Aldebaran 2: Smax

[Kaboth]

Hi I've just started playing Alderbaran and I noticed both the peacemakers and Universality have tech cost changes rather than research rate changes.

Just interested to know your reseasoning for picking the tech cost change rather than a research rate change?

[GeoModder]

Edited: the whole line of Planetlover landbases is ready now.

[GeoModder]

Well, how about this?

[Darsnan]

Nice - I like it! Good job GeoModder!


D

[GeoModder]

Heheh, the easy part is done... here are the seabases

If only someone had empty perimeter/tachyon pics...
Guess I have to make them myself.

[smacksim]

Awesome. Nice work GeoModder! Attach the file when you get a chance so we can incorporate them into the next update....2.1.0. Really nice!

As to the above poster r/e research rates vs. %penalties. The way I did it doesn't show up in the SE table as added clutter, is more analog (can be tweaked to variations smaller than 10%), and, well, cause, why not ?

[Kaboth]

About the Angels

Smacksim I was wondering a few things about how the Data Angels act in the Alderbaran mod:

I remember somone on these forums once telling me that in SMAX the probe rating is bugged so if you get + 4 probe (as the angels easily can with their free covert ops centre and +2 probe original rating), their probe rating for new probes only acts as 0 or +1. This is untested by me but I was told by a reputable forum poster.

I would say that the Angels probe rating would need to be lowered to prevent the bug or the covert ops centre effect lowered but it seems the covert ops centre now has a new effect which seems to have little relation to the Angels faction agenda. Should they be given a more appropriate ability instead?

The Angels datalink entry also states they get free covert ops centre upon discovery of the seeker disturbance yet that tech doesn't even give access to covert ops centre normally, a different one does.

This mod is still in beta testing so perhaps these things are yet to be looked at or perhaps I've overlooked something, I admit I havn't played it in great detail yet.

[smacksim]

Thanks Kaboth, for the feedback. That's just the sort of thing that makes it faster to develop. I've kept all the original factions 'as is' except for their starting techs, which had to be changed to match the Aldebaran tech tree. The Covert Ops center being tied to a different tech than originally leads to the mis-blurb you noticed. I'll have to update that. The facility is the same. facility behaviour is unchangeable, for better or worse.

As to the Probe Team rollover bug. Yes, it's real. Yes, the Angels will be able to rollover in Aldebaran. They can in Smax as well. However, there are currently more ways to increase the probe rating in the Aldebaran SE table than in Smax, which has caused me a little concern anyways. I spread out the probe rating increases to make the various SE choices more attractive to the AI factions that think probe rating is 'what it's all about'. IE, they take SE choices that help them in other ways just because they 'think', 'Hey, I can improve my probe rating by taking the Controlled SE choice', etc.. But it does create various issues, as you've noted.

Currently, I've noticed that while my above SE nudging does help the AI make decent choices, it's not imperative. They will take choices that are not in their native preference, so I've been preparing to phase out the probe bonuses from the SE table, testing as I do so. In fact, much of my play testing currently focuses on balancing the SE table further, as well as making sure that the various factions (All 32 of them!) can navigate the SE table, are not crippled, and make decent tech choices as the game proceeds.

Again, thanks for the feedback, which is dead on. Any other suggestions, critique, or just observations are very welcome

-Smack

[Kaboth]

Smacksim,
I'm glad to have helped. I never actually played the Angels in SMAX; it always seemed pointless do to that probe rating rollover bug. Once you remove many of the probe ratings from the SE table perhaps the Angels should have 1 point of probe rating removed. It lowers their faction ideology strength but at least in the mid-lategame they won't be hampered with the rolllover bug. Give them some other ability to copensate for the loss probe rating.

Alternatively leaving the probe ratings on SE choices that angels wouldn't find appealing or could even be unable to pick might be wise.

Recently I've been playing the Conciousness; the SE choice of paranoia and laiz faire seems to be very powerful in the early game. The negative police rating is cancelled out. A +1 economy rating is gained as is +4 efficiency (PARADIGM ECONOMY). Nor do they suffer the industry hit. Combined with +2 research makes really fast tech. Their only negative remains their natural slow growth.

