Balance Mod v1.00 available! |
Greetings!
I've posted v1.00 of the Balance Mod for download at my site:
http://www.captainkwok.net/balancemod.php
Note that this version is not compatible with any v0.9X games - so you'll need to start a new game.
Some big changes in this version included extensions to the ship and engine tech tree, along with a change in the propulsion system. Essentially each engine now provides a varying amount of movement points instead of a standard amount with movement bonuses for higher tech engines.
On the AI front there was a big fix with starting techs (the AI hasn't been picking their starting techs for some time now - maybe since v95!?) so that should certainly help AI performance.
1. Fixed - AI players were not selecting starting technology 2. Added - Small Crystalline Armor 3. Added - Small Organic Armor 4. Fixed - Error in tech requirement for Environmental Studies cultural achievement 5. Fixed - Error in tech requirement for Temporal Space Yard 6. Changed - Plague Bombs are now only a single entry 7. Fixed - Range was incorrect for Plague Bomb 8. Fixed - The Massive Base Mount had an incorrect amount for its accuracy bonus 9. Changed - Tweaked hull costs for some vehicle types 10. Changed - Increased damage amount for Alloy Burner Missile 11. Changed - Quantum Reactors now provide more supplies per level and their cost reduced slightly 12. Changed - Revised entire engine system 13. Changed - Increased number of tech levels for larger ships (Cruiser > Baseship) 14. Changed - Reduced the regeneration rate for Organic Armor 15. Changed - Increased Ripper Beam to 11 levels 16. Changed - Increased Plasma Missile to 11 levels 17. Changed - Slightly increased seeker speeds 18. Added - Defense Modifiers to seeker weapons descriptions 19. Fixed - Error in Boarding Combat defense modifier 20. Changed - Reduced the maximum time it takes for Atmospheric Modification Plant to change the atmosphere 21. Changed - Increased amount of damage required to kill 1M population 22. Changed - Increased values for starting tech points 23. Fixed - AI wasn't adding Basic Sensors to their satellites 24. Changed - Racial trait sensors (Temporal, Psychic) reduced in cost 25. Fixed - A number of typos 26. Updated - Updated AI research pathing 27. Updated - AI Scripts
Nothing really special
Not really. It was a save-game breaking update and I ran out of v0.90s as well. 
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Good work as usual kwok, as
Good work as usual kwok, as I said in my message the ai files you provided really helped Tarsus for inspiration on a number of issues. As such I've credited you in my readme and will do a more extensive credit system when I updated it.
I'll be interested to see what you've done with the fix on point one and your tweaks to the AI's. Can't wait to try the new version out, if I ever have time from my own developing and testing 
. Maybe when the hives out.
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Tarsus Race and new AI for Download! v0.6
Consult the great SEV Wiki
I like the sound of some of
I like the sound of some of the changes you have brought into this version. Just a shame I have started a new game with Maran's AI and am seeing how that works.
Hmmmm..... Will Maran's AI races work in this mod, or are the changes to great to make it work....
Also will this work with the next game patch, or will you have to re-patch this for that?
BM AIs etc.
The Balance Mod AIs already incorporate most of the same stuff as Maran's AI.
There will be a small patch for the mod to go with the next SE:V patch, but it shouldn't be a save-game breaking patch.
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Parts of it.
Hmmmm..... Will Maran's AI races work in this mod, or are the changes to great to make it work....
Difficult to say, sadly the further we both develop the projects the less compatible they will be. For instance if a modder renames something I am using to trigger something else, that trigger will no longer work.
Or if colonisation is speeded up or slowed down in a mod, a standard AI designed for stock might colonise too fast or too slow, the same with building; research/technology changes will not be present in my AI's build/research settings, which will be geared to the standard version. If a modder fixes something with the core game in a different way then I am attempting with altering the AI and so on.
Thats not to say its impossible to make my AI work or at least take it and re-shape so it will, just stating some of hurdles you or anyone attempting it will need to overcome.
As my AI is open source for anyone to fiddle with and re-make as their own, if Kwok doesn't mind someone attempting, who know's
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Tarsus Race and new AI for Download! v0.6
Consult the great SEV Wiki
I think you made a typo in
I think you made a typo in the storage capacity for quantum engines. Ion engines start at base 600, then 700 for contra-terrene, 800 for jaceketed photon and then... down to 500 for quantum.
nice nice
Kwok, could you explain the
12. Changed - Revised entire engine system
a little bit??
sensors technology very expensive...
I find that researching sensors is awesomely expensive in your mod. 60K research points to get lvl 3 sensors with a range of 4 seems too much to start with... it may take ages to explore that way!
Engines
The engine changes are posted here:
http://www.spaceempires.net/home/ftopict-2115.html
Essentially engines provide a variable amount of movement points now instead of a constant amount with bonus movement points.
A frigate with level 3 sensors can sweep the habitable area of a star system in 2 turns so it's not so bad.
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[quote=Captain Kwok]A frigate with
I would say that is a bit over optimistic, it depends on where the warp gate you jump in is, and what you are classing as the habitable area.
Personally I always scan the entire system to all its edges, that way there are no hidden Warp Points that I miss (I often find that when you have 2 systems very close together on the galaxy map its hard to spot the WP indicators).
As you have decided to make sensors far mroe expensive they should also increase in range to a similar degree.
After you have scanned a system I always like to keep the entire system visible by using bases and satalites, having such short ranges makes that difficult in the extreme.
I agree with Cordas. It is
I agree with Cordas. It is usual (to me, at least) to put satellites and bases to keep visible the entire system. To fight your enemy you must see it first, and I don´t like to find enemy fleets sneaking through blind zones. And you need dozens of satellites if they only have a range of 4-5 sectors.
I suggest to halve the research cost. 10k at 1st level, that means 60K to get lvl 4 sensors, for early system scan, and research costs are still reasonably high for upper levels.
Just checked: A frigate with
Just checked: A frigate with 12 movement points and lvl 4 sensors (5 sectors range) needs 4 turns to scan a system entirely 
revised engine system
thanks for the fast info kwok.
i like the new concept of the engines, great idea of you!
Sensor Range
That may be a good solution.
That may be a good solution. I just wanted to avoid system scanning getting too slow at the beginning of the game, when every turn is crucial.
Thank you for being nice
I won't even pretend to
I won't even pretend to understand that bit of code you gave Kwok, even thinking about pretending to understand it makes my head hurt but I like that idea, it makes early sensors decent but still gives them plenty of grow room. That said I would make it probably lvl 5 (scan range 10) before you slow them down to 1 per lvl.
Yes, sensible early sensors
However I can be nice and have the range increase by 2 for the first couple of levels and then increase by 1 later on.
Try this formula for Sight Range:
IIF([%Level%] Space Empires Depot | SE:V Balance Mod
Mmm yeah, that is sensible. Previously I'd always immediately tweak sensors to go up by 1.5 instead of 1 per level as I felt Basic Sensors went up far too slow.
Then again, next game I play will be after the patch and if it's not given the AI "remember you got ambushed here" memory then I'm just going to turn 100% Vision on and let the AI fully know where to avoid and attack ^^;;
bug?!
uhm, kwok did you change anything in the graphics or so??
i updated my sev with balance-mod 1.0 and started a new game.
used antiproton-beam on my weaponplatforms.
in a combat the shots from the weaponsplatforms didn´t come from the planet, they came from above it!!
like thors lightnings
Captain Kwok, help me with
Captain Kwok, help me with the logic in that if statement...
Try this formula for Sight Range:
IIF([%Level%]
Does this mean If sensor level is less than or equal to 3 then do what's between the two commas, otherwise do what comes after the second comma.
is that correctly stated in english?
I'm fine with most of that, but Why is there two I's in IIF ?
What computer language is this? is this just one that Arron made for SEV?
edit: GACK i can't get that code line to appear. well you can scroll back to kwoks posting.
SEV, more than a feeling.
Hehe
Yeah, aaron used a custom "IIF" instead of "IF".
Oh, and you're options are > (&g t;) and < (&l t;) for regular times, or you could use the "escape HTML" format under input format to force it to not try and parse them.
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There are 10 types of people in the world:
Those that understand binary, and those that don't.
Sensor Range
Planetary napalm + weapon mount???
I was trying your mod and I found out that I can put planetary napalm on weapon mounts, thus getting 1000+ damage at max lvl!!!
¿Is this a bug?
Planetary Napalm = Direct Fire
Planetary Napalm is a direct-fire weapon in both stock and BM, so it can be mounted. All direct-fire weapons may be mounted. Why you would *WANT* to mount it eludes me, however.
Niceee. I've tried the
Niceee. I've tried the previous version only a short time but quite pleased. This seems even better.
Somehow I believed it
Somehow I believed it wasn´t a dirct fire weapon... lol
Planetary Napalm
You'd want to mount so that 1 Planetary Napalm could take out 1 facility per hit.
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Is there any significance to
Is there any significance to this being V1.0. like it's ready for prime time?
SEV, more than a feeling.