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**Illuminatus** · March 22, 2009, 14:16

Modding

24) Q: Where can I find some new factions?

A: AC-Creation subforum contains threads with independently created factions, faction creation tools, tutorials, and other resources for customization.

25) Q: How do I create new factions?

A: The alpha.txt and alphax.txt files detail the mechanics of this process. The Faction Editor included in SMAX streamlines the process (but is buggy). By opening the faction specific .txt files you can manually alter stats and descriptions. Custom factions in SMAC must replace one of the original seven under the #FACTIONS heading in the alpha.txt file. Custom factions in SMAX go under the #CUSTOMFACTIONS heading in the alphax.txt file. In both cases the faction should be listed twice and separated with a comma.

26) Q: Q: Help, my custom factions locking up my faction-selection screen!

A: Make sure your factions are installed in the proper locations in the alphax.txt file, and you're following Faction Editing and translation guidelines. The game may potentially freeze if you have more than 7 custom factions enabled. Additionally, if you delete a custom faction which was used in the LAST game you started (and is thus list in the Alpha Centauri.ini file) the game will choke when starting. Deleting the Alpha Centauri.ini file may solve this. Sometimes SMAX can't stomach manual edits of custom faction files, in which case it is better to confine your creation to the Facedit program. If a custom faction loads cleanly in Facedit (no Terranx crashes), it should load smoothly in the game.

27) Q: How do I disable the opening movie?

A: Edit the Alpha Centauri.ini file and change the line DisableOpeningMovie=0 to 1.

28) Q: Why does the progenitor music play with all the new SMAX factions? How can I restore original music?

A: The ambient music used in SMAC/X is located in the fx folder in your SMAC directory. They are the .amb files; sset1.amb is for the Spartans, gset1.amb for the Gaians, and so forth. There is no new ambient music for the SMAX factions and the progenitor music (aset1.amb) plays for all of them (a bug in the expansion includes the Believers while under SMAX). If you wish to use ambient music from the original seven factions for the new factions, back up the aset1.amb file and replace it with a copy of one of the other .amb files, properly renamed. It's not a direct translation of the same ambient music, but it is close.

29) Q:Where can I find a mod-swapper to help with swapping alternative factions?

A: In SMAC you can: Load the factions by using the LOAD function when selecting the faction you are playing as and typing the name of the faction; or you can edit the Alpha.txt file under the line #FACTIONS to the 7 factions you want; or change the name of the factions you want to the default faction names (GAIANS, HIVE, UNIV, ect.) For SMACX you can simply add the 7 factions you want in the alphax.txt file under the line #CUSTOMFACTIONS or load them in the scenario editor, save them, and click 'add faction to game'. Also in SMACX if you wanted to have 3 sets and switch factions back and forth frequently you could replace the 7 original factions with set , the 7 new factions with set 2, and add set 3 as the custom factions.

In assisting Smacksim with his Aldebaran2 mod, #endgame got a bit carried away and wrote a generic modswapper for SMA(C/X), called ModMan, which replaced fileswatter in the Aldebaran2 package.
http://apolyton.net/forums//showthread.php?s=&threadid=118976.

30) Q: Is there a way to increases what you get from a base upgrade, like upgrading it so that century preserve gives a slightly greater eco bonus?

A: No.

31) Q: What ability flags do what in the #units (predesigned units, worms/native, battle ogres, etc) table inside alpha/alphax.txt?

