Topic: Questions re SFC OP-Dynaverse II-SP Conquest Campaign - LONG

[Kumerian14]

Folks,

I've been away from SFC for a substantial amount of time, but I'm coming back to it with gusto.  At one point, I might have known the answers to these questions, but after searching the forums, I didn't quite find all the answers I needed.  So, here goes...

(Moderator - feel free to move the topic if I posted in the wrong location.)

From reading the forums, I know that it takes a long time to complete a Single-Player Conquest campaign.  However, after playing 50 or so missions as a Hydran (let's hear it for Hellbores!), I'm noticing some things that I can't quite figure out.

1) When I move around the map, enemy sightings appear and disappear at random.  I'm sure part of this is the "fog of war" aspect, but is this as random as it appears, or am I missing something?  Is there a pattern that just isn't obvious at first?

2) When I do Patrols, etc. in a hex and conquer it, sometimes the base in that hex turns white and doesn't appear to change sides.  Do I have to complete a Base Assault mission to conquer it?  Will it stay white no matter how long I've held the hex?  Is this a glitch?

3) I have been expanding the Hydran Kingdom mostly at the expense of the Lyrans right now.  It seems that no matter how many CAs, CLs, and DWs I destroy, there is an infinite supply of them.  Is this a function of the game, or is there a setting that controls this?  Based on all of the fictional history that surrounds SFC / SFB, some of these ships take so long to build, I should be seeing fewer of them (certainly of some types) as I destroy them, at least for a while.  Does the economy of all held hexes and the progression of time affect ship availability / supply at all?

4) On a larger scale, I don't understand how I am supposed to be able to hold ground already taken.  Around Mission 43, once I had a bigger ship and could be systematic, I had expanded into the Lyran territory by about 2 hexes along a 3 hex front.  After that mission, I checked the map (which I do after every mission) and suddenly 3 hexes in my rear, near the Home World, had changed to gray and one (on the far edge of the map) had been taken by the Klingons!  To control the bleeding, I had to travel about 5-6 hexes, doing mandatory missions as I went, and retake those hexes.  Now, I understand that occasionally my enemies will make forays into my territory.  However, I can't help wondering if this game behavior is random or if it follows a pattern, as the more territory I take, the harder it will be to race all over the map to put out fires.  After a certain point, once I take a good deal of territory, I'll constantly be running between opposite ends of the Kingdom, fighting to regain hexes while others will randomly change color at the opposite side of the map.  This seems awfully frustrating and doesn't make for a good play experience, IMHO.  Is there a way to take and hold territory such that you aren't constantly running to your rear to retake hexes?  What am I not seeing here?

5) I have yet to place any Base Stations, Battle Stations, or Starbases, as I haven't penetrated that far into enemy territory yet, and most of the hexes that I've taken are adjacent to my own bases or planets anyway, or they have bases that I have "liberated".  Should I be placing new bases anyway, just to increase the Defense and Impedance values of the hexes?  When should I really be using them, and which ones should I use in which situations?

6) I have so much prestige at this point that I'm starting to fight disproportionate battles.  Right now, I have 1 XCA which I really like due to the maneuverability and the kit.  I have not purchased any other ships for a fleet, as the AI wastes fighters like water and I don't want to constantly spend prestige replacing my wingbeing's fighters.  Should I buy and place bases to shed some of this prestige?  Should I go ahead and waste some fighters?  More importantly, will the battles that I face continue to become more lopsided as I hoard prestige such that I need to get rid of some of it, or will purchasing ships for wingbeings just exacerbate the problem and make the battles even more lopsided?

7) How do you earn medals?  I have fought several mandatory missions along the way, but I have never seen a medal other than the ones on the top row (increasing my rank).  When to these appear?  Are they tied to the story line campaigns only?  Are they tied to prestige?

As I said, I tried to find some of these answers in the forum already, but I apologize if I'm repeating old posts.  Any help is appreciated!

Last Question (different topic): Due to my computer situation and personal circumstances, I haven't ever played Multi-player or on-line matches.  I know that at one point, SFC utilized Mplayer and then Gamespy (?) for this.  Is there an on-line skirmish / campaign group that I could investigate that

(a) is safe, technology-wise
(b) doesn't use a service that requires signing up, such as Mplayer or Gamespy, and
(c) is hosted by you guys or Xenocorp?

