Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (Full Version)

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jscott991 -> Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/19/2010 9:52:31 PM)

There are so many minor races in this game that I'm having trouble getting acclimated. Within a few years of every game I've started, some minor alien race pops up (or actually starts in my home system) and my advisers are pushing for a war or the alien race goes to war with me.

Is there any way to turn off minor aliens?

Reducing alien populations to rare doesn't seem to have any effect on these independent empires.

There's a reason I'm picking a huge galaxy with just a few AI opponents: I'm trying to learn the game slowly. Being thrust into an immediate war is not that fun or helpful.



Erik Rutins -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/19/2010 10:38:56 PM)

Yes, you can turn off the option to allow independent worlds to become new empires when you start a new galaxy. You can also define there how many alien races you'd like to see in your galaxy.



jscott991 -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/19/2010 10:41:31 PM)

I have turned that off.

And I've made alien populations rare.

And I've made a 1000 system galaxy with only 4 other AI opponents.

There is ALWAYS someone near me. There is USUALLY someone in my home system.

GalCiv, I think, calls these minor races. They aren't "full" AI opponents. But maybe these are the "full" opponents. I don't know if these guys are minor races or what.

I can't seem to get rid of them in Distant Worlds.



Janster -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/19/2010 10:48:54 PM)

If you use the auto opponent thinger, it puts EVERYTHING to random, making them just about anything, also the distance they are from you.
So if a empire is set to 'near' no matter how big a universe, he will start near you...

I think this is not such a good idea, but you can adjust it yourself thankfully.



jscott991 -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/19/2010 11:12:22 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Janster

If you use the auto opponent thinger, it puts EVERYTHING to random, making them just about anything, also the distance they are from you.
So if a empire is set to 'near' no matter how big a universe, he will start near you...

I think this is not such a good idea, but you can adjust it yourself thankfully.


Ah, that might be the problem.



OberonDark -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/19/2010 11:27:41 PM)

I have had a disturbing frequency of AI start in my home system when I start a galaxy. Even in 1400 star galaxy, I have had 2 seperate empires start in the same system as myself. Their distance is set to random. Their tech and starting systems are basic, however, and mine is basic tech and excellent system (gotta have a superior base of operations), and they're still starting their. How does that work?



Okim -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/20/2010 9:16:09 AM)

IF you are a learner you can try to start a new game and set each and every other opponent to be far from you. Switch off auto-creation of opponents and manually add and adjust each race ;)



Fishman -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/20/2010 9:34:54 AM)

Setting everyone's distance to "Distant" doesn't quite work because if you do this, they will all spawn in ONE corner of the galaxy rather than being distributed more evenly, which really kinda messes up the game.



jscott991 -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/20/2010 2:55:12 PM)

Yes, Fishman is right. I tried distant and all the AI races popped up in one small section of a 1000 system galaxy.

So this is lose-lose.

Doing random, they pop up in your home system. (a startling percentage of the time).

It really seems a game this complicated should get starting placement right.



Erik Rutins -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/20/2010 3:05:34 PM)

This is odd, I just tested this again this morning. I use "random" 99% of the time and I don't remember the last time an alien empire started in my own system. Perhaps try using fewer races for the galaxy size? Maybe if you give us all your settings something might stand out.



idgar -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/20/2010 3:11:14 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: jscott991

GalCiv, I think, calls these minor races. They aren't "full" AI opponents. But maybe these are the "full" opponents. I don't know if these guys are minor races or what.


Well, there are no minor races in DW. There are full AI opponents, independent colonies (don't show up on diplo screen and never contacts you in any way) and pirate factions (shows up on diplo screen and asks you to pay protection money or buy information etc). You sure you're not talking about the pirates?



Jim D Burns -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/20/2010 3:13:16 PM)

I manually set all my games to use all 19 other races, and place half at average and half at distant. This gives a good mix of locations around the galaxy and keeps them from spawning in my home system. If you allow it to randomly choose, there’s a good chance many will get the near setting, which can allow them to spawn in the same system as you, so I never use random.

Jim



jscott991 -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/20/2010 3:21:24 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: idgar


quote:

ORIGINAL: jscott991

GalCiv, I think, calls these minor races. They aren't "full" AI opponents. But maybe these are the "full" opponents. I don't know if these guys are minor races or what.


Well, there are no minor races in DW. There are full AI opponents, independent colonies (don't show up on diplo screen and never contacts you in any way) and pirate factions (shows up on diplo screen and asks you to pay protection money or buy information etc). You sure you're not talking about the pirates?


Oh, I turned pirates off, first thing.



SiempreCiego -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/20/2010 5:00:41 PM)

random means random. just like flipping a coin gives you a 50/50 chance or one side or another. Flip a coin 100 times and it will not land on each side 50 times.
Play spiral galaxy and set everyone to average or far away and youself to core.
how i treat is if i play with 19 enemy empires and there are 4 distance options same system/near/average/far, then chances are in each game someone will in the same system or only a few systems away.



jscott991 -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/20/2010 6:21:52 PM)

It really shouldn't be this hard to keep aliens out of the same system. That is simply not a balanced game.

I've been playing games with only 4 other races in a 1000 system galaxy and if I don't set them as something other than random, I will get one in my home system very frequently.

Since when is "near" equal to "on top of."



Jim D Burns -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/20/2010 10:53:51 PM)

OK, are you talking about 1 of the 4 alien races you chose, or are you talking about independent planets? Minor independent planets aren’t like other alien races, there is no political interaction or anything with them until they form into a race/empire of their own. Seeing them form their own empire is pretty rare and you can easily conquer their world or colonize it to simply assimilate them before something like that happens.

I have never seen another race/empire start in my system, so I doubt it’s a very common occurrence. I have seen independent planets in my system, but that is a good thing not a bad thing, simply assimilate them and you have another decent planet to work with and some alien race abilities added to your empire very early.

Some of the confusion may be because independent races are drawn from the same pool of races as the empire races. It would be nice if they created some non-empire races to represent the independents.

Jim



jscott991 -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/21/2010 12:50:24 AM)

I have had full races spawn in my system in 3 of the 5 games that I started using the auto feature. The problem is that I thought the game must have minor empires like GalCiv because it was happening so frequently (or at all; it never occurred to me that AI opponents would spawn in the same system when there were 5 of us in a 1000 star galaxy). I realized after I posted that there are no minor races in DW.

Two of them were fellow human races and other was something called the Seekhan confederacy.

Since then, I have specified normal or distant distance for all alien races.



taltamir -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/21/2010 3:02:03 AM)

can you include a screenshot of your game settings?
because from what you describe it seems as if your game is ignoring the limits you set (specifically, the ability of independent colonies to become empires).

Note that even if you set a game to have no independents and only 4 opponents, you can still end up with more opponents if the opposing empires split up via civil war or rebellion causing colonies to break off from those races.



jscott991 -> RE: Alien Minor Races - Can They Be Turned Off? (4/21/2010 4:27:26 PM)

I'm happy to provide a screen shot of my settings when I'm at home, but I think the problem has already been discovered.

One of the potential starting locations is "same system." If you choose random you have some kind of a chance (probably like 1/4, if the locations are same, near, average, distant) of having an alien empire spawn in the same system.

The settings I use now are rare alien populations, no independents becoming empires, and I preset all my AI opponents to either average or distant.

I personally believe that more effort needs to be made to ensure "balanced" starting locations (empires starting equidistant from each other). I haven't played a ton, but I'm betting a lot of games can be ruined by the somewhat happenstance positioning of AI players.



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