SMACX Thinker Mod

[Induktio]

Thinker Mod project homepage

Thinker is an AI improvement mod for Alien Crossfire that greatly boosts the stock AIs while providing various gameplay improvements.

Summary of main features:

* New production AI for bases (more sensible and balanced production choices)
* Improved terraforming AI (lots of condenser-farms, boreholes and forests)
* Rewritten code for AI faction social engineering choices
* AI builds more crawlers and deploys them better
* AI will deploy colony pods much sooner instead of wandering on the map
* Unit auto design feature creates improved prototypes for the AIs
* Customizable options for free formers and satellites for AI factions
* Faction placement balances random map starting locations
* Possible to select which landmarks are placed on random maps
* Many other additions to gameplay mechanics
* Game binary includes Scient's patch v2.0

Installation:

* Extract the files to game folder
* Check the readme for release notes
* Change configuration from thinker.ini or use the defaults
* Bundled alphax.txt includes optional/recommended changes only
* See detailed info on compatibility on the homepage

* Download links here
* More detailed information

Latest features are provided by develop builds if the release date indicates it is the newest file.

Other possible mods to use with Thinker:
* Pracx graphics enhancement patch
* SMAC-in-SMAX mod

[bvanevery]

I think it's my appointed role to be the bearer of bad tidings...

You can't legally license the binaries you provided under the GPL, because you have no rights to the original game .exe.  Those rights belong either to GoG and/or Firaxis.  When people make .exe patches, they are merely hoping that the right holders never catch up with them.

The choice is also a bit nonsensical, as no source code exists for the game .exe anyways.

You are probably trying to protect your own source code somehow.  I'm not exactly sure how one properly finesses that, given that the endeavor probably violates the game's End User License Agreement.  I'm not up on what various jurisdictions allow for binary patching or reverse engineering, or what the consequences are for violating a EULA.

Modding the factions.txt and alphax.txt doesn't have this problem, because all of those files contain text from Firaxis giving people permission to change whatever they want in those files.  Ergo, I have never "licensed" my mod work.  I put a Copyright on it, on the off chance that somehow I have rights of authorship when creating a derivative work.  I don't know that I actually have any, I just put it in there anyways just in case.

[Induktio]

You can't legally license the binaries you provided under the GPL, because you have no rights to the original game .exe.  Those rights belong either to GoG and/or Firaxis.

There's nothing controversial in the source code regarding Firaxis, simply because it does not contain copyrighted works by Firaxis. It does, however, contain the needed binary diff to reconstruct the patch exactly given the game binary in GOG installation. Other binaries compiled from the source are licensed under GPL. Furthermore, any players need to have the game installation provided by GOG to start the game.

All in all, even a 5 minute search of the web would have revealed how similar projects like OpenRA or OpenTTD, that even reversed whole game engines, manage their licensing. They've been doing fine under GPL for 10 years now, and that's the way it's going to stay.

[bvanevery]

All in all, even a 5 minute search of the web would have revealed how similar projects like OpenRA or OpenTTD, that even reversed whole game engines, manage their licensing. They've been doing fine under GPL for 10 years now, and that's the way it's going to stay.

If they are distributing binaries with a GPL, that doesn't make their actions legal.  Distributing a patched original game binary, is also not the same legal circumstance as entirely reverse engineering your own implementation of a game.  I wonder how they wordsmithed their licensing, vs. what they cannot license?  I will check.

My suggestion is that you make some kind of plain and obvious statement in your distro, that you do not have any rights to GoG or Firaxis' work, and that the license only applies to your own code.  Otherwise, you are vulnerable to summary takedown notices.  Even with such a notice you may be vulnerable anyways, but at least you wouldn't look like you are willfully trying to pass the work off as your own, under a GPL license.

Takedowns can affect other .exe patches, i.e. Yitzi, Scient, Pracx, if GoG or Firaxis gets interested. Trying to make it look more kosher, is about more than just your own work.  Historically, nobody else has ever been claiming a license on anything.  They just have offered patches, and have not typically offered source code to go with the patches.

