Burianek's Laser / Economy Rebalance v1.0 *Update*

[Myros]

When I use your script and start a new game all AI TS class ships now have max speed and cargo space upgrades. The readme file mentioned nothing of this only detailing factory price changes etc.

Was this inteneded? If so the readme file should list it as a major game change.

The only other mod Im running is the Xai combat scripts, it was his readme recommened your to use with it

I love the economy changes other than this issue .... with all TSs of every race maxed out always it just totaly cleans out the economy. Now about 5 days into a new game and every factory is constantly empty. The only place to buy energy for my new Argon Prime wheat factory has been terracorp HQ. Was this how you intended things to run with this mod?

M

[Myros]

I unpacked your mod just to check things out and noticed that you didnt mod the ships file ... so really your mod shouldnt affect ships at all right? If thats correct then there is either an imcompatability with Xai's combat mod or a bug in the mod causing it.

This could also be somehow related to the thing with OOS defense ships suddenly now being unable to defend and being wiped out ... could it also be having unintended affects on the cluster ships?

I double checked that the problem was when your mod is loaded. I unchecked your Mod from the loader then started a new game and all TSs are back to a 'normal' range. re-added your Mod and started a new game and all TS are maxed out on speed and cargo space upgrades.

Any ideas?

M

[Myros]

Well for what its worth Ive isolated the problem ... and its not your mod. Its X2s moding package thats the problem.

I removed one pck at a time from your mod and repackaged it and all TS ships still had maxed out speed and cargo upgrades.

Thats just the most visible problem with it, it could be causing all kinds of issues with enemy ships that arent as easily checked and leading to the reported results of defense fleets no longer being effective.

Pretty much the only way to run your mod at the moment would be to unpack all the original game files and run the game with those unpacked and just overwrite the originals with your modded ones.

M

Well so much for that idea. I extracted all the game files and started a new game, everything worked fine. I then extracted the .pck files from your mod and overwrote the original files in the types folder and started a new game .... only to see the problem return

Could it be a formating error in all your original files? So that if any of them are used its messing something up? Pretty much the only thing that can explain why using any one by itself still causes the problem. Or a problem with the tools used to pack the files not packing them properly?


EDIT #2 - it looks like a problem with x2tool not formating files correctly when it repacks them. Here's what I did:

1. Restored the original pck files, started new game. Everything ok.
2. Unpacked the original TShields.pck
3. Made the small changes like your version, repacked the file.
4. Copied the repacked file overwriting the original.
5. Started new game .... problem has returned.

Also noticed the repacked file was slightly smaller than the original pck file. Its looking like a problem with x2tool when its used to repack more than anything else at this point.

M


EDIT #3

Some more info - using the program "X2 Archiver 1.02" I was able to run through some tests quickly and see whats going on.

Using the original TShields.pck as the test file as its small, I extracted this file and using it unchanged I created a new cat/dat file named 05. Game runs fine no problem with the TSs.
Now if I edit the data in TShields before I create the new cat/dat thereby changing the size of the file even if its only 2 bytes difference the problem with TSs shows up. Looks like if a .pck file is changed in any way that alters its byte size it causes this problem to show up. I checked your mods files and all of the txt and pck files are slightly different sizes compared to the originals. I dont see any way around this ..so Im done

[Burianek]

There's something wrong with your installation of your game, or with the scripts that you have installed. My mod won't do any of the things you've listed.
(nor has anyone else including me ever noticed them)
It must be, that when you activate my mod, you are also inadvertantly activating something else which is maxing them out. As you say, my mod makes no edits to tships, so there's no possible way it could affect ship speeds.
I realise that the problem is manifesting when you activate / deactive the mod, but I assure you, it must be unrelated (or tangentially related)
My advice is to reinstall the game from scratch. Don't apply any scripts yet. Try starting a new game, and playing with my mod turned on and off. I'm willing to guarantee you won't see the speeds issue. It will only occur after you install the various scripts you use.
Cheers.

[Myros]

Exactly right

Looks like some part of Xai's combat package (Im pretty sure the extra 'setup AI' part) is creating a conflict of some kind which has bad effects when any mod is used.

Clean install, patched, AL and signed scripts added ...then your mod and everythings looking good.

I then installed Xai's combat mod but left out the AI setup part and it looks like everythings still ok. Now I can get back to enjoying the game

Thanks again for the mod, really makes the game so much better.

M

[Burianek]

Glad it worked out
You might try reading through the thread about the Xai Combat AI, it's a bit long, but there may be something in there that will help out. Plus, I'm pretty sure Kailric checks it from time to time and can offer advice.
Cheers.

[RagX]

Hate to dig deep into the recesses of archives here on the forums, but I was interested in what you've done so far Burianek.

Just a couple of Q's:

I know the issue of Xai's AI script and yours is old, real old, and that this thread is old in itself. Have you been updating your laser-only rebalance mod? (economy changes are meh on my end, but seeing how slow my shots are with Xai AI, I think a laser rebalance should put the odds in my favor more or less )

And what about AEGIS? Have you ever made it work well with AEGIS, or is it another no-go with gunnery?

