[Mod/Patch] X3-Unleashed [RC2] [Aug-06-2010] - X3 Performance gains up to 38%

[russbo]

There are .cat and .dat files in the main terran conflict directory; these are numbered. Generally the first eight belong to the game, if it is patched (recent patches add cat and dat files).

Mods can be added by renaming them to the next higher number, and putting them into the main directory. So, unleasedmod.cat and unleashedmod.dat should be renamed to 09.cat and 09.dat, and placed in the main game directory, if, the game already has cat and dat files up to number 8. If you want to add another false patch, the next one will be 10.dat and 10.cat.

You have to have a 0 before the digit, if it is a single number; 9.cat will not work; 09.cat will.

Cycrow's plug in manager should be run after you add these false patches, as it creates its own cat and dat files, always listed as the highest number, so if you have 1 through 10 cat and dat files, cycrows plug in installer will create 11.cat and 11.dat. then you can run the game.

[ThisIsHarsh]

There are .cat and .dat files in the main terran conflict directory; these are numbered. Generally the first eight belong to the game, if it is patched (recent patches add cat and dat files).

Mods can be added by renaming them to the next higher number, and putting them into the main directory. So, unleasedmod.cat and unleashedmod.dat should be renamed to 09.cat and 09.dat, and placed in the main game directory, if, the game already has cat and dat files up to number 8. If you want to add another false patch, the next one will be 10.dat and 10.cat.

You have to have a 0 before the digit, if it is a single number; 9.cat will not work; 09.cat will.

Cycrow's plug in manager should be run after you add these false patches, as it creates its own cat and dat files, always listed as the highest number, so if you have 1 through 10 cat and dat files, cycrows plug in installer will create 11.cat and 11.dat. then you can run the game.

OR you could package the mod as a spk file. Name the mod to 01.cat/01.dat, add to spk package. Then the plugin manager will automatically rename when you install.

Sooo many mods and scripts I have to package myself because too few people realise the power of the awesome plugin manager.

[Jaga_Telesin]

Perhaps for the Release Candidate (RC) version I will also add in .spk files for people to use. But for myself during development of four separate packages now (instead of just two), it helps to be able to quickly swap out a cat/dat pair.

[Litcube]

Reporting in,

Playing for a few hours now. I've modified the jobs by removing all Aldrin flights (I've removed plot sectors in my Universe). Home of Light used to run like a pig. Now it's really, really smooth. Anyone can remove and hack at a jobs file (we've been saying it's a source of performance problems for a while), but you've articulated this into something people can *trust*, which is saying a lot. Awesome work.

Made a script that counted ships in the Universe.

[ external image ]

Terran still seems a little heavy, Kh'ak a little light.

If I wanted to see more Pirate patrols, which jobs would you recommend increasing?

[Solomon Short]

OR you could package the mod as a spk file. Name the mod to 01.cat/01.dat, add to spk package. Then the plugin manager will automatically rename when you install.

Sooo many mods and scripts I have to package myself because too few people realise the power of the awesome plugin manager.

Thank you, I wasn't aware of this, I had created all my FakePatch SPKs with FakePatch numbered where I want it.

[Cpt.Shaper]

Thank's for help, russbo and Thisisharsh! I'll follow those instructions.

[Jaga_Telesin]

Reporting in,

Playing for a few hours now. I've modified the jobs by removing all Aldrin flights (I've removed plot sectors in my Universe). Home of Light used to run like a pig. Now it's really, really smooth. Anyone can remove and hack at a jobs file (we've been saying it's a source of performance problems for a while), but you've articulated this into something people can *trust*, which is saying a lot. Awesome work.

Made a script that counted ships in the Universe.

-snip-

Terran still seems a little heavy, Kh'ak a little light.

If I wanted to see more Pirate patrols, which jobs would you recommend increasing?

Thanks for the feedback Litcube, always helpful to get confirmation it is working as designed. Terran is still overpopulated, but that was known (I've seen more than one pileup at their gates), and is on the block for RC1. I'm also bumping up the hireable TLs in the universe a tad - they dropped to 50% of original and are going back to 75%.

