Space Food Empires!

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings.

Some of you know that I've been working on a mod for the Last few months entitled, "Space Food Empires".

The Premise:
"...In a strange universe unlike our own, everyday food has evolved into complex sentient lifeforms and have developed their own civilizations and cultures that now hover on the brink of the final frontier, space..."

I've finally got around to updating the website to the mod's latest content, with updates to the following sections:
</font> <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Features</font> <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Empire Descriptions</font> <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Technology (Components, weapons)</font> <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Space Yards (Ship Sizes and types)</font><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">
Aside from working on the data files, I've started building some of the 3D ship models. I'll post those at the website as they are completed.

I know some of you will be inspired to silliness, but feel free to ask questions, or make comments and suggestions.

You can visit the website via the link provided in my signature below.

[Combat Wombat]

/me Cheers

This really sounds like it should be a very fun mod.

[TerranC]

/me crosses fingers in hoping that a tragedy such as the one that befell the Star Trek ConVersion mod does not happen to Space Food empires.

[Captain Kwok]

Originally posted by TerranC:
/me crosses fingers in hoping that a tragedy such as the one that befell the Star Trek ConVersion mod does not happen to Space Food empires. <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">The Space Food Empires Mod is backed up in triplicate on an almost daily basis. How does that saying go? "Hard disk failure once and data loss, shame on the computer, hard disk failure and data loss twice? &%$##@!"

[TerranC]

/me jumps up and down in anticipation.
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
Originally posted by Captain Kwok:
The Space Food Empires Mod is backed up in triplicate on an almost daily basis. How does that saying go? "Hard disk failure once and data loss, shame on the computer, hard disk failure and data loss twice? &%$##@!" <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">

[Renegade 13]

Looks awesome...I wanna play it NOW!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[Taz-in-Space]

Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase:

I'm having a big Mac attack! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Sorry! Taz couldn't resist. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Now hurry up and finish that mod! Taz can't wait to kill some Broccoli... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Top 1000 reasons to play this mod:

#1: Saying to another player: 'If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.'

Ain't nobody gonna beat that.

[Captain Kwok]

Defeating the Broccoli will be a challenge - you'll need to avoid their ship capture technologies while maintaining a significant numerical advantage.

If you do have some free time available, read through some of race descriptions - there's a lot of little hidden gems. Or at least I think so.

[Captain Kwok]

Here is a little background on the whole Space Food idea in general, so at least you'll understand a bit more where it comes from and that I'm not really insane.

The Space Food universe dates back to about 1992. My cousin and I were into Star Trek and were doing a spoof of it in the form of a "radio play" called Food Trek. We developed a little script and a backstory about the food universe and the different cultures. That's probably why you might see some Trek influence in many of the races now. Over the next couple of years we did some "comics" and sketches of ships. I also went as far to create a whole Space Food lore, which in a way I've adapted to suit Space Empires.

Of course, I outgrew the Food universe and didn't think about much until I discovered the Space Empires series. After I lost the original Star Trek mod, I was thinking of something I could do that was more original and not as creatively restricted. So, I decided to revive the idea of my Space Food universe and hence, Space Food Empires was born.

In an ironic twist to the whole story, I now work at a major food ingredients manufacturer and developer so I've been able to incorporate all sorts of stuff that I never would have thought of before. I'm also a geeky science student majoring in biology/chemistry so I've tried to incorporate some of that into the mod as well.

Anyways, I just thought it might be interesting to share that with you guys.

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[ June 18, 2004, 04:42: Message edited by: Captain Kwok ]

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Trust me, that's not insane. I'm kind of an expert on insane or not. Insane is when you start tapping nearby objects constantly because you think it'll give you good luck.

[Ed Kolis]

OK then, maybe you could explain... I thought pumpkins were fat-free, so why do they have Hyper-Lipid drives? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Originally posted by Captain Kwok:
In an ironic twist to the whole story, I now work at a major food ingredients manufacturer and developer so I've been able to incorporate all sorts of stuff that I never would have thought of before. I'm also a geeky science student majoring in biology/chemistry so I've tried to incorporate some of that into the mod as well.<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">

[Iansidious]

*cough* me as beta tester *cough* http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Just being funny. I am very happy about the mod. I was about to email you on what happened to it. I maybe jumping the gun here but...

The award for best Space Empires 4 MOD idea goes to...

Catain Kwok for "Space Food Empires"!

[Ragnarok]

FOOOOOOOOOOOOD FIIIIIGHT! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Looks to be a great Mod, Kwok!

[Captain Kwok]

Originally posted by Ed Kolis:
OK then, maybe you could explain... I thought pumpkins were fat-free, so why do they have Hyper-Lipid drives? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Ah. Pumpkins may not be composed of fat, but they certainly can utilize fats for propulsion.

The propulsion system itself is interesting and is more or less based on actually catabolic effenciency. Proteins and Carbs produce about the same amount of energy per gram, but proteins generate more "pollution", hence why proteins are the lowest available engine. Carbs are plentiful and easily broken down so I made them the most extensive engine available. Fats provide lots of energy per gram so I made them the top of the propulsion tree.

[Atrocities]

what about nuts?

[TerranC]

Originally posted by Captain Kwok:
The propulsion system itself is interesting and is more or less based on actually catabolic effenciency. Proteins and Carbs produce about the same amount of energy per gram, but proteins generate more "pollution", hence why proteins are the lowest available engine. Carbs are plentiful and easily broken down so I made them the most extensive engine available. Fats provide lots of energy per gram so I made them the top of the propulsion tree. <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I don't suppose you won't make an "Atkin's Diet" racial trait? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Originally posted by TerranC:
I don't suppose you won't make an "Atkin's Diet" racial trait? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Don't even get me started on the silliness of the Atkins diet and the current low carb craze. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon8.gif

-----

I should be posting an update tomorrow with more of the weapons listed, updates to some of the components, and adding the facilities listing.

-----

If you are short on browsing time, I recommend reading just the features page - that summarizes most of the major ideas incorporated into the mod.

[Gandalf Parker]

Hey, Ive been on the Atkins Diet all my life.
(I just didnt know it had a name) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Nahhh actually Im a carnivore.
(forget 4 basic food Groups. I eat the 4 basic food animals)

[ June 19, 2004, 02:12: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Originally posted by narf poit chez BOOM:
Top 1000 reasons to play this mod:

#1: Saying to another player: 'If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.'

Ain't nobody gonna beat that. <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">#2: Except me: 'The frying pan or the fire. Choose.'

[ June 19, 2004, 03:15: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

[Captain Kwok]

I've updated the technology > weapons page with the remainder of weapons, which more or less has doubled it's size. I didn't realize it at first, but I have almost as many weapon entries as I do component entries. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Next up is an update to facilities. I have the basic ones in place, but I'm still working on generating new ideas for racial facilities and other specialized ones as well.

-----

One item I'm considering modifying is the propulsion system to use mounts to size engines to a ship size, rather than the current pseudeo-newtonian system I have now. The general idea here either way is to ensure each ship size has the relatively same proportion of space dedicated to propulsion. Why do you guys think?

[Captain Kwok]

Here is a direct link if you are struggling to find the weapons page:
Weapons (http://www.sfe.captainkwok.net/tech/generalweapons.html)

[atari_eric]

Originally posted by narf poit chez BOOM:
'The frying pan or the fire. Choose.' <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Nice. I like it.

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings.

I've been doing work on the facilities this afternoon and would like to share some information with you guys.

One of the features in the mod is its economics. Macromolecules have replaced minerals, organics are still organics, and radioactives are now inorganics.

Macromolecules are plentiful, easily collected, and the primary building resource. Organics are relatively easy to gather and also used in construction. Inorganics are difficult to extract, and are often associated with more advanced technologies and are more of an "exotic" resource.

Here are the relevant resource facilites and their extraction rates at each level:

Macromolecules Collector I-X: 350-450-550-625-700-775-850-900-950-1000.
Organics Harvester I-X: 300-375-450-500-550-600-650-700-750-800.
Inorganics Extractor I-V: 225-300-375-450-500

In addition, the build rates at space yards are also variable:

Construction Yard I-V:
1000-1500-2000-2250-2500 Macromolecules
750-1000-1250-1375-1500 Organics
250- 375- 500- 625- 750 Inorganics

In this setup, macromolecules will not always be the deciding resource for build time. Advanced ships using more Inorganics may take a few turns longer than older ships that have the same Macromolecules cost.

Overall, the effect I'm going for is to make ships more substantial. It will take longer to build them and a higher percentage of resources to maintain them. This puts more of an emphasis on placement and use of ships, unlike many stock games where building ships is like building fighters. Overall fleet sizes might be smaller, but individual ships become more important.

Anyways, feel free to comment.

-----

I'll try and get the list of facilities posted at the website later tonight.

[JLS]

It sounds fascinating, with a steady proportional growth along with interesting construction rates also implying a welcomed and steady growth that may yield advantages to some Cultures and disadvantages to others.

I look forward to following its progress and actually playing your new mod - you have put much thought into this and it does sound fascinating.
- - - - -
Overall, the effect I'm going for is to make ships more substantial. It will take longer to build them and a higher percentage of resources to maintain them. This puts more of an emphasis on placement and use of ships, unlike many stock games where building ships is like building fighters. Overall fleet sizes might be smaller, but individual ships become more important <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">This is refreshing to see.
It is my belief - there are many Players that do not want to move several hundred Ships and maintain hundreds of Planets just to afford this. The game, to some - becomes a burden and more like a second job {when only in its mid game} and they may lose interest.

= = =
I look forward to your style http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Goofy names http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif , but it is understood the mod is only in beta http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[ June 20, 2004, 22:54: Message edited by: JLS ]

[Voidhawk]

Looks great, Cap'n K, I can't wait to sink my teeth into this! (/me ducks flying vegetables)

This will be a useful mod for those extra-long SEIV binges during which I sometimes forget to eat. It's got a nifty reminder built right in!

I want it finished, and I want it finished yesterday!

[QBrigid]

Goofy names http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">They're NEAT, I can see you as the patato head race JLS http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[clark]

The religious trait can be the "Vegan" trait. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Hey Narf, how about this: #3. "You're such a Fruit."

Or...

"An apple a day keeps the vegatables at bay."

"We come to preserve you."

Have any of you ever seen the famous "Mona Lisa Fruit Bowl"?

Speaking of, are you ready for some Fruit Ball?

"Yamses, let my Pickles go!" http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[clark]

"Carefull, he has a banana in his pocket and he dosen't look happy to see you!"

[Voidhawk]

You should create one evil super-powerful race that's against everyone (sort of like the Antarans in MoO2). They could be the only non-organic race, like sentient cybernetic food processors. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

"Captain, long range sensors are detecing a massive fleet of incoming Cuisinart and Salad Shooter class ships!"

"On screen.... What the hell is that thing?"

"It looks like a... like a giant blender, captain..."

"Order the retreat! Run away!"