[Induktio]

Takedowns can affect other .exe patches, i.e. Yitzi, Scient, Pracx, if GoG or Firaxis gets interested. Trying to make it look more kosher, is about more than just your own work.  Historically, nobody else has ever been claiming a license on anything.  They just have offered patches, and have not typically offered source code to go with the patches.

Well, duh. If the mod author does not specify a license for a work, it does not mean it's public domain. Quite the contrary. In most jurisdictions copyright is automatic for any applicable works and needs to be explicitly disclaimed by an author for the item to be in public domain. If Pracx authors didn't explicitly specify some kind of a license, it could not be combined with other programs (they seem to only provide a public domain clause in the forum thread).

Now, any kind of implication I would be claiming copyrighted Firaxis content as my own is not true. If people have an issue with the way licensing is presented, it's really easy to add the trademark clauses excluding any Firaxis content from the mod's licensing, which is what I'm probably going to do. Other than that, there's no real issue here.

[bvanevery]

Now, any kind of implication I would be claiming copyrighted Firaxis content as my own is not true. If people have an issue with the way licensing is presented, it's really easy to add the trademark clauses excluding any Firaxis content from the mod's licensing, which is what I'm probably going to do. Other than that, there's no real issue here.

That is the sum total of what I'm suggesting.  It may protect you better in some circumstance, and it protects the community.

[Induktio]

Now to get back on topic, there's some new features that could get into the next release. It could be possible to incorporate some of the fixes from Scient's patch to this one.

I attached the descriptions from Scient's patch v2.0 readme below and assigned numbers on them. Of the players who regularly play with that patch, which one of these fixes do you consider essential? These changes are more extensive than the ones in older v1.0 which is still linked in the sidebar for some reason.

(click to show/hide)

