Modding Space Empire IV Gold

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-05 12:58pm

How many of those do you have Uraniun? I saw you running an ice ship into my space and landing on a ruins

. You've probably got a lot of those since you've got so many planets. I want some especially unique ship class!

I can't say anything more about Tux, I shouldn't have even mentioned it lol. You'll see when you see his ships.

Brian

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2006-04-05 01:00pm

I only scored two. I just got Cure for Nano-Plague and... I think the other one gave me Intelligence or something equally mundane. I got ripped off.

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-05 01:12pm

I just checked the vehiclesizes.txt to try and find unique ship class and I couldn't see it. Looks like another rough edge

.

As for weapons... everybody's kind of gipped with weapons. Though I have this,

...can hit everything and it's cheap with 2 reload. And I have a -75% maintainence component with -5% combat penalty so I'm pretty well off.

Brian

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-05 03:52pm

Okay time for dirty laundry.

I don't care whether people close warp points to buy themselves time. But the jump gate components that have 4999 kT of size need a move point to work. You can't get a move point by adding one engine because of QNP. So there are no jump gates that can open up to 30 squares on the map because of the bug, only jump drives. Jump drives only open up 5 squares.

So it is entirely possible for Kojiro to completely isolate Tuxedo from the whole galaxy. I've measured distances with a ruler and they're greater than 5 squares in the Eastern systems. I don't think that's fair to Tuxedo at all, he'll be playing a single player game since he won't be able to bring ships or even interact with the other players (when warp points are closed and there is not a clear line to a player you lose contact with them).

If you close the Gorash and Centauri Prime to Earth Alliance territory warp points Kojiro you could be safe from the galaxy forever and u r winner. Of course Nephtys might have something to say about that. So something should be worked out I think so there's no misunderstandings.

<edit>I also believe Tuxedo is Game Administrator so he could make a ruling, but I'd rather there be some consensus about what to do about jump drives

</edit>

Brian

Nephtys · Post by **Nephtys** » 2006-04-05 04:12pm

Can't a gravimetric engine use it's bonus move point?

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-04-05 04:19pm

No, I've tried just about everything I can think of. Gravimetric engines, the agile ship component, the ancient engines, nothing I've ever tried works.

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-05 04:19pm

Nice idea, but I just tried and no.

I think Trogdor has tried a lot, with agile ship and swift ship, and doesn't work for him ever.

Brian

Nephtys · Post by **Nephtys** » 2006-04-05 04:30pm

Emergency propulsion perhaps? If it still exists?

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-04-05 04:36pm

It doesn't exist in the B5 mod, I'm afraid, at least no so far as I'm aware.

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-05 04:41pm

Just looked for the "emergency energy" ability for emergency propulsion in components.txt, doesn't exist.

Brian

Nephtys · Post by **Nephtys** » 2006-04-05 04:50pm

Oh wait.. well. I know now what that extra 5 kt is for. Self destruct device, to remove the gate once it was used up. Crap.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2006-04-05 07:40pm

brianeyci wrote:If you close the Gorash and Centauri Prime to Earth Alliance territory warp points Kojiro you could be safe from the galaxy forever and u r winner. Of course Nephtys might have something to say about that. So something should be worked out I think so there's no misunderstandings.

Er, wouldn't that leave him with a small chunk of the galaxy? He'd eventually lose thanks to our development of the rest of the galaxy.

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-04-05 09:39pm

Except he can't lose because we can't attack him. That's the point.

Nephtys · Post by **Nephtys** » 2006-04-05 09:41pm

Actually, can't you mount the jumpgate on a planetkiller, and use a gravimetric engine?

Edit: New question. How in the name of Valen are your baseships so fast, Arthur? they exceed max speeds available. 24 move on a 1500kt ship?!? Using 40 'Advanced Fusion I' engines? I can't even pull 13 move on a 1250kt Super Dreadnaught.

When I use 40 of these engines on my 1250kt dreadnaught, my ship only moves 9. It's not physically possible to be that fast...

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-04-05 09:43pm

No. 410 kT is taken up by bridge, life supports, and crew quarters, and you only have 6 kT of play.

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-05 09:46pm

Er, wouldn't that leave him with a small chunk of the galaxy? He'd eventually lose thanks to our development of the rest of the galaxy.

Depends what call winning

. Anyway the point is I don't care if he shuts off warp poins into his own space but if he brings other people along with him it's wrong. Like making it a single player game for Tuxedo by isolating him, forever. Or inadvertently making it a single player game for Nephtys. If he makes it a single player game for himself whop dee doo, but since this is an RP game I don't give that much a shit. This could never happen in a modification with working warp drives since they'd be able to open 30 squares. Turtling, closing off every single point and building gravity facilities in every single system, can't happen in this mod thankfully.

Brian

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-05 09:50pm

Nephtys wrote:When I use 40 of these engines on my 1250kt dreadnaught, my ship only moves 9. It's not physically possible to be that fast...