A: from left-to-right:

10000000000000000000000000000 Algorithmic Enhancement
01000000000000000000000000000 Fuel Nanocells
00100000000000000000000000000 Marine Detachment
00010000000000000000000000000 Dissociative Wave
00001000000000000000000000000 Soporific Gas
00000100000000000000000000000 Slow (-1 Move, unused in game)
00000010000000000000000000000 2X Police
00000001000000000000000000000 Repair
00000000100000000000000000000 Nerve Gas
00000000010000000000000000000 Heavy Transport (+50% cargo capacity, also Unused)
00000000001000000000000000000 Trance
00000000000100000000000000000 Blink Displacer
00000000000010000000000000000 Clean Reactor
00000000000001000000000000000 Artillery
00000000000000100000000000000 Trained
00000000000000010000000000000 Fungicidal
00000000000000001000000000000 Polymorphic Encryption
00000000000000000100000000000 Empathic
00000000000000000010000000000 Antigrav Struts
00000000000000000001000000000 Comm Jammer
00000000000000000000100000000 AAA
00000000000000000000010000000 Carrier
00000000000000000000001000000 Deep Pressure Hull
00000000000000000000000100000 AIR superiority
00000000000000000000000010000 Drop Pod
00000000000000000000000001000 Amphibious
00000000000000000000000000100 Cloaked
00000000000000000000000000010 Deep Radar
00000000000000000000000000001 Super Terraformer

32) Q: Is it possible to create predesigned units with Fusion, Quantum or Singularity Reactors?

A:No, this is not possible.

33) Q: Is it possible to predesign and use units that use armor/weapons/abilites that are set to DISABLED in other parts of the Alpha?

A: Yes and they will work, the player will NOT be able to use the disabled weapon/armor/ability in the workshop after getting the predesigned unit, they will be able to build ONLY the predesigned unit exactly as its described in the Alpha.

Though the player cannot use the disabled armor/weapon/ability they can reverse engineer the unit to get other units with that armor/weapon/ability.

34) Q: How can I add armor or abilities to alien colony pods without crashing the game?

A: (Tested for both XP and Mac) Replace ACOLPOD.cvr (for PC, located in the main SMAC folder, and for Mac, located in the Caviar folder in the Add-On Data folder) with a copy of drop.cvr (for PC, located in the main SMAC folder, and for Mac, located in the Caviar folder in the Data folder) that has been renamed ACOLPOD.cvr.

35) Q: How can I reproduce music from SMAC(X) outside the game?

A: You can't. At least not easily. The music is actually a combination of short audio fragments that are combined by the game engine according to events in your game. So there is no single music file that can be copied and/or converted.

36) Q: Is there any mod/patch to change the color scheme, for making it more pleasant?

A: There is the Drab SMAC color scheme. Pink fungus is now rust colored, as well as some other basic color changes. Drab scheme Also try wgabrie's Graphics terrain mod.

**Illuminatus** · March 27, 2009, 11:36

*Game Mechanics

* Ecodamage

37) Q: How do I deal with ecodamage?

A: The short answer is every Tree Farm, Hybrid Forest, Centauri Preserve and Temple of Planet built after the first fungal increases the clean mineral limit at every base by one. Each fungal pop also increases clean minerals by one.
So you should force a pop ASAP by raising a bases mineral production above 16, then build lots of treefarms. Forcing a pop really is critical to getting the ecodamage reducing effect from treefarms.

38) Q: Whoa! My ecodamage just skyrocketed! why?

A: Atrocities cause ecodamage. The exact amount for nerve stapling and nerve gassing is unknown. However for launching a planet buster or tectonic missile the ecodamage at every base is increased by the equivalent of producing 5 more minerals. This can be offset by building 5 Centauri Preserves for every PB you intend to launch. (you can sell the CP's and rebuild them)

Also note than build the Bulk Matter Transmitter secret project increases your mineral production by 50% (instead of +2).

39) Q: I got a huge fungal bloom despite of not producing any ecodamage. Why is that?

A: In the late game, when you complete "The Voice of Planet", you trigger "The Growth Dream, which kills most of the other lifeforms on Planet". (You trigger in terms of game mechanisms. In the story line, you start The Voice of Planet right at the moment when the Growth Dream happens. This causes fungus to grow, like you would normally get from a . This is a part of the game, you can only avoid it when you refuse to win by Transcendence.

40) Q: Where can I find more about ecodamage?

