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CaptainKwok has Space Empires V

25 Jan @ 2:27pm

Balance Mod v127 Posted

A new update is available for the Balance Mod. Version 127 focuses on changes to formations, reduced trade, some visual changes and assorted AI updates.

It's savegame compatible with the v125+ series.

You can download it here:
https://www.captainkwok.net/balancemod.php

Changes:

1. Changed - Crystalline Bulkheads now have the shield generation from damage ability 2. Changed - Bulkheads can be placed on satellites 3. Fixed - Seeking Parasite, Crystalline Torpedo and Graviton Hellbore did not have satellite as a target type 4. Fixed - Corrected combat image for Small Anti-Matter Torpedoes 5. Added - 5 New fleet formations (Blindside, Lance, Fork, Trident, X, Crossbow) 6. Added - 3 New task force formations (Brick, Column, Hammer) 7. Changed - Set all TF formation positions to core due to SE5 placement issue with escort and picket positions (positions still exist but are labeled as core) 8. Changed - Reduced trade levels from 6-12% to 1-6% with an increase of 0.2% per turn 9. Changed - Adjusted trade bonuses/penalties for various society types 10. Changed - Adjusted Diplomacy cultural achievement trade bonus to 0.2% per level (maximum 2%) 11. Added - Additional system names 12. Changed - Colony ships will no longer be able to add launcher components 13. Added - Supply storage to Weapon Platform Controls (WPs weren't not able to fire Point-Defense in ground combat) 14. Fixed - Emissive Armor at level 4 and 5 was providing the wrong emissive amount 15. Changed - Added B, S, U and POP indicators for bases, ships, units and population on empire object markers 16. Changed - Updated various empire flags 17. Changed - Text at warp points condensed to "Warp to" from "Warp Point to" on the system map 18. Changed - Text "Marked Minefield" shortened to "Mines!" on the system map 19. Fixed - Most Strategies labeled as break didn't have break formation immediately selected 20. Fixed - Event text for Minefield damaged event wasn't being generated 21. Added - XPR design type for players to organize experimental/text designs 22. Added - New strategies for AIs to distribute ships across their task forces 23. Changed - Updated AI fleet and task force formation preferences 24. Changed - Removed escort/picket roles from AI task force assignments 25. Changed - Made improvements to the AI's use of patrol ships including their attack range 26. Fixed - AI players would sometimes offer resource trades with no given resource defined 27. Changed - Improvements to how the AI uses their Patrol Ships 28. Changed - Empty but marked minefields were accumulating and blocking AI pathfinding; AI fleets/ships will clear these minefields from time-to-time (can't remove the mark directly via scripts) 29. Fixed - AI design analysis wasn't correctly weighting designs from players designated as primary enemies (general or combat) 30. Changed - Too many designs were being excluded from the AI's design analysis because they were technically obsolete so added second condition design has to be > 50 turns old to ignore 31. Fixed - Crystalline races weren't doing a great job on combining their crystalline armor and shield generators on most ship designs 32. Changed - Continued diversification in AI speech

Another update will come along towards the end of February or early March.

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Showing 1-15 of 16 comments

CaptainKwok has Space Empires V

26 Jan @ 2:00pm

I should mentioned that if you're continuing an existing game, be prepared for the trade income drop especially if you're pushing the limits on your expenditures.

bengie

28 Jan @ 2:01pm

Thx for the update, so only the Taskforce Leader position in fleets work?

CaptainKwok has Space Empires V

28 Jan @ 6:05pm

The leader position (first spot of the formation) will inherit the ship assigned to the leader spot. If it's not the first ship in the task force then that ship that is the first listed will be placed incorrectly. It's looking to be in slot 1 because it's listed as ship 1. So worst case is you have one ship not correctly slotted.

This is ultimately because each ship will be placed in slot(ship_index) where ship_index is its place in the task force list. Only in exceptionally rare cases where you matched up the order of the ships to the exact order of slots as defined in the formation would they match up correctly. Otherwise using the escort/picket positions just promoted the formation to be messed up even more.

In this case without having specific escort/core spots, your formation will be rendered with good fidelity with the possible exception of ship 1 if its not the leader.

This is specific to task force formations which control the positions of ships. The fleet formations control the positions of task forces to each other.

There is a formations layout guide (.pdf) here:
https://www.captainkwok.net/balancemod.php#resources

bengie

29 Jan @ 4:12am

Thanks for your response, so I have to choose exactly the right number of ships for exactly the used formation and Ship 1 must be the Task Force Leader otherwise this will also get messed up. Your PDF document helps with that further, thanks.

CaptainKwok has Space Empires V

29 Jan @ 3:02pm

You can look at the individual formations. There are several that build up in an organized fashion so they can accommodate from just a few ships to the specified target number of ships. Though some work better when you have close to the target amount of ships. Having one ship slightly out of place isn't terrible if you desire a particular ship to lead the task force.

maximusus01 has Space Empires V

6 Feb @ 3:31am

my proposed changes:

connect the solar sail with the basic drive because logically it should not work at much higher speeds.

Greater differences in the operation of next generation drives (we are not talking about upgrading the drive from version 1 to version 5 but about actual next generations) so that the difference is not only 1, which would make these drives more expensive and time-consuming to invent. At the moment it is more profitable to invent a new drive than to improve an existing one, it is as if inventing a new technology was easier than improving an existing one, and it should be the other way around.

Connecting the possibility of inventing large ships such as battleships only after inventing the appropriate level of medium ship (level 5) and the possibility of building them only when the planet has a minimum level of ship yard 9 and a small base in orbit. After all, large ships (and medium ships) should be built in orbit not on the planet, or introduce a requirement to build a special base that would build such units in orbit (which requires eliminating the limit of one space yard per ship)

Last edited by maximusus01; 6 Feb @ 3:33am

ekolis

6 Feb @ 10:02am

Perhaps for the engines, they could be gated on Physics instead of the previous tier of engines, much like hulls have been changed to require Construction instead of the previous tier of ship hulls? That would mean you'd need additional theoretical research to unlock the next tier, or you could skip a tier by rushing theory.

CaptainKwok has Space Empires V

6 Feb @ 4:33pm

The solar sail is a bit of a silly component when you consider that a ship with rear thrust would run itself into the sail. So just take it as a component that adds 1 or 2 bonus movement points and don't think about it too hard.

Previous to the v125+ series, ship construction was interlocked in the way you described where you had to research about half of a size category to unlock a larger size. I wanted to add a bit more weight to the construction theoretical tech but didn't want dual requirements (which the game doesn't display well). It does carry the possibility a player skips a level of size, but since the larger sizes cost a lot more to develop you could be placing yourself at a handicap.

The engine scheme is the opposite to the ship scheme since it does remained interlocked with the previous generation. Levels 4 and 5 of the previous type equal 1 and 2 of the new type and cost fewer resources but probably hard to justify when the research cost for those two levels is more than the first two levels of the next generation. Perhaps a bit more base cost to the next generation technology would work. You could also add a co-requisite for a theoretical area as well to up that initial cost.

Raptor

25 Feb @ 10:36pm

Mate, great to see you STILL doing this.
Thanks you.

CaptainKwok has Space Empires V

26 Feb @ 2:44pm

Thanks. There should be a new version this weekend!

#10

laurie.adams1904 has Space Empires V

26 Feb @ 10:22pm

Originally posted by CaptainKwok:
A new update is available for the Balance Mod. Version 127 focuses on changes to formations, reduced trade, some visual changes and assorted AI updates.

It's savegame compatible with the v125+ series.

You can download it here:
https://www.captainkwok.net/balancemod.php

Changes:
1. Changed - Crystalline Bulkheads now have the shield generation from damage ability 2. Changed - Bulkheads can be placed on satellites 3. Fixed - Seeking Parasite, Crystalline Torpedo and Graviton Hellbore did not have satellite as a target type 4. Fixed - Corrected combat image for Small Anti-Matter Torpedoes 5. Added - 5 New fleet formations (Blindside, Lance, Fork, Trident, X, Crossbow) 6. Added - 3 New task force formations (Brick, Column, Hammer) 7. Changed - Set all TF formation positions to core due to SE5 placement issue with escort and picket positions (positions still exist but are labeled as core) 8. Changed - Reduced trade levels from 6-12% to 1-6% with an increase of 0.2% per turn 9. Changed - Adjusted trade bonuses/penalties for various society types 10. Changed - Adjusted Diplomacy cultural achievement trade bonus to 0.2% per level (maximum 2%) 11. Added - Additional system names 12. Changed - Colony ships will no longer be able to add launcher components 13. Added - Supply storage to Weapon Platform Controls (WPs weren't not able to fire Point-Defense in ground combat) 14. Fixed - Emissive Armor at level 4 and 5 was providing the wrong emissive amount 15. Changed - Added B, S, U and POP indicators for bases, ships, units and population on empire object markers 16. Changed - Updated various empire flags 17. Changed - Text at warp points condensed to "Warp to" from "Warp Point to" on the system map 18. Changed - Text "Marked Minefield" shortened to "Mines!" on the system map 19. Fixed - Most Strategies labeled as break didn't have break formation immediately selected 20. Fixed - Event text for Minefield damaged event wasn't being generated 21. Added - XPR design type for players to organize experimental/text designs 22. Added - New strategies for AIs to distribute ships across their task forces 23. Changed - Updated AI fleet and task force formation preferences 24. Changed - Removed escort/picket roles from AI task force assignments 25. Changed - Made improvements to the AI's use of patrol ships including their attack range 26. Fixed - AI players would sometimes offer resource trades with no given resource defined 27. Changed - Improvements to how the AI uses their Patrol Ships 28. Changed - Empty but marked minefields were accumulating and blocking AI pathfinding; AI fleets/ships will clear these minefields from time-to-time (can't remove the mark directly via scripts) 29. Fixed - AI design analysis wasn't correctly weighting designs from players designated as primary enemies (general or combat) 30. Changed - Too many designs were being excluded from the AI's design analysis because they were technically obsolete so added second condition design has to be > 50 turns old to ignore 31. Fixed - Crystalline races weren't doing a great job on combining their crystalline armor and shield generators on most ship designs 32. Changed - Continued diversification in AI speech

Another update will come along towards the end of February or early March.

Hi Captain Kwok, thanks for your work on these mods! With point 15 (B,S,U) is there a way to turn this off? I cant see it in the System Display Options? Thanks

Last edited by laurie.adams1904; 26 Feb @ 10:22pm

#11

CaptainKwok has Space Empires V

27 Feb @ 2:59pm

It's actually part of the flag image, so it's not a togglable option. The actual "height" of the image is only 5 pixels larger, but is there something about the labels you don't like? Previously the boxes were more or less the same (just a bit shorter) just without the labels.

#12

laurie.adams1904 has Space Empires V

27 Feb @ 9:36pm

Hi, its probably just a personal thing but i find the number to small now and the blue txt is quite contrasting? I'm sure its just a personal thing, id run without them as i know which number is which. Sorry if that sounds ungrateful :-)

#13

CaptainKwok has Space Empires V

28 Feb @ 7:01am

I take no offense. Just curious. Not 100% sold on the change either. I went with the cyan text as it was a colour used elsewhere in the UI. A dark grey might be a less obtrusive look without blending into the number.

#14