[MOD] Planet Roanoke, a/k/a all SMAC'ed up

[jenks]

ill stick Diemos' new leaders and traits with the couple of updates ive done, take energy back 1 per tile and bundle it as 0.150 then ... will have a quick test of the energy thing before i post it, if it really sucks then that can be a future change

[edit: few bugs out, loadsa new civs/traits/even HQs - makes a very nice release ]

 

[Padmewan]

Version 0.15 captures a lot of hard work from this team starting from version 0.149. Jenks, Diemos, and ErikG all put in serious code and graphics changes from earlier version. The game plays a lot differently now, and is more "true" to the feel of a crash-landing on an alien planet.

More tweaking is necessary before we feel that even the first Era is "set," but we are getting there. Please join us if you are interested in being part of this very exciting mod!

 

[woodelf]

It is definitely headed in the right direction and is much more exciting early on. Great job guys.

 

[jenks]

Changes so far in forthcoming release (patch v0.15a)

PADMEWAN 
*Fixed a bug in python (CvCustomEventManager.py) for not making pulses end when they kill the first city *Fixed an 'eternal' terraforming bug in same file
JENKS 
*Fixed one remaining 'pink blobby' icon (at Social Engineering) 
*'Promotions/Art button files renamed to sort out all species promotion (hover icons) *Changed all Species shrines to same icon, 300 production, requiring state religion to build (and to produce more similar stats until they are redesigned / balanced) *Commented out the Anti-species promotions until they are implemented in game (on the to do list, atm this requires SDK coding but is do-able!) *Made Applied physics a free tech available only to scientist type factions (part of the 'probe's and Dierdre' fix, below) *Made prereq tech for probe APPLIED PHYSICS so only Scientist types (who do not get a free militia) get a free one at the beginning of game, and adjusted free units as planned so all get 1 x Settler & 1 x PD & 1 x (Probe : Zakharov/Roze, Agribot : Deirdre/ChaDawn, Security : Santiago, Militia : Everyone else!) *made all factions have one 'flavor' tech + 'Xenology' tech (to simplify for the moment while the tech tree is updated) (+ also to get all factions able to see bonus Co2/Nh3 resources when building its first colony!) *Took away free Network node for University

 

[jenks]

Big update for 015A - now up on Planet Roanoke

stripped back down to Era I tech tree, all new factions and leaderheads as well as updates listed above

looks at first like a backwards step but the loads of changes are big time progress. woot!

 

[woodelf]

I played quite a bit of 0.15A and it does flow better. The damn pulses are a PITA when they start coming in waves of 4+.

The salvage additions are very nice and offer a good diversity of things to add to your capital. What does the agribot do now? I couldn't get him to make any improvements even after getting 1/2 of the techs down and putting him on a resource tile.

 

[Bastian-Bux]

Actually they are a PITA even in stacks of 2 if you didn't start on a hill. They have a good chance to steamroll a pulse dampener.

 

[jenks]

Thanks for the quick feedback !

the pulses are working as designed then hehe, should put you on the defensive or at least a bit on the 'back foot' for much of the first era (PITA still looking at ways of making the combat go quicker though)

Actually they are a PITA even in stacks of 2 if you didn't start on a hill. They have a good chance to steamroll a pulse dampener.

I was aiming at getting the balance for this , so that a PD will clear out an energy pulse (100% of the time) but usually take a bit of damage, then when he is wounded he is much less effective. i.e. bring backup militia or more PD's!

Not sure whats going on with the Agribot there Woodelf , will take a looksie.

Currently in design on the forum
- Flavour: Base Names
- Era II tech tree

 

[woodelf]

Jenks - How's the mapscript coming? I played the Xenoarchipelgo last night and got stuck on a small island by myself. That kind of sucked...

Maybe a Xenopanagea next?

 

[jenks]

What does the agribot do now? I couldn't get him to make any improvements even after getting 1/2 of the techs down and putting him on a resource tile.

Tested and looked at the code but I cant seem to get this result ...
Agribot builds a hothouse fine for me, provided he is
a) on flatlands/sand
b) inside cultural borders
Had you already terraformed to soil? Thats something I forgot to take out of Era I as its not implemented properly yet (will remove it in 0.15A's 'b' patch)

Jenks - How's the mapscript coming? I played the Xenoarchipelgo last night and got stuck on a small island by myself. That kind of sucked... Maybe a Xenopanagea next?

Currently the Roanoke.py which should install in the PublicMaps folder has you play on a 'Lakes' type map ( i dont fancy meddling with maps myself just yet ) ...

XenoPangaea would be a logical easier step though than a XenoArchipelago though, as the game concept of whether Fibersea acts like regular Sea (and is crossable by airborne units and ships of sorts) is still very much on the discussion table ...

 

[woodelf]

Didn't agribots used to consume themselves building early improvements only on resources? I didn't try him on any bare terrain tiles so maybe that's the problem.

