Mini-Mod - Unlock Colonization

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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Distant Worlds 1 Series >> Design and Modding >> Mini-Mod - Unlock Colonization

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Mini-Mod - Unlock Colonization - 5/24/2014 3:21:38 PM

Arakash

Posts: 8
Joined: 10/18/2013
From: Australia
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Mini-Mod - Unlock Colonization

This is the first mod i've shared. I haven't seen anyone else share something like it by itself, but if you have, let me know through PM or below and ill remove this.

Description:

This is a small(tiny) mod i created today to unlock all of the planet types for colonization for all races at the first colonization tech.
(This means that in Shadows games you still have to research the starting colonization tech in order to colonize, which still costs the same.)

It leaves all of the growth rate improvements and colonizer side improvements in place, so there is still benefit in researching them.

To reflect their diminished value, i did reduce the costs of the techs by 25%. I'm open to suggestions if anyone has a better idea of how to balance/improve on it.

Background on the mod:

This is a mod that i just created mostly for my own gaming purposes, but i thought id give it out to other people if they want to use it.

I created this mod for flavor purposes and also to fit my own personal gaming preferences in DW. In short, you shouldn't consider it a more balanced version or improved version of the game.

Link:

Should be attached to this post through the forum system.
I learned while sharing this that i cant share links until 7 days after my 10th post, an anti-spam measure i assume. So hopefully this works.

Using this with other mods:

If you want to use this mod into another mod that doesn't alter research.txt, all you have to do is copy paste the research.txt into the mod folder you want to alter.

I wouldn't recommend combining this with another mod that alters the research.txt unless you really know what your doing.

Testing:

Tested on Boskara and Human at start.

Edit: Played a long Boskara game mostly automated, i didn't see any major consequences/problems.

Disclaimer:

Your free to add it to any other mod as much as you like, as long as you mention its name in the credits.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Arakash -- 5/24/2014 7:25:47 PM >

Post #: 1

RE: Mini-Mod - Unlock Colonization - 5/24/2014 5:37:25 PM

ChildServices

Posts: 47
Joined: 5/12/2014
From: Australia, mate
Status: offline

I actually looked into doing this myself. The only suggestion I'd really have for balance is to vastly increase the value of the improved colonisation techs by modifying the actual base growth/max population values of planet-types themselves. However, I don't think that's even possible. If it is, I didn't see it in the modding guide.

The effect if it were possible would be "Yeah, sure, you can colonise that lava planet as the Wekkarus, but you'll have growth rates that're far worse than normal, and half of the max population there, unless you research the associated colony tech."

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RE: Mini-Mod - Unlock Colonization - 5/24/2014 5:44:11 PM

Osito

Posts: 875
Joined: 5/9/2013
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quote:

ORIGINAL: ChildServices

I actually looked into doing this myself. The only suggestion I'd really have for balance is to vastly increase the value of the improved colonisation techs by modifying the actual base growth/max population values of planet-types themselves. However, I don't think that's even possible. If it is, I didn't see it in the modding guide.

The effect if it were possible would be "Yeah, sure, you can colonise that lava planet as the Wekkarus, but you'll have growth rates that're far worse than normal, and half of the max population there, unless you research the associated colony tech."

You can mod the growth rate for each race at certain planet types in the races.txt file.

However, I'm not aware of any way to mod maximum population (other than via the editor, which is not really what you're talking about). I think maximum population is built into the core game, as it depends on planet size, planet quality, and whether the planet is a native planet for the colonising race.

(in reply to ChildServices)

Post #: 3

RE: Mini-Mod - Unlock Colonization - 5/24/2014 5:54:02 PM

ChildServices

Posts: 47
Joined: 5/12/2014
From: Australia, mate
Status: offline

That completely slipped my mind.

In that case, can you double your population growth on a specific planet type more than one time? You'd have to experiment with the tech-tree a bit more.
e.g; You start at 50% growth, then you research a tech to get 100%, then you research the next (much more expensive) tech and get 200%?
To make this not so silly you could nerf every race's population growth for every planet type (although vastly less-so for their native type and slightly less so for the next closest to that)

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Post #: 4

RE: Mini-Mod - Unlock Colonization - 5/24/2014 5:54:58 PM

Darkspire

Posts: 1986
Joined: 6/12/2003
From: My Own Private Hell
Status: offline

quote:

You can mod the growth rate for each race at certain planet types in the races.txt file.

You can alter the construction speed and colonization cost on a planet type basis but not population in the *racename*.txt file, which file are you looking at?

Darkspire

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(in reply to Osito)

Post #: 5

RE: Mini-Mod - Unlock Colonization - 5/24/2014 6:08:18 PM

Osito

Posts: 875
Joined: 5/9/2013
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Darkspire

quote:

You can mod the growth rate for each race at certain planet types in the races.txt file.

You can alter the construction speed and colonization cost on a planet type basis but not population in the *racename*.txt file, which file are you looking at?

Darkspire

Well, I was sure that feature was there, but now that I actually look for it I can't find it. Must have been confusing it with something else.

Sorry, ChildServices ...

