Recommendations on MODs

[ChristopherC]

I would like recommendations on problem-free MODs for MOO3, please.

I have previously been interested, as a thread of mine shows, in giving the humans a bit of an 'assist' - they seem at somewhat of a disadvantage at the moment - but I am also interested in a recommendation on a good upgraded graphics MOD package for the patched 1.2.5 game. I see several possible MODS on the MOO3Mods.com site but dont know which I should risk trying. Advice, please.

Live long and prosper.

[ChristopherC]

PS

Is Uzi's Font mod compatible with the 1.2.5 upgrade? Any advice would be much appreciated.

I have noticed several graphics MODs at the Guardian site but I am not sure which is better and indeed which are compatible with 1.2.5? What is other people's experience?

Live long and prosper

[Yolky]

I will try to help. Can't remeber the names but here goes.

Diplo Mod
Encyclopediea mod v4.3 great help and tips in there
moo3 star pack
moo3 UI gopher mod. makes the screen look alittle (alot )better


I believe these are the names. I havn't tried the invader mod yet but will try later

davor

[ChristopherC]

Many thanks, Yolky. Sixty four thousand dollar question, though. Are these MODs compatible with the upgraded 1.2.5 version? Would I have to reinstall?

Live long and prosper.

[Yolky]

sorry for late response. I am not on as much lately.

I am using 1.2.5 patch as well and see no problems.

Davor

[ChristopherC]

Many, many thanks for the recommendations, Yolky. Managed to add on the MODs (thanks be to Ste. Claire, patron saint of computers) and the screens do look nicer.

Now hoping that Sovereign will manage to come up with that MOD to even up the human chances of winning the game, or at least have a sporting chance!

I still believe that with with a bit of reworking or tweaking here and there MOO3 could be the best space strategy game ever!

Live long and prosper.

[Awsric Armitage]

Mods recommendations

I have been over at the Atari Moo3 site and just registered here.

I play with several stable mods and have a good basic knowledge of them. Here are some favorite picks for the areas you mentioned. Most can be found at. http://moo3mods.com/

Bard of Prey's Race Balance Mod

This mod makes the Humans have a fighting chance and more evens the playing field between the races. It also adds in ground combat ratings numbers for the player races that were left out and set at even 3's for all player races. The combat racial picks in the race customization at set-up have been shown to be broken.

Bard of Prey's Government Balance Mod

Does for governments what his race balance Mod did for the racial picks.

Both of these have some conflicts with installing a larger encyclopedia mod overwriting the existing encyclopedia mod.
With that said after installing these two if you opt to do so then apply what ever encyclopedia mod you want.

An encyclopedia Mod

The encyclopedia mods are invaluable in-game resources that borrow information from several forums best posts and make them available in the game. Most helpful instead of windowing out which the game does not like.

Next graphics.

A must have is Veilli's CombatFX 2.0

This mod adds newer and better looking graphics to the combat weapons effects. There are fiery plasma balls and different width and texture beams from the green snot of death for hard beams to projectiles for Gauss Cannons and Mass Drivers. A must have for the Moo3 fireworks show of combat. This enhances game play but does not change the mechanics of game play only graphics.

GOFURS GUI Mods or any other GUI mods

These change the boxes around the displayed screen information including buttons and sometimes sounds for opening and closing the different GUI menus. Pick one you like none affect actual game play.

Star and Flag packs

Of these their are several. Again these are just for graphics.

Sitrep icons

Some are complicated to install but if you need help I can help as I have changed several of mine. It just involves opening the correct .txt file and changing the file name referenced. No game play changes but makes for more interesting and less dull sitreps.

Star Trek and Babylon 5 mods

These replace several sitrep icons and also has a very cool opening selection screen background. Worth it if you like either sci-fi series.

Various gameplay Mods.

Their are too numerous to mention but when you get into this area the actual game mechanics are being manipulated by the mods so be careful. If you need help just ask as I have experienced a few.

I do however recommend a tech slowdown mod that either you can do yourself to customize how much slower you want the tech advance pace to be. A lot of players seem to prefer the tech slowdowns because you have to redesign ships less often and the difference in between tech levels is more substantial. I personally use a x10 slowdown for myself but you can easily set it to what ever you would like by changing some simple numbers. Easy stuff and very satisfying.

I personally use Xeryx's Weapons and Technology Mod because the weapons are better classified and more realistic. This one from the download needs a few tweaks that are easy to do. Like fighter bases need to come after heavy fighters in the tech progressions. I set mine higher along with the Beam and Missile Bases. Again I have done them so it is relatively easy to do.

Thats about all. Enjoy your Moo3 the way you want to. This axiom is big in my gaming book.

[ChristopherC]

MOD Heaven

Many thanks for your reply, Awsric Armitage.

Both yesterday and today I have happily, if a trifle nervously, spent hours downloading and adding MOO3 MODs and so far, thank the Lord, havent come across any programming conflicts in admittedly what is quite a MOD potpourri I have created. This is something actually rather surprising; I guess the god of computing has really been looking after a neophyte such as me.

I got the MODs from looking up MOO3 MOD patch 1.2.5 sites on a good search engine. One of the Mods has sharpened up for me the diplomacy, made it much more logical and consistent and another magically improved the graphics. There is even a MOD to allow a favoured race more points which I may try out at some point - for the human race, or course, which seems at somewhat of a disadvantage in the unmodded game. I still wish, though, some one would kindly prepare the spreadsheet etc. to improve the human's chances.

Anyway, these MODs have really transformed the game for me. Made it much more the experience I was eagerly anticipating.

Now, if only some one would devise a straightfoward and comprehensive scenario editor, as they had in SMAC, (though admittedly there is for MOO3, not that I have tried it, apparently an editor for saved games) I would be in gamer's heaven.

In the right hands and with further development, I still think this game could be the basis for one of the best strategy games of all time! The development of colonies, for instance, technically, sociologically and economically, makes it far more sophisticated, IMHO, to Galactic Civlisations, at least, so far. Though I look forward to see how their add-on improves things.


Live long and prosper.

[Awsric Armitage]

The depth of the strategy and development concepts of Moo3 are what gets serious gamers hooked. Once you get over the learning curve of the piece of poo manual and read some of the Forums. Well, your hooked. We even are starting to continue work on a game manual in between some folks here at Apolyton and at Atari's Moo3 Forums.

Regarding the Humans download and add Bard of Preys race balance mod. Iy gives the Humans a better chance. I play Humans with this mod all the time and usually even if an AI empire the Humans will come out competitive if auto-run to 250-300. Which you can do with the Humans for an advanced start. One big danger of auto-running that far is you will have to prune mines and bioharvest from your worlds as Roy is notorious for not replacing them when your surpluses get extremly high. Roy should replace them with industries around the middle game but that never got coded and handicaps the AI some. Man if they would let us change some of the AIs situational behaviour this would really be great.

There is too much potential to this game if you look into the spreadsheets there were things like experience for ships and ground commanders and even leader personalities. Too bad so much got either cut or they could not complete it in time.

Needless to say I am a big fan despite its short comings.

Eventually for some changed dilpomatic relations some people are modding the baserelations.txt to start wars and sub-plots of races just hating each other. Its relativey easy to do. Kind of like a scenario editor of sorts.

[ChristopherC]

Awsric, good to hear from ya!

Many thanks again for your interesting further reflections.

I have always loved Sci-fi novels and maybe the graphics for MOO3 arent that great - though the MODs do help - but what makes this game stand out is the sociological richness it allows you in planetary colonisation and development. It does, if you have the imagination, and any good game still requires the imagination of the player, give you the opportunity recreate the game in your own mind as a Sci-fi novel in which you are a leading character. (An emperor no less! ) Here, however, I simply MUST put in a plug for 'Alpha Centauri' and its add-on SMAC which in the terms I have just described I do feel have the greatest sociological richness of any space strategy game I have ever come across. I really did feel like I was in the middle of an impossible to put down Sci-fi novel when I played it. I look forward to the 3-D version of that game some day!

I have dipped my toes into GalCiv but it doesnt seem to have quite the same richness, at least so far as MOO3. But maybe, I need to persevere with it. I also dont like the idea that to buy the add-on which is in the works you HAVE to buy online. I have not bought anything online yet, being of a nervous disposition, except, of course, when smiting perfidious aliens!

Yes, indeed-dy, with the MODs MOO3 does now pass the all important test of any game, 'one more turn and I will go to bed!' I have suffered in my sleep on more than one occasion for that!

I had to de-install and re-install recently as I got, for the first time the dreaded DirectX error when I went to combat - unfortunately, I cant remember which MOD created, if any caused that. Anyway, it got me thiking I must get Home XP one of these days so I can more easily go back to the previous state of the OS. In order to avoid further problems, I have now created a standbyfile in which I keep all the files which work, before I add yet another MOD, so I can quickly reinstall.

