Modding - some things I'd really like to know (Full Version)

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Osito -> Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/1/2014 9:52:06 PM)

I realise these issues might appear trivial to some, but here goes:

1. Can we make barren planets colonisable?
2. Can we change the quantitative effect that tax has on colony happiness?
3. Can we create a tech which unlocks all planet colonisation options (i.e., continental, marshy, ocean, etc, etc) in a single shot?
4. Will it be possible to create extra rules for what constitutes each ship type, particularly escort, frigate, destroyer, cruiser and capital? For example, could we introduce size limitations on these designs?
5. Can we introduce a terraforming tech which improves the basic planet quality (as opposed to repairing damage caused to planet quality)?

Feel free to add your own ...



elliotg -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/3/2014 1:20:32 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Osito
I realise these issues might appear trivial to some, but here goes:

1. Can we make barren planets colonisable?
2. Can we change the quantitative effect that tax has on colony happiness?
3. Can we create a tech which unlocks all planet colonisation options (i.e., continental, marshy, ocean, etc, etc) in a single shot?
4. Will it be possible to create extra rules for what constitutes each ship type, particularly escort, frigate, destroyer, cruiser and capital? For example, could we introduce size limitations on these designs?
5. Can we introduce a terraforming tech which improves the basic planet quality (as opposed to repairing damage caused to planet quality)?

Feel free to add your own ...

Hi Osito

To answer your questions:

1. Not directly in the mod, but of course you can replace planets in the game editor
2. No, modifications to colony happiness can be controlled through things like race resource bonuses, wonders, etc
3. Yes, you can alter any aspect of the tech trees, group techs together, etc
4. The way to control designs is by using the existing design template files for each race. You can't limit individual ship sizes like you have described, but the AI ship designer will follow what you specify in the design template files
5. This does not exist at the moment, but I'm open to adding new capabilities to planetary facilities and wonders...

Thanks
Elliot



Icemania -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/3/2014 1:35:25 AM)

Great to see you back on the forums Elliot! [:)]



hewwo -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/3/2014 10:28:19 AM)

Hello elliot!

My #1 request would be to make it possible that ship types also have size limitations. I think this limitation would add a whole layer of strategy to the ship designing part.

Also, for the base game, I would like to have you take another look at resupply ships, as I really like the concept but in practice never use them because it just doesn't work the way it should (I think at least:)

These two things would make my DW experience perfect!

Thanks:)



Osito -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/3/2014 1:38:00 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: elliotg

quote:

ORIGINAL: Osito
I realise these issues might appear trivial to some, but here goes:

1. Can we make barren planets colonisable?
2. Can we change the quantitative effect that tax has on colony happiness?
3. Can we create a tech which unlocks all planet colonisation options (i.e., continental, marshy, ocean, etc, etc) in a single shot?
4. Will it be possible to create extra rules for what constitutes each ship type, particularly escort, frigate, destroyer, cruiser and capital? For example, could we introduce size limitations on these designs?
5. Can we introduce a terraforming tech which improves the basic planet quality (as opposed to repairing damage caused to planet quality)?

Feel free to add your own ...

Hi Osito

To answer your questions:

1. Not directly in the mod, but of course you can replace planets in the game editor
2. No, modifications to colony happiness can be controlled through things like race resource bonuses, wonders, etc
3. Yes, you can alter any aspect of the tech trees, group techs together, etc
4. The way to control designs is by using the existing design template files for each race. You can't limit individual ship sizes like you have described, but the AI ship designer will follow what you specify in the design template files
5. This does not exist at the moment, but I'm open to adding new capabilities to planetary facilities and wonders...

Thanks
Elliot



Thanks for that, I really appreciate your taking the time to reply. Now get back to the game!! [:)]

Obviously, I would have liked to have been able to change these things, but I'm happy about the things that are already on the cards for Universe (particularly the stuff about the tech tree), so I will let it go. Gotta save something for DW2 ...

Personally, I would like to see a facility that can terraform a planet to increase its base quality. It's the sort of feature you see in many 'space' games, and I believe many others would like it. Obviously, if there are people who don't like it, I'm sure they'll say so!

