Modding

[UesugiKenshin]

It's peculiar even bizarre that the Khaoran on sandbox mode, not only can honorably play in peaceful ways but gain fleets. I played a very enjoyable long game like that but never economically succeeding like the Omega.

If you like customizing ships, then play the Terrans in sandbox mode against minor race fleets, but they are not a compelling empire choice in a regular game.

[UesugiKenshin]

I send waves of colony ships to terraform and then issue multiple colonize commands. I wish you did not have to do that. If you just colonize with one, even though there may be six resources, two bugs happen.
1. Sometimes you cannot create a spacedock.
2. Sometimes you cannot create a mine for a resource or two.

Both issue are rare. But when it perfectly colonizes then you literally get four of every infrastructure.

Now for modding sabotage, that is a big issue as the AI and the human player is not creating four intelligence agencies, bit they spawn. That fosters using them and likely why sabotage is so unbalanced.

So knowing that, since you can't govern when an intelligence agency can be built, then what it accomplises should be a miniscule amount. Then anything over Level 2 should require a huge of amount of tech to greatly delay when sabotage actually has enough points to carry out sabotage missions.

If you do this, then the extra issuing colonization rarely can actually settle there. Which means it's a wasted move as they could have moved on to the site. That is a LOT of wasted time.

[UesugiKenshin]

We genuinely need a risky bare bones no shield no weaponry diplomat ship. The only good way to do "first contact" is to with a colony ship, and when it fails, that just killed 8 billion people. That would automatically cause an endless war in reality.

Some percentage of the mimor race aliens are similar in ethos that they won't harm the colony ship, but certainly mighy attack any other ship. It seems to be based on threat perception.

It's a design flaw when first contact should be possible from scan strength intensity of fixed scanners or from ships. Simple.

Rather than...
"Okay everyone buckle up. We're on a suicide mission to see how the Xiborg feel today. Hey you don't mind all 8 billion dying, right? That's worth it to start trade negotiations..."

[UesugiKenshin]

There is nothing that I know of regarding unit composition for troops nor fleet composition vs success.

One rationale for my turn 700 sandbox game was as a combat calculator. I hope some of you end up playing as the ships are fantastic now since I customized them. Now you can form various fleets and see how it works against the minor alien fleets. I created so many that you can mix and match them and see if that somehow is part of the calculation for a win or if it's just sending the strongest and so pure numbers. I'll be dissapointed if it's just the latter

A flagship ideally is set and has the "command" attribute and thus your attack has a 20% better effect. I found that in the German wiki. It's an additive effect.

Then it appears that experience more that 10,000 is not calculated in. Experience seems to be in "levels" and that over 10,000 is the maximum. Look.up the combat calculation.

You send your troops transport with an escort,then let the mainfleet attack, the when clear, then send in the transport. Otherwise the transport will get destroyed.

I can't believe that no transport have any armament. Weird. What a huge risk.

[UesugiKenshin]

Note that a "phenomenal" level for manueverability exists. Speed can only have a base rate of 1, 2, 3, 4. Then it's modified by "rate of expansion" in the galaxy map settings. But then,special research will grant a speed increase or a range increase. Choosing range is a rip off as range is almost pointless in turn 700. Speed is very valuable.

Now what I don't know is 4 the maximum or can I put 5 in there? See with tech higher that level 14, that I think even 10 is plausible at some point...and for some species. That would be their superpower but they should really have to work for it. And then they can make special starships.

Otherwise my plan is make ships way increase on "manueverability" so even some battleships might have a phenomenal rating. Say at level 18+.

Why stop at level 14? Why not have at least 18? Then have advanced save games at turn 1000.

[UesugiKenshin]

Andromeda has a ship training project as well as the Omega as well as two other minor races. But the documentation doesn't say it can be less than 100% of whatever points are the base amount. Thus the Omega training is worth more DOUBLE so when playing as them, you really want to rotate all ships there, assemble fleet composition, and then redploy from Omega Alpha. That is a double edge sword as movement points are seriously wasted rather then sending to hubs or assembling starship types and classes at many places.

[UesugiKenshin]

BotE badly needs a map program. See you want for certain aliens to always be near others. Then a quadrant of even a part of a quadrant has historical problems based on probes into established borderlands. Then special projects would end up creating military academies in such a way as to create "hubs" to dispatch from.

With randomization, then all the academies might be lumped at one edge or corner of the galaxy. The they have the big advantage. That isn't fair.

[UesugiKenshin]

http://birth-of-the-empires.de/wiki/ind ... rke#Abriss
It is unclear if scrapping provides a direct recycling of utilized materials.

