[Modding] Feature requests

from GalCiv3 Forums

Some feature requests for modding.


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Improvements should also be able to give "flat" bonus (raw production) in addition to the percentage bonus (Manufacturing, Research, Wealth, Approval, etc.).

Ex:
Factory X: +10 Manufacturing points, +10% Planet Manufacturing.

The same for:

Planet Bonus (ex: Wobble, +10 Wealth points and +50% Wealth, +10 Research points and +25% Planet Research).
Planet bonus from "colonization events" (ex: +20 Research points and +50% Planet Research).
Tile Bonus (ex: Mountainous, +5 Wealth points and +25% Wealth).

And also for:

Race Traits Bonus, Starbase Bonus, Tech Bonus, Events Bonus, etc.

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The goal is to remove the adjacency bonus system, to replace it by a system based on the number of same type of buildings built.
I think it's already possible to remove the adjacent bonuses for the improvements and the planet tiles with the xml files. If this is not the case, ensure that this is possible.

Ex:
For 1 Factory built, it gives +10 Manufacturing points and +10% Planet Manufacturing.
For 3 Factories built, it gives +30 Manufacturing points and +30% Planet Manufacturing.

So there is no need (and no gain) to build the improvements with adjacency, and the bonus tiles only give bonus on the primary tile.

Adjacency system can be fun with less than 10 planets, but it becomes time consuming, boring, and micromanagement hell with more planets.
Also, it "forces" to build a certain type of improvement on a tile (why not), and it "forces" to build a certain type of improvement on the adjacent tiles (it's too much), else all the bonuses are wasted.


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Add the possibility to have conditions to be able to build improvements depending the planet type and the race.

Ex:
This Automatic Factory can only be build on Radioactive World.
This Factory can only be build by Altarian race.


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Add the possibility (with the xml files) to auto upgrade instantly all Starbases with the unlocked modules, when a technology that gives modules is researched, instead of having to build lots of constructors to upgrade them.

Manage hundreds of constructors is not what I call "have fun", dying should be more fun. ;-)
This increases the game time unnecessarily with "mechanical tasks" instead of "reflexion tasks" more revelant for a strategy game.


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Add several settings, somewhere in a xml file, to remove the "only 1 per turn" penalties, for the research of Technologies, the building of Improvements, the building of Ships.

Why generate lot of Manufacturing/Research points, and be restricted to "only 1 per turn".

Ex:
When your sponsored Shipyard by 2 (or more) planets, can potentially build more than 1 ship per turn, it's better to build another Shipyard with all the consequences that entails, a spiral of micromanagement, time consuming, boring, not fun, "mechanical tasks".

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4,181 views 7 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

except for our bit at the end, I think all of that is (semi)-trivially moddable right now. Even the stuff  not technically moddable can probably be done by doing things like setting the number of required modules to upgrade a starbase component in to 0. this guide should have more than enough to get you started enough to ask more specific questions than asking for a list of almost entirely  already moddable stuff to be made moddable.

Reply #2 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I seriously doubt we'll ever get the ability to make more than one improvement/ship per turn, if only for game balance and multiplayer concerns (I bring up multiplayer because the current system of rushing instead of getting an improvment immediately is directly tied to multiplayer according to a prior devstream I saw).  

While we could research multiple techs in prior GalCivs, I am very certain that we couldn't build more than one ship or improvement using just raw production.  It's just too game breaking to be able to spam out 10 ships or 5 improvement tiles every turn.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

@Tetrasodium

I am asking for a robust and fully functional system. Anyways, thanks for the link. ;-)

@BuckGodot

It would be for modding, so, nobody will be forced to use it. ;-)

Reply #4 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting Unknown_Hero, reply 3

@Tetrasodium

I am asking for a robust and fully functional system. Anyways, thanks for the link. ;)

End of Unknown_Hero's quote

do you have any experience coding in any language?  if  the answer is "no", then the xml files might look deceptively complicated, but they are something that is trivial  for anyone to modify, more on them below:

  • You don't need any special tools to edit them, notepad, notepad++, textedit & more can edit the  xml files & you have one installed by default by every major OS ships with one by default (even most, if not all, linux distros made for headless console/ssh management)... hell, even my phone could edit the xml files if I wanted to.
  • The xml files in GalcivII  were "robust & fully* functional"
    • * some of the galcivII things (i.e. starbases) used purpose specific variables that couldn't be copied to other stuff (or other stuff to them), but those were pretty much limited to starbases iirc.  Given the date, it was a revolutionary inclusion that stood alone for a long time.  With that said, GalCivIII's XMl files clear up all of those as far as I've been able to see plus certain things are redone in a way that  on a feature list would read like a grab bag of "MommyDaddyPleasePleasePlease" requests from modders (I compared the changes to the one I included with my galcivII mod & couldn''t help wanting to do a dance of glee at the time:)
  • reducing the xml files to some kind of visual dropdown/checkbox /radiobutton menu system would be A: a fantastically complicated waste of time B: a massive step back in allowed functionality.
  • I linked to that thread specifically because I've been updating its second post with links to good threads about specific modding related discussions I felt could be useful to someone wanting to mod.  The fact that I've done a good bit of quick & dirty modding in beta for various reasons leaving me with this as the most significant GalcivIV mod capability request I can think of says a heck of a lot
Reply #5 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Yes, Xml files and Notepad++ are largely sufficient (and powerful) for modding.

If I'm not mistaken, GalCiv3 life cycle is provided for at least 7 years (Expansions and DLCs). Give it, at least, another 3 more years just for it to "live" and you arrive to 10 years (at this time, it will be at least Windows 15).
So, GalCiv4 in 2027? :grin:

Hey, we have time. ;-)

Reply #6 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

So, GalCiv4 in 2027? :grin:

End of quote

by then i expect that creating a 3d map would be easy

Reply #7 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

@androshalforc

At this date your "screen" will be 3D... ...all around you... ...and you will do all the stuff mentally... ...no more clicks... ...no more selections... ...pure strategy! :sun: