.

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-- The thing that goes bump in the night

[Trachmyr]

Good idea phoenix, right now one of their facilities uses the "Reduces Bad Intel" at -100%, but I'll but in the CI only intel production as add'l security.

BTW, there is no way for them not to use planets... ALL races start with a planet and no ship.

Well, the facilities are not so powerful now for humans... so I'm not too worried about intel. I'm still concerned with psychic's ability to subvert the squids.

Does anyone know if a ship is vunerable to computer viruses and allegance subverters if it has a bridge/lifesupport/crew AND a master computer?

[Trachmyr]

I didn't that there was a "change ground defence" ability, but I see it in abilities.txt. That's great, does anyone know if it actually works though? And what the maxinum value it can use.

As a side note, I discoverd that If I changed ground combat in culture.txt, any percent greater than the max allowed by settings.txt (in this case 150) is ignored, same with all the culture values... I wanted to make them produce NO minerals/radioactives, so I set production value to -50%, Minning/refining to 50% and farming to 150%... but no dice, they still had a min. value of 50%. Similar problem with maintainence... I wanted to change culture.txt so the space monsters have 25% maintaince bounus, and change all their ships to have a modified maintence cost of 900%.... thus if they were subverted by psychic races, they would cost 10x to maintain! But the creatures value is a min of 5% (as per settings.txt), so they wound up paying 10x5%=Twice normal! I can put this idea back in BUT I would have to alter settings.txt to allow a max maintance reduction of 25% (no maintaince)...

Still considering it, what do you guys think? Should I alter settings.txt to protect monsters from being abused by psychic races BUT allow players to abuse it by setting maintance reduction to 25% OR should I leave it alone? Give me you opinions please!

Oh, SJ... I kinda feel dumb now, your way would work alot faster!