[MGM] Second ruleset

[Mart]

This time with different intro to the scenario.
The ruleset will not be given in this post, because the testing would be:
Can you determine, what are the changes to the ruleset without looking into alphax.txt?
This would be task, that would give us some idea about the changes being as little noticeable as possible, but at the same time giving the best gameplay experience improvement.

There are 3 scenarios: Gaian, PK, Data Angels.

How to play:
1) Unpack the zip to the scenarios folder of your (Yitzi 3.5d) game installation. Unpack with "extract here" or similar command, there is MGM002 folder already inside of the zip.
2) Start SMAX and choose: Scenario > Play Scenario
3) Navigate to folder: ... /Scenarios/MGM002 and choose faction you want to play from the 3 files.
4) Choose difficulty and faction (preferably the default one, as all other are in Librarian difficulty, being intended for AI).
5) You can confirm, that the game started with modified alphax.txt file by checking on F1 screen costs of SPs. Yes, that is a hint...
The SP to check is Ascent to Transcendence, which should cost 3000 (not 2k), (the first/top SP on the list).
6) Enjoy the game!

* * *

If someone when playing would take notes of changes to the ruleset he/she spots, that would be great and give us info on changes "notice-ability." Changed gameplay experience is intended, although some effect, I am not going to reveal here, in the early game could be smaller, but there must be some trade-off, without more exe modding.

[Buster's Uncle]

Just a note, that we -anyone- ain't done a gussied-up GotM in years, and I'm so needy for such new content to promote and grow the community that I'd take most anything we could graft some promo/front page art on, and maybe a story...

[Mart]

I am not sure, this is good for gotm. What I did, just started a game, saved the 2101 year and renamed .SAV to .Sc. That is all, no checking on game/scenario conditions. I started playing Data Angels though, and it is quite promising to be an interesting game. The map shape from covered tiles, that show elevation looks good and from what I uncovered so far was pleasantly surprising.

I thought earlier about generating 7 saves/scenarios, but decided to make 3 only.

It could be promoted as a scenario. It is relatively easy to play, just basic knowledge how scenarios are started in SMACX.
And these scenarios have monuments, like regular singleplayer games - just the way it works when going through .sav.

[Buster's Uncle]

Naw - I was just thinking because you've generated a few scenarios lately and you and I know for a fact we can work together smoothly and produce a nice package - if you found time and all sometime, you know where the GotM team folder is and I live here...

[Mart]

If we get some good feedback from this second ruleset testing, after refining the ruleset, it might be good background for a gotm. Something, that would bring late game into the spotlight, maybe a scenario made from start with "time warp: accelerated start." Depending on how modifications would work.

[Buster's Uncle]

Well, you know I can whip up serviceable art - and you've seen me produce good intro stories for other people's scenarios under pressure and on schedule - and we can do as little or as much of that bells-and-whistles packaging stuff as we choose, as long as we minimally have a title and a cover image to put a face on the thing for promoting to get your hard work into maximum hands.

Give me the high sign at such time as you feel ready, or at least willing and have a little time, and we'll kick it around and do something - and I should stop spamming your thread here until then.

[Mart]

Data Angels game
In 2140 had few bad moments so far - lost the starting probe team and a colony pod, if I remember correctly, but overall it was good and promising experience.

(click to show/hide)

Now in 2180, had some more bad events, Svensgaard is building sea bases near the coast blocking my expansion. Luckily, Domai contacted me and signed Pact quickly, later exchanged some techs.
Completed 2 SPs: Merchant Exchange and HGP, The Virtual World is like 70% completed. Attempting Weather Paradigm.

[Mart]

Data Angels game
MY 2270

(click to show/hide)

Researched Industrial Automation, finally. CyCon had that for several decades and Aki is building PTS. And she even has 2 crawlers, building a third one!
Morgan was able to mind probe my base, that I conquered like 2 turns earlier and just did not put enough attention to place probe teams there and Morgan simply paid for mind control. I must add, more like 50% of my offensive military was there.
The effect of slow research on AI is noticeable, this is because there is just more turns for AI to develop, it has more time for terraforming, getting more units, energy, etc.

[Mart]

Data Angels game
MY 2280

(click to show/hide)

This is going to be interesting. In 2279 Aki was like 13 turns to complete PTS. The base had +10 minerals/turn. Having Industrial Automation, I was somewhat confident, that I did have some time to build needed crawlers, and then in 2280 I got suddenly a message, that Aki completed PTS in Phi Lumiere base.


