Written by: Imperator Fyron (Nolan Kelly), with contributions from Suicide Junkie (Nick Dumas) and Ed Kolis.
Valid as of: Space Empires IV Gold Patch 4+ (v1.91+)
Last updated on April 15, 2006 at 9:11 AM PST.
For updates, please visit the offical website: http://se4modding.spaceempires.net/
Welcome to the Space Empires IV modding tutorial! To go to a specific chapter, click on it in the Table of Contents. You can click on the Chapter Headers to return to the Table of Contents. If you have further questions that are not answered by this document, you can ask them on SpaceEmpires.net ModWorks (http://modworks.spaceempires.net/) and receive expert answers. Comments and questions about the tutorial are welcome as well.
The data used by SEIV is stored in convenient text files. The most important of these are located in the Data subfolder of the SEIV folder. These files are:
These files will be explained in greater detail later on. All that you need to make modifications to SEIV is a text editor. Wordpad works nicely. I suggest that you do not use Notepad, because it is a poorly written program that eats up system resources. If you use it too much, it can lock itself up, forcing you to reboot your computer to be able to continue working.
The way that SEIV loads mods is quite simple. In the folder where the SEIV executable is located (the folder where you installed SEIV), there is a text file called Path.txt. This file has one working line:
Using Mod Directory := None
Mods are located in subfolders of the SEIV folder. To load a mod, simply change "None" in this line to the name of the folder in which the mod is located. For example, if you have the TDM Modpack installed, you would replace "None" with "TDM-Modpack." The line would then look like this:
Using Mod Directory := TDM-Modpack
Now, save Path.txt and then load up SEIV. It will load the TDM mod instead of the default SEIV files.
If you want to make a mod, you will need to create a subfolder under the Space Empires IV folder that is named appropriately, such as Proportions or Pirates&Nomads. When using mods, SEIV first looks in the mod's folder. If the game does not find the files that it needs in there, it will use the ones from the default folders. The only exception is the Data folder. Every file from the Data folder must be present in the mod's Data folder, or SEIV will choke. When creating a mod, you will first need to copy the Data folder from the default folder into the new mod folder. Then, you can begin making alterations. You should never modify the default Data files (except certain lines in Settings.txt that only make cosmetic changes and do not alter game play). Always make your changes in a mod folder.
In most data files, there must be one blank line between all components, facilities, etc. If more lines are placed, the game will stop reading the file and not process any more info from it. Also, there must be one blank line before the first entry. Look in Components.txt to see what I mean. Keep the formatting the same as the default files. Some files, like Settings.txt, do not have extra blank lines. Do not add them.
Pictures for everything are located in the Space Empires IV\Pictures\XXX folders. When a mod is loaded, SEIV will look in the Pictures folder within the mod folder first. If it does not find the required pictures in there, it will look in the default pictures folders. So, it is unnecessary to copy any of the default pictures into your mod. For a good collection of custom pictures, I recommend that you check out the Image Mod, located at http://www.geocities.com/hohoho611ca/imagepack.html.
SE4 checks each turn to make sure that the data files currently used are the same ones as the host used to generate the turn. In a single player sequential movement game, this checking is not really enforced. But in a simultaneous movement game (such as most multiplayer games), data file mismatches can cause you to be unable to load the save game. This is done to prevent cheating. Some data files are checked, while others are not. The following table lists which files are checked and which are not.
| File | Incompatibility? | Other Notes |
| Abilities.txt | No | This file is never used by SE4. It is a reference file for modders only. |
| CompEnhancement.txt | Yes | n/a |
| Components.txt | Yes | n/a |
| Cultures.txt | Yes | n/a |
| DefaultColonyTypes.txt | No | Only used when a players create their empire files. |
| DefaultDesignTypes.txt | No | Only used when a players create their empire files. |
| DefaultStrategies.txt | No | Only used when a players create their empire files. |
| Demeanors.txt | No | Only used when a players create their empire files. |
| EmperorNames.txt | No | Only used when a players create their empire files. |
| EmperorTitles.txt | No | Only used when a players create their empire files. |
| EmpireNames.txt | No | Only used when a players create their empire files. |
| EmpireTypes.txt | No | Only used when a players create their empire files. |
| Events.txt | Yes | n/a |
| Facility.txt | Yes | n/a |
| Formations.txt | Yes | n/a |
| Happiness.txt | Yes | n/a |
| IntelProjects.txt | Yes | n/a |
| PlanetSize.txt | Yes | n/a |
| QuadrantTypes.txt | No | Only used when maps are generated. |
| RacialTraits.txt | Yes | n/a |
| RepairPriorities.txt | No | Only used when a players create their empire files. |
| SectType.txt | Yes | n/a |
| Settings.txt | Maybe | Some settings cause incompatibility, some do not. |
| StellarAbilityTypes.txt | No | Only used when maps are generated. |
| SystemNames.txt | No | Only used when maps are generated. |
| SystemTypes.txt | No | Only used when maps are generated. |
| TechArea.txt | Yes | n/a |
| VehicleSize.txt | Yes | n/a |
First, we shall look at the all-important Settings.txt. In this file are the basic parameters that you can change that can have profound effects upon the game.
Most of the lines in Settings.txt are self-explanatory. Take the first one for example.
Allow CD Music := TRUE
This can have one of two values: TRUE or FALSE. If TRUE, then the game will play the music on the SEIV CD. If FALSE, it will not. Most of the lines are as simple as this. If set to TRUE, it is possible that SEIV will crash on certain systems if using either an Audio CD or the SEIV CD. If this happens, SEIV will stop responding after about 30% loaded.
However, some of them are not. We shall now take a look at them.
Maximum Number Of Systems := 100
Although it is obvious what this line does, it is very, very important. When making a new game, the 3 map sizes, Small, Medium and Large, are proportionally based upon this number. A Large quadrant will have about 100% of this number. A Medium quadrant will have 66% of this number. A Small quadrant will have 33% of this number. The highest allowable value for this line is 255. Any number larger than this will cause the game to crash.
Minimum Empire Minerals Generation := 200
This line tells the game that if an Empire would otherwise make no resources (i.e.: it has no Mineral Miners) then it will instead make 200 per turn.
Scrap Facility Percent Returned := 30
This line is a percentage value. In the example above, when you scrap a facility, you will be refunded 30% of the facility's cost.
Planet Value Low Percent := 0 Planet Value High Percent := 150
These lines determine the possible range of values that randomly generated planets can have. In the example above, the 3 resource values can range from 0 to 150.
Planet Value Low Resources := 0 Planet Value High Resources := 500000
These lines are similar to the last ones, except that these determine the range of values for randomly generated planets in Limited Resource games.
Plr Planet Value Low Percent := 80 Plr Planet Value Medium Percent := 100 Plr Planet Value High Percent := 120
These lines determine the average values of Homeworlds. They can vary by as much as 5% from these values.
Upgrade Facility Cost Percent := 50
When you upgrade a facility, the cost is determined by this line. This value is the percentage of how much it would cost just to build the facility.
Event Percent Chance Low := 5 Event Percent Chance Medium := 10 Event Percent Chance High := 25
These are related to how commonly events occur, depending upon the option selected during game setup.
Maintenance Cost Amt Per Dead := 20000
This line does absolutely nothing. It is a legacy from a very early alpha version of SE4.
Empire Starting Percent Maint Cost := 25
This determines the base percentage of a ship's cost paid every turn. The Maintenance Aptitude racial ability is subtracted from this number.
Empire Starting Percent Reproduction := 10
This setting determines the base reproduction rate. The Reproduction racial ability is added to this value directly, as are the modifiers for the conditions and happiness level of a planet.
Combat Fighter Group Amount := 20 Combat Mine Group Amount := 20 Combat Satellite Group Amount := 20
These settings determine the size of unit groups that are launched during combat. They are overridden by the empire's strategies.
Defending Units Per Population := 20 Population Defender Attack Strength := 10 Population Defender Hit Points := 30
These lines determine the number and strength of the Militia that defend planets from invasion. The first line translates into this: population / 20 = # of militia. The other two determine the combat strength of each militia unit.
Automatic Colonization Population := 0
When a colony ship colonizes a planet, this value is added to the population in the cargo bays of the ship to the new colony.
Planet Value Percent Loss After Owner Death := 10
When you glass a planet (destroy the colony on it, without conquering it), it's value decreases by this amount.
Retrofit Cost Percent For Comps := 120 Retrofit Cost Percent For Comp Removal := 30
These lines determine the cost of adding and removing components to a ship when using the Retrofit order.
Retrofit Max Percent Difference in Cost := 50
This line is the limit for the difference in total cost between a ship and a new design that you want to retrofit it to. If a ship costs 10000 resources, then any design that it is legal to retrofit it to can cost a maximum of 15000 resources.
Empire Base Planet Mineral Usage Rate := 2000 Empire Base Planet Organic Usage Rate := 2000 Empire Base Planet Radioactive Usage Rate := 2000
These lines determine the base build rate of planets without a space yard.
Construction Queue Emergency Build Rate Percent := 150 Construction Queue Slow Build Rate Percent := 25
These are the lines that determine how much the build rate is modified by when a space yard is giving the Emergency Build order.
Damage Points To Kill One Population := 10
This line determines how much damage it takes to kill 1 million population.
Population Required to Operate One Facility := 50
This setting is not implemented in the game code. It does absolutely nothing.
Number Of Population Modifiers := 12 Pop Modifier 1 Population Amount := 99 Pop Modifier 1 Production Modifier Percent := 100 Pop Modifier 1 SY Rate Modifier Percent := 100
These lines are what determines the population modifiers on resource production and space yard rate. The first line must equal the number of modifiers in the file. There can be more or less than 12. The settings are counter-intuitive. The Population Amount is the largest population that will receive the Modifier Percent levels, rather than the minimum amount that will get the bonus. A larger population receives the next bonus listed.
Characteristic Physical Strength Max Pct := 150 Characteristic Physical Strength Min Pct := 50 Characteristic Physical Strength Pct Cost := 25 Characteristic Physical Strength Threshold := 20 Characteristic Physical Strength Threshhold Pct Cost Pos := 100 Characteristic Physical Strength Threshhold Pct Cost Neg := 10
These lines are what determines the cost of purchasing the racial characteristics when creating an empire. The Pct Cost is how much it costs to raise the trait by 1%, or how many points are given by reducing it by 1%. The Threshold value means that if you raise or lower the trait by more than (in this case) 20%, then the Threshold Pct Cost kicks in. From that point on, it costs the Threshhold Pct Cost Pos to raise the ability by 1%, and you get Threshhold Pct Cost Neg for each 1% below the Threshold. In this example, Strength can be raised to 120 for 25 points per 1%. For the 121% and above, it costs 100 points per 1%. The trait can be lowered from 100 to 80 for a return of 25 points per 1%. Lowering it to 79% only yields 10 points.
Mood Riot Modifier := 0 Mood Angry Modifier := 80 Mood Unhappy Modifier := 90 Mood Indifferent Modifier := 100 Mood Happy Modifier := 110 Mood Jubilant Modifier := 120
These lines determine what a colony's happiness level does to it's production. The base production amount is multiplied by these percents. In this example, an Indifferent colony produces at normal capacity. A Jubilant colony produces 20% more than an Indifferent one.
Number of Quick Start Styles := 16 Quick Start Style 1 := Amonkrie
These lines determine how many races are possible in a Quick Start game, and which races these are.
Num Intro Songs := 1 Intro Song 1 Track := 9 Num Background Songs := 8 Background Song 1 Track := 2 Num Combat Songs := 6 Combat Song 1 Track := 4
With these lines, you can use a different music CD while playing SEIV to have different songs play in the background. You can add more tracks if there are more than 8 on the CD that you want to use.
Combat Base To Hit Value := 100
This is the chance to hit an enemy ship at range 0. Increasing it makes it easier in general to hit ships. Decreasing it makes it harder to hit ships.
Combat To Hit Modifier Per Square Distance := 10
This value is subtracted from the Base To Hit Value for each square that is between the firing ship and it's target. If the target is 4 squares away, then the ship receives a -40 penalty to hit.
Intelligence Defense Modifier Percent := 120
For purposes of resolving Counter Intelligence Projects, the amount of points that the defender has put into their project(s) is modified by this percentage value. For example, if an empire has put 10000 points into a Counter Intelligence Project, they would count as 12000 points for purposes of seeing if enemy intelligence projects can overcome it.
Ground Combat Damage Modifier Percent := 30
This modifier is used to increase or decrease the amount of damage done in ground combat (to both sides). Its a good way to speed up or slow down ground combat.
Number Of Space Combat Turns := 30 Number Of Ground Combat Turns := 10
These lines determine the maximum number of turns that can occur in one combat. Setting Number Of Ground Combat Turns to 1 or 2 makes it so that reinforcements on both sides can be dropped more easily on the besieged planet. Also, if the combat takes more than one Game Turn, the planet can build Troops to fight in its defense.
Ram Ship Source Modifier Percent := 60 Ram Ship Target Modifier Percent := 100
These values modify the damage done to the opposing ship when a Ram order is executed. The Ram Ship Source is applied to the damage done by the ship that is doing the ramming (the one that executed the Ram order). The Ram Ship Target is applied to the ship that is getting rammed (the target of the Ram order). The damage done by each ship in the ram is equal to the total remaining structure of the ship (its hit points), with shields not included in this figure. Damaged ships do less damage in a ram. This total is then modified by the appropriate value, Source for the rammer or Target for the rammee. Damage done by the ramming ship is Normal damage. Damage done by the rammed ship (target) is Skips Shielding damage. So, shields are ignored for the damage done to the ramming ship, but the damage done to the rammed ship is applied to shielding first. If the ramming ship has Warheads on it, then the Warhead damage is added to total damage that it does.
With the default values, say you have a ramming ship with 400 structural hit points and 400 shield points, and a target ship with 300 structural hit points and 400 shield points. The ramming ship will do 240 damage to the target ship. The target ship will do 300 damage to the ramming ship. After the ram, the ramming ship will have 100 structural hit points and 400 shield points left (assuming no shield generating components were destroyed) and the rammed ship will have 300 structural hit points and 160 shield points left.
AI Uses Mega Evil Empire := True AI Mega Evil Empire Threshold Score Thousands := 500 AI Human Mega Evil Empire Score Percent := 170 AI Computer Mega Evil Empire Score Percent := 250
These lines determine when (and if) an empire triggers the Mega Evil state. While in this state, all AI empires will declare war upon the Mega Evil empire, and will not accept peace. The empire must have a score of at least the "Threshold Score Thousands" value. It's score must be at least "Human Mega Evil Empire Score Percent" as much as the 2nd place empire.
Home System Percentage Value With No Spaceport := 25
This is used only in score calculations. If the Home System of an empire loses it's spaceport, then it still adds 25% of it's score value to the empire's score.
Random Player Personality Groups := 4 Random Player Personality Group 1 Percent := 30 Random Player Personality Group 2 Percent := 30 Random Player Personality Group 3 Percent := 30 Random Player Personality Group 4 Percent := 10
These have to do with AI empires selected during a game setup with random empires.
Captured Ship Additional Reload Combat Turns := 10
If a ship is boarded and captures, it must wait this many combat turns before it can fire again.
Maximum Population For Abandon Planet Order := 50
You cannot give the Abandon Planet order to a planet that has more than this level of population.
Population Mass := 5
This is how many Kilotons of cargo space one unit of population takes up. One unit of population is 1 million people.
Reproduction Check Frequency := 1
Changing this value can slow down the rate of reproduction. At the default setting, this causes the population growth rate per turn to equal the planet's Reproduction Rate / 10. Increasing this value will slow down reproduction. If set at 10, as in Proportions, then the growth rate is only 1 / 10 the normal value. The Reproduction Rate then becomes the population growth per 10 years instead of per 1 year. It functions according to this formula:
pop growth per turn = planetary reproduction rate / 10 / reproduction check frequency
Minimum Computer Player Low Setting := 1 Maximum Computer Player Low Setting := 3 Minimum Computer Player Medium Setting := 3 Maximum Computer Player Medium Setting := 7 Minimum Computer Player High Setting := 6 Maximum Computer Player High Setting := 10 Minimum Neutral Player Low Setting := 1 Maximum Neutral Player Low Setting := 3 Minimum Neutral Player Medium Setting := 3 Maximum Neutral Player Medium Setting := 7 Minimum Neutral Player High Setting := 6 Maximum Neutral Player High Setting := 10
These determine the range of the number of computer opponents generated when creating a game with a random number of AI players.
Fighter Supply Usage Per Turn := 5
This setting controls how many supplies a fighter in space (not in cargo of a ship or planet) uses per game turn.
Fighters Can Be Hit By Mines := True
This controls whether fighters can hit mines or not. If set to false, fighters can enter sectors with enemy mines in them and they will not trigger them.
Maximum Planet Percent Value := 250 Minimum Planet Percent Value := 0
These settings control the range of values that a planet can ever have in an infinite resources game. The most common way that planet values change is through the use of Value Improvement Plants. With the sample settings, a Value Improvement Plant cannot raise the value of any planet above 250%.
Maximum Planet Resource Value := 999000000 Minimum Planet Resource Value := 0
These settings control the range of values that a planet can ever have in a finite resources game. The most common way that planet values change is through the use of Value Improvement Plants. With the sample settings, a Value Improvement Plant cannot raise the value of any planet above 999000000 points.
Bases Can Join Fleets := False
This setting controls whether bases can or cannot join Fleets. If they can join fleets, they will share their infinite supplies with any ships that join the fleet. The point of bases having infinite supply is so that the players (and AIs) do not have to worry about resupplying an immobile base. The only way to prevent bases from creating infinite supplies for ships (while leaving them with the vehicle type of base and not making them Ships with 0 max engines) is to prevent them from joining fleets in the first place.
No Retrofit Adding Of Spaceyards := True No Retrofit Adding Of Colony Module := True
With these set to true, it is impossible to retrofit a ship from a design with no (Space Yard or Colony Module) to one with a (Space Yard or Colony Module).
Seeker Combat Defense Modifier := 40
This setting controls the inherent penalty to be hit of seekers (such as Capital Ship Missiles). Since this can not be modded for an individual seeker component, this global setting was added.
Planet Combat Offense Modifier := 30 Planet Combat Defense Modifier := -200
These control the base bonus to hit and bonus to hit (respectively) for planets in combat.
Ships are the main portion of an empire's military. First, we shall take a look at VehicleSize.txt. This file controls all of the vehicle sizes in the game. Vehicle sizes can not be made obsolete. All available vehicle sizes will be displayed. Take the Escort for example:
Name := Escort Short Name := Escort Description := Code := ES Primary Bitmap Name := Escort Alternate Bitmap Name := Escort Vehicle Type := Ship Tonnage := 150 Cost Minerals := 150 Cost Organics := 0 Cost Radioactives := 0 Engines Per Move := 1 Number of Tech Req := 1 Tech Area Req 1 := Ship Construction Tech Level Req 1 := 1 Number of Abilities := 1 Ability 1 Type := Combat To Hit Defense Plus Ability 1 Descr := Small size makes ship 40% harder to hit in combat. Ability 1 Val 1 := 40 Ability 1 Val 2 := 0 Requirement Must Have Bridge := True Requirement Can Have Aux Con := True Requirement Min Life Support := 1 Requirement Min Crew Quarters := 1 Requirement Uses Engines := True Requirement Max Engines := 6 Requirement Pct Fighter Bays := 0 Requirement Pct Colony Mods := 0 Requirement Pct Cargo := 0
The first line of the file is the name of the ship that is displayed in-game on most screens. The Short Name is displayed in certain areas. The description, which is blank in the standard files, will be displayed when viewing a ship's hull.
Code := ES
This is displayed in several report screens where there is not enough space to place the full name. It is best to not make it longer than 2 characters.
Primary Bitmap Name := Escort Alternate Bitmap Name := Escort
SEIV looks for graphics in this order:
So you can use custom images for your ship sizes. It is best to leave the Secondary Bitmap Name to a default image, in case a race doesn't have the Primary Bitmap.
Vehicle Type := Ship
This line is very important. It tells the game what type of vehicle it is. The only allowable values here are: Ship, Base, Fighter, Satellite, Mine, Troop, Weapon Platform, Drone.
Tonnage := 150 Cost Minerals := 150 Cost Organics := 0 Cost Radioactives := 0
These lines determine how much space is available on the ship and how much the base cost of the ship is.
Engines Per Move := 1 Requirement Uses Engines := True Requirement Max Engines := 6
These lines determine whether or not the vehicle in question can have engines (and therefor move). You can change the Engines Per Move to get vastly different propulsion schemes. By increasing the Standard Movement that engines give ships and increasing the Engines Per Move to varying levels for different ships, you can create different systems of propulsion than the normal game has. Check Pirates & Nomads, which was one of the first mods to use the Quasi-Newtonian Propulsion System, where thrust is proportional to a ship's mass.