 

[jenks]

Didn't agribots used to consume themselves building early improvements only on resources? I didn't try him on any bare terrain tiles so maybe that's the problem.

Nah im looking at the code and what we had planned for him as a food helping unit.
Agribots should sacrifice themself to build a Hothouse on either Sand or Soil (should be able to build the hothouse on wheat, rice or corn resources also if you find them after terraforming)

Hopefully will get Era II in along with some pedia entries soon
Think when thats done we move ourselves over to the forum's Civ4/Modpacks section to get some more traffic

[update] Now available at Planet Roanoke: 'b patch' - new xml for roanoke v0.15a

A 'general tidying up' patch, modifying many XML files in the Roanoke folder.
(requires the full 0.15A version to already be installed)
Following changes included:
ADDITIONS AND CHANGES
- Resonance Cloak building (+25% base defense)
- Building costs changed depending on their appearance in the tech tree (to be balanced later)
- Network Node down to +25% science
- Made the 2nd resonator improvement a 'Lattice Grid', & the Terran Hothouse just 'Hothouse' for simplicity
- Removed Vanilla 'Hints', added Three Roanoke-specific messages
- Changed flavours and score gained by all base structures, gave all Era I buildings appropriately named classes
REMOVALS
- unit promotions for PD and Militia (they are not always clear upgrades, i.e. when security are available you cant build the much cheaper PDs for defense any more (woodelf))
- Commented all unused buildings and classes (era II and buildings not yet in game)
- Commented all unused units and classes (species-specific and era II units not yet in game)
- Tidied up code in unitinfos / unitinfoclasses / unitformations (big change - unit classes now more descriptive and ordered)
- Set improvement requirements for terraform/wind turbine/resonator/solar plant to future tech

 

[jenks]

Few fixes and improvements in 0.15A (c patch) - now available

The C patch modifies many XML files in the Roanoke folder, and includes all the changes from Patch B.(requires the full 0.15A version to already be installed)
New changes in patch C include:
ADDITIONS AND CHANGES
- all tech costs down by 20% at base (to 40/80/120/160) to help against the lack of building options in Era I
- promotions tree provides more bonuses for increased specialisation (list of suggested changes @ http://www.anderkoo.com/roanoke?func=view&wid=269&forumId=1795&forumOp=viewThread&forumPostId=102071#102071 : not 100% finished yet) 
- 'Dawn of Man' startup screen reworded so it makes a bit more sense in English 
- building traits balanced and made a bit more logical (biosynth/human life support/recycler/fertility clinic)
- HQ specs to match original design (took away +1 happy bonus for Academy/Hive/Spartan HQ's) 
- text keys read 'Cyborg' instead of 'Borg', 'Terran' instead of 'Pureblood'
- text for promotions to read 'Base/Bases' instead of 'City/Cities' 
- resource tag for 'He-3' now reads 'Helium He-3' to avoid confusion with NH3 / Co2 resources 
- added three more Roanoke specific hints (total 6) 
- added vanilla entries to pedia temporarily (for comm array and resonance cloak buildings)
- agribots now can travel over lattice (and get back to bases!) 
 REMOVALS
- food bonuses for buildings, to slow base growth/production/advancement in Era I 
- 'double production' copper bonus from planetary datalinks, so removing copper resource this will not need changing any more 
- 'except vs. Gunpowder units' string for all buildings
- all 'automatic era starts' for buildings

 

[Padmewan]

XenoPangaea would be a logical easier step though than a XenoArchipelago though, as the game concept of whether Fibersea acts like regular Sea (and is crossable by airborne units and ships of sorts) is still very much on the discussion table ...

I forget which map script I pacakged previously. The one I use is a modded "snaky pangaea" which makes the most sense. I'll check to see if that's the one bundled...

 

[jenks]

Now up at Planet Roanoke forum ....

The D patch is another XML update, and includes all the changes from Patch B & C. Its the next step and about all i can do in XML alone in preparing for a terraforming overhaul (help required!)

(this patch requires the full 0.15A version to already be installed - see the 'next page' of the download section on the Planet Roanoke website)
New changes in patch D include:
Additions, Changes:
*Moved techs to balance Era I tech tree, costs, flavours & scores 
*Reduced score generated for all completed buildings, changed Barracks to +2XP cost 60 (earlier in tech tree also) 
*Added key to rename cottage/hamlet/village/town 
*Added Lattice Loom improvements tree (in place of cottages: the lattice loom 'plant' option is now temporarily assigned to future tech) 
*added ability to remove lattice (8 turns) at Industrial Engineering tech 
*most improvements now require Industrial Engineering tech to be built in lattice 
*Changed improvement build times, after industrial engineering all improvements now remove lattice (and take 8 turns longer). exceptions are Roads (6 turns instead of 3) and Lattice Looms (which require lattice) 
Fixes, Removals:
*Stopped Agribot being able to build a hothouse in lattice, removing it where the engineer couldnt
*Some tuning on the spawning of resources, to try and stop the ones not in game popping up (at least to be less often). Also made the native 'structures' (circle/pyramid/pentagon/spiral - what are these going to be for, do they have a design in game yet?) more rare, and the game resources we have design uses for (as yet this is He-3 & Lattice Crystals) a bit more prominent 
*some code shuffling and re-organisation 
*Renamed each redundant improvement and resource in the civilopedia to 'Unused resource' / 'Unused Improvement' (to be redesigned at a later stage) ITS MESSY STILL! but at least separates 'what is in' from 'what isnt' in the mod, hopefully gives the player a little better picture of what can be done at the moment 
*Taken away most of the massive bonuses for future improvements to simplify the pedia (they arent even designed yet :p) and stop some clutter in the pedia 
Generally patch D changes a few balance issues, but is a coding/fundamentals update ready for era II and fixing terraforming/resources/improvements issues