[clark]

Bunnies. Giant, blood-thirsty, warmongering, fluffy, bunnies.

Or the blender. LOL!

[narf poit chez BOOM]

'Captain Nana! It's the Evil Primates!'

[Captain Kwok]

Come on guys, stop spamming my thread. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

At least post something useful first, and then be silly. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[narf poit chez BOOM]

For a mod like this, I thought I WAS being helpfull. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

[clark]

Sorry. No offense meant. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

How about some weapon suggestions?

DUC becomes "Pea (pod?) Shooter"
Mines become "spores"
Plague devices become "Rot"
PDF -> Weed Whacker
Colony Types can become Gas, Rock, Ice hydroponics
Troops might be trained carnivours.


Racial traits can be translated into various ecology types: Arctic, Desert, Ocean, Garden, and of course the Vegan's.

Just some thoughts, good luck. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Originally posted by clark:
Sorry. No offense meant. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I wasn't offended, it just makes it harder to follow the thread when it's interspersed with lots of jokes etc. I may even add some of them to AI speech files when the time comes.

Anyways, I have many of the items you listed. I'd recommend when you visit the website, take a look in the technology section - not just the common areas either. Each race has a list of their own components/weapons etc.

Racial traits are actually based on each race, i.e., if you are playing the Bananas you need to choose the Banana Racial trait. I'm still debating whether or not to add extra traits like the tradional propulsion experts etc, into the mix.

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings.

Fyron has created a forum for the Space Food Empires Mod at his spaceempires.net website.

You can find the forum here:
Space Food Empires Mod Forum (http://www.spaceempires.net/home/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f=23)

I'm still working on that facilities update, shouldn't be too much longer. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[JLS]

Originally posted by Captain Kwok:
Racial traits are actually based on each race, i.e., if you are playing the Bananas you need to choose the Banana Racial trait. I'm still debating whether or not to add extra traits like the tradional propulsion experts etc, into the mix. <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I think you should offer all the se4 conventional items, Captain: this will offer the Non-Role-players a chance to really appreciate your work. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif

IMHO:= No offense Fyron. I also would like to see the Space Food Empire Posts here on the Space Empires Forum - not all, may have the time to scoot between alternate sites to follow your progress and this, may prevent your goal to become fragmented.
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ July 03, 2004, 14:44: Message edited by: JLS ]

[Captain Kwok]

For certain, the old racial traits like temporal or crystalline etc., are toast. I might take certain elements from those areas and implement them in tech areas instead.

I think I'll keep a few items like propulsion experts but make them racial tech areas in the manner that Fyron has in the Adamant Mod. That was a good idea.

Also note, it is not intended for the user to choose one of the major races and not choose the matching racial trait.

I asked Fyron to create a forum for the mod at SE.net so I could introduce multiple threads, polls, and things of that sort. It gives me a lot more flexibility. Keep in mind I'll surely duplicate or link any important Posts made in either forum to keep interested parties informed.

[JLS]

What is your planed settings for the Population Mass?

[ July 03, 2004, 20:15: Message edited by: JLS ]

[Captain Kwok]

Originally posted by JLS:
What is your planed settings for the Population Mass? <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Likely 25.

[JLS]

You have indicated that maintenance would be higher then stock se4, have you decided what the expected (average) or your modeled and (desired) = Human Player total Ship\Base maintenance expenditures will be?

For example at:
Turn 100
Turn 200
Turn 400
Etc.

[Captain Kwok]

The actually percentage isn't higher - it's the ships that cost more, while resource collection is more or less the same. So in that case, maintenance will be a slightly higher percentage of your income.

[JLS]

Do you have any idea as of yet - what the Ship and Base totals could be on average and at some defined (turn) points in the game?

[ July 03, 2004, 23:09: Message edited by: JLS ]

[Captain Kwok]

Originally posted by JLS:
Do you have any idea as of yet - what the Ship and Base totals could be on average and at some defined (turn) points in the game? <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Not really. I haven't really got a good sense of the economics yet, since many items haven't been entered or their costs finalized. I might be able to come up with some numbers based on the construction rates since those have been finalized...

[JLS]

For what I have seen - I really do like the way you planed the structuring of your economy, Components and Facilities and do look forward to playing the mod http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ July 04, 2004, 16:21: Message edited by: JLS ]

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings.

I've finally added the current list of facilities for both the general and empire specific tech trees:
SFEmod Facilities (http://members.rogers.com/spacefoodempires/technology/commonfacilities.html)

Also check out the weapons section as there are lots of updates there as well:
SFEmod Weapons (http://members.rogers.com/spacefoodempires/technology/commonweapons.html)

Be sure to check each of the empire technology pages as those are updated as well.

I could use some more ideas for facilities, especially for some of the major races as you will notice. So post your ideas here or at the forum here:
SE.net SFEmod Forum (http://www.spaceempires.net/home/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f=23)

[JLS]

Is the "Intelligence Thing" so secret that you dare not speak of it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Coming together very nice Captain - looks great.

[Captain Kwok]

Originally posted by JLS:
Is the "Intelligence Thing" so secret that you dare not speak of it?<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Not quite. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

One of those items I haven't come up with a name for. There are a few of those around.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Well, the potato's would have eye's, of course and the corn would have ears.

See, this is the benifit to liking puns. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ July 12, 2004, 17:35: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

[Captain Kwok]

I've added some more facilities, mostly under the individual empire technology sections.

I still could use ideas for alternative population happiness facilities, military facilities, and resource-related ones...

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings.

I've updated the technology section of the site with the latest items. What's even better is that most of stuff is now entered in the data files. I just need to finish off some vehicle entries and system types and the mod should be somewhat playable from each of the race's perspective.

[Fyron]

Have you been uploading periodic backups to the site, in the event of another HD failure? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/shock.gif

[Captain Kwok]

The website itself is on my HD and Online.

All the data files are kept in triplicate and I back up my graphics directory on CD.

No more getting burned. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

[Captain Kwok]

I posted this item regarding research in the Space Food Empires forum at SE.net:


Research paths in the Space Food Empires mod are a bit different than regular SE:IV. The biggest difference is that some components and almost all weapons have their own tech area rather than becoming available after a particular "broad field" is researched.

For example in stock SE:IV, you might research "Energy Stream Weapons" and be rewarded with Anti-Proton Beams. In SFEmod, you might research "Beam Weapons" and then depending on your racial trait, you'd recieved a number of further research opportunities. In the case you're using the Banana racial trait, one option would be Anti-Potassium Beams and another might be Heat Rays. Researching either tech area would provide you the actual component.

The end result is that the research tree is much more branched and provides many different options for the player. For the most part - only core theoretical technologies are necessary to advance to more sophisticated levels of development. This allows the player to dabble in more side branches to fit the current situation without sacrificing their future technological capability.

Another note on research that there is moderate tech gridding. I'd estimated approximately half of the tech areas have two prerequisites (not counting racial trait requirements). Most of the combinations are quite logical and in most cases balanced researching should be more than enough to overcome "blind" research paths where you're not sure what you're getting in return.



Anyways, just thought I throw this item out for discussion.

[mottlee]

Is there a D/L of this in one place? or do you need to do it in peices? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/confused.gif

[Ragnarok-X]

So how is the status of your mod, Kwok ? How much time until release ?

[Captain Kwok]

mottlee said:
Is there a D/L of this in one place? or do you need to do it in peices? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/confused.gif



No downloads yet. :p


Ragnarok-X said:
So how is the status of your mod, Kwok ? How much time until release?



I need to do the following things before it is playable in a meaningful way:
Finish adding weapons to components.txt
Finish adding racial facilities to facilities.txt
Finish off system type entries (nebula/storm/asteroid etc)
Add racial trait units to vehiclesizes.txt
Make simple "placeholder" images for racial ships


I've been working hard entering lots of data this Last week, so I expect the above to be done by the first week of Sept.

I also keeep a detailed excel file that contains an excellent overview of items in the mod including tech requirements, propulsion, weapon Ratings, and more. If you want to have a look at it, send me an e-mail.

[Ed Kolis]

Kwok, have you heard of my Templatizer? It might ease some of your trouble with entering those massive amounts of data http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Ed Kolis said:
Kwok, have you heard of my Templatizer? It might ease some of your trouble with entering those massive amounts of data http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif



I'll give it a shot but it's mostly cut and paste work and I've been entering non-formulaic costs for many items so I don't know how useful it might be. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Captain Kwok said:
Finish adding weapons to components.txt
Finish adding racial facilities to facilities.txt
Finish off system type entries (nebula/storm/asteroid etc)
Add racial trait units to vehiclesizes.txt
Make simple "placeholder" images for racial ships




Well strike off systemtypes - I've finished entering them at work today. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

In total there are 100 completely new systemtypes.

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings.

I thought I'd share some works in progress:
http://members.rogers.com/capt-kwok/graphics/preview-carrot.png

The upper ship is a Carrot Imperial Scout Ship Type I (140kT), and the lower ship is a Carrot Imperium Patrol ship (180kT). The textures are in development and more details (windows, vents, etc) will be added of course.

[Captain Kwok]

Here is the completed Carrot Scout Ship, Type I.

http://members.rogers.com/capt-kwok/graphics/preview-carrotscouti.png

The upper image is actual portrait size, and the lower image is zoomed a bit so you can see some of the smaller details. I didn't go too crazy with the details since it'd be mostly a waste of time as they'd never be noticed in the portrait.

The ship itself is just under 9 metres in length and carries a crew of 40. It's generally armed with 2 Retinol BLasters, which are visible in the image. The engines themselves are located aft and are enclosed mostly in the primary hull, as opposed to most other carrots ships, which have their engines mounted away from the hull.

[Kevin Arisa]

I can tell already, this mod is gonna be great! At least I am drooling over food this time. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Ragnarok-X]

Hey cool, the ships look great. Are you going to add one shipset for each "race" in your mod ? I suppose that will be a LOT of work...

[mottlee]

COOL!!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif If nothing else relese the ship sets and AI for these..be cool to add these to one of the other mods or games http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smirk.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Ragnarok-X said:
Hey cool, the ships look great. Are you going to add one shipset for each "race" in your mod ? I suppose that will be a LOT of work...



Sort of. For example I've designed two carrot ships - but they contain all the elements of the remaining ships - so it's just a matter of resizing the different components and adding a couple of custom details for each one.

[Captain Kwok]

The Carrot Scout I and Patrol ship shown to scale:
http://members.rogers.com/capt-kwok/graphics/carrot-scoutpatrol.png

Now, lots more to follow.

[Caduceus]

New Taglines for SFE:

1.) Eat your greens before they eat you!
2.) Time for some salad, mutton chop.
3.) Fiber not included.

Wildcard /threads/images/Graemlins/icon46.gif

All kidding aside, nice work Capt K.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Nice.:)

[Captain Kwok]

Carrot Frigate Type I, 220kT.

http://members.rogers.com/capt-kwok/graphics/carrot-frigatei.png

This ship is just under 10 metres in length and is served by a crew of approximately 110. Note the Turnip Torpedo launcher mounted in the forward section, which is not present on the smaller scout and patrol ships.

