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No question summary? I'll make a sorted and organized version with some of my additions. While I am doing it, here is a list of questions for now:
Questions:
1. Are we willing to run parallel to any possible Firaxis efforts for SMAC2.
2. Do we want to fix bugs already existing in SMAC and which ones?
3. Should we develop an accompanying manual, or just ensure everything is covered by the Datalinks?
4. Are we going to use 3D graphics for leaders? If so, how construct, and using what graphics generator?
5. Should we document all interactive keystrokes via Datalinks, or in seperate notepad file?
6. What are all necessary functions in SMAC(X) so we can see what matches up against existing C4 functions?
7. Are we going to document the process of the mod so that others can follow the same path for their own mods?
8. What to do with support for other languages?
9. How are we going to generate 3D SMACX units?
10. Documentation of how the AI thinks: should it be somewhat apparent via the Python code?
11. What will we do with the format of new subroutines: follow Firaxis approach, or invent our own?
12. What is the desired option for mod: to have all relevent files imprinted onto a game?
13. We are going to need to document all sounds in SMAC(X) to include detailing where they occur. What will we do with the randomly generated music in game?
14. We will need to identify all files in SMAC(X) and detail what they stand for. How will this task be organized?
15. What to do with AI negotiation: are we going to improve for SMACX, especially base trading?
16. How may Firaxis patches for C4 impact ongoing mod and what can we do about it?
17. What will we do with the u“seless" subroutines: comment out or delete?
18. What will we do about culture/religion?
19. Should we aim for fixed border distance as in original SMAC or create options that allow modders to easily modify it?
20. For our C++/ Python subroutines, what format should we follow for consistency from subroutine to subroutine?
21. Cheating: how will it be detected, and how countered?
22. Is the progenitor storyline and factions worth including at all?
23. Should we include Civ4 diplomacy options not available in SMAC such as "Share secret project effects"?
24. Shall we reuse old graphics wherever applicable? Shall we draw new graphics to resemble the old or try and take a new direction with a new style that is still in the spirit of SMAC?
25. What shall we do if Firaxis bring up legal difficulties?
26. If we believe we can be successful, should we try to submit the mod to Firaxis for inclusion with the first expansion pack? Should we timetable our efforts around this?
27. Will we make our alterations to the Civ4 files available to the public prior to releasing the first version? Are we afraid of plagiarism/theft/someone leapfrogging us at the last second?
28. Do we want to try to tackle all factions at once, or concentrate on the original 7-pack at first?
29. Beyond bug-fixes, do we want to try to implement the original intentions of SMAC (pulse and resonance weapon types), or implement the actual game?
30. Is the workshop worth implementing if it has to be built from the ground up?
31. If we don't have a unit workshop how will we assign units? Will we have to choose the most popular units and assign them with tech?
32. Will the mod be built for Windows platform only?
33. Will interludes be included?
34. Will we have new interludes relevant to features introduced?
35. Should we include resources?
36. Should "wild animals" and livestock animals will wonder our updated planet?
37. Will we include different faction city styles or are we restricted to single look?
38. Will we have to eliminate existing tile improvements, or introduce new stylings for them and incorporate into the game?
39. Do we want to keep (reimplement) the original simplistic Attack/Defense combat system or would a more advanced combat system be more desirable assuming Civ4 has a bunch of extra variables that effect combat?
40. Should variants on gameplay be implemented as options rather than forked mods?
41. Do we need financial resources, donated by volunteers in order to pay for coding time and graphic work? Or do we expect to be able to get everything done with volunteer work alone?
42. How shall decisions be made, and consensuses reached? Does every major decision go to a poll, a single leader (who?), a group of people (who?) or some other method? Do we need a lead designer to keep every single decision from taking a week to resolve on a thread full of OT posts, or can we handle that democratically?
43. Should we add more ambient music into the game?
44. Without the Unit Workshop, would SMAC have the same flavor that its players love? What is it that players love about SMAC? How much of this enjoyment of play is derived from being able to design and build units that fit their needs of the moment, or their long term strategic gameplay?
45. How much should we try to match the original SMAC? It should be unanimous that we should fix obvious bugs, such as the base screen drone display bug and the multiple airdrop bug. How about borderline bugs, such as stockpile energy? Make them options? Should we try to keep the scenario editor and other features that aren't in the game itself anywhere near what they were in SMAC?
46. Will we include easter-egg references to Apolyton ?
47. How large do we anticipate the final revision of the mod to be, and where will it reside for download?
48. What level should the AI play at in the Civ4->SMAC mod? Should it play to purely to original SMAC? Should it play at Civ4 levels? Should it play at something different? Can it be made in a way to be very easily swapped out?