Number of Tech Req := 1 Tech Area Req 1 := Ship Construction Tech Level Req 1 := 1
These lines determine the technologies required to make the ship be able to be built. The Tech Area Req must be a technology that is defined in TechArea.txt. The Tech Level Req can be any whole number. If set to a higher number than TechArea.txt defines, You can add more tech requirements by increasing the Number of Tech Req and copying the other two lines, replacing "1" with sequentially numbered Req #. Here is an example:
Number of Tech Req := 3 Tech Area Req 1 := Ship Construction Tech Level Req 1 := 5 Tech Area Req 2 := Physics Tech Level Req 2 := 1 Tech Area Req 3 := Military Science Tech Level Req 3 := 2
Arbitrary tech requirements have been assigned. Make sure that the Tech Req is no greater than the number of defined Tech Requirements. It can be lower. If it is set to 2 in this example, the ship will be available with Ship Construction 5 and Physics 1. It will not require Military Science.
Number of Abilities := 1 Ability 1 Type := Combat To Hit Defense Plus Ability 1 Descr := Small size makes ship 40% harder to hit in combat. Ability 1 Val 1 := 40 Ability 1 Val 2 := 0
These lines define the built-in abilities of the vehicle. Make sure that the the Number of Abilities is not greater than the number of defined abilities. You can add more abilities, exactly like adding more Tech Requirements above.
Requirement Must Have Bridge := True Requirement Can Have Aux Con := True Requirement Min Life Support := 1 Requirement Min Crew Quarters := 1
These determine the control component requirements for vehicles. It is similar for all types of vehicles. For Mines, Drones, Satellites and Weapon Platforms, the "bridge" components is a Computer Core that has the Bridge ability. You can set these requirements to 0 if you want. However, if you do this for a ship type, and one is built without at least a Bridge, 1 Life Support and 1 Crew Quarter, it will receive the penalties of losing these components. So, if you want to have a ship that does not require one of these components, it is a good idea to build the ability into the hull.
Requirement Pct Fighter Bays := 0 Requirement Pct Colony Mods := 0 Requirement Pct Cargo := 0
These lines determine the requirements for some special components, Fighter Bays, Colony Modules, and Cargo. They are a percent of the ship's total hull size. You can use these to create components that can take up cargo storage without actually being cargo. To do this, you would have to add, for example, this ability to the component that you want to be able to be substituted for cargo bays:
Ability 1 Type := Cargo Storage Ability 1 Descr := Counts as a Cargo Bay. Ability 1 Val 1 := 0 Ability 1 Val 2 := 0
You could, for example, place this on a Space Yard component. With 0 storage, the Space Yard won't be able to store anything. However, you could place it onto a Medium Transport and satisfy the transport's cargo requirement.
Now that you know a bit about the mechanics of vehicle sizes, lets take a look at what goes into them: components.
Name := Rock Colony Description := Materials needed to start a colony on a rock planet. Pic Num := 54 Tonnage Space Taken := 200 Tonnage Structure := 200 Cost Minerals := 2000 Cost Organics := 1000 Cost Radioactives := 1000 Vehicle Type := Ship\Base Supply Amount Used := 0 Restrictions := None General Group := Colonizing Family := 5001 Roman Numeral := 0 Custom Group := 0 Number of Tech Req := 1 Tech Area Req 1 := Rock Planet Colonization Tech Level Req 1 := 1 Number of Abilities := 2 Ability 1 Type := Colonize Planet - Rock Ability 1 Descr := Can colonize a rock based planet. Ability 1 Val 1 := Ability 1 Val 2 := Ability 2 Type := Cargo Storage Ability 2 Descr := Provides 20kT worth of cargo space. Ability 2 Val 1 := 20 Ability 2 Val 2 := 0 Weapon Type := None
The Name and Description are easy enough: they are what players can use to identify different components.
Pic Num := 54
This value determines which picture is displayed when looking at the component in-game. The component pictures are located in the Pictures\Components subfolder of the SEIV root folder.
Tonnage Space Taken := 200
This line determines how much space that the component will take up when placed in a vehicle. It is measured in Kilotons, an arbitrary unit. Don't be too worried about how much everything "weighs" realistically. Does a Small Fighter really weigh 15,000 tons? I didn't think so.
Tonnage Structure := 200
This value determines how much damage the component can take before it is destroyed. For units, components are not destroyed individually. Instead, the total structure of all components is added up, and that is how much damage it takes to destroy the unit entirely.
Vehicle Type := Ship\Base
This determines what types of vehicles the component can be place on. The allowable values for this field are as follows: Ship, Base, Fighter, Satellite, Mine, Troop, Drone, WeapPlatform, Ship\Base, Ship\Base\Sat, Ship\Base\Sat\Drone, Ship\Base\Sat\WeapPlat\Drone, Ftr\Trp, Ship\Base\Drone, All
Vechicle List Type Override := Ship, Base, Fighter, Satellite, Troop, Drone, WeapPlatform
The typo in "Vechicle" is hard-coded into the game executable. This field is optional. If it is present, the field "Vehicle List Type Description" is required. If this field is present, the Vehicle Type field will be ignored. The component will be useable on any vehicle type in the comma separated list. In this example, the component can be placed on anything except for a mine.
Vehicle List Type Description := All But Mine
This field is optional. If it is present, the field "Vechicle List Type Override" is required. If this field is present, the Vehicle Type field will be ignored. When displaying a component in-game, the text of this field will be displayed in the "Vehicle Types" field of a component description.
Supply Amount Used := 0
This value has several different possible functions, depending on the component type. For weapons and components that can be "used" (such as Stellar Manipulation components), it is how many supplies are removed from the vehicle's supply stores. This only pertains to Ships, Fighters and Drones. Other vehicle types do not use supplies. For some component types, like Cloaking Devices, this is how many supplies are used per turn that it is "activated". For engines, only components that have the Standard Ship Movement ability contribute to how many supplies are used when the ship moves. Basically, sum up the Supply Amount Used value for every component on the ship that provides at least one Standard Ship Movement point (not bonus move, or extra movement generation, or combat movement). This value is how many supplies are used each time the ship moves one sector on the system map. As multiple sectors can be traversed in a turn, the supplies used in a turn of movement will be the sum times sectors moved.
Restrictions := None
The restrictions are used to set the maximum number of components of a given family that can be placed on a ship. The AI will ignore this setting, however, so care must be taken with their ship designs so that they will not go over the limits. The values that work are None, One Per Vehicle, Two Per Vehicle, Three Per Vehicle, Four Per Vehicle Five Per Vehicle, Six Per Vehicle, Seven Per Vehicle, Eight Per Vehicle, Nine Per Vehicle, and Ten Per Vehicle.
General Group := Colonizing
This is what determines where the component goes in the Design Window when you sort the components by type.
Family := 5001
This line tells SEIV what components belong in the same family. Two components are in the same family if they have the same family number. It is also used to determine what gets hidden when the user selects the "Only Latest" button. When this button is selected, only the last available component in the family is displayed in the construction window, as long as there is nothing in between them. If there is another component between two components of the same family, then both will be displayed when "Only Latest" is selected.
Roman Numeral := 1
This is an aesthetic label that tells the user which components within a family are "more advanced" than others. The higher the Roman Numeral, the more advanced it is. Unlike with facilities, the Roman Numeral for components has no in-game effect other than what numeral is displayed over the mini component image. Numbers up to 30 will be displayed as roman numerals (e.g.: XXX). Numbers above 30 will be displayed as Arabic Numerals (e.g.: 31). The Name of a component should end with the Roman Numeral assigned to it, unless it is 0. If the Roman Numeral is 0, then there is no Roman Numeral assigned to it. This is used for components that are the only member of their family, like Colony Modules.
Number of Tech Req := 1 Tech Area Req 1 := Rock Colonization Tech Level Req 1 := 1
These lines determine the technologies required to be able to build the facility. Do not set the Number of Tech Req to a number greater than the number of Tech Reqs defined for the facility.
Custom Group := 0
This value is ignored on all components except for one type: Ringworld and Sphereworld components. It is used by the Generators to determine which type of component can be used as a requirement to build the Ringworld or Sphereworld. It is used on the Planetary Gravity Plating and the Hyper-Density Cables to tell the game that those are the components that can be used to build the Ringworld or Sphereworld. This process will be explained in greater detail later on.
=0=
Now, we shall take a look at a weapon. We shall look at the Depleted Uranium Cannon V for an example.
Name := Depleted Uranium Cannon V Description := Medium range cannon which fires large depleted uranium shells. Pic Num := 98 Tonnage Space Taken := 30 Tonnage Structure := 30 Cost Minerals := 300 Cost Organics := 0 Cost Radioactives := 25 Vehicle Type := Ship\Base\Sat\WeapPlat\Drone Supply Amount Used := 2 Restrictions := None General Group := Weapons Family := 2027 Roman Numeral := 5 Custom Group := 0 Number of Tech Req := 1 Tech Area Req 1 := Projectile Weapons Tech Level Req 1 := 5 Number of Abilities := 0 Weapon Type := Direct Fire Weapon Target := Ships\Planets\Ftr\Sat\Drone Weapon List Target Override := Ships, Planets, Fighter, Satellite, Drone Weapon List Target Description := Ships\Planets\Ftr\Sat\Drone Weapon Damage At Rng := 40 40 40 40 40 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Weapon Damage Type := Normal Weapon Reload Rate := 1 Weapon Display Type := Torp Weapon Display := 19 Weapon Modifier := 0 Weapon Sound := uranc.wav Weapon Family := 25
The weapon has all the same lines except for the Weapon X lines are added to it.
Weapon Type := Direct Fire
This tells the game what type of weapon the component is. If set to None, then the component has no weapon properties, and cannot be fired as a weapon. You can design "combo" components, that are both a normal component and a weapon. For example, you could take a Shield Generator and mod in Weapon abilities. This component would both generate shielding and be usable as a weapon. These are the allowable Weapon Types:
None, Direct Fire, Seeking, Point-Defense, Warhead
None cause the component to not be a weapon.
Direct Fire makes it into a beam type weapon, such as a Depleted Uranium Cannon or an Anti-Proton Beam.
Seeking makes the weapon into a missile weapon. It will fire missiles at targets. An example is the Capital Ship Missile.
Point-Defense makes the weapon into a Direct Fire weapon that fires automatically at enemy targets as soon as they move into range.
A Warhead weapon adds it's damage value to the total damage that the vehicle does to it's target when given the Ram order. Warheads do NOT add damage to a vehicle that gets rammed, only to the attacking vehicle.
Weapon Target := Ships\Planets\Ftr\Sat\Drone
This determines what a weapon can target.
Weapon List Target Override := Ships, Planets, Fighter, Satellite, Drone
This field is optional. If it is present, the Weapon Target field will be ignored, and the "Weapon List Target Description" field is required. This determines what a weapon can target using comma separated lists.