Busy few days ! -
Still on the to do list (im stuck though!)
- Terraforming bugs?!
- Stripping the unused bonus resources and improvements

Currently in discussion on the website
- Flavour: Base Names
- Era II tech tree
- Playtesting the latest version

 

[jenks]

0.16 now available

Era I would like playing and testing!

This version has:

A) a big overhaul to the Civilopedia coding and XML text keys in preparation for future information and strategy entries to be copy/pasted in as they are developed.

B) a rethink of the Wreckage / Mysterious Signal / Salvage system, helping the AI use this effectively and hopefully making scouting more fun

Some more details and other minors:
*changed the aerator art in the pedia to match Pad's new aerator button 
*editing/tidying the code to match the new faction names 
*inputting the full list of flavoured faction base names from the discussion thread 
*split the large text keys files into multiple files to easier manage the text keys 
*tidied and generated empty pedia entries/quotes/strategies for all units/buildings/technologies etc. so we can fill in as we develop the mod (need some writers!)
*robbed an air elemental button from FfH for the energy pulses :p looks much better than the lion/panther hehe
*(removal of vanilla) and incorporating Roanoke specific Game Concepts (8 'empty' entries exist at present)
*removed the salvage unit, replaced with 5 salvage units with one build ability / production (they are more valuable, but you have to do some scouting work to get them now!)
*modified ai considerably for salvage units, should now be used for buildings
*wreckages now replace the mysterious signals as goody huts (didnt quite fit) scattered around roanoke, with new 'goody' options (which include salvage)
*investigating wreckage sites is always positive, probes and zeppelins get substantially better results 
*reassigned some more relevant sounds and ipoints scores to building completions
*loads of boring tidying and editing code changes in every file and bla bla bla ...

 

[Nokomis]

I find this mod very intriguing and would like to help out, so if you are still looking for a writer, please contact me at xueliean2@yahoo.com. Thank you for your time.

 

[jenks]

Update available at the usual forum

0.16b has the following changes and fixes since 0.16 release

PADMEWAN *Simple economy allows rushing at cost (4:1) *Gasplant building graphic in for Aerator *NH3 now accessed via Hothouse, not Aerator *Aeration feature now removed if Aerator removed *'Flavor' and gfx changes to terrain (Very Cold/Cold) *includes the new CvGameCoreDLL.dll AI patch 

JENKS *No more 'fresh water lakes' of fibersea *re-linked strategy entries for explore techs *corrected patch install directory (my bad!) *fixed ctd in combat with units without combat values *charismatic trait gives +1 control/base, +15% control/base *efficient trait gives -50% civic upkeep cost, +1 credit/base *bump! food to sustain each population down to 2 from 3 (also base facility now produces minimum 2 rather than 3 food)

 

[jenks]

I find this mod very intriguing and would like to help out, so if you are still looking for a writer, please contact me at xueliean2@yahoo.com. Thank you for your time.

Thanks for the offer (emailed you this reply in case you dont come back here!)

Have you checked out our Roanoke forum at http://www.anderkoo.com/roanoke ?

Flavour is slowly being added in Roanoke as the concepts we have in solidify (currently in discussion on the Roanoke forum is one of our more completed concepts: writing Leaderhead and faction bio's for the civilopedia). Were in a discussion process at the moment, so anything you can contribute would be appreciated

Cheers!

 

[tdb]

Awesome. Totally awesome. Despite the fact that there's not much content yet. You've managed to capture the feel of an alien and hostile environment really well.

A couple of notes:
- Probe and Zeppelin say that they get better results from "mysterious signals" - I suppose this means wreckage?
- When you find an energy cache from a wreckage, the game says you got gold
- The energy pulses stopped appearing after 130AD
- Energy pulses always come from the right and head straight for the city, ignoring any workers or other units on the side

The almost complete lack of buildings giving culture was a pretty bad showstopper (I really don't want to collect 2000 culture at a rate of 3/turn), so I got bored at 180AD or so.

Keep up the good work, I'll be waiting for updates!