[Urendi Maleldil]

Kwok, are you using POVray?

[Captain Kwok]

Urendi Maleldil said:
Kwok, are you using POVray?



I use Moray 3.5 for the models and render with POV-Ray.

[Atrocities]

Nice work. Very nice.

[Captain Kwok]

Atrocities said:
Nice work. Very nice.


Thanks Atrocities. I really should be making these models in a format that is exportable to .x though - I'm hoping to convert the mod and release it right away when Space Empires V comes out. /threads/images/Graemlins/Cold.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Here is the first Corn ship in progress, the 150kT Escort Type I.
http://members.rogers.com/capt-kwok/graphics/pre-corn-escorti.png
I still need to work up some textures and add a few windows and other details. The Corn Escort is 7.1 metres in length and is served by a crew of 45.

[Captain Kwok]

Here is the first Fruit ship also in progress, the 140kT Explorer Type I.
http://members.rogers.com/capt-kwok/graphics/pre-fruit-exploreri.png
This ship (although not shown to scale to the Corn ship) is only 4.3 metres in length, but the spherical design provides roughly the same usable space. I'd estimate about 40-50 crew would be required for this ship. Again, some windows and insignia are pending. You can't see in this image, but there is also a hangar bay in the rear.

[Will]

Captain Kwok said:
Here is the first Corn ship in progress, the 150kT Escort Type I.
http://members.rogers.com/capt-kwok/graphics/pre-corn-escorti.png
I still need to work up some textures and add a few windows and other details. The Corn Escort is 7.1 metres in length and is served by a crew of 45.



Or maybe served with a crew of 45?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Ed Kolis]

Just curious... are those *extremely* low-res textures on your ship hulls intentional (to simulate armor plating) or were you just unable to make the hulls smooth?

[Ragnarok-X]

i like the ships http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Ed Kolis said:
Just curious... are those *extremely* low-res textures on your ship hulls intentional (to simulate armor plating) or were you just unable to make the hulls smooth?



The textures on the Last two ships are just generic bitmaps I use to get an idea of what the ship will look like. Afterwards I'll make custom fitted textures for most of the main ship components. Check back to the Carrot ships to see how I went from my preliminary model to the final one a few Posts later. Notice the difference in how the hull textures are applied between the two?

The hull plating effect is on a large scale so the hull detailing is at least somewhat visible at SE:IV's portrait size. The generic bitmap file I use for hull textures is actually a 200x200 bitmap, but divided into 20x20 plates with differing brightnesses - that's probably why you thought it was low resolution. I suppose I could go further and add hull defects like rust, dirt, etc - but for SE:IV's picture size it's just not worth it. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Caduceus]

Your explosions of the corn ships should be popcorn! Or the husk should be peeled back...

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings.

I'm curious to see how players feel about bombs and suggestions on how they can be improved over stock.

Currently I have the following bombs:
F.A.T. Bomb I-VII: Direct Fire; Short Range; Normal Damage
M.S.G. Bomb I-III: Direct Fire; Medium Range; Normal Damage
Mold Bomb I-V: Seeker; Unlimited Range; Plague Level
Pepsin Bomb I-III: Direct Fire; Short Range; Only Planet Population
Mustard Bomb I-III: Direct Fire; Short Range; Only Planet Conditions
Smart Bomb I-III: Seeker; Unlimited Range; Only Spaceports
Hydrolase Bomb I-III: Seeker; Unlimited Range; Only Resupply Depots

Some notes about the mod include a higher damage per population value in settings.txt - so other weapons are not nearly effective at reducing population as the F.A.T. or M.S.G. bombs. Also note that Homeworld Capitals have Spaceport abilities so they can also be struck by the Smart Bomb. Both the Smart and Hydrolase Bombs have a reload time of 30.

[Ed Kolis]

Um, how does unlimited range work vs. planets? Unlimited range for seekers only works if the target moves away, which planets can't do... :p

Also, do you really think the smart bombs' reload time will make up for their immense power of being able to cripple the homeworld facilities? Or are the homeworld facilities more like the ones in Adamant than the ones in Proportions?

Oh, one more thing! How come the smart bomb doesn't have a food name? How about Smarties bomb? Don't know if you have them in Canada, but in the US we have these little concave lens shaped candies called Smarties which come in rolls... Very bad on the teeth if you forget to brush http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Ed Kolis said:
Um, how does unlimited range work vs. planets? Unlimited range for seekers only works if the target moves away, which planets can't do... :p

Also, do you really think the smart bombs' reload time will make up for their immense power of being able to cripple the homeworld facilities? Or are the homeworld facilities more like the ones in Adamant than the ones in Proportions?

Oh, one more thing! How come the smart bomb doesn't have a food name? How about Smarties bomb? Don't know if you have them in Canada, but in the US we have these little concave lens shaped candies called Smarties which come in rolls... Very bad on the teeth if you forget to brush http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif



Unlimited range is good because the missile will not run out of range and can be fired from anywhere on the combat map. It is also high speed and has a high resistance to damage. The homeworld capital is a single facility that boosts the planet production 5x - so it's not quite as important as it is in a Proportions game and not quite the same as Fyron's giant resource extractors in Adamant.

"Smarties" in Canada are the real smarties at least to us north of the border - they're like M&amp;Ms and come in all sorts of colours. The US smarties in candy are called "rockets" and most kids agree it sucks to get them on Hallowe'en. /threads/images/Graemlins/Cold.gif

[tesco samoa]

only these weapons can hit planets ????

[Captain Kwok]

Yes, these bombs can only be used against planets.

Edit:

Other weapons can hit planets as well, but their power is considerably less.

[Ed Kolis]

Captain Kwok said:
Unlimited range is good because the missile will not run out of range and can be fired from anywhere on the combat map.



No it can't. Unlimited range means the seeker will fire from ranges up to 20, and will track the target forever. It does not mean that the missile can be fired from any range. Unless you mean that these weapons are really drones...


The homeworld capital is a single facility that boosts the planet production 5x - so it's not quite as important as it is in a Proportions game and not quite the same as Fyron's giant resource extractors in Adamant.



Five times? You'd better make those smart bombs expensive... it's basically like a tectonic bomb that takes out four planets at once but can only be used once against each empire! (Then again, I always thought tectonic bombs were overpriced in stock, given how easy it is to get nucleonic torpedoes afterward... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif)


The US smarties in candy are called "rockets" and most kids agree it sucks to get them on Hallowe'en. /threads/images/Graemlins/Cold.gif



What?! *I* like smarties (or rockets as you prefer to call them)! :p


Yes, these bombs can only be used against planets.



I think what tesco was asking was, are these the only weapons that can be used against planets, or do normal weapons like Beta-Carotene Rays and such also hit planets?

[Ragnarok-X]

Any news on this mod ? Im looking forward to play it in PBW http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Ed Kolis said:
No it can't. Unlimited range means the seeker will fire from ranges up to 20, and will track the target forever. It does not mean that the missile can be fired from any range. Unless you mean that these weapons are really drones...



No I didn't. That was an error on my part that I've since worked out already. They'll just be regular seekers with maximum range.


Ed Kolis said:
Five times? You'd better make those smart bombs expensive... it's basically like a tectonic bomb that takes out four planets at once but can only be used once against each empire! (Then again, I always thought tectonic bombs were overpriced in stock, given how easy it is to get nucleonic torpedoes afterward...



I've adjusted homeworlds to only supply a 300% bonus for resource harvesting and research. Since the weapon is a seeker, the difficulty in getting one missile through should balance out on the cost end of things. It's nothing like a tectonic bomb. It doesn't destroy the planet and if you build a spaceport or have another one in the system, you'll simply be out some resources, which at the point in the game where these missiles are active shouldn't cripple an empire.


Ragnarok-X said:
Any news on this mod ? Im looking forward to play it in PBW



I've entered almost all of the data necessary to make it playable as intended except for the specific racial weapons and facilities for each empire.

[Captain Kwok]

A repost from the SFEmod forum at Spaceempires.net:

I'm looking for some feedback regarding my plans for mines in Space Food Empires.

I was going make only one size of mine (5kT) in conjuction with a variety of warheads that take up all 5kT.

Here are the damage types of warheads available to all races:

Normal
Skips Armor
Only Engines
Only Weapons
Only Shield Generators

For increasing mine technology I was going to give the mines increasing cloak levels with the final level being undetectable, rather than increasing their size.

In addition, further levels of mine sweeping are broken off into a separate tech area after the initial tech area is researched.

What do you think?

[Suicide Junkie]

No it can't. Unlimited range means the seeker will fire from ranges up to 20, and will track the target forever. It does not mean that the missile can be fired from any range. Unless you mean that these weapons are really drones...

Actually if those missiles are mounted, they can be fired in tactical from any range.

[Captain Kwok]

Suicide Junkie said:
Actually if those missiles are mounted, they can be fired in tactical from any range.



As in I create a mount that just extends the range by a value of x?

[Captain Kwok]

A repost from SE.net Space Food Empires forums:

What would you prefer?

Currently I have each major race having their own colonization area restricted by their racial trait - so that means no colony tech trading at all. The downside is that all colony module types cost the same for a race.

Or I could use a similar system to Adamant or Ekolis's colony tech mod, where each native type (rock, ice, gas) has their own colony techs - which prevents colony tech trading between say, a rock and an ice race, but not between rock races. This way allows for higher cost modules that aren't native to that race, such as more expensive ice and gas modules for a rock race.

Also, should I restrict colony modules to colony ships by mounts a la Adamant?

[Atrocities]

Go with the unique and rare way. If you can get it to work and work well, who knows, you might make it better. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Atrocities]

Captain Kwok said:
A repost from the SFEmod forum at Spaceempires.net:

I'm looking for some feedback regarding my plans for mines in Space Food Empires.

I was going make only one size of mine (5kT) in conjuction with a variety of warheads that take up all 5kT.

Here are the damage types of warheads available to all races:

Normal
Skips Armor
Only Engines
Only Weapons
Only Shield Generators

For increasing mine technology I was going to give the mines increasing cloak levels with the final level being undetectable, rather than increasing their size.

In addition, further levels of mine sweeping are broken off into a separate tech area after the initial tech area is researched.

What do you think?



I think these are all good ideas.

