Modding

[UesugiKenshin]

Some ships are pirates but actually are official ships of empires who are allowed to make war on the enemy without official declarations of war. Thus another revenue stream. This would definitely happen with say the Orion Syndicates. You would fully expect some minor races to do this too.

Other pirates like the Morlocks are anomalous entities who show up randomly and drift around the galaxy until elimiated by major races or minor races with ships in orbit.

[UesugiKenshin]

You don't have to engage in combat directly to ruin another major race's empire aspirations. You send battleships around and attack undefended systems and bombard them to destroy infrastructure directly. I hate sabotage as that is very unfair, but even though dishonorable, this is a legitimate war tactic. It's not one the Klingon empire would allow a captain to do as his crew would mutiny as that captain stole their glory and honor. They want to fight fairly and defeat the enemy even dying in the process so the empire grows...not through bombardment though. Fighting by bombardment makes the Klingons seem weak and cowardly and afraid to fight and die. That would disgust them as they are genetically stronger.

You can bet the Cardassinans,the Romulans, and the Dominion would no qualms about this. The Federations sure did it during the Dominion Wars. The Ferengi couldn't pull it off but would get shot down.

[UesugiKenshin]

Merely raising this proportionally with the Ferengi having the best would fix many economy issues.
IsRaceProperty (RACE_PROPERTY :: FINANCIAL)) nBoni + = 25;
This is in the racial attributes in the MajorRaces.data.

It's probably too low for some races. Sometimes when configuring a game through modding, people think all or nothing, but obviously all the empires in Star Trek manage robust economies. Not only that, they have standing treasuries or else can't do research and development and have new better ships and troops.

Human players can spend down all their taxes each turn and do fine by something like mining trade manipulations. Generally an AI needs a very robust economy with excellent income and cashflow is not harmed. Or else it stagnates and ends up doing ruinous things like destroying its own ships and infrastructure.

Wise tech levels at the upper level do things like reduce upkeep and boost the economy as the population limit means there will never be adequate taxation.

I think that the value of ore should be much higher and very stable on the harder to mine ore along a continuum.

[UesugiKenshin]

What typically happens to balance this wealth acquisition is more wealth leads to excess and so indulgence in activities that increase corruption. They have more wealth but it starts affecting other attributes negatively. In ancient Rome, it led to Roman citizens, especially the aristocracy then dismissing military service and so much more reliance on mercenaries, thus a precarious state where a hodge-podge of culture had decreasing loyalty and put the very barbarians that had been defeated in charge of security.

You have the people demanding things like hippodromes and gladitorial contests that increase morale but cause gambling and corruption to occur.

[UesugiKenshin]

In an economic system based on commodities and yet the price is devalued, then you get OPEC controlling how much is released or extracted. So literally mining efficiency is not limited by technology, but limited so the price is not devalued. Extraction is based on demand getting the price high enough or they refuse to sell.

They would accumulate a reserve, then no more as it's not worth their effort. They went to tremendous expense to develop infrastructure BUT NOT to be exploited by extremely unfair devaluation plus unfair metal sales taxation.

[UesugiKenshin]

Many buildings actually generate income because of construction alone as a factor in the economy. So construction workers have higher take home pay and buy homes and consumer items locally.

Many buildings likely should be generating income that don't. Even a better food replicator may be generating a luxury like deserts so people would pay more to get these.

[UesugiKenshin]

If you devalue the ore and crystal prices, such instability would realistically devalue the credit system and prices would fall on buildings. You don't want deflation of an economy.

Similarly as ore and crystal prices start peaking and then after some sales continue to rise, then you would get inflation and prices of instructure and ships and troops would rise. You don't want that either. Prices always go up,but hopefully not dramatically.

Some control of the ore and crystals likely prevents the latter, but should not cause deflation ever.

If the AI and the player have better economies, then there will be less imprudent sell offs of ore and crystals. And financial race attribute proprotional boosts and any income boosts through technology and or buildings should increase income too. Such modding means better treasuries and growth.

[UesugiKenshin]

http://birth-of-the-empires.de/wiki/ind ... dings.data
Line 69: credits production
Line 84: credits bonus

This one would really help trade profits with the minor races.
Line 118: income on traderoutes in percent

Here's how to fix the economy. Little tweaking and lots of playtesting should validate my theories.