[Burianek]

I haven't updated this mod since I was pretty happy with it when I left it.
Other people have had different takes on laser fire and have published subsequent mods. You might see if those are more to your liking.
Most of the mods that affect laserfire are listed in the index of unsigned scripts I'm pretty sure.
Cheers.

[RagX]

Well I did a check on your downloads, and I couldnt find the laser-only rebalance mod. Only the laser and economy rebalance one. Did you remove the laser-only mod or am I missing something?

*edit: my bad, I see that you seperated both mods in two, the factory only and laser only rebalance. Thanks much

[Burianek]

Actually to be strictly correct, there's a:
Laser and Economy Mod
Laser Only Mod

There's no Economy only mod.
Cheers.

[NavaCorp]

Hi Burianek, I was checking your mod files by X2-editor and I found out that you eliminated the 125MW shields in the tshield file: was it intentional or you forgot it?

Maybe this is the reason why some people claimed about Khaak getting stronger and M6 weaker and easily killed (only 2-3 25MW shields are not so much)...

Bye

[Burianek]

I think there's a problem with the editor.
I did not eliminate any shields.
You can hand check the txt files to make sure.

[NavaCorp]

I think there's a problem with the editor.
I did not eliminate any shields.
You can hand check the txt files to make sure.

Actually I can't read the t-files in raw mode but anyway I think you're right: when I open your tshield file a pop-up warns me that not all the lines match in that file and it will be corrected by saving. I don't know if my x2-editor installation is bugged because with my own modded files it works.

Bye

[Hieronymos]

Does anyone know if/where Burianek's Secondary Production Lines and Laser Rebalancing scripts can be had? Thks in advance.

[Serial Kicked]

Here

The host server is horrible and you'll probably need to hit the refresh button (F5) several times before the page load correctly.

[Hieronymos]

Thanks Serial Kicked,
was able to get Burianek's scripts today no problem. But I now have a problem installing them. Do you happen to know of any threads with idiot-proof instructions on how to install/uninstall scripts in X2? Again, any help would be most appreciated.
Hieronymos

P.S. Found the Mod/Script install/uninstall tutorial! But have another 2 questions: a) Is the Cartel Incorporated Shield Hacker script still available anywhere?
b) Your Pirate 1.2 AL plugin: does it irrevocably prevent any subsequent trade by player with pirates?

Thks again.

[Serial Kicked]

No problem

We're going a little off topic here but here's quick answers.

a) I see the problem, the website is now focused on firelance. The best (only?) thing you can do is to PM the author to see if he can help you. Not sure if he is still on the board.

b) In fact you can still trade/dock at the pirate bases (PB). But as the pirates are much more agressive than before, your TS may have some difficulties to reach a pirate base alive. And, btw, PB in race sectors are less dangerous for your TS than PB in pirate sectors. For further questions about my plugin please ask in the related topic, thanks

[Afterburnerz]

Sorry for digging up an old thread, but I'd like to try this Mod.

Quote:
"edit 10/19 - As a caveat, many users have noticed that under these new parameters, OOS defense ships have started getting annihilated by khaak clusters. This doesn't make much sense to me, as I've not increased khaak effectiveness (I actually think I've downgraded them slightly). I haven't done extensive testing, but wanted to comment for what it's worth."

Has this happened because the HEPTs have had their hull damage reduced by over 50% and now the player's ships are deemed to be much weaker by the game engine during the OOS conflicts?

Now that the Khaak can continue fighting for much longer, due to the reduction in hull damage done by lasers, is it necessary to further reduce the shield and hull damage done by the Khaak weapons?

Of course this will make them less of a threat when in sector, but at least then the player wouldn't lose their patrol ships all the time.

Quote:
"On to damage. In X2, once a ships shields have been depleted, combat is pretty much over. It usually just takes a couple of shots to rip through an enemy's hull. In many other combat sims, once the shields are down, that's just when combat starts getting exciting. In these other games, ships can take repeated shots to the hull before they are destroyed, and if it's the player ship these can be tense, exciting moments playing defense, desperately trying to nurse your shields back up to stength before re-entering the fray. To try to fix this, lasers across the board have had their hull damage reduced by about 50%. Hulls now mean something. Shield damage is largely unchanged, with a few minor exceptions. After this global reduction to lasers, a few weapons which I felt were unbalanced versus each other were then adjusted."

Fantastic! One of the disappointing aspects during combat in X2 is that the game is over when your shields are depleted/destroyed.
I also believe that it is more exciting to continue playing when your shields are down.

I'd like to open your mod and adjust some of the values to see what happens.
Which programs should I use to accomplish this?

I've tried using DoubleShadow's X2 Editor but the editor comes up with an error message every time I try to open a file. I'll download and install the support files again to see if that helps.

Several of the links in the "Scripting/Modding Tutorials and Resources [updated 20/9/05]" no longer seem to work.

[DrunkenPirate]

Don't suppose anyone has this on their hard drive anywhere?
(DL link no longer exists. )

[SWAHILI!!!]

Unfortunetally, I highly doubt that anyone still has it.
Burianek has moved on to X3, you could try P.M.ing him, but I'm not sure he'll still have it.