Zyxpsilon

Reply to About the custom planets... in Modding GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]Maybe it was because you (if) didn't add the new tags to the others, saying 'HabitableByAll'? Random guess.[/quote] Gee, gotta try this too, since i also couldn't place a second "extreme" in my custom system(s) while guessing it might have been caused by a code-built [I]normal[/I] function. Thanks for the info! Tactical wise, it is certainly a tricky situation where some indirect (mostly for Toxics or HeavyGrav, since Super-Adapters get two of the other types by default)

Reply to Updated tutorials for Dark Avatar? in Modding GalCiv2 Forums

I second that, wholeheartedly! Please, cariElf or someone else "interested" by the challenge at SD... find the time it would take & update the modding guide to DA features (and TA, sooner or later!). There's always the Forum scanning tricks to find a few details about specific issues (which i HAD to do extensively while designing the X-Worlds mod, btw - just imagine now how much else i will have to do for the other CoSH!) but there's abolutely nothing better than having a complete "

Reply to Stars on Immense Maps in Beta Reports GalCiv2 Forums

I would agree that the upcoming map editor in TA might be an indirect solution to the "default settings/options" oxymoron. But, i think, Seth Gaines may have had a valid argument against Tight/Loose/Scattered [I]Limitations[/I] for a few reasons; - No matter how much randomized a map gets created, there is always the probability a weird setup could make the game "almost unplayable" to some and funny (or challenging) enough to others. As it was pointed out on many posts above. Key is

Reply to About the custom planets... in Modding GalCiv2 Forums

Gosh, you're absolutely right. I'll just create whatever looks best, apply all to a "formal/standard-like" map size (probably medium or large) while calibrating the rings to be what i feel should be okay and be done with it. Rather than bothering too much with precision or overwhelming [U]perfection[/U]. Must be my left-brain edgy mood swings acting up again. ;) Still, it has got soooo strange yesterday afternoon that it really pushed me all hyped-up on crywolf behavioral tendencies

Reply to Twilight of the Arnor: BETA 4 and beyond in GalCiv II News GalCiv2 Forums

Talk about good timing. By March end, as usual, i get the Income taxes refund checks from both Federal & Provincial govs overhere. Meaning, i will be able to buy the new Video-card (possibly a nVidia/GeForce 7600GT or GS (AGP8X & 512mb... old mobo compatible, don't ask!) or somethin') along WITH the finalized TA expansion, solid and hard-tested. Great news for beta-testers also since the extra time would be used quite efficiently while providing superb stability to the overall package.

Reply to About the custom planets... in Modding GalCiv2 Forums

Another thingy please, Kryo? I'm somehow stuck in mud about the rings "proportional data & values". The cariElf (old Guide) hints on a couple of data standards, but i have yet to entirely understand the process itself, somehow. Quoting her straight from the related section... [quote]If a moon texture is specified, a moon will be created for the planet. If a rings texture is specified, it will create rings. For display reasons, you can't have both rings and moons

Reply to What's your favorite Star Trek episode? (any series) in Off-Topic GalCiv2 Forums

Alright, i can say i've been a huge fan of those series as a whole. So in no particular order and by using a swifty scan of some darn good memories... all i can come up with are these; Top of the list... 1) TOS: The Devil in the Dark (Hortas!) 2) TNG: Remember me. (Don't mind kiddy Wesley, it's just the bubble concept that is truly amazing.) 3) DS9: ShadowPlay (Intriguing, but quite a ride) 4) VOY: Dragon's Tooth (Absolutely great FX) 5) ENT: Never had a chance to se

Reply to How to conquer a Toxic World in Dark Avatar GalCiv2 Forums

Hilarious situation if there is ever one! Confusing stock-made ships can be fun at times but consider this, also; - In a swooping type of mood for fleet upgrades, i once started to create a whole armada of brand spanking new Hyperwarp-driven specialty ships. Only to screw a category enough so that it showed up as a [I]pseudo-cargo[/I] when it really was a simple survey thingy, but much faster. So there i was, looking AT my top-notch [B]cargo[/B] for a few months waiting for som

Reply to Absolutely SICK of These CONSTANT Out of Memory Errors! in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]Also, I've read about open-source replacement for windows memory manager a while ago. Can't seem to find the link anywhere...[/quote] ***[B][U]![/U][/B]*** - Zyxpsilon.

Reply to The Ultimate Sci-Fi Mod - Happy New Years! in Modding GalCiv2 Forums

Believe me, i WILL wait for any 3rd/party tools or utilities to ease the process of modding HUGE packages and using different methods. The type of things cariElf did with DL... but maintained and regularly updated with DA/TA features is some important stuff which would certainly help a lot of modders-to-be while providing a quick primer on the essentials for anyone else. Take the X-Worlds' Bonus folder into which i inserted the very first reference sheet of data. I NEEDED that to pr

Reply to The Ultimate Sci-Fi Mod - Happy New Years! in Modding GalCiv2 Forums

OMG... you can actually better your mods beyond whatever i could do all by my lonely self!! Which is to say that a "combo" package is really an excellent idea. I'd be much interested into the manual (or mod-guide)... even if it were just as a stand-alone download. Since any sort of [I]primer[/I] on modding tricks is rare enough, even here. - Zyxpsilon.

