Pointer Mod -- v1.2 Released

[Fyron]

Urendi Maleldil said:
I'm using scale mounts, but not on the colony components. Just on the engines and supply components.

I tried cutting and pasting the default AI colony ship designs, but the AI designs nothing. Not even crappy colony ships that don't go anywhere.


[img]/threads/images/Graemlins/PointRight.gif[/img] BTW, here's the latest Version. All components are done and I even threw in a MAC gun a la Halo 2.

You might want to note that "minimum speed" does not refer to speed, or standard movement points, but rather to number of engines (components with any value of standard movement points). This causes many headaches and much confusion in any sort of scaled movement system...

[Urendi Maleldil]

I don't think the minimum/desired speed is the problem. I've tweaked that already. I might not've changed it back though since I pasted the default Colony Ship design in there.

[Urendi Maleldil]

Okay. I'm completely baffled. The AI won't design colony ships, but will build them if I design them. I tried renaming the ship size to "Colony Ship" but that didn't work.

For some reason whenever you start a game, whichever planet type you choose, the AI always starts out with "Ice Colonization" researched instead of rock or gas or whatever.

It's really funny because even though the AI has the Ice Colony module available, it won't build Ice Colony ships. And not only are the ice planets marked as colonizable, but also the planet type you selected when you set up the game, even though you don't have that tech researched or that component available.

It's probably related to why the AI isn't building colony ships. I tried moving the colony techs to the top of the TechAreas file just like they are in the stock one, but that didn't work.

Rock Oxygen is listed in the AI Settings file.

I've tried starting the game with all three planet types.

[img]/threads/images/Graemlins/PointRight.gif[/img] BTW, here's the latest Version.

[Urendi Maleldil]

I found this note in the DevNull Mod:

Revision 1.27 2001/04/25 11:32:30 devnull
-Apparently, universal colony always needs to be placed before the other colony types in components.txt or it
is used by default instead of the player's planet-type colonization. Wierd.

I put the Universal Colony module in front of everything else and the AI planet type selection is back to normal, but it still won't design Colony Ships. Weird.

HelpHelpHelpHelpHelp! One weird problem on top of another!

[Fyron]

Your mod needs Savegame and Empires folders...

Universal colony modules have to come before the normal ones because SE4 assigns colony techs by adding the first tech req of the Last component with the ability corresponding to your homeworld type in the file.

This is your problem, in AI_Settings.txt:

Max Ship Size Tonnage From Start 1 Amount := 510
Max Ship Size Tonnage From Start 1 Num Turns := 10
Max Ship Size Tonnage From Start 2 Amount := 610
Max Ship Size Tonnage From Start 2 Num Turns := 20
Max Ship Size Tonnage From Start 3 Amount := 0
Max Ship Size Tonnage From Start 3 Num Turns := 0

The AI can not design ships larger than 510 kT for the first 10 turns, then it can not design ships larger than 610 kT for 10 turns (until turn 20). Raise these values, and the AI designs the ships. They have no supplies with your current setup, but that is another issue entirely.

[Urendi Maleldil]

That looks like the problem. I'll let you know how it works, then I'll add those supply components back in again.

[Urendi Maleldil]

Works like a charm. The AI is designing ships no problem. I'm just having a little problem with the propulsion system. I'll go into more detail when I upload the latest Version of the mod.

[Urendi Maleldil]

While I'm finishing up the data files I'd like some critiques. I'm particularly proud of the propulsion system, but ships designed in this mod are quite a bit different from those in the stock game (or even one used in QNP mods).

The average propulsion scheme should be three engines and one "reactor". That will take up about 50% of the ship's tonnage. Don't be afraid of loosing space to put weapons and stuff though. Miniaturization is taken into account, starts happening right away as you travel up the Construction tech branch, and you'll see a greater miniaturization benefits on larger ships. You can, of course, also add more or fewer engines and "Reactors" as you see fit.

Here's the latest Version. Everything is nearly complete except for the AI. It looks like battles will be mostly defensive until someone develops capital ships. Light attack ships are cheaper, lightly armed and fast, but won't have the destructive potential of a space station.

It looks like the cap ships will have much more power to take on those pesky stations, but the strategy you use will depend on what ships you build and in what proportions. Missiles will be good against stationary targets and cap ships, but only effective when fired in Groups because of enemy point-defense.

Fighters look like they will be a good strategy. And MAC gun-armed defensive platforms will be an excellent at warp point defense until you move up either the Laser or Particle Beam tech branch. If your Fighter research is high enough you can even put mini MAC guns on Shuttles.

I'm still fiddling with the research costs, so any input would be appreciated. Also keep your eye out for redundant components and facilities (things that do the same thing). I want to streamline things as much as possible. I think I've gotten rid of most of them.

Sorry to all those who play Religious races. I haven't developed the Religeous racial trait at all and will probably drop it from the mod and replace it with something else.

Right now the Pointer Mod uses Fyron's Quadrant Mod deluxe, but I might build my own stellar object files to fit the strategies of this mod.

So download, give lots of input, and happy hunting.

[Timstone]

The mod sounds great sofar, Urendi. I still have a question.
I really like long games with relatively slow tech progress. That way you have to do a long time with your weapons before something new is on the market. Is a situation also possible in your mod?

[Urendi Maleldil]

The tech costs are not set yet, but some of the techs will be more expensive than others. Construction will be cheap early on, so the race you play will have access to a wide variety of strategic options right away, but many of the other techs will be expensive enough to work for.

Obvious expensive techs are some of the capital ship hulls, and weapons like Phasers, Turbolasers, and Megascale Engineering.

But some less obvious conceptual tech levels will be higher as well like "Propulsion" or "Torpedo Weapons". Those have very few levels (Torpedo Weapons only has one), but open up greater options for tech branches that have already been researched.

For example, researching Propulsion by itself gives you nothing, but once you have progressed up the Plasma Technology branch, Plasma Engines require Propulsion level 2.

I haven't messed with the "Raise Level" option yet. That would change the research speed of various techs. I've designed the tech tree so that researching everything in a single game will be next to impossible. Research in some techs should go slightly slower than the stock game, but a few of the main brances are a little cheaper so while the research might be slower, the pace of the game seems faster.