I need help with editing of the game files

[Winner]

I've decided to dust up Alpha Centauri and play few games, while I still have the time

Since I enjoy the early stages of game more, I decided to heavily edit the files to make the game 'slower'. That means I made research slower, base facilities more expensive to build, nutrients more difficult to obtain, etc.

However, it still bugs me that one unit of population is 10 thousand (10,000 citizens). Is this hardcoded, or can I change that to, say, 1,000? So that a base with population count 8 will have 8,000 instead of 80,000 inhabitants?
(EDIT: *solved* )

Also, is there any way to change the 1 turn = 1 year rule? For example I'd like to bring back months, so that 1 turn = 1/12 of standard year.

Thanks for any advice

 

[Winner]

Not that I have any hopes that I'll get a reply here but...

... is the ferocity of the native live dependent solely on how many turns have you played?

I tested my modifications, but it seems that ~300 turns in the game all native mind worms I am encountering are the strongest possible (demon boils).

Is there any way I can adjust this?

 

[vyeh]

I do know that very early in the game, native life is weaker. I have not heard of any other adjustments. It may be that the later mindworms you encounter are the survivors of numerous battles (native life will attack any non-native life, regardless of odds, they get a basic 3-2 psi attack advantage and they do not suffer hasty attack penalties) and thus likely to be demon boils (the highest lifecycle).

How did you solve your original problem?

As far as I know, the only adjustment that can be made is the ending year.

If you would post one of your 300+ turn game saves, I'll see if I can answer your question about demon boils.

 

[Petek]

For the first 15 turns, native life forms fight at one-half strength. Also, it's true that native life gets stronger as the game progresses. IIRC, each time you get the following message:

Hercules (Alpha Centauri B) is approaching perihelion!
For the next 20 years, we expect native life activity to
increase dramatically.

native life forms get one life cycle promotion, until they reach demon boil.

Petek

 

[Winner]

I do know that very early in the game, native life is weaker. I have not heard of any other adjustments. It may be that the later mindworms you encounter are the survivors of numerous battles (native life will attack any non-native life, regardless of odds, they get a basic 3-2 psi attack advantage and they do not suffer hasty attack penalties) and thus likely to be demon boils (the highest lifecycle).

How did you solve your original problem?

I didn't. I just slowed everything down considerably and I simply take 1 turn as 1 month.

As far as I know, the only adjustment that can be made is the ending year.

I did that - the kind of game I'd like to have would be veeery long (thousands of turns). Unfortunately I think this cannot be realized. Not only because of the problem with native life, but also with AI. Computer-controlled factions can't be reasoned with - most of the time they'll fight to the death. Which in my setting means that the weaker factions get eliminated pretty soon and I am stuck with monster Believers, Spartans or the Hive (woohoo). I don't think there is any way around it - AI cannot be 'taught' to make peace once the enemy has been dealt a blow.

For the first 15 turns, native life forms fight at one-half strength. Also, it's true that native life gets stronger as the game progresses. IIRC, each time you get the following message:

Hercules (Alpha Centauri B) is approaching perihelion!
For the next 20 years, we expect native life activity to
increase dramatically.

native life forms get one life cycle promotion, until they reach demon boil.

This is it, most probably. It happens every 40 years or so (IIRC the stars get to their closest approach every 80 years, but it might be different in the game ) so I probably just reached the maximum level.

Crap. I don't think this can be edited, it's probably hardcoded

Anyway, thanks for the tip.

(I am making a large map of "terraformed" Mars in Alpha Cent. - if I turn off the "Planet" in scenario editor, I can at least partially get around this problem. Unfortunately on Mars the landmass is continuous so one AI faction will always wipe out all others...)

 

[vyeh]

For the first 15 turns, native life forms fight at one-half strength. Also, it's true that native life gets stronger as the game progresses. IIRC, each time you get the following message:

Hercules (Alpha Centauri B) is approaching perihelion!
For the next 20 years, we expect native life activity to
increase dramatically.

native life forms get one life cycle promotion, until they reach demon boil.

Petek

Thanks. I learned something new.

 

[vyeh]

it's true that native life gets stronger as the game progresses. IIRC, each time you get the following message:

Hercules (Alpha Centauri B) is approaching perihelion!
For the next 20 years, we expect native life activity to
increase dramatically.

native life forms get one life cycle promotion, until they reach demon boil.

Petek

An interesting quirk: native life forms get one life cycle promotion until they reach mature boil. Then they jump from mature boil to demon boil. In a scenario editor test I did for the bug fixing project, the native mind worm was a mature boil for MY 2429 and became a demon boil for MY 2430, skipping the great boil stage.

 

[Winner]

So, is there any way to make the native live less aggressive? Or to make it get "promotions" slower?

Of course people who are sick of fungal blooms destroying their terrain improvement mischief: ) can always turn the Planet "off" in the scenario editor, but then the game loses one dimension which can sometimes be fun (especially if your faction has a high "planet" rating).

BTW, here's a screenshot of a faction I made as a sort of experiment (I am thinking of making 6 more as a part of "Venus scenario" I've outlined on paper). If there was a way to regulate the native life, it would definitely be a boost:

My grandfather dedicated his life's work to the Venera
programme in the old Soviet Union. When I was chosen
to lead the first Russian expedition to this planet,
I felt almost as if the Universe had given me a chance
to honor him.
^
^ -- Academician Oleg Gorchakov,
^ "Return to Venera"

#DATALINKS1
^LEADER: {Dr. Oleg Gorchakov}
^BACKGROUND: {Russian Science Academy, Expedition Leader}
^AGENDA: {Exploration of Venera}
^

#DATALINKS2
^+2 RESEARCH: {Cream of the Russian Science Academy}
^-1 EFFICIENCY: {Bureaucracy and corruption}
^50% hurry cost: {Russian improvisation}
^Free prototypes: {Talented engineers, good at jury-rigging equipment}

 

[vyeh]

This is the breakdown:

2101 - 2114: Hatchling (+): -12%, half-strength
2115 - 2144: Hatchling (+): -12%
2145 - 2189: Larval Mass: -12%
2190 - 2269: Pre-Boil: +0%
2270 - 2349: Boil: +12%
2350 - 2429: Mature Boil: +25%
2430 - : Demon Boil: +50%

 

[Winner]

So it take +- 400 years for the native like to reach maximum morale. Is there any way to alter this, or is it hardcoded?

 

[vyeh]

hardcoded

 

[Winner]

Crap

 

[vyeh]

If you are creating a scenario, you can always set the mission year.

 

[Winner]

If you are creating a scenario, you can always set the mission year.

I know, but it doesn't help - the game simply counts turns. Even if I set the starting year to "0", I'd see demon boils all around by turn 400 or so.

I thought that perhaps the game could be made to understand I am trying to stretch the time frame, but sadly it seems this isn't possible.