Engines per move follies...

Sinapus · #1 March 2nd, 2001, 04:55 PM

Did you modify the design.txt files for the computer races when you made that vehicle.txt file? I ran a test game with the design manager on and it won't design any attack ship smaller than a destroyer, defense ship or transport designs. It seems to take 'minimum speed' as number of engines, and since the hulls below destroyer on that vehiclesize file you provided have less than 4 engines it won't design them.

Similar thing for fighters. The two-engine fighter hulls in it won't get designed by the AI because it's minimum speed is 6 or so.

Worse, unless I did something wrong those minimums are hard-coded. I changed the minimum speed for the attack ships on the race I was using down to 2 and started a new game and let the design minister work a few turns. Still no attack ship designs using that hull.

Ah well. Back to the drawing board, I guess.

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"What do -you- want?" "I'd like to live -just- long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I would look up into your lifeless eyes and wave like this..." *waggle* "...can you and your associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden?"

Tenryu · #2 March 2nd, 2001, 11:22 PM

Hmm, I did reduce min speed to 1 and set max to 10 in my 1.19 files. I forgot to do that since putting 1.27. Mainly did this because of the big ship speeds.

You know, I haven't noticed the fighter thing. I, once upon a time, had planetary fighters, {launch from planet only}, but I think the AI would load them on carriers and then not know what to do with them. So I removed them. I tried to use troops to board too. Nada. So many things I wish the darn thing would do.

AS to your other questions, I was able to play a few days Last week and week end,

, with 1.27. Since then have not had any time.

I will check some more this week end Sinapus. I was going to clean out everything and just run the Modpack 1.60 and make some minor PD changes in line with GE's work.

I haven't messed with the AI files much. I generally try to Mod around them since I don't understand them that well nor feel I have the time to get into them right now.

Our problem would be solved if we can get some of them non-working abilities working.

Sorry this didn't help ya. If you find a solution I would love to know about it.

Sinapus · #3 March 2nd, 2001, 11:35 PM

I guess I'll try altering the files on the race I tend to use and test it out, using ctrl-money to speed through research here and there. Maybe I didn't reload the game or something like that.

I don't particularly mind altering AI files, since I've been doing that to the research files for awhile and I added a change to the facility construction files. (They didn't have the entry to build atmosphere converters and such)

Just hoping to keep from breaking things too much.

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"What do -you- want?" "I'd like to live -just- long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I would look up into your lifeless eyes and wave like this..." *waggle* "...can you and your associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden?"

Tenryu · #4 March 3rd, 2001, 02:27 AM

I just checked my ongoing game, 1.27, yup no fighters for the bad guys. You were right.

I changed the min fighter speed to 1 in the Abbidon Designcreation file and then started them as a computer player in a new high tech game. They had a large fighter design this time.

I trashed my 1.19 files a week ago so I will have to re-edit everything again.{groan} I think I will set all the ship speeds to Min 1 and Max 12 this time and the fighter to 1 and 20.

Oh yeah, one other thing I noticed, you need to set the min tonnage on mines to 5 as the small mines are that size.

I believe this should be OK or at least get the fighters for the AI.

If you have any suggestions, let me know.
I am always a bit shy about changing the AI scripts.

Sorry for wasting any of your time.

[This message has been edited by Tenryu (edited 03 March 2001).]

Sinapus · #5 March 3rd, 2001, 02:49 AM

It seems like the upper limit is six drives as well, no matter what you set the desired speed to. I changed the max engines for fighters to something higher than four and it started designing ships after that point.

I guess I'll have to modify things a bit further.

You didn't waste my time. I just need to modify the files a bit and maybe email MM and ask them what's up with this or something.

I hadn't thought of adding supplies to the hull as a method of getting more supplies for bigger ships.

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"What do -you- want?" "I'd like to live -just- long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I would look up into your lifeless eyes and wave like this..." *waggle* "...can you and your associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden?"

Tenryu · #6 March 3rd, 2001, 03:48 AM

Ok Sinapus, I spent some time again reviewing and testing some junk.

Here's what I think might work for the fighters. I found that in some cases setting the minimum engines to 1 for them made them make a 1 engine fighter. That's pretty lame, so I have changed the fighter files as per the attached fighterhulls.txt.

It makes all fighters have 2 engines max. I think we need to set the fighter hull in design creation to min 2 and max 2. Yes, no typo, 2 and 2, otherwise I'm afraid it will do some damn thing next like design a fighter with only engines!

Next , groan, all the designcreation files need to be edited. Maybe I'll do it if I'm crazy enough this weekend. Hmmm, should I get drunk before or after I do it?

I know I'll start before and finish after!

BTW, i have attached a recent colonizer component set that the AI uses OK I think, we don't need the 3rd class Gas and Ice ones, but I think the AI does, and it makes it real easy for old men like me to remember what colony component to put on what colony ship to send where ... always any highest number.

Thanks for noting the fighter thing. I would have wasted days playing that damn game before I noticed something was wrong.

Sinapus · #7 March 3rd, 2001, 04:00 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Tenryu:
Ok Sinapus, I spent some time again reviewing and testing some junk.

Here's what I think might work for the fighters. I found that in some cases setting the minimum engines to 1 for them made them make a 1 engine fighter. That's pretty lame, so I have changed the fighter files as per the attached fighterhulls.txt.

It makes all fighters have 2 engines max. I think we need to set the fighter hull in design creation to min 2 and max 2. Yes, no typo, 2 and 2, otherwise I'm afraid it will do some damn thing next like design a fighter with only engines!

Actually, when I set the min speed to 1 in designcreation.txt for fighters, it wouldn't build a fighter until max engines in the vehiclesize.txt file was at least 4. Try it out.

I did email MM to see if they can confirm whether or not those values are hard-coded.

Just out of curiosity, have you tried testing out an Allegiance Subverter on a ship that has both a master computer -and- a bridge, crew quarters, life support?

Oh, I forgot to mention another thing: the base bridges you made in that component file, the ones w/multiplex tracking added in? The AI adds more than one of them to defense bases. I think because it only sees the multiplex tracking in the bridge and adds it in. Sorry to keep bringing you this bad news.

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"What do -you- want?" "I'd like to live -just- long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I would look up into your lifeless eyes and wave like this..." *waggle* "...can you and your associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden?"