Any research mods?

[magnate]

Hi All,

I've played a few games now, and experimented with editing the data files (Settings.txt and TechArea.txt). I can set all the starting tech levels to 0, start a game with 100k resources (exactly enough to buy Applied Research I) and have exactly the game I want - no facilities pre-built on the homeworld.

Trouble is, the AI is too stupid to spend its 100k RPs on Research I (I presume it spends them on ship construction and stuff instead), so it never gets off the ground.

If I start with Research I already I have to live with 15 pre-built research centres on my homeworld, but that's ok. Even then though, the AI won't tear down any facilities to build anything sensible like a spaceport or a shipyard.

So, are there any mods out there that scale back the starting position, and rework the AI to deal with it? I'd be very grateful for any pointers, before I start trying to sort it out myself ....

CC