Final Frontier: Problems & Issues (Post-3.13 Update Available)

[JosEPh_II]

So, has this mod improved with the 3.17 patch?

Or is it still pretty buggy?

Curious.

JosEPh

 

[me_myrmidon]

Haven't been recently activity in the author's patch/progress thread so I couldn't stand it any longer...

To the previous poster...I haven't had any sort of bugs in the FF games I've played although I have studiously avoided trying the Starbase build exploit. I play out most of a huge map game once a week or so since I first saw this mod. Only Python slowness in the late game is my issue.

First post, just wanted to say that I really dig this mod and have been patiently awaiting updates...

AI script/behavior updates is what I am interested in seeing. Just some basic AI fleet composition changes, such as:


Really important:

- more AI squadrons and/or stacks of missiles

- mandatory destroyer escort for capital ships (remove those cheap solo battleship kills). just one or two destroyers makes a big difference. Otherwise just leave that battleship in the city...


Slightly less important:

- defense of major systems (or border systems, all systems, etc.) should include one scout ship, and a scout in fleets as well

- destroyer escorts for constructors


Totally fantasizing:

- AI builds a "trip-wire" scout/destroyers team or two to orbit major systems to extend squadron vision/strike range. Okay I'll stop.


Basic AI stuff like this would make the wars a bit more challenging (and likely have been suggested many times before). The AI usually ends up "bringing a knife to a gunfight" once the player figures out the reinforcement pathing for all those juicy solo battleships. Yum. Then there is the uncontested use of stealth ships by the player...totally unfair...poor AI (gets a pat on the head).

With the above changes (omit the fantasy suggestion), that "declare war" alert sound may become a thing to fear.

A final happy note to Firaxis: just go ahead and commit to making a full blown Final Frontier game...I will pre-order now *if* you will include a customizable ship components feature like Alpha Centauri!! Oh, and auto-patrol for squadrons. And...

 

[Fistleaf]

I had a bug with the population assignment on planets after a happiness resource supply is cut off (3.17). Basically, if a star system is operating with more happy population than unhappy ones and suddenly the system switches to becoming unhappy due to happiness resource being cut off, the entire population sometimes still works the planets although the population assignment counter is now in the negative. It is possible to play around with this negative population assignment to correct the fault manually.

 

[JosEPh_II]

Only Python slowness in the late game is my issue.

Check the Python files for the mod for this line "import pickle".

If a Python file has that line change it too "import cPickle as pickle". It will speed up the loop processes that *pickle* does. Notepad works just fine for the edit.

JosEPh

Edit: also check your computer's BIOS Chipset settings (especially for XP users). Under Chipset Settings look for AGP Aperature setting. If it reads 64mb set it to match your Video cards ram, i.e. if you have 256mb ram on the v-card the AGP setting should be 256mb. It will improve the game's video rendering especially late game when there is more data on screen.

 

[deanej]

That trick doesn't work on Final Frontier like it does on RFC. The problem is that the everything about solar systems is coded in python. It really should have been coded into the SDK, but for some reason Firaxis avoids the SDK for their mods.

 

[Agent327]

I'd really like to (re-) add Spies and Great People to MOO2Civ. There seems to be a list of Great People definitions, but they're not appearing in-game. So I'd like to know what I need to edit to have Great People being created and make Spies buildable.

 

[deanej]

Well, you need to make buildings/specialists give GP points for them to appear. This also includes interface modifications for the specialists, as well as to get them to show up in the pedia (I don't remember what the exact change is... just replace the MOO2Civ Python\Screens directory with the Star Trek Python\Screens directory and you should be fine as long as all specialists are free specialists.). For the Great General, you need to go to GlobalDefinesAlt and remove the define at the end about the great general threshold. Spies will need to be re-added. Setting bSpy to 1 in the unit entry will make that unit a spy (there is an entry below that for detecting rival spies, I think bCounterSpy). The sabotage production mission doesn't work, though.

 

[Agent327]

Cool! Thanks, that's another big help.

 

[coreybowman]

ive been having a lot of trouble just getting ff to load. i have a dual core cpu monitor tool and you can see the computor try to load it for about 20 sec. then it falls to zero with no loading screen or anything.ive tried clearing the cache but that doesnt seen to help. i know it works ive played a whole game before with no problems.any suggestions?if i look at the error report it just says apphandb1.whatever that means.

 

[JosEPh_II]

That trick doesn't work on Final Frontier like it does on RFC. The problem is that the everything about solar systems is coded in python. It really should have been coded into the SDK, but for some reason Firaxis avoids the SDK for their mods.

Well it worked in the Rise Of Mankind Mod too. And since it works for the "import pickle" in any python file it should help somewhat in FF.

Now wether it would be a noticeable speedup? Well testing will confirm that.

JosEPh

 

[OldGnome]

I have found that Final Frontier seems to ignore my Influence setting of 0%. I never play for a Influence win, but in the latter stages of a game, I am forced to produce wealth to pay for large Influence increases. Is this intentional?

 

[AJSmooth]

Haven't been recently activity in the author's patch/progress thread so I couldn't stand it any longer...

To the previous poster...I haven't had any sort of bugs in the FF games I've played although I have studiously avoided trying the Starbase build exploit. I play out most of a huge map game once a week or so since I first saw this mod. Only Python slowness in the late game is my issue.

First post, just wanted to say that I really dig this mod and have been patiently awaiting updates...