Weapon List Target Description := Ships\Planets\Ftr\Sat\Drone
This field is optional. If it is present, the Weapon Target field will be ignored, and the "Weapon List Target Override" field is required. This field is the text that will be displayed for the Weapon Target field of a component description in-game.
Weapon Damage At Rng := 40 40 40 40 40 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
This line determines what the range of the weapon is and how much damage it does at every possible range. There must be 20 values here. For a seeking weapon, this also determines the range of the seeker in combat, before it "runs out of fuel" and disappears. For troop weapons, range is ignored. All weapons are assumed to be fired at range 1 in troop combat.
You CAN add a 21st value to this line. It has some odd effects. If you make a seeker with a range of 21 or greater, it will have unlimited "fuel" during combat, and will not disappear until it hits its target, the target is destroyed, or the combat ends.
Weapon Damage Type := Normal
This value determines what type of damage the weapon does. The possible types of damage are:
Normal, Shields Only, Skips Normal Shields, Only Engines, Only Weapons,
Plague Level 1, Plague Level 2, Plague Level 3, Plague Level 4, Plague Level 5,
Only Planet Population, Only Planet Conditions, Only Resupply Depots,
Only Spaceports, Pushes Target, Pulls Target, Random Target Movement,
Only Shield Generators, Only Boarding Parties, Only Security Stations,
Only Planet Destroyers, Skips Armor, Skips Shields And Armor,
Quad Damage To Shields, Increase Reload Time, Disrupt Reload Time,
Crew Conversion, Only Master Computers, Skips All Shields,
Double Damage To Shields, Half Damage To Shields, Quarter Damage To Shields
They are all pretty self-explanatory. However, Only X Type (such as Only Shield Generators, Only Engines, etc.) damage is ignored if it cannot destroy a component completely in one hit. Example: if Engines have 20 structure, an Only Engines damage type weapon that does 15 points of damage will not do anything to the target ship. 2 shots will not stack. Since each shot cannot destroy a component entirely, all of the damage gets ignored. SE4 does not keep track of partial damage for Only X Types.
Weapon Reload Rate := 1
This determines how long it takes to "reload" the weapon. A value of 1 means that the weapon will be able to fire every round during combat. A value of 2 means that the weapon will be able to fire every other round. For troop weapons, reload rate is ignored. All weapons are assumed to have a reload rate of 1 in troop combat.
Weapon Display Type := Torp
This value determines what picture type is displayed when the weapon type is fired in combat.
Weapon Display := 19
This determines which graphic from the appropriate file in Pictures\Combat is used to display the weapon's firing.
Weapon Modifier := 0
For Direct Fire weapons, this is added to the weapon's chance to hit. If negative, it will make it less likely that the weapon will be able to hit it's targets.
Weapon Sound := uranc.wav
This determines which sound is played when the weapon is fired in combat.
Weapon Family := 25
This value is used in place of the normal Family value for weapon components.
Technologies are one of the simplest areas to mod. However, they can have the most profound of effects. For reference, "tech" is an abbreviation for "technology."
Name := Physics Group := Theoretical Science Description := The science dealing with the properties and interactions of matter and energy. Maximum Level := 4 Level Cost := 50000 Start Level := 0 Raise Level := 1 Racial Area := 0 Unique Area := 0 Can Be Removed := True Number of Tech Req := 0 Name := Shields Group := Applied Science Description := Protective energy barrier which surrounds a starship or base. Maximum Level := 10 Level Cost := 10000 Start Level := 0 Raise Level := 0 Racial Area := 0 Unique Area := 0 Can Be Removed := True Number of Tech Req := 1 Tech Area Req 1 := Physics Tech Level Req 1 := 1 Name := Energy Stream Weapons Group := Weapon Technology Description := Weapons employing a continuous stream of energy. Maximum Level := 12 Level Cost := 5000 Start Level := 0 Raise Level := 2 Racial Area := 0 Unique Area := 0 Can Be Removed := True Number of Tech Req := 1 Tech Area Req 1 := Physics Tech Level Req 1 := 1
We shall take a look at 3 different technologies. Physics, a theoretical technology, allows Shields and Energy Stream Weapons to be researched.
Name := Physics
This line is the name of the technology. It is important to note that this line creates what is called a "Technology Area". Generally, you can research multiple levels in a Tech Area. For this example, this entry has created the Physics Technology Area, which has 4 levels in it.
Group := Theoretical Science
This line determines where the tech is located in the Research Window. Any group name can be used. SEIV will just add a new area for the tech group.
Maximum Level := 4
This determines the number of levels in the Tech Area. For this example, the entry has set up Physics 1, Physics 2, Physics 3 and Physics 4.
Level Cost := 50000
This is the cost to research level 1 in the Tech Area. It determines the cost to research higher levels, based upon what Tech Cost the game was set up to use.
Start Level := 0
This determines the starting number of tech levels each empire receives when starting a game with a "Low Tech Start." The 3 colonization tech areas are a special case which the game will set higher based on your racial traits.
SE4 treats colony module technologies differently than other technologies. It ignores the Start and Raise Levels. 1 level is given in the first tech area in the file that gives the appropriate colony module type, based on what planet type the race's homeworld uses. No other levels in these tech areas are given to the empire. If you make Rock Colonization Technology have 2 max levels and set it's Start Level to 2, non-rock races get no tech levels, and rock races get 1 tech level in Rock Colonization Technology. The Start Level is ignored. In High Tech Start games, all of the available colony techs are given.
Raise Level := 1
This determines the starting number of tech levels each empire receives when starting a game with a "Medium Tech Start." If the Start Level is higher than this value, the game will use it instead.
Racial Area := 0
This determines whether the technology is a Racial Tech or a Normal Tech. You can add new Racial Tech areas at will. Make sure to add Racial Abilities for them. The number placed in this field is what determines what racial ability is required to research the technology. A race can not have a racial technology for which it does not possess the required Racial Ability. However, you can mod capturable racial technologies. Here is how it works (assume "you" are the empire without the racial trait):
Tech A is a racial tech
Tech B is a normal tech that requires tech A, level 1
Tech C is a normal tech that requires tech B, level 1
Results:
-you CANNOT steal tech A
-you CANNOT research tech A
-you CAN steal tech B
-you CANNOT research tech B
-you CAN steal tech C
-you CAN research tech C, if you have stolen tech B, level 1
Unique Area := 0
This tells the game if the tech is a Unique Tech or a Normal Tech. Unique Techs are the technologies given by colonizing a planet that has an "Ancient Ruins Unique" ability on it. A tech can be both Racial and Unique. This means that if you make a racially Organic tech that is also Unique, this is what will happen: A race colonizes the planet. If the race has the Organic trait, it gets the Unique Tech. If the race isn't organic, it gets nothing.
Can Be Removed := True
This tells SEIV whether the Tech Area can be removed from play when setting up a game.
Number of Tech Req := 1 Tech Area Req 1 := Physics Tech Level Req 1 := 1
This determines the prerequisite technologies that will allow you to begin research into a Tech Area. Make sure that Number of Tech Req does not exceed the number of defined tech requirements.
Now that we understand the basics of how to make techs, lets see how they all work together. In our running example, a beginning empire on a Low Tech Start cannot research Shields or Energy Stream Weapons. They can research Physics, a Theoretical Tech. Generally, the techs in SEIV are set up so that you first research a Theoretical Tech, which gives nothing on it's own, but allows Applied Techs and/or Weapons Techs to be researched. Once an empire researches Physics 1, it will be able to research Shields and Energy Stream Weapons (plus a number of other technologies). Researching level 2 in the Physics Tech Area gives access to more Applied and Weapons Techs, such as Phased Energy Weapons.
By now, you should have a basic understanding of how the files work. This chapter shall deal with Facilities. The information in it may begin to sound repetitive.
First, we will take a look at how SE4 determines the starting facilities on a homeworld planet. This is unfortunately hard-coded, and so the starting facility lineup can only be altered indirectly. Here is how it works:
The facilities on the homeworld will be added as follows (all must be available with starting technology):
1) The last facility with the Spaceport ability in the file.
2) The last facility with the Space Yard ability in the file.
3) The last facility with the Resupply ability in the file.
4) One facility that has the highest level of the Resource Generation - Organics ability.
5) One facility that has the highest level of the Resource Generation - Radioactives ability.
6) One facility that has the highest level of the Resource Generation - Minerals ability.
7) One facility that has the highest level of the Point Generation - Research ability.
8) Repeat 6 & 7 until the planet is filled.
Position in the file is irrelevant for the resource/research facilities. Technically, the Mineral facilities are added before the Organics and Radioactives ones (at least the first one is). But, they are presented in this order for ease of reading. There is 0 difference for in-game effects (unless you mod the planet used as a homeworld to only have 4 facility slots, of course).
=0=
Now we shall take a look at a sample facility.
Name := Space Yard Facility I Description := Large construction facility which allows the construction of ships in space. Facility Group := Space Yard Facility Family := 38 Roman Numeral := 1 Restrictions := None Pic Num := 16 Cost Minerals := 10000 Cost Organics := 0 Cost Radioactives := 0 Number of Tech Req := 1 Tech Area Req 1 := Space Yards Tech Level Req 1 := 1 Number of Abilities := 4 Ability 1 Type := Space Yard Ability 1 Descr := Can construct with 2000 minerals per turn. Ability 1 Val 1 := 1 Ability 1 Val 2 := 2000 Ability 2 Type := Space Yard Ability 2 Descr := Can construct with 2000 organics per turn. Ability 2 Val 1 := 2 Ability 2 Val 2 := 2000 Ability 3 Type := Space Yard Ability 3 Descr := Can construct with 2000 radioactives per turn. Ability 3 Val 1 := 3 Ability 3 Val 2 := 2000 Ability 4 Type := Component Repair Ability 4 Descr := Can repair 5 components per turn. Ability 4 Val 1 := 5 Ability 4 Val 2 := 0
The Space Yard is a good example to work off of.
Name := Space Yard Facility I
Like components, the name of facilities should have the appropriate Roman Numeral on the end, unless it is the only facility in it's family.
Facility Group := Space Yard
This line tells SEIV where to place the facility in the list in the Construction Window for planets.
Facility Family := 38
This tells SEIV what facilities belong in the same family. Two facilities are in the same family if they have the same family number. This is used to determine what facilities are upgraded to what with the Upgrade button, in conjunction with the Roman Numeral. It is also used to determine what gets hidden when the user selects the "Only Latest" button. When this button is selected, only the last available facility in the family is displayed in the construction window.