[Note: there are some amazing modifiers in the buildings data file. It is extremely well written such that some very unique buildings could be created, not just for the major races too. Generally the best way of expansion is colonization with race specific buildings, but then all diversity of unusual buildings would be lost.]

[UesugiKenshin]

In a game like GalCiv2, then starbases (which in BotE begin as outposts and increase to starbases) could cause culture shifts. So in effect building an outpost, if there was a parameter to improve attitude then it's a diplomatic weapon. Your culture is broadcast as a form of "information warfare" ie propaganda, and this improves the demeanor of minor or major races so they like you more than they should through a kind of subversion.

I see nothing in either the ship data or building editor to indicate a way to do this. Too bad. Every time you watch the news or watch a film,you encounter people with axes to grind to subvert your critical thinking through propaganda.
http://birth-of-the-empires.de/wiki/ind ... plist.data
http://birth-of-the-empires.de/wiki/ind ... dings.data

[UesugiKenshin]

So I think the fair way to mod the economy is:
1. All resource buildings generate some domestic income by degrees by level, but especially so with some ore or crystals versus others. Because resources are not merely sent to systems of the empire but generate profits and any self-supporting system generates profits from resource buildings.
2. Some levels of industrial buildings ie development class produce income as well, not merely produce industrial theoretical capacity but income. And this is proportional based on the level of the facility. Increased industrial capacity is not all for government use, but for commercial applications to generate goods and services.
3. Research doesn't just lead to better weaponry and buildings and ships, but has commercial applications and these generates some income based upon levels.
4. Perhaps even energy utilities generate income as some portion is for domestic operations which is essential for the lives of citizens and so both unseen commercial businesses and residents are paying for power so it generates some income. It's dubious but some green alternative energy may generate more income whereas historically they end up as boondoggles like windpower in the UK.

The economy is not just the government spending but the economy of citizens through wages and personal businesses and enterprises by corporations. These new income streams then reflect these.

It's a double edged sword as whatever helps the Klingons economically will really help the Ferengi. The easiest major race may end up being the Ferengi whereas now it's supposed to be the Cardassians.

It has a lesser effect overall, but a draw of controling the minor races might be they have excellent income producing buildings as some are in effect monuments so a source of tourism due to ethnic pride. Their minor race would be highly likely to organize vacations to see this stunning achievement of their people.

[UesugiKenshin]

See the new topic on outposts and starbases.
...
I'm very interested in many projects.
1. Create a genuine manual in pdf format and likely with graphics so it has more clarity, but I have to understand the game mechanics more. The current conundrum is outpost construction, upgrading,then the transformation to stabases.

Intelligence remains a general mystery as the Romulans have an unbelieveable superiority in security buildings and espionage and sabotage, yet the process is as slow as molasses since I split many excess points to:
A. Internal security
B. Espionage and sabotage to the Federation
C. Espionage and sabotage to the Klingons
[Imagine if a player had all six empires! Three is about right including the player.]

And it takes quite a long time on the "careful" level (taking meticulous care) to actually do anything. I could have started earlier though. I neither care about playing as the Romulans nor this kind of dastardly warfare, but need to document them.

A genuine techtree should exist as a graphic. It's standard operating procedure so players can form strategic thinking. It doesn't have to be fancy but most like as a Freemind mindmap.
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/in ... ap_gallery

2. Mod the economy so it makes sense regarding precious metals and crystals.
3. Ensure the diplomatic attitude of minor races makes sense juxtaposed versus the initial racial characteristics of the major races.
4. Rebalance the Romulan ships and troops as they seem too weak versus the Klingons. The troops especially so.
5. Mod the security buildings to happen far later than in turn #310-340+. It should be no earlier than 600 with 900 being much better.
6. Probably mod the outpost and starbase as they increment in levels. Otherwise it seems like a game for turtlers and it's more beneficial to send scores of transports to penetrate borders and so avoid interdiction and then some survive to build overpowered outposts and starbases.

Instead such outposts would initially be fragile and patrolled by cruisers, destroyers, and battleships to protect them while they are in the process of upgrades. So these regions would be flashpoint conflict zones.

Until the techtree progression and armament/defenses are translated into English, that can't even be attempted.

[UesugiKenshin]

As I see it, better initial diplomacy between the minor races and the major races would lead all but the isolationists and the warlike to capitulate by various degrees as they cannot withstand major races. They would have to get along out of pragmatism.

A better economy faciliates infrastructure and gifts to the minor races. It means far less selling of ore and crystals. That leads to stability of natural resources. So resource routes and trade routes are far more important and should be profitable.

You want robust standing armies to project power and while war may be declared, it point of fact, it's a cold war, not a true war. Little pointless border skirmishes are to be expected, but the real battles happen later. That requires lots of CREDITS.

But to create eras of ships and troops, likely the better tech buildings are more difficult to achieve. It's about turn #340 and many level 9 techs are complete and some level 10 techs are being studied. Is that correct, or too early? I think too early. Technology upgrades are expensive and fixable. I am happy with what ships and troops can be constructed, just outposts seem too invulnerable too early.

Level 14 is the upper limit and likely every tech past level 10 should be a struggle so appropriately powered ships and advanced troops happen in appropriate waves (eras). So that extra income is pumped into technology advancement.

The AI and human player would be able to make lots of ships, but probably still can't just use brute force against major races. It would be pointless and waste them.

Instead those extra ships are used to consolidate power and keep colonizing, terraforming, and bullying minor races to willingly join empires or be subjugated. Now there will be enough of a robust economy to do so.

[UesugiKenshin]

Solardates do not make sense, thus turn times don't make sense. When I tried to read the excel file on them accessible from the wiki, it downloaded but is empty.

It honestly would be better to display a date with week and year rather than a solardate.

Turn #340 might be the TOS era so 2265 AD. You can calculate based on 20 light-year systems and sectors versus ship types on a normal rate of expansion and approximate what seems analogous to say the Star Trek shows.
Enterprise
TOS
STTNG
DS9
And beyond.

Each turn is not equal but begins two years per turn and finally ends up 2 weeks per turn. Without a better explanation, the solardate is meaningless.

[UesugiKenshin]

The saddest state of affairs would be inadequate money to create eras of ships and troops, then new ships are available and the earlier ones are obsolete. You want players to be able to actively engage in battles against the minor races by turn#340.

You want players all along to make ships even if they are crude vessels and maddeningly slow.

The Klingons and the Terrans have lots of territory, but it's an illusion as many are not really under their control yet. As such, why in the world would they declare war on the Romulans or each other? That makes no sense. They should sign non-agression pacts with major races, and even do trade, and solidify their hold on their own domains. That is practical.

Such hostility is likely my fault. I went out of my way to be peaceful up until turn #300. I had no interest in war once I saw how underpowered the Romulan invasion troops were. Yet many minor races were quite hostile. Why?

Well all goals are turned off except conquest. The galaxy is dense as it's 40x40, 100% stars (not truly but probably under 90%), 50% minor races, normal expansion, no anomalous entities, 5% stellar anomalies, etc.

I was trying to keep the other major AI races busy with minor races and limit colonization. I thought that would lend itself to peace. Maybe what matters is conquest is the only way to win so excessively hostile on the easy setting???

Easy difficulty is not easy whatsoever. It's highly frustrating as currently configured.

BotE takes a glacial approach (the speed of glacier movement across time) to do infrastructure to turn #300 with an inadequate economy, and a terrible sabotage issue. And then interstellar conflict. When it rains, it pours, not drizzles. Yet there is little payoff in terms of combat and damage reports and casualties.

It's quirky.

[UesugiKenshin]

BotE is to be praised on Galaxy size as the maximum (40x40 and 100% stars) is larger than GalCiv2's immense size which I think was 30x20.

But to populate for six empires at once in any balanced canonical way, it probably would need a 80x80 map array. Maybe the turn time resolution would drive players crazy. In such a mod, the Dominion would make the Cardassians capitulate but be logistically too far away to make it stick. Meanwhile this gives the Ferengi a chance to make money. The Federation is constantly trying to hold their empire together while the Romulans and the Klingons take bites. (And you could just replace the Ferengi with the Xiborg and make for a heck of a mod). It takes a huge size though and probaby 900+ turns.

Thus it's suited for 3-4 empires at once included the human player. It's suited for sandbox as a lone major race encounters the whole immense 40x40 galaxy too (likely at 50%+ minor races). I don't think the results of all 6 empires on the largest map will please anyone.

Scenarios could be made of 2 empires at high turn levels like turn #400 and be thrilling with fully populated maps and very large armies/ships to deploy and fight a series of battles for supremacy.