[smacksim]

Leaving the Probe ratings on non-Angel SE choices seems like the best of those choices, but it is a relatively small issue compared to the other motivations behind the SE table. I do not plan on changing any of the original factions at all (other than updating to match tech trees). This is so that players can play their favorite faction from Smax and try to do so without adjusting their basic strategies (good luck!). It brings a sense of familiarity to the wildly different world. A Morganite can say 'I know I'll have support issues, but all I need is a single Economy boosting SE choice ---> Aha, Lassaiz Faire will work', etc.. It's nice to know you are not playing a 'version' of a faction, but rather the beast itself.

[Kaboth]

Fair enough smacksim; the original factions are well known and reasonably balanced.

About the Angels I just want to clear this up:

If I avoid any SE choices that affect my probes but reach the tech that places covert op centres in alll bases (It gives a +2 probe effect to all new probes right?), will the new probes created from the ops centre bases experience the rollover bug? Could I sell the covert ops centre in bases?

Or is it only when SE probe rating adjustments combined with natural probe rating exceeds 3 that the rollover bug occurs? If so then altering the SE choices should work great. Do any other society effects suffer a similar rollover bug?

[smacksim]

I don't know . I've hardly played the Angels that much. All I do know, from reading discussions, is that it's fairly easy for them to roll-over. I would think that it would also be easy for the Believers. I think the rollover is probe rating above 4.

AFAIK, the rollover effect doesn't occur with other SE categories. I know for sure that Efficiency doesn't roll over. I'm fairly sure of the rest.

The problem you suggest: +2 faction Probe, +2 free-fac Probe, makes it highly likely that you'll experience rollover with the Angels no matter what you do, or which game you play. Pretty silly of Firaxis. It's a glaring bug.

G'luck!

[Lord Nword]

I guess i could be considered a beta tester...
My prior experience is that i also enjoy mucking around wiht the files, though nothing quite this ambitious has ever resulted

I'm just gonna state some format fixes for the various .txt s...

For the text for when opposing alien factions try to contact each other (I'm talking about the two new ones), there is still a line at the end that talks about tearing out mandibles.... which the homo galacticus are clearly lacking... (in the usual sense of the word, it would be tearing out a person's entire jaw bone )

For the following Techs, (in the datalinks commentary) the person the commentary is attributed to, can be separated from the last line; make's a more uniform format *shrug*
i.e.

Commentary here. Blah. Blah. Blahblah. --The Name here

needs to be changed to

Commentary here. Blah. Blah. Blahblah.

--The Name here

Techs:
Antimatter Applications
Arboreal Beginnings
Collective Projections (i suggest changing the name to --Goethe - Faust to denote the fact that Faust is a work of fiction instead of a first name, as Goethe, Faust implies)
Gravitons Are
Planetweapons
Robotics
Sentient Algorithms (add an extra return)
Structural Frontiers
Tacit Controls
Telekinetic Defenses
The Planet Pill

The following names in commentaries should be edited for clarification of what is a name, and what is a work of writing
(Tech, then name correction)
Human Ecology -- Arthur C. Clarke - Childhood's End
Planetary Metaphysics same as previous
Social Controls same as previous

If you'd rather I just do this mundane work and upload the .txt or something, just tell me....

Also, do we still need a good icon for the game?
I could try making it (though i don't recommend myself....)
A good program for making Icons (ok it's really basic i guess) is Icon Edit Pro (google it)

*goes back to playing the game*

[#endgame]

One other suggestion:

Random faction selection (the third preset) causes the game to crash and keep crashing until you delete your Alpha Centauri.ini file. My guess it's to do with the number of alien factions there are now. Recomment replacing the option with a preset for the Aldebaran factions and changing the relevant .pcx file to update the menu.

[Lord Nword]

On a whim, I checked the Alpha.ini file for anything regarding Alien factions... nothing there...

but it might be worth it to compare a working Alpha.ini file with a crashing one...