Having the techs come more rapid fire did make an improvement, but I still think we need a few more buildings to build. If you beeline to Colonization there aren't too many things to build other than simple units. We need one or two more buildings and we'll be golden.
[MOD] Planet Roanoke, a/k/a all SMAC'ed up
- Thread starter Padmewan
- Start date
OTOH, in terms of realism this makes a certain amount of sense. If you are sitting in your first base just barely surviving, and instead of researching how to create food and production you decide to blow all of your research on building another base, it makes sense that your folks will be sitting there twiddling their thumbs.woodelf said:
One thing that we can do to give slightly more options in the beginning is a very low-yeild equivalent to "build beakers" or "build gold" that has a 4-for-1 or 3-for-1 trade -- very bad, but at least it's more useful than having 10,000 militia.
Also, one of the major problems with our early game is having research go much slower than builds. This is partly because our terrain is mineral-rich but food and energy-poor, so units/buildings are quick to build but research slow. Making the research cheaper and builds more expensive will help, I think.
Padmewan said:
Yeah, the production to research does help avoid the militia issue, but not the "Enter" problem. Thankfully the techs coming faster at least gives you something to look forward to until your first engineer is busily working.
Latest version up; includes lots of unit value tweaks, earlier colonization, and some REALLY MEAN animals/barbarians. Unfortunately the AI seems to lag behind a competent human player, and as identified in another thread, seems unable to detect civic effects on improvement values.
The latest version includes a very... interesting unit animation for Cyneid (conscious software). Feedback wanted!
Row 1: Infantry -- militia, security, EMP, Assault
Row 2: Rover, Tank
Row 3: Borg Grunt, Borg Tank
Row 4: Cyneid fibersea.explorer.3
The latest version includes a very... interesting unit animation for Cyneid (conscious software). Feedback wanted!
Row 1: Infantry -- militia, security, EMP, Assault
Row 2: Rover, Tank
Row 3: Borg Grunt, Borg Tank
Row 4: Cyneid fibersea.explorer.3
GeoModder
Deity
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- Messages
- 7,512
Mmm...
negatives first:
CTD when I try to toggle the map grid.
"Floodplains" texture shows white instead of green, but it only shows on a slight angle towards the plot in question. Can't figure out this one.
Pink dots for the player's unit buttons (when active unit is offscreen). Buttons not ok or something wrong with the XML?
Native life threat buttons show earth animals (like panthers...). I mean the red blinking button that shows on the gamescreen if native life comes within range.
Ocean lattice looks too uniform. The same pattern repeats over and over again. Coastal lattice OTOH: :goodjobb:
No land lattice graphics yet? I see jungle instead.
Edges of plots show too clear on the gamescreen.
Positives:
Nice SMAC feel with the music, unit/facilities/tech buttons and such.
Terrain comes over quite convincing in general.
Good unit graphics. But perhaps the native "treeman" could be bigger to come on par with the player units. And a native life flag wouldn't harm instead of the deadhead flag.
Nice start on some of those new effects.
Lots of mysteries laying around on the first few games. For instance, the Pentagon is nearby, but it stays ominous for way ingame till the proper tech is discovered.
I like the "geo"scan result when popping some of those monoliths.
The specialists let a base prosper.
Bugs?
I have discovered the proper tech, but can't build mines on that coal-like resource?
CTD for unknown reasons on turn 47. I *think* a road was just finished by a civil engineer on that coal-like resource.
Suggestions:
Use the SMAC displays for food, minerals and energy.
Put some sound on that zeppelin.
Switch probes with zeppelins. The probes look way more hightech then the zeppelins. Unless of course they are remnants of the ship's equipment stock and can't be reproduced at first.
negatives first:
CTD when I try to toggle the map grid.
"Floodplains" texture shows white instead of green, but it only shows on a slight angle towards the plot in question. Can't figure out this one.
Pink dots for the player's unit buttons (when active unit is offscreen). Buttons not ok or something wrong with the XML?