Kha'ak could easily be increased in number, though a large part of their existence in vanilla comes through missions. They were the "hostile that got trimmed to 85%", so I'll review your findings and possibly return them to 100%. They were one of the larger original flights that I decided to trim purely based on overall population, but now that I have a firm grasp on flights+wingmen, I can return them to vanilla numbers and not have the mod suffer at all.

It is interesting to note that your script only returned 1 Kha'ak, since there should be quite a few more in the universe than that. Might want to re-check that section of how it works to verify.

As to pirates and pirate patrols, you'll be interested in the following jobs:

• 2011
• 2012
• 2013
• 2014
• 2111
• 2112
• 2113
• 2114
• 2115
• 2116
• 2117
• 2118
• 2119
• 2122
• 2123
• 2501
• 2502
• 2505
• 2506

Increasing any or all will bump up non-Cap Ship Pirate levels. If you want to give them significantly more power, raise their Cap Ship flight numbers (2120 & 2121).

[Litcube]

Thanks, Jaga.

Also, the only thing you should extract from my Kha'ak numbers are that that's the actual number of Kha'ak in the Universe that aren't in the Kha'ak sectors. As I mentioned, I had removed plot sectors.

It might be expected behaviour that without those sectors, there are no Kha'al flights. FYI.

[Litcube]

Reporting in,

I've put some good time into my game now, and have found some dip in production.

There's a medium production plant in Cloud Base South-East, for example, that hasn't produced any 25 MJ shields in some time. I've ran some scripts to search the Universe for ore traders, and the nearest one is on the East side of the Universe several sectors away.

Plutarch trades ore with 6 or 7 ships, and Argon is the only other mineral transporter.

[ThisIsHarsh]

Just a quick note on the khaak ship numbers. I believe khaak numbers increase as your fight rank increases, as do pirate numbers. At least I'm sure it used to be this way. I believe 7ate can attest to this fact with his reported issues in Improved Races, where he has to spawn in extra Khaak to make up the numbers.

I have no idea on any more detail that this, its just something I've read about from time to time... but something to bear in mind when adjusting the khaak/pirate flights.

[Jaga_Telesin]

@ThisIsHarsh,

Thanks for the info on the Kha'ak. I didn't think their numbers were that far from Vanilla either, so it sounds like the small change to their number wasn't too impactive, and bumping it up a tad will have a net effect of almost nil. I personally have run into them here and there, outside of missions. But my fight rank is around 20 now, so I deserve the beatings.



@Litcube,

Thanks for the feedback. I think Cloudbase SE is just off the main trade lanes, given that it sits in a corner. However the traders that handle Ore are being increased slightly - some of them also do Bio and Food. The main thing to consider is: are you also trading in these sectors with sector or universe traders, or are you allowing the NPCs to handle all of it? There really *should* be a little headroom for the player to grab some commerce, which means some sectors and goods will from time to time dip down. When other factories get full, these low sectors will get attention, and the scale will shift back.

Add to that, the fact that I don't want to get the gates *too* busy (like vanilla had them), to avoid traffic jams, which hurt all traders and stations. I think the small increase that is planned for RC1 of Unleashed (which is +5% to 10%) should be adequate. Some of them are station-owned, some of them are free traders.

The traders in your universe are probably taking advantage of clearer trade lanes (no traffic jams), and flying farther from their start points to take advantage of better trades. I expect the bump in numbers to fill the gap easy.

[Litcube]

I hear you. After more playing, Cloudbase SE was tended to after about 8 hours game time. And you know what, I think I'm cool with that. I don't even see it as a compromise for the awesome performance Unleashed provides. If I, as a player, don't get off my ass and do something about the economy, it will run slower. It's not crashing, by any standard, just slowing down a litte.

As I continue with my quest here, I'm going to report in ocassionally. I'd just like to contribute my findings in the name of science.

Science.

[Targ Collective]

Jaga, please do at least one thing.

In Aldrin, start up around 20 or 40 fully upgraded Springblossoms and have them all run the Sector Trader AI (zero jumps of course) to save the sector from GoD. It's more expensive than the standard AI, however, that's already made up for in Unleashed and Aldrin *needs* this if the sector is to work.