FYI, I have included the Maxracepicks file so I can give my race, humano-centric that I am!, plenty of lovely points for my next game but I may try the Birds of Prey Race Balance MOD you recommend. I will may the auto-run, as well; though I daresay that it takes a night to run!

The most confusing MOD has to be the HiRez Ships one. I cant work out how to install it or what it does! The one disappointment of MOO3, with which I can live because of the game's other good points, is that the battle scenes arent terribly impressive. I generally just do away with those and just ask for the resolution.

I would like here to take the opportunity to thank all the MODDERS whose names are too numerous to name, but they know who they are, who have now made this game the game I have sooo long waited for. And to people like you and Stormhound for your invaluable advice. Not to forget Sovereign, too! But hey Sovereign! Where is that MOD you said you were working on? I am waiting!

As a generation observation, It does occur to me that sooo many games these days are actually marketed in a sort of BETA state and it is left to MODDERs to bring the games up to scratch. While not terribly impressed with GALCIV so far, and I am not impressed with the fact I cant buy the add-on by mail order or in a shop, at least I must applaud Strategy First for being committed to improving the game over time. May that be the first of a positive new trend. Surely, game makers can realise they can make continue to profit from a game that way - though, please dont make it only available online, to spare those of us of a nervous disposition when it comes to online purchasing.

Well, that is enough to be saying for one thread.

Live long and prosper, my fellow emperors.

[Awsric Armitage]

The most confusing MOD has to be the HiRez Ships one. I cant work out how to install it or what it does! The one disappointment of MOO3, with which I can live because of the game's other good points, is that the battle scenes arent terribly impressive. I generally just do away with those and just ask for the resolution.

Actually let me dispell the illusions. All that the high rez mod does is change the models into the larger ones on the space combat screen by using the larger of the two model sets by renaming them also as the smaller ones. Kinda a way of fooling the computer into using the larger models. I personally do not use this one as my TF sizes are enhanced up to I believe 48 ships for the armada sized fleets. Some players have gone all the way up to 244 ships per armada but my computer already lags during space combat at 48 per so thats quite high enough for me.

Regarding the battle scenes being impressive I think has to do with how immersive you get with them by selecting either cede, watch, or control. All three options can have serious consequences on the actual out come of a battle. Just save reload and test for yourself. Cede IIRC just lines up the ships stats and pounds away number crunching to generate a winner. Not alot of manuevering or combining TF manuevers for tactical advantages or just survivability. Watch uses the AI default behavior for the different ships i.e. LR and SR speed forward and atack when in range and close to circling patterns while firing, CV and IF launch and take a perpendicular course to the action, Recon attempt to keep their distance but will fire on targets of opportunity. Using watch can be frustrating sometimes as the AIs behaviour is similar everytime the AI fights and you sometimes would like to jump in and order them to do something tactically to their immediate advantage but are restricted from doing so. The only real advantage to watch is that CV, IF, and LR will launch as soon as the turn begins, this is a cheat but it works to reveal just where the enemy TFs are before you actually can adjust the view to see them and issue tactical orders if you were controlling combat.

Controlling tactical space combat is where it is at for the space combat if you want to be immersed in it. It took me a while, 6 months, before I bit the bullet and jumped into the drivers seat but the immediate results were very rewarding after learning to use the patrol instead of the attack command. If you lasso all your TFs at the very beginning of the combat and issue a patrol command towards a point in open space they will all start moving towards that point and will launch-on or fire on any targets of opportunity. The move command ignores targeting so do not use that one and the attack command will only attack the TF selected not others that might happen to become better targets during the fighting patrol will attack anything percieved as an enemy and within range including enemy fighters and missiles heading by targeted for other TFs. This control gives new combined TFs with specific missions life and purpose. Smaller flotilla or squadrons of Recon ships can act as delaying tactics to illuminate incoming fighters and can criss-cross patterns in front of the CV and IF TFs for additional pd coverage while the LR are given a seperate command to patrol just outside the opponents weapons ranges but still within reach of there own and then the SR TFs pull a linebacker style blitz right up the middle. Man if that's not immersive space combat for a non-arcade or FPS then I don't know what is.

Another good idea for longer more immersive combat is to open the techtables.txt and multiply all the armor and shield strengths by 10. This makes all the ships more survivable and thus more tactically manueverable in space combat.

Most of all have fun.

[ChristopherC]

Problems with the Jebuz Mod and other issues

Once again, thanks for interesting the response, Awsric.

I thought that was the purpose behind the Jebuz MOD, which seems kinda intriguin', but the installation instructions looked rather complicated. (Unzipping MOB files or some such thing? Too complicated for a non-programmer like me! !) So I tried the automatic install but got an error messsage about a Windows Command.

I am not saying it was this MOD but it may have been one MOD I tried which, caused me the dreaded DirectX error about which I have heard and for which I have crossed myself like a good Christian each time I have heard about it! The garlic on the door jamb obviously didnt help either. The only help was to deinstall the whole game and then reinstall with everything which I knew which worked okay. So far, so good, thank the Lord.

Incidentally, I would ideally like to be able to add technological improvements of my own to planetary colonisation. That is, after all, one of the main themes of the game. Some people on this thread have criticised 'Alpha Centauri' and 'Smac' (AC-SMAC) where I have praisedd it but I have nothing but praise for these games. (And no, no one is paying me for that!)

In addition to the plaudits I awarded in a previous thread, where you had an easy to use and trully comprensive scenario editor, (something badly lacking in MOO3. Theoretically, reportedly, you can edit MOO3 saved games but the relevant MOD read-me seems to warn of an awful lot of caveats if you want to avoid a game crash!). In AC SMAC you could also edit in your oown additional technological advancements. With the ppatches, the add-on, the scenario editor and the ability to add your own MODs I think that game was conceptually way ahead of its time and I wish others, including Infogrames with MOO3 had followed it. The graphics werent brilliant, though okay, but then you cant have everything.

Now in a few year's time a new 3D AC-SMAC in which you can also build 3D buildings like you can in Imperium Galactica II and maybe even have other planets in the system to fight over would be Gamer's Heaven for me.

God forbid I should ever end up in solitary in prison, but they say you have to develop a psychological survival strategy such as imagining yourself building the perfect house, in your imagination, or planting the perfect guarden or even writing a novel. My survival strategy would be marrying all the best features of SMAC, Imperium Galactica II and MOO3!

Live long and prosper.

[ChristopherC]

PS - Forgot another desirable improvement

It would be nice to have separate build queues for soldiers and ships, too! So you can build up your forces in this dangerous galaxy more quickly.

Well, in real life they have shipyards and barracks to build up a comprehensive military force. Something else for future programmers to think about!

Ciao.

[Awsric Armitage]

I think you missed the point of what the Jebus Mod was trying to do for you.

You see the .mob file that he referenced is where all the spreadsheets that the game reads in are stored. The game uses the spreadsheets to define nearly every aspect of the game. So it is very moddable and can act very much like a scenario editor. You can change the technologies in any way you like including adding and deleteing them and rearranging their order. You do not have to possess any real programming skills if you can zip and unzip files and can type information then you can mod this game. Albeit access to a spreadsheet program such as excel helps but it is really not necessary just helpful. So really some of the things you want to do with merging SMAC and Moo3 could be accomplished by custom modding parts of the spreadsheets.

If you need someone to walk you through the process I will do so for you.

About the DirectX errors try downloading the DirectX9.0b if you have not already it should solve most of the directX problems. Most mods will not cause this error as they are simply data sheet changes.

[ChristopherC]

Jebuz's MOD

I have just posted a thread on this very subject, Awsric!

I wouldnt mind a little hand-holding here, if you wanted to provide it. Unzipping MOBs rather than just overcopying GameDataSets makes me 'noivous'. Fortunately, that is what I have had to do so far or just overwright spreadsheets etc. Something I can do without too much nervous energy being expended, particularly when there is an install program thoughtfully provided I can use.

There is one for Jebuz's, I grant him that, but I get an error message about C:COMMAND WINDOW or some such thing. when I try to use it. Also, there seems to be the need to rename some of the files in the unzipped MOB. This is getting into serious territory for lil ol' me!

I didnt know there was a new DirectX program. I must see whether it works for Windows 98, which I am presently using.

I am not a MODDER or programmer, Awsric, and am entirely in the hands of people like you. But once again I am happy to say that the MOO3 MODs I have installed so far have transformed the game for me! So maybe I will just leave this program alone but there is a MOD for but for which you have to start new games which changes the weapon techs which interests me but I am a long way, I hope, from starting a new game. My present game has plenty of interest and far more coherence, even in its conspiracy, thanks to the MODs.

Live long and prosper, my friend.