1.  [BUG] If a faction's cumulative PROBE value is greater than 3 (SE morale, covert ops center) it is possible to "mind control" their bases when they should be immune. If the University uses SE Knowledge putting PROBE value down to -4, it would act as if it were 0 erroneously increasing "mind control" costs. After patch, PROBE values greater than 3 will always be immune to regular probes and values less than -2 will be treated as if they were -2.
2.  [CRASH] It is possible usually on larger maps that scrambling air interceptors would cause the game to crash. Even when the game didn't crash incorrect altitude values were being used in checks. Both of these have been fixed.
3.  [CRASH][SMAX] If you open up Design Workshop as Caretakers/Usurpers and switching back and forth between colony pod and other "equipment" you can cause text in "special ability" to become overwritten and crash once you exit Design Workshop. Patch increases memory allocation used to manipulate the caviar animation files (cvr) and may fix other buffer related problems other than the one noted. (credit to WBird784 for original patch)
4.  [EXPLOIT] Using the right click menu to airdrop calls the "move to" code directly and bypasses all the checks such as if unit is in airbase/base or has already moved. Since the airdrop hotkey "i" correctly checks these restrictions, the patch makes the right click menu use the hotkey checks before directly moving the unit.
5.  [BUG/EXPLOIT] Setting more than one patrol waypoint with spacebar causes the values to be stored incorrectly. If only two waypoints are set then it is just a display issue showing an incorrect amount of waypoints when clicking on unit. If three waypoints are set, it causes the unit's morale to be set as one of coordinates usually boosting it to demon boil / elite status. Also, with three waypoints the final waypoint gets set to some far off random location usually (0,0) breaking three point patrol completely.
6.  [BUG][SMAX] Transport unit's special ability "Repair Bay" is rendered useless due to an incorrect check that would only give the healing bonus to ground transports. Now, it will give bonus to all ground units except ground transports.
7.  [BUG] Fixed a check that was ending the turn for certain air units (choppers/missiles/grav) when entering a base which had no adjacent enemy units. There is still a check which will end the unit's turn if when entering a base it has less then one turn remaining unless an enemy is adjacent to base.
8.  [EXPLOIT] Inside base UI, after opening up the production queue window it is possible to then open the hurry command window, switch between bases and complete projects for less then their actual value. Patch fixes a clean up issue with queue panel preventing certain parts of UI from becoming clickable when they shouldn't.
9.  [EXPLOIT] When clicking on an unexplored tile, the map recenters on that square. However, if the tile contains a base the map doesn't recenter. Patch fixes it so when an unexplored tile with a base is clicked, the game will recenter like the rest of the tiles.
10. [CRASH] When moving units near or at the poles, it is possible for y coord to exceed the map bounds and crash the game. Patch adds handling to prevent y coord from going over min/max.
11. [EXPLOIT] It is possible to change another faction's workers via Base Ops (F4) if you have that faction infiltrated. Patch fixes it so clicking citizens of another faction in Base Ops has no effect similar to garrisoned units.
12. [BUG] Using "Go to home base" (shift-g) command sends the unit to closest base rather than it's actual home. Patch retrieves unit's home base and sets a "go to" waypoint similar to how a unit is recalled from within base UI. If a home base cannot be found (independent) the unit will go to the nearest base.
13. [EXPLOIT] It is possible to give airdrop or artillery ability to an unit who didn't have it. This is done by using hotkey (I or F) on an unit that has the ability then switching units in bottom center window. The mouse cursor would still have airdrop/artillery up and it is then possible to use it with the new unit bypassing all the checks if unit can use ability. Patch resets the cursor when clicking unit selection window.
14. [BUG] Fixed an unit check to use the "Max artillery range" value defined in #Rules (alphax.txt) rather than a hardcoded value of 2. This fix is geared toward modders so players who use an unmodified version of alphax.txt will see no change.
15. [BUG][SMAX] Enhanced probes (Algorithmic Enhancement) are now able to mind control bases/units normally immune due to high SE morale as stated in SMAX manual. For units it's purely the morale SE value so >=3 acts as if it were 2 (cost doubled). For bases, the value is calculated from morale SE and any base facility modifiers (Covert Ops: +2, Genejack: -1). If final value is >=3, it acts as if it were 2.
16. [BUG] Squares with both a borehole and nutrient bonus don't receive the nutrient bonus. If the "Borehole Square" nutrient value defined in #RESOURCEINFO (alphax.txt) is set to non-zero, a square with borehole will erroneously act as if it has a nutrient bonus. The patch fixes a check whether or not to give a borehole square a nutrient bonus from checking if borehole nutrient value is non-zero to checking if nutrient bonus is actually present in square.
17. [BUG][SMAX] While loading the ambient sound file for game, there is a mistake in faction id check for Believers causing it to use SMAX default of "aset1.amb". Patch fixes check so Believers will now use their correct ambient sound file "bset1.amb".
18. [BUG][SMAX] Enhanced probes don't receive a penalty to survival probability when target faction has built Hunter-Seeker Algorithm. Instead, the success probability is erroneously given the penalty for a second time after it has already been displayed in UI. This could cause diminished success rate when it should have been higher. Patch corrects check so survival rather than success probability is modified.
19. [UI] Removed a check that would while displaying probe success/survival probabilities drop one if they're both the same. For example, (50%, 50%) would just be (50%).
20. [MISC] Disabled cpu check which serves no purpose other than preventing the game from starting on newer cpu's. Patch enables ForceOldVoxelAlgorithm=1 in code by default and suppresses annoying warning.
21. [BUG][SMAX] Sealurk units now do not get a penalty when moving onto Sea Fungus like Isle of Deep.
22. ***REMOVED***
23. [MISC] Fixed a registry check at startup (Vista/Win7) whether a complete installation has been performed. Prevents #FILEFIND_NOCD from being incorrectly displayed.
24. [BUG] Units without the Amphibious Pods ability can no longer move to a land tile from a sea base without there being a transport in land tile.
25. [BUG][SMAX] Prevent the Caretakers from being given the possibility of building secret project "Ascent to Transcendence" which goes against their philosphy and would cause them to declare war on themselves if built.  Problem with logic, code exists which should of prevented it from displaying but didn't.
26. [BUG] Allow tiles with more than one probe ability to evict probes (more than one unit, probe has to be top most) ; when evicting probe, only send top unit to home base -> prevents non-probe units from being booted as well. -> using same code used to return probes to base after successful mission
27. [BUG][SMAX] Fixed bug when AI successfully completes probe action of freeing a captured faction leader (FREEWILLY/FREEWHO) where it would reset a non-captured faction.  The problem was that AI would always try to free the very first faction (usually PC) regardless of whether they were elminated or not.  Fix now obtains all potential faction leaders to free and randomly picks one.
28. [BUG][SMAX] Add references to use a new file (movlistx.txt) for SMAX specific info after secret project movies rather than one shared between SMAC/SMAX (movlist.txt).
29. [MOD] Add "Nessus Canyon" landmark placement on random map generation.
30. [BUG] Fixed "attacking along road" combat bonus in alpha/x.txt.  Set to 0 by default.
31. [BUG/MOD] Fixed NEWRESOURCE and PETERSOUT events to display the correct corrosponding image to match resource type.
32. [MOD] Add ability to set individual datalink entries for armor and reactors (ARMORDESC#/REACTORDESC#) in help/x.txt.
33. [MOD] Enable the display of Sea Formers unit (UNITDESC4) in datalinks.  Also, hide '*' from showing in name.
34. [BUG] Fixed logic in PB code to prevent ODP/Flechette defenses being called a 2nd time (with a chance for defenses to fail) even after PB had already been shot down.  Each faction has one chance to defend against incoming missile based on closest base or unit to PB blast.  However, there is secondary check to give the tile owner a chance to defend against PB even if they have no units or bases in this space.  This check didn't take into account whether or not PB had already been shot down.
35. [BUG/MOD][SMAX] Fungal Missiles would spawn MW in ocean tiles -> fix by spawning IoD instead and adding in one Sealurk instead of Fungal Tower.
36. [BUG] Fixed a bug that would display NERVEGAS message even when attack on base failed -> checking attacker health
37. [MOD] Add ability to set reactor (1-4) for #UNITS in alpha/x.txt (ex. "Colony Pod,..., 00000000000000000000000000,4" -> gives Colony Pods Singularity Engine).  To do so, just add comma after Abil with value of reactor you want for unit.  If no value is set, it defaults to "1" like original code.  For SMAX only, there are two exceptions for Battle Ogre MK2 and Battle Ogre MK3 where default isn't "1" but "2" and "3" respectively.  The Ogre default can still be overriden if you set a different reactor value in alpha/x.txt.
38. [BUG] Allowing colony pods to be added to bases with fungus on tile ; allowing sea/land pods to be added to existing sea/land bases ignoring building restriction
39. [BUG] #DISEMBARKFAIL wasn't being displayed due to incorrect logic check ; when you try to move a transport with no units on board (L) onto land this message should display (doesn't include moving into land base, does include two transports on same tile one without units and other with) -> update: added additonal check so #DISEMBARK code wasn't being particially loaded for non-transport units
40. [BUG] Changing start date for Perihelion event to be 2160 from 2190.  This is to be consistent with info about Planet and cycle from readme regarding 80 year cycles (20 years near, 60 years far).
41. [BUG][SMAX] FM would sometimes display #FUNGMOTIZED due to faction id of FM memory location would change and instead would use faction id of MW.  Fixed by storing faction id in variable.
42. [CRASH] Under rare circumstances, the game would crash when an AI faction with no bases attempted to upgrade a unit.
43. [BUG] Abandoning a base after building a colony pod no longer skips the base production of the next base.  This was caused by the upkeep function using incorrect base values after the abandoned base was destroyed.  Fixed so acts like #STARVE.
44. [BUG] Movement to and from pact bases should be identical to your own bases. Since a non-amphibious unit can move from a transport into your own sea base, it should be able to move from a transport into a pact mate's base.
45. [BUG][SMAX] Interludes 6 and 7 would display incorrect string variables specific to Caretakers or Usurpers for non-Alien factions.  They now show correct values for human factions as well as Aliens.
46. [BUG] Interlude 6 would sometimes be triggered by native life forms causing issues with variables and not making sense, this interlude (and it's follow up #7) are designed for another specific faction.  Add check to skip if faction killing unit is alien.
47. [BUG] Fixed display when scenario editor is enabled for changing former owner inside a base (#CHANGEFORMER) since menu didn't load correctly.
48. [BUG] Fixed parsing of alpha/x.txt of "retool strictness" to include "never free" which only really applies to giving penalty secret projects.
49. [BUG][MOD] Giving FREEPROTO factions (spartans) undocumented retool strictness ability when learn necesseary tech.
50. [EXPLOIT] Save/Load queue
51. [BUG] Additional check to initial tile when build aquifer rather that tiles around it
52. [BUG] Diplomacy dialog sometimes had wrong faction id set