Roman Numeral := 1
This tells SEIV which facilities within a family are "more advanced" than others. The higher the Roman Numeral, the more advanced it is. A higher Roman Numeral facility within the same family will make a facility upgradable if it is placed immediately after it in Facility.txt. The Space Yard I can be upgraded to the Space Yard II because they are in the same Family and the SY II has a higher Roman Numeral than the SY I. It can range from 0-20. The Name of a facility should end with the Roman Numeral assigned to it, unless it is 0. If the Roman Numeral is 0, then there is no Roman Numeral assigned to it. This is used for facilities that are the only member of their family, like Spaceports.
Restrictions := None
This line is not used by SEIV.
Cost Minerals := 10000 Cost Organics := 0 Cost Radioactives := 0
These lines determine the cost of building the facility. When upgrading a facility to a more advanced version, the build costs are multiplied by the Upgrade Facility Cost Percent line in Settings.txt to determine the cost to upgrade.
Number of Tech Req := 1 Tech Area Req 1 := Space Yards Tech Level Req 1 := 1
These lines determine the technologies required to be able to build the facility. Do not set the Number of Tech Req to a number greater than the number of Tech Reqs defined for the facility.
Number of Abilities := 4 Ability 1 Type := Space Yard Ability 1 Descr := Can construct with 2000 minerals per turn. Ability 1 Val 1 := 1 Ability 1 Val 2 := 2000
These lines determine the abilities that the facility has. Do not set the Number of Abilities to a number greater than the number of Abilities defined for the facility.
The Quadrants.txt file determines how the systems are arranged on the Galaxy Map, and how many of each type of system is in a particular map.
There can be as many types of quadrants in the file as you want. We shall take a look at part of the Mid-Life quadrant:
Name := Mid-Life Description := Standard middle age section of the galaxy. Min Dist Between Systems := 1 System Placement := Random Max Warp Points per Sys := 5 Min Angle Between WP := 60 Number of System Types := 39 Type 1 Name := Standard 1 Type 1 Chance := 240 Type 2 Name := Standard 2 Type 2 Chance := 237 Type 3 Name := Standard 3 Type 3 Chance := 195
The rest of it is just more system types, and so is repetitive.
Name := Mid-Life Description := Standard middle age section of the galaxy.
The name is what is displayed when selecting a quadrant type when creating a game. The Description is never displayed anywhere.
Min Dist Between Systems := 1
This is the minimum number of system squares on the Galaxy Map that must be between each system. At 1, this means that no 2 systems can be in directly adjacent squares.
System Placement := Random
This determines how the systems are set up on the Map. The possible values are: Random, Clusters, Spiral, Diffuse, Grid. Random places the systems in a chaotic fashion. Cluster makes the systems be placed in 12 areas on the map. The systems are concentrated in these 12 groups. The groups are organized with 4 groups in 3 rows on the Map. Spiral makes the systems organized into a spiral-type pattern. Diffuse places the systems in a more organized fashion than Random. Grid sets the systems into a rigid gridded pattern.
Max Warp Points per Sys := 5
This determines the maximum warp points that can be in a system. This can be overridden to ensure connectivity.
Min Angle Between WP := 60
This determines the minimum angle that the warp lines coming out of a system on the Galaxy Map can make. This can be overridden to ensure connectivity.
Number of System Types := 39
This determines how many system types can be in the galaxy.
Type 1 Name := Standard 1 Type 1 Chance := 240 Type 2 Name := Standard 2 Type 2 Chance := 237 Type 3 Name := Standard 3 Type 3 Chance := 195
These lines determines which system types can be present in the quadrant, and what chance they have of appearing. The Chances are in tenths of a percent. They should total up to 1000 (100%) for the quadrant. However, do not worry to much about getting it at exactly 1000. If the total is 1010, 990, or something like that, SEIV will compensate and readjust the values when it generates maps with that quadrant.
SystemTypes.txt is the file that defines all of the Systems called for in QuadrantTypes.txt.
Name := Standard 1 Description := Standard solar system. System Physical Type := Normal Background Bitmap := Starmap.bmp Empires Can Start In := TRUE Mask Background Objs := FALSE Non-Tiled Center Pic := FALSE Number of Abilities := 0 WP Stellar Abil Type := Normal Warp Point Number of System Objs := 12 Obj 1 Physical Type := Star Obj 1 Position := Ring 1 Obj 1 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Star Obj 1 Size := Any Obj 1 Age := Any Obj 1 Color := Any Obj 1 Luminosity := Any Obj 2 Physical Type := Planet Obj 2 Position := Ring 2 Obj 2 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet Obj 2 Size := Any Obj 2 Atmosphere := Any Obj 2 Composition := Any Obj 3 Physical Type := Planet Obj 3 Position := Ring 3 Obj 3 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet Obj 3 Size := Any Obj 3 Atmosphere := Any Obj 3 Composition := Any Obj 4 Physical Type := Planet Obj 4 Position := Ring 3 Obj 4 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet Obj 4 Size := Any Obj 4 Atmosphere := Any Obj 4 Composition := Any Obj 5 Physical Type := Planet Obj 5 Position := Ring 4 Obj 5 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet Obj 5 Size := Any Obj 5 Atmosphere := Any Obj 5 Composition := Any Obj 6 Physical Type := Planet Obj 6 Position := Ring 4 Obj 6 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet Obj 6 Size := Any Obj 6 Atmosphere := Any Obj 6 Composition := Any Obj 7 Physical Type := Planet Obj 7 Position := Ring 5 Obj 7 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet Obj 7 Size := Any Obj 7 Atmosphere := Any Obj 7 Composition := Any Obj 8 Physical Type := Planet Obj 8 Position := Ring 5 Obj 8 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet Obj 8 Size := Any Obj 8 Atmosphere := Any Obj 8 Composition := Any Obj 9 Physical Type := Storm Obj 9 Position := Ring 5 Obj 9 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Storm Obj 9 Size := Any Obj 10 Physical Type := Planet Obj 10 Position := Ring 6 Obj 10 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet Obj 10 Size := Any Obj 10 Atmosphere := Any Obj 10 Composition := Any Obj 11 Physical Type := Planet Obj 11 Position := Ring 6 Obj 11 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Planet Obj 11 Size := Any Obj 11 Atmosphere := Any Obj 11 Composition := Any Obj 12 Physical Type := Asteroids Obj 12 Position := Ring 6 Obj 12 Stellar Abil Type := Normal Asteroids Obj 12 Size := Any Obj 12 Atmosphere := Any Obj 12 Composition := Any
This standard system is one of the three generic Solar Systems.
Description := Standard solar system.
This description is shown when a player clicks on the background of the System Map in the game.
System Physical Type := Normal
This determines what basic type of system the system is. The possibilities are: Normal, Nebulae, Black Hole. Basically, Storms and Nebulae use the "Nebulae" type, Black Holes use the "Black Hole" type, and everything else uses "Normal." This setting actually has no real effect on the game.
Background Bitmap := Starmap.bmp
This is the picture from Pictures\Systems that is placed as the background when the system is viewed on the System Map. There are 3 possible pictures used. If SEIV is run in 800x600 screen resolution, the picture from Pictures\Systems\800X600 is used. If SEIV is run in 1024x768 or greater screen resolution, the picture from Pictures\Systems\1024X768 is used. The pictures that are in Pictures\System are displayed in the Info Box when a player clicks on the background of a system in the System Map in order to view the special info for the system.
Empires Can Start In := TRUE
This tells SEIV if empires can have homeworlds in the system or not. Generally, an extra planet is added to a home system for the homeworlds. This setting can be overridden if every system in the galaxy has this set to FALSE.
Mask Background Objs := FALSE
This determines whether objects within the system such as planets, warp points, etc. need to be masked when drawn on the background bitmap.
Non-Tiled Center Pic := FALSE
This tells SEIV whether the picture displayed should be shown in the center of the Combat Map and it is not tiled or not. If set to TRUE, the image will be displayed in the center of the Combat Map. If FALSE, it will be tiled in the Combat Map. This means that it will be placed in the top left corner of the map and then copied directly next to it as many times as necessary to fill the map. It will be placed beneath it too.
Number of Abilities := 0
This determines the number of abilities inherent to the system that affect everything in every sector (square) of the System Map. This should not be greater than the number of abilities defined immediately following this line.
WP Stellar Abil Type := Normal Warp Point
This tells SEIV what type of Warp Points to use from StellarAbilityTypes.txt for the Warp Points generated for the system.
Number of System Objs := 12
This determines the number of objects located within the system. This should not be greater than the number of objects defined for the system.
Now we shall look at the coding for individual objects within the system. The following lines must be present for every object:
Obj X Physical Type :=
This determines what type of object is being defined. The possible Object Types are: Planet, Asteroids, Storm, Sun, Destroyed Star, Comet.
Obj X Position :=
This determines where in the system the object will be located. The possible locations are:
Ring 1 : Center Square of System.
Ring 2 - 7 : 1 - 6 squares out from Center of System.
The actual position in the ring is completely random.
Coord X, Y : A coordinate position within the system.
X is horizontal position from 0 to 12,
Y is vertical position from 0 to 12.
There is no randomness to this placement.
Same As X : The same position as Obj X.
There is no randomness to this placement.
Circle Radius X: A true circle in the system at distance X.
The actual position in the ring is completely random.
Obj X Stellar Abil Type :=
This is the type that will be used to determine what random ability the object has. They are defined in StellarAbilityTypes.txt.
Obj X Size :=
This determines the size of the object. It can be: Any, Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, Huge.
For storms, this is all you need. But for other objects, you need more lines. Stars need:
Obj X Age := Any Obj X Color := Any Obj X Luminosity := Any
Age can be: Any, Young, Average, Old, Ancient.
Color can be: Any, Yellow, Red, Purple, Green, Blue, White, Orange.
Luminosity can be: Any, Dim, Average, Bright, Super Bright.
Planets require the following lines:
Obj X Atmosphere :=
This is the atmosphere of the planet. It can be: Any, None, Methane, Oxygen, Hydrogen, Carbon Dioxide.
Obj X Composition :=
This is the planet's Type. It can be: Any, Rock, Ice, Gas Giant.
Asteroids require the following lines:
Obj X Atmosphere := Any Obj X Composition := Any
These should be left at Any. Asteroids are all None Rock. Since they cannot be anything else, it is easier to leave these setting on Any.
This chapter will focus on the objects that can be placed in sectors (the squares on the system map): stars, planets, storms, asteroids, warp points. These objects are defined in SectType.txt. They are given abilities in StellarAbilityTypes.txt. They are called for in SystemTypes.txt. We shall begin by looking at SectType.txt. There can not be more than 1000 objects defined in this file.
