[JLS]

Originally posted by SunDevil:

1. You have put together a great mod, it is a shame that I spent the Last four days on putting together my personal mod, and now after already including and implementing four other mods realize that your mod will most likely not be compatible with all my work. So now I am going to have to use your mod as a base and then make any additions or changes to that. I wish I would of analyzed your mod a couple of days ago and saved me some work but oh well. You have definitely put together a great mod.

Thank You very much SunDevil

What will be the new Premise or Concepts of your new MOD; that you will be using AIC as a Base for?

For example: PvK promises to be coming out with a semi tactical Fighter Modifications that allows Partial to full fighter Movement for his Proportions Mod and it sounds fascinating. He has asked me to wait, and I am sure his improvements; will be well worth the wait. If not released soon by PvK; some players have asked me to install an alternate fighter movement until PvK�s release, and one must be thrown togeather.
I will tie this thru the AIC setup Traits menu or tech cancel menu for v3.00 next month. In a way for Human Players to choose between Tactical or Partial Fighter Move.
The AI will be set to Tactical only but may have the option if I do this thru traits menu.
What are your thoughts on this?

Version 3.00 AIC; due out next month. I still need to expanded Component, Facility and Tech tree.
And the AI toned down even a little more.
But first. Public Play will determine the Mid and End Game by there feed back of averaged play.
Allowing me to get the Right Techs out; at evolutionarily, the right time
For example: If Race A has access to the {Silver Bullet} weapon, then I must make sure that race B has the time to at least have the [option] available to counter the {Silver Bullet} weapon before I add seventeen tech levels to it.

All the se4 original races will be added as well.
Atrocities has authorized that I may do a Star Trek AI, for AIC.
The Credits file Completed.
QBrigid is going to go over the Read Me file and neaten it up.
And much more
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3. Minor question: In the settings.txt file you have cd music set to false and was just wondering if there was an issue to switch this back to true?

AI Campaign crunches more numbers then base se4 and most other Mods so I defaulted CD music to off.

Depends on your systems resources and your desires.
Most play with music off after a while.
Sure, turn it on, if you like
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2. I am just curious during your research why you decided to create a tech for ai advantage and neutral advantage. I also have noticed in your vehiclesize.txt file that some of the resource values for some ships are different for the human player and the ai player.

In regards to Advantage, the Human Player has some extra choices in the Traits Menu to taylor their game before starting.

As this applies to the AI; as you can see, my programming allows the Trait to be an extra:
(2) a throttle for the AI Supply Range and (3) Throttle for AI Production.
Throttles may be fine tuned (in file) by the Players or Myself.

Other then that, there is no such (Advantage tech) area.
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In regards to AI Balance Tech. My programming here is the Cornerstone for the AI in AIC�s AI Balance MOD as it Ties every aspect together.
It now offers the AI the Abilities to better sweep mines, Planetary Bombardment, Sector Scanning etc. In regard to AI Productive Stellar Manipulations and Transports pop, sat & mine launchers etc. I do want it low. But in regards to AI Offensive SM it is the same as Humans (use it or loose it) do to se4 engine programming the AI can not Moth Ball as Humans do, I am able to reduce there costs so they may build the device even though they may never use them, since the only trigger for the AI to Build vehicles is the way the Modder sets up the MODS Construction File. As Master Belisarius has said and in which many of us agree and hope for, is that the AI will get triggers with some intuition in the next se5 engine.

AI Balance tech is really not their for the AI advantage, unless you think the AI should be pined behind a Human Player mine field or sacrifice ship after ship banging its head against it. Same applies to Resupply, thru the se4engine the AI must turn back for resupply at an early condition, were as the Human Player can Calculate the next fuel stop and get there on vapors.

Same applies ~"~,well, AI Balance Mod attempts to address several other areas, as you can see.
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In regards Neutral Balance; as you notice it is a disadvantage not an advantage. This is for the Neutrals only to have Smaller Home Worlds so they are weaker then the Rest of the AI from the go.
This helps with AI diplomacy and a few other areas in AIC. Also if the Neutrals Home Word is captured it is not as big of a Hit to the overall advantage of the capturing Race and there are a few more tie ins with my programming.

A future Neutral Ship Set or AI designer now also has the ability to add a Racial Trait or some Characteristics. With this disadvantage in place; the Neutral turning will not be turned into a Power

As I did with the Nultoh Group by adding Psychic Trait, just to match his eyes

Name := NEU
Description := !ONLY AI SHOULD TO TAKE THIS TRAIT! For Neutral AI Pre-Game Point Set up.
Pic Num := 0
General Type := Disadvantage
Cost := -1600
Trait Type := Planet Storage Space
Value 1 := -20
Value 2 := 0

I hope my explanations, were helpful?
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In regards to the vehiclesize.txt file in respect with your expressed question and as it applies to the AI in AIC, this is primarily a progression of settings to the AI for the:
{LATE END GAME} AI SHIP THROTTLE and must be reset with extreme CAUTION�
The setteings will determine a 1000 turn game going bust by an over bearing AI or a cake walk for the Human Player, both; a very poor situation for a designer. So go with the averages here.

My goal here (initially) is for the AI to beat the Solitaire Human Player 1 out of 3 games or better when END GAME play is reached.
~
2: The AI to win Two out of Three when in the Mid Game and/if the Human wants to try the bonsai approach on the AI.

3: The AI to win Three out of Five games in the opening when a Violent AI is adjacent to a Human Player.
If this is the case, in a random game and the Human Player is in adjacent systems, the Human has less then 50 Turns {5years} to get his act together for the most part, when next to the HIVE, Crystalline etc. as if it was next door to a Human Player; we can�t see to many Human Players as I giving to much quarter to another Human Players, what would you say?

In the above scenario. The Human Player only Priority MUST build a strong defense and or offence to counter the neighboring Violent AI race and if so the Human Player May have the WIN if not he will loose.
All the Computers and Infrastructure Techs will not save him in the early game. I doubt a Central Computer will do much damage to the AIs hull.
In regards to increased infrastructure just neater buildings for the AI to capture or glass.

I also have less apparent events that may occur during your AIC game
By design and by
'Wow', get a look at that, what made that happen

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Sundevil, can you give me a hand designing a race or two for me, if so please choose one to your tastes that I have not done and use an existing as a template� Grand Lord Vito wants to do the Praetorians so any other would be a big help towards Version v3.00 the Final Release of AI Campaign with the [se4 v1.84] engine.

[ May 05, 2003, 20:21: Message edited by: JLS ]