Hahaha Tuxedo I told you to kill off all those spy ships awhile back guess you missed one

(I didn't tell her anything I swear lol).

EDIT : Well I told her some things, but only what she could figure out herself, she'd already scanned your vessel when I asked whether she noticed your trick

.

Brian

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2006-04-05 10:27pm

Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:Except he can't lose because we can't attack him. That's the point.

If it ever came down to two players and one of them shuttered himself in permanently, whoever had the most resources/planets available should simply be declared the winner, because ultimately that player would be able to form the most powerful empire. I think in such an event we really don't need a computer console to tell us who the winner is.

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-05 10:29pm

G'Kar contemplated briefly. "But at what a price..."

Well you've given me 300k minerals three times, plus 200k minerals once so carry the one add the six subtract the nine plus the four... you owe me...

one point nine miiiiiillllooooooon dollars.

.

Brian

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-05 10:32pm

Uraniun235 wrote:
Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:Except he can't lose because we can't attack him. That's the point.
If it ever came down to two players and one of them shuttered himself in permanently, whoever had the most resources/planets available should simply be declared the winner, because ultimately that player would be able to form the most powerful empire. I think in such an event we really don't need a computer console to tell us who the winner is.

Yeah well... I don't care if he shuts himself off from the whole galaxy. He's actually already done that, although not permanently because his easternmost system is within five squares or ten millimeters in the map when you right click the bottom right screen

.

EDIT : Meant his westernmost system, his easternmost and southernmost systems are safe from attack so the only way into his space is through the Minbari. And if he blocks off the Minbari... game over

.

But if he shuts Tuxedo from the rest of us, or shuts the Minbari and therefore himself from the rest of us, I don't think that's a decision that he should be able to make. Sure shut off every point of attack or interaction except for one to delay him and fortify the hell out of that point, but cutting off another player without his consent is bad sportsmanship I think.

Brian

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-04-05 10:51pm

brianeyci wrote:
Nephtys wrote:When I use 40 of these engines on my 1250kt dreadnaught, my ship only moves 9. It's not physically possible to be that fast...
Hahaha Tuxedo I told you to kill off all those spy ships awhile back guess you missed one (I didn't tell her anything I swear lol).

EDIT : Well I told her some things, but only what she could figure out herself, she'd already scanned your vessel when I asked whether she noticed your trick .

Brian

I know there are still Minbari spy ships in my space, I just keep forgetting to check the storms and stars for them before I hit 'end turn'.

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-04-05 10:59pm

Nephtys wrote:Actually, can't you mount the jumpgate on a planetkiller, and use a gravimetric engine?

Nope. Unlike the jump gate sized ships, the planetkiller sized ships require life supports and crew quarters, so you can't even get a buildable design, let alone one with movement points.

Kojiro · Post by **Kojiro** » 2006-04-05 11:53pm

Surely the solution is simply to modify the components.txt to make the jump gate weigh less and allow engines?

I've discussed the cutting off thing with Neph and we have an agreement. In light of the RP, it's almost ridiculous to assume that, given the ability to save your people, any race wouldn't shut down a gate.

Arthur has been playing a single player game. It took the attacks for him to get involved at all, and even then I didn't just send in the sweepers and rape his planet. I could have, but I didn't. I could have simply cut him off without so much as a mention. I've done what I've done to make the game interesting. I'm sure Arthur is aware that there's still a bunch of ships in his space that I've been plodding around for a few turns doing nothing with.

The jump point in my system is being moved, not closed.

One last point about game mechanics. I never said they defined the RP wholly. They do to an extent, as in you can't get your fleet annihilated and then write a glorious victory RP but you can certainly make game decisions based on RP.

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-05 11:58pm

You can't modify the data files after the game has started. Maybe next game.

Sure you can shut down your gate, but I don't care about that (Vera and Marxis do but they care about anything filthy xenos do

). I care about inadvertently shutting a gate and closing off other players from the galaxy, forever. I see your Gate Crasher ship heading towards Tuxedo's space, and two points where if you close those gates you make it a single player game for Tuxedo for the rest of the game.

Anyway since Tuxedo is saying nothing, looks like he's going to use game mechanics to resolve this one too so I'll drop the issue (Marxis and Vera won't though, ICly it should be a contemptable thing to damage jump gates

).

Though if you end up closing off Tuxedo forever, I'll be pretty pissed and I'm sure Tuxedo will too.

EDIT : To clarify I don't give a shit if you close off your own systems or close off systems < 5 squares away to give yourself time (you won't, Tuxedo already has jump drives and if not he'll get them pretty quickly) but if you permanently seal off another player from me and the rest of the players, that sucks. Seal yourself all you want Vorlon scum

.

Brian

Kojiro · Post by **Kojiro** » 2006-04-06 12:07am

I'm sure Arthur is aware of the restrictions surrounding gate closures. He's in no danger of being cut off. I might make him have to go the long way but I can't isolate him.