Native life threat buttons show earth animals (like panthers...). I mean the red blinking button that shows on the gamescreen if native life comes within range.
Ocean lattice looks too uniform. The same pattern repeats over and over again. Coastal lattice OTOH: :goodjobb:
No land lattice graphics yet? I see jungle instead.
Edges of plots show too clear on the gamescreen.
Positives:
Nice SMAC feel with the music, unit/facilities/tech buttons and such.
Terrain comes over quite convincing in general.
Good unit graphics. But perhaps the native "treeman" could be bigger to come on par with the player units. And a native life flag wouldn't harm instead of the deadhead flag.
Nice start on some of those new effects.
Lots of mysteries laying around on the first few games.
For instance, the Pentagon is nearby, but it stays ominous for way ingame till the proper tech is discovered.I like the "geo"scan result when popping some of those monoliths.
The specialists let a base prosper.
Bugs?
I have discovered the proper tech, but can't build mines on that coal-like resource?
CTD for unknown reasons on turn 47. I *think* a road was just finished by a civil engineer on that coal-like resource.
Suggestions:
Use the SMAC displays for food, minerals and energy.
Put some sound on that zeppelin.
Switch probes with zeppelins. The probes look way more hightech then the zeppelins. Unless of course they are remnants of the ship's equipment stock and can't be reproduced at first.
GeoModder said:Mmm...
negatives first:
CTD when I try to toggle the map grid.
"Floodplains" texture shows white instead of green, but it only shows on a slight angle towards the plot in question. Can't figure out this one.
Pink dots for the player's unit buttons (when active unit is offscreen). Buttons not ok or something wrong with the XML?
Native life threat buttons show earth animals (like panthers...). I mean the red blinking button that shows on the gamescreen if native life comes within range.
Ocean lattice looks too uniform. The same pattern repeats over and over again. Coastal lattice OTOH: :goodjobb:
No land lattice graphics yet? I see jungle instead.
Edges of plots show too clear on the gamescreen.
Positives:
Nice SMAC feel with the music, unit/facilities/tech buttons and such.
Terrain comes over quite convincing in general.
Good unit graphics. But perhaps the native "treeman" could be bigger to come on par with the player units. And a native life flag wouldn't harm instead of the deadhead flag.
Nice start on some of those new effects.
Lots of mysteries laying around on the first few games.
I like the "geo"scan result when popping some of those monoliths.
The specialists let a base prosper.
Bugs?
I have discovered the proper tech, but can't build mines on that coal-like resource?
CTD for unknown reasons on turn 47. I *think* a road was just finished by a civil engineer on that coal-like resource.
Suggestions:
Use the SMAC displays for food, minerals and energy.
Put some sound on that zeppelin.
Switch probes with zeppelins. The probes look way more hightech then the zeppelins. Unless of course they are remnants of the ship's equipment stock and can't be reproduced at first.
Negatives first?!?!?
Nice feedback Geo. Thanks. I CTD'd around that same turn as well. Maybe exactly turn 47. Odd. I wonder if Gene put something into python that occurs then? I was building a road, but not near a resource.
I'm sure once Gene gets back from camping he'll be glad to add your suggestions and try to convince you to help us.
I know we could use some opening still shots like you did for SotM.
GeoModder
Deity
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- Nov 29, 2005
- Messages
- 7,512
woodelf said:Negatives first?!?!?
Hey, can I help it I like to end my posts on a positive/questioning note?
woodelf said:I know we could use some opening still shots like you did for SotM.
If you don't mind some copyright infringement (I know you don't atm
) I can arrange something. 
GeoModder said:If you don't mind some copyright infringement (I know you don't atm
It would certainly help the opening atmosphere.
Have you checked our forums about our ideas for "pop-up" screens that tell a story when you discover lattice, meet xenobarbs, ect?
