Babylon 5 Mod

[PvK]

Does speed really get read by the AI as "number of engines", then? That sounds familiar, actually.

PvK

[Fyron]

Actually... on second thought, seems I misinterpreted those lines. They are indeed just a "number of engines to add" setting, and do not take engines per move of the ship hull into account.

[pathfinder]

Originally posted by grumbler:
Thanks, guys, I got at least part of the problem: "Num Misc Abilities" is actually the number of ADDITIONAL abilities. Thus, the AI was adding engines because it put in four per the speed and then filled the remaining spaces with engines as Misc abilities. And yes, "speed" in this case is purely the number of engines. But with the engine mounts, this is moot.

Which also solves Path's Shadow Living CPU problem as well: the AI adds a LCPU as the required bridge component and then again as the misc ability "Master Computer" (I tested it, Path, and the Shadows use only one LCPU if you delete the Misc ability "Master Computer").

However, this doesn't resolve the issue of the AI not using armor. I read long ago in one of the threads that an "Armor Spaces Per One" setting of zero causes the AI to fill in all spaces with armor after completing its other requirments. Is this not true? I have tried adding armor as a misc ability and the AI will leave empty spaces before it will install armor. This kinda makes the great armor system of the game kinda redundent.

Anyone have any ideas?

Also, IF wrote:

quote:

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Yes they are. Even on max tech, you can not have technologies that require a racial trait to be researched.

That isn't true in this mod for weapons tech - Max Tech gives everyone all the racial light weapons, medium, etc, but IS true for other stuff (like the LCPUs). Not sure where the weapons discrepancy crept in, but you are right and I shouldn't have doubted it!

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Ahhhh.....take out the Master computer? Hmmmmmm....

UPDATE: WHEEEEE! YEEESSSS! Gone are double LCPU!

Thankee Grumbler!


Another couple of headscratchers: 1-Are population transport design/build associated with colonizing (Ancients not allowed to colonize)? Ancients (Shadows/Vorlons) are not designing/building population transports.

2-What would I have to do to get the AI to actually design/build repair ships? Put a call in the construction vehicles file?

[ March 28, 2004, 15:21: Message edited by: pathfinder ]

[grumbler]

Okay, I have a "stock" AI_D_C that seems to work for all the normal races (haven't tried with Ancients yet, and won't until we get the normals at least done enough to play with). Still no armor, though. I don't want to add ability tags to armor unless I have to, because that will make the AI_D_C even more complex (we will be talking about a dozen or more special abilities per ship type). However, if that's what I gotta do...

I have left max engines at eight for all ship sizes so the human (or an AI that has some space left over) can add engines to create a slightly faster ship. Colony ships are still gonna be limited by the size of their colony modules to half the normal ship speed, though, unless anyone wants to argue that they shouldn't be!

Path, one of the things I had to do to AI_D_C to get decent transports, sat layers, etc was limit the hull ranges for the auxilliary type ships. In fact, what I am going to do is change the transport types to "off size" x50 ships to make the AI stop using warship hulls for transports. Merchant hull as half as expensive the way I have things set up, and require only half the crews of a warship. Right now, I don't see any call for a repair ship in the AI_C_V files, and I am not sure the AI would know how to use them. Any ideas on this? It would be cool if it does use them, but in games where I have built them to test the idea, they just sit on the homeworld.

Boy, TNZ, this engine mod you suggested (implemented a bit differently than you suggested, but still the basic idea you proposed) has solved a whole raft of problems. The jump gate component no longer needs the "normal ship movement" ability and that has solved a grunch of problems in the full-tech design system (and thus the late-game design system). I cannot believe I suffered from this problem for over a year and the new CompEnhance system was available all that time!

Next step are the components. Anyone have strong feelings either way about the Bridge, CC, and LS components being hullsize-based as the engines are now? I was not going to implement this (the need doesn't seem to be there except in the very smallest ship sizes, and it could change the damage profile for the largest ships) but if anyone strongly wants to see this, now is the time to say so.

[Timstone]

Ah good, the engines part is solved? Great!
I have nothing to add about the rest of the components, I'm here to make the weapons.

I'm glad the community swings into action again. After a long sleepy period The Mod is back into action again!

Grumbler: I send you several mail today. I was bored, I should have done other things, but I could. The Mod called me and I responded.

[Fyron]

That isn't true in this mod for weapons tech - Max Tech gives everyone all the racial light weapons, medium, etc, but IS true for other stuff (like the LCPUs). Not sure where the weapons discrepancy crept in, but you are right and I shouldn't have doubted it!

Actually, it is still true. Some of the weapons techs are not actually racial techs, as they do not have a racial number requirement. So, they can be given to other races (via a ship to be analyzed in some cases). However, in a low/med tech start, you can not research them, as you can not get access to the techs that they require, as they are actually racial techs. With high tech start, SE4 gives you all of the techs that have no racial number, as it is assumed that you could have gotten them from someone, somewhere, in the past.

kay, I have a "stock" AI_D_C that seems to work for all the normal races (haven't tried with Ancients yet, and won't until we get the normals at least done enough to play with). Still no armor, though. I don't want to add ability tags to armor unless I have to, because that will make the AI_D_C even more complex (we will be talking about a dozen or more special abilities per ship type). However, if that's what I gotta do...

Leaky armors have no ability, so you have to add one in order to get the AI to call them. Armor calls only add components with the Armor ability. SE4 AI does not consider leaky armors to be "Armor". You can just add the same AI tag to all leaky armors of the same size. Well, you probably don't need to add AI tags for the Scattering Armor - Primary type armors, as you can call for the emissive abilities. But for the other armors, you need one for Light, one for Medium, and one for Heavy. Otherwise, you will never get the AI to add any of them to a ship design, as it can not add ability-less components.

[ March 28, 2004, 17:42: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

[grumbler]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
Leaky armors have no ability, so you have to add one in order to get the AI to call them...

Ouch. I was afraid of that! I realized that the "spaces per one" will make the AI_D_C a bit easier than I first thought. However, trudging through all those almost-identical armor types to add the abilities will take a while. But if its gotta be, its gotta be.

[pathfinder]

Originally posted by grumbler:

quote:

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Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
Leaky armors have no ability, so you have to add one in order to get the AI to call them...

Ouch. I was afraid of that! I realized that the "spaces per one" will make the AI_D_C a bit easier than I first thought. However, trudging through all those almost-identical armor types to add the abilities will take a while. But if its gotta be, its gotta be.

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Ack, been there, done that...tedious work I tell ya!

[pathfinder]

What would keep a race limited to 400kt other than settings.txt? The settings.txt is set to 0 so I can "see" all the ships & bases but the Brakiri stops at 400kt

[TNZ]

[ March 29, 2004, 23:05: Message edited by: TNZ ]