The Star Trek Mod - v1.9.7.5 (Oct 07)

[AngleWyrm]

Created a sample of componants.txt/techarea.txt that uses nine levels of ram-scoop/bussard collectors, warp cores that generate supplies, and nacelles that burn 50 each, so that it's easy to tell. 1 square = 100 supplies; no muss no fuss. (zip file attached).

So far it's workin fairly well. I created three klingon scouts, one with 2xScoops, 4xScoops, and 8xScoops. The 2x scout ran low on gas at the end of the third turn, but the 8x scout kept going strong...with it's three guns instead of six. Also tried the Feds; their Explorer could only hold one gun at max scoops and the Escourt could hold two. Rough trade, when faced with ships carrying five or six. As for the Cardassians and their weak-*** little scout ship, they can't load it with enough scoops to maintain max speed, let alone arm it too.

I didn't change the prices, even though I really like the idea, because I don't know what to shoot for on that. Definitely wanting scoops to be expensive maintenance-wise though, so that there is good motivation not to max them out every time on larger hulls.

[Nodachi]

AngleWyrm_2, Great work! I like how this idea makes the game's balance better. My personal preference would be to make the scoops more expensive rather than add a maintainance penalty to them because the penalty would cause all the ship's components to be more expensive.

[DarkHorse]

Nodachi said:
AngleWyrm_2, Great work! I like how this idea makes the game's balance better. My personal preference would be to make the scoops more expensive rather than add a maintainance penalty to them because the penalty would cause all the ship's components to be more expensive.

The maintenance penalty would be consistent with the greater stresses the entire ship would suffer due to the higher sustained speeds. And it wouldn't make the ship any more expensive to produce, just make it's maintenance cost higher--which I think makes better sense than arbitrarily raising the initial costs of the ship.

[Nodachi]

DarkHorse said:

The maintenance penalty would be consistent with the greater stresses the entire ship would suffer due to the higher sustained speeds. And it wouldn't make the ship any more expensive to produce, just make it's maintenance cost higher--which I think makes better sense than arbitrarily raising the initial costs of the ship.

Respectfully, I disagree. The majority of a ship would not be subjected to higher stresses, just its hull. With maintainance penalties put on these components a long range explorer could wind up costing more each turn than a medium range gunship. We need to keep in mind that a maintainance penalty will dramatically increase the cost of all ships and if a ship happens to use an expensive component even more so.

How about this, keep the two per ship limit on ram scoops and make them cheap (like they are now.) Make the bussard collectors an add-on component to increase a ships range and make them more expensive. That way a we still get the player to make the range vs. guns decision and the increased range (and sustained speed) costs more both intially and each turn with normal maintainance rules.

[AngleWyrm]

What I did was abstract away the 'essentially free' element from ram scoops/bussard collectors. If there is a componant that ought to be included, and is so cheap (in space, research, money) that every ship will have it, it begins to approach irrelevant, and could just as well be assumed to be in the hull and save everyone a few mouse-clicks. It's mostly the position in hyperspace where one desires the game to reside; is it mostly interactive storytelling, mostly game playing, mostly role playing?

The warp core generates some supplies which helps to balance supply income along the history of the game as technology progresses. It also makes it possible to combine the latest warp core with older nacelles, and thereby make the computer fly ships at a slower speed, conserving gas.

[Atrocities]

PLEASE READ THE "INSTALLATION" AND "BEFORE YOU PLAY" READ ME FILES BEFORE YOU EMAIL ME ASKING ME QUESTIONS

These Question have been asked and answered more times than I can even begin to conceivabley count. They are answered in the INSTALLTION read me

1. USE MOUNTS to reduce the size of the warp nacelles and warp core.
2. PUT 4 Warp Nacelles on Colony Ships. If you read the abilities for the hulls it will tell if you need to add more nacelles.
3. GET THE LATEST versions of the Image Mod and install into your base Space Empires IV / Pictures folder in the correct folders
4. UPDATE YOUR COPY of Space Empires IV to version 1.91 to avoid errors.

I get a lot of emails about this and I have stated this information so many times now on this forum, in the mod documentation, other forums, via email, on the web site, and on chat that I am getting sick of repeating it. I am sure you all can understand why.

[Atrocities]

Click Attachment to see large image..... Sorry these are my curde star trek models.

[Atrocities]

Nothing post ignor.

[Atrocities]

Nothing Post

[Captain Kwok]

Did you make those AT? If so, not a bad start at all.