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It's great to see how this section of the forums has really come alive lately. With the sudden plethora of mods to SMAC, I'm not sure another one is needed, but I’m adding my own anyway. I've been working on Harsh Planet off and on for over a year now, and recently became inspired by the work of Vel and Smack and Nadexander and others to finish mine up and offer it for playtest and reactions. In the process of course, I’ve stolen a number of these other guys’ ideas, for which I offer a general thanks.
The stimulus for my work is a little different though. To be honest, I never got so good that the game ceased to challenge me (I didn't realize the power of focusing my terraforming on forests for one thing). Oh, I couldn't help but notice how inept the AI was, particularly in war, but after I won a couple of times I got bored with the game for a completely different reason. It was too much like Civ2, and not enough like science fiction.
As the game is now, Alpha C. still feels a lot like earth. Surprisingly, the entire planet is more or less equally 'colonizable.' In a long game, almost every square inch of the major continents and their surrounding seas gets settled. The population grows exponentially, in what is supposed to be a hostile environment. The concept of 'bases' hardly applies--these are clearly cities, and cities that blanket the planet. After about 200 years the place starts looking like civ2 earth with an unattractive color scheme.
And so in reaction, Harsh Planet was born. Originally started for my own personal enjoyment, it's been played and tweaked enough that I decided to go ahead and make it available. I’ll try to get it posted somewhere (any volunteers?), but for now just email me at Gallagher to get the zip file with everything. Here’s what you’re getting.
(The following is not a complete documentation of every single change I made to the game, though that will be included in the zip file in “Documentation”. This is a more general description and explanation of the modifications.)
Introduction. Harsh Planet keeps the basics of the original but imagines a more hostile, more _alien_ world. A mod, not a single scenario, it is meant to be played on random maps--but these maps will not look like any you've ever seen. Certain tradeoffs have been made to avoid a slowdown in play; in fact, you may find it plays faster than the original. Though nothing prevents multi-player, the focus has been to create a more engrossing and challenging single player game.
Backstory. Alpha Centauri was known to be rich in minerals and energy, but poor in nutrients. The original mission was to establish a dozen or so mining colonies, that would in turn send back cargo ships to earth. Needless to say, Earth erupted into war while the ships were en route, the mission splintered, and the colonists/miners were left to fend for themselves.
The colonists knew that bases could only be viable where there was sufficient water. Luckily, AC was streaked with numerous river valleys and dotted with moisture-trapping peaks, but between these fertile islands were broad expanses of uninhabitable desert. Each faction guided its ship towards its own small patch of green, knowing that if it were to survive and grow, nearby oases must come under its own, rather than its neighbor’s, control.
Though few in number, the colonists were well equipped. The mining colonies had been expected to fully functional with the latest technology in a few years. Now, that technology was to prove essential in the life or death struggle over which faction would come to dominate Alpha Centauri.
A New Planet
The primary difference between Harsh Planet and SMAX is the radically different kind of world you will explore and discover. I have extensively altered the Worldbuilder and other files in alphax.txt to create this world and yet still allow random maps, i.e. this is not a scenario with a single map. But the only way to get the effect required was for every game to begin with certain choices in the Customize Random Map menu. Specifically, these choices are Sparse Cloud Cover, Abundant Native Life Forms, and only 30-50% Ocean Coverage. All the changes I’ve made in alphax assume these selections. If you absolutely can’t stand the Mind Worms, you could go with a different choice there, but it's not recommended and the other two are necessary for the thing to make any sense at all.
Here’s what you can expect in exploring this new world:
On the other hand . . .
Picking up the Pace
The colonist came prepared to set up efficient mining colonies. So-
Along the same lines, I’ve done something that will probably give the really expert players the heebie-jeebies. I’ve radically compressed the top of the tech tree, eliminating some 15 or so techs (mostly 10th level and above) and redistributing their benefits to what’s left as logically as I could. The zip file ships with a Word document “Tech Tree (upper levels)” which completely maps the new tree from 7th level up, including what each tech makes available. I’ve included a few of the specifics in Miscellaneous Tweaks, below.
My thinking is that as long as the different factions can compete more or less equally, speeding up the end game isn’t a bad thing.
Other ways in which the game has been made “easier”:
ICS has ruled because it has so many things going for it: faster growth rate, fewer drone problems, more SUPPORT for military. While Harsh Planet makes ICS very difficult due to the complete unsuitability of much of the terrain, it also makes not doing ICS a little easier.
to be continued
The stimulus for my work is a little different though. To be honest, I never got so good that the game ceased to challenge me (I didn't realize the power of focusing my terraforming on forests for one thing). Oh, I couldn't help but notice how inept the AI was, particularly in war, but after I won a couple of times I got bored with the game for a completely different reason. It was too much like Civ2, and not enough like science fiction.
As the game is now, Alpha C. still feels a lot like earth. Surprisingly, the entire planet is more or less equally 'colonizable.' In a long game, almost every square inch of the major continents and their surrounding seas gets settled. The population grows exponentially, in what is supposed to be a hostile environment. The concept of 'bases' hardly applies--these are clearly cities, and cities that blanket the planet. After about 200 years the place starts looking like civ2 earth with an unattractive color scheme.
And so in reaction, Harsh Planet was born. Originally started for my own personal enjoyment, it's been played and tweaked enough that I decided to go ahead and make it available. I’ll try to get it posted somewhere (any volunteers?), but for now just email me at Gallagher to get the zip file with everything. Here’s what you’re getting.
(The following is not a complete documentation of every single change I made to the game, though that will be included in the zip file in “Documentation”. This is a more general description and explanation of the modifications.)
Introduction. Harsh Planet keeps the basics of the original but imagines a more hostile, more _alien_ world. A mod, not a single scenario, it is meant to be played on random maps--but these maps will not look like any you've ever seen. Certain tradeoffs have been made to avoid a slowdown in play; in fact, you may find it plays faster than the original. Though nothing prevents multi-player, the focus has been to create a more engrossing and challenging single player game.
Backstory. Alpha Centauri was known to be rich in minerals and energy, but poor in nutrients. The original mission was to establish a dozen or so mining colonies, that would in turn send back cargo ships to earth. Needless to say, Earth erupted into war while the ships were en route, the mission splintered, and the colonists/miners were left to fend for themselves.
The colonists knew that bases could only be viable where there was sufficient water. Luckily, AC was streaked with numerous river valleys and dotted with moisture-trapping peaks, but between these fertile islands were broad expanses of uninhabitable desert. Each faction guided its ship towards its own small patch of green, knowing that if it were to survive and grow, nearby oases must come under its own, rather than its neighbor’s, control.
Though few in number, the colonists were well equipped. The mining colonies had been expected to fully functional with the latest technology in a few years. Now, that technology was to prove essential in the life or death struggle over which faction would come to dominate Alpha Centauri.
A New Planet
The primary difference between Harsh Planet and SMAX is the radically different kind of world you will explore and discover. I have extensively altered the Worldbuilder and other files in alphax.txt to create this world and yet still allow random maps, i.e. this is not a scenario with a single map. But the only way to get the effect required was for every game to begin with certain choices in the Customize Random Map menu. Specifically, these choices are Sparse Cloud Cover, Abundant Native Life Forms, and only 30-50% Ocean Coverage. All the changes I’ve made in alphax assume these selections. If you absolutely can’t stand the Mind Worms, you could go with a different choice there, but it's not recommended and the other two are necessary for the thing to make any sense at all.
Here’s what you can expect in exploring this new world:
- As pointed out above, fertile areas are reduced to islands in a sea of fungus covered desert. There are a lot more rivers and peaks than before, to increase the number of colonizable oases, but you’re centuries away from establishing anything but military outposts in the desert. ICS has been eliminated, at least in the early game
- Special Resource squares for Energy and Minerals are now worth five apiece. One effect of sparse nutrients and large bonuses for special resource squares is that some areas are truly worth going to war over.
- Your base squares only produce 1 nutrient: 1/1/1. To help the AI, other factions' bases start at 2/1/3 (which you get if you conquer).
- Recycling tanks have been disabled for the human player, unless he builds a Pressure Dome, which are now very expensive for land bases.
- Condensers and Soil Enrichers have been switched on the tech tree-Condenser at Adv.Eco.Eng. and Soil Enricher at Eco.Eng. Condenser takes longer (24 turns), Soil Enricher shorter (6). So you get some relief from the nutrient shortage relatively early, but you still can't build cities in dry areas til you get the Condenser.
- Other moisture producing terraforming (raise land, aquifers) either later, take longer, or both. Tectonic payload disabled.
- Don't expect to get around the nutrient shortages by building lots of sea bases. Though all sea bases start with 2/1/3 because of the Pressure Dome, the oceans are primarily deep water which can't be terraformed. Maps vary widely in terms of land/ocean layout.
- Forests now start out at 0/1/2, and yes, that's 1 mineral and 2 energy. This is a huge change, altering all current strategies. On the other hand, harvesting forests is now worth 10. Forests are still, I believe, crucial to a winning strategy, but their effect comes much farther into the game and requires a more balanced approach to terraforming. But who ever heard of a sci-fi story where the earthlings went to another planet and immediately started planting forests?
- Abundant Life Forms insures a constant running battle with Planet. Leaving a non-combat unit alone in a square, or leaving a base ungarrisoned, is asking for trouble unless the area has been thoroughly cleared of fungus.
On the other hand . . .
Picking up the Pace
The colonist came prepared to set up efficient mining colonies. So-
- All factions but one--that would be yours--start with a Former
- 'Factory' type facilities come earlier and are cheaper to build. Maintenance costs are increased by 1 though.
- All builds 20% cheaper. Mineral rows of 8.
- Tech advances 60% faster.
Along the same lines, I’ve done something that will probably give the really expert players the heebie-jeebies. I’ve radically compressed the top of the tech tree, eliminating some 15 or so techs (mostly 10th level and above) and redistributing their benefits to what’s left as logically as I could. The zip file ships with a Word document “Tech Tree (upper levels)” which completely maps the new tree from 7th level up, including what each tech makes available. I’ve included a few of the specifics in Miscellaneous Tweaks, below.
My thinking is that as long as the different factions can compete more or less equally, speeding up the end game isn’t a bad thing.
Other ways in which the game has been made “easier”:
- Faster movement. Speeders are 3 with 2 cargo, Hovertanks (now available with Superconductor) are 4 (great for rough terrain, but expensive), Cruisers are 12! (with no increase in cost) This only makes sense for advanced naval forces, especially with the 30-50% ocean selection. Foils stay at 4, but are made cheaper as befitting coastal defense forces. They're also needed for protecting Sea Supply Crawlers.
- Minor bonuses to Specialists. They specifically address what I see as the problems that arise once you get rid of ICS--drones and research rates. So: Engineer moved up to Superconductor. Thinker is renamed Researcher and Research bonus increased +1. Psych bonuses increased +1 for Empath, +2 for Transcendi.
- Earlier and cheaper ecology bonus facilities, necessary to handle earlier high mineral productions. Temple of Planet is now at Centauri Genetics, and both ToP and Centauri Preserve have build costs reduced an additional 20%.
- Reduced effect and frequency of Global Warming.
ICS has ruled because it has so many things going for it: faster growth rate, fewer drone problems, more SUPPORT for military. While Harsh Planet makes ICS very difficult due to the complete unsuitability of much of the terrain, it also makes not doing ICS a little easier.
- Recreation Commons & Hologram Theatre mineral costs are reduced by half to ease the pain of having fewer and larger cities.
- More SUPPORT choices in SE (see below) allows more military units per city.
- Hab Dome build cost reduced to 120, moved up to Homo Superior.
to be continued
Duh???
, but have a few questions:
It seems that some sort of ugly Infinite Crawler Sprawl seems to be the path to victory, that and kelping the puddles (I lowered terrain to get more water to kelp 
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