49. Should the AI cheat on sufficiently high difficulty levels?
50. What will we do if we can't mod the height-map in ?
51. Should we be able to give starting units a higher reactor than a level 1 reactor?
52. What files will be imprinted onto a "save" file (the equivalent of the alpha(x).txt file would be extremely desirable from a CMN's perspective, and hence from a players perspective as well)?
53. Do we allow the AI's to build boreholes?
54. Satelites: need to keep in mind the ability for CMN to gift these to AI's.
55. We'll need to rank all of the "To Do's" sometime in the near future. Do we tackle the toughest things first, or the easiest?
56. Can we make automated formers scalable in their level of "retardedness": the higher the skill level, the higher their capabilities?
57. How much should CMN reveal about their understanding of the current AI's cheat capabilities for this mod?
58. Powergraph Chart: How do we emulate? How do we calculate?
59. What counts as part of the game of Alpha Centauri, and what is just decoration? As an example, the resource system (nutrients, minerals, energy) would be unanimously considered a part of the game that shouldn't be changed in making a clone. The structure of the help files would be considered decoration.
60. Do we want to replicate functions exactly or "in the spirit of"; for example if C4 has a workable health system would we want to include a health system and make the research hospital give a bonus to labs and health rather than labs and pysch? [assuming both options are equally easy but the C4 way adds flavor and doesn't hugely impact gameplay balance]
61. When playtesting, how should we document bugs that we find?
62. Concerning the cIV Mod Forum/ Community: should we create a Liason position to interface with them, or at least designate someone to give reports on their breakthru's/ observations of the game?
63. Are we going to need something like a CVS or SVN repository, once we get to coding? Who is capable of setting something like that up?
64. Are we going to "rip" files (especially sound) directly from SMAC(X)? If so (and assumign for legal reasons we can't package the sounds), are we going to going to make SMAC(X) a hard requirement or just an optional enchancment? (ie no voiceovers without SMAC(X))
65. If we require SMAC/X, can we enforce it?
66. What exactly determines when a monolith should disappear?
67. What exactly determines when a player should start with a transport, and when they shouldn't?
Questions:
1. Are we willing to run parallel to any possible Firaxis efforts for SMAC2.
2. Do we want to fix bugs already existing in SMAC and which ones?
3. Should we develop an accompanying manual, or just ensure everything is covered by the Datalinks?
4. Are we going to use 3D graphics for leaders? If so, how construct, and using what graphics generator?
5. Should we document all interactive keystrokes via Datalinks, or in seperate notepad file?
6. What are all necessary functions in SMAC(X) so we can see what matches up against existing C4 functions?
7. Are we going to document the process of the mod so that others can follow the same path for their own mods?
8. What to do with support for other languages?
9. How are we going to generate 3D SMACX units?
10. Documentation of how the AI thinks: should it be somewhat apparent via the Python code?
11. What will we do with the format of new subroutines: follow Firaxis approach, or invent our own?
12. What is the desired option for mod: to have all relevent files imprinted onto a game?
13. We are going to need to document all sounds in SMAC(X) to include detailing where they occur. What will we do with the randomly generated music in game?
14. We will need to identify all files in SMAC(X) and detail what they stand for. How will this task be organized?
15. What to do with AI negotiation: are we going to improve for SMACX, especially base trading?
16. How may Firaxis patches for C4 impact ongoing mod and what can we do about it?
17. What will we do with the u“seless" subroutines: comment out or delete?
18. What will we do about culture/religion?
19. Should we aim for fixed border distance as in original SMAC or create options that allow modders to easily modify it?
20. For our C++/ Python subroutines, what format should we follow for consistency from subroutine to subroutine?
21. Cheating: how will it be detected, and how countered?
22. Is the progenitor storyline and factions worth including at all?
23. Should we include Civ4 diplomacy options not available in SMAC such as "Share secret project effects"?
24. Shall we reuse old graphics wherever applicable? Shall we draw new graphics to resemble the old or try and take a new direction with a new style that is still in the spirit of SMAC?
25. What shall we do if Firaxis bring up legal difficulties?
26. If we believe we can be successful, should we try to submit the mod to Firaxis for inclusion with the first expansion pack? Should we timetable our efforts around this?
27. Will we make our alterations to the Civ4 files available to the public prior to releasing the first version? Are we afraid of plagiarism/theft/someone leapfrogging us at the last second?
28. Do we want to try to tackle all factions at once, or concentrate on the original 7-pack at first?
29. Beyond bug-fixes, do we want to try to implement the original intentions of SMAC (pulse and resonance weapon types), or implement the actual game?