I checked turns before from the save, so it looks like she got 2 (two) crawlers cashed in and probably paid the rest with energy, that she just traded or even disbanded some units, or possibly got an artifact and just used one close to the base. To determine if a unit was disbanded would be difficult, artifact or energy is more probable.
But what is the most interesting, Aki got 3 (three) crawlers and cashed in 2, but was ready to use the third one too, it has order in 2280 to go to Phi Lumiere! Pacted with Aki and also have infiltration on her, so I am able to see it.
AI is capable for near-instabuild, given better opportunity it will do it, though having like 20 bases Aki got only 3 crawlers. I have seen it before, just not 3 crawlers, was 2 or 1. This is, I think the effect of having more turns to play.

[bvanevery]

I hit F1, look at a few Secret Projects costs, and they cost 200 like always.  I think your directions are missing a step: you didn't say to replace the toplevel alphax.txt.  I have no experience with Scenarios, so I don't know if an alphax.txt in the same folder as a Scenario will be picked up and used.  But it doesn't seem to be.

If replacing the toplevel alphax.txt is required, then an additional warning should be made for people who may have customized their stuff.  You may want to install another copy of SMAC in a different directory.

[Mart]

The MGM... folder should be inside of scenarios.
What is important is to start the scenario from the inside of MGM.
Loading the save game will default to alphax.txt in the main folder.
Note, that only some SPs are changed, Weather Paradigm for example, or Ascent to Transcendence is 3000 not 2000.


The intent here is: no need for alphax.txt replacement, just starting a scenario should do the trick.
I did not want to reveal in this thread which SPs I changed, but anyway, here it goes.

[bvanevery]

You don't need to reveal SPs.  You do need to choose a clear method for verifying that the correct alphax.txt is being used.  If I look at 3 "typical early build" SPs and don't see anything different, then that's not helpful.

[Mart]

Yes, the verification would be, if SP:
Ascent to Transcendence costs 3000,
as checked on F1 screen in the first turn of the scenario started. This would be however influenced by industry factor of the faction, e.g. Hive would be -10%, 2700.

I will modify the instruction later.

[bvanevery]

Ok, I'm surprised to find that alphax.txt will be picked up in the MGMxxx folder.

Duuude, we need to have a serious talk about how you're weighting these Secret Project costs.  Some of these are completely ridiculous.  You've got The Empath Guild as an 800 point project, the Weather Paradigm as 600 points, and The Planetary Energy Grid as 600 points.  There is no way you've got the relative value of those SPs correct.  The Grid is one of the most overpowered SPs in the game.  The Weather Paradigm is merely useful, and The Empath Guild doesn't even matter for faction contact on Standard size maps.  Getting 2x votes in elections isn't some game decider.

You've got The Planetary Transit System at 500, and the Supercollider at 300.  What are you thinking?  Building new bases at size 3 is often a handicap.  Citizens often immediately starve.  Planetary Datalinks is 300 and far more valuable than the Planetary Transit System.

You left The Virtual World at 300 and it's one of the overpowered, great-to-have SPs.

Cloning Vats 500, but Cloudbase Academy 800?  That's insane.  Cyborg Factory 400??  Outrageous!  by comparison.

This isn't even basically a good mod, as far as your own terms of "noticeability", and I'm not even going to try the scenarios with these SP weights.  You should be adjusting things for what they're actually worth, not just breaking them.

[Mart]

The aim of this mod is to make changes to the rules as small as possible. So for the SPs, I decided to change only their cost and nothing else. So they remain in their original technologies. This is better, as changes to the tech tree would be, in my opinion, more significant. However, for this mod version I chose only several of the SPs, and in the future there may be different set of them.


The changed costs are not intended to better represent their value, but achieve certain gameplay effect. They are thought to delay them in game, as if they were in some later techs.  For example, Weather Paradigm is level1 tech SP, it is very powerful, as it allows for terraforming from techs level 4 and 5. And decreased time of terraforming to 2/3 does not expire. It is too early, so larger cost may make a player to choose it for building at later time, this is in addition, that mere increased cost prolongs construction. There are drawbacks of this approach, AI suffers here, as it is harder for AI also to get such SPs.


In the first mod version I tried costs 2000 for WP, and for example for Ascent to T. it was 9000, but that was extreme just to see how it plays. Regular SPs, apart from AtT cost between 200-600. So I thought 800 is something yet fitting well in this range.


[Edit]
One more thing, these costs are intended also to work in synergy with other changes.