New SJ mod

[Ed Kolis]

If you're looking for ideas to throw in (though I certainly don't want to see all mods become the same ) you could always use my Colony Tech Mod (prevents cheesy colony tech trading between empires of different planet types)...

edit: and to curb cheesy population trading, you could make breathable planets *different* from nonbreathables, not just better - maybe you get more pop space, but you get less cargo and/or facility space since the population tends to spread out?

[ December 22, 2003, 12:36: Message edited by: Ed Kolis ]

[Suicide Junkie]

Value improvement plants:
Planetary Radiation Filter: +1% minerals, -2% rads per year.
Planetary Neutron Pump: -2% minerals, -1% organics, +2% rads per year.
Organics Seeding Project: -1% minerals, +1% organics, -1% rads per year


The cost=size³ for ships and bases with constant maintenance is now in place.
Bases range in size from 1000 to 4000 kt.
More debugging going on...
Now the mounts are in, and the maintenance scales right. Mounts usable on weapons and non-weapons...

Almost time to hit the components, and then cleanup afterwards.

Preview at:
http://imagemodserver.mine.nu/Miscel...jmod_alpha.zip

[ January 04, 2004, 00:39: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]

[dumbluck]

Originally posted by dumbluck:
You know, it's pathetic how I get these Ideas for the AoW mod, then the Mod Monsters like SJ think of them themselves, but implement them better...

sometimes I wonder why I'm even bothering...

I didn't mean to imply that you were STEALING my ideas, merely that you independently came up with the same ideas as mine, but implemented them better. Just a bit of self-depricating humor for you...

by the way, I can't wait to play this game...

[ January 04, 2004, 15:44: Message edited by: dumbluck ]

[Suicide Junkie]

BTW, the unchoosable racial trait colony tech thing didn't pan out.

Instead, I've gone with 2500-point racial traits for "Rock/ice/gas natives"
You should have to make some fairly big sacrifices to take a second livable surface... I'm also certain that more balancing will be needed in that area.

Shields, I've decided, will have four variants;
- Phased vs Non-phased
- Fully Leaky vs Semi-leaky
The first is obvious, the second not so.

What I have at the moment is "Shields" -> "Semi-leaky" and "Deflector shields" -> "fully leaky"

The deflectors have shield and crystalline effect of 2-14 points depending on tech level, at 40kt each.
The shields have 20-100 shield points and 4-20 regen per turn, per 40kt.

Combat sensors and ECM are downgraded to 5-15% effects, but I'll probably add more levels and use "add-on" components to boost their power a little bit.

Racial combat bonuses have tighter limits, and the base to-hit is only 60% -3%/square.

There will be no weapon mounts like in regular SE4, so damage will remain manageable with respect to the deflector shielding physics.
There will, of course, be some weapons with large punch and long reload or large size.
Heavy hits tend to overload and pierce shields, while small hits will tend to feel the full effect of the deflector's absorption %.

Mixing up weapons is also a known way to weaken shields.
Alternating size and damage types can reduce the effectiveness of shielding. Only during repeated hits from the same weapon will a shield reach its theoretical potential.

[spoon]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
Instead, I've gone with 2500-point racial traits for "Rock/ice/gas natives"
You should have to make some fairly big sacrifices to take a second livable surface... I'm also certain that more balancing will be needed in that area.

Does this mean you have to spend 2500 points for your first (required) one? Unless you hand out some free points (Advanced Traits can cost "negative" points) this up front cost might be somewhat limiting.

[Suicide Junkie]

At the moment, there is "Naturalists" at -3000 points for 60% of normal planet space.
Plus "Endemic Wastefulness" which doubles supply use at -2000 points.

[Fyron]

Those are in no way free points SJ. 2500 points required to even play is going to rule out 0 point games as an option, and make 2000 point games really tight... The point is to not be allowed to take the other colony tech traits at all. You have to research the other colony techs, not start off with them.

[ January 04, 2004, 17:16: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

[Suicide Junkie]

Fyron, you make it sound like reducing racial characteristics is impossible.
Heaven forbid that people would ever reduce an important characteristic or take a penalty trait in order to buy something else!

Taking Naturalists in order to buy another colony tech is quite reasonable, for example.
You double your colonizable worlds, and using 60% of them gives you 20% more facility slots, 500 racial points, a weaker homeworld and you spend twice as much on colony ships.

BTW:
I'm not too worried about things like "everybody chose rock".
Empires typically put their borders at the system level, and that one player that chose gas isn't going to be welcome in most systems. You'll still have to fight for the territory before you can colonize it.

[ January 04, 2004, 20:15: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]

[Ed Kolis]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
Mixing up weapons is also a known way to weaken shields.
Alternating size and damage types can reduce the effectiveness of shielding. Only during repeated hits from the same weapon will a shield reach its theoretical potential.

Where in the heck did you get that from? If you can explain that then you must really know more about SE4 than even Aaron does!

[Suicide Junkie]

Not regular shields, but the leaky shields.

Since each hit generates shield points, you'll want to alternate your fire with a heavy hull hitter, then a smaller shield sapper to clear the way for the next hull hitter.

Hrm... mixing large and small wouldn't really work, except for the partial damage effect.
If you have a low-efficiency heavy weapon, and a high efficiency small weapon, it might work...

60 hitpoint armor...
90 damage Heavy weapon... size x
4x30 damage light weapon... size x total

Alone, the light weapons can't hurt the armor.
1) 30 hull damage, 30 shields
2) ditto
3) ditto
...
Total, 30 partial damage, 30 shields, enemy never dies.
ZERO damage per x Kt

With all heavies, you get
1) 30 hull, 90 shields, 1 armor destroyed
2) 30 hull, 30 shields
3) 0 hull, 90 shields, 1 armor destroyed
4) 0 hull, 0 shields
Total, 120 hull damage, per 4 tonnage x's
30 damage per x Kt

With alternating, you get...
Two heavies, and 4 light for total 3x's of tonnage.
1H) 30 hull, +90 shields, 1 armor destroyed
2L) 0 hull, 30 shields
3L) 0, 0
4H) 30 hull, +90 shields, 1 armor destroyed
5L) 0 hull, 30 shields
6L) 0, 0
Total, 120 Hull damage, per 3 tonnage x's
40 damage per x Kt

[ January 28, 2004, 23:17: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]