Modified alpha(x).txt

[livid imp]

What modifications do you make to your alpha(x).txt file to spice up the game?

[Jamski]

None, zero, zip, niente, keine, not a sausage.

-Jam

[GeoModder]

I like to tinker with the tech tree and SE settings, but just for scenario building. And since hearing about Darsnan's and Googlie's 'extra' units, I'm gonna incorporate those as well.

[Skanky Burns]

I use similar changes to Jamski.

[Darsnan]

I like to continually throw curve balls at myself, modifying the alphax.txt and the AI via the Scenario Editor. The best of these editations I then make into Challenges I feel worthy of sharing with everyone else.
Some of the things I'd recommend to others is as follows:

1. Googlie's Probe Cruiser mod. Simply add the following line to the #UNITS Section of your alphax.txt file(and increment the numeral below the "#UNITS" line by one). The AI's in your SP's will then build Probe Cruisers! I cannot recommend this modification enough !
Cruiser Probe Ship, Cruiser, Probe Team, Scout, 11, 0, 0, DocInit, -1, 00000000000000000000000000

2. Building custom maps and then randomly playing on them. If you understand how the AI effectively attacks you, you can build maps accordingly to the AI's advantage.

3. What I have done for more enjoyable SP play is to change the line under the #RESOURCEINFO Section in my alphax.txt file for Boreholes to the following:

Borehole Square, 1, 6, 6, 0,


This then gives Boreholes a nutrient bonus. If you then build custom maps per step 2 above, and then pepper them with randomly placed Boreholes, the AI's you enlist for an SP game will employ the boreholes effectively, meaning they will get a much nicer mid-game boost than if they were left otherwise....

4. Formers planting forests. Change the number of turns to plant forests to 5, instead of 4 turns. Here I'm simply trying to attenuate the humans advantage of the "Forest and Forget" approach.

Some ideas I use. Hopefully you'll find them usefull as well!

D

[TimeTraveler]

I noticed that on these forums people have expressed their preference toward getting Centauri Ecology and Industrial Automation as soon as possible so as to acquire Formers and Supply Crawlers. I wonder. What would happen if both unit types (and some real early terraform improvements) instead had no prerequisites? ...and perhaps made them a little more expensive instead?

I for one have yet to try such a modification, since I strated my current game shortly making this realization.

[Dis]

Originally posted by Jamski
None, zero, zip, niente, keine, not a sausage.

-Jam

ditto

I never use mods either. It just feels more natural to play the game the way the designers wanted it.

but speaking of mods, are there any mods that can modify the plot and other major things in SMAC? Namely fungus production. Is there a way to get rid of fungus? I know you can design maps without fungus, but it will still appear anyways as part of the plot and because of pollution.

[Alinestra Covelia]

I use the original SNAC (Shining's AC mod) as far as base costs go and tech tree.

I especially liked the way that Shining spread out the terraform options amongst the techs. There is no longer any "useless" techs as per OptiCom.

I eliminated helicopter units entirely from my game.

Mineral boosting improvements are now available earlier on, but then so is the attendant ecodamage.

I tweaked the SEs so that factions with substantial penalties would not then have them exacerbated by choosing their SE of choice. This was particularly beneficial to the Spartans, who normally have a hideous Industry penalty. I gave Power an econ penalty and reduced the industrial penalty. Planned SE now has a planet penalty.

A few other small things, but that's what I'm doing.

[Vev]

Mods are good for trying out other strategies besides the usual tried and tested. E.g. Foresting, crawlering, pop-booming, choppering ... etc

Nice when you want to just spend a day playing a SP game where AI can be competitive.

[#endgame]

I'd like to use the 'something completely different mod', but I haven't.

NUCLEAR MINDWORMS!

[GeoModder]

You can make your own, you know

There are two ways posted in that thread to create those...

Besides, that mod doesn't exist (yet), you need to ask Obstructor if he made any progress on that.

[Zeiter]

I recently tried increasing the cost of satellites, decreasing the cost of The Bulk Matter Transmitter, doubling the cost of supply crawlers, tweaking some combat bonuses, enabling the council to be called every 10 years, doubling the attack strength of conventional missles, and changing the SE settings in various ways. Made for an interesting game. Perhaps we should always have crawlers cost double so that it is harder to "crawler whore", forcing you to use crawlers more selectively. Also, if there was a way to erase the option of using crawlers to rush SP's, then I would do that. Building SP's before the AI would be much more difficult that way, and would make for a much more competitive game.

Also, I have a question: Has anyone ever seen the AI "accidentally" pop-boom? I think in one of my transcend games, Deidre had quite a few creches, and she must have switched to demo/planned for a while, becuase she had size 14 bases in no time. Kinda took me by surprise, really. If there was a way to encourage the building of creches, then the chances of the AI pop-booming would be much greater. Maybe putting the faction's priority on build would make it more likely to build creches. Any other ideas? Because, if we could get the AI to pop-boom, at least sporadically and accidentally, then the AI would be much more of a challenge.

[Patashu]

Decreased chance of global warming happening to the point where it probably won't ever crop up.

[Mart]

I mainly fix bugs those mentioned in SMAC Academy. I like to enable sonar buoy, heavy transport ability. stuff like that.

[Darsnan]

Originally posted by mart7x5
I mainly fix bugs those mentioned in SMAC Academy. I like to enable sonar buoy, heavy transport ability. stuff like that.

What is your experience with the "Heavy Transport" ability? Does the AI employ them properly? I tried giving the AI's Heavy Land Transports in a recent SP Challenge over at CGN, but the results were disappointing.
Also, for enhanced SP play, I am really enjoying giving Boreholes a nutrient bonus. I then seed preformed maps with boreholes, and the AI uses them, and gets a nice mid-game boost from it!


D