Modding multiple shipyards per planet?

[Suicide Junkie]

If you're going to make a change as major as allowing multiple spaceyards, there's not way you can use the default AI_facility_construction_facilities.txt

Use:
AI State := Exploration, Infrastructure, Prepare for Attack, Attack, Secure Holdings After Attack, Incursion, Prepare for Defense, Defend (Short Term), Defend (Long Term), Not Connected
Construction Queue Type := Construction Yard
Num Queue Entries := 8
Facility 1 Ability := Spaceport
Facility 1 Amount := 1
Facility 2 Ability := Supply Generation
Facility 2 Amount := 1
Facility 3 Ability := Space Yard
Facility 3 Amount := 1
Facility 4 Ability := Point Generation - Research
Facility 4 Amount := 1
Facility 5 Ability := Ship Training
Facility 5 Amount := 1
Facility 6 Ability := Fleet Training
Facility 6 Amount := 1
Facility 7 Ability := Resource Reclamation
Facility 7 Amount := 1
Facility 8 Ability := Resource Generation - Minerals Armor
Facility 8 Amount := 100

Where italics means delete, and bold means add.

Note that as soon as the AI decides that it's orders mean to build an expansion project, it will continue making more and more.
(since each time it upgrades, it loses the ability it called for originally)

[ June 26, 2002, 02:41: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]

[Tenryu]

Yes, I understand. I was addressing getting it to build rather a specified amount, like just 2 or 3 not just fill up the remaining space. That may be fine for the construction yard planet, but on other types, a specific amount would be wanted.

Anyway, I think I'll scrap the idea for now. My personal Mod is focused on compatability with the TDM race files.

While it is really neat to be able to stick more then one SY on a planet, it looks like it can't be done without messing with the TDM files right now.

Who knows, maybe a future patch will remove the code block on more then one per planet. It was probobly done because the AI is too stupid to allocate its biggest projects to its biggest yards. It probobly just sticks next job in first empty yard on its 'yard list'.

It is cool to know it can be done anyway. Thanks again.

[Suicide Junkie]

Well, I'd presume that for the non-dedicated shipyards, a single yard is sufficient.

You don't need uberfast production everywhere, and your really don't want to spend the time building an ubershipyard everywhere at the expense of ships.

Something you may be interested in is what I did for P&N.
As you may or may not know, P&N has QNP, so bigger ships need proportionally more engines to go the same speed as smaller, lighter ships.
Clearly the AI files have to change.
What I did was write an AI Patcher program, which quickly zaps the files into shape (just click on the file you want to patch).

This works for normal AIs and TDM AIs too, and is quite simple to use (AFAIK).
I've enjoyed many a game of P&N vs the likes of the Vaxin and Klingons.

If the change to the files is as trivial as what I posted below, I can add support for your mod to my AI Patcher in a matter of minutes, if not seconds.

Think about it, and let me know. (You can D/L the AIPatcher from the P&N downloads page, in my sig)

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
Note that as soon as the AI decides that it's orders mean to build an expansion project, it will continue making more and more.
(since each time it upgrades, it loses the ability it called for originally)

But, what if instead of having it upgrade to a standard Space Yard, you have a separate family of SYE facilities, one that does not have construction, and one that does, but both that have the armor ability, or whatever you are using to trigger the AI to build it. Would this not work?

Geoschmo

[Suicide Junkie]

As long as you can convince the AI to try and build the expansion project first.

If both the expansion and the upgrade have the ability the AI wants, the AI may end up trying (and failing) to build the upgrade facility from scratch.

If you want to limit the number of expansions, you'll have to find yourself an unused ability that the AI checks for the ability amount. Giving the expansion a higher ability amount would encourage it to build the expansions instead of the full yard, and then "upgrade" to the facility with a lower amount of the ability.

[Baron Munchausen]

Originally posted by geoschmo:
But, what if instead of having it upgrade to a standard Space Yard, you have a separate family of SYE facilities, one that does not have construction, and one that does, but both that have the armor ability, or whatever you are using to trigger the AI to build it. Would this not work?

Geoschmo

Do you mean a 'second' family of space yard facilities, with the very first one having no space yard abilities? That might work if you can get the AI to build only the first one every time, even when the later ones are available. I guess the thing to do is put the 'special' ability like 'armor' on only that first one. So, you'd have a single 'family' of secondary space yards, with the firts one having 'armor' and no other abilities an the others having the same abilities as normal space yards. Hmm.

The only thing is, if this works it kills the advantage of the temporal races having a faster space yard.

[Phoenix-D]

"The only thing is, if this works it kills the advantage of the temporal races having a faster space yard"

Not if they can do it too. If a world filled with 25 normal shipyards is fast, how about world with 25 *temporal* shipyards?

Phoenix-D

[ELN-Gustyboy]

Hi !
I am so sorry...
Thanks a lot for all this details....
But...i have a few more questions

The thing i don't understand is how the facility "gives" some resources to the SY without any ability...
is it the resources cost of the expansion facility which is gave to the SY during the construction of this expansion facility or something totally different(and in this case i think i am definitly lost...and i will have no choice...stop trying to understand...)

thanks a lot and sorry an other time...
Maybe someone who speak french and understand youre explaination will be able to translate all this to me...

bye !

[Phoenix-D]

No, the cost is seperate.

This is a sneaky way of getting around the code that says you can't have more than one shipyard per planet.

You have the normal shipyards, unchanged. Then you have seperate facilities called "ShipYard Expansion Projects". These are built, then immediately *upgraded* into normal shipyard facilities. That's where the cost people are talking about comes in, building the expansion project.

Once the upgrade is complete, you have the power of two shipyards on one planet, and can add more. You'll never be able to build more than one ship or base at a time though; for that you need seperate locations.

Phoenix-D

[PDF]

Let's try in French so ... Salut Gusty, je ne suis pas sûr d'avoir compris ton pb
Ce que je comprend de ce que les pros ont dit, c'est que :
* on ne peut CONSTRUIRE qu'un seul SY / planète
* mais si on crée une "facility" bidon qui peut être upgradée (facilement) en SY, alors on peut avoir plusieurs SY
* Le cout de construction n'a rien a voir avec la capacité de production , qui est juste un taux de conVersion des ressources en navires
* Dans tous les cas on ne peut mettre en chantier qu'un seul navire par endroit, même avec plusieurs SY
* Je peux te faire un facility.txt modifié pour ça si tu veux

A +

Sorry for the non French speakers