A: For almost everything you ever wanted to know about ecodamage read this column:
http://apolyton.net/misc/column/175_ecodamage.shtml

* Miscellaneous

41) Q: Why is the Cloudbase Academy so powerful?

A: First of all, it gives Aerospace Complexes in all bases. They
1) They give +2 Morale bonus to air units
2) They heal air units in one turn
3) They confer +100% bonus when defending against air unit
4) They render the base and its vicinity immune to air drop
5) They allow to build orbital improvements
6) They allow to get the full benefit from orbital improvements
It also gives +2 movement points to all air units.

42) Q: Is there a limit on maximum number of bases that can be built in game?

A: Yes, it is capped at 512.

43) Q: Is there a maximum base population?

A: Yes, it is 127.

If you add a pod to a 127 population base, the base will show 128 for that turn only. On the next turn, it will show -127. On the following turn, -126.

For all other methods of growth, the game acts as if the base grew to 128 and then was reset.

44) Q: How can you starve a base to death? How do you reduce a base pop size to 1?

A: One way is to make as many citizens Specialists as is necessary so no Nutrients are being gathered outside the base square. As turns pass, you will be informed by your

Originally posted by Psych Chaplain

Our citizens are starving at $BASENAME0! Factories abandoned by hungry workers.
The base will eventually have only one citizen, which you eliminate by producing a Colony Pod.

If you feel bad about starving them, another option is to reduce Nutrient production only enough to stagnate growth, then produce only Colony Pods, hurrying them if possible, and send them off to boost other bases' population or establish new bases elsewhere.

Still another option is to convoy nutrients to another base or bases.

Of course, you could combine any or all of these methods to reduce the population even more rapidly.

45) Q: I have some questions about unit morale and the effects of children's creches.

A: Please see this thread.

46) Q: How many nutrients can I get from a land square?

A: According to tests in the scenario editor it is calculated:

* First, you get 0 nuts from an arid square, 1 from moist and 2 from rainy (including the raininess effect from condensors).
* Then add 1 for a farm, and also if in jungle. If there is a nutrient bonus, add another 2. Then you'll have a number between 0 and 6.
* Multiply this number by 1.5 and forget decimals, if you have a condensor on the square.
* Do the same if you have soil enricher in the square.
* Before the discovery of Gene Splicing (i. e. before restriction lifting), a nutrient special or a condensor lift the restriction for their square, otherwise you cannot get more than 2 nutrients per square.

For those who don't like to calculate, the table with the experimental values:

plain F S C FC SC

arid 0 1 1 - - -
moist 1 2 3 1 3 4
rainy 2 2/3 4 3 4 6

arid/nut 2 3 4 - - -
moist/nut 3 4 6 4 6 9
rainy/nut 4 5 7 6 7 10

arid/jungle 1 2 3 - - -
moist/jungle 2 2/3 4 3 4 6
rainy/jungle 2/3 2/4 6 4 6 9

arid/jungle/nut 3 4 6 - - -
moist/jungle/nut 4 5 7 6 7 10
rainy/jungle/nut 5 6 9 7 9 13

plain - no terrain enhancement
F - Farm only
S - Farm + Soil Enricher (the scenario editor allows also soil enricher without farm but I don't think it works inside the game)
C - Condensor
FC - Farm + Condensor
SC - Farm + Soil Enricher + Condensor.
nut - nutrient bonus.

If an entry has two numbers, x/y, then x is pre-restriction lifting, and y after. I didn't look at Soil Enricher before restriction lifting because Gene Splicing is in the research path for Enricher. The fact that condensors are available before restriction lifting through the Weather Paradigm secret project is one of its major strengths.

The most one thus can get from a normal square (without special luck) is 6 nutrients.

47) Q: Can a Monolith Disappear?

A: Yes. Every time a unit is enhanced at a monolith, there is a chance of vanishing. The chance increases with time from about 1 in 40 at the beginning of the game to about 1 in 20 at the end (MY 2400) of the game. There is no chance of a monolith disappearing for repair of a unit already enhanced by a monolith.

