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smacksim
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Deputy Chairman of the Council of Lords of Gaia
Feb 2004
time: 00:37
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quote:
Originally posted by #endgame
So no-one has tried ModMan 1.00? Oh well. I can confirm that 1.01 works on Win2k and therefore probably WinXP. Smacksim, what's the state of workingness on WinME? |
Ok, ok! I'll go crash ModMan in a minute. But you are releasing 1.01 soon anyways, so why bother? I'm curious though to see if I can break the new toy. 
quote:
Originally posted by #endgame
I'd personally like to see all standard factions for Aldebaran displayed and 3 SAI ones, rather than the current version.
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Done. I did also confirm that 10 factions is max in the custom factions space of alphax.txt. Darn. At least 3 tempting morsels of SAI will beckon....
quote:
Originally posted by #endgame
I'd really like to see infantry transports be able to get carrier deck. Imagine the potential for noodles and copters post magtube.
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Someone's getting excited... I don't know if the AI would use this. I expect not, so it would be a mod for pbems with all humans. Everything Aldebaran has to pass the 'Will the AI use it?' test, almost no matter how much fun for the player. As Darsnan said, it's a nice Multiplayer tool. Let's toss it into our pbem perhaps....
quote:
Originally posted by #endgame
Also, what about flying transports with carrier deck? Double the range of a noodle, but kamikaze it since it can't get home without a transport to catch it.
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See above. Flying PB launchers would rock though. Hey, let's see how much fun the carriers and subs are before putting nukes on noodles.
I've got quite far with the help text stuff. I'll take a little break to play with ModMan, then finish the updates for 2.0.6 and publish. Later, if I have time, I want to finish the graphics for the main menu, using the nice graphics I got permission to use (see top of thread). I've already changed a few menu items to make it clear that it's Aldebaran. A splash/menu will be really definitive.
-Smack
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smacksim
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Deputy Chairman of the Council of Lords of Gaia
Feb 2004
time: 00:37
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Release of 2.0.6, with 2.1 to follow in a few days if ModMan is as close as I think...then it's a one-click affair from here on out.
2.0.6 update
- help files improved significantly (thanks to Darsnan especially)
- Peacekeepers were too powerful starting with Human Ecology, thats been changed to Tacit Controls
- Pushed Tree Farms a little earlier
- Tied Hybrid forests to Bioadaptive Resonance instead of Chiron's Legacy
- All the changes from 2.0.5 still apply
I tried to add everyone to the credits.txt, but changes crash the credits. Is this by design Sid? I bet it is.
Aldebaran 2.0.6 Textfiles only (get the graphics from 2.0.5 if you are just joining us)
 Attachment: aldebaran_textfiles.zip
This has been downloaded 2 time(s).
Last edited by smacksim on 19-07-2004 at 14:49
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Chaunk
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CEO of Morgan Industries, ACDG3
Apr 2002
time: 05:37
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Well I've now played through all the new Aldebran factions except the nauticon as I loathe sea factions... A few notes I've made:
Syndicate have no -1 industry penalty. They actually seem quite well balanced without it, as their hurry penalty is huge... I guess you put it there because of the ease they have to get to +2 econ?
Outlaws are hard work! -2 police means no police units... I'm used to that as Morgan, but there I'm raking in cash. As the outlaws I seem to be getting squat!
Universality and Lovers are too similar methinks. They both seem to have this "go green!" aproach. Urgh! Not my cup of tea, probably more for you eco warrior types who like to play Gaians and drink nettle tea 
The Galactics are great fun Enjoying playing them, especially with Marr and H'minee telling me to fare poorly
Nauticons not played so can't comment (Note, probably won't play either...)
It would be nice to have a good research faction too, but I think most of the factions seem to be "powered down" rather than up. (Fair assesment or not?).
The Caretakers & Usurpers are more than holding their own against the super ai. Seem to have a good balance there. Of the super ai though, how the Outlaws don't win every game is beyond me... +4 effic and +2 econ? Yes please!
I'm starting to get used to the game. I've compiled a text file with a few beeline techs in it (All builder stuff so far, but then I'm a die hard builder so that's not really surprising!) Currently trying to figure out which techs are really helpful in the early game.
Perhaps when we start our PBEM, a team game would be a good choice. Say 2v2 or some such? Then we can compare notes with someone else and pick up the other persons strats etc.
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smacksim
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Deputy Chairman of the Council of Lords of Gaia
Feb 2004
time: 00:37
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I accidentally left extra Custom Factions in the alphax.txt. (for a total of 14 when the max is 10) This only seems to cause a problem if you choose 'random factions'. You can just trim off the last 4 SAI from that section. I'll make a 2.0.7 update shortly that includes that fix.
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Darsnan, I'll get a succession SP game going if we can get a third player. Chaunk? Khslinky? endgame? GeoModder?
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I played with the custom units a little more, getting ready to re-make the scenarios. I now have the SAI start with Mega-Formers (1-4-2 Clean Buffered Fungi....), which can't be retro-engineered, even by them.
Added a submarine probe team upon discovery of Subplanet Structures (and subs).
Added a cute little Planet Buster with some extra kick, but it's fairly late game.
Am thinking of modifying the Units.pcx to make some custom units with their own graphics. This is fairly back-burner though.
Am working on the Galactic counterpart, nominally called the 'Colonists' who arrive a bit late on the scene from Galactic Home Planets HQ thinking they were coming to a planet prepared for them by the Galactics. Instead, the Galactics want the planet for themselves, so the Colonists are actually more sympathetic to those from Chiron...well, sympathetic is stretching it. It's their planet by law, or so they say.....
-Smack
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Chaunk
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CEO of Morgan Industries, ACDG3
Apr 2002
time: 05:37
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Yep I'll definatly play a succession game. Sounds like a great idea 
I guess one of my problems with the universality is that they're not internally consistant. At least not to my mind. Techshare 3 doesn't seem to sit with tech cost 200% for me. One implies a good research faction, the other denys it.
Also the Univ & lovers have many similar bonuses (+1 planet, funugs bonuses for both, robust planet or impunity green, psi bonus to attack etc.). The lovers seem fine as they are to be honest, but the universality seem to be the planetality. Perhaps getting rid of their psi bonus, robust planet and thier tech cost increase, and replacing that with say an aditional +1 planet and -1 support perhaps.
Darsnan will probably be better able to comment than I, eco-weenie that he is 
I'd like to call the Peaceniks for the PBEM too if that's ok. If someone else is dying to be them, then I'll go galactic (Unless the new faction gets my juices flowing so to speak!)
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smacksim
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Deputy Chairman of the Council of Lords of Gaia
Feb 2004
time: 00:37
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Hey Chaunk, read the backstory! I'm just kidding. But here's what happened to Zak...
The great Chiron Wars were commencing, planetbusters were being launched. The factions had found a new planet in Taurus, orbiting the Star Aldebaran (40 light years from Sol, btw). Anyways, Zak had the great idea that he could 'enter the algorithm' and create a horrific weapon out of the Hunter-Seeker program. An energy vortex of a computer virus, it would grow and grow, taking down MorganNet, PlanetNet, and perhaps even FungusNet .
As the PlanetBusters were in the air, he rushed the project and it backfired, taking down UniversityNet and unleashing a surge of electric and psychic energy. Zak was in a coma for several years on the emergency journey to Aldebaran (Chiron was nuked). Upon awakening he revealed personality change, but more importantly, psychic ability and connection with planetmind. Many experiments followed. The 'net' result of which is that while Zak, as a leader, abhores research now, he and many University people are tied into Planetmind, whether they like it or not. Thus, the Universality disdains research, they learn most everything through the fungal networks anyways.
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It would be nice to have a couple more builder factions....how to do this? The Syndicate is definately a builder or sorts. Perhaps another splinter group of the University? One that hates the transformation of their countrymen into Planet-loving ascetics? Throw out some ideas.
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Succession game is a go. What faction should we play? Peaceniks, Outlaws, Planetlovers, Syndicate? I'll get one started and link it back here later tonight. Right now I'd better bundle up 2.0.7.
Aldebaran 2.0.7 update will have graphics for the Colonists so Chaunk can get rid of the Nauticon . They'll have to be loaded 'by hand' though, as I want to keep 3 SAI in the main menu. If anyone needs a hand with how to do that, give me a PM.
Aldebaran 2.0.7:
- Colonists Faction added: 6 .pcx graphics files and 2 .txt files
- Custom Units updated: Submarine Probe, Better Graphics for a few units, Mega-Former given to all SAI factions.
- Note the changes here will make this backwards-incompatible. IE, if you load the new SAI factions, you must have the new alphax.txt which contains their new units
- ETM: 23:00
-Smack
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smacksim
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Deputy Chairman of the Council of Lords of Gaia
Feb 2004
time: 00:37
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I'm getting excited. Photoshop is so much **** fun! I just made a few new factions and am slowly working my way back through the original 7 Aldebarans to improve their look. Let me introduce the Colonists and a little updated look for good old Colonel Awen Llavella of the Outlaws.
The Colonists were originally more like the Galactics, but I agree with Chaunk that another more builderly faction would be fun. Now you can play 7 with no aquatic faction Chaunk!
 Attachment: faction-intros.gif
This has been downloaded 51 time(s).
Last edited by smacksim on 21-07-2004 at 04:26
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smacksim
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Deputy Chairman of the Council of Lords of Gaia
Feb 2004
time: 00:37
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Mystery Food Fight breaks out on Aldebaran : newsflash on Darsnan's and Smack's debate
Oh no, the Mystery Food Fight begins anew! (Smack tosses a Xenobannana at Darsnan) 
I'll try to explain myself a little more. As I got to changing things like facilities, I realized that while I couldn't change what they do, I could change how they were used, and maybe even how people thought about them. Satellites in Smac have always irked me. There just is no evidence or even suspicion that we'll ever grow food in space to eat on the ground, let alone produce minerals or energy. Now I know that the satellites in Smac are actually supposed to be on captured asteroids. That makes a bit more sense. In that case maybe they should have been called asteroid mining facilites, or meteor mines. Even so, it seems a highly unlikely scenario that material or energy would be worth harvesting from space junk or solar winds. Still, 'Satellite', especially when a ground base builds it, sounds like an earth satellite. A small, delicate piece of machinery orbiting earth.
So I thought: 'Where would we really go to find more space to grow food, space to grow energy, and sources of minerals?' We'd mine underground. Perhaps Chiron has incredibly extensive cave systems that gave them the idea. Who knows? But it seems more likely. The real crux of the matter was how to apply that scenario to the 'satellite' facilites in Smac. I chose Matter/Energy Transmission as the key idea. So food can be grown miles underground with light from surface collectors, or by chemo-phagy of underground minerals. The food then can be zapped back to the surface. Likewise, mineral production would increase because of the ease of transporting the raw minerals to centralized production facilities.....you get the idea. It's not a real answer to the Smac mystery of Satellites, but its a nice change I think.
The humor then comes from people's fear of eating underground food, much like people's fear of eating genetically modified foods today. Much of the underground food is based on fungus. Fungus-pops-icles, Fungus-Breadtrees, etc.. All such food is referred to as Mystery Food or Xenobannanas, or something else Pythonesque. As I said, I'm open to suggestions. Clearly 'Mystery Food' is distracting to some 
I guess I don't yet get the Cornucopia Machine idea... I'm open minded on it though. Somehow reminds me of Smorgaasbord and all-you-can eat joints.
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Darsnan
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New Syracuse, Beta Prime
Dec 2001
time: 00:37
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quote:
Originally posted by smacksim
Mystery Food Fight breaks out on Aldebaran : newsflash on Darsnan's and Smack's debate
Oh no, the Mystery Food Fight begins anew! (Smack tosses a Xenobannana at Darsnan) |
And Darsnan tosses back all of his "rotten" xeno tomatoes he's been saving up! 
quote:
Originally posted by smacksim
I'll try to explain myself a little more. As I got to changing things like facilities, I realized that while I couldn't change what they do, I could change how they were used, and maybe even how people thought about them. Satellites in Smac have always irked me. There just is no evidence or even suspicion that we'll ever grow food in space to eat on the ground.