As I said, I have never had the opportunity to try this, so these questions are purely out of a newbie's ignorance.     If there is a link to something, just point me in the right direction and I'll take it from there.

Thanks to anyone who can help.  I know this was long, but I've been saving up questions!

[Corbomite]

1) When I move around the map, enemy sightings appear and disappear at random.  I'm sure part of this is the "fog of war" aspect, but is this as random as it appears, or am I missing something?  Is there a pattern that just isn't obvious at first?

The server will create enemy and friendly AI to patrol the map. You will be able to see them if they are in the seven hexes of your immediate area, i.e. your hex and the surrounding six. It is supposed to have an effect on what you draft into your missions, but it doesn't have all the weight it should and sometimes it won't draft what you see there.

2) When I do Patrols, etc. in a hex and conquer it, sometimes the base in that hex turns white and doesn't appear to change sides.  Do I have to complete a Base Assault mission to conquer it?  Will it stay white no matter how long I've held the hex?  Is this a glitch?

IIRC that should correct itself the next time you log onto your saved campaign. It is a graphics glitch that I don't think affects your ability to access the base/planet, but I may be wrong about that. It has been awhile.

3) I have been expanding the Hydran Kingdom mostly at the expense of the Lyrans right now.  It seems that no matter how many CAs, CLs, and DWs I destroy, there is an infinite supply of them.  Is this a function of the game, or is there a setting that controls this?  Based on all of the fictional history that surrounds SFC / SFB, some of these ships take so long to build, I should be seeing fewer of them (certainly of some types) as I destroy them, at least for a while.  Does the economy of all held hexes and the progression of time affect ship availability / supply at all?

Economy only affects what will appear in the shipyard. Mission generated ships are based on what you are flying and the difficulty setting you are on. It was a large point of contention on the D2 that the AI opposition didn't seem to get weaker as you conquered them, even though they didn't have the economy to build a rowboat, let alone a starship.

4) On a larger scale, I don't understand how I am supposed to be able to hold ground already taken.  Around Mission 43, once I had a bigger ship and could be systematic, I had expanded into the Lyran territory by about 2 hexes along a 3 hex front.  After that mission, I checked the map (which I do after every mission) and suddenly 3 hexes in my rear, near the Home World, had changed to gray and one (on the far edge of the map) had been taken by the Klingons!  To control the bleeding, I had to travel about 5-6 hexes, doing mandatory missions as I went, and retake those hexes.  Now, I understand that occasionally my enemies will make forays into my territory.  However, I can't help wondering if this game behavior is random or if it follows a pattern, as the more territory I take, the harder it will be to race all over the map to put out fires.  After a certain point, once I take a good deal of territory, I'll constantly be running between opposite ends of the Kingdom, fighting to regain hexes while others will randomly change color at the opposite side of the map.  This seems awfully frustrating and doesn't make for a good play experience, IMHO.  Is there a way to take and hold territory such that you aren't constantly running to your rear to retake hexes?  What am I not seeing here?

The AI is programed to attack you based on the hostility ratings that are set in the server profiles. The only way to stop them from attacking you is to turn off AI map generation altogether (this will have no effect on mission generated AI).

5) I have yet to place any Base Stations, Battle Stations, or Starbases, as I haven't penetrated that far into enemy territory yet, and most of the hexes that I've taken are adjacent to my own bases or planets anyway, or they have bases that I have "liberated".  Should I be placing new bases anyway, just to increase the Defense and Impedance values of the hexes?  When should I really be using them, and which ones should I use in which situations?

That is entirely up to you. Placing a base will not improve the DV of a hex over its maximum value in any case, so if you need a supply point, drop one.

6) I have so much prestige at this point that I'm starting to fight disproportionate battles.  Right now, I have 1 XCA which I really like due to the maneuverability and the kit.  I have not purchased any other ships for a fleet, as the AI wastes fighters like water and I don't want to constantly spend prestige replacing my wingbeing's fighters.  Should I buy and place bases to shed some of this prestige?  Should I go ahead and waste some fighters?  More importantly, will the battles that I face continue to become more lopsided as I hoard prestige such that I need to get rid of some of it, or will purchasing ships for wingbeings just exacerbate the problem and make the battles even more lopsided?

