Proportions Mod 3.0.1 available

[TheDeadlyShoe]

narf: Thanks, and thanks for your help. I actually took the movie/converted to a GIF almost exactly 11 months ago, but i only found them again when I was hunting for an avatar to use. Had to clip them some.

@ Dogscoff, I meant like, switching the player off computer control, and playing a turn to set their research priorities. I don't have a firm grasp of proportions tech tree, let alone enough to mod the AI file...

I did take a look at the research file just now, and it doesn't seem complicated at all, but, still...

SIDE NOTE: Attempting to view the tech tree generates numerous access violations. This seems tied to the blank space below the "Fighter Power Plants" area, as no access violations are generated when that is not in view... Opening the tech tree or mousing over that entry will cause them. They are not fatal.

Main thing being that it stops you from exporting the txt file.

Excuse me if that is not new... I didn't check previously

Possible bug:

Several of the cultural structures appear to have numbers in their Description that are supposed to be in the value.
For example..

arcology:

Ability 11 Type := Resource Gen Modifier Planet - Minerals
Ability 11 Descr := 700
Ability 11 Val 1 :=
Ability 11 Val 2 := 0

agriculture cultural center

Ability 18 Type := Resource Gen Modifier Planet - Minerals
Ability 18 Descr := 300
Ability 18 Val 1 :=
Ability 18 Val 2 := 0

Major Spaceport City

Ability 14 Type := Resource Gen Modifier Planet - Minerals
Ability 14 Descr := 200
Ability 14 Val 1 :=
Ability 14 Val 2 := 0

[TheDeadlyShoe]

I've managed to browbeat one of the AIs into researching Rock Colonizers tech to level 10 by 2401.2, with minimal waste. However, the AI designs colony ships full of cargo before this. If I obsolete the colony ship, it will create a new, correct one.

Further investigation.... I think this is a game bug. I checked and the AI is creating ships that still have Warnings. Now the problems comes about that it has a colony ship built, it tries to retrofit to the latest design and fails, but since it has a Colony (Rock) (even if its filled with cargo modules) it doesnt seem to want to build any more colony vessels.

Maybe it's seeing the "Prototype" module and thinking "I DO have a component that has the special ability "Colonize Planet - Rock". But when it goes to design it, it cant fit, so it dumps on a bunch of cargo modules and calls it a "budget colony ship".

Possible solutions.... tie the Colony Ship hull to said researches...remove the prototype module. I am not a modding export so someone else may have to figure something out.

[dogscoff]

I'm no modder either (and I haven't had time to explore my precioussss new Version of proportions) but hopefully PvK is keeping an eye on thisd thread and will take your comments on board.

As for the colony techs... I wonder if it would be possible to duplicate each of the colony techs: Have a 'native' coloniser compoonent available at research lvl 1 that means you can build colonisers from turn 1, but make it dependent on some unresearchable tech so that non-natives can't ever research it. Then have a second set of 'non-native' colony techs with the ten-level tree for researching/ trading/ capture. This would have the advantage of allowing 'native' colonisers to have smaller, cheaper, more efficient components.

The problem here would be preventing trading/ capture of the 'native' tech- does anyone know if there's any way of making a tech uncapturable and untradeable? (Apart from using racial traits)

[TheDeadlyShoe]

Just a side note, it appears that if you take the colonization ability off the 'prototype', it, er, causes you to start games w/o a racial colonization tech.

Erm. So, that explains that.

*EDIT*
side note: basic pulse lasers are weapon family 1, while pulse lasers are weapon value 3, basic laser beams are wf1, and laser beams are wf1. seemed odd.

[Alneyan]

The only way to enable Colonisation techs to work from the very beginning of the game would indeed be a native trait, which would also have to be a racial tech trait. Sadly, it would have the side effect of breaking all the Empire files for the Proportions games that are to start, which may be a bigger problem for PvK.

[PvK]

I just got back from Colorado, and am catching up on all sorts of things, but some quick clarifications (although you guys are figuring it out well by yourselves):

* Games using any Version earlier that 3.0 (even the 3.0 preview Version) will be officially screwed up by updating to 3.0. Actually, it might not even run. (Only recommended for people who want things to be randomized to weird stuff, and perhaps for avid fans of Space 1999. )

* The main reason the AI is mixed up in 3.0 is just the new tech tree changes. The AI doesn't know how to research some things... such as... the new colonizers, or the new laser weapons, or DUC 6+, etc, Phased Shields, etc. I do have a somewhat improved Version of all the included AI's available though, which I'll try to post tonight.

* As dogscoff says, yes you can mod working AI's by changing the AI research files to include smart research choices for the new mod Version. Any such files I would be thrilled to include in future patches, if anyone wants to contribute. It isn't complicated, but it is a lot of work. I don't think it's really necessary, except maybe to use the new lasers, but adjustments could be made to the ship design files too, for the new hull sizes and tweaked for other changes, but that would be even more work.

* Shoe, what you could do is put them all on human control, and then turn on all the AI ministers EXCEPT the research minister, and do their research for them. That should work fine. If you write down the order you do the research as you do it, then you or I or anyone could turn that into an AI research file pretty easily, which could also be a neat thing to do.

* I know the tech tree view has been generating access error dialogs, but I haven't figured out why, and it doesn't really seem to cause problems. Until further information, I am assuming it is a harmless but annoying SE4 bug which I can't or don't know how to mod away.

* Shoe, yep you caught some typos in the cultural facilties' abilities. Thanks - I will fix those.

* For the colonizers and the AI, thanks again Shoe. It is a bug that the AI builds units which are illegal, and this is annoying side-effect of it. Yes, one solution would be to put the ability in the hull, which would be good also for JLS' reasons he did it in AIC mod. However I'd rather not if I can get away with it. The prototype modules are required to trick the game. The only way to make something non-researchable is with racial traits, which is what I originally planned (then everyone has to take colonization of their home type as a racial trait), but I was trying to avoid that so that people in the new PBW games would not need to re-do their EMP files. I'll give it some more thought. Meanwhile, shoe, I'd check in to control your AI opponents, and scrap their cargo colonizers for them.

* Shoe, thanks too for your note about the weapon families. The basic pulse lasers should be weapon family 3, and will be in the next Version.

PvK

[Intimidator]

Atrocities said:
Thanks man. I am playing a game with Intimidator right now using this mod. Will it effect our saved games?

Also Inimitdor if you read this, I will try and be available for gaming at our normal time by the end of the week. Been very busy.

Hi, missed our sessions

About this new Version, as I understand it, we can not use it for our current game.

See ya,

Inti,

[PvK]

Say Inti and Attro, what Version are you two playing?

If you want to add some new stuff to an ongoing game, I might be able to make you a special brew with at least some stuff, after I get the two new PBW games started and 3.1 out.

PvK

[TheDeadlyShoe]

PvK, I have too much random information from the past 12 (!) hours of fiddling, to even post. But I just want to say, NP for my help and thanks for all this cool stuff you've given us

on the colonizers: Can you just get the hull to require (one of the) Colonizer techs? Is that possible?

[PvK]

The colony ship hulls _do_ require a colonizer module. The problem is, the AI can ignore requirements like that. I have a few ideas for how to get around this, though, one or more of which I think will probably work. I'll post results tomorrow.

PvK