I get that.  But for Ion Beams,  the progression was just.. silly.   They were so cheap and so good that the next level of available beam weapons was *almost* a step backwards.   That's dumb.   I didn't nerf them into the ground,  just increased the cost from 55 to 65 to make all those TPs for Phasors actually meaningful.

The Seeker missiles were just plain wrong.   The description did not agree with the actual costs.

Yeah.  It was tempting to play with the values within a group in order to take out some of the see-saw in cost/power effectiveness.   But it is really a minor nit and I wanted to keep my post "short" (hah!).

Works for me.    If you are still interested in the google spreadsheet I'm happy to import mine into it.   I don't think I can create one though (I don't have a gmail or google account).

Whoa!   That's not right Maiden,  it should be 1 and 2.   Though 10 and 20 would be kinda fun.  

That works too.   It's a bit more of a nerf than we were discussing earlier,  in that they'd be obsolete after three more techs instead of four,  but it would also be more obvious to the player that they were obsolete -- no having to do power/cost/size calculations.   So I like it.

We had that in DL and it was more or less annyoing^^ You're right, but there's still something off. If you for example pick Drengin or Terrans (who have a +10 speed bonus) and if you pick an additional bonus, then the new bonus is shown as +11 or +12 in the left field (although it will show as +20 or +30 in the right field).

Hi Frogboy!

Two changes.  One bugfix and one request to change AIP7 colonization behavior.

To be honest I don't completely understand the bug.  From Mabus' description many pages ago:

The request to change AIP7 colonization behavior stems from the (generally) poor colonization performance of AIP7.   Not wanting to colonize outside its own sphere of influence is understandable,  but in the majority of cases it would be better off also picking up planets that aren't in anyone's sphere of influence yet.   Mabus did an insane binary-level transplant of AIP8's colonization routine into AIP7,  with excellent results,  but it would be a lot more maintainable if a code change/recompile was possible.

In C code (which I assume GC2 is written in),   you would change this in AIP7's colonization subroutine from something that I imagine looks like this:

to this:

Mod-wise,  I think we're in good shape.   There are three or four people playtesting each beta as it drops,  and there are no major changes on the horizon.   Most changes the last few betas have been spelling/grammar corrections,  and a little bit of tweaking here and there.   If,  hypothetically,  CU v5 Beta 1H was released today and then locked down -- and I'll leave that call to Mabus,  since he's taken on the role of project lead after Guanathor stepped back -- I'd say another week of playtesting to flush out more bugs would still be a good idea.

Lest I sound too clinical,  this mod is an absolute blast to play.   GalCiv has been on my hard drive one way or another since the OS/2 version,   but GC2 plus this mod is the most enjoyable GalCiv I can remember playing.

"Sometimes" is hard to program. 

The change we're looking for is simple and straightforward,  and good in almost all cases.   Lets keep it to that for now. 

Hello Frogboy,

I've prepared a list ranging from essential to nice-to-have:

Essential:

- AIPersonality 7 Colonization 
Runs: Yor, Drengin, Korath

This AI does not colonize outside of it's borders leaving it incredibly weak due to a lack of planets. This is best seen on an Immense galaxy with a rare amount of habitual words. 

- AIPersonality 10 Planet Management
Runs: Iconians, Torians

This AI simply stops building structures on new planets at some points. Even the omnipresent Starport is missing. This leaves this AI incredibly weak since its colonies are essentially useless.

This is best spotted on a medium or larger map with a lot of habitable planets. I've never done an exact count but if the AI grabs 50 or more planet's you'll be able to see it. 

Summary:

• Needs to research Research (Computing/Pure Research)
• Needs to research Biology
• Needs to research Logistics
• Needs to be toned down with in its need for Industry
• Needs to be less hesitant to research expensive tech

This AI refuses to invest in research (blue) technology. Both Pure Research and Miniaturization categories are affected by this. We've worked around this by switching their research tech to Industry but it's a very ugly work around at not consistent with the other tech tree's at all.

But, this is not AIP8's only issue.

AIP8 loves Industry (brown/orange) technology is over the top. Often it will grind through it's manufacturing regardless of the amount of time it takes and very quickly falls behind in other technologies like weapons, invasion, etc.

In addition, AIP8 has a severe dislike for any biology (green) technology which causes it to fall behind in: Terraforming, Extreme Colonization, Population increase and farming.

Finally AIP8 ignores Logistics as well leaving it with very small and vulnerable fleets.

- One Per Planet Bug (OPPB)
The OPPB occurs when an upgraded 1pp stucture is destroyed due to an invasion or cultural flip. The game removes the structure from the planet and it cannot be build again. For example:

So from 75 to 0 then? Well it proves your point. I'll have a look at it.

Agreed. They need to colonize. No fancy business is needed. The same is true for AIP10's planetary management. If they manage their planets like AIP8 or 7 they'll be fine.

No. It's more complicated that it needs to be. A simple "Grab EVERYTHING you see" way of doing it works just fine.

CU V5 Beta 2A

Weapon changes are significant enough to warrant Beta 2.

Changes:

Ioncannons cost 30

Psionic Beam is equal to Phasors 1 but more expensive

Psionic Missile is equal to Photon Torpedo I but more expensive

Psionic Shredder is equal to Graviton Driver I but more expensive

Renamed all Psyonic ID/Tech's to Psionic

Subspace Rebounder is equal to ForceField I but slightly more expensive and gives 7 absorpoin instead of 6

Arnorian Battle Armor is equal to Kanvium I but slightly more expensive

Telepathic Defense is equal to PD Combo I but slightly more expensive

Ion Beams 65.

Seekers 30 to 20.

No change to pulse cannons (They seem to fit perfectly between Singularity driver and Graviton Driver. Typo perhaps?).

Changed IonBeams group to Ion Beams

All Psionic Techs cost 800 TP. Down from 1200 and 1000.

Hyperion Matrix. Food% from 75 to 50%

Ultimate Slaveling Lab: TP from 12 to 10. bc from 6 to 5.

On Super Dominator Corvettes

After reading through Maiden's explanation I can only conclude this SA is powerful in the hands of a player but weak in the hands of an AI. There's not much we can do about this and there's a major chance we'll dig a hole for ourselves if we try. The Drengin's real weakness is their lack of planets. They (and the Korath) have the easiest time obtaining their best industry and research and after that it's nothing but weapons since they lack diplo/culture tech. That's how they're intended.

So I'm not going to burn my hands by redesigning an SA at this point. It'll be far to simple to shoot ourselves in the foot.

I like the idea of weapon costs slowly rising within a tier but it would require us to run through all the techs and we'll run into trouble along the way. You always do. Simple changes can have great effect.

The recent change in Psionic weapons looks good on paper but the question still remains if they perform well. Let's test that and then leave the weapons as they are as I think Gaunathor did a very good job with them.

The Hyperion Matrix now gives 50% instead of 75% since I was a bit hesitant to completely remove the food bonus. It's the only structure the Thalan get that grants bonus food and it will put their homeworld at 16 bln. That should be managable. If not, then we can take down the value a bit further but I feel small gradual steps are the way to go from now on.

It's time to play test again and I'd liketo ask all of you to keep an eye on the following:

• Terran/Drath/Thalan/Krynn hull progression. Are they stuck to long on tiny?
• Krynn unique research. I forced them to grab their unique tech asap but multiple reports show they lag behind in everything else. I'd like to know if these were isolated incidents or a problem so please include the Krynn in your games.
• Altarian/Torian/Arcean/Korx factory progression. AIP11 runs these civs and it's known to leave manufacturing by the way side. The Iconians have are on AIP11 as well but their unique factories allow for high AIValue's since they are untradable. Ideally I'd like to leave the "standard" manufacturing tech tradable as well but not if it's means these civs severely lag behind in industry.
• Do the Drath ALWAYS get War Profiteering and Invisible Hand? War Profiteering is on AIValue -10 now.
• Try and play with techtrade on every once in a while. Techtrade is part of the game and we need to find techs that are either:
• To easy to grab
• Should not be tradable
• To hard to grab (this will be hard to solve).
• Techs worth to much to the AI compared to that they. Techs like these can be used to to obtain a lot of techs in one go.

That's all I can think off for the moment. As always, thank you all for doing this and I look forward to the results f Beta 2A.

Regards,

M.

I've written some descriptions for the Iconian government techs. From their other tech descriptions it was learned they don't really have an economy but a functional form of communism. As such, their government focus is communal.

Someone (I think it was OShea) remarked the Iconians didn't get any morale bonus from their techs. After writing these descriptions I releazed a small morale bonus would fit perfectly.

Here they are:

<Culture ID="InterGov">
<DisplayName>Communities</DisplayName>
<Description>While have an emperor true power rests with the people. However, our observation's of other civilizations make it clear that advanced forms of government can yield great results economically. It would be wise to invest in more advanced forms of governing our people lest we fall behind the other civilizations.</Description>
</Culture>

<Culture ID="StarRep">
<DisplayName>Cooperative Society</DisplayName>
<Description>Our natural tendency to cooperate rather than compete sets us apart from other civilizations. Other forms of government focus on a select few that decide for many. This is not our way nor can it be. The idea of campaigning for a position is alien to us. However, by allowing our people choose a select few chosen for their competence, not for their promises, will result in a small increase in our society's efficiency.</Description>
<MoraleBonus>2</MoraleBonus>
<CanBeTraded>0</CanBeTraded>
<CanBeStolen>0</CanBeStolen>
</Culture>

<Culture ID="StarDem">
<DisplayName>Decentralized Governing</DisplayName>
<Description>The community is the core. Cabinets that govern from a distance lose touch with the people resulting in a society where neither side trusts nor listens. By decentralizing our governments we put the politicians back among the people. They will listen. They will understand and as a result they will govern with out people's best interests in mind. This will result in a moderate economic increase.</Description>
<MoraleBonus>3</MoraleBonus>
<CanBeTraded>0</CanBeTraded>
<CanBeStolen>0</CanBeStolen>
</Culture>

<Culture ID="StarFed">
<DisplayName>Egalitarian Principles</DisplayName>
<Description>We are different from other species in how we govern ourselves. We believe every individual is equal to another regardless of birth, social standing, wealth or intellect. Egalitarian Principles reinforces this core value and will grant incredible opportunities to talented individuals to explore who they are and what they are capable off. This increased productivity will result in an incredible economic increase.
</Description>
<MoraleBonus>5</MoraleBonus>
<CanBeTraded>0</CanBeTraded>
<CanBeStolen>0</CanBeStolen>
</Culture>

These techs grant +10 morale which is nice but not OP.

Regards,

M.

New link

Full link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ho8k01pv24oxybv/Community%20Update%20V5%20-%20Beta%202A.zip?dl=0

Also fixed the old link.

Keep in mind you can grab every version I've posted from the File Archive.

Yes. They'll get diplo, influence and now morale.

I like it . I'll put it on my todo list.

Woot!  I love getting up in the morning and seeing new goodness.   And I have the next week off of work too... it's like,  well,  Christmas! 

Like the new tech descriptions.   Very nice.

@Mabus:  I think we had a slight misunderstanding regarding the Psionic stuff,  or maybe you just changed your mind.   Because of their size,  if you set the damage to the next tier you make them obsolete after three techs.    However,  you went two tiers up,   which makes them obsolete after *six* techs.    Was that intentional?

For example:  Harpoons,  the tier that open up Psionic Missiles,  have Power/Size scores of 21,25, and 30.   The next tier up,  Photonics,  have power/size ratios of 35,41, and 50.   Photons have 57,66, and 80.     Psionic Missiles have a Power/Size score of 80,  but they're more expensive than Photons,   so once you hit Photon III you ditch them.   That's six techs.  

I thought you were going to set the damage to the next tier up,  but make them more expensive.   I still think that's the best solution.   That would give Psionic Beams 3 damage,  Psionic Missiles 5 damage,  and Psionic Shredder 4 damage.   We should probably also reduce the TP more to compensate;   I forgot that there was actually a tech involved.  Oops.

I have a busy day ahead but will start a new test game this evening.   Will pay particular attention to the points you mentioned,  but will keep tech trading off -- I've gotten used to AI performance with it off,   so I'll continue to be the no-TT canary I suppose..  

And you did.   I missed the size change.  Mea culpa.

Note to self:  wait a while after waking up before posting..

Off to see the Hobbit with my sons,  then play some GC2 this evening.   It's a good day!