Modding

[UesugiKenshin]

You have it where certain minor races were ressurected by the Catare or so they have been told, when what really happened was 200 years ago they were exterminated and then genetically raised to be a servile slave race. So they exist on their homeworld but the recreated generation has no sense of their genuine history.

The Terrans find out and meddle by informing that minor race. They tried and got the minor race to revolt.

Now they have self-determination but are foolish and unwilling to fully trust the Terrans.

Meanwhile the Catare are at level 15 and starting to recreate the minor race's ships, troops, and buildings on Catare worlds.

See how much richer the story is? Nothing really changed except how it is explained,but new buildings are created. And then the angry minor race can make far better ships as the Terrans stirred them up. So the minor race fleet has modified attributes versus the basic version because the Terrans intentionally armed them.

Maybe the Khaoran exposes this as both the Terrans and the Catare are telling half-truths.

[UesugiKenshin]

Distance estimations in warp speed versus 20 light year sectors

BotE begins in 2121AD (CE for the politically correct). The solar date is supposed to be two years per turn at first.

If we compare the Star Trek universe to BotE as a frame of reference, then in April 2151 the NX-01 could travel at maximum warp at warp 4.5. They traveled from Earth to Qo'nos in 80 hours which is 90 light years away (so in BotE terms 4.5 sectors in 3.33 Earth-days). Similarly the Rigel system is 90 light years away and let's presume the same amount of time was needed to get there. This is a supposition as we don't know when they changed course and so how close to Qo'nos they were.

So now we can estimate the range of vessels and how far they can travel in a turn. The solar date and two years per turn seems to be a logical error.

This allows us to estimate what the expansion rate setting should be to mod something plausible that uses Star Trek as a frame of reference as that expansion rate game setting determines the green (short), yellow (medium),@, red (long) ranges from home systems as the effective plausible range versus vessels.

I would surmise that normal range is not far enough with a 40x40 galaxy.

The range is determined by the technology level (propulsion especially) coupled with the number of stardocks and with a progressive increase based upon the degree or level of the stardocks. Then is a function of outposts and starbases presuming that this too progressively increases by degrees.

[UesugiKenshin]

We could theorize that although the Federation does not exist, Vulcan space vessels have likely installed starbases by 2151 or that such starbases were unnecessary. To be consistent, let's say they exist.

The ranges are too short at normal range in BotE's game settings. Or each sector is quite larger that 20 light years.

Vulcan is only 16 light years from the Earth so this agrees with what I have said earlier about significant planets within systems (sectors). Vulcan would be in the same exact system as Earth's within a 20 light year scale per sector.

Ain't science great?

[UesugiKenshin]

Just for the sake of completeness and to avoid confusion, the actual distance from Earth to the real Rigel is 864.3 light years.
...
40 sectors times 20 light years is 800 light years on the x axis. If we make a right triangle and x^2 is equal to 640,000 light years and do the same for y^2 so 640,000 and using the Pythagorean theorem then add these together (640,000 + 640,000) and take the square root of 1,280,000 is 1131.4 light years is the maximum distance on a 40x40 galaxy map.

Now we have a working scale and know the maximum distance.

[UesugiKenshin]

Straight away, we're going to run into all kinds of discrepencies and contradictions. But that is okay as BotE exists on its own as it has its own mythos. But now you know just how far it is from the furthest point to the furthest point in a straight line along the x and y axis but not accounting for z.

And as this has a random map, that changes in every new campaign. But you could take the slowest vessel in your empire and you could take the best fastest vessel and calculate how fast and how far it can effectively travel from your home system. But to do so, you need to know how much time has transpired in a turn and as it's not consistent, but scaled from 2 years to 2 weeks, then that could then be used for storytelling.

[UesugiKenshin]

The Star Trek warp scale can be found here.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warp_drive

It isn't a linear scale.

Warp 1 is the speed of light.
Warp 4 is 102 x the speed of light.
Warp 9 is 1516 x the speed of light.
Warp 9.99 is 7912 x the speed of light.

Without a known amount of time per turn, then it makes it impossible to estimate.

[UesugiKenshin]

I'm doing a test of unusual terraforming of systems that lack type M class planets. So alternative planets like O class are done (which is a water world, literally an entire ocean world, then colonized. Another is prone to creating a silicon based lifeform rather than carbon.

https://www.astrobio.net/news-exclusive ... ife-grows/
Proof that it's scientifically feasible, something a chemist understands intuitively.

Anyway, two systems only have one planet terraformed and they can't mine titanium. Be aware that can occur which means you have to use rotating resource routes. And in the early game between turns 50-150, then the sales of titanium are crucial to making lots of credits to purchase construction outright or wait a long time for completion.

It's a bit nervewracking as terraforming can have paper thin margins regarding agriculture as some planets are icy like Pluto and there aren't special buildings made for this as this was just a proof of concept. So ideally a modded buildings data file would add in special buildings on these unusual class planets, such as unusual titanium extraction methods on such worlds.

[UesugiKenshin]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... -the-basi/
More hard science discussing speculative issues with silicon based lifeforms.

In the film, Interstellar, Miller's planet is one of the potential candidates for sending colonists, but ends up being discarded due to the time dilation issue due to its proximity to a black hole.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7OVqXm7_Pk&app=desktop
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_(film)

[UesugiKenshin]

viewtopic.php?f=107&t=7060&start=15
This non-traditional terraforming is explained here. I'm testing whether it pans out as practical. Without a log file, there's no way of knowing if the AI attempts this. Human players definitely can. In the test, 95% of the galaxy is colonized thus many M class systems are assigned by minor races as home systems.

viewtopic.php?f=107&t=7112
A lighter discussion is here just so new players know that if in a pinch, they can colonize a system if they terraform it first as no M class planet exists in that system.

[UesugiKenshin]

viewtopic.php?f=107&t=7134
I was able to spend 50,000 credits during the bribery test as by then I had figured out how to game the trade mining exchange and got ore and crystals as high as 900 credits. So remarkably high income can be made if one is patient and can wait until turns 400-500+ and under certain conditions.

What happened was the Terrans were fighting the Khaoran in a knock down, drag out fight.Then theTerrans encountered the Omega. They made peace, and to ensure I agreed kept giving me huge amounts of crystals, duranium, even unbelievably rare detrium.

You can make vast fortunes when you are safe from the 3rd empire and in a series of pacts with the 2nd.

War is not profitable in the long term, but in the short term, it may be so.

Those two empires were duking it out and very bloody from the experience. I was instead building infrastructure.

This is why I am so adamant about preset empires as a save game in turn 400+ as war is expensive and early conflict is so distracting from building the economy that it ultimately is too early to wage war before say turns 500-600.

This is why a campaign editor would really help as I can design and map out empires that are vigorous and brawny and those would be far more pleasant experiences for players than struggling to make adequate ships. I want them instead to have a chance to wage total wars with fleets...plural. Lots of fleets. You cannot do that wthout cashflow, infrastructure, revenue streams, sound mining practices, understanding of the commodities markets, and peace for a time to allow it to unfurl.

[UesugiKenshin]

Even if you never mod, try the concepts and tactics I have discussed. Be an excellent critical thinker. BotE can be so much more than a battle simulator.

With some minor modding, the game would be phenomenal. The most interesting games could happen say at turn 800+ with powerful minor races who stayed autonomous and extremely powerful empires waging war.

Goals being accomplished end the excitement too early. Turn off goals and just play.

The key is twarting sabotage until way late in the game when empires could actually travel vast distaces, do total cosmetic surgery, and have the logistical ability and confederates subversives in empires as opposition groups to actually wage sabotage in practical terms. That might not happen until turn 1000.

[UesugiKenshin]

To realistically sabotage, an empire must be able to either have sleeper agents and or cross 1131 light years. Think about it. The empires have to have long standing agents in place and that takes decades of work and mountains of credits and extremely long range vessels and stealth technology and massive infrastructure of intelligence networks and SPEED.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeper_agent#Examples
The USSR had an extensive sleeper agent program in the USA as our borders are easily penetrated. That is life under freedom. That would be absurd under the Rotharians or the Catare.

Similarly, the North Koreans created whole fake towns where they raised kidnapped South Koreans for subversive reasons to enter as sleeper agents in South Korea. They kidnapped Japanese as well.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_K ... e_citizens
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-des ... on-project

These things don't just happen overnight due to making inexpensive intelligence security buildings.

[UesugiKenshin]

Sure, a Rotharian couple could travel by freighters, and make their way on transports, and insert themselves in the Heyoun systems. But how long would that plausibly take? Vast distances of space have to be crossed. Plausible backstories and occupations and cover by a network of Rotharians and disgruntled Heyouns would have to exist to support these saboteurs. Likely their children or grandchildren do the sabotage. They are so removed from their parent's secret illegal penetration of the borders that no one would suspect them as they have not done anything to arouse attention.

This is the premise of The Americans tv series...because it's based on FACTS.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sBD7XeMb4L0
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegals_Program

Both the Canadian and Mexican border are porous. Space would not be, but be heavily militarized.

[UesugiKenshin]

So continuing with the test of alternative terraforming in systems devoid of M class planets, Orion has three O class waterworlds. Of course species would terraform it, but lack titanium resources so immediately they are stuck as titanium is the base metal required to create buildings above the basic level.

So we could just shrug our shoulders and use resource routes and haul titanium from nearby systems. But is that practical? Not really. In the sixties and seventies, futurists realized the same issues. Sure if we manned the moon and built a colony, we would have to convert the vessel into a shelter and harvest materials from it, in the same way that flatboats that brought pioneers down the many rivers, then disassembled them to create housing.

But just as likely, the colonists would have structural engineers and various kinds of scientists who would analyze what is locally available to do construction. They would use locally mined materials and create an entire economy based on these or else forever be tied to hauling mountains of material to the moon...which is cost prohibitive. No colony could exist that way.

And deuterium is available. So why not say that deuterium is useful for teleporation, and so at high enough levels, transporters can be built to bypass the resource route and effectively create a surplus of titanium?

Or why not create a parallel building program for ocean based O class buildings that do not require titanium?

A modder can create any kind of building granting any kind of modifer they want. We are not limited by the programming code. We are only limited by our imaginations.

Many planet classes could have special buildings just as energy buildings already use this methodology.

Scan the planet classes and if duranium is present and not titanium, then create special duranium based buildings. It is more rare, so expensive, so create a justifiable pay off to make the building.

We lack graphics,but could change alter the color of the associated graphic of a titanium based building so it's logical and follows a pattern.

[UesugiKenshin]

A lack of a resource to create a building is not a bad thing as it challenges the player to route resources to it.

The conundrum though is as the galaxy map is randomly generated with obviously a formula governing that creation process, so partially this limiter is artificially imposed by the programming. A simple formula change where oceans have titanium or even all mined materials is just as plausible. Or it's just as plausible that M class planets are common, thus every system has a built in titanium supply.

Remove the struggle and the reward has no meaning, but pointless struggles when the player is being creative and terraforming and colonizing an O class ocean planet, well that should be rewarded on its own. The player thought outside the box...and should benefit from original thinking.