Balance Mod Available

Kwok, I noticed that the system grav shield in the balance mod uses the "System - This Player" ability scope - does this mean that they only prevent the player who built them from blowing stuff up? That seems kinda useless...

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Mr. Flibble says...
Game over, boys!

Most of the scope's I've seen are..rather useless. :/ Either the ability itself is hard-coded to only work on a specific level (System - Modify Reproduction, etc) and/or the scope just determines who sees it..not where it takes effect.

CK, I noticed that Strategies.txt is not included in your balance mod. As I have mentioned in a few posts I think that Point Defense against seekers is underpowered in the stock game. I took a look at the stock Strategies file and notice that in most of the strategies the engagement range against seekers is set at Medium Range. In your opinion what would be the effect of icreasing this to Long Range? Would the potential extra shot against the seeker make up for the inherently lower to hit probability of the first shot at long range? I have not looked at seeker speed and PDC range yet to calculate the theoretical maximum number of PDC shots per incoming missile. I think changing this could be effective especially for the 'seekers targeted at ally' line since my tests show a very low success rate for this shot in the simulator.

Unfortunately it's impossible to tell the difference in seeker speed, damage resistance, etc. without poking in the data files or testing your designs in the simulator. Someone bug Aaron to remove the "to-hit" line for seekers and replace it with all that useful info!

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Mr. Flibble says...
Game over, boys!

The balance mod Base Ship size need to be set over 2000 kt. Otherwise you can't make the Ring or Sphere world. The generator requires engines to move into the star.

The way you made Ring and Sphere worlds in SE:IV was by building Starbases with the components you need. It's probably the same now, just make a ship with a space yard and build the bases where you want the artifiicial world.

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With all these people, you would expect one of them to carry an iguana around...

Someone said it takes movement now to do it

There are 10 types of people in the world:

Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

He was talking about base ships, not starbases. Instead of moving the massive component in a ship, you just build it within an immobile starbase on site.

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With all these people, you would expect one of them to carry an iguana around...

In SE:V the generator for the ring, sphere worlds must be able to move into the sun hex. The other parts can be static. So you have to have one ship capable of moving a 2,000 kt part.

Right now the Generator is 2,000kt in size even if you made it have movement and fit the bridge, life support ..... requirements it still wouldn't fit by itself. I'd say either up the max baseship size to over 2,200kt or reduce each Generator to 1,500kt. That should give it enough to put a couple of engines and supply storage..etc on.

He might be putting in the bridge, life support, etc already And if he puts in movement, I imagine he'll add in appropriate supplys, to.

Oh... silly question. If I give a component two differen't abilities -- say, "create sphereworld" and "normal movement", is it possible to have "normal movement" use a regular amount of supplies while create sphereworld uses lots and lots, or does regular movement end up eating terrible amounts of movement too? Just curious

There are 10 types of people in the world:

Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

Rilbur wrote:

Oh... silly question. If I give a component two differen't abilities -- say, "create sphereworld" and "normal movement", is it possible to have "normal movement" use a regular amount of supplies while create sphereworld uses lots and lots, or does regular movement end up eating terrible amounts of movement too? Just curious

There are 10 types of people in the world:

Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

I'm not sure if it's different in SE5, but in SE4 the unit is consumed when the stellar construction is created, so...

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"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
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Friedrich Nietzsche

Captain Kythorak wrote:

I'm not sure if it's different in SE5, but in SE4 the unit is consumed when the stellar construction is created, so...

~~
"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
-
Friedrich Nietzsche

Your missing the point. I'm wondering if, should he make it one giant super-component that lets it move on its own, if you'll have to supply the supplky for that movement on the same basis as for stellar ocnstruction - expensive!

There are 10 types of people in the world:

Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

For what ever reason it is referencing a d:\mvyv\spaceempires5\se5\common\sounds_dswavfile.pas line 213

Kwok, I think there's a problem with planetary shields. It says they only generate 1 shielding (using alltech cheat)... maybe you should look at that?