30. Is the workshop worth implementing if it has to be built from the ground up?
31. If we don't have a unit workshop how will we assign units? Will we have to choose the most popular units and assign them with tech?
32. Will the mod be built for Windows platform only?
33. Will interludes be included?
34. Will we have new interludes relevant to features introduced?
35. Should we include resources?
36. Should "wild animals" and livestock animals will wonder our updated planet?
37. Will we include different faction city styles or are we restricted to single look?
38. Will we have to eliminate existing tile improvements, or introduce new stylings for them and incorporate into the game?
39. Do we want to keep (reimplement) the original simplistic Attack/Defense combat system or would a more advanced combat system be more desirable assuming Civ4 has a bunch of extra variables that effect combat?
40. Should variants on gameplay be implemented as options rather than forked mods?
41. Do we need financial resources, donated by volunteers in order to pay for coding time and graphic work? Or do we expect to be able to get everything done with volunteer work alone?
42. How shall decisions be made, and consensuses reached? Does every major decision go to a poll, a single leader (who?), a group of people (who?) or some other method? Do we need a lead designer to keep every single decision from taking a week to resolve on a thread full of OT posts, or can we handle that democratically?
43. Should we add more ambient music into the game?
44. Without the Unit Workshop, would SMAC have the same flavor that its players love? What is it that players love about SMAC? How much of this enjoyment of play is derived from being able to design and build units that fit their needs of the moment, or their long term strategic gameplay?
45. How much should we try to match the original SMAC? It should be unanimous that we should fix obvious bugs, such as the base screen drone display bug and the multiple airdrop bug. How about borderline bugs, such as stockpile energy? Make them options? Should we try to keep the scenario editor and other features that aren't in the game itself anywhere near what they were in SMAC?
46. Will we include easter-egg references to Apolyton ?
47. How large do we anticipate the final revision of the mod to be, and where will it reside for download?
48. What level should the AI play at in the Civ4->SMAC mod? Should it play to purely to original SMAC? Should it play at Civ4 levels? Should it play at something different? Can it be made in a way to be very easily swapped out?
49. Should the AI cheat on sufficiently high difficulty levels?
50. What will we do if we can't mod the height-map in ?
51. Should we be able to give starting units a higher reactor than a level 1 reactor?
52. What files will be imprinted onto a "save" file (the equivalent of the alpha(x).txt file would be extremely desirable from a CMN's perspective, and hence from a players perspective as well)?
53. Do we allow the AI's to build boreholes?
54. Satelites: need to keep in mind the ability for CMN to gift these to AI's.
55. We'll need to rank all of the "To Do's" sometime in the near future. Do we tackle the toughest things first, or the easiest?
56. Can we make automated formers scalable in their level of "retardedness": the higher the skill level, the higher their capabilities?
57. How much should CMN reveal about their understanding of the current AI's cheat capabilities for this mod?
58. Powergraph Chart: How do we emulate? How do we calculate?
59. What counts as part of the game of Alpha Centauri, and what is just decoration? As an example, the resource system (nutrients, minerals, energy) would be unanimously considered a part of the game that shouldn't be changed in making a clone. The structure of the help files would be considered decoration.
60. Do we want to replicate functions exactly or "in the spirit of"; for example if C4 has a workable health system would we want to include a health system and make the research hospital give a bonus to labs and health rather than labs and pysch? [assuming both options are equally easy but the C4 way adds flavor and doesn't hugely impact gameplay balance]
61. When playtesting, how should we document bugs that we find?
62. Concerning the cIV Mod Forum/ Community: should we create a Liason position to interface with them, or at least designate someone to give reports on their breakthru's/ observations of the game?
63. Are we going to need something like a CVS or SVN repository, once we get to coding? Who is capable of setting something like that up?
64. Are we going to "rip" files (especially sound) directly from SMAC(X)? If so (and assumign for legal reasons we can't package the sounds), are we going to going to make SMAC(X) a hard requirement or just an optional enchancment? (ie no voiceovers without SMAC(X))
65. If we require SMAC/X, can we enforce it?
66. What exactly determines when a monolith should disappear?
67. What exactly determines when a player should start with a transport, and when they shouldn't?
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Cuz I'm taking a serial approach of changing just one parameter at a time why I am continually restarting the game to see exactly what happens at each step (including bootup of the game, cuz it will tell you at this stage if it finds an issue with the XML and/ or Python files). I'm already really tired of that stuttering startup movie as well as having to wait for the Firaxis logo to sloooowly build itself onto my screen.....
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