Factions, Research Boosts and Drone Problems

[Reefa]

Hi,

the subject might be a bit misleading for first. But I stumbled upon a few sad and interesting things I'd like to share. Maybe you all have some thoughts about the matters too? So far ... wall of text incoming:

I've done about 8 custom factions. The first thing I noticed was an issue with FacEdit. If I create a faction that, let's say, can choose 2 Tech at start and save it. It seems alright. But if I load it again, the Techs are missing and instead a Scout Patrol is used as starting unit. To solve this problem, if you might have that too, you must write the necessary things directly in your Faction.txt file. And to overcome the matter with loading in FacEdit to implement it in the game, just write your faction in the alpha.txt or alphax.txt.

Speaking now of the alpha-texts: you can play your custom factions in the original AC if you just change the names at the end of the text file. You just have to watch out for new things, like sea or alien factions. That will result in funny things like a "floating city" unit I've attached here. I did that overwriting basically to prevent some bugs from happening which prevent the game play nearly completely. Because funny things seem to always have some sad sides ...

... playing with more factions seems to screw the game a bit. I've first encountered a minor bug on that. If I play with so much custom factions, I get the message "Data size error! Oh no!" or something.  The message is displayed, if I open an Internet game or if another person joins that game (that person has the same files as I have, so that can't be the problem). I can just keep on by clicking "Ok" on the error and can play.

A second and way bigger issue is, that sometimes in the game, let's say about 100 to 150 years in the game, the Internet-Game doesn't load anymore (if saved, doesn't matter if autosave or normal save). It loads a bit over Globals, Synchronizing Map, Synchronizing Leaders - and it stops at the Vehicles-Part. Every time always the Vehicles. Every save game after that number of turns but only in ACX. But! It's only in the Multiplayer / Internet. If one tries to load those saves in the single player and plays a bit, there are neither problems at loading nor at playing. We have no clue what's the problem on that. You?

Oh, and for my set of custom factions ... the first 7 I used instead of the classic 7 or even the new 7 by overwriting the alpha(x).txt as said. Those 7 factions also seem quite balanced, judging from some games done at Transcendend-Difficulty. The 8th faction is an improvement of the Pirates that works only with ACX - that faction seems a bit overpowered to me.

                                     Pro                        Contra

Brotherhood   1 Former more at Start      -3 Planet
                 Tech: Will to Power                 No democracy
                 50 more Energie
                 Immunity to Mind Control
                 Thought Control without negative effects


Voracious      1 Colopod more at Start      -1 Research
                 +1 Support                     -1 Industry
                 +1 Police
                 Free Prototypes
                 2 Techs at Start


Sirens      1 Tech at Start                  -1 Probe
                 1 Bonus Commerce        -1 Efficiency
                 Cities bigger by 1
                 free Recycling Tanks
                 +1 Growth


Formers      2 Former more at Start      -1 Planet
                  Tech: Centauri Ecology      -1 Morale
                 +1 Research                     -1 Police
                 +1 Efficiency
                  Terraforming Bonus


Osiris      +2 Growth                     -1 Industry
                 +1 Support                    -1 Probe
                  1 Tech at Start
                 additional talents at 3 people


Raider      25% Attack Bonus                    Cities smaller by 1
                 Techsteal at Invasion              -1 Growth
                 Tech: Doctrine Mobility               -1 Research
                 +1 Economy
                  +1 Morale


Technomages   1 more Research per Base   additional drone at 4 people
                         1 Tech at Start                     -1 Support
                         1 ProbeTeam more at Start   -1 Economy
                         +1 Probe                              -1 Planet
                         +1 Research
                         +1 Industry


Vikings      Seebased                       -1 Support
                  +1 Kolopod at Start       -1 Probe
                  2 Seeformer at Start         
                  1 less drone each base
                  +1 Economy

Regards,
Reefa

(Somehow the pro and contra list is screwed up. Sorry for that.)

[Buster's Uncle]

Welcome to AC2!  We love a new guy who knows his stuff.

I'm a creative/art modder, but we've got plenty of guys who know the tech/.txt end pretty well, so sit tight, and I'm sure they'll have a lot to say about your interesting post.  (That last phrase sounds like a spambot, doesn't it?)

[Reefa]

Thanks for the welcome. And your phrase somehow sounds like that - but then you lack the shopping link which follows that normally!

Regards,
Reefa

[Buster's Uncle]

Check out my site!   

[ete]

Hi and welcome! Could you clarify "playing with more factions seems to screw the game a bit", do you mean having more than a certain number of custom factions, and is this still SMAC not SMAX?

Also, I'd be interested in a download of your factions so I can add them to the wiki's custom faction database, and can give a balance review of your factions if you want.

[Reefa]

SMAX.

The 14 faction work. Up to 5 additional custom factions work too. If I add a 6th faction via FacEdit or directly in the alphax.txt, the problems occurs. Attached a screenshot of that. As said, I can just click it away and continue playing without problems. Minor issue compared to that vehicle problem but still interesting.

Regards,
Reefa

Edit says: for the download, I can offer you some Zip-file? There aren't unique graphic files yet, perhaps I'll change them to some unique look later on. Just city names, some datalink info and benefits as stated above.

[Buster's Uncle]

That LOOKS somewhat to be along the lines of what happens when a faction isn't indexed right for the game.  You should be able to add seven.