There are 10 types of people in the world:

Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

How on earth can I tease people when they actually have answers for my pointless nitpicking! (Oh, btw, great job on the mod)

There are 10 types of people in the world:

Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

Since my turn is processing, perhaps I should mention that the organic seekers don't have their speed/durability listed like the other ones do (I checked the damage one and supply drainer)?

There are 10 types of people in the world:

Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

Good work Cap'n! A few questions/comments though,

1. Does the tag - Combat Morale in RacialTypes work? If so what exactly does it do? I ask this because in the ShipExperience file Tampa_Gamer states that it does not, or is this trait meant for ground combat only?

2. The environmental resistance cultural achievement does not appear to work. When researched fully it remains a 0% (though it may still work).

- Matt

[Edit - Spelling]
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Shazbot!

Just an FYI: The download link still appears to point to version .90

Just write into the design of the ship, that engines and bridge, etc. are not required. Ship generates 1 standard movement point. Size 2000k. Thats what the Barge in se4 was.

"Genius is Simplicity" chris connors
"To win without fighting is best" sun tsu
those who think they know everything are annoying to those of us who do

nevermind

Hey, Kwok, just out of curiosity, have you played around any with the regenerating defenses? (Organic armor or shield regenerators) They don't seem to work very well at all. First off, the description of "xxx" shield points / armor points a second doesn't seem to come out right as in combat they regenerate by tens even after I put a lot of shield regenerators on... is this a bug in the engine, the mod, or am I just screwing it up? (Also, when I do the math on the regeneration it doesn't seem to quite add up in terms of being usefull).

edit:

Also, as I get a hang on the file formats I'm considering making my own mod... would you mind if I used your mod (which in most respects I like a lot more than base) as its base, rather than the base files? I'll be nice and give you credit

There are 10 types of people in the world:

Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

It works but I haven't been able to get the amount to change.

EDIT: yes, broken. The amount is FIXED at 1 shield point per second no matter what the Amount 2 for the regenerator is.

EDIT 2: organic armor seems to work fine.

Stupid, but it explains why nothing was working.

There are 10 types of people in the world:

Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

Can I use your mod with saved games from 1.08 unmodded?

Coool!

There are 10 types of people in the world:

Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

Anythign is possible, but I doubt it -- I think he changes a few things in a way that'd break the transfer.

edit:

and even if you did, you'd run into wierd results, period the end (since you can have higher tech levels in stock than regular).

edit edit:

Oh, and I think the game stores the "type" of the save, so you can't change that.

There are 10 types of people in the world:

Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

So, I'm looking at the "Eee_Main_Script.txt" file. It contains the AI script values. It includes options I pasted below. It seems playing with this below would increase the Point Defense, just put more options on True

set bool_Race_Uses_Point_Defense_Cannons := FALSE
set bool_Race_Uses_Point_Defense_Beam := FALSE
set bool_Race_Uses_Point_Defense_Blaster := TRUE
set bool_Race_Uses_Flak_Cannon := FALSE
set bool_Race_Uses_Bomblet_Missile := FALSE

And playing this these would increase the number of attacks and their effectiveness. Am I right? Or am I looking in the wrong place?

set lng_Max_Defense_Systems := 3
set lng_Min_Time_Between_Attacks := 6
set lng_Pct_Chance_To_Start_New_Attack := 40
set lng_Max_Time_To_Stay_In_Attack_State := 15

set lng_Max_Explorers := 1
set lng_Percent_Of_Satellites_To_Keep_On_Planet := 50
set lng_Percent_Of_Mines_To_Keep_On_Planet := 50
set lng_Max_Ships_To_Retrofit_At_The_Same_Time := 1

set lng_Percent_Of_Attack_Ships_To_Use_For_Fleets := 95
set lng_Colonies_Per_Fleet := 10
set lng_Fleet_Attack_Formation := 0
set lng_Fleet_Defense_Formation := 0
set lng_Fleet_Task_Force_Attack_Strategy := 0
set lng_Fleet_Task_Force_Defense_Strategy := 0
set lng_Fleet_Task_Force_Attack_Formation := 0
set lng_Fleet_Task_Force_Defense_Formation := 0

Thanks for working on the balance mod, Captain Kwok. Improved A.I.'s would definitely make the game more fun.