AI script/behavior updates is what I am interested in seeing. Just some basic AI fleet composition changes, such as:


Really important:

- more AI squadrons and/or stacks of missiles

- mandatory destroyer escort for capital ships (remove those cheap solo battleship kills). just one or two destroyers makes a big difference. Otherwise just leave that battleship in the city...


Slightly less important:

- defense of major systems (or border systems, all systems, etc.) should include one scout ship, and a scout in fleets as well

- destroyer escorts for constructors


Totally fantasizing:

- AI builds a "trip-wire" scout/destroyers team or two to orbit major systems to extend squadron vision/strike range. Okay I'll stop.


Basic AI stuff like this would make the wars a bit more challenging (and likely have been suggested many times before). The AI usually ends up "bringing a knife to a gunfight" once the player figures out the reinforcement pathing for all those juicy solo battleships. Yum. Then there is the uncontested use of stealth ships by the player...totally unfair...poor AI (gets a pat on the head).

With the above changes (omit the fantasy suggestion), that "declare war" alert sound may become a thing to fear.

A final happy note to Firaxis: just go ahead and commit to making a full blown Final Frontier game...I will pre-order now *if* you will include a customizable ship components feature like Alpha Centauri!! Oh, and auto-patrol for squadrons. And...

I agree 110%!

 

[PsiCorps]

I and a few others have been working on a Babylon 5 version of Final Frontier and have been encountering problems with the following.
1. Removing the standard PDF everyone starts with and replacing it with a unit of our own design. There doesn't appear to be any way to do it?!
2. Adding/changing Values. I've changed the values in the B5 mod to reflect each Civ's racial culture but this only gives me 5 Civ's. When trying to add more values for the other civs i get schema errors, can't tell if it's something i'm doing wrong or the mod is only set for 5 values. Can anyone help?
3. With the Starships moving over land(space) i understand that the solar systems Sun is in effect a water plot. If this is the case, can a standard Marine unit from normal civ be imported to the game with the Domain set to water instead of land, thus enabling star sytems to be protected by infantry style units? These units could be bombarded from space but the final capture of a solar sytem would have to be by other infanty style units being dropped onto the sun plot instead of by Starships. I know that this is a long shot but in theory it should be possible.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions i would like to hear them.

 

[deanej]

1. This is done in the mapscript, towards the end.
2. I'm not sure why you would get a schema error but the screen is only set for 5 and requires a python mod for more (deleting the file for the advisor screen in Python/Screens will allow 7)
3. Solar systems are land as well; the city restriction is done via python (CvGameUtils.py; it would be possible to use something similar for movement).

 

[PsiCorps]

@deanej
1. Thanks, have sorted out what i wanted with this.
2. Not going to fiddle with this for the moment
3.I found this in CvGameUtils.py

def unitCannotMoveInto(self,argsList):
		ePlayer = argsList[0]		
		iUnitId = argsList[1]
		iPlotX = argsList[2]
		iPlotY = argsList[3]
		return False

Unfortunately i have no idea what any of it means so don't know where to start.

Thanks again for the answers.

 

[deanej]

For checking the feature you can use:

pPlot = CyMap().plot(iPlotX, iPlotY)
		
		if (pPlot):
			
			iFeatureIDSolarSystem = CvUtil.findInfoTypeNum(gc.getFeatureInfo,gc.getNumFeatureInfos(),'FEATURE_SOLAR_SYSTEM')
			
			if (pPlot.getFeatureType() != iFeatureIDSolarSystem):
				return True

For the unit you can use something like:

pUnit = gc.getPlayer(iOwner).getUnit(iUnitID)

		iUnitStarbaseI = CvUtil.findInfoTypeNum(gc.getUnitInfo,gc.getNumUnitInfos(),'UNIT_STARBASE_I')
		if (pUnit.getUnitType() == iUnitStarbaseI):

 

[PsiCorps]

2. I'm not sure why you would get a schema error but the screen is only set for 5 and requires a python mod for more (deleting the file for the advisor screen in Python/Screens will allow 7)

Do you mean CvReligionScreen.py in the B5 Mod folder?

For checking the feature you can use:


Code:
pPlot = CyMap().plot(iPlotX, iPlotY)

if (pPlot):

iFeatureIDSolarSystem = CvUtil.findInfoTypeNum(gc.getFeatureInfo,gc.getNumFeatureInfos(),'FEATURE_SOLAR_SYSTEM')

if (pPlot.getFeatureType() != iFeatureIDSolarSystem):
return True

For the unit you can use something like:

Code:
pUnit = gc.getPlayer(iOwner).getUnit(iUnitID)

iUnitStarbaseI = CvUtil.findInfoTypeNum(gc.getUnitInfo,gc.getNumUnitInfos(),'UNIT_STARBASE_I')
if (pUnit.getUnitType() == iUnitStarbaseI):

I wouldn't even know where to start with these bits, but thanks for the info.

 

[deanej]

Yeah, deleting the one in the B5 folder will cause the screen to display seven instead of five. Anything more requires you to modify the screen for it.

 

[RandMuadDib]

Hi there, new to the forums. been trying to find a way to start out with more than one unit in Final Frontier, but everytime i try adding or changing things in <freeunitclasses> nothing happens, it seems to be completely overridden by the PDS. I tried it in a normal game of civ and it worked fine. Could it be because you start out with a city so it wants to put all the units on the city, but can only put one kind of unit on each tile?

Thanks

 

[deanej]

The unit placement is overridden by the map script.