SMACX AI Growth mod

[bvanevery]

I'm opposed to additional use of the word "Advanced" when describing techs, because it's already overused and lazy in the tech tree as is.  I mean the preceding C3 tech is Advanced Subatomic Theory.  Really makes me want to put Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in there.

Now metamaterials, that depends on how well one thinks it relates to the quote.  Which is thus:

Code: [Select]

##Frictionless Surfaces
#TECH14
As I stepped onto the Magtube, a thought struck me:
Can there be friction where there is no substance?
And can substance be tricked into hiding from itself?
^
^        -- Dr. Gayle Nambala,
^           Morgan Industries Researcher
I don't think it's a fit.  The key concepts are surfaces, friction, substance, tricked, hiding, itself (self-referential).

A single-sided surface is tricky / odd / unexpected / self-referential.  That's why I came up with it originally.

"Metasubstances" is more on the mark, although I think one could do better.  Another consideration is that this is what gives the Pulse and ECM capabilities.  Focusing on the substance doesn't speak to that.  Focusing on the surface properties does.

[Veiveismart]

Cela m'a beaucoup appris, merci

[bvanevery]

Avec plaisir.  Je ne parle que français mais un peu.

[zoneplate]

Now metamaterials, that depends on how well one thinks it relates to the quote. (...)  Another consideration is that this is what gives the Pulse and ECM capabilities.  Focusing on the substance doesn't speak to that.  Focusing on the surface properties does.

See, the ECM was actually why I thought of it - metamaterials can be used to produce systems that divert EM radiation,  an "invisibility cloak" that'd render things like radar and lidar useless. Modern technology's only afaik achieved this with very very small objects, and only with microwave radiation, hence the advanced bit in there. There's also iirc metamaterials that can adjust their own friction that've been considered for active microelectromechanical control surfaces on aircraft (it's kind of a catchall term for a variety of technologies, really).

[bvanevery]

<Insert jargon> could be used to explain anything.  It's not really so much about the science, as about the poetry.  Does it cause the player to think that the name, is connected to what is said in the quote?  Do they think it is a clever relationship, a bad relationship, or no relationship exists at all?

For ECM and Pulse I've actually got things in reverse.     A jamming technology is not about a surface, it's about radiation.  But I never understood why ECM or Pulse were supposed to work against "fast" units anyways.  The real explanation is they made a space age version of the Pikeman from Civ II.  They wanted a game mechanic.

Hmm I wonder if there are any "radiation" techs that could be repurposed / reshuffled.

Field Modulation is slaved to Alien factions.  Any benefit attached to it, the Aliens are going to get at the start of the game.  I decided to give them free Cloaking Fields.  Since the AI ignores cloaks, it's a nearly useless tech.  Bypassing zones of control is occasionally useful, but not impactful at the beginning of the game.

[bvanevery]

CHANGELOG
Changed from version 1.48 to 1.49:

FACTIONS

- Data Angels: set PROBECOST to 100.  Removed AI compulsion to pick Thought Control.  Nerfing probe teams harmed their ability to do anything useful in the game.  Thought Control came too late and they don't need what it offers.  The AI now has complete free will.  An AI that has no complusion, is less likely to get angry at you.  However if it does, you can't imitate its compulsion to get on its good side.
- University: removed ROBUST to POLICE bonus.  Increased RESEARCH bonus to +3.  When I've played as a human, I've found the University to be poor at research compared to various AI factions.  I've built every research facility and still other factions would keep pace or do even better.  I also think the POLICE bonus, although game mechanically practical, is out of character for Zhakarov.
- Usurpers: changed primary compulsion to Thought Control.  Changed secondary compulsion to nil.  I'm tired of having 3 Socialist factions in the game.  There's no reason for the alien factions to have the same economic system or beliefs.  The dialogue won't be in alien speak, but it's appropriate to Conqueror Marr's character.  Not having a secondary compulsion will give the AI more freedom to adapt.

ARMAMENTS

- Advanced Military Algorithms: set wealth=0.  It no longer provides a SUPPORT bonus.
- Doctrine: Initiative: set wealth=1.  Now has B4 Environmental Economics as a prereq.  The cruiser chassis is useful for terraforming oceans.  This also gives the Build, Conquer oriented Pirates more of a chance to research it.
- Doctrine: Air Power: now has C4 Single-Sided Surfaces as a prereq.  I made a mistake where C5 Advanced Military Algorithms also had the same prereqs.
- Carrier Deck: moved to C5 Doctrine: Air Power.  I've often gotten planes long before I've gotten the cruiser chassis.
- Gatling Laser: moved to C5 Advanced Military Algorithms.  Giving it with C5 Doctrine: Air Power was way too complete of a weapons package.
- Photon/Wave Mechanics: now has D5 Applied Relativity as a prereq.  This breaks Conquer continuity, but it's better lore, and I think having an armor delay at this point in the game is a good thing.
- Fusion Power: set power=3 and wealth=4, making it a B6 tech.  Lore-wise it's better as a Build tech, and this could provide some research diversity for non-Conquer factions.
- High Morale: now costs 4 and moved to E8 The Will To Power.  I don't want it messing up combat.
- Soporific Gas Pods: moved to E10 Sentient Resonance.  I don't want them messing up combat.
- Quantum Power: set power=3 and wealth=4, making it a B10 tech.  Lore-wise it's better as a Build tech.


The attachment limit per post is 5, and I eventually ran out of room at the top of the thread.  Consequently, this becomes the new home of version 1.0.  It was downloaded 201 times before I moved it here.

[bvanevery]

Details blindsided by a Trance Scout

blindsided by a Trance Scout

  I can't believe Conqueror Marr wiped out my capitol with a Trance Scout.  That was defended by a Scout.  Ok, granted, trained vs. untrained.  This is my own damn mod.  Ok, reintroducing Trance Scouts is my own damn doing, in upcoming version 1.50.  There's a reason I was playing a test game.  He must have jumped on a Transport to get here?  I have a hard time believing that he just walked through my lines and I never saw him. 

Details surprising search aggression

surprising search aggression

Yep, there's the Unity Transport.  This is his only ship, so maybe he gained it by popping a pod.  Vicious.  Stock AI having one on.  Maybe they nerfed the speed and capacity of free Transports for a reason?  Like the AI was too good at gacking someone.  Well, I've never really seen this before, and having it happen once doesn't exactly constitute a problem.  So I'll just start another test game.

Details mean use of early unit

mean use of early unit

With the lesson learned, that Trance Scouts can be dangerous.  This was also my doing: I set its AI type to "-1 Autocalculate".  Well it calculated Assault!  Is it going to stay that way the whole game?  Is it going to obsess about that, producing way too many of them?  It certainly counts as an assault unit now, it wiped out my capitol.  But later matters.

I may have stumbled upon more scope for AI improvement than I realized.  How many more unit types can do harm, if I just give them "-1 Autocalculate" ?

Details immediate conquer prep

immediate conquer prep

I'm surprised that the AI built a Command Center immediately.  Used to be the AI would build CCs almost obsessively, but I haven't seen it build adequate numbers of them in quite some time.  The deficiency arose sometime roughly in the past year of modding and I don't know why it happened.  Maybe this is the explanation?  The AI won't build CCs unless it has units to Assault with.  Or, maybe Marr hasn't had a problem, since he's Aggressive.

[bvanevery]

CHANGELOG
Changed from version 1.49 to 1.50:

RESEARCH FOCI

- Progenitor Psych: now an E3 tech.  Set tech=1 and wealth=1.  These are bread crumbs so that all factions will eventually learn how to communicate with the Aliens.  I want this as a prereq for E4 Bioadaptive Resonance.
- Field Modulation: now a C2 tech.  I want it as a prereq for E3 Progenitor Psych.
- Centauri Genetics: now has D2 Information Networks as a prereq.  A faction researching both Explore and Discover will be the most likely to learn E3 Centauri Genetics first.  That's primarily the Gaians with their Explore Discover focus.
- Bioadaptive Resonance: set power=1.  I want this to be a canonical mindworm / psi tech.
- Adaptive Economics: set power=3 and wealth=2.  The Free Drones are compulsively Socialist.  They have an Explore Build Conquer focus and need a clearer path to learning it.  Socialist is the only choice in the SE table that gives a SUPPORT bonus.  Having more units available for either conquest or terraforming, does matter at the beginning of the game.  It fits well with Police State or Theocratic, as neither of those give an ECONOMY bonus.  Having a -1 ECONOMY is not actually consequential.  The main disadvantage is not being able to reach a +2 ECONOMY to make a lot of money.
- Doctrine: Loyalty: set wealth=2.  This was supposed to be set in version 1.45, but for some reason was not.  Having a higher population increases wealth.

ABILITIES

- Hypnotic Trance: now costs according to the ratio of weapon to armor, as in the original game.  Long term testing has shown that mindworms are the one true weapons platform of the game.  They ignore Perimeter Defenses and can take out any unit regardless of reactor type.  If Trance costs 0 for some defensive units, the AI will tend to rush those units when needed to defend a base.  In a test game, I tried to take over a sea base with captured Isles of the Deep.  A few AI generated Trance Synthmetal Garrison units kept me from taking it.  I was playing as the Cult of Planet with +4 PLANET and had also leveled up some of the Isles, so that was pretty much a best case attack.
- Heavy Artillery: now costs 0.  Weapon, armor, and chassis costs are far more expensive in my mod than in the original game.  There is no need to have artillery cost increase with armor and mobility.

UNITS

- Cloaked Recon Rover: moved to C3 Advanced Subatomic Theory.  C2 Field Modulation is now a prereq for that tech.  I can't make the unit available with C2 Field Modulation, because then the Aliens would be starting the game with that unit.
- discovery about Scout unit: If set to "-1 = Auto Calculate", the AI will designate it as an Assault unit.  This can have spectacular early game effects, like the AI wiping out your Scout defended capitol with a Transport landing!  However the AI can also obsess about producing Assault units and run out of SUPPORT.  Leaving them as Recon units is safer for AI performance.


The attachment limit per post is 5, and I eventually ran out of room at the top of the thread.  Consequently, this becomes the new home of version 1.50.  It was downloaded 261 times before I moved it here.

[NineCoronas]

This mod is fantastic! AI feels dangerous on Thinker+, the factions feel much more balanced than their original incarnations, and I appreciate the little nuances involved in making fundamentalist much more generic (I like taking Theocratic as Gaians now lol) and removing some of the anachronistic contemporary political commentary in the diplomacy messages.

Couple questions: is it possible to update the datalinks to reflect the changes you've made?
Is it possible to get the AI to pay attention to supply pods/artifacts?
Is it possible to mod supply pods so that less spawn on the map?

[bvanevery]

This mod is fantastic! AI feels dangerous on Thinker+,

Heh, glad it has increased the challenge level for you.  It can't be the be-all end-all of 4X AI challenge problems, but I do think I've gotten a lot more mileage out of the existing game AI.

the factions feel much more balanced than their original incarnations,

Thanks!  I put a lot of effort into that.

and I appreciate the little nuances involved in making fundamentalist much more generic (I like taking Theocratic as Gaians now lol)

Oddly enough though, others will react to you as though you're basically God fearing, regardless of how you imagine yourself.  I would have preferred my older Extremist category, but the diplomatic dialogue of a compulsively Extremist faction, would always be squarely about God.  So I went to Theocratic, and put Miriam back in as the God monger.

and removing some of the anachronistic contemporary political commentary in the diplomacy messages.

Yeah some of it was a little too stuck in the 1990s, particularly with Santiago.

Couple questions: is it possible to update the datalinks to reflect the changes you've made?

It's possible but for legal reasons I myself won't do it.  Some quantities are updated automatically and you need merely look at the bottom of the Datalinks page to get the straight dope.  To the extent that something would have to be changed manually, I did license my work under a CC-BY-NC license.  Anyone could take it, change the Datalinks or diplomatic dialogue that irritates them, package those changes, and distribute them as a new mod as they see fit.  But I do not want legal responsibility for files that are not specifically authorized to be changed by the user.  I'm an indie game developer and I don't want any conceivable liability from the likes of EA.

Is it possible to get the AI to pay attention to supply pods/artifacts?

I can't change this behavior from a .txt only mod.  I'm not sure what the stock binary's behavior is.  A binary modder can probably do things in this regard.  You could talk to Tim Nevolin aka Alpha Centauri Bear about his binary mod, The Will To Power.

Is it possible to mod supply pods so that less spawn on the map?

