Questions to modders, what would you like?

[Yitzi]

I'd like to see customizeable reactors.
I was so excited when I saw tachyon particles mentioned in the game but later found no technology or reactors every really used it.

I've loved the idea of making a tachyon reactor for new units.

You can already mod the names and prerequisites, and I'm not sure if you can mod the strengths but I think you can.

Allowing more than 4 types total would probably be unfeasible, unless an I/O specialist could help with enabling more than 4 options in the workshop, and even then it could be somewhat tricky.

[Linamints]

@Yitzi I know the re-names can be done, but it's the actual values I'd like to change.
I've been working off and on on a modpack for my brother in the theme of his favorite series, and I just love the idea of creating insane enemies to find for an extra something special.

And out of curiosity, say there can't be more than four period, how likely is it that the values can be changed for all of them for a "in the future" mod (This is another side project I have some interest in)?

[Yitzi]

@Yitzi I know the re-names can be done, but it's the actual values I'd like to change.

What happens if you change the numbers next to the names?  Does that not have an effect, or does it have the wrong effect, or do you want more than 4 options?

And out of curiosity, say there can't be more than four period, how likely is it that the values can be changed for all of them for a "in the future" mod (This is another side project I have some interest in)?

Fairly likely.

[Nexii]

A flag for where raising terrain is not a declaration of war.  Almost always higher terrain is a good thing.  Oddly, terraforming over other improvements isn't.  Related - more flat raising costs, land bridges are very inexpensive by default.  To the point where sea units are often ignored, even with cost rebalancing.

A flag to set increase sea territory border distance.  I think it's a bit too easy to encroach. 

A flag to have borders assumed to be max distance until contacting the faction (i.e. vendetta by default, rather than truce).  It's a bit nonsensical to 'know' an enemy is near by the border in early game.

A flag for being able to put sensors and raise/lower terrain on a base square.

A flag for sea sensor arrays to actually give a combat bonus.

A way to have pressure dome give differing resources from recycle tanks.  Generally as a way to balance sea vs land colony pod costs.  Less important if sea terraforming can be split out from land.

[Yitzi]

A flag for where raising terrain is not a declaration of war.  Almost always higher terrain is a good thing.  Oddly, terraforming over other improvements isn't.

Should be doable, though if you want more complex rules about when it is a declaration of war that might be trickier.

Related - more flat raising costs, land bridges are very inexpensive by default.  To the point where sea units are often ignored, even with cost rebalancing.

If you describe the formula you want, I can probably do it.

A flag to set increase sea territory border distance.  I think it's a bit too easy to encroach. 

Should definitely be doable.

A flag to have borders assumed to be max distance until contacting the faction (i.e. vendetta by default, rather than truce).  It's a bit nonsensical to 'know' an enemy is near by the border in early game.

Could be tricky, but probably doable.

A flag for being able to put sensors and raise/lower terrain on a base square.

Probably doable.

A flag for sea sensor arrays to actually give a combat bonus.

Definitely doable, though it'd need to be determined whether sea sensor gives a bonus only to sea or to land too, and whether land sensors give a bonus to sea.

A way to have pressure dome give differing resources from recycle tanks.  Generally as a way to balance sea vs land colony pod costs.  Less important if sea terraforming can be split out from land.

Pressure dome differing resources should be doable; sea terraforming split out from land is questionable.

[Nexii]

Nice.  I don't think the actual land raising formula is known?  I was thinking something simple like just being able to put it to a fixed cost (i.e. X EC/raise, no matter the height).  I suppose a more complex/better alternative would be to consider surrounding squares that go from sea to land, and add a cost based on the number of sea tiles that get converted.  Say Y/EC per sea tile where Y would be set to around 100.  Land bridges should be more difficult.  It's rather silly when you think that raising an entire continent would be easier than making some transports.  Partly a sea unit cost issue also which can be modded, I realize.

Just a simple rule of raising not being a declaration of war would be preferable.  At least I consider this an inconsistency between other terraforming types.  I can overwrite a borehole with a forest but raising up land is somehow more aggressive.  Perhaps if sea borders could go out farther from land it wouldn't be as much of an issue.  But even so, it's a bit strange that two pact brothers/sisters can't raise up the land between their territory together.

Yea the sensor on base, I don't think it's really needed now that I think on it.  Building a base on a sensor is probably more an exploit than something legitimate.   Sea sensors giving bonus to all combat would probably make more sense (as land ones help for land air and sea attack like sealurks). 

One other thing would be a flag to have default faction status at vendetta from the start of game.  Whether you talk to a faction or not upon contact, it puts you in truce status.  If you really just want to war your neighbour then your reputation takes a hit even though you haven't agreed to a truce.  Maybe this one's debatable too, depending on how you interpret the game's story introduction.

Yea I'm not sure how unknown borders really 'should' work.  There's similar issues with mousing over terrain to know where fungus is by the movement cost.  Another related example is putting on the base radius to know where unseen bases generally lie. 

[Flux]

I would love to make a city - view like in civ l and lll. To see your base improvements as eye candy.
Certainly not important, but I would still like to see it one day.

[Yitzi]

Nice.  I don't think the actual land raising formula is known?

I think it's a certain cost per distance to the nearest base, with the cost depending on height.

I was thinking something simple like just being able to put it to a fixed cost (i.e. X EC/raise, no matter the height).  I suppose a more complex/better alternative would be to consider surrounding squares that go from sea to land, and add a cost based on the number of sea tiles that get converted.  Say Y/EC per sea tile where Y would be set to around 100.  Land bridges should be more difficult.  It's rather silly when you think that raising an entire continent would be easier than making some transports.  Partly a sea unit cost issue also which can be modded, I realize.

An even more complex alternative with some serious advantages would be to make it so that when you raise or lower land, the total change in height (among all squares) is 1000, instead of just changing the current square and spilling over to nearby squares for free.

Of course, that would have impacts on terraforming, which would likely need to be rebalanced.

Just a simple rule of raising not being a declaration of war would be preferable.

It's only a declaration of war when it causes raininess in someone else's territory to change.  (Of course, there are times when it can cause such a change due to a bug that AFAIK can be fixed only by reworking the "adjacent tiles drag each other" system to be based on strict difference in height and not on category.)

At least I consider this an inconsistency between other terraforming types.  I can overwrite a borehole with a forest but raising up land is somehow more aggressive.  Perhaps if sea borders could go out farther from land it wouldn't be as much of an issue.  But even so, it's a bit strange that two pact brothers/sisters can't raise up the land between their territory together.

Barring that bug I mentioned, it should always be possible for at least one of them.  Though it should probably be a choice for pact brothers to declare war or not, anyway.

As for replacing an improvement in someone else's territory, it probably should be the same as raising land and thereby changing climate.

Yea the sensor on base, I don't think it's really needed now that I think on it.  Building a base on a sensor is probably more an exploit than something legitimate.   Sea sensors giving bonus to all combat would probably make more sense (as land ones help for land air and sea attack like sealurks).

Makes sense.

One other thing would be a flag to have default faction status at vendetta from the start of game.  Whether you talk to a faction or not upon contact, it puts you in truce status.  If you really just want to war your neighbour then your reputation takes a hit even though you haven't agreed to a truce.  Maybe this one's debatable too, depending on how you interpret the game's story introduction.

Would be possible, not high priority.

[Nexii]

Yea.  I feel lately that the game is just better with raising/lowering disabled - at least until the very late game.  And Weather Paradigm gives raise/lower so I'd rather just disable it.  It's a fun idea but inherently it just breaks the map.  Terraforming aside, it's better if sea units and island colonization are more encouraged.