I honestly was not aware that prestige raises the difficulty level at all. I have never experienced any raise of difficulty due to that, but then again, I always play on Admiral level anyway.

7) How do you earn medals?  I have fought several mandatory missions along the way, but I have never seen a medal other than the ones on the top row (increasing my rank).  When to these appear?  Are they tied to the story line campaigns only?  Are they tied to prestige?

Yes they are tied to certain campaign missions and have no real use other than a bright shiny to show off.

Last Question (different topic): Due to my computer situation and personal circumstances, I haven't ever played Multi-player or on-line matches.  I know that at one point, SFC utilized Mplayer and then Gamespy (?) for this.  Is there an on-line skirmish / campaign group that I could investigate that

(a) is safe, technology-wise
(b) doesn't use a service that requires signing up, such as Mplayer or Gamespy, and
(c) is hosted by you guys or Xenocorp?

Not to my knowledge at this point, but you can always set up an IP/LAN game yourself with someone you trust.

[Kumerian14]

Holy Cow, Corbomite, that was some fast response time!  Thanks a bunch!

A couple of follow-ups, if I may...

* Ah, yes, the base color did fix itself when I restarted.  Must be a glitch.

* If the economy of the enemy territory has no impact on what they field, then how the heck are you supposed to take over the map?!  I don't get it.  I can't spend all my time running from one end of the Kingdom to the other.  Is there a technique to managing this phenomenon, even it you can't prevent it?  Is there a systematic way of preventing a huge amount of run-around?

* The effect of prestige on the lopsidedness of the battles is just starting to become more apparent.  Is wasn't so obvious until I got close to 9-10K prestige that I was hoarding.  Now that I have around 12K sitting in the bank unused, it seems a bit more pronounced.  Also, since I haven't played in a while, I put the setting on Captain so I could re-learn the game.  I don't know if that affects this or not.

* Regarding private LAN sessions, is there a forum on here where you can post requests for LAN matches or scheduled group battles?  Or did I get that wrong?

Thanks again for your help, Corbomite, and thanks to anyone else who has any additional info.

[Corbomite]

* If the economy of the enemy territory has no impact on what they field, then how the heck are you supposed to take over the map?!  I don't get it.  I can't spend all my time running from one end of the Kingdom to the other.  Is there a technique to managing this phenomenon, even it you can't prevent it?  Is there a systematic way of preventing a huge amount of run-around?

You take over the map by, well, taking over the map. You have to completely convert every enemy hex to yours (or your allies) to stop the generation of AI ships on the map and in missions for a particular race. As to the running around, as I said before, the only way to stop that is to turn off AI map generation entirely, which I would recommend in any case as the flat file the game saves your info on will get filled up with garbage and start slowing down your movement to the point you are trying to swim in molasses, until you won't be able to move at all.

* The effect of prestige on the lopsidedness of the battles is just starting to become more apparent.  Is wasn't so obvious until I got close to 9-10K prestige that I was hoarding.  Now that I have around 12K sitting in the bank unused, it seems a bit more pronounced.  Also, since I haven't played in a while, I put the setting on Captain so I could re-learn the game.  I don't know if that affects this or not.

Then you might have hit a switch at some point in the Prestige level that opened up Admiral level. I would think that bleeding off Prestige at this point might be a moot point as the switch has been thrown, but it might be worth a try.

* Regarding private LAN sessions, is there a forum on here where you can post requests for LAN matches or scheduled group battles?  Or did I get that wrong?

Nope. Not many people playing online anymore as the OS required to play is old and the game has problems with newer ones. SFC:CE is a mod that has corrected that problem, but it is still being worked on to iron out some bugs.

[knightstorm]

* Regarding private LAN sessions, is there a forum on here where you can post requests for LAN matches or scheduled group battles?  Or did I get that wrong?

Thanks again for your help, Corbomite, and thanks to anyone else who has any additional info.

Check Gamespy Arcade and Game Ranger on Friday and Saturday nights.

[Corbomite]

Check Gamespy Arcade and Game Ranger on Friday and Saturday nights.

Is that Spider and the 300ADV crowd that never wants to do anything else?

[knightstorm]

Check Gamespy Arcade and Game Ranger on Friday and Saturday nights.

Is that Spider and the 300ADV crowd that never wants to do anything else?

There are people willing to fly at real bpvs.

[Corbomite]

Check Gamespy Arcade and Game Ranger on Friday and Saturday nights.

Is that Spider and the 300ADV crowd that never wants to do anything else?

There are people willing to fly at real bpvs.

Oh, cool. The last time I was there the attitudes were really poor and some felt that they were soooooooo good that there was no way they could be beaten. When I took a R-PRA into a 300ADV 6v6 FFA and won against their X-Ships, they called me a cheater and kicked me out of the room. I hadn't laughed that hard in awhile, but I never went back after that.

[Kumerian14]

Thanks, everyone, for the info.

@knightstorm - well, due to some issues with security, I haven't wanted to use a system where you have to register to be matched.  Not only have I had issues with security holes in the past regarding these services, I am reluctant for several reasons to open up ports into my computer for someone that I don't know.  If the status with my server changes, then I will look into this.

@Corbomite - thanks again for the additional info.  One last point...how do you turn off AI map generation?     I know how to edit .ini files and I understand the layout of the SFC file structure, but I don't know where to go to get to the item you listed.  Also, you said that garbage collects in the file.  That seems to be starting with me, as movement is taking progressively longer when I change hexes.  Can I alter this mid-campaign, or will I need to start over?  Are there any other side effects to turning off AI map generation?  Again, if this is posted somewhere and I missed it, just point me in the right direction.

Thanks again, folks, for the feedback.  Greatly appreciated!

[Corbomite]

...how do you turn off AI map generation?

First, make backups of any files you modify in case you mess it up.

Then go to: C:\Program Files\Taldren Software Inc\Starfleet Command Orion Pirates\MetaAssets\ServerProfiles\SinglePlayer (assuming a standard installation)

Then open your meta map .gf file with Notepad and change the following lines to this set up (be sure to right click on it first and uncheck the "Read Only" box and then "Accept" or your changes won't save):

AttemptsToCreateAIInHomeHex =0 // Maximum AI to create in 1 turn

MaxAIsToCreatePerTurn =0 //How many AIs to try to create before giving up

CreateAIFrequency =0 // How many AIs to create a second, untill goal level reached

InitalAILevel =0 // How many AI's to create before game starts

MaxAIsPerEmpire = 1 // ( -1 ) Create a fixed number of AIs per empire.

Also, you said that garbage collects in the file.  That seems to be starting with me, as movement is taking progressively longer when I change hexes.  Can I alter this mid-campaign, or will I need to start over?  Are there any other side effects to turning off AI map generation?

You will have to start over after changing the Meta Map file. The only side effect of turning off the map AI is that they won't attack you anymore, which is a little unrealistic I know, but you will just have to accept always being the aggressor and you hate running all over the map anyway.

[Kumerian14]

@Corbomite,

Yet again, thanks for the info.  I also found a few things at the Nuclear Wessels page--almost too much, actually.     It was definitely a help, though, as it connected a few additional dots on an unrelated point.

You mentioned that you turn off the AI map generation, and the implication was that many other people do as well.  Is that sort of the consensus by experienced players based on long observation?

You also mentioned that the economy-based ship production doesn't work the way most people thought that it should (I'm paraphrasing, of course).  I noticed on the NW page that there a quite a number of parameters that can be tweaked to "fix" (or at least adjust) the AI map situation and, supposedly, the economy-based ship availability.  Have people found from experience that tweaking these parameters doesn't work or doesn't do what they are supposed to do?  I don't mind a bit of trial-and-error if it means finding a middle ground, I just find the current settings a bit unbalanced and annoying.

Also, regarding the garbage issue with AI map generation files, if you turn down some of the settings, does it fix the problem, or does it just delay the onset of Infinite Movement Delay Syndrome?  If any amount of AI generation slowly corrupts the file and makes the game unplayable over time, then I'll probably just turn everything off like you indicated rather than stopping in the middle of the campaign.

Sorry to be such a pain with all the questions, and thanks for everything you have provided already.  Man, I wish all software had this level of support...

[Corbomite]

You mentioned that you turn off the AI map generation, and the implication was that many other people do as well.  Is that sort of the consensus by experienced players based on long observation?

