SMAX - The Will to Power - mod

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

Stop pestering me. I am already reverting it in next revision. Don't see much value in it anyway.

On the similar note, let me know if you prefer default free unit allowance (2) to be increased.

[bvanevery]

I think 2 free units works fine.

Details cheap move from University

cheap move from University

At turn 60 I quit the game.  I've barely had time to get my own empire started, only just having learned Rec Commons.  This is the 2nd probe team the University sent at me.  The 1st one was 1st contact, declared war and stole from me.  How does the U. manage to cough up the probe teams so quickly?  More importantly, why is it so trivial for them to take over my bases, which are very close to my capitol?  This is really out of balance, and hearkens to the worst offense of the stock binary.  Before I started modding, I'd say 50% of my rage quits and deletes were due to overpowered probe teams.

In my mod, mind control costs 2x for most factions.  This seems to prevent the stock AI from being able to take over bases near your capitol.  There's at least a minimum radius of safety, I'm not sure how far it goes.  But by feel, all of these bases would be 100% safe in my mod.  You can't really make a sea empire in any tighter a cluster than I just made.

I don't know if you or Thinker have changed the probe team cost formulas.

This concludes testing for now.  Griefed by probe teams is not something I do.

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

I would recommend you to save your enthusiasm and wait unit next AI revamping. I am already learning some lessons from the past versions. Could be more effective to get them off the way and concentrate on what is not yet done.
Not stopping you from playing completely just worrying about your burning out on hitting same problems over and over again.

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

And AI is not cheating on a major stuff like production or something. If they built it then they could.

[Sardaukar]

Been thinking about roads.

Another easy option I see is to change movement cost along the road based on chassis type and make infantry to move on roads as if they are tubes. Or we can do other way around: make rover moving x1.5 or x2.0 times slower on roads implying that they are already mobile units and use their own motor power moving on roads. Whereas infantry is using transportation that increase their road speed tremendously. Hovertank would benefit road the least as it already don't have impassable terrain so the road doesn't add much to it.

Chassis Speeds:

• Infantry - 4, road multiplier - 3
• Rover - 6, road multiplier - 2
• Hovertank - 8, road multiplier - 2

This value from the txt might need tinkering:

25,      ; Combat % -> Mobile unit in open ground

Are rovers and hovertanks "mobile" or is that any unit over 1 movement? When thinking about multipliers, also have to keep elites in mind. An elite infantry unit would move 15 on a road, surpassing a rover! But not a big deal.

[Sardaukar]

I modded the values for base growth limits:

12,      ; Population limit w/o hab complex
24,      ; Population limit w/o hab dome

Do your changes to hab complexes allow for this value being different?

Helps base grow faster by improving living conditions.
^Eliminates population limit GROWTH penalty.
^Default limit without this facility is {7} (alterable by faction settings).
^
^Base with this facility gets GROWTH bonus below the limit.
^GROWTH bonus = min(3, limit - population)
^
^Base without this facility gets GROWTH penalty approaching the limit.
^GROWTH penalty = max(0, population - limit + 3)

[Sardaukar]

In regards to the SUPPORT question, worth thinking about Civ iii, which switched SUPPORT from minerals to energy and ran it across the entire empire, rather than per base. I don't know whether energy or minerals are a better value for support but spreading the pain makes more sense. Could be tricky if you're paying the absolute minimum on a partial cost to rush a construction and your base suddenly has to support a new unit.

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

Been thinking about roads.

Chassis Speeds:

• Infantry - 4, road multiplier - 3
• Rover - 6, road multiplier - 2
• Hovertank - 8, road multiplier - 2

Remember there are also tubes. Supposing they are 2-3 times faster then road then hovertank with 8 movement would cover 8*2*2-3 = 32-48 tiles in one move. It is like crossing the whole map in 1-2 turns. Isn't it too much?

This value from the txt might need tinkering:

25,      ; Combat % -> Mobile unit in open ground

Are rovers and hovertanks "mobile" or is that any unit over 1 movement? When thinking about multipliers, also have to keep elites in mind. An elite infantry unit would move 15 on a road, surpassing a rover! But not a big deal.