(in reply to Darkspire)

Post #: 6

RE: Mini-Mod - Unlock Colonization - 5/24/2014 6:18:16 PM

Darkspire

Posts: 1986
Joined: 6/12/2003
From: My Own Private Hell
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Osito

quote:

ORIGINAL: Darkspire

quote:

You can mod the growth rate for each race at certain planet types in the races.txt file.

You can alter the construction speed and colonization cost on a planet type basis but not population in the *racename*.txt file, which file are you looking at?

Darkspire

Well, I was sure that feature was there, but now that I actually look for it I can't find it. Must have been confusing it with something else.

Sorry, ChildServices ...

We all make mistakes said the Dalek climbing off the dustbin

There is a way though, not as controlled unless you also mod the resources file, use the resource effects section, have a resource set to give a population bonus but set it to only apply if that resource is mined at a colony, so if you modded the resources file and made a certain resource appear at certain planets then when that planet is colonized and the resource is present the race would then get the population bonus.

Not ideal but as a workaround it might do at a pinch, I will have a look and see if it can be juggled elsewhere, like the tech tree for the actual techs themselves, pretty sure it can't but I will check anyway.

Darkspire

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Darkspires's File Repository

(in reply to Osito)

Post #: 7

RE: Mini-Mod - Unlock Colonization - 5/24/2014 6:18:38 PM

Arakash

Posts: 8
Joined: 10/18/2013
From: Australia
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: ChildServices

That completely slipped my mind.

In that case, can you double your population growth on a specific planet type more than one time? You'd have to experiment with the tech-tree a bit more.
e.g; You start at 50% growth, then you research a tech to get 100%, then you research the next (much more expensive) tech and get 200%?
To make this not so silly you could nerf every race's population growth for every planet type (although vastly less-so for their native type and slightly less so for the next closest to that)

Interesting suggestion.
What i would wonder is whether the AI will actually take this into account when colonizing.
If the AI doesn't take into account that they will be penalized for doing it, i would suspect the mod would have a more dramatic influence on balance than it seems to at the moment.

On an unrelated note:
Just doing some testing today, the effect of the mod on balance doesn't seem to be overly dramatic from what i could see, but i did notice its easy to overexpand with access to planets you normally cant colonize.

Also seeing as i removed the "can colonize x planet" from the two second teir colonization techs, they are basically empty. This means there is little motivation imo to research them.
I suppose the lower techs could also give a minor boost to population growth.

< Message edited by Arakash -- 5/24/2014 7:43:21 PM >

(in reply to ChildServices)

Post #: 8

RE: Mini-Mod - Unlock Colonization - 6/5/2014 2:05:08 AM

gerishnakov

Posts: 53
Joined: 6/5/2014
From: Brighton, UK
Status: offline

quote:

I will have a look and see if it can be juggled elsewhere, like the tech tree for the actual techs themselves, pretty sure it can't but I will check anyway.

Darkspire

If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, then we must be thinking on the same wavelength.

Though I've only been playing DWU for about a week now, it's seemed odd to me that the order in which you research colonisation tech is not different for each native planet type. For instance, why should the tech to colonise volcanic planets be at the end of the tree for a race native to volcanic planets? Furthermore, shouldn't a volcanic race's colonisation tech tree look something like a single line, such as:

Colonisation (volcanic) > Desert colonisation > Continental > Marshy (followed maybe by a division onto separate lines for ocean and ice).

Any thoughts on whether this can be achieved through modding?

(in reply to Darkspire)

Post #: 9

RE: Mini-Mod - Unlock Colonization - 6/5/2014 3:53:48 AM

ChildServices

Posts: 47
Joined: 5/12/2014
From: Australia, mate
Status: offline

It totally could. Although you'd clutter the tech-tree significantly. I've been thinking about this myself for one of my own mods, and I'd already come up with the following:

For race types native to continental/marsh, your tech tree would look exactly the same as it does in vanilla. This'd make their colonisation options much easier. It'd get progressively harder as you approach either extreme.

Desert would be:
Desert > Continental > Marsh > Water > Ice > Advanced Colonisation (requires lava colonisation as well)
> Lava
Ocean would be:
Ocean > Marsh > Continental > Desert > Lava > Advanced Colonisation (requires ice colonisation as well)
> Ice
It's slightly harder, but it's not too difficult. What's hard is the tech-tree of the races at the extremes. You can reach more exotic planets quicker than continental/marsh races, though.

For the extremophile races the tech-tree is a straight progression from one end to the other, with advanced colonisation coming after you've researched the last tech.
Ice < - > Ocean < - > Marsh < - > Continental < - > Desert < - > Lava

For limiting access to each tech tree, all I'd do is make each line restricted for the races that it doesn't apply to. I'm not sure how well this lends itself to having all planets unlocked from the start though, because all it'd do is improve growth rates.

If it's possible to double the population growth rate of a planet twice through technology, one thing that could be done is adding two tiers to each colony tech which you have to research in order to start on the next planet type. This would be balanced because the road to reaching advanced colony tech is exactly the same. I'd just have to switch around the research costs of each tier so that each line works out to be the same value.

< Message edited by ChildServices -- 6/5/2014 4:55:20 AM >

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Alexander the Great, his name struck fear into hearts of men.

(in reply to gerishnakov)

Post #: 10