[MOD] Foundation of Conquest and War V. 7.2

[BlackRain]

Hi,

Is it at all possible to influence the "non-proper" Factions such as SCA and BUC? These factions of course DON'T legitimately build ships, but they're spawned in as needed.

I don't understand by what rules these spawning Factions are governed, but they can sometimes go more than a little nuts, spawning excessive numbers of ships in a short period of time.

Also, could they become "proper" factions? I.e. they'd build (at their own Shipyards and Wharfs) or buy their stuff so they're actually part of the wider economy.

I'm personally not a fan of how SCA and BUC are implemented, with their ability to magically spawn in ships seemingly wherever they like. They can totally by pass blockades gates, spawning deep inside dead-end systems. I *think* they're more likely to spawn in if they have stations in the sector - I seem to observe a reduction in spawns if all stations are removed - but I'm not 100% sure on that, just what I've observed.

I also note in v6.0 - something that I've never had previously - that SCA will build stations in player-owned sectors.

Regardless, it'd be really interesting to understand how these "special" factions operate.

Of course the factions can be changed. Mostly anything can be done with proper scripting/editing of scripts. It would not be difficult to change the factions just a bit time consuming. I will cook up something in the near future maybe.

[Scoob]

Of course the factions can be changed. Mostly anything can be done with proper scripting/editing of scripts. It would not be difficult to change the factions just a bit time consuming. I will cook up something in the near future maybe.

Cool. I did wonder whether their "special" status meant they'd be outside the scope of something like this mod would be able to control. After all, other factions have to build to meet the revised fleet levels, where'as SCA and BUC might achieve that by simply spawning them in, like they do all other ships. It's that distinction that made me wonder how this might work, based on what you've done so far.

Making SCA and BUC proper factions - I understand that this might impact certain missions - would be dead cool.

[BlackRain]

Of course the factions can be changed. Mostly anything can be done with proper scripting/editing of scripts. It would not be difficult to change the factions just a bit time consuming. I will cook up something in the near future maybe.

Cool. I did wonder whether their "special" status meant they'd be outside the scope of something like this mod would be able to control. After all, other factions have to build to meet the revised fleet levels, where'as SCA and BUC might achieve that by simply spawning them in, like they do all other ships. It's that distinction that made me wonder how this might work, based on what you've done so far.

Making SCA and BUC proper factions - I understand that this might impact certain missions - would be dead cool.

Well, you could just have them build a shipyard and then choose where they might be able to "build" their ships. You could say that BUC ships get built at paranid shipyard/wharf and their own. SCA could be teladi and their own or something. Well it would need to be a faction that isn't too hostile to them. I could also make it Hatikvah. Does vanilla give hatikvah a shipyard? I can't remember if it was in vanilla or I added it in this mod.

[Scoob]

Well, you could just have them build a shipyard and then choose where they might be able to "build" their ships. You could say that BUC ships get built at paranid shipyard/wharf and their own. SCA could be teladi and their own or something. Well it would need to be a faction that isn't too hostile to them. I could also make it Hatikvah. Does vanilla give hatikvah a shipyard? I can't remember if it was in vanilla or I added it in this mod.

I think TEL would likely sell to anyone according to the in-game Lore, so they'd likely happily sell to both SCA and BUC, though they feel a more appropriate match for TEL. SCA having their own Shipyard and Wharf in a distant sector would be cool too, would just need to ensure they're not at too great a risk from Xenon, as they're a small faction of course. One of the Silent Witness or Nopeleo's Fortune sectors might work well. Regarding ship selection, a varied mix of ships seems appropriate to simulate them perhaps having stolen them, or at least nabbed the blueprints. They also have certain ships unique to them, but I think that might be linked to VRO, namely the Hound Destroyer.

As for BUC, I don't know too much about their alliances, but I understand they're loosely aligned with one of the Paranid factions. However, they do have some unique ships - well, I've only seen the Prometheus used by them - and they also like to modify their ships I've noticed. Could they rate their own Wharf somewhere, but perhaps not their own Shipyard? I've not personally seen a Hatikvak Shipyard, it's not a mission-related construct is it?

I understand there are mission chains later where one can change things with SCA and BUC, but I've never actually done them so don't know the details. I don't know how changes here might impact things.

When talking about compatibility with other mods, such as VRO and the various ship mods, if SCA and BUC can currently just spawn in a vessel, how does that translate to them being able to build it if they do have their own shipyard? A bit out of scope for this mod, but just wondering as it'd be a shame to loose some of the unique ships SCA currently has access to via other mods.

[BlackRain]

I gave Hatikvah a shipyard and Wharf, maybe in FOCW or FOCW Corporations. I can’t remember.

