How can I eliminate Sea Colonies?

[wesley32]

Is there anyway to prevent the creation of sea colony pods (and therefore sea colonies)? I want to create a scenario with only land bases.

[Didymus]

I don't think so. The way the workshop works, if you can get foils, you can put colony pods on them. I presume you want to allow both foils and colony pods.

What you can do is, make sea tiles useless. I.e.,
no nutrients, no energy, no minerals. Then make improvements (mine/kelp/tidal thingy) take 200 turns each, and/or require Threshhold of Transcendance to build.

I see two problems with my suggested approach. (1) The AI may try to build sea bases anyway. (2) You'd need to know how to do all this, and I haven't a clue.

Of course, you could presumably make all sea tiles 'ocean depths' and not shelf tiles. Then only the Pirates can build there, and obviously they would not be in such a scenario. The problem with this idea is, if the water level changes, you could end up with shelf tiles again.

Hope this helps.

[Black Sunrise]

It's possible to edit things so that the foil chassis becomes available with a different technology, like super-tensile solids. Then you wont have sea bases till very late in the game.
I think even then you could put a colony pod on a needlejet chassis, though. So human players could still make sea bases, though I doubt the AI would have the ingenuity.
Black Sunrise

[mark13]

I know that somewhere in the alpha.txt file is a basic units section, which includes Sea Colony Pods. I'm not certain about this by any stretch of the imagination, but if you delete the Sea Colony Pod line, it may just prevent the AI from building them. You would, however, have to rely on your own willpower to not build one yourself.
[This message has been edited by mark13 (edited October 18, 2000).]

[Vultur]

To eliminate definetly sea colony pods you have two methods: the first is to switch the selection "Colony Pods can't built" in scenario rules and give enough normal pods to all the faction. The second is to put as required tech for CPods "Deleted" (you can find in "weapon" in alphax.txt) and "Deleted" as tech for Sea Colony Pod in "Units". I don't know but maybe can work. This could prevent also Gravship Pod in late game. If you want you can add other buildable earth pods changing the chassis and adding in "Units" part.
Example:
Speeder Pod,Speeder,Colony Pod,Scout,8,0,0,DocMob,-1,00000000000000000000000000

[n.c.]

Make the following change in the alpha.txt file:

Pressure Dome, 8, 0, TranT, Disable, Submersion/Resources

Sea colonies will not be possible until irrelevant.

edit: of course, you will be in deep sh!t if sea levels rise.
[This message has been edited by n.c. (edited October 20, 2000).]