I don't know what other people do. I just found that if I wanted to play a continuous campaign vs just hopping on to shoot a few things, turning off the AI was the only thing that would help.

You also mentioned that the economy-based ship production doesn't work the way most people thought that it should (I'm paraphrasing, of course).  I noticed on the NW page that there a quite a number of parameters that can be tweaked to "fix" (or at least adjust) the AI map situation and, supposedly, the economy-based ship availability.  Have people found from experience that tweaking these parameters doesn't work or doesn't do what they are supposed to do?  I don't mind a bit of trial-and-error if it means finding a middle ground, I just find the current settings a bit unbalanced and annoying.

They work, but since you are the only live player, you will only be affecting your own shipyard. Mission generated AI have nothing to do whatsoever with Econ.

Also, regarding the garbage issue with AI map generation files, if you turn down some of the settings, does it fix the problem, or does it just delay the onset of Infinite Movement Delay Syndrome?  If any amount of AI generation slowly corrupts the file and makes the game unplayable over time, then I'll probably just turn everything off like you indicated rather than stopping in the middle of the campaign.

What happens is that there are about 100 AI on the map at any given time. Everywhere they have been and everywhere they are thinking of going goes into that flat file, which must be read top to bottom each and every time you move. As you progress, the file gets bigger and bigger, full of useless junk about AI movement you couldn't care less about. Slowing it down might help, but eventually it will seize up.

[Age]

Corbomite

First, make backups of any files you modify in case you mess it up.

Then go to: C:\Program Files\Taldren Software Inc\Starfleet Command Orion Pirates\MetaAssets\ServerProfiles\SinglePlayer (assuming a standard installation)

Then open your meta map .gf file with Notepad and change the following lines to this set up (be sure to right click on it first and uncheck the "Read Only" box and then "Accept" or your changes won't save):

AttemptsToCreateAIInHomeHex =0 // Maximum AI to create in 1 turn

MaxAIsToCreatePerTurn =0 //How many AIs to try to create before giving up

CreateAIFrequency =0 // How many AIs to create a second, untill goal level reached

InitalAILevel =0 // How many AI's to create before game starts

MaxAIsPerEmpire = 1 // ( -1 ) Create a fixed number of AIs per empire.

How would you take this and say put the klinks on your side of an Sp campaign?

[Corbomite]

Corbomite

First, make backups of any files you modify in case you mess it up.

Then go to: C:\Program Files\Taldren Software Inc\Starfleet Command Orion Pirates\MetaAssets\ServerProfiles\SinglePlayer (assuming a standard installation)

Then open your meta map .gf file with Notepad and change the following lines to this set up (be sure to right click on it first and uncheck the "Read Only" box and then "Accept" or your changes won't save):

AttemptsToCreateAIInHomeHex =0 // Maximum AI to create in 1 turn

MaxAIsToCreatePerTurn =0 //How many AIs to try to create before giving up

CreateAIFrequency =0 // How many AIs to create a second, untill goal level reached

InitalAILevel =0 // How many AI's to create before game starts

MaxAIsPerEmpire = 1 // ( -1 ) Create a fixed number of AIs per empire.

How would you take this and say put the klinks on your side of an Sp campaign?

To ally anyone to anyone is a simple matter of lowering the hostility factors in each of the respective races' columns (in that same meta map file). In fact, it is just better all around if everyone is complete enemies with everyone except one single ally. This makes it so you never get enemies as allies in missions and DV values always shift in the right direction at the end of a mission. For example, my settings for the Feds are all 1000 hostility, except for the Gorn who are their allies and are at 0. In the Gorn section it is all 1000 except for the Feds who are at 0.

[knightstorm]

Check Gamespy Arcade and Game Ranger on Friday and Saturday nights.

Is that Spider and the 300ADV crowd that never wants to do anything else?

There are people willing to fly at real bpvs.

Oh, cool. The last time I was there the attitudes were really poor and some felt that they were soooooooo good that there was no way they could be beaten. When I took a R-PRA into a 300ADV 6v6 FFA and won against their X-Ships, they called me a cheater and kicked me out of the room. I hadn't laughed that hard in awhile, but I never went back after that.

I can see that being a WTF for them, but I can also see you pulling that off.  Was Draco69 the one who called you a hack?