Rover and hovertank are mobile AFAIR. Elite extra movement does not make infantry mobile.

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

I modded the values for base growth limits:

12,      ; Population limit w/o hab complex
24,      ; Population limit w/o hab dome

Do your changes to hab complexes allow for this value being different?

Helps base grow faster by improving living conditions.
^Eliminates population limit GROWTH penalty.
^Default limit without this facility is {7} (alterable by faction settings).
^
^Base with this facility gets GROWTH bonus below the limit.
^GROWTH bonus = min(3, limit - population)
^
^Base without this facility gets GROWTH penalty approaching the limit.
^GROWTH penalty = max(0, population - limit + 3)

Yep. They are based on whatever current limit is. That applies to Morganites, for example, if you test them.
The text in help reflects the current configuration state. So if you change alphax.txt the help need to be changed too. Unless you don't distribute it, of course.

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

In regards to the SUPPORT question, worth thinking about Civ iii, which switched SUPPORT from minerals to energy and ran it across the entire empire, rather than per base. I don't know whether energy or minerals are a better value for support but spreading the pain makes more sense. Could be tricky if you're paying the absolute minimum on a partial cost to rush a construction and your base suddenly has to support a new unit.

I absolutely welcome this approach! Actually it was also implemented in Master of Magic long long time ago.
Un-very-fortunately I don't see how we can change it in SMACX. It is all extremely hardcoded in all the places.

What I did about this is distributing unit support from heavy burdened bases to less burdened. This is for AI only, though. As players may want to micromanage it and free up some project building bases off support.

[Sardaukar]

Remember there are also tubes. Supposing they are 2-3 times faster then road then hovertank with 8 movement would cover 8*2*2-3 = 32-48 tiles in one move. It is like crossing the whole map in 1-2 turns. Isn't it too much?

I've only ever used magtubes with unlimited speed. Didn't seem too fast. Suspect there's a whole game design theory behind this choice that I've overlooked.

Also could set up hovertanks with 8/10/12 movement but not to move faster on roads.

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

Also could set up hovertanks with 8/10/12 movement but not to move faster on roads.

You mean 8 - field, 10 - road, 12 - tube?

[Sardaukar]

Sorry. That was unclear. Meant 8 or maybe 10 or maybe even 12 with no road bonus at all.

[bvanevery]

And AI is not cheating on a major stuff like production or something. If they built it then they could.

It is their priorities compared to myself and other factions, that I question.  It is one thing to build out your own empire as though you intend to survive.    It is another thing to build with the tacit understanding that your goal is to harass the human player, in concert with all the other AIs.  Or that you can take it for granted that all the other AIs have the same strategy that you do, so you can count on them leaving you alone.  I just have to wonder if the University was putting its production strength into foil probe teams, if that was leaving it weaker somewhere else, and whether that's a sane choice.  The stock AI is absolutely obsessed with taking over sea bases.

I have played again, vowing not to play the Pirates due to the likely foil probe team obsession problem.  If I encounter the same kind of shenanigans with land probe teams, I'll just quit.  But I'll wait until that actually happens.

As the Spartans, I suddenly had all the extra scouting SUPPORT "come due" when I made my 1st colonist.  I had to disband the scout in my base to keep from losing something to lack of SUPPORT.

The game crashed on me, early on.  Very sudden, complete wipeout to desktop.  I don't have experience playing the stock binary on this new Windows 11 gaming laptop, so I don't know if it has to do with Will To Power or not.

EDIT: Played my mod with the stock binary for several hours.  No problems, so this probably isn't graphical or OS related.

[Alpha Centauri Bear]

Sorry. That was unclear. Meant 8 or maybe 10 or maybe even 12 with no road bonus at all.

Yep. That was my idea as well. Infantry gets 3x bonus from road, speeder 2x, hovertank 1x (no improvement). We just need to select good numbers for their speed. Hovertank moving 8 turns in field is kinda unconventional. Although, I like the idea, other users may frown upon it. Do you mind put your whole idea in the table with all three chassis and how far they go in the field, road, and tube.

Also should we count river same as road in this regards? I would say so but other people will start arguing that all land units are traveling by rivers in boats, bla-bla. Winners...