[Ed Kolis]

Why would each race having its own colony tech require all of a race's colony modules to cost the same? You could have Banana Ice Colonization, Banana Rock Colonization, and Banana Gas Colonization all as separate techs/components, and define their research/construction costs independently for each composition/race combination. It might take more work, but it might just be worth it, if meat can colonize ice planets just fine (cold cuts anyone? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif) but oranges can't without LOTS of research (they freeze! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif)

BTW, I had a weird dream about Space Food Empires Last night http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif... what basically happened was I was walking around my house when I was accosted by these tiny Pikmin-like things with various forms of food growing out of their heads... they all started attacking me and I had to fend them off; I realized that Space Food Empires must have been released and these were the ground troops from the game... at first I just fought them all off and that caused them to get mad, but eventually I realized I could try to be friendly to some of them and only fight the really hostile ones... it also involved something with colors and each color had a different type of animal associated with it, and the brown empire (which apparently I was) had this really friendly but horribly combat-inept labrador retriever... I think I was allied with the black empire but their wolf always seemed menacing... oh yeah, and after all the enemies were defeated I got to eat the food growing out of their heads; the blue Pikmin-things were my Favorites to defeat because they were the candy empire! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

edit: YEAH kwok, why DON'T you have any junk food in your mod? or are they the space monsters? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Ed:

What you describe is how I had it setup originally - except I thought I might be eliminating options for players who wanted to play a certain race but not be restricted to the planet type attached to that race. /threads/images/Graemlins/Cold.gif

I've tried to avoid any "processed" foods from the mod, with the exception of the Meat Empire, that's why I don't have junk food and things of that sort as races.

[Renegade 13]

Captain Kwok said:

I've tried to avoid any "processed" foods from the mod, with the exception of the Meat Empire, that's why I don't have junk food and things of that sort as races.



Hey, meat isn't processed! At least, not if you buy it direct from the source! Now, the stuff you buy in the stores...well that can be called processed, but so can oranges that are sprayed with pesticides, and vegetables that are grown with fertilizers. So I guess all of your races are "processed foods" to a certain extent! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/shock.gif

[Captain Kwok]

What I meant by meat is processed that it comes from a cow etc. first.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

100th!

[Renegade 13]

Captain Kwok said:
What I meant by meat is processed that it comes from a cow etc. first.



Ooo, now I've got it! /threads/images/Graemlins/Cold.gif Sorry about that, I misunderstood. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Ack!

I just realized that in my current system - colonization techs are completely tradable because they are not restricted by racial trait - only the components are. Duh.

Oh well, I guess I could make a tech area for each colonization type for each race...? Or I could just go with the tried and true Rock natives etc. /threads/images/Graemlins/Cold.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings.

I'm still plugging away at this mod whenever my schedule allows for it, and it's looking pretty good. I still have half of the racial weapons to add, plus all of the racial facilities, which is not too bad. I've also spent some time putting together some rudimentry AI in terms of research and ship design to help make the upcoming testing more productive. One observation I've noted is that there sure are a lot of research options!

I've made a minor switch to the propulsion system. It's still a pseudo-QNP system, except supplies have been removed from the engines and added to reactors. It's more similar to Adamant Mod now if you're familiar with Fyron's work.

So this is what I want to finish my mid-December:
- Add remainder of Racial Weapons
- Add remainder of Racial Facilities
- Touch-ups for culture, happiness, and system types files
- Finish up a few basic AI files to allow for solo games

This should yield a fairly functional "beta".

My ISP is discontinuing its free webspace after December and is referring me to use Yahoo Geocities, since Yahoo is its partner nowadays. This is not an option for me, so I won't be updating the site until I get my own webspace.

If you are interested in seeing an updated listing of stuff in the mod, I keep an extensive excel file with all sorts of stuff in it. Drop me an e-mail if you want a peek. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings!

I'm still on target for an end of December beta release. I spent some time this weekend revising my systemtype files, and also made some changes to the cultures, racial trait, and happiness files. I also added a bunch of generic units and bases until I get around to creating some custom types for each race. I don't think the first beta release will have any specific units for the major races.

I still have to add those pesky weapons for 5 of the races, plus most of the racial facilities that I keep ignoring for some reason. I've kept to using stock images for now, and so a number of weapons will be using the same images, but not usually more than once for a given race. I don't anticipate on using the ImageMod at all for this mod, as I'll be making new images for many of items. I've already done a host of new beam and torpedo combat images, which look nice in game, plus those planets.

I'm also putting together some simplistic AI files so the mod can be tested faster via solo play.

In regards to ships, I've been re-doing them in another program so I can easily convert them to the .X format that's going to be used in Space Empires V. The modelling part is not too difficult, but I'm not familiar with UV texture mapping so that is slowing me down. I also have to build the models in such a way so I can decrease their vertices without losing too much quality.

Anyway, exams are here so the next two weeks will be relatively slow for mod progress. But after the 18th, I'll be free from the bonds of school until Sept 2005! Now, if I could only win the lottery so I didn't have to work - then you'd see some serious results. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Ragnarok-X]

Well a release between christman and new year would be great, i have lots of free time then http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Ed Kolis]

Why not submit your new images to the imagemod, in case anyone else wants some "cheesy" weapons in their mod? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings!

Ok, Ok. I know I'm running far, far behind as usual but this is what I've accomplished in the last month:
Finished adding components and weapons minus stellar manipulation
Completed Events.txt with 225 custom events
Completed IntelProjects.txt with 54 projects
Completed most combat images
Added some more quadrant types
Fixed up some system types, total of 100 types
Cost adjustments
Added lots of descriptions
Lots of debugging

I still need to finish the following before I'll release it:
Finish adding racial facility entries
Make some basic AI files to expediate testing
Finish updating website

I've made a bunch of changes within the mod including resource definitions (again), colony techs, and some of the empire descriptions and types. Will it ever end?

I'd like to make some basic ship placeholders for each major race since using the generic images can be confusing in test games - but that's too time consuming to do and I know some are still patiently waiting. So I won't do that until after the first release.

[ironman]

well hurry it up we are starving for it to get on the plater so we can dig into it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/stupid.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Here are some current mod stats:
Components.txt contains about 200 components and 150 weapons.
Facility.txt contains about 150 facilities (Ok, about 40 more to enter still. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif)
225 custom events
55 intelligence projects
100 new system types
Tons of vehicle types

Anyway, not sure to do with mounts. Currently I have only the very basic of mounts - that is 1/2x and 2x strictly multiplier mounts. I do plan to add some range enhancing mounts and a variety of ship or weapon specific ones later on. You guys have any types you find particularly nice?

[Ragnarok-X]

Oh well. I like mounts that add range and hit modifers. Or mounts that make a big increasement in damage. I dont like that increase costs or tonnage though http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif
When do you think a playable version will be ready ? I remember you talking something about "christmas". I didnt imagined you could mean christman 05 though http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif
190 facilites sounds pretty much, same goes for 150 weapons. Looking forward to it !

[Captain Kwok]

I'm not big on lots and lots of mounts, so I was thinking for a given ship you might have:
1/2x or 2x Multiplier Mount (depends on ship size)
Accuracy Mount
Range Mount
A speciality Mount

[Ragnarok-X]

What do you consider special mounts ? Things which increase damage resistance or decrease supply usage ?

[Captain Kwok]

A speciality mount could be a single weapon, ship, or racial specific mount.

[PvK]

I'd suggest thematic mounts which could be different per race, and/or mounts such as:

Fast Food Mount (greatly reduces cost, structure, and accuracy, damage done, and increases supply use)

Gourmet Mount (adds lots of cost, reduces size and structure, increases damage done, accuracy and supply use, requires much research)

Freshness Mount (like gourmet mount but only available for appropriate food types, less costly and less potent, and doesn't require much research)

Preservative Mount (adds cost and structure but reduces accuracy and supply use)

Shrinkwrap Mount (reduces size and structure but adds cost and reduces accuracy, damage done, and supply use)

Spice Mounts (various types with own tech areas, for use with appropriate foods, generally add cost and supply use and multiply damage done, reduce accuracy and structure)

Just some ideas... it's not like there isn't already a ton of creative food-themed stuff in the mod!

PvK

[Captain Kwok]

Thanks for the suggestions PvK, I think I might use some of them in some capacity in the mod.

I ended up splitting up weapons that were usable on fighters and troops, so now there are ship versions, fighter versions, and troop versions. Of course, not all weapons exist for each vehicle type. Anyway, separate entries seems the best way to go to ensure the best fit. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Captain Kwok]

A repost from the SE.net Space Food Empires forum:

Rather than use mounts or create mini versions to adapt weapons to troops, I ended up deciding on making specific troop versions of appropriate weapons. The main reasoning is to eliminate many of the quirks associated with ground combat such as weapons firing every turn and lack of functional damage types.

Another interesting aspect is that there are two types of troops in the mod - troop vehicles, which can be designed by the player - and various troop infantry that are essentially 1kT weapon components that can be placed on the troop vehicles. For example, you could then have a tank with a cannon and two assigned infantry etc. Infantry troops tend to provide less damage points then troop weapons, but do offer better "armor" protection to the vehicle.

[Captain Kwok]

Here are the current general mounts in the mod:
Light Mount (ships, bases, platforms, sats)
Heavy Mount (ships, bases, platforms, sats)
Accuracy Mount (ships, bases, platforms, sats)
Range Mount (ships, bases, platforms, sats)
Preservative Mount (ships, bases)
Conservation Mount (ships)

Each of the major races will have a few speciality mounts (undecided at this time, but could be weapon, component, or hull specific etc) and I may add 1 or 2 fighter mounts to the general list if they seem fitting.

Remember, you can also come and post in the Space Food Empires mod forum hosted at SE.net: Space Food Empires Forum (http://www.spaceempires.net/home/modules.php?name=Forums&amp;file=viewforum&amp;f=23)

[Captain Kwok]

As mentioned in another thread, the Space Food Empires site is mostly back up at it's new home below:

http://sfe.captainkwok.net/home.html

Keep in mind, the space yards and technology section are currently being updated and have mostly placeholder pages in place. However, the features, empires, and a few other pages are up to date. I should have the remainder of the more interesting technology pages up by the end of the night.

[Captain Kwok]

Ok. I did complete the general components and general weapons list tonight, plus lists for racial technology of the Banana and Broccoli races. The other races should have their technology lists finished up tomorrow.

Overall, updating the site has been a good exercise to review the data files and catch all sorts of little bugs or other issues that would have certainly cropped up later.

I'll try and work the Space Yards information (sorry no pics yet) on Sunday. It will give me a good chance to audit the VehicleSize.txt file which I'm sure needs some serious cost adjustments. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Atrocities]

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif You amaze me CK. You really do. I have seen a lot of the stuff that you originally did for the STM, and now for the SFE mod and it just blows me away as to the depth that you have gone to make the mod. I wish that I had 1/10th the dedication to attention to detail that you have. My God, how do you find the time to it all?

[Captain Kwok]

Well, I only started about 18 months ago or so. My biggest problem is nitpicking and changing things around constantly - like for example the most recent changes where I separated all the fighter and troop components or when I changed the definition of the resources and had to re-value almost all the components again.

On the bright side, almost every component listed on the site is now an actually data file entry.

[Atrocities]

If I did not know any better I would say that you are a profectionist. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif I mean that in a kind way as I wish I had a lot more of it in mean and a lot less of "oh well, its good enough for government work" mantality.

