Pre Warp Mod

A while ago I asked about how to remove tech and starting ships to allow for a true prewarp game, as was possible in moo3. Since then I've looked into the xml's and so far managed to do what I had originally intended, though now I find other things that need changing to fit.

So far Here's what it does:

1.Removes all free techs from civilizations forcing even the hyperdrive to be discovered.

2.Removes all predesigned ships with the exceptions of the survey and colony ships you start with. (it was impossible to kill these without crashing at the start, so instead I've stripped them of everything, they still can move at 1 per turn and the AI still tries to use them as their name but nothing more, I may design a component for the colony that can colonize but cost something dafe like 3 millon so it will aloow the class 4 planet to be done but then never be able to be built, as the tech for normal modules obsoletes it.)

With these done, it still seemed a little too fast for a game to progress even with the very slow tech setting. So I will be ajusting other things also. Next on the list is to be the both moving and reecosting/resizing of colony modules and survey modules. They are going to be VERY expensive and large, I see enough sci-fi to be baffled how easy it is to populate the galaxy in GC2, when it's meant to be a major undertaking.
Second to do it a change of the way drives are handled, I will make them also much larger, probable 2-3 times the size and cost. The idea being you cannot then just have 3 shipyard planets to build 20,000 star destroyers with 16 drives each, zip accross the galaxy and rain death on a homeworld. I want to make it so your larger craft are now much more time consuming and therefore too valuble to risk, thus giving an element of strategy to warfare. (by making espionage useful again, I felt it was never any good if you had a fast big fleet who cares what they are doing.)

Other things, include shifting the techs required for colony/survey modules to be more advanced. Things like advanced lifesupport and a certain size of engine needed to viably shift all those folk in time before they die. Also I'm looking into the possiblility of moe planet improvement, the big part being planet creation by means of regenisis. It's cheesy but think star trek, this would work something like a device that is used like a constructor but instead it gives a 0 PQ a bonus to maybe a 2, which can then be increased with ever more very expensive methods.



At this point all that has been completed is the removal of free techs, and the removal of predesigns and stripping of the free survey and colony ships. Though if anyone knows what files sets the starting ships you get I'd be very grateful to know about it?




Check here for how it was to start https://forums.galciv2.com/?aid=124537


5,785 views 8 replies
Reply #1 Top
Intersting mod idea. Could be possible to make it so that once a species reaserched the hyperdrive they can be the only that can have and that they have to give to other races like trade goods?
Reply #2 Top
just makes it more expensive for the other races to research becouse now they have to get it right and they have to do it now instead of whenever
Reply #3 Top
Good ideas. But don't scratch all the free techs; they're used for balance as well! For instance, the Iconians are a truly ancient civilzation; they've got above-average technology to start with as a result. But their unmodded abilites are only decent; they rely on their free techs to give them an edge. Remove hyperdrive from all (save, possibly, Humanity, hyperdrive's original engineers) but don't totally annihilate the technology they've got.
Reply #4 Top
liking the idea, and perhaps some pre-hyperdrive techs, also i like the hyperdrive trade good, but whats to stop the human player from just keeping it?
Reply #5 Top
PArt of the reason to it is that I find a major problem with the game mechanics to be following the lore. If humans invented hperdive and gave it to everyone else, then setup a good relationships with at least one other race then why when you start do you get stucjk on earth with no map, no translators, no trade, and no alliances etc etc?? This is fine if your just starting out. But the lore says different.
The issue of racial bonuses however can be resoveled easily enough by adding a few to the races who had more free techs to balance.
Reply #6 Top
I take it as you seem to be doing it yourself, you won't need me for the mod.
Reply #7 Top
No any help that you can offer is still going to be much appreciated. I just saw that you were busy before and so took a look into the xml's to see how it could be done. AT this time though the biggest problem is where it sets up what ships you get to start with? If I could find that, then it would make all the other stuff easy.

Even after stripping all components/drives etc from the flagship and your free colony, they still can move 1 square a turn, and the AI still tries to use them as survey and colony ships. Both things that kinda feck up stuff, as it gives the early expoloration which I'm trying to drastically hamper.
Reply #8 Top
Ok I think I've finally managed to solve the colony shp issue, it became a case of making a new type of colony module that requires much higher techs. The original one you can now think of as an "interplanetary module" It doesn't have the space or facilities for long distance, so to reflect this all I could do is increase its cost massivly so no one will try to build it. Hopefully whith some long testing the AI won't either. My problem now is trying to get the AI to not try to use the free survey ship as a survey ship.