Modding

[UesugiKenshin]

It seems logical that one could create a new game on a very small galaxy map then
1. Take a note of every sector and write down the planet class and size and map coordinates.
2. Then save the game and look for code being present in certain hex addresses and that might be the planet class data and size.
3. The create a new game with a new galaxy map and do this again.
4. Then create a new save game.

Now there should be patterns of data. Basically this is elementary cryptography. After doing this five or more times, and finding the same patterns, then it might become obvious which hex addresses are for gas giant types.

And then in a hex edtor, replace the gas giant data with say large superearth M class planets.

The map coordinates should consistently be certain hex addresses.

What would happen eventually is rudimentary mapping would take place where multiple planets and some types could be "placed" by the saved game data. It's slow and meticulous but should theoretically work.

Eventually an entire 40x40 map could be designed. You could have specific maps for certain games so certain major and minor races are always at the same map coordinates sectors.

Some enterprising person could volunteer and so benefit the entire community. We could crack the hex encryption and mod very quickly.

[UesugiKenshin]

Such spacing then puts the different empires at the furthest and most logical dispersions.

Such spacing and assignment means certain minor races are historical enemies or major races are consistently enemies as their borders touch.

This is how to reverse engineer the galaxy map.

Such an understanding of the map could then assign minor races closest to major alien race empires so they are more inclinded to be members.

A mapper could eliminate the randomness of the galaxy map.

[UesugiKenshin]

Now if you can create maps, and then assign major alien races, then the benefit of say the Heyoun in a particular save game is they begin with many beneficial planet types and don't need to terraform but luckily have an ideal sector.

Or you could do this with resources and reassign sectors so iridium and detrium are more prevalent.

There are lots of ways to configure the game for balancing issues.

As it turns out, the modable data has assignment for major alien races. That is why they start with the same ships in every new game. So you don't have to alter the saved game data.

It might be possible to assign every minor alien race similarly on giant galaxy maps but then still randomize their starting map.coordinate points for variation each time.

[UesugiKenshin]

It stands to reason that if more planets existed in sectors and they were colonizable, that even with a 20x20 or a 30x30 galaxy map, that 4 empires might be economically viable on the former and would for sure on the latter.

But these are Java changes dealing with new games where the galaxy map is generated. It's easier to mod the save game by hex editing than expecting any new revisions.

I know it seems like a lot but there are theoretically an enormous amount of Earth like worlds and likely just as many unusual planets that could support life in a galaxy of our size. So it really isn't too much to have nine planets on a routine basis IF the sectors are representative of multiple stacked solar systems. They would have to be to properly scale our galaxy.

So any way we can mod and not expect a Java change is better unless someone new comes along who has lots of time.

Or you could routinely increase the planet dimensions so routinely 80 billion can live there. And if the dimensions are higher, then not as many planets are needed in the sector.

A 30x30 galaxy with nine planets per sector would work, would end up with faster turn times, and I'm thinking that once you have six empires with fleets that a major slow down will occur.

So with many planets per sector or very high population caps, you could do six major alien races and a high percentage of minor alien races on a 30x30 with nine planets per sector and normal speed turn times.

Or as is, you could do four to six major alien races and a high percentage of minor alien races on a 40x40 albeit with slow turn times.

The more that BotE has to keep track of, the slower the turn times.

What might work is a starship class that is essentially a fleet. That means the program is only looking at 1 not ten starships on a fleet. Similarly higher level troops might represent military classes of troops.
https://www.thirteen.org/blog-post/u-s- ... -to-corps/

Instead of thinking like sending
squads (6-10 soldiers) you start sending
platoons ( 18-50 soldiers)
companies 60-200 soldiers),
battalions 100-1000 soldiers) ,
brigades (2000-5000 soldiers),
divisions (10,000-15,000 soldiers) ,
corps (20,000-45,000 soldiers),
and field armies (50,000+ soldiers).

It really depends upon how BotE calculates the maximum offensive and defensive attributes.

It's way easier for programming to consider one corps (20,000-45,000 soldiers) than send many smaller troops

It's way easier for programming to consider one massive starship than ten, but only if the size of the offensive and defensive attributes are high enough.

When dealing with large galaxy maps with many planets in many sectors, then you don't want to spend a 100 hours creating a mod and it's too slow to run.

[UesugiKenshin]

Similarly if level 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 troops are way more powerful, then we're not dealing with infantry but major armored classes on the battlefield and so less actual troops but very powerful mechanized robotic troops. These are equivalent to corps and field armies. But realize that this means longer times to recruit them as they will get to be like starships on the ground,sea,and air.

[UesugiKenshin]

Properly sizing unit attributes of offensive and defensive values versus cost and requirements and times to completion is an art and a science. Quite a lot of time is calculated on such values to have them depicted in the Civ game mods so they are accurately realized. Civ 3 tried using armies where a general was created and then you could do unit composition within the army so the generation time was not so large. Essentially BotE does this with fleets and a flagship.

Then you get in AI issues where if the time to generate large ground force armies is high, then the AI gets obsessed with making them and it's a valid tactic to attack while the AI has such large value military assets in production to essentially ruin them.

[UesugiKenshin]

One very simple way to mod BotE is to merely alter how many resources are required to construct a building or ship or troop.

You can rebalance everything by reevaluating how much titanium, deuterium, duranium, crystals, iridium, and deritium are required for each thing. You should see a slow rise in requirements that are plausible. Is this so? Not necessarily.

It's simple to change the formula, but time consuming. The more straight forward this is, and the more logical, then the players will prioritize construction in a logical manner based on how many turns have passed and the degree of advancement of say a ship.

BotE has an overly complex techtree and very complex requirements unlike any strategy game I have ever played since the sixties. Then as a result, that requires either long waits to actually make anything practical that produces useful starships, or a massive amount of resource routes, or a wasteful process of selling a scant amount of ore/crystals OR buying ore/crystals when cheap as the trade system will then place those resources at the new colony in their storage.

The slowdown in rushing production is the value of resources too rapidly falls in price when even a tiny fraction of total stored ore/crystals are sold.

There is nothing stable about prices. That means they either rapidly inflate when relevant infrastructure is rushed or the rapidly deflate when sold.

That helps you make millions in a turn but then frustrates the process by so rapidly deflating that the sale is limited by plunging prices.

To even frustrate the player even more, you can only mine ore/crystals to a storage cap of 125,000 per each resource. That is why more mines just means faster generation or recovery of storage, NOT more amounts.

This artificial cap of 125,000 means even if you had 100 titanium mines instead of 4, you can only mine 125,000 and the the miners halt mining for titanium.

Similarly BotE has a cap on food production such that only 25,000 can be stored. So really, more food isn't refected by more farming unlike real life. And you have no dea how many you need to feed say 50 billion. And so instead of more food, really what happens is more local sector approval is generated ie the people realize that food production is adequate or in surplus so famine will not happen and so pleased.

It honestly does not make any sense to build more than you require as it's designed around efficiency at first then literally extreme inefficiency as no laborers work on that infrastructure.

[UesugiKenshin]

You want to maximize efficiency in 4 factories as at some point, you want rapid building of starships. It's immensely frustrating that it take so long even though all the research is done, as the player has to slowly understand the economy and exploit this price manipulation versus an entirely too low amount of mining sales.

Rushing production is incredibly expensive, yet think about it. You have BILLIONS focusing on making a single building. It shouldn't be that expensive as you have an immense number of laborers available and you would only need thousands. It shouldn't be expensive at all since you end up with a massive GLUT of ore/crystals. If you have all those immense numbers of workers and you have a massive amount of all the raw materials, and you have all the technology, then why is it so expensive???

[UesugiKenshin]

BotE becomes 50% economic manipulation and 45% logistics and 5% war. Your goal should be to get the focus on war MUCH HIGHER. Not many players want to micromanage economies and reroute the shipment of ore/crystals. It's like BotE was designed to be "Freighter Operations" instead of "Starship Combat".

Now if there were "missions" where starship captains and crew did humanitarian efforts to improve diplomatic relationships with major and ming races, as like Star Trek did the vast majoirity of the time, or had events where an personal issue of a crewman meant the whole captain and bridge offcers and crew solved that, then this would be far more interesting.

[UesugiKenshin]

BotE has extremely interesting alien species and extremely interesting exploration and that is especially so in a giant galaxy map. But then these differences only matter for starship attributes and spying and making unique buildings. Never underestimate the fact that the entire basis for literature, early radio plays, tv, and films and even some music is about the hero's or heroes' journey.

The reason players use gaming as an entertaining outlet is they want to be heroes for the most part and witness the struggles and success of heroes as they overcome adversity and help others do so as well.

That is why Star Trek was not all space battles and the crew in phaser battles on the planet. The vast majority of time is helping new alien species in benevolent ways not conquering them.

[UesugiKenshin]

If Star Trek had been about conquering other species as the Klingons, I doubt it would havebeen very popular. Even the tv show Vikings struggled with this and thus that is why the Vikings had personal setbacks.

The vast majority of viewers might admire a conquering militaristic people but then do not want them to actually succeed...because the viewers themselves find conquering distasteful.

[UesugiKenshin]

So what did the writers of Star Trek since 1966 do? The crew of Star Trek, especially the bridge officers and some the very young, conquered control of their lives and were altruistic and benevolent to most species and "won" the world of ideas largely through waging peace.

If you don't understand that, then any modding will be hollow and pointless as creating a new unique way to conquer will ring false.

That is a winning formula because it's hopeful and optimistic, not crushing rebellion and stamping out autonomy to yield to empires.

[UesugiKenshin]

The bridge officers of starship crews were the future heroes of humanity and being just and honest and kind to new species, not just to benefit strangers but to improve their own character.

Star Trek bridge officers were a kind of grand Peace Corps.

BotE does this in a quiet way through:
1. Terraforming other minor alien races planets
2. Completing members infrastructure especially their minor alien race's goal buildings.
3. Fostering a supportive relationship even when it might be easier to crush minor alien species.

That is how to gain so many members for your empire...by waging peace.

The whole point of major alien races is to be your nemesis and the whole point of minor alien race fleets is the same. That makes war a very tiny aspect.

[UesugiKenshin]

If you have ever used cheats in a game, realize that those cheats actually had useful purposes for beta testing, and that is generally why they exist.

But when players discover them by looking through the hex addresses, then play using them, they generally ruin any excitement. Human beings are wired to expect failure and the rare success then pleases them. If they win all the time, it rings false as they know real life is not that way.

In any 4X game, after enormous struggle, then typically through research and manipulating the economy, coupled with tactics and strategy, the best players consistently win because they put the time in and are rewarded for it.

You mod to facilitate that, not to make the game easier. You minimize micromanagement as that bores players, but it'sbalanced as the AI is also helped and so both the human player and the AI players can engage in war more often. In other words, more struggle happens and with some rewards. And this modding increases the frequency of war, not alters the outcome in the human's favor.

[UesugiKenshin]

If BotE had roleplay and missions, then you would mod so they happen more frequently.

If BotE had rts elements, then those players like to outsmart the AI using tactics. So you mod more tactics and mod so they can be applied more often.

In no case, make it easier, as that won't make players any happier.

If both the AI and the player have equally better infrastructure and better income, then more wars happen. There is a method to the madness of modding.