Compiled Questions/Bug List/Wish List

[Tampa_Gamer]

I figured I would post a recent a e-mail I sent off to Malfador, to see if anyone could answer any of the questions I posed. . .

QUESTIONS

(1) The ability "To Hit Add" is used for both bases (as a weakness) and small ships (as a strength) - but the value is positive in both is this a bug or is their a relationship within the program that I missing?

(2) The facility "Urban Pacification Center" is supposed to decrease anger - but the modifier value is a "positive" value. Most good events have a "negative" value in the happiness.txt file. Should the facility have a "negative" value?

(3) Should troops be able to land if the planet has a shield up? I thought it would be similar to spaceship combat boarding ships where the shield must be down first.

(4) Please provide a list or indicate where I can find the Weapon Family #s used in the design types file (these numbers are different than those used in the Component file)

(5) Please clarify the difference between the abilities "Combat To Hit Add/Dec" and "Combat Modifier - System"- Specifically, who (defender/attacker) should use them and what values to use (-/+) when you want to provide a weakness or strength?


BUGS

(1) Enemy mines still show-up during combat even if I do not have the proper sensors.

(2) If a planet is rioting, resupply and spaceport facilities (system modifications) still function - should this be? If so, could you provide an option in the set-up to have these non-functional during a riot?

(3) I got a message once that I triggered my own minefield and even lost a ship. Please let me know if you want the saved game file.

(4) There is no "defense ship" design in the AI even though there are calls for it. I made a design nonetheless (AA and repair), so its not a big deal to me personally.


WISHLIST

(1) Ability to attack planet with more than one troop ship at a time

(2) Shield hit and movement .wav files for ships in tactical combat (you can put in placebos now so people can continue to have no sound, but those that want to tweak can do so to their hearts content)

(3) Need abilities added similar to "Combat Modifier - System", but limited to Sector or Fleet (this would allow a lot more facilities/components variety)

(4) AI should re-evaluate xx number of years whether to (i) retrofit ship to newest design type, (ii) auto-upgrade facilities and (iii) re-evaluate planet type and production after significant amount of time passed to make sure still efficient.

(5) Provide a way to toggle a planet so that it would not show-up in the "Planet" list of production queus (this would be helpful for small planets which get maxed-out early and really are not touched for the rest of the game except for auto-upgrades)

(6) Chance to discover tech when taking a planet over by troops (or alternatively, by scrapping unknown facilities)

(7) Add ability to be used in compenhancement file that would allow us to make Seekers harder to hit or more damage resistance

(8) Add ability to be used in compenhancement file that would allow us to rapid fire a mount with an accuracy penalty

(9) Ability to target intel ops on specific Groups of facilities (already have Groups based on group names in facility.txt file)

(10) Separate volume controls for music and sounds (I like my sounds high, but music low in background)

(11) When using the "upgrade option" in the design menu, have the ship name default into the new ship design (so it can be edited).

(12) Add 3-5 additional pics for each hull size (you can put placebos in for now all based on same pic, but for those that want more variety can modify their own). This would allow for more variety between support/attack ships of the same size

(13) Expand ground combat so that it is similar to space - I have an extensive post about this on the Shrapnel Board with several ideals - I have also heard others discuss this)

[Baron Munchausen]

Re: question #1 --

No, 'Combat to Hit DEC' is used to give an advantage for smaller ships, while 'Combat to Hit ADD' is used to give the disadvantage to bases. This does clarify why fighters have always seemed so wimpy, though. They are given a HUGE 'Combat to Hit Add' bonus with a description saying it increases their ability to HIT OTHER SHIPS. If this is the case, then bases also have a 'to-hit' bonus and not a bonus to BE hit, because it's the same ability used on bases. So, which way does this ability really work? Should they have "Combat to Hit Dec" with a negative value instead? Hmm...

As for your other questions: The Urban Pacification Center works fine, so the bonus is correct. Would be interesting to have a facility that INCREASED unrest, though. Maybe a genetic engineering facility that scared your population? Troops have been able to land despite shields since SE3, so this is just as it has always been. The Weapon Family numbers are in the components.txt file with all the other information about the weapons. Read the ENTIRE entry for a weapon and you'll find it. Combat to Hit Add/Dec seems to affect the ship it is mounted on (or added to as a default). As a component ability the "Add" increases ability to hit the enemy -- Combat Sensors, while "Dec" decreases the enemy ability to hit you -- ECM. If these abilites don't work the same in VehicleSize.txt as they do in components, then fighters have been given a very large disadvantage for a long time, but if they do then bases have had an undocumented advantage. 'Combat Modifier - System' seems to work only for the Empire that owns the facility, so you want it to be positive. We have asked before if various religious facilities, the Nature Shrine for example, will affect only your own planets, friendly planets, or all planets. Most of these "system wide" abilities need to be clarified.