Allowable Values for Physical Type: None, Planet, Asteroids, Storm, Sun, Warp Point, Destroyed Star, Comet
The Physical Type is what defines the basic nature of the object. Different physical types require different additional lines that define the particular object (to be out-lined later).
Allowable Values for Planet Size: Asteroids, Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, Huge
Every planet size called for in PlanetSize.txt must have at least 1 entry in SectType.txt, or else it will never appear in the game. The "Planet Size" line in SectType.txt must match the "Name" line in PlanetSize.txt for appropriate planet types. For planets in SystemTypes.txt that are given a size of Any, the size is determined randomly. The relative number of each size of planet used for the Any sized-planets is proportional to how often that particular size of planet appears in SectType.txt. If 20% of all the planet entries in SectType.txt have a size of Tiny, then 20% of the planets with Any size placed on a randomly generated map will have a size of Tiny. This is how all of the Size, Atmosphere, Color, Planet Physical Type, etc. values set to Any in SystemTypes.txt are determined.
Allowable Values for Planet Physical Type: Rock, Ice, Gas Giant Allowable Values for Planet Atmosphere: None, Methane, Oxygen, Hydrogen, Carbon Dioxide Allowable Values for all other sizes: Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, Huge Allowable Values for Star Age: Young, Average, Old, Ancient Allowable Values for Star Color: Yellow, Red, Purple, Green, Blue, White, Orange Allowable Values for Star Luminosity: Dim, Average, Bright, Super Bright
No values other than those lists for any of these fields may be used. Planets can never have a Physical Type of Gas Giant and Atmosphere of None.
Here is an example of a typical Planet:
Physical Type := Planet Picture Num := 0 Description := Huge planet with an abundance of surface minerals. Planet Size := Huge Planet Physical Type := Gas Giant Planet Atmosphere := Carbon Dioxide
This planet will be a Huge Gas Giant with a Carbon Dioxide Atmosphere. The Picture Num determines what picture is displayed for such a planet.
Here is an example of a typical Star:
Physical Type := Star Picture Num := 225 Description := An average yellow star. Star Size := Medium Star Age := Average Star Color := Yellow Star Luminosity := Average
The Size, Age, Color and Luminosity do not have any in-game effects. They are merely there for aesthetic purposes. If a particular combination of these values does not appear in SectType.txt, it can not appear in the game (except in custom maps made in the Map Editor). So, a Star (or any object, for that matter) with all values set to Any is not truly random.
Here is an example of a typical Storm:
Physical Type := Storm Picture Num := 250 Description := A stellar storm composed of plasma fields, energy discharges, and electro-static gasses. Storm Size := Medium Combat Tile := Storm5
The Storm Size has no in-game effects. The abilities of Storms are not determined in this file, but in StellarAbilityTypes.txt. The Combat Tile is the picture used on the combat screen. It is placed in the top left corner. Then, a copy is placed immediately to the right of it. As many tiles as are necessary are placed to fill a row. Then, a copy is placed directly below the top left corner. That row is filled, and so on.
Here is an example of a typical Asteroid Belt:
Physical Type := Asteroids Picture Num := 275 Description := Tiny field of space rocks orbiting through this system. Planet Size := Tiny Planet Physical Type := Rock Planet Atmosphere := None Combat Tile := Asteroids1
The Size of the Asteroid determines the largest possible sized-planet that can be constructed from the Asteroids. The only possible Physical Type and Atmosphere of an Asteroid Belt is Rock None. Other values will not work. The Combat Tile is the picture used on the combat screen. It is placed in the top left corner. Then, a copy is placed immediately to the right of it. As many tiles as are necessary are placed to fill a row. Then, a copy is placed directly below the top left corner. That row is filled, and so on.
Here is an example of a typical Warp Point:
Physical Type := Warp Point Picture Num := 295 Description := A smaller than normal warp point. Warp Point Size := Small Warp Point One-Way := FALSE Unusual := TRUE
The Warp Point Size does not have any in-game effects. If set to TRUE, the Warp Point One-Way field makes only one Warp Point instead of the normal two reciprocal Warp Points. Ships can travel through one way, but not the other.
=0=
Now, we shall look at PlanetSize.txt. This file defines the sizes of planets. Here is a sample entry:
Name := Tiny Physical Type := Planet Stellar Size := Tiny Max Facilities := 5 Max Population := 500 Max Cargo Spaces := 1000 Max Facilities Domed := 1 Max Population Domed := 100 Max Cargo Spaces Domed := 200 Constructed := False Special Ability ID := 0
This is the entry for a Tiny sized planet.
Name := Tiny
This is the name for the planet type that is displayed in-game. It is also the tag that is referenced by "Planet Size" in SectType.txt for determining the size of a planet entry. This planet will be valid for all SectType.txt entries that call for a Tiny sized planet.
Physical Type := Planet
This is the type of object that the entry is. It can either be a Planet or an Asteroid. No other values will work in this file.
Stellar Size := Tiny
This is the hard-coded "size" of the object. It can only be Tiny, Medium, Small, Large or Huge.
Max Facilities := 5 Max Population := 500 Max Cargo Spaces := 1000
These lines determine how many facilities, how much population and how much cargo can be placed/built on a planet that has the same atmosphere as the breathable type of all races on the planet (i.e.: a non-domed colony). These entries are never referenced for an Asteroid type object.
Max Facilities Domed := 1 Max Population Domed := 100 Max Cargo Spaces Domed := 200
These lines determine how many facilities, how much population and how much cargo can be placed/built on a planet that has a different atmosphere of at least one race's breathable type that is on the planet (i.e.: a domed colony). These entries are never referenced for an Asteroid type object.
Constructed := False
This tells SE4 whether the planet is a special type that can only be constructed (e.g.: Ringworlds). Constructed planets will never appear randomly on a map.
Special Ability ID := 0
This number is used to determine what type of planet is constructed when a component with the Create Constructed Planet ability is used. A Sphere World Placement Generator has an ability of 2, so it will construct the planet with a Special Ability ID of 2, which is the Sphereworld.
=0=
Now, we shall take a look at StellarAbilityTypes.txt. This file defines the possible abilities that sector objects can have. Here is a sample:
Name := Normal Planet
This defines the type of object (called for in SystemTypes.txt) that is being defined.
Number of Poss Abilities := 7
This defines the possible abilities that the object can have. Each randomly generated object can only have 1 ability (though is not required to have an ability). Make sure that this number is not greater than the number of defined abilities for the object.
Ability 1 Chance := 5
This determines what percent (measured in tenths of a percent) of the objects placed on a map will have the particular ability. The amount of percentage leftover from the total of the Chances (subtracted from 1000) of all possible abilities for the objects is the percentage of objects that will have no ability. In this case, 0.5% of all Normal Planets will have Ability 1.
Ability 1 Type := Ancient Ruins
This tells SE4 what type of ability the ability will be.
Ability 1 Val 1 := 1 Ability 1 Val 2 := 0
These tell SE4 what precisely the ability does. They have different effects for different abilities.
Events are defined in Events.txt. There isn't much to them. All the possible types of events are:
Replacement Symbols used for Messages: [%SystemName] - Target System Name [%SectorName] - Target Sector Name (Number) [%SourceEmperorName] - Source Emperor's Name (includes Title) [%SourceEmpireName] - Source Empire Name (includes Empire Type) [%VehicleName] - Vehicle Name [%VehicleSize] - Vehicle Size [%PlanetName] - Planet Name [%DesignName] - Design Name [%TechName] - Tech Area Name [%TreatyName] - Political Treaty [%FacilityName] - Facility Name [%StarName] - Star Name [%WarpPointName] - Warp Point Name [%ActualAmount] - Actual Effect Amount (Can't be used for Start Message)
This notation (also used in some AI files) can be used for customized event messages.
Type := Ship - Damage
The event types are as follows:
Ship - Damage
This cause Effect Amount points of damage to a ship. It bypasses shielding.
Ship - Lose Movement,
Effect Amount movement points will be lost for one turn for the affected ship. If a ship in a fleet is hit, the entire fleet will be slowed down effectively (the other ships will not lose any movement points, but fleets move at the speed of the slowest ship).
Ship - Lose Supply
The affected ship will lose Effect Amount supplies.
Ship - Experience Change,
The ship's experience level will change by Effect Amount.
Ship - Cargo Damage
Effect Amount damage will be done to the cargo aboard the affected ship.
Ship - Moved
The affected ship will be moved to a random sector of a random system in the galaxy. Effect Amount is meaningless for this ability.
Planet - Conditions Change
The conditions of the affected planet will change by Effect Amount points. Basically, conditions are stored as a decimal ranging from 0.00 to 1.50. This ability seems to drop the conditions value by Effect Amount / 10 points. So, with an Amount of 10, the conditions get dropped by 1.00 points.
Planet - Value Change
The value of the affected planet will be changed by Effect Amount percent (added or subtracted, not multiplied).
Planet - Population Change
The target planet's population will be changed by Effect Amount M people.
Planet - Population Anger Change,
The anger of the target planet will be altered by Effect Amount points. Positive makes them more angry, negative less angry (more happy).
Planet - Population Riot
The target planet's anger will be maximized, causing an instant riot. Effect Amount has no effect.
Planet - Population Rebel
The planet will rebel, either forming a new empire (for event or intel project), or (only for an intel project) will join the empire that performed the project.
Planet - Cargo Damage
Effect Amount damage will be done to the cargo stored on a planet.
Planet - Facility Damage
Effect Amount facilities on the planet will be destroyed.
Points - Change
Effect Amount resources (of each type, minerals, organics and radioactives) will be removed or added to the target empire's storage.
Research - Delete Project
A research project will be deleted from the research queue, losing all points invested in it.
Intel - Delete Project
An intelligence project will be deleted from the intelligence queue, losing all points invested in it.
Planet - Created
A planet will be created in a random sector in the galaxy. Effect Amount has no effect.
Planet - Destroyed
A random planet will be destroyed in a random system in the galaxy. Effect Amount has no effect.
Star - Created
A star will be created in a random system in the galaxy, presumably in a system without any stars. Effect Amount has no effect.
Star - Destroyed
A star will be destroyed in a random system in the galaxy. Effect Amount has no effect.
Warp Point - Closed
A warp point will be closed in a random system in the galaxy. Effect Amount has no effect.
Warp Point - Opened
A warp point will be opened in a random system in the galaxy. Effect Amount has no effect.
Planet - Plague
A level Effect Amount plague will be created on a random inhabited planet in the galaxy. You can not change the effects of the plagues, just use a hard-coded level 1-5 plague.
Planet - Plague Cured
A plague of up to level Effect Amount will be cured on a random planet. Only planets that actually have a plague will be selected by a random event of this type.