It is not difficult to remove all spawned ships if there are ships spawning. I don’t remember if BUC ships or SCA ships are spawned or not. They may not be, but it could easily be changed. If they have their own shipyards, they will build whatever ships they have a license for as set up in the game files and you can add whatever. I mean if VRO set up a ship for a faction, it should be able to build it at their own shipyard. Ordering ships from another shipyard might be different but you just need to give other factions the license. None of that is complicated. I wouldn’t want to make BUC or SCA a faction like the others though. Also, there is a plot line where you build a shipyard for BUC and then they do their thing.

[Scoob]

I use both FOCW and Corporations, never seen a HAT Shipyard nor Wharf, where is it usually located?

Both BUC and SCA ships just spawn currently, I hadn't noticed it with BUC until my last v5.10 game where they went totally nuts, spawning every few minutes and certainly not arriving via the System's single gate.

It's these two Faction's ability to just appear anywhere they want - if usually out of scanner range - and approach from any direction that gets me. Add to that when they're disguised too, it can make fending them off difficult.

In my current game, BUC have very little presence and I rarely see their ships, plus, they've not hassled me even once. SCA on the other hand are starting to pop up all over the place, often multiple capital ships at once, which adds to the challenge. Them having their own Wharf and Shipyard off the regular shipping lanes - and a decent distance from the system centre - would be perfect.

[MiFoludek]

many military jobs have following entry:

<location class="galaxy" macro="xu_ep2_universe_macro" faction="xenon" relation="self" comparison="exact"/>

but only one have:

<location class="galaxy" macro="xu_ep2_universe_macro" faction="xenon" relation="member" comparison="not"/>

so I should expect this mod is adding many defence jobs and almost no additional for invasion?

BR

[BlackRain]

many military jobs have following entry:

<location class="galaxy" macro="xu_ep2_universe_macro" faction="xenon" relation="self" comparison="exact"/>

but only one have:

<location class="galaxy" macro="xu_ep2_universe_macro" faction="xenon" relation="member" comparison="not"/>

so I should expect this mod is adding many defence jobs and almost no additional for invasion?

BR

Most of the ships can be used for invasions. That has nothing to do with whether they are used for invasions or not. Factionlogic controls if they are used for invasions, etc. Only some ships are defense only.

[BlackRain]

I use both FOCW and Corporations, never seen a HAT Shipyard nor Wharf, where is it usually located?

Both BUC and SCA ships just spawn currently, I hadn't noticed it with BUC until my last v5.10 game where they went totally nuts, spawning every few minutes and certainly not arriving via the System's single gate.

It's these two Faction's ability to just appear anywhere they want - if usually out of scanner range - and approach from any direction that gets me. Add to that when they're disguised too, it can make fending them off difficult.

In my current game, BUC have very little presence and I rarely see their ships, plus, they've not hassled me even once. SCA on the other hand are starting to pop up all over the place, often multiple capital ships at once, which adds to the challenge. Them having their own Wharf and Shipyard off the regular shipping lanes - and a decent distance from the system centre - would be perfect.

In my game, Hatikvah built a shipyard in unclaimed sectors. So it is possible for them to build in Hatikvah or any unclaimed sector. Of course, they also took over the sector once it was built, or maybe it is a change I just made for myself lol

[Scoob]

In my game, Hatikvah built a shipyard in unclaimed sectors. So it is possible for them to build in Hatikvah or any unclaimed sector. Of course, they also took over the sector once it was built, or maybe it is a change I just made for myself lol

I think you might have forgotten to make that public, unless it's a relatively recent un-versioned update? I'm using version 7.1 of this mod currently. It's nice to share, just saying

[MiFoludek]

many military jobs have following entry:

<location class="galaxy" macro="xu_ep2_universe_macro" faction="xenon" relation="self" comparison="exact"/>

but only one have:

<location class="galaxy" macro="xu_ep2_universe_macro" faction="xenon" relation="member" comparison="not"/>

so I should expect this mod is adding many defence jobs and almost no additional for invasion?

BR

Most of the ships can be used for invasions. That has nothing to do with whether they are used for invasions or not. Factionlogic controls if they are used for invasions, etc. Only some ships are defense only.

Is there easy way to force shuch ship to be send for invasion? I change xeon military triggers to 1min and limits to 50 jobs. After some time many of ships are just patroling xeon own sector.

[BlackRain]

many military jobs have following entry:

<location class="galaxy" macro="xu_ep2_universe_macro" faction="xenon" relation="self" comparison="exact"/>

but only one have:

<location class="galaxy" macro="xu_ep2_universe_macro" faction="xenon" relation="member" comparison="not"/>

so I should expect this mod is adding many defence jobs and almost no additional for invasion?

BR

Most of the ships can be used for invasions. That has nothing to do with whether they are used for invasions or not. Factionlogic controls if they are used for invasions, etc. Only some ships are defense only.

Is there easy way to force shuch ship to be send for invasion? I change xeon military triggers to 1min and limits to 50 jobs. After some time many of ships are just patroling xeon own sector.

They absolutely will invade, it is just a matter of time. How much time is your game? Actually, the Xenon are not very active until around the 20 hour or more mark I think. I usually notice they become active around or after that time. Then you should see many invasions.

[MiFoludek]

Most of the ships can be used for invasions. That has nothing to do with whether they are used for invasions or not. Factionlogic controls if they are used for invasions, etc. Only some ships are defense only.

Is there easy way to force shuch ship to be send for invasion? I change xeon military triggers to 1min and limits to 50 jobs. After some time many of ships are just patroling xeon own sector.

They absolutely will invade, it is just a matter of time. How much time is your game? Actually, the Xenon are not very active until around the 20 hour or more mark I think. I usually notice they become active around or after that time. Then you should see many invasions.

Is was about 10 days of game time (It was on my last game with pre 6.0 version) -> xenon occupied most of the galaxy (only 5 sectors was under non-xenon control). Xenons owns few thousands of fighters and few hundrets of xl ships (some mod statistics). I am just feeling that with such overwhelming fleet Xenon should wipe out the rest of galaxy in no time.

[user1679]

Most of the ships can be used for invasions. That has nothing to do with whether they are used for invasions or not. Factionlogic controls if they are used for invasions, etc. Only some ships are defense only.

Is there easy way to force shuch ship to be send for invasion? I change xeon military triggers to 1min and limits to 50 jobs. After some time many of ships are just patroling xeon own sector.

They absolutely will invade, it is just a matter of time. How much time is your game? Actually, the Xenon are not very active until around the 20 hour or more mark I think. I usually notice they become active around or after that time. Then you should see many invasions.

I think it's a little less than that if you set the options to "1" or "2" for the Xenon. I have mine set at "1" and in a game that's only 2 hours old, I've seen a few Xenon scouts and miners but they get obliterated quickly by the Arg and Ant fighters. I haven't "discovered" Ianamus Zura IV yet in this playthrough but usually by the time I make it over that way to get my Teladi promotion (around 5 to 10 hours game time), there's already a small invaision from Matrix #451 because of the jump gate into IA.

[BlackRain]

Is there easy way to force shuch ship to be send for invasion? I change xeon military triggers to 1min and limits to 50 jobs. After some time many of ships are just patroling xeon own sector.

They absolutely will invade, it is just a matter of time. How much time is your game? Actually, the Xenon are not very active until around the 20 hour or more mark I think. I usually notice they become active around or after that time. Then you should see many invasions.

Is was about 10 days of game time (It was on my last game with pre 6.0 version) -> xenon occupied most of the galaxy (only 5 sectors was under non-xenon control). Xenons owns few thousands of fighters and few hundrets of xl ships (some mod statistics). I am just feeling that with such overwhelming fleet Xenon should wipe out the rest of galaxy in no time.

You say only 5 sectors was not under Xenon control then it seems the Xenon were doing what is expected so I don't understand the issue? I mean, it may be that the Xenon just don't take over those 5 last sectors for some reason. Could be sectors set to not be taken over by ai factions or perhaps they already control too many or something. It all depends on what exactly is coded in the factionlogic scripts.

[temetvince]

Code: Select all

<!-- Turn on additional Ministry Defense fleets? 0 for No, 1 for light, 2 for medium, 3 for heavy --> 
<set_value name="$activatemincap" exact="2" />

There may be a bug with the above code, but I'm new to modding x4.
exact="1" corresponds to job "ministry_destroyer_flotilla"
exact="2" corresponds to job "ministry_destroyer_flotilla1"
exact="3" corresponds to job "ministry_destroyer_flotilla2"

However, in jobs.xml, there exists:
ministry_destroyer_flotilla
ministry_destroyer_flotilla2
ministry_destroyer_flotilla3

Also,

Code: Select all

<!-- Turn on additional Court Destroyers? 0 for No, 1 for Yes -->
<set_value name="$activatecourtmore" exact="1" />

exact="1" corresponds to job "court_destroyer_more" but that doesn't exist in jobs.xml.

In addition,

Code: Select all

<!-- Turn on additional Court Carriers? 0 for No, 1 for Yes -->
<set_value name="$activatecourtcar" exact="1" />

$activatecourtcar is never referenced in focwsetup.xml

Finally, I noticed you never implemented the code for all the resuppliers in jobs.xml:

Code: Select all

<subordinate job="[FACTION]_resupplier_escort_xl"/>

Is that something to look forward to in the future?

