The building that the Alterians/Drath (Biosphere Modulator?) get that adds about 3 tiles to the planet works perfectly fine, so I was taken back when the Gaia Vortex didn't work

The Gaia Vortex gives a bonus to the Planet Quality ability (+10% is about 1 tile'ish), which hasn't ever worked for planets you already colonized.

However, it also seems to be intended to give 10 tiles to the planet it is built on... but it uses "PlanetQualityBonus" (something that is only used by the Terraforming improvements...) instead of "PlanetQualityChange" like Weather Control and such do.

Speaking of that PlanetQualityChange thing... I really wish that it wouldn't be removed if an agent was placed on a building that gives it (but the other features of said building would). There is potential in that ability to make things like faux-global bonuses of things you couldn't otherwise make global bonuses for. Or global bonuses that have to be established first on each world first, much like Soil Enhancement and the other terraforming improvements work.

For instance, put a PlanetQualityChange bonus of 1 on a planetary improvement that gives +10% Planetary Defense, make a tech to give it... and, there you go! You effectively have made a tech that gives a +10% bonus to Planetary Defense to all planets you control without taking up any planetary tiles (at least after the improvement is built, anyway). Sure, it has a side effect of increasing morale slightly, but *shrugs*

The problem with doing this, though, is that, you can't let these buildings be disabled either... otherwise, that planet-quality change will also disappear. I'm only guessing this is the case, but since all the PlanetQualityChange buildings also can't have agents placed on them... it's a reasonable assumption.

I don't know about you, but to me, an insult is not a gift. As for dire consequences, if you can't recognise hyperbole...

We're getting the cart before the horse here guys. Lets let the whining about being cut off from the editors for AFTER it happens. Unless we want to continue to speculate issues in the future akin to card overcharges, hard drive reformatting....etc

Chicken Little, your move.

I gave them my money for TA a couple months ago, I think I'm entitled to as much of the full product as they can give me.

WOW! Anybody heard of the term 'A storm in a tea cup'?

OK the terminology used by Draginol could have been better and yes i agree that to some point even i was offended by the way the original post was written, but knowing Brad for a few years here in the forums i doubt very much that he intended to offend any of us and i for one can read between the lines and see the devs are worried about the editors getting out before the game is released. Yes, we all know eventually the game and its editors are going to find their way onto various torrent sites but i guess Brad was voicing his hopes (not very well in this case) that they would not appear before the game goes gold.

So please everyone here don't forget how much time and effort the entire Stardock team and brad personally (you guys remember he even works on this on Sundays from home!) has put and continues to put into this expansion. I guess remembering that, we can all cut him some slack and get on with supporting the team and get back to playing this great game!

Please no more negative comments.. Lets have a few positive ones eh?

Thank you fellow gamers and thanks again to Brad and the team

They originally said there wouldn't be any editors out until the full release. Now they have given us one. It's a gift.

As for insulting....consider that Frogboy was honest with us. He could have easily said, "We've decided to put the first editor in the next release. We are still considering how to release the other editors. If circumstances are right, we may offer one or 2 more before the final release date" and no one would have known what he meant one way or another.

I'd much rather have the direct approach myself. You want to take it as an insult. I take it as a compliment. What he's saying there is..."We were afraid this might happen. We definately don't want that, but we trust our beta-testers. We have enough concern though that we want to mention it. Don't betray our trust."

If they truly thought a significant portion of the beta-testers would put the editor on a torrent site, they would have stuck with their original intent to not release them until the final release to market.

You aren't ENTITLED to anything except a product on release date. From most companies that is what you would get. Stardock is ALLOWING us to help in the beta-process because it helps them make a better game. But no..you aren't entitled to anything before the release date.

Bravo! Bravo!

I doubt I'll see a rational argument against what is said here.

When they announced pre-orders, it was just a $5 discount if you pre-ordered....nothing else. Later on they said "hey guys that pre-ordered, you'll get to play with the Beta!!!" I was in it to shave $5 off the price of the game and got the bonus of being able to play the new content earlier than expected.

I'm amazed, they usualy are so fast to respond to things like this.

Yet after 60 replys and they still havn't given a statement themselves.

I dunno what to say, just whanted to give my observation.

They are probably finishing up the patch instead of following a what will turn out to be something that happened by a misunderstanding. Patience, people, patience...

Yeah I think this has gotten a little too heated here. Lets get back to the additional content. I am excited, an editor (does this mean we can create custom factions again. I have really missed that option and I just can't go back to DL having tasted the sweetness of TA), and lost in this is debate was new AI improvements.

Customm races being enabled would be cool I am still hoping that the proposed overhaul of the minor races that Frogboy mentioned when TA was first announced is still going to happen..

AI improvement! Gotta love em eh?

Agreed. I also think Sins and a few other things are taking up their spare time, so replying to this thread would have little priority.

I'm intrigued by Brad's comment that the AI improvements are not just intended to make the game harder (by making the AI play smarter) but also to make the game more fun. Having an AI that responds more specifically to what's going on in the game would be very cool, as would having an AI that injects more of its particular race's personality into its dealings.

I wouldn't mind seeing the AI use starbases, or diplomacy better.

1. The AIs never decommision old starbases. I've conquoured many of their sectors, leaving their old starbases behind so they have to pay maintaince for them.

Inaddition, they don't upgrade them well. I don't often recall ever needing to destroy a military starbase because it was giving my oponnets too much of a boost to firepower, or slowing down my ships too much. I also haven't seen the AI max out an influence starbase, or place them in a way to try to encourage my planets to culture flip.

2. I've never been offered an alliance, treaties, or be offered a deal to beat someone up. They do this with the other AIs, so why not make me an offer.

I've been offered an alliance, I think twice. Not sure what caused it. Sandbox game.

As per 1), you forgot the minors. But I get the idea.

Given the way alliances work, the AI should be more cautious about offering an alliance to the human player. AI allies can't stab you in the back, humans can. The very least the (human) player should have to do to get this permenant close relationship (excluding the help in war) is take the initiative to offer an alliance. As it is though, alliances are a huge exploit. Breaking them should have substancially greater penalties if they are to remain the way they are.

I personally would be fine with a slightly more aggressive ai in which diplomatic relations were a function not just of relative strengths between two ais, but based on the strength of a player versus the entire field. Players with a high proportion of planets should suffer increased diplomatic penalties across the board, and players which fight the big dog should recieve diplomatic bonuses (assuming they aren't a big dog themselves). The espionage system partially remedies this given the increased marginal costs of spies, but should probably be strengthened as well, probably by increasing the rate of tech stealing, which would make it easier for small civs to catch up to dominant civs tech wise. Given the uniqe, presumably non stealable techs in TA, though, something more drastic might have to be done to maintain challenge throughout the game as oppossed to simply at the beginning.

Yeah, I'd also like to see a larger penalty for breaking an alliance. Perhaps a massive Morale hit to your population which takes a long time to wear off? Or perhaps make it a permanent Morale hit, to represent that citizens have woken up to the fact that they're being led by a jerk?

You could also rationalize reductions in Loyalty and Diplomacy, and to a lesser degree Economy, Production and Research (citizens are less motivated after realizing their leader is an arse ).

Yes, I realize that breaking an Alliance can be a step towards ultimate victory, which is theoretically in your citizens' best interests too, but there does need to be a major penalty for doing so. I'd be all for a permanent reduction in any or all of the above abilities.

Another possibility: breaking an Alliance could result in some of your planets rebelling against you and joining the race with whom you broke the alliance. After all, if your two races were friendly enough to make the Alliance in the first place, it would make sense that some of your citizens would be upset with you for breaking off relations, and they may decide to join their friends, instead of sticking with their kin.

This is where I have hopes that the AI revamp will add a little more character and personality to the races. In regards to the above, I'd actually like to see it vary by race. I'd like to have some races (Korx?) who will toady up to the biggest dog on the block and try to ride their coattails (but betray them at the slightest whiff of it all going sour). Similarly, I'd like other races (Altarians?) who are more principled and will stand up to bullies, and stick by their friends to the bitter end.

I hope that multiplayer Play-By-E-Mail will be just available... I want to play with this game with my friends, but they don't want to purchase it because available versions didn't have this mode...

And I hope that massive packet will be used to destroy armoured enemy planet!!!

Regards
And

and the editior released is the map editor. Looks easy to use proably similar to the civ 4 map editior. It doesn't let u pick which resources to set tho just places for them. TYVM FOR THE EDITIOR.

This is a singleplayer only game and will remain so.

Once you put the resource where you want it click on it and change it to the one you want.