Small Anti - Proton Beam
List Supplies Used 0 and Ordinace Used 0

I would think that is a mistake.

I beleve I do have the race trait you are talking about.

Will current saves from your mod work with your next mod patch? I ask because I want to know if I should put time into the game now, or wait for your next update.

Awesome thanks, time for me to get playing then!

Captain, I asked elsewhere but you might not read that thread, so...

Could you include in the next release your source AI scripts so that we can see what you changed and incorporate it in our own mods. Or mod yours slightly to be our new mod .

Not quite sure why, but when I load your mod it gives me two sets of flags, ships, and racial portraits to choose from.

They're both the same, which is the problem. Just a repeat set. So I can't necessarily tell which set is the right one.

Which further confuses me, as your mod only included flags...

Oh, okay. Good to know. Thanks!

Nice work Kwok. I'm going to download it right this instant and give it a thorough bashing tonight.

Your lord and master (below Foamy) LordHavoc

Satellite Layer design type doesn't add any satellite bays at the very start of a new game (turn 1). It just adds tonnes of armour instead.

Your lord and master (below Foamy) LordHavoc

Just wanted to give a quick thanks to you Captain Kwok for all your work on this. It takes the game from unplayable to very enjoyable. I feel like all the major issues I had with the stock game are fixed. There are still a couple weird things (treaties) and the AI could be better, but you've done a lot with what you can do. Having done some minor modding of my own games (Rome Total Realism), I realize how hard this is. Thanks!

Captain Kwok, I have been working on a mod of my own, but I like a lot of what you have done, not all of it though, would it be ok for me to start off of your mod and make my own from there. I don't want to infringe on what you have done, but a lot of it is what i wanted to do anyway. Let me know if it is okay with you. Thanks.

Yours in gaming,
~Elucidus

There's a difference between working on a mod that someone else has created and 'releasing' it.

I've been messing around with bits'n'bobs of other peoples mods for years with a multitude of games, but i've never released anything that wasn't 100% my own work OR without contributors permission.

Whether you plan to release it or not. It's always nice to ask permission as you have done.

Your lord and master (below Foamy) LordHavoc

I think thats what the guy is doing

There are 10 types of people in the world:

Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

Whats the point in your last post? I even said "as you have done" therefor recognising what he was doing, in addition to the advice I was giving him.

That last post of yours just appears to be a method of bumping up your points without really contributing anything useful.

EDIT: Bring back Wade, at least his hundreds of posts brought something new to the table.

Your lord and master (below Foamy) LordHavoc

My point was you sounded like you were saying "Make sure you get permision first", which in reply to a post asking for permision sounded REALLY weird, as if you'd missed the point of his post somehow.

And just SHUT THE HECK UP about points. I couldn't care less, and I don't indulge in point-bumping. So *WHAT* if I have teh second most points? Its just a matter of spending enough time on the forums and talking enough. I couldn't care less, and I don't spam just for points.

There are 10 types of people in the world:

Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

Well I have including other people mods in my own (usually they were only partials, ones that change the way a certain weapon works or adds a ship type), with their permission if it was something I wanted to do anyway. I have never started from someone else's mod and I plan to only use those elements I like, of course only with permission. Its just there are a lot of things he has done that I had on my list of things to do, and I would a) rather not reinvent the wheel and b) rather not have people thinking I was stealing from him without his permission even if we both had some similar ideas. So I am trying to do it the right way. Thanks for the responses.

I think ultimately the mods will be quite different, its just they may start in the same way.

Yours in gaming,
~Elucidus

Sorry I missed your response. I will definately credit you. I just got into the practice of asking permissision before using anything over the years. Thanks.

