Alpha Centauri 2

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri & Alien Crossfire => Modding => Topic started by: thorn on February 07, 2013, 05:25:42 PM

Title: Limit Number of Bases
Post by: thorn on February 07, 2013, 05:25:42 PM

Is there any way I can edit SMAX (maybe through a hex editor?) to limit the number of bases that can be built by each faction? I would love to play a game where no can build more than 10-15 bases each.

Title: Re: Limit Number of Bases
Post by: ete on February 07, 2013, 05:48:39 PM

If you can program in assembly and have a disassembler it should be technically possible, but probably moderately difficult. You could perhaps discourage large numbers of extra bases by giving factions strong efficiency penalties, though I'm not sure how much notice the AI would take of that.

Title: Re: Limit Number of Bases
Post by: Yitzi on February 08, 2013, 12:04:45 AM

Quote from: ete on February 07, 2013, 05:48:39 PM

If you can program in assembly and have a disassembler it should be technically possible, but probably moderately difficult.

Anything is technically possible in assembly.  Limiting the number of bases seems it'd be possible though fairly difficult...it'd be a lot easier in the case of human players just to have an agreement not to build more.  As for AI, if you limit the number of bases without changing the AI accordingly you'll probably just freeze the game as the AI tries to build more bases and can't, so to really get what you want with AI present you'd need to get Kyrub to make you an AI mod.

However, more than 10-15 bases, if it's going to avoid ICS (which Earthmichael has shown to be fairly poor strategy*), needs a lot of territory.

*Except in the case of a momentum faction who builds a lot of bases for a lot of free support and quick unit production, but that's an approach that usually either wins quickly or loses.