Proportions 2.3 released

[PvK]

At long Last, Proportions 2.3 is now available at The Proportions web page. I spent a lot of time on it this weekend and I think the AI is really shaping up. I think I could spend a month full-time tweaking and testing etc. I think most of the AI's are generally doing reasonable things now... or at least, are usually doing better with Proportions than the default AI's do in the default set. I'm sure there are exceptions - let me know what didn't work out.

Changes in Version 2.3:

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Gameplay - Facilities:
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* Added new large-scale intensive Versions of standard facilities
(mineral miners, radioactives extractors, and research centers).
There are two stages - complexes produce twice as much as a
standard facility, and megaplexes produce three times as much
as standard, but they cost considerably more than that to build,
or even to upgrade to, so there is a major trade-off between
intensive development and rapid development. This allows more
advanced development in a specific type of production, without
necessarily using massive amounts of colony world space. These
require research in Industry (and Computers, for research facs).
* Similarly, added a new tech area and facilities for Agrarian
Colonization. These are cultural facilities that are like the
existing settlement through cultural center, but are much less
industrialized and so mainly produce a lot of organic resources.
These provide a way to specialize in organic production on an
intensive scale, without necessarily having a massive planet.
* Increased ability of Psychic Intelligence Centers somewhat.
* Building Distribution Centers and Resupply Bases (instead of the
smaller Space Ports and Resupply Depots) was slowing down the AI
more than helping it, so I removed the AI hints to build these.
* Changed family of Organic Generation Facilities to separate them from
Organics Farms for upgrade and visibility purposes.
* Added new tech area "Colonial Development" which is extremely cheap
but allows more control of urban colony development for the AI and
players like Oleg who actually use the automatic "Upgrade Facilities"
command.
* 2.2 had accidentally started creating new games' homeworlds with an
extra Cultural Center in place of the Resupply Depot. Added a new
Resupply Base facility, just to add some variety while solving this
problem.
* Extended Massive Planetary Shielding to tech level 5, with nine
varieties of Massive Planetary Shield Generator, available with
different levels of research in M.P.S., Shields, Construction, and
Physics.
* Also added twelve varieties of Planetary Shield Network facilities
to the non-ancient tech tree (they require research in Shields and
Construction).
* Added facilities that combine Space Ports with Resupply Depots,
and with cities.
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Gameplay - Other:
-----------------
* Changed engine limits of medium and large drones so they can keep up
with small drones.
* Replaced previous drone launchers with new Versions that include enough
cargo space to carry one drone of their tech level, but are larger.
* Added new basic Defense Cannon available before Point Defense is
researched.
* Removed the actual storage from Space Yard components, but the
ability remains, so they can still be used on transport hulls, but
space yard bases will not automatically have cargo room.
* Added new Secondary Fire Control component, which allows multiplex
tracking 2 without Combat Support, but costs 50% more. This replaces
the 2.1 ECM IIIc component, which probably no one ever used. The
main purpose of this, however, is to ensure that the electronic
warfare components are separated into maximized and miniaturized
Versions for purposes of "show latest" and upgrades - before this,
if an empire had not researched any intervening sensor component
types, then sensors would still upgrade to miniaturized Versions.
* Removed possibility of empires starting in trinary systems, and
removed complete planets from trinary systems.
* Added Formations file from TDM mod pack. Thanks very much to Daynarr
Master Belisarius for their work and permission to include it with
this mod.
* Added short-ranged Versions of the Allegiance Subverters and Massive
ancient weapons, because their low rate-of-fire meant the tactical
AI would often waste their few shots at long range where they would
often miss.
* Removed optionality of "Starliner Modules" tech area, in order to
have it appear in pre-existing games upgrading to 2.3.
* Increased cost of unmothballing ships from 20% to 80%.
* Added new default system type "Low-Gravity Tri-Polar", like Tri-Polar
but without system types that move ships. In games with AI empires,
they will be helped by this.
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Cosmetic:
---------
* When upgrading a design, supply niches and compartments were changing
to other minelayers and fighter bays - fixed.
* Corrected abbreviation for Large weapon platform and base mounts.
* Added durability to description of cultural facility abilities.
* Changed weapon family of Self-Defense Cannons to distinguish them
from Point-Defense Cannons.
---
AI:
---
* Got the AI to use PD Cannon instead of using PD Beams (the trick was
to list their tech requirements, so the design minister thinks they
are the most advanced ones, though the actual requirement remains the
same).
* Gave the AI a hint to build racial Organic Generators instead of
farm facilities.
* Added a bogus ability tag "Component Destroyed On Use" to Cultural
facilities smaller that Cultural Centers, for AI hints.
* Added a bogus ability tag "Planet - Change Ground Defense" to some
ECM components so AI can design ships that use efficient ECM and not
load illegal extra engines.
* Added a bogus ability tag "Ancient Ruins" to some combat sensor
components so AI can be told not to use Fire Control Centers on all
bases and weapon platforms.
* Increased threshold values for Mega Evil Empire status.
* Rebuilt Xi'Chung AI.
* Tweaked Terran AI.
* Adjusted Norak AI.
* Overhauled default AI's.
* Added Abbidon AI made for Proportions by John Sullivan.
* Added AI's made for Proportions by Oleg Fedorov for the 3rd party
ship sets Pequeninos, Nostropholo, and Soul Hunters. (These are
available in separate downloads, since the graphics files are large.)
* Adapted John's Abbidon AI for use by Cue Cappa.
* Adapted Oleg's Nostropholo AI for use by Chryslonites.
* Adapted Oleg's Pequeninos AI for use by Drushocka.
* Added hints for AI to use small ECM and Combat Sensors instead
of adding extra engines to try to improve combat modifiers.
* Changed Small Meson BLaster weapon family number to avoid mixing
up the AI (was same as Light Missile System - thanks, Oleg).
* Changed AI back to building small fast space ports and resupply
depots, instead of deluxe Versions that take longer to build. This
involved adding a new tech area for large support facilities.
* Re-worked all of the remaining standard and neutral AI's, more or
less. They now work much better.