What's this, another SMAC/X mod?

Well, I've passed the point of no return: For a while I was involved with the Planetfall project, but I've discovered that not being in charge tends to make me a little unhappy. So, I've decided to create my own SMAX mod (hmmm, can we have some nice mod create SMAC and SMAX icon-smilies? ) to operate how I believe it should. Anyone interested, by all means check out Planetfall; it looks like they've done some awesome work out there since last I checked.

Now, fair warning to anyone who might help me out: My projects will not be run by democratic committee. In the end I'm really doing them mostly for myself and just putting them out for anyone else who might enjoy them; I don't intend for them to be all things to all people, so I figure I'll operate more as what Sting once termed a "benevolent dictatorship". I will listen to people's ideas and give proper credit for them, but just because I listen doesn't actually mean I'll use them.

That said, here are my current plans:

• SMAX factions, including the aliens. Late starts appear ridiculously easy to script.
• At least some of SMAniaC's factions, assuming of course that Maniac doesn't mind. Some really neat ideas in there.
• At least one original faction that I'd already mostly developed for the original game.
• Build it around Revolution! I can't say enough good things about that little project...
• Unit. Design. Maybe not a direct port of the UDW, but something. Right now I'm leaning toward most special abilities and things being some form of promotion; how to make the units modular, though...mmph.
• A new SE/Civic grid! Just how it'll be implemented I haven't decided yet, but definitely some new stuff either way.
• A new use of the Religion mechanic called Doctrines, as detailed here.
• Give the various RecCommons faction-appropriate unique boni, like so.
• An updated (though not totally redesigned) tech-tree, basically to the extent you'd expect 1.5 iterations of the game later. Almost certainly will include a few flavour-ideas from SMAniaC, though not necessarily in the same places - you do good work, Maniac.
• Corporations, in some form or other.
• Culture, in some form or other. The RecCommons link above was actually part of Planetfall's discussion on that topic - I'll most likely end up using something out of there; I'm just not sure what yet.
• Probably at least one new unit-type, possibly as pondered here, assuming I/we can figure out how to make it work without unbalancing things.
• Anything else I think needs doing.
• Finish the damn thing! The only reason my UnitMania update didn't get finished is because came out; and who knows? I may still do a version!

• Unit Design Workshop, as noted above.
• and versions. I honestly was pretty ambivalent about before .
• A proper port of Social Engineering, again as noted above.
• A new victory-condition proposed as a mod to the original game, tentatively referred to as "Xenocide", involving destroying the Planetmind.

• Port the SMAC/X game-mechanics straight. I intend this to be something similar to C4Col.
• Belittle people's ideas, unless they're really really bad!
• Unbalance the factions, as much as I might want D or Z (or my original one) to win most of the time!
• Diss on Planetfall, or any other SMAC/X mod, or tolerate those who do. We're all doing this for basically the same reasons, after all.

Hrmmm...I wonder how much work you need to get done on the thing before getting your own subforum...

Do you have XML/Python/SDK/graphical skills?

XML I can do, though sometimes I get a bit tangled in references. Just need practice there.

Python and SDK I'm almost entirely unfamiliar with, though I suspect I could learn them given time.

Graphics, almost no chance.

Why do you ask, other than that I forgot to mention those facts?

Duneflower said:

Why do you ask, other than that I forgot to mention those facts?

Click to expand...

Most likely because without those skills you'll have a long road ahead of you. A non-democratic team can work, but only if the leader is the one doing the hard work (for example - coding). But, on the bright side, there is a fair bit of graphical work done and some nice mod components out there to borrow.

Oyeah, one other thing I won't do: Set deadlines. My interests are pendulous enough that there's no guarantee I'd make any deadlines I set for myself, so how could I expect anyone else to make them?

Yeah, I expect it to be something of a long road, though with the right people helping...

An idea for being able to design units.
In certain FfH modmods (RiFE mostly) promotions can be set to allow or disallow other promotions, when one is gained it removes another entirely and such. I'm fairly sure some even alter artstyles, and not cost experience but gold instead.
Using something like it as a base, say the city builds a 'Basic Land Chassis' - or sea/air as relevent. For land, say it produces the equivalent of a 1-1-1 Scout Infantry. Then through promotions, you decide what chassis, weapon, armor, reactor and special abilities. Each of them except special abilities would prevent you from changing them later on, except for weapons, armour and reactors. Special abilities would have to be done differently if you wanted to keep to max. two special abilities per unit, or leave it so that you can, for a cost (and while in a city) change abils at will.
The only down-side I see to this is that I don't think the AI will know what it's doing. The basic design units could be made as freely buildable units that don't need 'designing' this way, but they'd still be fairly limited.
Edit: 'kay, necropost. Blame me for not looking at the dates.

That's one heckava necropost! How did you even FIND this thread? Don't threads get deleted after a few millenia of no posts?

From a link in another thread
I was in a bit of a hurry and the old grey matter didn't engage properly, so I kinda missed the dates.
I've already taken it to the technicians to get it rewired so it doesn't miss it again.

Wondered that too. Google does spit out links to ancient threads sometimes, which are apparently not deleted but rather archived somewhere in the depths of the forums database.