Here is why it's important.

In the production tab, you can specify how many workers work in what area of focus but it is very annoying micromanagement and not practical. It's impossible controlling galactic sectors that way every turn.

In the manager tab, you can let the manager do it, or specify percentages ie priorities.

As long as intel pr research buildings exist, the manager will attempt to override regardless of percentages...unless you scrap them. In a sandbox game, when intelligence has no purpose, and later when all level 14 tech has been learned, the AI will keep allocating workers regardless.

And every new colony has 4 type 2 research buildings and 4 type 2 intel buildings. See the problem? You use the manager and scrap them to maximize say industry and mining.

[UesugiKenshin]

If you want Viking raider techniques, when you attack but have no intention of staying to govern, this is cruel and brutal but you scrap it all! Think how miserable life would be there afterwards.

If you stay, your forces may have won, but attrition might be severe and the locals are furious. Oh well, scrap 'em.

In history, even rebuilding did not often work. See Iraq. War seldom builds lasting empires as the occupation goes badly and the locals have terrible morale.

[UesugiKenshin]

http://birth-of-the-empires.de/wiki/ind ... _(Content)
This is the way special tech data is configured and there isn't any.provision to learn these later at higher levels....but there should be something we can do as modders to reward players who keep playing past turn#650 when research is complete at level 14.

[UesugiKenshin]

This old way of multiplayer has the potential for creating campaigns.
http://birth-of-the-empires.de/wiki/ind ... ltiplaying

It really is "hotseat mode".

A mod team that would all take turns and intentionally not attack, but design each empire, then would be able to thrive and so accelerate building, research rate, and the building of ships and units, then save as each empire at that advance start, say turn 700.

The players would just love this. No more long near fruitless turns, but war relatively quickly.

Then you would have some very defensible sectors and major fleet operations, not silly AI probes that are pointless.

http://birth-of-the-empires.de/wiki/ind ... stellungen

If your mod team put numerous starbases in the start data for each empire, then scrap them and then you could optimize in turn but based upon time and tech level. Then you would manipulate the prices of accumulated mining storage. Used together this is very valuable to rapidly expand. Just be careful on research so the techs are evenly learned so you get all special tech per level especially speed and cost reductions on mining trades (it eliminates the 15% commission to maximize profits).

Then anyone can create a campaign. It just takes a lot of time.

It's wise to extensively build/scrap starbases to rapidly increase range to do the fastest exploration to set the boundaries. Your team would build an excessive amount and scrap the majority to lower upkeep and then the save the game. Then the players have a starting treasury. In my case it's 3 million credits.

Doing all of that allowed for the creation of a large army and 500 customized advanced ships so the players could build any kind of fleet they want.

Imagine six empires like that.

[UesugiKenshin]

We may never be able to map the galaxy manually. But imagine that since we have 255 slots, that we could designate many as effectively minor species with preset sectors.
http://birth-of-the-empires.de/wiki/ind ... und_Sonnen

A modder could turn on more species, so they have set sector maps, even starting improvements, but those above 8 would be far less empowered so eliminated eventually. Thus it's plausibly a way to create maps of sectors, just not specify the sector map coordinates.

This is a legitimate way to start stronger with nine planets.

Say you turn off minor races or minimize them to a very small percentage, but then effectively add them in as major races but on purpose in an designed sector but very underpowered. Thus you specified a map of sectors with all nine colonizable planets and infrastructure.

It sounds like a workaround.

[UesugiKenshin]

http://birth-of-the-empires.de/wiki/ind ... anets.data

You can specify the major planets data, and add those minor races as major races, thus tailor the galaxy instead of being random.

You can add way more colonizable planets and specify that these sectors have all six resources. See where I am going?

Slot 7 is for minor races, and I think that leaves 255 minus 7 so 248 sectors that can plausibly be specifed as content, just not at specific map coordinates.

It would be a lot of work but at least 254 rich sectors with six resources and nine colonizable planets.

[UesugiKenshin]

http://birth-of-the-empires.de/wiki/ind ... tenklassen

The planet class limits the resources but as long as you are careful specifying,then all six resources would show by designating major race sector planets.

[UesugiKenshin]

If we knew where the tutorial data was located and could add or modify it, then we could use it to add more "tutorial screens" but instead to display text or graphics thus use it for storytelling.

Click here to learn a diplomatic message. Like that and alter the diplomatic data andit would seem like missions were happening to the players.

The same is true for setting achievements. We could in effect have "medals" won by certain outcomes.

This is why I want to modify "random events" to make many and specify the frequency.