See these two posts for further information

http://www.apolyton.net/forums/showpost.php?p=5514329#post5514329

48) Q: In SMACX, I see a bunch of drones in the base screen. When I change to the "Psych" view from the "Resources" view to see where the drones are coming from, they aren't there. The base doesn't riot, even though it displays extra drones. What is going on?

A: This is a known bug. The only workarounds are either to review the Psych screen or to go to the F4 screen and select "Citizens". Otherwise, you can just wait for drone riots and correct the situation after the fact.

49) Q: Is there a way to tell if a Alien Artifact has been connected to a network node? I find it a real pain not knowing which city to send an artifact to.

A: There are two ways:

With the Alien Artifact the active unit, press {G} (go to base). The list that appears is all of your bases (and your pact-mates') on the same landmass (or on the shore of the same sea if aboard a transport, in which case the transport must be the active unit). Any with an Unlinked Node will be so indicated, and you can easily select where to send the Alien Artifact. IIRC, if you built The Universal Translator, it, too, will be indicated.

If your monitor resolution is 800x600, you can look at the facilities listed in the Base Operations Status {F4}. All (linked) nodes will be so indicated.

50) Q: Is it possible to load missiles on to a transport and create "Missile Boats?

A: You can only load missiles (and other air units) on a unit with the carrier deck ability, which is only allowed on naval transports, and becomes available with Nanometallurgy, which is late-game.

Incidentally, you can pair the carrier deck ability with the deep pressure hull to make a submarine that can launch jets...

51) Q: Is there a possibility to let units go from a seabase to an adjacent landtile without the need of a transport ship in the base?

A: Yes, a landgoing unit can move from a seabase to an adjacent landtile without the need of a transport ship if there is a friendly (from pact partner or your own faction) unit standing on the target tile. Also units with amphibious pods can of course move freely.

52) Q: What kind of production or growth bonuses does the AI get?

A: When you are playing on X DIFF, the computer gets production penalties/bonuses as follows (assuming +/- 0 INDUSTRY):

Where X =

Citizen - 130% of normal cost
Specialist - 120%
Talent - 110%
Librarian - 100%
Thinker - 80%
Transcend - 70%

What that means is that when you are playing at, say, Citizen level, you need 10 nuts or mins to complete a row in the box, but the AI needs 13.

Similarly, if you are playing at Transcend level, you need 10 nuts or mins to complete a row in a box, but the AI needs just 7.

53) Q: Can a surrendered faction sneak attack you?

A: A pacted faction may accidentally attack you if your units are stacked with another pact-mate with whom they are at war. This applies to 'regular' pactmates and submissive pactmates equally.

54) Q: Could it happen that a faction voted for you as supreme leader, only to defy the will of the Planetary Council?

A: Again, yes. Especially if you committed atrocities against them.

55) Q: I have some questions about rush buying

A: Please download the table attached in this post. Also see this, this, this and this thread.

56) Q: A faction is portrayed wrong! They are not like that.

A: Most commonly this kind of accusation arises against the Lord's Believers and the Human Hive. The Lord's Believers are intended to represent fundamentalist ideology - not christian faith. Christian motifs are just a twist on usual tropes dealing with fundamentalist groups. Also, bear in mind that the Human Hive is not meant to represent a communist society but a collectivist one.

There are differences between in-game representations, the prequel story and the trilogy of novels that followed. The disconnection between the official fiction and the game contributes to the confusion.

**Illuminatus** · March 27, 2009, 11:36

Locked until further notice due to spambot activity.

**Aliraza521** · January 25, 2016, 03:56

Then simply change the ForceOldVoxelAlgorithm to 1. Or if necessary copy ini file from original SMAC. ????

______________
Ali

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SMACX FAQ - Commonly asked Questions and Answers

SMACX FAQ - Commonly asked Questions and Answers

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