I ran out of time, so I didn't look at everything!

[BlackRain]

Code: Select all

<!-- Turn on additional Ministry Defense fleets? 0 for No, 1 for light, 2 for medium, 3 for heavy --> 
<set_value name="$activatemincap" exact="2" />

There may be a bug with the above code, but I'm new to modding x4.
exact="1" corresponds to job "ministry_destroyer_flotilla"
exact="2" corresponds to job "ministry_destroyer_flotilla1"
exact="3" corresponds to job "ministry_destroyer_flotilla2"

However, in jobs.xml, there exists:
ministry_destroyer_flotilla
ministry_destroyer_flotilla2
ministry_destroyer_flotilla3

Also,

Code: Select all

<!-- Turn on additional Court Destroyers? 0 for No, 1 for Yes -->
<set_value name="$activatecourtmore" exact="1" />

exact="1" corresponds to job "court_destroyer_more" but that doesn't exist in jobs.xml.

In addition,

Code: Select all

<!-- Turn on additional Court Carriers? 0 for No, 1 for Yes -->
<set_value name="$activatecourtcar" exact="1" />

$activatecourtcar is never referenced in focwsetup.xml

Finally, I noticed you never implemented the code for all the resuppliers in jobs.xml:

Code: Select all

<subordinate job="[FACTION]_resupplier_escort_xl"/>

Is that something to look forward to in the future?

I ran out of time, so I didn't look at everything!

Some minor mistakes here that I made, but some things I just didn't actually add, probably forgot about them.

The resupplier is getting the ship from the vanilla jobs.xml so that is why.

Anyway, I just updated with some minor fixes here and there, nothing major but need to set up config again.

FOCW Version 7.2
- Minor fixes in code

[MiFoludek]

They absolutely will invade, it is just a matter of time. How much time is your game? Actually, the Xenon are not very active until around the 20 hour or more mark I think. I usually notice they become active around or after that time. Then you should see many invasions.

Is was about 10 days of game time (It was on my last game with pre 6.0 version) -> xenon occupied most of the galaxy (only 5 sectors was under non-xenon control). Xenons owns few thousands of fighters and few hundrets of xl ships (some mod statistics). I am just feeling that with such overwhelming fleet Xenon should wipe out the rest of galaxy in no time.

You say only 5 sectors was not under Xenon control then it seems the Xenon were doing what is expected so I don't understand the issue? I mean, it may be that the Xenon just don't take over those 5 last sectors for some reason. Could be sectors set to not be taken over by ai factions or perhaps they already control too many or something. It all depends on what exactly is coded in the factionlogic scripts.

The issue is the progression speed. Xenon send very small amount of available ships for invasion. These 5 last free sectors are invaded only with 2-3 xl + bunch of s/m-ships at the same time which are destroyed by my few ships. There is no visible progression for the last 3 gaming days. It is still the same pattern over and over. So is there a way to force Xenon to use more than 1% of available ships?

[BlackRain]

Is was about 10 days of game time (It was on my last game with pre 6.0 version) -> xenon occupied most of the galaxy (only 5 sectors was under non-xenon control). Xenons owns few thousands of fighters and few hundrets of xl ships (some mod statistics). I am just feeling that with such overwhelming fleet Xenon should wipe out the rest of galaxy in no time.

You say only 5 sectors was not under Xenon control then it seems the Xenon were doing what is expected so I don't understand the issue? I mean, it may be that the Xenon just don't take over those 5 last sectors for some reason. Could be sectors set to not be taken over by ai factions or perhaps they already control too many or something. It all depends on what exactly is coded in the factionlogic scripts.

The issue is the progression speed. Xenon send very small amount of available ships for invasion. These 5 last free sectors are invaded only with 2-3 xl + bunch of s/m-ships at the same time which are destroyed by my few ships. There is no visible progression for the last 3 gaming days. It is still the same pattern over and over. So is there a way to force Xenon to use more than 1% of available ships?

Normally, xenon will send large invasion fleets, several destroyers and dozens of fighters. This depends though on the factionlogic, etc. If the Xenon is too spread out, they most likely won't expand anymore. It is hard to say what is going on in your game, however, it is related to the Factionlogic. You would have to change the code in the factionlogic. If you know how to code, you can make the game do anything basically. Just having ships go there won't necessarily kick in the invasion/conquest part of factionlogic. I can make ships which just travel to enemy sectors/stations, etc. but that doesn't mean they will conquer the sector.

[Scoob]

Thanks for the update. Hoping to get time to play soon!