Re: Wish #1 -- apparently the way ground combat works has been changed. It does not occur DURING ship combat anymore but during the strtegic phase of your turn. So, you drop as many troops as possible during ship attack, then wait to see the result as your turn is executed after you "end turn". I've got to drop some troops and try it myself soon.




[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 27 November 2000).]

[Cryptotec88]

I have a bug to add to your list. The first time it happened I just thought it was a fluke, but now it just happened again. I had not researched Fighters at all when a enemy Light Carrier showed up on the doorstep. I decided to capture it instead of doing the research (Grin!) After the battle, I ended up with a captured Light Carrier and a Light Cruiser. I sent them to a yard to be analyzed. When the Light Carrier was analyzed, it gave me the following Techs: Fighter Bay I, Fighter Cockpit, etc...filling out the level one fighter techs. Then it gives me this: Fighter Level 2, Fighter Bay II, Medium Fighter. Now this was a Light Carrier, not a regular Carrier. I consider this a major bug. This is the second time it has happened to me, but this time I have the save game files right before, and right after it happened. Please email me or reply in this thread how I send them to Malfador.

Cryptotec88
email: bnale@earthlink.net

[Tampa_Gamer]

I usually send them to info@malfador.com or bugs@malfador.com

[This message has been edited by Tampa_Gamer (edited 05 December 2000).]

[Taqwus]

Cryptotec -- it may have been a light carrier, but what tech fighter bays did it have? You can put fighter bay III's on a small transport if you so desire...

[code]
Minor bug: when using an enemy ship that I've captured with espionage, the 'propulsion experts' +1 bonus starts on the *second* turn. Either the bonus shouldn't be there at all (because I didn't build the ship) or it should act on every turn including the first.
Minor bug: The hit that destroys the Last weapon platform on a planet appears to do extra damage, at least if you watch the blue/red damage report shown briefly.
Major bug(?): Organic armor regeneration -- regeneration from undamaged armor appears to repair damaged armor (i.e. 6 OrgArm III -> 180 pts/turn even if only the first two pieces were hit). Not completely sure of this, needs testing.
Minor typo: The description for massive ship mount says minimum 1100kt, the vehicle size field says 1200kt. Doesn't really matter in default setup because there are no ship classes in (1000kt, 1500kt) anyway.
Minor typo: Medical lab description should say 'cure', not 'prevent' -- either that or the one-turn die-off needs to be calculated *after* plagues are cured.
[\code]

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-- The thing that goes bump in the night

[Taqwus]

Minor and major tweaks I don't recall previously suggesting/hearing, e.g. major tweaks such as more mount abilities or limiting size of minefields so that my MLs don't get too obsessed and put over 900 on one warp point.

* Option for skipping ships under Minister control. Better yet would be an option to skip animating them (i.e. just computing outcome of their actions), but that's dangerous until path-finding issues et al are resolved.

* Ability to detonate own seekers (for preserving population after you've just thrashed all the WPs).

* Option for ships/fleets to not use strange warp points.

* Ability to save Empire Options settings as default for new games. I don't forsee ever playing without, say, the shipyard/resupply/spaceport letters toggled on.

* Making transport minister transport population to empty colonies, and no minister should ever fully depopulate a planet not subject to imminent destruction (planet/star instability); they *should* depopulate planets subject to imminent destruction, and not repopulate them. As noted before, but it bears noting again, it should not mix races w/ different atmospheres except in extremis (evacuation before planet/star destruction), and it should remedy this when possible.

* Minelaying ships should not unload like maniacs unless they're unescorted and expected to die. Doing strategic combat using a fleet of 30 high-tech BB/DNs (misc roles -- minelayer/sweeper/recon, shipyard, heavy carrier, warp creator/destroyer, long-range beamer, short-range beamer, missile launcher) against a puny force involving DU escorts, my MLs panicked, resulted in pointlessly leaving 56 separate minefields of 1 mine each (non-recoverable of course).

* Ships fidget too much in both combat and system view, wasting supplies. If there are no more enemies (including seekers), they should stop. If they are bLasting a defenseless planet from range 1, they should stop moving. There should always be a reason for moving, and never for moving in cycles w/o changing state (like launching/recovering units, resupply, etc).

* Tech report info (spying) isn't added to the tech view, IIRC. It should be.

* A ship out of supply entering a fight starts with no shields; a ship that uses its Last point of supply on turn 1 doesn't drop them. This is inconsistent. Likewise, weapons which take supply -- all of them, IIRC -- should stop firing, but they don't.

* The new Crystalline facility that adds up to 60 shield points per ship does not appear to be that useful, esp. at the 20-pt level, since shield strength increases rather rapidly w/ tech. The Solar Generator is worse, because even at the highest level it costs more than a Monolith III (10k/10k/10k vs 10k/5k/5k IIRC) and needs three stars to produce the same output -- i.e. you need to research lots of Stellar Manipulation, which already gives you monoliths earlier than it gives you star-making components.

* The CompEnhancement.txt has a typo in it; while the description for Massive Ship Mount says 1100kt suffices, the vehicle size field states 1200kt is required. It actually has no effect normally because there are no hulls within the range [1100,1200) if memory serves but it's still inconsistent.

* When a race surrenders, you only get one level per new tech max. Even if this is intentional, it results in a very bizarre technique -- using PPP simultaneously since if the PPP creates another faction, it'll have the same tech, receive your surrender message and probably surrender giving you one level per superior tech area. Thus it can be more to your advantage to create a new faction via PPP than for it to "work" and join you immediately. Still, PPP rarely works now.

* A minister-controlled colony ship with a damaged colony pod should head to a repair colony if the repair minister is on. It doesn't right now, and instead proceeds to attempt the impossible (namely, colonize a planet).

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-- The thing that goes bump in the night

[Tampa_Gamer]

Here are some additional bugs/questions/wish list items as sent to malfador. As always, if anyone has an answer please post a replay

QUESTIONS:

(6) The "Abilities.txt: file lists "Modified Maintenance Cost - System" as an ability, but the Crystalline Restructuring Plants use an ability called "Maintenance Cost - System" which is the correct ability?

(7) Fighter Bays II & III launch 1 & 2 fighters, respectively - should this be 2 and 3?

(8) Boarding party attacks use all of the boarding party components on a ship for each attack. Should the usage be one attack, one component or does using additional components give you a higher percentage of success (please explain how the calculation works regarding defensing security forces).

BUGS:

(5) There does not seem to be a need for Psychic Scanners II & III as they all have the same ability as Version I.

(6) When a ship is destroyed in a blackhole, the ships stats appear in the upper left corner and disrupt the menu/screen graphics so that you still see portions of the ship stats for several turns.

(7) The Amon'Krie General AI file has the demeanor/culture types reversed.

(8) When ships encounter a blocked path they chew up all their remaining move points moving back and forth between two points instead of stopping (and thereby letting you use remaining points to get them out of the situation).

WISHLIST

(14) Add a separate user-defined maintenance % for each of the following: fighters, troops, sats, weapons and facilities (similar to what we now have for ships) - by letting everyone define their own maintenance % - it would end the long debate on this subject.

(15) Game mechanic option upon startup to limit main weapons fire effectiveness against sats/fighters to a maximum of one weapon - one kill.

(16) Allow fighters to "reload" certain weapons during tactical battles

(17) Place limitation on number of missiles/bombs usable during combat similar to MOO/MOO2

(18) Allow different ships sizes (currently all are 1x1) similar to Armies of Armegeddon where there could be 1x2, 2x2, 3x1 and 3x2 units (planets could still be 4x4 or 5x5) this would allow the artists to take advantage of the larger canvas area and provide some pretty detailed ships and also allow for some disparity between a baseship and an escort.

[This message has been edited by Tampa_Gamer (edited 05 December 2000).]

[Kodos]

And another thing...!

Why is it that the Repair Bay and Space Yard components can repair 3, 5, or 8 components at their respective levels, yet the planetary Space Yard Facility can only repair 5 components at all levels? The amount of resources used by the planetary Facility in constructing ships far exceeds those available to the component Space Yard --- shouldn't repair ability be on a par with this?

[Cryptotec88]

Taqwus-

That's true, and I should have mentioned that in my post, the light carrier in question had level 1 fighter bays.

Cryptotec88

[Arc.Smiloid]

I'd like network compatibility. I have a network and I would love to use it.

If enough people want it, or it is easy to implement, that would be awesome.

If few want it and it is hard to implement, don't bother on my account, more important things to attend to, like AI.