Any interest in an Eclipse Mod game at PBW?

Ed Kolis · #1 June 1st, 2005, 08:08 PM

If so I'll ask the PBW admins to set up the mod and we can get one started!

Kevin Arisa · #2 June 2nd, 2005, 06:36 AM

I have been trying to squeeze out a new patch to fix a few problems and make a few additions and revisions. Therefore it might be best to put a hold on any PBW games. The new patch will most likely destroy saved games. If anyone is actually interested in starting a PBW game soon I can try to pick up the pace. If not I will continue my casual rate. If a PBW game is started I may join myself depending on my situation at the time. Would be interesting to see how Eclipse performs in simultaneous turns.

Randallw · #3 June 2nd, 2005, 07:59 AM

I'd be interested in trying a new mod, but where can I find it or what changes it has?

Kevin Arisa · #4 June 2nd, 2005, 01:26 PM

Eclipse Mod changes a lot. Tech Areas, Components, and Facilities have been completely redesigned. There are also tons of Audio\Visual enhancements. It is designed for solo\hotseat sequencial turns but it should work in PBW. You can download it from SE.net's file repository.

Ragnarok-X · #5 June 2nd, 2005, 01:37 PM

I would like to as well.

Ed Kolis · #6 June 2nd, 2005, 01:50 PM

All right, let me know when you get that patch ready and we can get a game set up!

Ed Kolis · #7 June 7th, 2005, 02:50 PM

Well, I started a SP game of Eclipse just to get a feel for the mod, and I have to say that the remote resource generation and ship-based research/organics generation is VERY powerful... was that intended? I don't think the AI is smart enough to hide a bunch of research outposts in a nebula, so once I do that I'll be virtually unstoppable... unless they attack me first!

edit: oh yeah, and you might want to make a lot of the fighter weapons unmountable on troops... warheads do a LOT of damage!

edit: weapon mounts should not apply to missiles, they don't work properly

edit: aren't Docking Bays useless when you have Unit Launchers?

edit: why does the Assault Shuttle target all but seekers? shouldn't it target Ships?

Kevin Arisa · #8 June 7th, 2005, 08:49 PM

Thanks for the input. Many of the issues you mention are already being dealt with in the new patch.

The Docking Bays have a better built-in storage and launch rate than Unit Launchers but only work for fighters. The next patch reinforces this distinction by removing storage from the Unit Launchers completely. Remote mining was meant to be very useful but will deplete asteroids fairly quickly. The Hydroponics Dome however will have it's rates reduced.

Do the warheads not destroy the troops when they use them? If not I see a possible disaster.

Lots of stuff is being fixed and revised so dont hesistate to post any more suggestions. I may or may not have thought of it.

Ed Kolis · #9 June 7th, 2005, 09:10 PM

Quote:

The Docking Bays have a better built-in storage and launch rate than Unit Launchers but only work for fighters.

No, they don't. True, they store 4 times as many fighters and launch 3 times as fast, but they're a whopping 5 times as bulky, which means you could fit 5 Unit Launchers in the space of one Docking Bay!

Quote:

The Hydroponics Dome however will have it's rates reduced.

What about the Hydroponics Bay, Research Lab, and Covert Ops Installation (sorry if I got the name wrong)? Those also are quite powerful compared to their planetary counterparts...

Quote:

Do the warheads not destroy the troops when they use them? If not I see a possible disaster.

I haven't personally tried it, but I'd expect them not to, since most other special weapon abilities like range, damage type, etc. are ignored... also, when I mentioned it to Fyron and SJ on IRC, Fyron seemed to think that the troops would survive... Don't worry, though - there's always the "Vechicle" list type override!

BTW, you have some REALLY great planet graphics in your mod... ever considered submitting them to the imagemod? Also, you probably already know this, but the Star Trek AI's in your mod are completely nonfunctional

It might also help to provide a PBW/dialup/lite version of the mod which doesn't include any races, because the mod is absolutely HUGE due to all the included race sets, which may already be present on the player's hard drive anyway!

Randallw · #10 June 8th, 2005, 03:32 AM

I am highly impressed by the mod overall. I tried to see everything by giving players 10 good planets with max tech and resources and the whole game froze while loading. I worry that the game will be impossible once we reach high levels. I have some questions however.
1. I looked at it at max tech and couldn't see any wormhole openers/closers. Are they not possible or did I miss them?.
2. Some of the new components say stuff like "Engines are repaired by engineering". Does this mean they are automatically reapired each turn?.

It should be a very interesting and expansive game if we start one.