Severity := Low
This limits what types of events can occur in a game. The possible severities are Low, Medium, High, Catastrophic. At game start, the host can select one of these options for event severity. No events of a higher severity than the option selected can occur in the game. For example, if the severity is set to Medium, no High or Catastrophic events can occur.
Effect Amount := 50
What this does is dependant upon the type of event. For example, for a Planet - Population Change event, this determines by how much the population changes. For a Planet - Plague event, it determines the level of plague that affects the target planet (max level 5).
Message To := Owner
This determines who receives notification when an event occurs. It can be set to None, Owner, Sector, System, All. None means no-one will receive notification. Owner means that only the owner of the affected object will be notified. Sector means that all empires present in the sector where the targeted object is located will be notified. System means that all empires present in the system where the targeted object is located will be notified. All means that all empires, regardless of their location, will be notified of the occurrence of the event.
Num Messages := 1
This tells SE4 how many messages to display when the effects of the event happen. It is used when the body of the message is too long to display in one screen.
Message Title 1 := Ion Storm Message 1 := An ion storm has damaged ship [%VehicleName] in the [%SystemName] system. Picture := ShipDamaged
These fields determine the title of the message given when the effects of the event occur (not when it is first called for), the body of said message, and the image displayed next to that message.
Time Till Completion := 0
This is the delay (in turns) between when the event is called for, and when it's effects actually happen. After the Time Till Completion occurs, the effects of the event happen, and the Message is displayed.
Num Start Messages := 0
This message, if any, is displayed when an event is first called for.
Intelligence Projects are nearly identical to Events, except for a few minor differences. You can use nearly all (if not all) of the event abilities as Intel Projects. The reverse is generally not true though. Check out Chapter 10: Events for descriptions of some of the effect abilities (those that are present in the Events file and that might need some explanations).
Group := Ship Sabotage
The Group is merely an organizational tool. It tells SE4 where to place the project in the list of available projects for an empire to perform.
Cost := 10000
This is how many intelligence points it takes to complete the project. This value not only determines how long it takes to complete the project, but also how difficult to defeat by enemy counter-intel.
For counter-intel type projects, the cost is the limit on the number of points that may be spent on the project (and thus the maximum points used for defense).
Num Source Messages := 1 Num Target Messages := 1
With Intel Projects, the empire performing the project and the target empire receive different messages. The Source Message goes to the performing empire, and the Target Message goes to the targeted empire(s).
Source Picture := IntelSabotageByUs Target Picture := ShipDamaged
As with Messages, the picture displayed alongside the messages can be different for the performing and target empires.
Number of Tech Req := 1 Tech Area Req 1 := Applied Intelligence Tech Level Req 1 := 1
These lines determine what technologies are required before an empire may perform the Intel Project.
The graphical outlines of the formations found at the beginning of Formations.txt are never referenced by SE4. They are only there as a mechanism to aid in designing the formation, and for viewing what it will look like outside of the game.
Arrowhead 0000000001111111111 1234567890123456789 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 L 10 1 2 11 3 4 12 5 6 13 7 F 8 14 9 G H A 15 B I J C 16 D K L E 17 18 19
This is the layout of the Arrowhead Formation. Remember, this picture is not at all necessary in the Formations.txt file.
Name := Arrowhead Description := Formation with...
These are the Name of the formation and the Description shown when viewing the formation in-game.
Leader Position Xpos := 10 Leader Position Ypos := 9
These define the position of the Leader ship of the Formation. The grid used is a 19 x 19 square, with 1 in the top left corner for each axis. See the above graphic.
Leader Design Type := Any
This will have only have an effect if the leader of the fleet out of combat is set as a non-combat ship (which will break formation and run for the corners). The leader of the fleet will then be a ship of this particular design (or the 2nd ship in the fleet, in order of construction, if set to any).
Number of Positions := 21
This is the number of possible positions in the fleet. If there are more combat ships in the fleet than this number, the extras will be placed more or less randomly on the combat map, and not follow the fleet leader around. There can be up to 100 ships designated in the formation.
Position 1 Xpos := 9 Position 1 Ypos := 10
This is used to tell SE4 where to place the next (non-leader) ship in the fleet. The grid used is a 19 x 19 square, with 1 in the top left corner for each axis. See the above graphic.
Position 1 Type := Any
This can be used to tell SE4 to place a specific design type in this position. This could, for example, be used to have Missile Ships be placed in the rear of the fleet, and Beam Weapon Ships up in front.
The Happiness Level of a colony is measured by the percent of the population that is angry. An event with a positive value increases this anger percent, thereby lowering happiness. An event with a negative value lowers the anger percent, thereby increasing happiness. The anger percents for each Happiness Level are as follows:
Population Happiness Levels: Pop Anger Pct Description Res Mod 75 - 100 Rioting 0% 60 - 74 Angry 60% 45 - 59 Unhappy 80% 30 - 44 Indifferent 100% 15 - 29 Happy 120% 0 - 14 Jubiliant 140%
Now, we shall take a look at each possible event that can affect happiness. All values are in tenths of a percent.
Max Positive Anger Change := 200
This is the maximum amount that the anger level of a planet can change in a positive direction in 1 turn.
Max Negative Anger Change := -200
This is the maximum amount that the anger level of a planet can change in a negative direction in 1 turn.
Homeworld Lost := 100
This is the amount that anger is changed by when a planet designated as a Homeworld is lost to an enemy empire.
Any Planet Lost := 50
This is the amount that anger is changed by when any non-Homeworld planet is lost to an enemy empire.
Any Planet Colonized := -10
When the empire colonizes a planet, the anger of all of it's planets is changed by this value.
Any Our Planet Captured := 50
When a planet owned by the empire is captured by an enemy empire, all of it's other planets have their anger changed by this value.
Any Enemy Planet Captured := -30
When the empire captures an enemy planet, it's planets' anger levels are changed by this value.
Any Ship Lost := 1
When the empire loses a ship, whether through combat or natural phenomena, the anger levels of all of it's planets are changed by this value.
Any Ship Constructed := 0
When the empire constructs a ship, all of the anger levels of it's planets are changed by this value.
New Treaty X := 100
The planets in the empire have their anger levels changed by this value when the empire establishes a new treaty or a war. It is the same process (not value) for all treaty types.
Battle in System - Win := -20
If a battle occurs in the same system as a planet, and the empire wins, the planet's anger level is changed by this value.
Battle in System - Loss := 20
If a battle occurs in the same system as a planet, and the empire loses, the planet's anger level is changed by this value.
Battle in System - Stalemate := 0
If a battle occurs in the same system as a planet, and the battle results in a stalemate (no one wins), the planet's anger level is changed by this value.
Battle in Sector - Win := -50
If a battle occurs in the same sector as a planet, and the empire wins, the planet's anger level is changed by this value. This value supercedes the Battle in System value.
Battle in Sector - Loss := 50
If a battle occurs in the same sector as a planet, and the empire loses, the planet's anger level is changed by this value. This value supercedes the Battle in System value.
Battle in Sector - Stalemate := 10
If a battle occurs in the same sector as a planet, and the battle results in a stalemate (no one wins), the planet's anger level is changed by this value. This value supercedes the Battle in System value.
Enemy Ship in System := 5
When an enemy ship is present in the same system as a planet, that planet's anger level is changed by this value.
Enemy Ship in Sector := 8
When an enemy ship is present in the same sector as a planet, that planet's anger level is changed by this value. This value supercedes the Enemy Ship in System value.
Our Ship in Sector := -10
When a ship owned by the empire or an ally is present in the same sector as a planet, that planet's anger level is changed by this value. This value supercedes the Enemy Ship in System value.
Our Ship in System := -3
When a ship owned by the empire or an ally is present in the same system as a planet, that planet's anger level is changed by this value. This value supercedes the Enemy Ship in System value.
Enemy Troops on Planet := 200
Each enemy troop remaining on a planet at the end of the turn changes the planet's anger level by this value.
Our Troops on Planet := -2
Each troop garrisoned on the planet changes the planet's anger level by this value.
1M Population Killed := 1
Each 1M population killed on a planet, whether from an event or enemy bombardment, changes the planet's anger level by this amount.
Ship Lost in System := 2
When the empire loses a ship, whether through combat or natural phenomena, the anger levels of all of it's planets in the same system as the lost ship are changed by this value.
Ship Constructed := -5
When the empire constructs a ship, the anger level of the planets in the same sector as the constructed ship are changed by this value.
Facility Constructed := -5
When a planet constructs a facility, it's anger level is changed by this value.
Planet Plagued := 200
When a planet is affected by a plague, it's anger level is changed by this value.
Natural Decrease := -20
This is a slight ambient affect that changes the anger level of each planet in the empire that has population native to that empire, either each turn, or every X turns.
Natural Decrease for Other Races := 20
This is a slight ambient affect that changes the anger level of each planet in the empire that has population that is not native to that empire (whether traded for, subjugated, or acquired through any other means), either each turn, or every X turns.
Racial traits affect the empire as a whole. Here is an example trait:
Name := Organic Manipulation Description := Gains access to the Organic Technology Tree. Pic Num := 0 General Type := Advantage Cost := 1500 Trait Type := Tech Area Value 1 := 5 Value 2 := 0 Required Trait 1 := None Required Trait 2 := None Required Trait 3 := None Restricted Trait 1 := None Restricted Trait 2 := None Restricted Trait 3 := None
Pic Num := 0
This field is meaningless. There is never a picture displayed next to racial traits.
General Type := Advantage
This field is also meaningless. When Traits are displayed in-game, they are displayed in the order that they are listed in the file. They cannot be sorted.
Cost := 1500
This value is subtracted from the remaining racial points when designing an empire. If negative (for a racial penalty trait), the points increase the racial point balance.
Trait Type := Tech Area Value 1 := 5 Value 2 := 0
The Trait Type determines what the racial trait does. By setting it to Tech Area, you can create a racial tech tree. The Value 1 is the number used for the Racial Area setting when designing racial tech areas.
Required Trait 1 := None Restricted Trait 1 := None
These settings are non-functional. In theory, when designing an empire in-game, you would be required to select a Required Trait in order to select this trait. You would not be able to take this trait if you had selected a Restricted Trait.
There are many Trait Types that will work in this file. Here is a list of all of the abilities that are used in the default files:
Supply Cost No Plagues No Spaceports Luck Vehicle Speed Galaxy Seen Planet Storage Space Planetary SY Rate Tech Area Population Emotionless
The following list is a list of other abilities that are listed in the SE4 executable that may or may not work:
Troops Bonus Fighter Bonus Ship Bonus Mineral Production Mineral Storage Organics Production Organics Storage Radioactives Production Radioactives Storage Research Production Intelligence Production Trade Ground Combat Space Combat Maintenance Cost Ship Attack Ship Defense
In this chapter, we shall take an in-depth look at the abilities available in the game. Check Data\Abilities.txt for a basic listing. Contributions in this chapter have been made by Suicide Junkie.