Reply to Ten New Years Resolutions for the Game Industry in GalCiv II News GalCiv2 Forums

[quote] Don't forget that not everyone has brand-new hardware. Make sure your games will work on the hardware that people have today.[/quote] ... or ever so slightly later! Gotta be an amazing magician to predict these issues. :) Try keeping pace with HW manufacturing/engineering corporations and i'll give you a number of warehouses full of junk which really isn't (or, wasn't for awhile). Upgrading a PC is an issue, true. But when it comes to a gaming dedicated gear,

Reply to Wish list in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

[quote] 1) New race that has psionic powers laid out using the new ToA format. 2)'port gates. This is a type of starbase that allows a fleet to teleport from entrance to exit. Entrances and exits are set up like rally points. This speeds up gameplay on larger maps and adds a little more strategy. [/quote] 1) X-Worlds could certainly use that feature as is since X-Com has a whole branch of research dedicated to many Psionic effects... weapons, abilit

Reply to Why is X race your favorite? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

And, for the remaining 15%? Korath Clan!! ;) - Zyxpsilon.

Reply to Why is X race your favorite? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I am an [U]Influence[/U] go-getter... i attack, develop, design, build with that context in mind for well over 85% of the games i either start as defaults or even as a custom race. I rarely go for anything else, unless some mega-events enforces me into a different strategy. I also use tactical steps (claiming to be good enough at times), progressive local assets (sticking at the Trek's prime-directive/like non-interference theory as long as possible), full blast research edges (maximums, fas

Reply to Absolutely SICK of These CONSTANT Out of Memory Errors! in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]Oh please. i didn't mention it because i knew some friggen idiot, such as the morons who attempted to flame above clearly show, would jump on the fact that i am running Windows on the Mac as THE problem...[/quote] Kay. I'll grant you this one. After all i truly AM one of these Morons for trying to help out a complete stranger who was actually ranting about OOM on a costly Mac with an alternate OS. But lemme insist on some personal history here; I've coded stuff since 1982 (th

Reply to Modding the Tile Surfaces in Modding GalCiv2 Forums

There's an indirect way to do just that, but it involves making a brand new compatible raw file & fiddling with values in both the "TerrainColorSchemes.xml" (Threshold ranges, RGB tags, etc) and its sister file "PlanetDescriptions.xml" (Elevation, Potential, ClassRange, etc). All you'd need is a [B]lot[/B] of patience and full understanding of the 256 greys available (into the raw image) while editing most pixels to represent corresponding features declared in some new [U]surface types[

Reply to heres another screenshot of my stargate shippack in Modding GalCiv2 Forums

Fox, i'm not giving you a negative-like critic here with the following suggestion... Try sticking all of your preview pics in a SINGLE thread rather than spreading them all over the place!! ;) It would make your promoting stage a little more focused and easier to find by those interested. Not that i'm a moderator on these forums either, but i'm a [I]structured[/I] person which prefers order to chaos. :) - Zyxpsilon.

Reply to Wish list in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]I would rather get a list of tiles, used and not, where I can modify them without having to look at the planets surface...[/quote] Yep, but [B]THAT[/B] can also be achieved [U]along with[/U] a new "planetary layouts framework" as i suggested. Macro-managing may become an issue, long term... but i know of a few other games which do these kind of things quite right while maintaining gameplay at reasonably tight activity levels without interfering too much with more [I]important[/I]

Reply to Absolutely SICK of These CONSTANT Out of Memory Errors! in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

Lemme stress on rls669's comment if you don't mind. Emulated OS'es (include even Linux, in that category would you!) can get a little tricky as they aren't really stock compatible with numerous different programs or even, variable conditions related to the actual machine(s) "setup". What you have is a workaround Mac which pretends to be fully MS ready using a [I]bootcamp[/I] alternative environment... you must cope (somehow) with such situations cuz it IS highly probable these

Reply to Jagged Knife Double Whammy in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I find the Jagged Knife sooooooo much of a [U]mood braker[/U] that i often wished the randomized call had never occured but i would certainly agree with you on one thing; It [B]DOES[/B] create an extremely interesting situation where true hard-core players can have at it as they much want or need to!! ;) This is the type of stuff which falls straight into simulation features instead of "real" strategy patterns... mind you, numerous events could tilt a couple of things in favor of specif

Reply to Why is Approval on your Home planet so hard to maintain? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Here's one trick i've used at times to maintain relatively "high" morale on my Homeworlds. Loading up an armada of Advanced-Transports to the rim which, indirectly, puts some population in idle mode. Those can rapidly level down a 17+ to a more manageable 12 or even less! ;) Sometimes i also transfer lots of population in [I]freshly[/I] founded or conquered planets... the above armada, then, becomes a welcomed asset since the parked [U]growth[/U] only takes a few turns of trave

Reply to Wish list in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Wow, i can think of many things i'd wish for... but what immediately comes to mind is the following "list"; - Systems with variable NUMBERS of planets; breaking down the limit of five would mean tighter territories and tougher networks to invade. We may be one of the lucky few in the Universe with our biggy Nines (plus their Satellites and Asteroids in the thousands!) and its precious 4 tiny Rockies near the sun... but i doubt the MilkyWay doesn't have multiple examples of 10+ quality (

Reply to May i have a race eval please? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

What matters most in any choices you'd make is that these need to be "relevant" to whatever context(s) you plan to tackle... 1) In one game, you may wish to go for a quick influence victory which requires a relatively [I]different[/I] schema of abilities for your custom race. 2) In another, Total Conquest needs a whole set of some or all [I]military[/I] edges. 3) Variables conditions selected at the initialization step can also tilt a number of values towards some AIs; slowing r

Reply to Meet Your New DA Custom Adversaries Here in Dark Avatar GalCiv2 Forums

[quote]Anyway, the game is WAY more fun playing with a beefed up race going up against beefed up races. I'm still experimenting with my opponents as I haven't gotten the balance down just yet, but it's been fun working at it...[/quote] Gosh, have i got your poison!! The whole design of [B]*X-Worlds*[/B] MOD is in fact [U]entirely[/U] based on the above premise. What was (and still is, btw) hard to find is the "balance ratio" against a number of variable situations people would