[Captain Kwok]

I've finished and uploaded the remainder of the technology pages, with the exception of the general facilities page. Perhaps some of you will be kind and explore the racial technologies and post some comments. Tomorrow, I'll go through and update the ship pages with the proper stats, and also add the general facilities.

Basically, items that have "data pending" are the unfinished or unentered components etc., that need to finished before I can post anything for download. Getting rid of those pendings is my primary task for the next week!

Enjoy.

[Captain Kwok]

The facilities technology page has been uploaded, so now that entire section is right up to date.

[Atrocities]

Man how do you find the time with school, work, wife, and kid?

Any idea of when you will have the mod ready for a beta? Oh ya, any new ship images?

[Captain Kwok]

Atrocities said:
Man how do you find the time with school, work, wife, and kid?

Kid? Do you know something I don't??? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif

Right now I just have work and no school until September so that helps with free time. I need to fill in those data pendings (mostly racial facility stuffs) and then it'll be quite playable as intended. I did hope to have the data files out earlier but then I made two major changes to resources and unit components, plus the normal nitpicking - hence now is March.

Anyway, people can e-mail me and I don't mind sending them my Excel spreadsheet - it has everything in the mod listed and gives a good feel of how the mod is setup.

I've been trying to do a few ships in 3d Max with some success (but no textures yet) to improve the mod's future portability for SE:V! I still might do components/characters in Moray/Pov-Ray though since I'm a lot faster with that combination and the fact I just need images.

[Ragnarok-X]

I guess its my bad, but it seems i cant find the link to get the mod information on your page. I choose "mods", and thats about it. No pages for technology or facilites like you mention. Please enlighten me. im so stupid lol.

[Fyron]

Did you visit "Captain Kwok's Space Empires Depot" or "Space Food Empires?" Try the "Space Food Empires" link.

Kwok, you need a favicon for your site. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Ragnarok-X said:
I guess its my bad, but it seems i cant find the link to get the mod information on your page. I choose "mods", and thats about it. No pages for technology or facilites like you mention. Please enlighten me. im so stupid lol.

Hmm. That's odd. I did load up the mods page of my Space Empires Depot with 3 links to the mod website. That, or follow the link in my signature - unless maybe you turned those off. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

Just in case:
http://sfe.captainkwok.net/home.html

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings!

Lots of stuff going on in regards to the mod. First of all is the the new website: http://sfe.captainkwok.net/home.html, which is currently up to date. I've neglected to update the space yards part with the proper info, but I figured working on the mod itself is a priority at the moment.

I've finished off the components.txt file as much as is possible before mass testing and I'm fairly happy with it. I ended getting a lot more done with the file than I anticipated for the initial release. It's just under 1.5Mb!

The facility.txt file is the file I'm working on right now entering data for various empire-specific facilities. Those should be entered by Tue March 15. These are mainly the facilities listed on the technology pages at the website as "data pending" for notes.

Then I have to update the AI Design, Research, and Facility files to match the recent changes I've made to the mod. It shouldn't take long because they just need to be updated and not re-written. This should allow for some basic AI with some degree of functionality for testing.

Lastly I need to make empire files for the main empires (a cut and paste job) and decide on some initial trait values in line with their strengths and weaknesses. Oh yeah, make some combat images for Meat thru Vegetable races (it's always alphabetical for me) so that means about 40 little pics to do.

Note the mod will not require the imageMod at this time. All images used are stock ones, and the combat pics come with the mod.

I really want to get it out by next Sat March 19.

[Renegade 13]

Captain Kwok said:

I really want to get it out by next Sat March 19.



Yay! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings!

I have roughly 90 facility entries to do now, plus a few touch ups. That's about 3hrs of concentrated effort to get those in order.

Components are more or less done for now, even went ahead and added all the boarding party components which I was going to do for a first "patch" - hence why I didn't finish those facilities off.

That leaves some combat images and a night of quick testing (Friday) so I should still be on target for Sat 19 March!

I've been updating the Empire technology pages as I've gone along. A number of them are now complete with no "data pending" fields. You can visit the Space Food Empires site, http://sfe.captainkwok.net/home.html to get an idea of what to expect if you haven't done so recently - lots of changes over the last year of fiddling around. And read those empire info pages, even it's just to see how it's possible to describe the mating habits of 10 different foods!

[Ragnarok-X]

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Caduceus]

Impressive website Captain Kwok. I would love to see some more of the ship and facility pics!

[Captain Kwok]

Well, that's the plan! I've neglected the graphics part of the mod for some time now so that's why there hasn't been much in terms of new ships or planets, as I want to design them with SE:V requirements in mind.

Now that I'll be getting the data portion of the mod circulated and out of the way, I can turn my focus primarily to adding graphics and other enhancements. It works out quite well with the upcoming SE:V release because any graphics I make for the SE:V version can be easily patched into the SE:IV version to finish it off.

[Captain Kwok]

I'm calling it a night - but just a few more facilities (15 entries!) to go plus some a few obvious balance corrections to make. It's become somewhat apparent that the facilities are not at the same level as components or weapons, but I'll be sure to fix that in the next few weeks with some feedback.

Not much else to report, but I figured I'd be somewhat more accoutable if I posted frequent progress updates.

[Renegade 13]

We appreciate the updates http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Another update:

I've finished off and debugged the Facility.txt file as well as set up some basic empire files for each race. Still need to make some combat images, update a few of the important AI files, and do some play-testing to fix any glaring problems so Saturday afternoon still looks good!

I'm not thrilled with the quality of the facilities thus far, but oh well, I can fix them up over time. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

You can view the fully updated technology section that will represent the first release at the Space Food Empires website.

[Captain Kwok]

So I go set up a 10-player game with all the empires controlled by me and what's the first thing I notice? I completely forgot to assign 5 of the empire files a colony tech! After spending like 30 minutes on the first 5 empires' turns designing ships etc. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Captain Kwok]

I'm so frustrated. I've spent countless hours trying to get the AI to design a colony ship to no avail. I've tried every possible trick, compared entries to a dozen mods and still no luck. All I've been able to determine is that it's something related to the colonize planet - rock ability.

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/mad.gif

[Captain Kwok]

This is the entry I've been playing with mostly.
<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>Name := Colony (Rock)
Design Type := Colony (Rock)
Vehicle Type := Ship
Default Strategy := Don't Get Hurt
Size Minimum Tonnage := 500
Size Maximum Tonnage := 500
Num Must Have At Least 1 Ability := 1
Must Have Ability 1 := Colonize Planet - Rock
Minimum Speed := 0
Desired Speed := 0
Majority Weapon Family Pick 1 := 0
Majority Weapon Family Pick 2 := 0
Majority Weapon Family Pick 3 := 0
Majority Weapon Family Pick 4 := 0
Majority Weapon Family Pick 5 := 0
Secondary Weapon Family Pick 1 := 0
Secondary Weapon Family Pick 2 := 0
Secondary Weapon Family Pick 3 := 0
Secondary Weapon Family Pick 4 := 0
Secondary Weapon Family Pick 5 := 0
Shields Spaces Per One := 0
Armor Spaces Per One := 0
Majority Comp Spaces Per One := 10000
Majority Comp Ability := Colonize Planet - Rock
Secondary Comp Spaces Per One := 0
Secondary Comp Ability := 0
Num Misc Abilities := 3
Misc Ability 1 Name := AI Tag 01
Misc Ability 1 Spaces Per One := 100
Misc Ability 2 Name := Standard Ship Movement
Misc Ability 2 Spaces Per One := 100
Misc Ability 3 Name := AI Tag 10
Misc Ability 3 Spaces Per One := 10000</pre><hr />

AI Tag 01 refers to a 5kT supply reactor. It should add 5 of these (25kT), plus 5 5kT engines (25kT), and add AI Tag 10 for a cargo hold (20kT). The ship vehiclesize.txt entry requires 1 bridge, life support, crew quarters (30kT). So that's 100kT + 400kT colony module for a 500kT ship. It's a perfectly legal design I can make as a player.

Regardless of the ship size limits I set or even if I drop the colony requirements no luck to even get a basic hull design.

Strangely my attack ship entries are just fine!

[Renegade 13]

I'm absolutely useless with AI files, but could your problem have something to do with having the "Minimum Speed" and "Desired Speed" set both to 0?? Just a shot in the dark, and probably won't help, but you never know.

[Captain Kwok]

Renegade 13 said:
I'm absolutely useless with AI files, but could your problem have something to do with having the "Minimum Speed" and "Desired Speed" set both to 0?? Just a shot in the dark, and probably won't help, but you never know.

I don't think so. I've tried fiddling with the speed settings and it didn't work either. Plus, the attack ship design is done the same way and has no problem. To the best of my knowledge it's related to my colonization components.

Interestingly, the Star Trek Mod uses almost the exact same colony scheme and it does design colony ships.

[Ragnarok-X]

Here are my suggestion, from own experience: Is the colonyship hull really 500 kT big ? If it is, can a rock colony component be packed on it, size-wise ? If so, then im almost 100% sure its a problem with your racial traits and empire setup.

If you are using the system which is used within the STM Mod, then you are most probably having 9 unique colonization tech areas (3 for each native). Be sure you have assigned the right colonymodules to the right tech families and the right racial traits for them in the empire setup. If you didnt, then the AI is not able of designing a colship at all, since the component is not available. My suggestion to test this is, make a new game, run turn one, switch over to the AI empires and design a ship, that way you will see if the AI has access to the RIGHT module at all. I know its confusing, but when using this quite unique system of colonization traits/technologies, things can easily get weird and confusing. Hopefully you understood my at all.

[Captain Kwok]

Been there, done that. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

All colony modules are properly configured and displayed, and match their corresponding racial traits. All proper colony techs are displayed for each type of native (rock, ice, gas) at high tech.

The design I'm trying to implement is an exact copy of a legitimate and legal player design. I've done a number of size tests (ship hull, component, etc) that have had absolutely no effect. The AI will design 500kT+ attack ships, so it's also not a factor of size restrictions in the AI_General file.

And I'm using the quick design test you've suggested. A saved game on turn 1 with AI design minister on.

[Captain Kwok]

Huzzah!

I figured it out. It was such a small thing but it cost so many hours and made me lose so much hair. I'm certainly kicking myself in the *** right now! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/Sick.gif

The problem was this:

Unknowingly I had this setting for the Colony ship hull in vehiclesize.txt:
<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>Requirement Pct Cargo := 50</pre><hr />

When it should have been this:
<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>Requirement Pct Colony Mods := 50</pre><hr />http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif

So I fixed the typo and lo and behold, it worked!

Yeah, so I'm a little bit behind for today's release. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Currently playing a game with the mod (as all 10 players of course), doing a quality and bug check. So far the list isn't too big. I figure by turn 25 I should have uncovered anything serious...

[Captain Kwok]

Looking good. Caught some little bugs in the test game but I'm fairly happy with the play so far. Will finally upload when I get home from work tomorrow!