So I thought: 'Where would we really go to find more space to grow food, space to grow energy, and sources of minerals?' We'd mine underground. Perhaps Chiron has incredibly extensive cave systems that gave them the idea. Who knows? But it seems more likely. The real crux of the matter was how to apply that scenario to the 'satellite' facilites in Smac. I chose Matter/Energy Transmission as the key idea. So food can be grown miles underground with light from surface collectors, or by chemo-phagy of underground minerals. The food then can be zapped back to the surface. The humor then comes from people's fear of eating underground food, much like people's fear of eating genetically modified foods today. Much of the underground food is based on fungus. Fungus-pops-icles, Fungus-Breadtrees, etc.. All such food is referred to as Mystery Food or Xenobannanas, or something else Pythonesque. As I said, I'm open to suggestions. Clearly 'Mystery Food' is distracting to some
I guess I don't yet get the Cornucopia Machine idea... I'm open minded on it though. Somehow reminds me of Smorgaasbord and all-you-can eat joints. |
Or maybe SMorgansborg? 
I like the idea of food being grown underground, and have even played with giving boreholes nutrients as the AI's will then be more inclined to use boreholes pre-placed on a map. I also agree that food would probably be more economically viably grown underground as opposed to via space supplied, and that said food would probably be fungus based.
From my observation a lot of the quotes for various techs and facilities have a more subtle approach to them, and are not necessarily what they appear to be at face value. Hence my thought of a "cornucopia machine". Translated from the Latin it simply means "horn of plenty" and is commonly associated with feasts and harvests, something that this traditional association can be used to advantage: from a marketing and sales perspective this would be a much more viable approach than naming the fungus-based food products "mystery food" (which food would you rather eat - "Mystery Food"tm or food from the Morgan Foodline's "Cornucopia Machine"?). The end result is the same - its simply how you package and market it is the difference. In the associated tech blurb maybe put something to the effect of "don't read the fine print on this one, because your gonna want to think that just maybe there are some things recycling tanks shouldn't recycle....".
D
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smacksim
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Deputy Chairman of the Council of Lords of Gaia
Feb 2004
time: 00:37
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quote:
Originally posted by GeoModder
Your teacher is wrong, there is a lot of energy to collect from the sun. If it is worthwhile on Earth's surface, it is certainly worthwhile in space. The amount might not be so much as from fossil fuel sources, but it goes on and on for as long as necessary, which cannot be said from aforementioned fossil fuels....
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All true. It's not worthwhile on Earth...yet. The cost of producing and maintaining solar cells is a net energy loss, or at the very least is less efficient than a watermill. And the sun is worth harvesting, of course! But not from some dim vantage point. The futurist measurement of a civilization's advancement passes through a point at which the civilization is only limited by the total mass/energy of their sun. Then of their galaxy, etc.. One day we'll harvest the sun, but I really doubt anyone will do it with expensive-to-launch, fragile, too-distant satellite-satellites. It's like trying to charge a train battery by pointing a mirror at a distant firefly. More juice, please!
Edit: Not that I like the futurist 'scale of advancement' much. But it is thought provoking.
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19-07-2004 08:10
. I'd better finish off the help text stuff. Chaunk, you'll be glad to know that the aliens no longer request techs that don't exist in order to speak.
. Peacenik rampant rabbit populations under control. 95 percent of weapons packages report the correct text. And a few more things.
I hadn't really finished matching each factions SE choices to the new model. That was easy to clean up. Basically I'd mislabeled 'Green' as an economic choice rather than a protocol choice. Found a couple other niggling faction mistakes too, and squashed them. It doesn't break the game, interestingly. It only makes SE choices a little weird. But that's history. The new textfiles will be up in a few hours.
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