Has anything really changed?

[Onomatopoeia]

Suicide Junkie said:
Just FYI:

There is an explicit SE4-style damage at range field in components.txt, so you don't have to use the formulae.

Code:

---

Weapon Space At Range Distance Increment        := 5.0

Weapon Space Min Damage At Range                :=    50 50 50 50 50 50 50 0

Weapon Space Max Damage At Range                :=    100 100 100 100 100 100 100 0

Weapon Space To Hit Modifier At Range           :=    50 45  40  35  30  25  10 0

---

This is very heartening, and so are all the other options available, but I must admit my real wish is for more weaponry options (AoE and arcing weapons).

Phoenix-D said:
SE5 has modable damage types, planet types, and unit types. SE4 does not.

When you say damage types, I assume you are talking about damage to various components and such? Could you make it so only a few specific components are targeted (i.e. a weapon that only destroys quantum and ion engines).

Another question I have then is whether some form of advanced modding or scripting language could be used to modify the game, so as to allow for things normally impossible, such as area of effect weapons, maybe even extra resources or the like.

[Suicide Junkie]

Arcing weapons? You don't often fight near black holes...

I did submit a fairly simple proposal for generalized submunitions, which would have allowed you to simulate area of effect, along with "cone of death" stuff, supply stealing shuttles going to the enemy and coming back, chain lightning type stuff and more.

[Onomatopoeia]

Suicide Junkie said:
Arcing weapons? You don't often fight near black holes...

I did submit a fairly simple proposal for generalized submunitions, which would have allowed you to simulate area of effect, along with "cone of death" stuff, supply stealing shuttles going to the enemy and coming back, chain lightning type stuff and more.

I'm not sure what you meant about the black holes, unless there is some physics point I'm missing here. I don't think I made myself clear the first time, but I mean the chain-lightning weapons you refer to.
When you say 'submit a proposal', do you mean ask Aaran for it to be implemented? Or have you found a way to introduce them into a game? Please forgive my ignorance, I don't actually own the game yet.

[Phoenix-D]

By damage types I mean things like "half to shields" "skips armor" and the like. But yeah, you could make a weapon type that only targets quantum and ion engines, leaving the other types alone.

[Suicide Junkie]

It was a suggestion to Aaron.

Basically, an addition to the damageTypes.txt file that specified additional weapons to spawn/fire when the original shot detonates. Plus formulae to determine what should be targetted and which direction the new weapons would travel in.

[boran_blok]

I have another suggestion for Aaron, use XML in the next Space Empires, building 3rd party editors is going to be soooo much easier.

[Baal]

Hear hear to weapon arcs. I like the directional damage, but I also agree that without directional weapons directional damage is a little out of place.

Also I am failing to see how you can't pack a lot of armor onto the front of your ship and leave your back defenseless. (such as it is in star fury). Allthough the benefits would probably be outweighed by the increased CPU time I think it should be an option.

Directional damage, weapons and armor placement should all be toggle options.

[PsychoTechFreak]

Is it really limited to 255 systems again?
Please tell me this is just the limit for the demo version.

Where is the true feature list with the correct values BTW? The SF page can not be right:

Large Galaxy: 100 solar systems with 15 planets each.

[Phoenix-D]

Yes, it is. However the systems are twice the size of the SE4 systems.

[PsychoTechFreak]

Aye, good. GalCiv II has the same limit of 256 systems, I did not know that before... no problem.

I just like the kind of infinite game, things like Proportions for SEIV. A mod like this would be something I'd crave for.