[bvanevery]

Now to get back on topic,

The licensing of your work was never off-topic.  I hope in the future you remember that just because someone objects to what you are doing, that doesn't make it off-topic, irrelevant, or out-of-bounds.  I don't have presently have anything else to say, because 1) I'm busy with my own modding stuff and haven't vetted your latest efforts, 2) what you just posted is somewhat long and requires effort to think about, and 3) claiming "not on topic" doesn't dispose me to thinking about it.  So for now I've spoken my peace about 3), hoping I don't have to again.  Similarly, if feedback goes in a direction you didn't like and didn't want it to, that doesn't automatically make it a "derail".

[Induktio]

To be fair I don't really have any interest in the sort of meta-level wrangling where somebody has to prove some kind of point on this forum. The mod's copyright disclaimer was updated, so there's that. So far there has not been much discussion of the mod's technical side in this thread and I also suspect lurkers are not interested in contributing in threads that look like arguments.

[bvanevery]

There isn't any "meta" on my part.  Regarding copyright, it took me some time to get you to understand what was at stake.  You seemed to eventually get it, and my last message on the subject was pretty clear about all I thought you really needed to do.  I think you actually did it, although I haven't checked, but I'm willing to assume "case closed" on that one.

The previous issue with you ruining how the Explore, Discover, Build, Conquer weights work, is very important to any modder who knows how alphax.txt actually works and has done non-trivial tech tree modding.  It's not meta, it's critical.  I don't know what you're currently doing about that, and I feel like I have the burden of going over your sources with a fine toothed comb now to check.  Which is not a fun project, definitely something that I push farther and farther into the future.  I hope you've changed your tune on this issue in the interim.  There's nothing meta about it, it's just that your previous approach was a dealbreaker.  At the time, you didn't seem to appreciate the seriousness of ruining, say, 50% of the work I've done in my mod over 3+ person months.  Even releasing version 1.19 sometime next week, I am still working on those Explore, Discover, Build, Conquer weights.  They matter.  They're the difference between factions going up one side of the tech tree or the other, or being completely unable to go up it at all.

I understand and appreciate the problem of you getting a lack of feedback on technical details.  That's just the reality of working on a game as old as this, in a community that's had stronger participation as recently as 5 years ago.  I hope that when people come along with "knowledge" of the ins and outs, and have a reasoned basis for what they're trying to tell you about how things work, that you take it seriously.  The reality is, there aren't going to be a lot of experts coming your way to tell you X Y Z, so I hope you use what you actually get.

95% of stuff in my own mod, I've figured out myself.  The other 5% I've gotten from other people, has been very useful though.  Frankly, that's why there's about to be this substantial 1.19 release.  I thought I was done.

I will get around to responding to your technical details when I think it will be constructively received.

I might suggest, you have a chance of getting more response, if you try posting on a narrow issue.  In other words, like one uses a bug tracker.  Then people can say yes / no / maybe / here is the relevant resource.  I don't know that people will respond, I just think it increases your chances.  It definitely increases chances that I will respond, helpfully, for instance.  Like if you ask something and I happen to know the answer, then hey boom here's your answer.

[Induktio]

That's some quite big accusations you have going there despite my explicit request not to turn this thread into that sort of thing. I'm not requesting help specifically from you - probably never did, yet you seem to act like I was doing that. You're not accomplishing anything by continuing on that line, not to mention all the other accusations.

[bvanevery]

I've been trying to explain the difference to you, with what you frame as "meta battles of the ego", and actual problems with your binary modding.

The licensing issue, I said I think you got that sorted, probably "case closed".  Me saying this, shouldn't be making you mad.

Ruining the Explore, Discover, Build, Conquer weights in a previous version of your patch, isn't an accusation, it's a fact.  I explained it all to you in great detail in the other thread.  I don't feel a need to do it here again.  In the time that has passed, I was hoping you'd figured out the factual consequences of changing zeros into non-zeros, in the weights.  If you can't / won't figure that sort of thing out, there's no point contributing any technical feedback to you about anything.  You'd just be an engineer who isn't that good and can't be worked with, on basic issues of protocols, stability, standards, maintenance, packaging, etc.  I'd like to think that's not you.  But, the world of Open Source does have a fair number of people who really don't care.  In a previous generation I think we called them code jocks or cowboys.  If it suits their personal careers, they will ruin a previous generation's work.  Breakin' eggs to make omlettes, early and often.

Any project I've ever been on, when I break stuff, and someone points it out to me that I broke it, I've fixed it.  I don't talk about accusations, I fix what I broke.

If you did fix it already, great!  Glad to hear it.  I'll need to verify it at some point, but it would be good to know.

If you didn't fix it... if you defend it... well, that is why I'm not keen to start responding to other technical questions.  The last one was pretty easy, from an engineering standpoint: zeros matter and you nuked them.  The fix for that wasn't hard either.  Just put back the zeros and be more conservative with the math you insert.  This is an easy thing.  If you don't see the easy things, or their serious consequences, why talk about any other stuff?

If you don't want help from anybody, then you don't need to be posting in a public forum.  Posting publicly for input, implies "help me".  Doesn't say how much help you're looking for, or on exactly what.  But you've definitely asked, "help me do some thinking about some issue I brought up," or you would not have posted that big list of stuff you just did.

If you don't want help from me, that's your choice.  You might get some feedback anyways, because it's a public forum.

But you'd get a lot more useful out of me personally if you actually gave an indication you understood the issues I've raised, as something beyond ego, meta, accusations, or topicality.

[BU Admin]

b, why are you looking to make this your problem?  Please let it drop.

[bvanevery]

I will drop the Explore, Discover, Build, Conquer weights issue for now.  Having these work correctly is critical to my own modding work however, and Induktio's patch is designed to be used with other mods.

Binary patches vs. text mods have some general issues, not specific to Induktio's work.  Transparency of changes, encodings.  Yitzi's patch has a few problems with that, I think there are 3.  That's close to zero, which in hindsight is commendable, but not ideal.  Maintainability.  "Is it breaking something?" is a hard question to answer if you don't know the assembly code intimately, and the original author who had the knowledge has disappeared.  Even when they're available, it's a lot of work.  Packaging.  Yitzi for instance steps on alphax.txt, precipitating Yitzi-specific versions of other mods.  Some things I bring up to Induktio now, on the hope that he doesn't become "author of a super popular patch that disappears" several years from now.  There are some lessons of history to be learned here.

That's why I care.  I'm at the stage where someone else is now manually Yitzifying my mod.  Later it could be Induktifying my mod.  Easier if no one has to.

[Induktio]

I will drop the Explore, Discover, Build, Conquer weights issue for now.  Having these work correctly is critical to my own modding work however, and Induktio's patch is designed to be used with other mods.

Well, it's a good thing if we can get over this tech value issue for now. About the binary maintainability, this is still the patch that provides absolutely the most functionality using the minimal amount of binary patching, only a fraction of the other patches actually. Aside from a full open source fork, binary patches are not getting much more maintainable.

I intended to post this link earlier, and it is still valid to say some of the other comments have crossed the threshold for this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt