Balance Mod Available for SE:V

[Raapys]

You fixing the issue with the AI not researching ship sizes further for this release Kwok?

I'm a little worried the AI is building too many units, though. Fine in SE4, but here where we have maintenance etc., how will the AI fare late-game? I'm guessing it's unlikely he'll go pick up his deployed satellites etc. and retrofit them? So he'll probably have uncountable wastly outdated units everywhere sucking up his resources with maintenance, unless there's a heavy AI bonus.

Also, lots of units with maintenance really diminish his ability to be offensive as he'll have to cut down on real attack ships.

Thoughts?

[aegisx]

Kwok, could you please include the csf source? I'd like to compile empires based on your modified include scripts.

[Dizzy]

Unit maintenance is dumb it seems. How do i turn it off?

[Suicide Junkie]

settings.txt:

Empire Starting Unit Percent Maint Cost := 0

[Kamog]

This is wonderful news. Thank you Captain Kwok, for your excellent work.

[Dizzy]

Suicide Junkie said:
settings.txt:

Empire Starting Unit Percent Maint Cost := 0

Edit: Can this be changed mid save game w/o issue?

[Captain Kwok]

I've posted v0.92 for download:
http://www.captainkwok.net/balancemod.php

I did a quick tweak to the AI research files to push some of the ship techs ahread. I always temporarily disabled some of the treaty elements until I can figure out how to change them appropriately - so *in theory* the AI shouldn't offer harmful things like no research or "one-way" treaty elements. Let me know if you see otherwise.

I will make the source scripts available shortly.

Changelog:
Code:

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Version 0.92 (24 October 2006)

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1.  Changed  - Made adjustments to supply and ordnance amounts for weapons

2.  Changed  - Removed or reduced to-hit modifiers for Point-Defense weapons

3.  Fixed    - Restored accuracy at range modifier for Phased-Polaron Beam

4.  Changed  - Bonuses from GovernmentTypes.txt to reduce riots and rebellions

5.  Changed  - Reduced size of happiness bonuses in SocietyTypes.txt

6.  Changed  - Reduced Recreational Services cultural achievement to 5 levels

7.  Fixed    - Error in damage at accuracy decrease for Ionic Disperser

8.  Changed  - Only the most recent type of Plague Bomb will appear now

9.  Changed  - Increase Resupply Depot amounts for supply and ordnance

10. Fixed    - Error in Wave-Motion Gun tech requirement

11. Fixed    - Error in movement amount for Large Organic Freighter

12. Changed  - Added "Ordnance Generation" ability to Ordnance Storage to counter Ordnance bug in 1.08 (Temporary Fix)

13. Changed  - Reduced Ship Maint to 20%, Unit and Facility Maint to 5%

14. Changed  - Starting reproduction rate to 5% from 10%

15. Changed  - Increased starting storage amount to 100000

16. Changed  - Minor tweaks to AI research and politics

17. Updated  - AI Scripts

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[Raapys]

First bug, Viral Bomb, Plague Bomb, Nanovirus Bomb etc., are now available from the start O_O Level 4 starting plague sounds sort of overpowered.

The Nanovirus Bomb also has 25 damage at 300 range? Shouldn't the range on those bombs be sort of short?

[Captain Kwok]

Oops. Two faulty entries are responsible for the little plague bomb error. I'll fix it up for v0.93. The range wasn't defined in the file, but it should be 150-200 when it's fixed.

[Moriarty]

The mod looks like it could be interesting. I've not played it yet (that's next ), but a few comments/suggestions:

a) I'm using winmerge to compare it to stock SEV, and its noting that apart from the header comment and the tail comment that the "BitmapEffects_*" files are all identical to the stock release. Odd.
This is also true to for the AtmosphereTypes, Happiness, IntelFocusAreas, ScoreWeighting, VehicleUnitTypes, XFileClasses_Stellar .txt files.

b) I note you've added another colony type "resource colony". Might I suggest one last colony type: "Miscellaneous Colony" (or some such) for when your colony can't fit any of the other.

c) The order of the colony types always seemed a little off to me as there was obvious pattern for the order they're layed out it. So I changed it to this:

Name := Mining Colony

Name := Farming Colony

Name := Refining Colony

Name := Resource Colony

Name := Construction Yard

Name := Resupply Base

Name := Military Installation

Name := Research Compound

Name := Intelligence Compound

Name := Miscellaneous Planet

Seems more logical now.


d) You've altered the number of engines required for a ship to move. But I note an inconsistancy. Specifically the destroyer requires 3 engines per move yet has a max of 7 engines. I'm guessing that 7th is a spare. Yet neither the cruiser, battleship or lght carrier have that spare engine.

Also, the dreadnaught & carrier require 10 engines yet have a capacity for 16? That's a lot of spares - more than the baseship (3), but less than the hvy carrier (8)



A suggestion relating to the AI discussion above - Does the AI both prioritizing research for colonisation of different world types? Because if he can colonise other world types, he's just doubled/tripled the number of worlds available to him.

But it certainly looks like a nice mod. Off to go and break it now.


Edit: What are the .csf file types? A quick google finds nothing and there is no reference on the wiki that I can see.