Thanks again,

Osito



TrooperCooper -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/3/2014 6:06:16 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: hewwo

Also, for the base game, I would like to have you take another look at resupply ships, as I really like the concept but in practice never use them because it just doesn't work the way it should (I think at least:)



Whats the problem with resupply ships? They work quite well imo... except for them loading both fuel types if you put em on a source that has two gas types. Other than that, they work as intended as far as I can tell.



hewwo -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/4/2014 3:09:43 AM)

hmmm there are some threads detailing the problems. But mostly it comes down to that you need to micro them a lot make them useful (if you put them in a fleet they behave very dumb). And even then the micro is unnecessarily involved.



TrooperCooper -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/4/2014 3:47:55 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: hewwo

hmmm there are some threads detailing the problems. But mostly it comes down to that you need to micro them a lot make them useful (if you put them in a fleet they behave very dumb). And even then the micro is unnecessarily involved.



Hmmm... I guess I dont notice it since I play full micromanagement anyway. ;)



Fenrisfil -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/4/2014 11:12:39 AM)

The ability to enhance terraformers to increase the quality up to X% higher than its natural state would be awesome.



Darkspire -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/4/2014 12:36:30 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Fenrisfil

The ability to enhance terraformers to increase the quality up to X% higher than its natural state would be awesome.


As much as I totally agree it is not really a good idea when you look at things logically.
There are 6 planet types at the moment that are habitable, the only other one is the barren rock type, being able to turn that planet type into a staged terraform (desert > swamp > continental) would then add possibly hundreds of new planets to a game engine that is already creaking at the seams, take into account freighters per planet, AI calculations etc. The same would apply for all the other planet types, say all the planets that are at <20% that are next to useless other than mining are turned into a viable colony site, on a 1400 map you would end up with more than the current engine could handle.

The planets do repair when the bugs go on a bombing spree if you have the correct facility, that is about the best we can hope for at present.

Darkspire



Osito -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/4/2014 12:56:57 PM)

A new terraforming tech/facility doesn't necessarily have to allow all planets to come up to 100% quality. I'd be happy if it were just base+10% or base+20% or something like that. It would just be nice to have a technology which leads to an improvement in the planet itself.

Obviously if it were put in the core game, it would be hard for anyone not to use it, and Darkspire's concern about the effect on the game engine may be correct. I'd be happy enough if the facility type were created, but not actually implemented in the core game, so that modders can pick up the feature if they want it. That way, those who wanted to use the feature could do so, without breaking the game for those who didn't want it.

There may be other more important things to for Elliot to be doing, but if this could be added as an option without much effort, I'd certainly like to see it.



Shark7 -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/4/2014 2:29:50 PM)

Actually here is a way I'd like to see terraforming tech being used:

1. To repair damage from natural disasters (pretty much what it does now).
2. To change a planets base type with no effect on quality

For example the Desert Planet X2 is quality 70, but my human race prefers continental planets. If I were to build a terraforming facility then over time (say 5-10 game years) the planet slowly evolves into a quality 70 continental planet. So basically you mark the planet to terraform build a 'terraformer ship' that goes to the planet and turns into a facility then wait the appropriate number of game years for a colony to appear. Also, the planet can not be colonized until the work is done.

For this to work though you'd need both a terraforming tech component and to designate a new type of ship, the terraformer.

Another option is to use a terraformer component on a terraformer station that you build over the planet that in turn requires resources to do the job.
thus making it not only a long term proposal, but also very costly in terms of resources and money.

There would need to be limits on what can be terraformed, but personally I think all barren planets or planets with quaulity of 40 or less would be off limits.



CyclopsSlayer -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/4/2014 3:18:03 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Shark7

Another option is to use a terraformer component on a terraformer station that you build over the planet that in turn requires resources to do the job.
thus making it not only a long term proposal, but also very costly in terms of resources and money.


Ahh, I foresee aggressive TForming. Have a Volcanic opponent? Spend a few years making their homeworld a nice safe Oceanic. [:D]



ehsumrell1 -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/4/2014 4:29:39 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: CyclopsSlayer

Ahh, I foresee aggressive TForming. Have a Volcanic opponent? Spend a few years making their homeworld a nice safe Oceanic. [:D]

Smh....SO Evil of you Cyclops for that one! LOL! [:-]



Shark7 -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/4/2014 8:21:14 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: CyclopsSlayer


quote:

ORIGINAL: Shark7

Another option is to use a terraformer component on a terraformer station that you build over the planet that in turn requires resources to do the job.
thus making it not only a long term proposal, but also very costly in terms of resources and money.


Ahh, I foresee aggressive TForming. Have a Volcanic opponent? Spend a few years making their homeworld a nice safe Oceanic. [:D]


Doing that would give you a diabolical reputation. That should go without saying, right? [;)]



TrooperCooper -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/4/2014 8:23:57 PM)


Reminds me of the Genesis Project in Star Trek. [:D]



CyclopsSlayer -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/4/2014 11:42:12 PM)

Diabolic Reputation? Well sure... unless you buy off your neighbors with Freighter loads of fresh Lobster Bisque from the boiling seas below... [X(]

Seriously though, aggressive TForming has been around almost as long as printed SF. Back in the 1920-30's John W. Campbell wrote a book where the enemy had a 'Nitrogen Catalyst' that bound Oxygen and Nitrogen together into a solid, leaving targeted worlds basically airless.



tjhkkr -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/5/2014 4:04:08 AM)

Being the Star Wars snob that I am, what exactly is aggressive terraforming?
Is it the Star Trek Genesis project on steroids???[:'(]



CyclopsSlayer -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/5/2014 4:23:52 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: tjhkkr

Being the Star Wars snob that I am, what exactly is aggressive terraforming?
Is it the Star Trek Genesis project on steroids???[:'(]

Pretty much, imagine if you would that one day your nice race of Oxygen breathing Humans wakes up and finds the air converted to Methane and Hydrogen Sulphide. A short and unpleasant death.



Darkspire -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/5/2014 5:54:47 AM)

No laughing, this is the amazing technology that was used, it explains how it was done for Star Trek 1982 [:D]

The sequence as shown in the the movie starts around 2:20 but it is worth watching from the start so all you youngsters can see what we had to put up with in the dark ages [:'(]

This is the Genesis effect

Darkspire




Icemania -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/5/2014 11:53:32 AM)

After far too many hours with the graphics in Distant Worlds that was a real treat Darkspire.





samspackman -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/6/2014 3:32:18 AM)

Will you be able to mod the date?



Osito -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/6/2014 12:08:12 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: V for Vegas

Will you be able to mod the date?


I think so, because the star date is different in the space game junkie video linked in one of the other threads. That suggests that you can set up the star date as part of the modding process



Spidey -> RE: Modding - some things I'd really like to know (5/6/2014 6:17:51 PM)

quote:

For example the Desert Planet X2 is quality 70, but my human race prefers continental planets. If I were to build a terraforming facility then over time (say 5-10 game years) the planet slowly evolves into a quality 70 continental planet. So basically you mark the planet to terraform build a 'terraformer ship' that goes to the planet and turns into a facility then wait the appropriate number of game years for a colony to appear. Also, the planet can not be colonized until the work is done.


I'm sorry for picking on you, but to me it sounds more than a bit like "sci-fi cheese" that any facility, over the span of a mere few decades, could turn Pluto into a desert or turn Mercury or Venus into enjoyable winter resort planets. I can see terraforming filter out toxic parts of the atmosphere, clean up the oceans, spread plants genetically modified to survive the climate and produce nutrition and air, and maybe mess around with GMO insects and whatnot. But changing the planet type? That's pretty immense.

But thinking forward to DW2, I'd like it if planets were less black and white in their types and more universal with different values for each kind of race. Instead of races having different max pops for each planet type, I'd like to see each planet type have different ratings in terms of being a desert, ocean, continental, volcanic, etc. And terraforming could then slowly change those values as the planet is modified.



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