Yours in gaming,
~Elucidus

I noticed this as I started a new game using the newest (.94) version of the balance mod. About 40-50 turns into my game, I did a comparison to see how I was faring. To my surprise, all the other empires, of which none were neutral and 4 were made by me, NONE of them had researched any new tech, none of them had any ships, none of them had any more than the starting planets (3). I made one a player, and looked at it, and it had nothing in the construction or research que's, and had no ship designs.

I reinstalled the balance mod 4 times, starting a new game each time, and this has happened every single time, whether I load an empire from scratch, or start a new one. The AI seems to be non-existent in .94, which would be a huge bug.

Also, on another note, when I try and load an empire, which hasn't used any of the negative point racial traits, and I have it set for 5,000 racial traits, it won't let me load it, however if I make an empire, then load it, it works fine.

Kwok, don't get sloppy with version numbers. If you change something, fix it or do anything with it. Add another number to the version, thats what it's there for. To help you keep track of whats been changed/added/removed or twiddled.

Your lord and master (below Foamy) LordHavoc

Oh no. Im lost. Kwok it looks like you gave us the wrong directions

Im not getting the AI working for the balance mod. Im pretty sure I installed that patch and the settings.txt all right. The AI has been at 29 tech levels for the past five turns. Its so sad. I've been so excited about the 1.13 patch but Im going to need to wait until I can get the balance mod working. Perhaps the newest version will.

I just downloaded the v.94 and I couldn't make a game, then I added the settings.txt to the data folder inside the balance mod folder. I can load up the game but the AI isn't working at all. Would I need to install those Empires files you mentioned on the Balance mod forum (in which I can't register to either. The email was never sent to me ;_;)

Yeah, same here. New game with the 1.13, 0.94BM and new settings.txt and the AI is doing nothing. After 30 turns I changed to other empire because the game was too quiet and... surprise!
Well, We'll have to wait for the next.

Anyway, great work there Kwok, the mod makes the game much more enjoyable if possible

When is .95 due?

Edit:

N/M, just saw your other thread. I just HATE it when work/RL makes me skip coming around to these forums for a couple days in a row... its horrible catching up.

There are 10 types of people in the world:

Those that understand binary, and those that don't.

Hey, first of all, thanks for doing the balance mod. I was particularly interested in the cargo / fighter re-work, since I like fig-rushing for planetary defense in contested sectors. I had a couple of questions / notes:

1) Is it me, or did you nerf the power on fighter weapons relative to ship weapons? Even given the bigger tech "chunks" I would have expected more power out of (for example) Lvl2 Small Anti-Proton weapons on fighters.

2) I'm finding that a lot of my colonists are dying. I like to play windbags (gas giant - hydrogen) When I land on a relatively decent planet with a non-hydrogen atmoshphere, my colonists die. In particular, they never build an environmental dome! Then the enemy comes in and starts attacking my planets, but it gets in a permanent loop because there are no colonists for them to kill, and I maintain control of a 0-population colony after the battle.

This last one is kind of a showstopper for me on my current game (game saves available)

Thanks,

Mark Lachniet

yup, as you know, somehow I wasn't loading colonists correctly.

How bout the second question - are small weapons nerf'd? I have energy stream weapons 2, and small weapons 3, and I can only get level 1 Anti-Proton cannons on my figs?

Thanks,

Lachniet

Thanks for the colony type files kwok they were extremely useful

I posted this in my thread but in case you missed it, in 0.95 ai_scripts_colonytypes.txt

You may want to alter the fallback options under:

// Pick_Resource_Extraction_Type

As if you had the rare case of a planet with say, organics and radioactives being the same value on a planet, they would drop all the way through the chain and become a mineral planet.

I just tweaked all the lines to use >= rather than > :

if ((planet_value.Get(RESOURCE_TYPE_ORGANICS) >= planet_value.Get(RESOURCE_TYPE_MINERALS)) and (planet_value.Get(RESOURCE_TYPE_ORGANICS) >= planet_value.Get(RESOURCE_TYPE_RADIOACTIVES))) then

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Designing an advanced, diplomatic AI + shipset
Consult the great SEV Wiki