GeoModder
Deity
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- Nov 29, 2005
- Messages
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Yeah, just did it. For the popup idea I don't know enough for the background of this mod. I mean, are the probes remote controlled devices on ground level or are they floating around in orbit adjusting their inclination every turn? SMAC doesn't have pic representures of objects like the Pentagon. And do you mean a picture popup on which text is imprinted, or a text window with a pic attached?
I *think* we mean a cut-scene with a pic and some text. But I'm not sure which way is easiest or if any of the ideas are possible.
Basically when you encounter something different or new for the first time we'd like to offer some backstory via text. I'm unclear how though.
Basically when you encounter something different or new for the first time we'd like to offer some backstory via text. I'm unclear how though.
Maniac
Apolyton Sage
Little note: it should be anthropocentric instead of anthrocentric
Gene,
This is what I've had in mind for our border expansion...
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=169725
Can you incorporate it into our python?
This is what I've had in mind for our border expansion...
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=169725
Can you incorporate it into our python?
I'm back from camping but will be busy the first half of this week. Keep on keepin' on, woodelf
GeoModder, thanks for trying this out and for your great suggestions and feedback. Hope you will consider joining the team!
GeoModder, thanks for trying this out and for your great suggestions and feedback. Hope you will consider joining the team!
Prolly b/c the new textures don't come with map grid versions...GeoModder said:
We are looking to get rid of rivers altogether. The "Resonance Wash" was an experiment with changing "irrigation" to an energy rather than food concept, but irrigation=food turns out to be pretty deeply embedded in the game engine. Changable, but probably not worth doing. Therefore, getting rid of rivers altogether makes most sense (though I do have a new, food-related proposal for irrigation).
We need to create an "Atlas" for our units, which isn't really worth doing until they are complete (and we have a decent graphics program to handle it).
If we got rid of it, they would be pink
Yeah, that's the problem with starting with a 128x128 pattern. Over large swaths that pattern will repeat quite noticably. The Coast does not tile in the same way so you don't notice it.
Nope. It's pink jungle, but jungle nonetheless. To get Lattice looking right will take some pretty serious graphical work. Any volunteers?
Not sure what you mean by this. You mean, edges of the terrain? I'm a little baffled by why the "snow" tiles are doing that, if that's what you're describing.
That's seZereth's excellent handiwork with some woodelf reskinning. However, if you can identify it as a "Tree" then maybe it still looks too much like the original Dryad... at any rate, the unit keeps getting bigger as it gets more powerful over the ages (for now). LIke the mindworms, except we can't tie promotions to graphics changes (that I know of).
Its true value and use won't be discovered until Era IV, in fact. When you get the tech to exploit it in Era II, you are actually "misusing" it (as is the case for most of the planet until Era IV).Lots of mysteries laying around on the first few games.
Right now that's accessed via a Hothouse (I think the mouseover should show this), but I'm probably changing this to an Extractor or something similar in connection with the "Irrigation" concept brought up earlier.
Per woodelf's response, we will need to debug this one carefully.
Have the font file changes, but my graphics program doesn't handle alpha channels the right way to make it work.Use the SMAC displays for food, minerals and energy.
Ha! You should have heard the complaints I got when I kept the original gunship sounds by accident.Put some sound on that zeppelin.
Well, the Zeppelins' graphics are what they are for now, but there is an actual story reason for this (which would be explained if we get the game interstitials in place), which is: the probes are remote, electronic devices that skim close to the ground (like Predators). Lattice interferes with their functioning and they are highly vulnerable to native "issues." The zeppelins, being relatively low-tech, do not experience quite as much interference from the Lattice, and by flying higher have a greater resistance to Psi attacks. If we can make them look more futuristic, all the better...
The posted mod is in fact an SDK/C++ solution. I am hunting down a copy of the appropriate Visual Studio so I can get involved in this. Because of the nature of SDK mods, I think it may make more sense to lump our changes together than to do it piecemeal after we've figured out what else we want changed (e.g. for Barbarians to show up earlier; multi-domain units; Barbarians building in "water," etc...)woodelf said:
