Modding

[UesugiKenshin]

The minor races have their own technology and so rare buildings that grant planetary bonuses or even empire wide bonuses can be created. So obviously we can create any kind of building, and it need not be mundane.

They could grant any kind of bonuses like be a diplomatic school. They could create unusual weaponry. They could confer economic advantages. They could make the locals placated. They could offer military simulations so any troops in orbit can do special training. Or train ships.

They could do many bonuses. They could cause negation of modifiers but grant new ones, so players realize this and have to weigh whether making such a building is dangerous.

I wish you could do things like make a cultural museum say of natural history of the Rotharians, and so a Catare could improve their diplomatic relationship by the process. That is infact what embassy and diplomatic exchanges like fostering cultural activities are all about.

[UesugiKenshin]

You can specify the buildings requirements.

. A planettype
B planettype
C planettype
E planettype
F planettype
G planettype
H planettype
I planettype
J planettype
K planettype
L planettype
M planettype
N planettype
O planettype
P planettype
Q planettype
R planettype
S planettype
T planettype
Y planettype
Bio needed techlevel
Energy needed techlevel
Computer needed techlevel
Propulsion needed techlevel
Construction needed techlevel
Weapon needed techlevel
Industry need resources
Energy need resources
Titan need resources
Deuterium need resources
Duranium need resources
Crystal need resources
Iridium need resources
Deritium need resources

So certain tech levels can be needed and only create a certain building on a certain planet class.

[UesugiKenshin]

Then those buildings can modify these things in general.

food production
industry production
energy production
security production
research production
titan production
deuterium production
duranium production
crytsals production
iridium production
deritium production
credits production
moral in system
moral empirewide
food bonus
industry bonus
energy bonus
security bonus
research bonus
titan bonus
deuterium bonus
duranium bonus
crytsals bonus
iridium bonus
deritium bonus
bonus to all resources
credits bonus
bio tech bonus percent
energy tech bonus percent
computer tech bonus percent
propulsion tech bonus percent
construction tech bonus percent
weapon tech bonus percent
inner security intelligence boni percent
economyspy intelligence boni percent
economysabotage intelligence boni percent
researchspy intelligence boni percent
researchsabotage intelligence boni percent
militaryspy intelligence boni percent
militarysabotage intelligence boni percent

[UesugiKenshin]

So go back to our previous hypothetical example. A transporter is made which requires deuterium at a certain level and with technology requirements and can only be built on O class planets (that have no titanium of their own)...

...but then actually increase titanium production. So it's possible because the programmer did an outstanding job and was thinking way ahead.

[UesugiKenshin]

Not only that, you can declare say that a very unique spacedock can be created in orbit on O class planets and these confer these special bonuses.

shipyard
buildable shipsize
shipyard buildspeed percent
barracks
barracks buildspeed percent
hitpoints
shield power defence
bonus to shieldpower
shipdefence
bonus to shipdefence
grounddefence
bonus grounddefence
scanpower
bonus to scanpower percent
scanrange
bonus to scanrange percent
shiptraining
trooptraining
resistance against corruption
added traderoutes
income on traderoutes in percent
shiprecyling in percent
bonus to building-buildspeed in percent
bonus to upgrade-buildspeed in percent
bonus to ship-buildspeed in percent
bonus to troop-buildspeed in percent

This is how scanning range increases ie listing posts. Or raises experience. Or adds trade routes. And so on.

Unleash your creativity.

[UesugiKenshin]

So you could actually have a series of levels of buildings that progressively add small bonuses. Or you could have these unlock a Manhattan Project superweapon or superability where giant bonuses then happen in that system. Such a thing is delightful and is a puzzle which could slowly be unveiled by event messages on turns or diplomatic hints or use the built in tutorial screens or whatever.

You could say that 12 levels of genetic engineering with rigorous requirements then allows a superability on that system because those folks are mutants. Or those folks have exposure to very high radiation or gravity or maybe proximty to stellar anomalies and thus, while expensive and hard to accomplish, eventually this can be unlocked. Players eat that stuff up. It drives a goal to be accomplished.

You could say that pilots and navigators who trained there gain X amount of experience because they develop some telepathic ability. It's a chance to do storytelling.

[UesugiKenshin]

A human player with direction can fathom that a building might be made and confer no bonus modifier until level 8 is built. The AI likely won't. So you can make buildings that the AI won't likely build, but players will to balance some aspect.

See that could be a mod where there is some balance on the impossible level. Or on the easy level, if humans do a tremendous number of things, they get some ultimate reward.

Certain buildings could entirely shut off sabotage by turning off modifiers and then later levels add enough modifiers that it's turned back on. And since these have requirements, then weighted restrictions to allow that.

And requirements tie up resources so be careful as that can bankrupt the economy or prevent bribery or halt rapid construction.

[UesugiKenshin]

Anything which grants credits is a good thing as otherwise the player is limited to standard revenue plus the sales of mined materials. And the latter is very subjective based upon how many are playing, skill at understanding the economy, luck concerning the galaxy map placement and what resources are available, and so forth.

Credits are a genuine equalizer.

[UesugiKenshin]

Trade should be easier but that means mining is easier. Most of the time when encountering new species, you really can't initiate trade, only promise to do so. The income is abysmal as who cares if 50 more credits are coming in per turn? If you only can have 3 trade routes and so many resource routes, it'sthe resource routes you need. Your empire needs those materials and saves them up to sell them off too.

Honestly trade should be something else not equate to mined materials.

I have said this before, but people look perplexed when I say it. If the USA and future generations need petroleum, then domestic production is priceless. You never want to sell what is essential to future generations as you can't create it such as petroleum, only extract it. It's irreplaceable.

Mining is not trade when essential such as titanium to make level 1 and beyond buildings. See the issue?

Titanium essentially is the foundation of money in BotE, not currency. You mine it to sell it to accelerate construction, which stimulates the price of titanium, so it's a feedback loop. Why would you ever trade what you require to survive?

The elegant solution is have gold be extracted but not required for construction. Then sell all the gold you require and it doesn't hurt the seller. Make the gold price fixed or slowly rise, but gold has no listing in the buildings requirements, thus selling it doesn't restrict.construction.

[UesugiKenshin]

The goal of every player is to control the galaxy, and to do so,the player needs ever bit of titanium, deuterium, duranium, crystals, and iridium. They mine detrium but it has no commodity value as it's priceless and never should be given or sold.

So yeah, you could sell your legacy now for a pittance, when in fact, these are priceless natural resources you require. You end up making a surplus on system A but need it on systems B, C, D, E, F, G and so on. You constantly are chasing the ability to extract a surplus.

This is why trading commodities is short sighted but exploited in the game, yet is a logical conundrum. Winning the game requires understanding how to game the commodity system, but actually it's foolish empire-wide as a coping mechanism as every new system needs those resources.

The genuine issue for the player is inadequate revenue streams. Mod that and they won't need to sell mined materials. The economy is not just mining related.

Then the players may sell surplus mined materials, but routinely are breaking even or generating a profit by having many sources of income through buildings.

[UesugiKenshin]

The Balflides are so difficult to meet as those "devils" have holographic projections and a fleet and are intended to be that way.
http://bote2.square7.ch/en/wiki/Test1#Bafliden

I want a hailing system.

Ultimately a modder is a creative person who gets annoyed at some element in a game that is fixable, but hasn't been fixed...yet. If you see an opportunity to remedy something in a game, then others likely feel the same way, but it may be deliberately programmed that way.

"Meet interesting diverse species and kill and subjugate them." Well that game mechanic is peculiar to Trekkers as the whole philosophy of Star Trek is exploration and being altruistic and trying to get along through coexistence.

[UesugiKenshin]

The vast majority of the game is designed to scrutinize minutia to make a profit...which is idiosyncratic as fascinating unique extraterrestrials are your neighbors. You are traveling multiple groups of 20 light years to terraform bizarre alien worlds. Yet those enthralling aspects are dismissed. It's confounding like spending weeks in close proximity with a gorgeous nubile coed and and all she wants to talk about is cashflow.

[UesugiKenshin]

The program has these amazing situations set up, and then lacks the writing to explain the absolute grandeur and awe inspiring wonder that an astronaut explorer would experience. So the most stupendous events are transpiring, yet they become mechanical and mundane. Not because they are boring, but because there are no opportunities to describe them.

It's like this scene from "Dead Poet's Society".
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LjHORRHXtyI

This is easily remedied by allowing events every time a planet is terraformed or visited. Lengthy descriptions could be inserted detailing the flora and fauna of that alien world. The whole point of backpacking for ten miles (16 kilometers) to the middle of nowhere is to witness the pristine beauty that exists there and that is unmarred by human beings. Imagine what exists and write it down, and then we can describe the worlds to new players.

[UesugiKenshin]

Legends of the Fall
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aWinsyIVC3E
A lovely enchanting young lady arrives and deeply affects all the men's lives as she witnesses the grandeur of their home in Montana. They all know the ranch is beautiful, but she sees it with fresh eyes. And that captivates and beguiles them, as the ranch was always magical, Susannah just re-reminded them of that FACT.

Well encountering extraterrestrials would provoke a gamut of emotions, and witnessing a new world would bring sincere tears to our eyes...at the majesty of creation.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lFkyAD9gS6g

[UesugiKenshin]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qBeA7DRq89k
When the first astronauts saw the Earth from orbit and visited the moon, they were awestruck. It deeply affected them, and excellent writing would invoke the same in players of BotE. This is fixable by modding so it's not so terse.

They were irrevocably changed after that occurred.