All abilities list what files the ability is valid in (i.e.: what type of objects it will function on). Abilities used in invalid files will basically be "dummy abilities". They do nothing but add their description to the bulleted list of abilities for that object.
Warp Point - Turbulence Value1 = Amount of damage done to objects moving through this warp point. (Normal Damage) Value2 =Valid in StellarAbilityTypes.txt
When a vehicle enters the sector containing a warp point with this ability, it will take the amount of damage specified by Value1. The damage is equivalent to a mine hit of the same strength, one for each ship. Shields do not protect against this type of damage.
Star - Unstable Value1 = Chance that sun will explode each year. Value2 =Valid in StellarAbilityTypes.txt
This ability actually does nothing. "Unstable" stars have no greater chance of exploding than normal stars, and the Supernova type events can affect any star with an equal chance.
Because this ability does nothing, it is a good candidate to use for description abilities in components, facilities, etc. You can assign this ability (or any "dummy" ability) to the component, and its description is listed at the bottom, with other ability descriptions.
Sector - Sight Obscuration Value1 = Level of obscuration. (Obscures all types) (Units cannot use this ability) Value2 =Valid in Components.txt, Facility.txt, StellarAbilityTypes.txt, SystemTypes.txt, VehicleSize.txt
This ability can be placed on stellar phenomena, components, ship hulls or facilities. All objects in the sector will be given an "always-on" cloaking ability of the amount specified by Value1. Even planets and stars can be made invisible (and thus unattackable) by this ability. Sensors of an equal or higher ability amount can penetrate this cloaking effect.
Sector - Sensor Interference Value1 = Modifier subtracted from to-hit rolls Value2 =Valid in Components.txt, Facility.txt, StellarAbilityTypes.txt, SystemTypes.txt, VehicleSize.txt
Any non-seeker weapon fired in this sector has Value1 subtracted from its chance to hit. It is the same as an ECM generator built into every ship.
Sector - Shield Disruption Value1 = Amount of shields lost during combat. Value2 =Valid in Components.txt, Facility.txt, StellarAbilityTypes.txt, SystemTypes.txt, VehicleSize.txt
Each ship in this sector will have Value1 fewer maximum shield points while in combat. Regeneration is unaffected, and the starting shield points are set at the lowered maximum. Any ships designed with fewer than Value1 shield points will be completely unshielded.
You can also use a negative value here to add shield points to all vehicles in the sector. Shields will even be added to ships that have no shield generating components.
Sector - Damage Value1 = Amount of damage per turn to all objects in sector. Value2 =Valid in Components.txt, Facility.txt, StellarAbilityTypes.txt, SystemTypes.txt, VehicleSize.txt
All vehicles that enter the sector will be damaged by Value1 points. Note that there is only a roughly 66% chance that this ability will trigger. Also, the affects of multiple objects in the sector with this ability stack.
Resource Generation - Minerals Value1 = Amount of minerals generated per turn. Value2 =Valid in Facility.txt
The base amount of minerals that a facility will produce. This is modified by planet population, happiness, planet value, and racial aptitude.
Resource Generation - Organics Value1 = Amount of organics generated per turn. Value2 =Valid in Facility.txt
The base amount of organics that a facility will produce. This is modified by planet population, happiness, planet value, and racial aptitude.
Resource Generation - Radioactives Value1 = Amount of radioactives generated per turn. Value2 =Valid in Facility.txt
The base amount of radioactives that a facility will produce. This is modified by planet population, happiness, planet value, and racial aptitude.
Point Generation - Research Value1 = Amount of research points generated per turn. Value2 =Valid in Facility.txt
The base amount of research points that a facility will produce. This is modified by planet population, happiness, and racial aptitude.
Point Generation - Intelligence Value1 = Amount of intelligence points generated per turn. Value2 =Valid in Facility.txt
The base amount of intel points that a facility will produce. This is modified by planet population, happiness, and racial aptitude.
Spaceport Value1 = Value2 =Valid in Facility.txt
A facility with this ability allows the resources, intel and research points generated in a system to be used by the empire. Races with the "Natural Merchants" trait do not need to build facilities with this ability.
Palace Value1 = Value2 =Valid in no file
This has no effect as of yet.
Supply Generation Value1 = Value2 =Facility.txt
When on a facility, any friendly ship or unit that enters the sector will be automatically resupplied to full supply level.
Planet - Change Minerals Value Value1 = Percentage the value of this planet is changed each turn. Value2 =Valid in Facility.txt
See Change Radioactives Value entry below.
Planet - Change Organics Value Value1 = Percentage the value of this planet is changed each turn. Value2 =Valid in Facility.txt
See Change Radioactives Value entry below.
Planet - Change Radioactives Value Value1 = Percentage the value of this planet is changed each turn. Value2 =Valid in Facility.txt
This ability takes effect on the "0" month of each year (not each turn). In a finite resources game, the total resources are multiplied by (100% + Value1). In a infinite resources game, Value1 is added to the % value of the planet.
Planet - Change Conditions Value1 = Percentage the conditions of this planet is changed each turn. Value2 =Valid in Facility.txt
This ability takes effect on the "0" month of each year (not each turn).
Planet - Change Population Happiness Value1 = Percentage the happiness of this planet's population is improved each turn. Value2 =Valid in Facility.txt
This ability raises or lowers the anger level of the planet each turn by Value1. A positive value raises anger levels, thus making the population less happy. A negative value lowers anger levels, thus making the population happier. Different facilities with this ability seem to stack.
Planet - Change Ground Defense Value1 = Percentage modifier to ground combat on this planet. Value2 =Valid in no file
This has no effect as of yet.
Planet - Shield Generation Value1 = Amount of shields generated. Value2 =Valid in Components.txt, Facility.txt, VehicleSize.txt
This ability adds Value1 normal shield points to a planet or vehicle.
Shield Generation Value1 = Amount of shields generated. Value2 =Valid in Components.txt, Facility.txt, VehicleSize.txt
This ability adds Value1 normal shield points to a planet or vehicle.
Phased Shield Generation Value1 = Amount of phased shields generated. Value2 =Valid in Components.txt, Facility.txt, VehicleSize.txt
This ability adds Value1 phased shield points to a planet or vehicle. If one component or facility generates 1 normal (non-phased) shield point, then all shields on the ship or planet are considered non-phased. If that component is destroyed, then the shields will become phased if all functional components/facilities generate phased shields only.
Component Repair Value1 = Number of components repaired per turn. Value2 =Valid in Components.txt, Facility.txt, VehicleSize.txt
At the end of each turn, this component will repair Value1 other components. The repairs can be to one ship or many, and multiple repair components can repair the same vehicle. Which particular vehicle and components are repaired depends on the Repair priorities that are defined in the empire options window.
Cargo Storage Value1 = Number of cargo spaces generated. Value2 =Valid in Components.txt, Facility.txt, StellarAbilityTypes.txt, VehicleSize.txt
This vehicle can store units with a combined total mass less than or equal to Value1. Multiple components with this ability form one continuous cargo bay, so two components can hold a unit bigger than any one individual component could.
Drop Troops Value1 = Number of troops which can be dropped to attack a planet. Value2 =Valid in no file
This has no effect as of yet.
Launch/Recover Fighters Value1 = Amount of fighters that can be launched per combat turn. Value2 = Amount of fighters that can be launched per game turn.Valid in Components.txt, Facility.txt, VehicleSize.txt
This component adds the ability to launch fighters from a vehicle. Value1 fighters of any size can be launched during each round of combat, and Value2 fighters of any size can be launched during a game month. Any number of fighters may be recovered, up to the capacity of the vehicles cargo space. Planets can launch an unlimited number of fighters per turn, so placing this ability on a facility is meaningless.
Lay Mines Value1 = Amount of mines that can be launched per combat turn. Value2 = Amount of mines that can be launched per game turn.Valid in Components.txt, Facility.txt, VehicleSize.txt
This component adds the ability to launch mines from a vehicle. Value1 mines of any size can be launched during each round of combat, and Value2 mines of any size can be launched during a game month. Mines can never be recovered from space. Mines launched during combat are visible and vulnerable to weapons fire until the end of combat. Any mines not destroyed will deploy normally and become cloaked. Planets can launch an unlimited number of mines per turn, so placing this ability on a facility is meaningless.
Multiplex Tracking Value1 = Number of ships that can be tracked and fired on. Value2 =Valid in Components.txt, VehicleSize.txt
This ability allows a ship to fire its main guns at separate targets during a single combat round. Automatically fired Point defense will not count towards the number of targets fired on, but manually firing point defense weapons in tactical combat will.
Combat To Hit Offense Plus
Value1 = Percent modifier for combat offense.
(Increases the chance that this ship will hit another ship).
Value2 =
Valid in Components.txt, VehicleSize.txt
This ability adds Value1 % to the chance of this vehicle hitting its target with direct-fire weapons. The modifier adds linearly, so 50% + 30% = 80%
Several bugs, discovered by Aiken, interfere when you add this ability to a weapon platform hull. The bonus from each weapon platform will stack. If you add a +10% bonus to hit and have 5 weapon platforms, the total bonus from this ability will be +50%, rather than the +10% you would expect. Further, if you add some troops with a +10% bonus to hit to the planetary cargo, that +10% will add to the to hit bonus of the weapon platforms, for a total of +60%. Only one troop bonus applies. If you add several fighters, the total to hit bonus from each fighter is added to the weapon platforms' chance to hit. If you add 5 fighters with a 50% bonus, the total to hit bonus applied to the weapon platforms will be 60 + 250, for +310% bonus.
Combat To Hit Defense Plus
Value1 = Percent modifier for combat defense.
(Decreases the chance that this ship will be hit by another ship).
Value2 =
Valid in Components.txt, VehicleSize.txt
This ability subtracts Value1 % from the chance of enemy direct-fire weapons hitting this vessel. The modifier subtracts linearly, so 50% - 30% = 20%
Mine Sweeping Value1 = Number of mines that can be swept. Value2 =Valid in Components.txt, VehicleSize.txt
When this vehicle enters a sector containing mines, Value1 mines will be disabled before any damage is done to the fleet. Cloaked ships with minesweepers on them can not sweep mines.
Medical Bay Value1 = Plague level that can be cured. Value2 =Valid in Components.txt, VehicleSize.txt
If this vehicle enters the same sector as a planet that has plague conditions of level Value1 or less, it will cure the plague, and return the conditions to normal.