Imperium Verus Mod

[JonMacLeod]

Hi.
I'd just like to announce the release of the latest version of my Imperium Verus Mod. Imperium Verus was designed to enhance gameplay and plausibility (as much as that's possible in a universe with psychic squid from another planet).

Latin for 'true power', the Imperium Verus Mod strives to provide both added plausibility and a more challenging game.
Playability was also a major factor in designing the mod. I have made significant changes to almost every text file in the game and many of the image files.
Particularly notable changes are:
- All techs available in the game can eventually be researched with the exception of colonization technologies (no racial or unique techs are available). Formerly racial technologies have been moved around the tech tree (except religious which made little sense to me so I remade and redistributed the facilities)
- Diplomacy has been radically altered. While the framework remains the same, the AI's responses have been significantly changed (Aggressive AI's will be more aggressive, xenophobes will be xenophobic, and perhaps most importantly the AI will actually sign peace treaties, sometimes being beaten into submission)
- Propulsion is Improved Quasi-Newtonian: Larger ships produce less thrust proportionally, as thrust is determined largely by the cross-sectional area of the rocket nozzle, while mass correlates roughly with volume. Thus, as mass cubes thrust only squares. Therefore larger ships will be slower.
- Ground assaults are now much more difficult, but multiple transports can drop troops into combat
- Neutral races have been eliminated (the button remains but does nothing) (no shooting fish in a barrel)
- Tactical Fighters
- Many components require mounts to make them proportional to the vehicle they are to be placed on
- Most weapons can be upgraded with shield penetration technology
- Obtaining technology from AI players is much more difficult (this helps maintain the individual flavor of teams and removes an almost insurmountable advantage for human players)
- Many interesting but pragmatically useless components and facilities were combined into more useful items
- AI modified heavily to increase resource, research, ship and unit production. Strategies and tactics modified to try to make AI smarter (I have found the new AI to be MUCH more difficult than the old one)
- Intelligence Projects were eliminated except for recon and low level intelligence operations (Unfortunately, without a probabilistic counter intelligence system most projects seriously detract from playability)
- Happiness types were radically altered (e.g. bloodthirsty people don't get mad at you for signing treaties, instead they are unhappy when not actually fighting)
- Most defensive vehicle types have been eliminated (except bases). This forces defense to be much more dynamic.

Technical Notes:
This mod requires Suicide Junkie's Image Modpack (The ComponentPack, version 11) to function (later versions will likely
work as well) available at http://www.spaceempires.net/home/downloads-file-35.html

Here's a link to the Imperium Verus Mod 1.02: http://www.spaceempires.net/home/dow...-file-536.html

Thanks. Hope you enjoy it.

Jon