It's a worthy idea, something I've thought of, but again not something I can do with a .txt only mod.  I think it would also be better to change the frequency of what pops from a pod.  I don't know if Will To Power, or Induktio's Thinker mod, has that capability.

Thinker, Will To Power, and SMACX AI Growth mod, all play rather differently from each other.  It is likely trivial to combine my alphax.txt and faction.txt files with a Thinker or WTP binary, but I haven't tried to do that lately.  I don't know what frankenstein would result!  I certainly wouldn't vouch for the game design balance, as I can only do that for work completely under my control.

I suppose the last avenue is Scient's OpenSMACX project.  I assume these kinds of basic game parameter changes could be made there.  I have so far resisted getting into it, because I did put 3+ calendar years and 13 full time person months into this project.  I need to focus on future commercial work that can make me money, if I'm ever to become a self-sustaining indie game developer not in poverty.  However, I do wonder about "low hanging fruit" such as you talk about with the pods.  It would definitely improve the player experience, to be able to control that.

[NineCoronas]

It's a worthy idea, something I've thought of, but again not something I can do with a .txt only mod.  I think it would also be better to change the frequency of what pops from a pod.  I don't know if Will To Power, or Induktio's Thinker mod, has that capability.

I agree with you. I'll summarize the various thoughts I've had about supply pods below.

1) I like them because it compels me to explore as there is a tangible reward with some danger for doing so. Without them I tend to turtle pretty hard.

2) It's entirely possible to accumulate a huge advantage through pod-seeking as a player in the form of credits and tech, and if you have a high planet rating, boatloads of Isle's of the Deep (better transports than what you can build for what feels like at least half a game) and Mindworms, not to mention experience and credits from killing mindworms. Frankly it'd be a semi-viable strategy to [fuddle-duddle] around at your bases and rely on supply pods to keep you competitive even with Growth mod.

3) Since the AI cannot be easily programmed to seek them out, the next best thing would be reducing their frequency, IMO by about 1/3rd.

4) If it were reduced lower, then it'd be preferable to lower the rate mindworms spawn out of them.

[bvanevery]

Frankly it'd be a semi-viable strategy to [fuddle-duddle] around at your bases and rely on supply pods to keep you competitive even with Growth mod.

Semi-viable?  It's my standard drill, and I have to restrain myself to do otherwise.   
   I'm kinda afraid of going Capitalist too early.  Mindworms attacking over adjacent fungus kinda scare me.

Also, do you know how to "completion scum" ?  That's when you set up supply pod pops to complete very expensive facilities or units.

3) Since the AI cannot be easily programmed to seek them out, the next best thing would be reducing their frequency, IMO by about 1/3rd.

The other thing the AI does poorly, is leave its Artifacts unescorted.  Sure it's fun to seize them from the stoopid AI, but it's not good play on the AI's part.  I always march my Artifacts back with a Scout or whatever, because you never know who's wandering in the wilderness.

4) If it were reduced lower, then it'd be preferable to lower the rate mindworms spawn out of them.

I think WTP has ways of controlling the mindworm spawn rate.  I remember filing issues about that when it was cranked up too high, and things getting toned down as a result.  Tim is anti-mindworm profit.

[NineCoronas]

Also, do you know how to "completion scum" ?  That's when you set up supply pod pops to complete very expensive facilities or units.

I've read about it on ancient posts.

The other thing the AI does poorly, is leave its Artifacts unescorted.  Sure it's fun to seize them from the stoopid AI, but it's not good play on the AI's part.  I always march my Artifacts back with a Scout or whatever, because you never know who's wandering in the wilderness.

I haven't even noticed them finding/taking artifacts. The last game I played there were unpopped supply pods within Brother Lal's territory. One right next to his base lol


Something else I noticed is sometimes you hit a pod and nothing happens at all. With zero evidence, it feels like a mindworm is trying to spawn but failing. Have you encountered this?

[bvanevery]

An ally can't steal Artifacts from you.  But everyone else can.  If you're walking around on a continent that others are exploring, and you don't escort your Artifacts, they're gonna get swiped.  It's random chance according to whether your Artifact and their unit happened to be in the same place, it's not like they're seeking it out.  If you haven't had an unescorted Artifact swiped, you've been lucky.

Air units can't pop pods.  Were you using a Unity Chopper / Lifter by chance?

Otherwise, any ground unit will pop a pod.  Except if you try to use an Artifact to do it, there's a good chance the Artifact disappears into another dimension!

I don't remember any pod ever not being popped.  It sounds like some kind of User Interface error.  Are you playing with any additional patches, like PRACX or Scient's patch?  I've never changed the base game binary, it's only a .txt mod.  There's nothing I do that has any direct effect on the UI.

Are you playing on a Huge map?  That's the only thing I play on.  If you're playing on a really extreme map size, like very small or very large, maybe there are bugs in the original game that I've never encountered.

[gehennaliving]

Made an account because you seem to appreciate feedback. I've played about 3 nearly complete games on version 1.50.

I'm enjoying myself greatly and I think you've done a wonderful job. I play Transcend on huge random maps with fairly standard rules, except I use tech stagnation and randomized personalities. I find the AI is much better at keeping up and it has taken me until 2250 or 2300 to get on top. Good mix of SPs and tech advances across the different factions. I have to take probe defense very seriously and plan attacks more carefully. I'm finding a need to leverage every non-cheese advantage I can to stay in contention. I'm going to keep playing this mod for the foreseeable future and I feel no need to try any of the other mods out there (none of which I have played before).

Last game I played the Spartans, I don't remember many details but I was running 3rd or 4th most of the game until I was able to get tech parity and eventually conquered everybody. Coop victory with Zakharov. Playing now as Morgans, also had the Aliens, Lal, Miriam, Yang, and Zak. I thought Zak would be my pal but he never gave me any tech even when pacted, and he ended up in long-time alliance with Miriam of all people. Lal took out Yang and I eliminated the Aliens, I shared the continent with both and they never really took off. That part was easy. World wars started between Me, Lal, Zak and Miriam started around 2300, I'm slowly grinding Lal down but Zak's research is just ridiculous. His faction bonus and SE choices give him like -50% research cost, so even though I am getting more total energy than him he is getting a tech every two turns for most of the midgame (I'm about every 5 or 6 turns). He also got Hunter Seeker of course. It's about 2360 now, I just got photon armor and chaos gun, but it feels a very marginal advantage and I feel as though I'm just doing everything I can to keep him from running away with it. Very great fun!

Here are the particular things that I'm not as fond of, mentioning just to make my feedback as useful as possible.
1) I was surprised to see magtubes come out so early. It's certainly useful in home territory, but it makes invasions so much easier because it eliminates maneuver. Once I take the first base, I just pick which square I want to attack the next base from and I'm there instantly. I get extra attacks because I spend no movement points. I would recommend removing it to a good deal later in the tech tree.

2) The removal of the infantry bonus vs base seems to have rendered infantry without a purpose. The only reason I've been able to find for building them anymore is if I'm attacking a base filled up with AAA + ECM units, which is rare. Again it makes invasions less complicated because I can just build a bunch of rovers or hovertanks and attack whatever units and bases are in front of me without discrimination. I think it would be better to be forced to build a diverse task force and to have to be attentive to which targets are attacked by rovers vs infantry. I do like the +25% base defense bonus, so I think restoring the infantry bonus vs base at 25% or even just 15% would be beneficial. It makes sense for base defenses to be better suited to destroying large tanks and jets rather than infantry.

3) +2 Economy is very easy to achieve and maintain via SE choices. I think I ran it the whole game as the Spartans, which just felt weird. It's too good to pass up though, so I'm having a hard time envisioning a scenario in which I wouldn't run it the whole game. I think the penalties should be increased or else the Economy bonuses removed from a couple of the SE choices. I do think it would be fine to allow +2 Economy (obviously for a non-Morgan) achievable with a Future Society choice, combined with an early choice. Hope that makes sense.

4) Lastly, and this may be luck of the draw on the maps I've played, but the Alien factions feel very weak, like positively weaker than most of the human factions. It was strange to end up next to them as Morgan, when formerly I would have nearly just given up, only to roll over them with ease. I am glad they are nerfed from vanilla, as I feel they were too powerful then, but it turns out I kind of miss being scared by being next to them.

I think that's about it. Again, great job on the mod and I look forward to many more very fun games playing it.