Wanted: Alpha testers for the AoW mod.

[Thei R'vek]

I can playtest it in 2 and 4 players against my roommate and two of my neighbours so I'll get cracking on some multiplayer testing

[dumbluck]

I need some feedback on my recent changes to this mod. I have had almost no time to playtest them, and the situation doesn't look to improve anytime soon. So I'm asking for your help. Just download mod, and play it with your favorite game settings, whatever they may be. Tell me what you think of the new mechanics. Tell me what you liked, and why. Tell me what you didn't like, and why. Tell me what you think needs improving, and how and why. And definately let me know of any bugs you find! I'm sure there has got to be a few hiding in there somewhere!

Note: The AI is non-existant in this mod. This is an intentional design decision. So don't expect much in the way of a game right now. Hopefully, I will be starting a PBW game with everyone interested once this gets a little more developed/refined. Then we can test the mod against, you know, opponents. But for now, just familiarize yourself with the new game mechanics, and give me some much needed feedback.

Thanx in advance!

Edit: Hmm, I guess you'd want a link to the mod, huh? Ok, here ya go:
AoW v0.81.zip

[ December 28, 2002, 12:49: Message edited by: dumbluck ]

[Pax]

I'll give you several playtest reports by ... uh ... monday evening (EST) ... ?

[mlmbd]

DL, so excatly (for us ultra newbies) how does one 'Install' your AoW Mod?

Seems I might need to know how to do that before I could play it!

mlmbd

[spoon]

Haven't played it, but browsing through the data files made me wonder about:

ECM vs Combat sensors. Why do you have 5 levels of Combat Sensors at +10% per level (max +50%) and 10 levels of ECM with only +1% per level (max +10%). Are there other means by which to raise defense? Such a small increase seems like it would be a waste in research at some point.

Increased Crew Quater reqs vs. Master Computer. Requiring all those extra crew quarters (cool idea, btw) makes the Master Computer more powerful - you might want to up the cost, or something. (unless the size/benefits of the new crew quarters change -- see next comment)

500kt Crew Quarters. All the new crew quarter types you put in take up 500kt of space:
Tonnage Space Taken := 500
Is that a typo, or am I missing something? Also, it might be neat if the different types of crew quarters had more significant effects (most just give that +8% maint reduction...) And do those stack? You might want to clarify in the comp description...

Looks good, hope to find time to play...

-Spoon

[dumbluck]

And one final note: A modpicker is a utility that came on your gold disk (I must assume you have SE4g, otherwise you wouldn't be able to use this mod). It edits path.txt for you, saving you the hassle. It is quite handy.

[mlmbd]

dumbluck,

Then either edit path.txt, or use your modpicker to switch to AoW.

What is a 'modpicker'? And how does it work? THANKS!

I really am looking foward to testing your mod!
Sorry, I am so dumb!

Is there a new Version to this 'ModPicker'?

mlmbd

[ December 31, 2002, 13:12: Message edited by: mlmbd ]

[Ragnarok]

Yes... Scan the forums for the thread. Give me some time and I will find it for you. BRB...

Edit: *2 Minutes later* Ok, I did a quick search for the modpicker. Here is the thread.
Fixed link is here...
You can also DL it from Matryx sig. He is the one that wrote the program. It is a awesome program.

[ January 02, 2003, 16:19: Message edited by: Ragnarok ]

[dumbluck]

Pax, Thei R'vek: That would be cool, although there isn't really a big rush. This project isn't exactly at the top of my priorities list. In fact, it's kinda low on it! So, whenever you get time, have at it!

All: Please direct any feedback to the AoW thread , or you can send me a private message if you prefer.

Originally posted by spoon:
Haven't played it, but browsing through the data files made me wonder about:

ECM vs Combat sensors. Why do you have 5 levels of Combat Sensors at +10% per level (max +50%) and 10 levels of ECM with only +1% per level (max +10%). Are there other means by which to raise defense? Such a small increase seems like it would be a waste in research at some point.

That is a legacy of Geo's work. I haven't touched any of that, but I know that he reduced the ECM because of the Stealth/Scattering armor and the shipsize bonuses

Increased Crew Quater reqs vs. Master Computer. Requiring all those extra crew quarters (cool idea, btw) makes the Master Computer more powerful - you might want to up the cost, or something. (unless the size/benefits of the new crew quarters change -- see next comment)

The whole "crew quarters on a MC ship?" issue is covered earlier in the AoW thread, and I'm to lazy to dredge it up here. Although your value assessments will change once you read my reply to your next point.

500kt Crew Quarters. All the new crew quarter types you put in take up 500kt of space:
Tonnage Space Taken := 500
Is that a typo, or am I missing something?

That is not a typo. The Crew Areas all have ship specific mounts that reduce their size. The large unmounted size is to discourage people from putting extra maint. reducers on their ships. (I just realized that this could have been accomplished with the "One per vehicle" tag. D'oh!) Anyway, This is a legacy of v0.71 (IIRC), where you could get so much negative maint. modifiers on a Space Station that it actually GENERATED resources. This was changed in v0.81, but I neglected to take the mounts out. This is because I'm toying with the idea of making the Crew Areas tonnage structure dependant on the hull size it's in. (should the engineering section of an escort be the same size as that of a battleship?)

Also, it might be neat if the different types of crew quarters had more significant effects (most just give that +8% maint reduction...) And do those stack? You might want to clarify in the comp description...

Looks good, hope to find time to play...

-Spoon

Initially, most of them did have different types of affects (ala Small Arms Locker). I took them out for balance reasons, although I intend to add a few Base Only Crew Areas that will have more extra features (like ship and fleet training).

Yes, the maint. reductions stack. I will clarify that... somewhere. Maybe in the ModInfo?

Originally posted by mlmbd:
DL, so excatly (for us ultra newbies) how does one 'Install' your AoW Mod?

You should be able to just unzip it to your default SE4g directory. Then either edit path.txt, or use your modpicker to switch to AoW.

[ December 31, 2002, 13:00: Message edited by: dumbluck ]

[dumbluck]

Anybody else interested?