[Ragnarok-X]

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif Please post a "small" version as well, since im up dial-up.
Thanks.

[Captain Kwok]

Ragnarok-X said:
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif Please post a "small" version as well, since im up dial-up.
Thanks.


Umm, there's really no graphics so it's probably only 1-1.5Mb zipped/rared.

[ironman]

Umm, there's really no graphics so it's probably only 1-1.5Mb zipped/rared.

What you got so hungy that ya ATE ALL THE SHIPSETS http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/Sick.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Some items that will not be in this release:
Shipset Graphics (Currently default ships)
Race portraits (Currently Race flags)
New Component Graphics (Currently stock images)
New Facility Graphics (Currently stock images)
New System Graphics (Some current systems will generate missing file nag error)
New Planet Graphics
Some unique combat images (will appear as blank white/red squares)
Quadrant Types (Currently only 5 basic ones)
Some Stellar Manipulation Components
Advanced/Optimized AI
No Neutral Races
Optimized Empire files
Specific Empire mounts
Some Empire vehicle types


What is in the first release:
95% of planned Components
95% of planned Facilities
Majority of unique Empire ship types
100 Unique system types
225 Custom Events
Basic AI that can colonize, build small ships
50% of intended unique combat images


A number of "Not in this Version" items will be addressed this week - mainly combat images, race portraits, AI enhancements, and system graphics, and of course, bug fixes. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[NullAshton]

You need processed cheese cannons.

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings!

Version 0.10 of the Space Food Empires mod has been posted. You can find it in the downloads section at the website:
http://sfe.captainkwok.net/home.html

Please note that you'll have to add AI players using the provided Empire files for now! I forgot to setup their files to use their racial traits! Duh!

[Renegade 13]

Noticed a couple things:

First, when entering a system, I got an "Unable to load bitmap [root SEIV directory]/Space food empires/pictures/systems/stellarcore1.bmp"

Second, are light mounts only supposed to divide, size, damage, etc all in half, and divide the cost by 4?

[Captain Kwok]

Ignore the missing bitmap errors for now, I'm making them now and will patch them in shortly. I was just too lazy to revert them to stock images as I had intended to make them in time for the first release. I believe the following system types will produce the errors: One of the blackholes, pulsars, quasars, neutron stars, dwarfs, and probably one or two more. Also note the nebula/storm systems are all using the same 2 images will recieve a nice update by Friday.

The half-mount should cost 40% but be 50% in size etc. The slight break on cost is to balance out the fact that the half-mount is less effective against leaky shields/armor.

[Renegade 13]

Ok http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif In that case, the mount is working perfectly.

[Captain Kwok]

I'm putting together version 0.11 for Friday that will add some of the missing system type and combat graphics, add more AI functionality, and bug fixes. Any suggestions, comments, other items?

[Renegade 13]

Do you know when you're going to input each race's ships, units, etc? At the moment it's a little confusing having everyone use the neutral ship set http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif Of course, I could just rename another shipset and plug it into the mod with the correct AI files, but I'm just too lazy http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Captain Kwok]

I totally agree!

What I'll do is create a quick set of coloured mini images for each race from the generic ones. I'll try and get those out for 0.11, due on Friday.

I'll be focusing mainly on graphics from this point onwards, while addressing gameplay issues and the remainder of planned data file entries.

[Captain Kwok]

I've already completed the coloured minis for the next patch. It turned out to be a lot less painful than I thought. I just shaded the generic minis with each empire's colour.

Also note you can discuss the mod over at SE.net where I have a whole forum dedicated to the mod: http://www.spaceempires.net/home/modules.php?name=Forums&amp;file=viewforum&amp;f=23

I'm also looking for your favourite or effective ship designs so I can immortalize them as AI designs! Attach screenshots or write out the contents of the ship over at the SE.net forum.

Version 0.11 still on pace for Friday.

[Captain Kwok]

Version 0.11 will be delayed until at least tomorrow afternoon. Ended up re-balancing cultural and characteristic modifiers. Plus it takes a long time to come up with 4 versions of empire files and the corresponding AI general files! I'm also updating the empire stats at the website as I do each set.

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings!

Beta Version 0.11 has been uploaded to the Space Food Empires website in the downloads section!

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>Version 0.11 (Beta) - 27 March 2005

1. Changed - Split "Weapons" Tech Area into two: "Weapons - General", "Weapons - Racial"
2. Added - Remainder of descriptions in TechArea.txt
3. Fixed - Corrected faulty Tech Area references that caused Tech Tree error messages
4. Added - Remainder of StellarAbilityTypes.txt descriptions
5. Changed - Reset some SystemType images to stock defaults until they can be created
6. Added - Temporary mini ship images based on empire colour
7. Added - Descriptions for mounts in CompEnhancement.txt
8. Fixed - Major Empire General AI files to use correct advanced traits
9. Changed - Re-balanced racial characteristics in Settings.txt
10. Changed - Re-balanced cultural modifiers in Cultures.txt
11. Added - Additional advanced traits to RacialTraits.txt
12. Added - 0 and 2000 racial points empire files</pre><hr />

Also note the website has been updated, particularly the empire info pages, which now have the correct cultural modifier and racial trait data!

Version 0.12 is already in progress and will add those system and combat pics, maybe even a few race pics if you're lucky. That's for next weekend.

After that, I'll be working on version 0.20, which will certainly be a saved-game buster as it will be add some new components, racial traits, and facilities.

[Captain Kwok]

These combat images will be distributed with the next version, but since I finished them I thought some of you would like to have them now. Here are the previews:

http://sfe.captainkwok.net/images/beams.png http://sfe.captainkwok.net/images/torps.png

Download them in .zip format above!

[Renegade 13]

Nice.

[Suicide Junkie]

Why not add them to the imagemod combat pack?

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings.

Continuing to work away on version 0.20, which will feature a somewhat modified armor and shield system to alleviate some problems that were occuring with certain design combinations. This version will also add a few more components and facilities that I passed in the first two releases, plus some new images. Lastly I want to make some enhancements to the current basic AI to help encourage people to try the mod to expediate testing. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Still working away on version 0.20, including the addition of a whole new slew of minor racial tech areas as follows:
Spice Experts
Enzyme Experts
Fighter Experts
Combat Experts
Mine Experts
Composting Experts
Photosynthesis Experts
Food Poisoning Experts
Food for Hire
Cargo Experts

Most of these minor racial areas provide a few unique components or facilities for a mere 250-500 points. Thanks for all the brainstorming help on the IRC channel!

[Ragnarok-X]

So how is it ? I have to admit i didnt downloaded your mod yet. Do you expect version 0.20 to reach soon, or should i go about creating a PBW game with version 0.11 ? If so, who would like to participate ?

[Captain Kwok]

Ragnarok-X said:
So how is it ? I have to admit i didnt downloaded your mod yet. Do you expect version 0.20 to reach soon, or should i go about creating a PBW game with version 0.11 ? If so, who would like to participate ?


Working on it right now! Version 0.20 is taking a bit longer to do since I added 10 new advanced traits with a bunch of new techs and/or re-arranged techs plus gaming time divided between the beta and my regular pbw.

I don't think 0.11 would make for good pbw-ing but 0.20 will. Maybe in a week?

[Ragnarok-X]

So, how is it ? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Desert Fox]

I hope do give this a go over this weekend. I have looked forward to this Mod for over a year and now no time to try it out. I already know it is a good Mod considering who made it! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Ragnarok-X said:
So, how is it ? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif


Probably better with a good sauce.

[Captain Kwok]

Well I've entered/re-arranged all the new entries from the addition of the new racial traits. Now to make changes to some of the other data/ai files to eliminate those pesky error messages.

I think the current history list has about 60 changes/additions on it thus far!

I'm aiming for early June for this version rather than May as I had planned. Mostly due to the little Space Empires vacation I've been on, which was broken by that pesky Star Wars mania, and has reeled me back in re-motivated to complete my task. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Ragnarok-X]

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif Alright, i will wait anyways http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Suicide Junkie]

Hey, here's an idea for v0.2 or so:
- Change all the normal system backgrounds into tables or picnic spreads. Gas giants become pots and pans, rock planets would be plates, and ice planets could be bowls. The star can be a fancy candle in the middle.
- Storms could be forks and napkins.
- Nebulae and other dead systems could be carpeted floors, grassy outdoors areas and such.
- Black holes could be a grassy field with a big anthill in the middle! The ants drag your food ships away and eat them http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[General Woundwort]

Suicide Junkie said:
- Black holes could be a grassy field with a big anthill in the middle! The ants drag your food ships away and eat them http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif



THAT is a sweet idea. Or, if you want to keep this in space, maybe make it a gigantic Juicer built by ancient malevolent aliens? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Also, see if Atrocities could allow you to add the Monsters Race - as mold and fungi. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif You could use Trooper's "Mushuns" shipset ( http://diesel2035.free.fr/mushun/index.htm )

[Captain Kwok]

Thanks for the ideas! I'll be keeping things set in space but I was interested in adding some sort of 'monsters' at some point.

Version 0.20 is almost ready to go, the new data entries have been put in so I just have to make sure I didn't introduce any serious bugs and hunt down a few of the little ones plus fix up the basic AI again since some I made some changes that made them invalid. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

I'm also looking to add elements of SJ's and Fyron's happiness and pollution effects for 0.21 to 'spice' things up.

[Ragnarok-X]

im not sure it if it isnt already included, but you should have Fyron popular pop-modifers at any rate.
What is pollution btw ? Or were you meaning population ?

[Ed Kolis]

Pollution: heavy industry (mining/refining/spaceyards) depletes planet conditions.

[Captain Kwok]

I have employed my own set of population modifiers in the mod.

[Fyron]

General Woundwort said:
Also, see if Atrocities could allow you to add the Monsters Race - as mold and fungi. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

You mean Rollo? The Space Monsters come from Devnull.

[Atrocities]

Imperator Fyron said:

General Woundwort said:
Also, see if Atrocities could allow you to add the Monsters Race - as mold and fungi. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

You mean Rollo? The Space Monsters come from Devnull.



The Monsters used in the STM are indeed the work of Rollo the Great. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings.

Still plugging away on that next version. It's taking a long time because of the nature of changes being made plus the difficulty in securing sufficient time to complete the tasks. Anyway, here are some of the major highlights for the next version:
Re-calibrated armor/shield system
A dozen new racial traits
Lots of new components/facilities
New maintenance system
Added missing elements from previous version (mines, stellar manipulation, etc)

Most of the above items are already done, except for implementing the new maintenance system which will be based on work done by SJ and Fyron. The only other stuff that remains to be done outside of that is a few minor fixes to broken AI design files, updating empire files, and ensuring there are no major bugs.

This patch will also bring the mod much more into the way I had hoped it would be. Aside from the addition of more unique vehicle types to the races and balance issues, there's just the graphics to do. These graphics will be designed for the Space Empires V version (which I've already started to think about, btw) but will also be patched into the SE:IV version. I certainly hope I can get a lot of them done in time before the year is out!