Here's what the relevant section in one of my alphax.txts (I have multiple copies of SMAX, of course, being a modder) looks like:

; First item is file name, second item is search key.
; These should always be the same except for debugging purposes.
;
#FACTIONS
GAIANS,   GAIANS
HIVE,     HIVE
UNIV,     UNIV
MORGAN,   MORGAN
SPARTANS, SPARTANS
BELIEVE,  BELIEVE
PEACE,    PEACE

;
; First item is file name, second item is search key.
; These should always be the same except for debugging purposes.
;
#NEWFACTIONS
CYBORG,   CYBORG
PIRATES,  PIRATES
DRONE,    DRONE
ANGELS,   ANGELS
FUNGBOY,  FUNGBOY
CARETAKE, CARETAKE
USURPER,  USURPER

;
; These are factions you want included in the startup list.
; These may also be chosen when a random faction is selected.
; First item is file name, second item is search key.
; These should always be the same except for debugging purposes.
;
#CUSTOMFACTIONS
eighth, eighth
newbs, newbs
Cannabis, Cannabis
OtherBorg, OtherBorg
federate, federate
federateD, federateD
GOTM-LIGHT, GOTM-LIGHT

[ete]

hm, I think I've been able to get more than 5, but I do hit that error somewhere over 7. However, I've got ~80 custom factions in my copy, so I deal with it like this:

(click to show/hide)

;
; These are factions you want included in the startup list.
; These may also be chosen when a random faction is selected.
; First item is file name, second item is search key.
; These should always be the same except for debugging purposes.
;
; AARDOM
; acol
; adve
; AGRI
; ANARCHY
; androgyn
; ANTIMIND
; ARTISAN
; ATLANTS
; barb
; BARD
; bree
; CAF
; CCF
; CHILD
; cons
; DREAM
; DROID
; EMPATH
; entr
; exile
; FEDERATION
; FREELCE
; GEBAZZU
; GEM
; GENX
; guar
; hell
; huxley
; IMP
; ISHBU
; ISIS
; JEODDRA
; JURIDIC
; mcs
; neoborg
; PATH
; phs
; plat
; RANGERS
; SAINTS
; SEEK
; Show
; slayers
; STRA
; SYNDCT
; synth
; TERRAN
; unicon
; van
; Yeer
; YPUNAG
;
; bladerunner
; britain
; Cannabis
; church
; energists
; France
; Imperial
; Jedi
; PROD
;
; #JarlWolf's
; crimson
; Imperium
; Facist #crash
; Machine
; Valhalla
;
; Sigma's
; TECHNO
;
; ete's
; annihilator
;
;angels+
;annihilator
;ANTIMIND
;crimson
;TECHNO
;usurper+


; ### broken, will crash on load ###
; ACTIVE
; COLLECTIVE
; DARK
; ELITE
; GENESIS
; MARAUDERS
; mech
; PEACERES
; PERFECT
; REPLCNT
; TECH
;
; ANCIENT

#CUSTOMFACTIONS

and copy the factions I want for a game to below #CUSTOMFACTIONS when I want them.

And yes, a zip file would be good.

[Reefa]

This is my unmodified file. It doesn't matter if I have 9 additional factions or just 6. Always the Data-Size-Error.

Regards,
Reefa

#FACTIONS
GAIANS,   GAIANS
HIVE,     HIVE
UNIV,     UNIV
MORGAN,   MORGAN
SPARTANS, SPARTANS
BELIEVE,  BELIEVE
PEACE,    PEACE

;
; First item is file name, second item is search key.
; These should always be the same except for debugging purposes.
;
#NEWFACTIONS
CYBORG,   CYBORG
PIRATES,  PIRATES
DRONE,    DRONE
ANGELS,   ANGELS
FUNGBOY,  FUNGBOY
CARETAKE, CARETAKE
USURPER,  USURPER

;
; These are factions you want included in the startup list.
; These may also be chosen when a random faction is selected.
; First item is file name, second item is search key.
; These should always be the same except for debugging purposes.
;
#CUSTOMFACTIONS
brian,       brian
Brotherhood, Brotherhood
Voracious,   Voracious
Formers,     Formers
Osiris,      Osiris
Technomages, Technomages
Sirens,      Sirens
Raiders,     Raiders
Vikings,     Vikings

[ete]

Try with:

Code: [Select]

#CUSTOMFACTIONS
brian
Brotherhood
Voracious
Formers
Osiris
Technomages
Sirens
The search key is not necessary and may be inflating the size causing that error, and with 7 factions you're able to have an all-custom game.

[Buster's Uncle]

And when I say 'isn't indexed right for the game', I should be clear that the problem is usually in the faction .txt, not the alphax listing, which is pretty hard to foul up. 

Thus, in the top of the file for an official faction, you find this:

;
; Sid Meier's ALPHA CENTAURI
;
; FACTION FILE: Gaia's Stepdaughters
;
; Copyright (c) 1997, 1998 by Firaxis Games, Inc.
;
; ALPHA CENTAURI reads the rules of the game from this file at
; startup. Feel free, at your own risk, to experiment with editing
; this file. We recommend you make a backup copy of the original.
;

#GAIANS

That last, "#GAIANS", ought to agree with the filename, "gaians.txt".  (It doesn't seem to be case-sensitive.)  In my experience, problems with the game booting involving custom factions seem to always have to do with that.

As you hinted in the OP, FacEdit is of the devil, and I bet something left over from using it is what caused this.

[Reefa]

That I already tried before adding the search key. But as said, it doesn't prevent me from playing in Singleplayer or Multiplayer. It just happens if I start a Multiplayer game or if another person joins. .zip attached (city names of Vikings aren't done yet too and pro / contra are stated in the factions.txt).

Regards,
Reefa

[Reefa]

This is an example of my custom .txt-files. The names are correct.

Regards,
Reefa

; Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
; Faction Editor
;

#BROTHERHOOD

[Geo]

Out of curiosity, I see that you managed to let the game play at 1920x1080 resolution. How did you do that? Customized the Registry of the game?

[Buster's Uncle]

Something in alpha.ini, isn't it?