Please?

[Jaga_Telesin]

Targ,

Are you saying the economy for Aldrin stations is totally dead? I haven't looked at it since I was there for missions in the plot. I don't think I adjusted Aldrin stuff down very much either, so it is near vanilla levels of traders. If there are problems, it is probably due to the size of the sector combined with the huge rocks.

Yes, faster and more maneuverable ships would be one answer, though they would have to be "rarely bail" so that they aren't taken advantage of by the player. Springblossoms are probably over the top, but a fun notion.

What are you finding is happening to Aldrin in your game, and is it any different from a vanilla game in your experience?

[Gripen]

Dunno what im doing wrong but no ships turns up without names (existing savegame) and tons of trading ships everywhere.... cant really see a fps diffrence from starting a new game either...

Using Improved Races and Cmod


Halp!

[Jaga_Telesin]

Gripen,

I think CMod has an altered Jobs.txt file as an option (don't personally use it, but read about it a while ago). If you can, make sure that Unleashed's Cat/Dat pair are loaded last (highest numbers), since they only make a change to the # of flights in the universe.

What it sounds like, is something with an altered Jobs file is loading after Unleashed, and not allowing it to change flights as a result.

[Gripen]

I have Unleashed as the last loaded cat/dat (excluding the "dummy" cat/dat that the plugin manager adds when you close it)... just to be sure, is there a fool-proof way to check if the mod really is active?

[yospanky]

Jaga_Telesin... I can set my graphics settings higher!
I'm using Improved Races, CMOD, Pirate Guilds along with
many other great scripts and thus far I have seen an
incredible change in my x3TerranConflict game-play
experience especially with a very low end desktop.
Thanks & keep up the great work.

[Targ Collective]

Jaga, due to the huge size of Aldrin it suffers from the wrath of GoD disproportionately - loads of stations just don't trade enough. They vanish. They do not return!

Here's an idea! If certain stations - the marine training barracks in Home of Light springs to mind - are removed, the game replaces them. I wonder if it would be possible to do this with Aldran stations?

Otherwise, the only way to save Aldrin is through the gratuitous use of many many traders. The weapons fabs are at the top of the production chain, so arranging a brisk trade there will create demand all through the economy. Perhaps an Aldran station buys weapons without stocking them like the corporation HQs...? If not then perhaps such could be arranged?

[Jaga_Telesin]

@Gripen:
There is a way to check and see if Unleashed has an effect on your installation, but it requires an existing savegame that never had Unleashed installed. When you add Unleashed in, and load that savegame, you will notice flights in the universe for a short time that have no name on the ship. That means that their job in the file was truncated, and they are to remove themselves when their script expires (completes).

If you don't have a savegame like this, you can always:

1. Uninstall Unleashed temporarily.
2. Start a new game, save a savegame from it
3. Exit and install Unleashed
4. Start the game and load the savegame you just made
5. Look for the nameless ships in different sectors.

That will tell you whether or not their jobs are being altered, and if you do see some ships without names for a short time, then Unleashed is installed and working. Those ships disappear after a while (I think an hour or so depending on what else the God engine is doing), so flying around or looking with satellites is required.



@yospanky:
Glad to hear it really helps your machine. Improved races probably stomped hard on your CPU due to the additional ships (along with the other mods).



@Targ Collective:
I believe I understand what you are saying about Aldrin. Part of the problem could easily be alleviated by the addition of some fast and large M3 and/or M6 traders in the sector. Just enough of a bump to deliver resources to stations on a regular basis so that they can keep producing.

The true problem with Aldrin, is the massive space between stations in the sector. It was simply designed too large - for a standard freighter to fly from one side to the other takes far too long. Even using a M3 trader only reduces that time by 1/2 or 1/3. Putting a fleet of Springblossoms in there might help some, but it also might be too tempting for a player to abuse in trying to capture them.

I'll have to think on it a bit and see if there is a graceful option to help the sector. It is outside the scope of Unleashed from a basic "what it was meant to do" perspective, but due to edits in the Jobs file, Unleashed is clearly the place to try and arrange the fix.