Also, a website update is in the works (heck, some of the pages have already been silently updated!) and will feature a more complete space yards section with some game stats. After this patch is released, I will also start working on the database/help pages on the website which will certainly come handy when trying the mod for the first time.

That's all for now.

[RCCCL]

I have one possible suggestion for your mod http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif. Projectile weapons. They seem to be ignored alot. being easy to research and only 5 levels. For my own games I had added 5 levels with more dam, but the same range, andI upped the research needed too. Perhaps you could do something similar http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif.

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

Slight note: In the Spaceyards section, the Bananas are listed as the "Banana Star Empire" yet in the Technology and Empires section they're listed as "Banana Star Republic". Slight error, can't be blamed on ya, just thought I'd tell you.

Also, the "Robot Factory" name doesn't really sound right to me. If they're foodstuffs, why (and how) would they build robots, when they can simply grow others of their kind and harvest them when they're not fully mature, to use as cheap labor? (hint, hint)

Also, this (http://www.storewars.org/flash/index.html) springs to mind..... Gonna make a SFE/SW crossover mod? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Captain Kwok]

You must have followed one of the old .html links that are lying around in the Space Yards section since only a few test pages are set to the new .php files.

Robots do not need to be as we imagine - it could be some sort of bio-mechanical unit.

Note that not all races in the mod reproduce by simple growing. Check out the races' biological descriptions to see how many different ways I could come up with reproductive mechanisms. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings.

I'm adding the balance of the stellar manipulation technologies in the next patch and would like to give them some more creative names.

Here is an example:

'Planet Discombobulator' for a planet destroying weapon. It works by inducing an anti-gravity fields that causes a planet's particles to disassociate it from one another.

Got any suggestions?

[RCCCL]

For warp point creation you could name it something like
'Warp Point Seed' and say it flings a super dense seed that rips through time and space to make a warp point.

[Captain Kwok]

Thanks for the name RCCCL. I re-named the warp point generator as 'Warp Point Seeder'.

Any other ideas out there?

[Ed Kolis]

Any chance of any sort of harvesters - of the MOO3 persuasion or otherwise? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

edit: I'm thinking maybe some sort of super WMD type thing, maybe a weapon which deploys robots which devour the population of a planet? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/evil.gif

[Captain Kwok]

While working on the new maintenance system in the VehicleSize.txt, I was thinking of ways to make carriers more likely to be used as, well, carriers.

An easy way would be to make special mounts for fighter hangers that would reduce their size when used on carrier hulls. However, since hull sizes are customized by race, this wouldn't work out so well.

So, I have made carrier hulls cheaper with a lower base maintenance cost (20% vs 25%) while being able to launch/recover fighters at a reduced rate even if all hanger bays were destroyed. They also have a slightly lower maximum speed, increased defense penalty and require 50% fighter bays.

Are the benefits enough to balance the penalties, plus encourage their regular use in the game, particularly for fighter-focused races?

[El_Phil]

Given how important speed can be, particularly in a large empire and during combat, the low maximum sped is a big penalty. If you keep the low speed make them the large fleet carriers and add faster strike carriers that have less capacity and perhaps no launch/recover if damaged.

[Captain Kwok]

Reduced speed in this case is generally 1 or 2 move points less at most. It shouldn't really matter all that much in combat, since carriers are just releasing fighters and backing off.

[Captain Kwok]

I still need some help to come up with some fun names for the remaining stellar manipulation components.

Here is what I have so far:

Space Fabric Softener: Device that weakens the structure of normal space generating a stellar storm.
Convection Inverter: Cosmic beam that dissipates stellar storms.
Gravitational Dehydrator: Fires a beam that dissipates the gravitational forces that hold a warp point together.
Warp Point Seeder: Gravitational seed that sprouts a warp point to a nearby star system.
Planet Discombobulator: Reverses a planet's gravity to cause it to fragment into pieces.
Planet Coagulator: Combines asteroids into a cohesive planetoid before initiating a biosphere generator.
Stellar Imploder: Complicated device that causes a star to collapse in on itself.

That's what I have but I still need ones for star formation, nebula formation and destruction ('Nebula Siphonicator'?), and lastly for the creation and destruction of black holes.

[Renegade 13]

Star Formation:

Gaseous Collector Collects all the gases from a given area and collapses them into a dense sphere, forming a star.

[Captain Kwok]

I've completed all the Stellar Manipulation technologies, here are the rest of them:

Fusion Initiator: Condenses stellar gases from a system into a massive ball that forms into a star.
Nebula Siphonicator: Siphons nebula gases into a condensed sphere and combusting them.
Gaseous Disperser: Collects all sources of gases in a system and redistributes them into a single nebula.
Black Hole Defraggler: Defraggles the core of a black hole causing it to collapse.
Gravitational Condenser: Tightly compresses all matter in a system into a single point forming a black hole.

Ringworld Core: The central component required to fully activate a ringworld.
Gravity Generator: Massive generators required to provide suitable gravity for a ringworld.
Biosphere Generator: Generators required to provide a habitable atmosphere for a ringworld.
Hyper-Density Cables: Massive bundle of cables required to bind together all the materials of a ringworld.

To build a Ringworld in the mod, you require 30 Gravity Generators (500kT each), 50 Biosphere Generators (300kT each), and 120 Hyper-Density Cables (50kT each). The construction time and costs are a bit higher than those of a Sphereworld in stock SE:IV.

There are no Sphereworlds in the mod.

[Captain Kwok]

The Space Food Empires website has been completed updated to version 0.20, which itself will be released later this week. There are only a few minor items to finish it off.

Version 0.20 will be a big update with over 80 changes alone listed in the history file, which is part of the reason why it took so long. There's a bunch of new racial traits (listed previously), a new maintenance system, and a bunch of nifty nebula images I made. Even better is that it will be the first version tested on PBW!

I've already have plans for the next version 0.21 that will introduce pollution/unhappiness elements and then another save-game buster for 0.30 that will further individualize the races.

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings.

I'll be posting the next version of the mod later today. I'm just finishing up a few tweaks on the basic AI for those who like solo play. It's actually not that bad, I've got them colonizing, building 4 types of designs (basic scout, small attack ships, colonizers, and population transports), while researching and building facilties - although there is certainly some room for improvement in terms of colony development. The next patch (0.21) will focus on such enhancements.

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings!

I have finally posted version 0.20 of the Space Food Empires mod. You can download it from here: http://sfe.captainkwok.net/downloads.php

You can also view the version history here:
http://sfe.captainkwok.net/revisions.php

This version should be fairly decent for solo play. The AI can expand and build a mixture of transports, attack ships, and scouts. They can also build facilities and do research, but neither is optimized.

Next up will be a patch (0.21) to introduce facility pollution, better AI, and of course bug fixes and tweaks.

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings!

A new patch is available for the Space Food Empires mod. It updates the mod to version 0.21 while adding a new dimension to the mod with facility pollution and worker unhappiness, while making lots of little fixes and changes. It's savegame compatible with existing 0.20 games. Just download and un-zip the patch to your Space Food Empires mod directory.

History File:
http://sfe.captainkwok.net/revisions.php

Downloads Page:
http://sfe.captainkwok.net/downloads.php

Note you'll need to download version 0.20 if you haven't done so already in order to apply the patch!

Unfortunately those AI tweaks and improvements will have to wait for the next patch which I'm hoping to have ready in two weeks.

Also, the mod has a dedicated forum for discussion hosted at Spaceempires.net:
http://www.spaceempires.net/home/forum-23.html

[Renegade 13]

Those of us in the PBW SFE test games need to apply this patch, correct? But only after PBW is back up and the current turn has processed?

[Captain Kwok]

Renegade 13 said:
Those of us in the PBW SFE test games need to apply this patch, correct? But only after PBW is back up and the current turn has processed?

Yep. I just finished posting that in our game thread too. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Captain Kwok]

There's a new patch available for Space Food Empires. The patch will update the mod to version 0.22 and makes a few important changes to reactor and engine costs, plus a few other fixes. It also adds a new systemnames.txt file with more foody names.

You can find it in the downloads section at the Space Food Empires site:
http://sfe.captainkwok.net/home.php

[NullAshton]

Do you have a pepper grinder yet?

[Captain Kwok]

NullAshton said:
Do you have a pepper grinder yet?

Why don't you download the mod and check? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings!

Just a little progress update for the mod. I've been working on the next patch (0.23) which is focusing on making improvements to the AI so that players can have a more enjoyable time with solo play. I'm hoping to get this patch out during the Labour Day weekend.

If you've tried the mod, feel free to post comments/suggestions here or in the SE.net Space Food Empires forum. That way I can address additional issues.

[Atrocities]

Your attention to detail is just amazing CK. I mean this mod is a real work of art. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings!

I'm running a bit late with the next patch which I had originally intended to get out yesterday. Although I've got the AI using planets more effectively in addition to building units and ships, the main delay is establishing the specific research and design files for each race. It's not all that difficult, but it is time consuming as I can't just copy and paste without some significant editing.

On a second note, as mentioned elsewhere, the 'pollution' effect using negative values for the planet conditions ability does not work. However, I think I will continue to keep the unhappiness aspect from industrial facilities in the mod. Right now, the AI doesn't do all that well with it as I have set up the facility queues with happiness facilities to be built after every 5 industrial ones - but it turns out the planets are rioting beforehand! Anyhow, I'll make a few minor tweaks to the happiness files and facility queues to fix it. I really wish you could have happiness increments in decimals rather than just whole integers. There's at least one game coming out that does that...

[Ed Kolis]

Captain Kwok said:
I really wish you could have happiness increments in decimals rather than just whole integers. There's at least one game coming out that does that...



Is that a hint about SE4 Deluxe, or SE5, or some other game? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Fyron]

Captain Kwok said:
On a second note, as mentioned elsewhere, the 'pollution' effect using negative values for the planet conditions ability does not work.

It does still work, just not quite as intended. It does not lower conditions values any, but it does make it harder to improve them.

[Captain Kwok]

Imperator Fyron said:
It does still work, just not quite as intended. It does not lower conditions values any, but it does make it harder to improve them.

In that case, maybe I'll keep it in and add a few more decrease planet conditions events due to 'industrial' accidents.

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings!

In laying out the initial framework for the SE:V version of Space Food Empires, such as designing the tech tree etc., I ended up being inspired to make a few changes to the setup of the SE:IV version. Nothing major, but it will delay the next version by a couple of weeks. I had originally wanted to release an AI improved version before moving on to 0.30, the next major release, but with the current crop of changes it didn't make sense to finish off the AI based on the soon-to-be outdated current version.

The upcoming version (0.30) will really flesh out the component and facility end of the mod. A number of the changes were inspired by watching how the game would develop over 200-300 turns of AI play. It became obvious that certain elements needed to be modified in order to make for more enjoyable gameplay.

I'll keep you posted.

[Captain Kwok]

Greetings!

It's been a long time since I posted a progress report, although I have been continuing to work on my mod as time permits.

Currently I'm working on a major update that addresses a variety of concerns I had over previous versions of the mod. Some details are presented below:

One of the big projects was to re-organize the technology tree, which was initiated by some planning I had done for the Space Empires V version. I'm a lot happier with the current tree, but it's required lots of changes to the data files, which has taken awhile. In many cases, outside of theoretical science and technology areas, you are essentially researching for specific components or facilities.

I've also started adding an AI racial trait to provide the AI with a few technologies to improve their performance. Some of these include special items to simulate remote mining or for the AI to use certain technologies in a more helpful manner, like intelligence or weapons.

I also had to drop the pollution model (since it doesn't work) although I've retained a number of elements of the population happiness scheme I had implemented. Unfortunately, it's a bit simplistic, but this is an area which can be really developed in SE:V, along with with some 'cultural' type elements I would have liked to add in the SE:IV version.

The major races are also getting a few new items, mostly custom components in the primary systems group for ships. Some of these include specialized life support and crew quarter components that fall along each race's characteristics.

I'm also going to add some basic mini ship images in each race's style to replace the current colour-coded placeholders. I'm hoping these little images make for more enjoyment until I get an opportunity to work on the actual models and stuff.

Lastly, although the website for the mod hasn't been formally updated, I have been patching in new elements over the last few months in some of the general technology areas. I had also started a database, but was discouraged by the amount of work it took to make. However, Fyron's hopefully working on some templates based on his site that I'll be able to use.

I'm aiming for late Feb for this update. My final school semester is relatively light and I also have a full week break during that time as well.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Neat!

[Captain Kwok]

For the next version I'm adding the basic framework to support monsters, but I would like to get feedback on how I should implement them.

Currently I'm going to have their home colony invisible to all other races, which will be capable of supporting 3-5 monsters at a time. Should I make them like neutrals or should I give them free range like regular AI? If I make them regular AIs how many systems should their range be? I was thinking 1-2 systems beyond their home colony.

How strong should individual monsters be? Should they be able to match against a single ship or a few ships at once?

Feel free to post more ideas...

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Rabbits, moles and deer, oh my!

[Captain Kwok]

For you amusement I have added a bunch of rough sketches I have made on various Space Food Empires items, which you can view here:
http://sfe.captainkwok.net/graphics.php

I'll add more of the ship doodles, so you can at least get an idea of how some of them will eventually look.

[Black_Knyght]

Shiny !!!

How far have things gotten in terms of race portrait and race-distinctive ships ?

Kinda curious how they'll turn out...

[Kana]

The Fruit Explorer look alot like...

http://www.starfleet-museum.org/amarillo.htm

But that's ok...All the sketches look great...a cartoony feel is what I envision...and I think it's really great, and it's going to be a wonderful mod for SEV.

Kana

[Captain Kwok]

You'll notice a lot of 'subtle' Star Trek design motifs in the ships - much of the original concept was based on a Food Trek thing, in which the lore of the Space Food universe was established.

[Captain Kwok]

I'm going to add 4 monster types to the game, each with a unique set of 'weapons' and attributes. In general, all monsters can regenerate themselves if damaged as long as their 'brain' is intact. They have bodies of different sizes and are protected in general by their protective 'skins'.

Flying Spaghetti Monsters:
Manipulate and attack objects with their noodly appendages

Processor Monsters:
Self-relplicating robots created by an extinct Food race. Desire to chop up all organic matter that crosses their path.

Fungal Monsters:
Space fungi that infect ships and planets with their poisonous spores.

Stomach Monsters:
Wierd organic lifeforms that attempt to devour all organic matter they encounter in space.

[Captain Kwok]

Here's what I've planned so far for 'weapons':

Flying Spaghetti Monster
Noodly Appendage Attack (Half Damage To Shields)
Noodly Appendage Defense (Point Defense)
Noodly Appendage Grab (Pull Target)
Noodly Appendage Push (Push Target)

Processor Monster
Heat Ray (Normal)
Claw Attack (Half Damage To Shields)
Chopper (Skips Armor)
Chopper Defense (Point Defense)
Grabber (Pull Target)

Fungal Monster
Mold Attack (Plague)
Spore Attack (?)
Spore Defense (Point Defense)

Stomach Monster
Bite Attack (Half Damage To Shields)
Acid Attack (Skips Armor)
Acid Defense (Point Defense)

[Suicide Junkie]

Truly. Awesome. Idea.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Oh yeah. Food fight in space.

[Captain Kwok]

I've added a dozen sketches of Food ships here:
http://sfe.captainkwok.net/graphics.php

Enjoy.

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

Ooh - I just had an idea..... How about Herbs &amp; Spices as (a) race(s)? It could be a major, playable race, but it could also be the Neutrals; so you can have Parsley neutrals, Basil neutrals, Oregano neutrals, Mint neutrals, you name it. It's just an idea, just struck me.

[Captain Kwok]

Actually I already 10 neutral (or minor) races, which you can find list here:
http://sfe.captainkwok.net/empires/neutrals.php

I ended up making spices a special substance that gives a few unique components through the Spice Experts racial trait.

But thanks for the ideas.

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

The 0.22 patch doesn't work with Quick Start races. The race files search for "Banana Technology" or "Carrot Technology" racial traits, but these traits are simply marked "Banana" or "Carrot" in the racial traits file. Thus, you get errors when clicking the Quick Start button. Renaming the traits to include the word "Technology" works like (or rather, much better than) a charm.

edit: Maybe, when this mod is just about complete and all you're doing is adding small features, you could add Food Products as empires, neutral or not. The first things that spring to mind are Bread, Pizzas and Twinkies, but there's probably a lot more stuff. Just sprang to mind.

[Captain Kwok]

I've put together the components for monsters now:

Monster Brain:
Bridge, Combat Sensors, ECM

Can not be regenerated. If destroyed, monster becomes permanently brain dead. But may run around like a chicken with its head cut off. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

Monster Organs:
Life Support, Boarding Defense, Armor Regeneration

Main source of defense against capture and healing.

Monster Stomach:
Solar Supply Generation, Supply Storage, Armor Regeneration

Collects and stores calories for the Space Monster. Can be healed quickly when body organs are functional.

Monster Movement:
Standard Movement, Combat Movement, Armor Regeneration

Provides standard and combat movement for monster. Can be healed quickly when body organs are functional.

Monster Body:
Armor Regeneration

Provides protection against attack. Can be healed quickly when body organs are functional.

Monster Camouflage:
Cloak Level, Armor Regeneration

Provides low level cloaking ability. Can be healed quickly when body organs are functional.

General Notes:

The actual component entries do not reveal much information (or even level) of each monster component. They improve over time with improvements in monster evolution.

Monsters can also be captured (be careful not to damage the monster's brain!), but you'll need lots and lots of boarding attack points!

-----

Re: Patch 0.22 - it appears that I forgot to make some changes to the AI files when I dropped the 'Technology' part from the racial traits...

Also, aside from the Meat Empire, I had been avoid processed foods. Perhaps in some form or another they will show up. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Captain Kwok]

A couple of sketches for the Monsters:
http://sfe.captainkwok.net/images/sketch-stomachmonster.gif http://sfe.captainkwok.net/images/sketch-processormonster.gif

[Ed Kolis]

Cool monsters! Those are truly horrifying! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[Captain Kwok]

I've been working recently on improving the system types in the mod. This includes realized versions of dwarf stars, supergiants, neuton stars, pulsars, and blackholes. The twist here is that larger phenomena has footprints. For example, a supergiant star actually occupies the 9 center squares. Any ships trying to enter those areas are toast. Same goes for blackholes (so watch that movement, even the outer edges of a blackhole are quite treacherous!). They're all randomly generated! They work by using special storms very creatively. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

A Blackhole (the entire image is treacherous) and a Blue Supergiant where the area of the star cannot be entered!

http://www.captainkwok.net/pictures/blackhole.png http://www.captainkwok.net/pictures/bluegiant.png

I graduate from university in a couple of weeks, so I hope to finally release the long-promised version 0.30 in May, which will include these cool items mentioned above!

[Urendi Maleldil]

Cool! I'd like to see something like that combined with Fyron's Quadrand Mod

[Caduceus]

Looking good, CK

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Will the AI know to avoid them?

[Captain Kwok]

narf poit chez BOOM said:
Will the AI know to avoid them?

Yes. They are special types of storms so the AI will route around them as it normally would with any storm.

[Captain Kwok]

The system types file with the mod is almost as complex as FQM. There are about 50 different planetary systems alone, ranging from 3-10 planets with moons and asteroid belts. They are typically setup to mimic our solar system's order: star-rock-ice-gas-ice, but not exclusively. Most of these elements are already present in the 0.21 version available at the Space Food website.

I was thinking of making a stand alone "rival" to FQM with it, but unfortunately I haven't really made many new quadrant types or added the new sector types that are needed to encourage a balanced map for regular SE games. The SFEmod is skewed towards certain planet combos. /threads/images/Graemlins/Cold.gif

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Ok, thanks. The last time I played, the AI didn't route around.

[Renegade 13]

Those are some really great looking system pics Kwok! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Ed Kolis]

What if there's one warp point on one side of the system and one directly across from it? AFAIK, the AI isn't smart enough to avoid obstacles more than 3 sectors in width... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

[Captain Kwok]

I think the blackhole is 6x6 sectors wide so it they might be able to navigate around it (note that it is smaller than in normal SE:IV) but I'll give it a test.

[Captain Kwok]

I tested it out and the AI had no problem navigating around the blackhole. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[douglas]

One of the standard black hole abilities, either destructive center or movement towards center, triggers a special AI pathing routine that tries to stick to the edge of the system rather than just avoiding the one sector that actually does damage, even to the extent of wasting movement points sometimes. That routine will usually keep the AI out of the dangerous area of your custom black hole even without the damaging storms, except maybe for the corners, and even for the corners it will almost certainly get the AI's ships close enough to the edge that the standard damaging-storm-avoidance routine will work.

[Captain Kwok]

Yeah I noticed that in my test. It works good as long as the ship avoids being damaged by the outer regions of my blackhole. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Captain Kwok]

I've been making some SE3-style minis for the next version to help with playability. I'll think they'll do better than the coloured generic sets used in the last version.

Here are a couple of previews:

Banana Star Republic
http://sfe.captainkwok.net/images/ships-banana.png

Broccoli Collective
http://sfe.captainkwok.net/images/ships-broccoli.png

[Ed Kolis]

Niiice http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif
Are those rendered versions of 3D models, or pixel art?

[Captain Kwok]

There just quick n' dirty pixel art. I figured the coloured generic ships weren't condusive to fun gameplay.

I intend to use them with the mod until I make the actual models that will be used in both versions for SE:IV and SE:V.