random items based on system level

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Betelgeuse
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I would like random items to be based on system level too. Right now if you get a station early you can get its highest level items so that makes adding high level stuff hard because you can get those stations early breaking the game.

The best way I have thought of to do this is to allow ItemTables to be able to take into account the system level. Like level = "1 + (sysLevel - 5)/2" or something like that
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digdug
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right now stations are system level based, and when you get a station in a system level at very rare frequency level, everything is screwed up
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Betelgeuse
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that and we can't add higher level items without them being able to be gotten too early.

this would also help with things being late like cargo containers and wrecks and stations that show up after that station has already shown up in a earlier system.
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Periculi
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:) It's all in the station code. Items for the vendor are chosen with a level curve, and because the stations for a given system are also added from a level curve the possibility to get a higher level + higher level curve are fairly large.

When I designed the stations to be set up according to the space environments I actually spent some time tightening up the level curves for the station vendors to keep the trade items closer to level. It was a while ago, but I recall that it was possible to remove the level curve and use a single level for the item list demands, thereby seriously reducing the items given in a station.

I think it would be fairly easy to refine the level curves to be more or less at the level of the system, or remove the higher level item side at least.

The same code is working within the treasure tables- so you can also adjust any of the random item sources in that same manner.
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Betelgeuse
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I know you can work around it but then that adds tons of extra stations with exactly the same stats. Brute force methods that change all items/stations/ships like you would need to be remade every time a new version comes out and every time you overwrite a station you have to test everything about it. So for every different version of a station you create you would need to remake and test it.
That seems like a lot of work for every version.

Plus it is well known that I only see mods as proof of concept. You can't really think of improvements if your modded game is nothing like the original game. In short I don't really care if it can be done in a mod I think it would be good for the main game. :?
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Periculi
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No it does not need any extra stations. You can use the current stations and adjust the level curve that George set up to suit your fancy- simply reduce the upper limits to the basic vendors and you won't be getting any supposed 'game breaking' going on.

And, as to the rest- most of the data in the game is built using this supposed 'brute force' method you demean so much. Items are all repetitions of the same structure with small differences to set them apart. Every ship, station, planet, asteroid, weapon or anything else is treated first as a generic game object, and the differences between many things are very very small- and the code is very very repetitive.

There are very little differences between modding the game and adding new stuff to the XML- except the author. George is simply the original modder, in most cases, until he makes actual changes to the game engine, which isn't a requirement all the time.

If you don't like mods for transcendence why try to re-design it- you are simply asking someone else to do the things you want done- you can just as easily do it yourself.

If you don't like my mods, I invite you not to play them or critique them. You can't really add much being so critical all the time, and you never offer solutions, you seem to focus on the problems mostly.

As for what happens when a new version is created- updates and changes to a mod to make it functional are all depending on the changes made for the main game release. If the next new version of Transcendence doesn't change much, most of the mods will still function well, and if someone wants to make anything they desire and update it or not that's all on them.
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Betelgeuse
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Periculi I don't really get you

this isn't just your or my game. This is a community effort. I would like the game to be better for everyone. I give lots of solutions and discuss them it seems like you are the one that doesn't want any solutions other than do it yourself. :roll:

Brute force solutions ask people to debug and construct huge mods every time a new version comes out (you can't tell what are the changes are due to most are not listed), that isn't fun for alot of people. There are many game engine things out there but this isn't one of those. This is a game that should be the best it can be out of the box.
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george moromisato
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I'm pretty sure you guys don't want me to butt in, but just for the record:

Periculi: I really appreciate the mods that you've been making--you are pushing the envelope on what the game can do and I guarantee that your efforts are worth it.

Betelgeuse: I really appreciate all the suggestions that you make--you are constantly imagining interesting ideas for the future of the game and I know that the ideas have merit.

I (of all people) know how passionate one can be about the things one creates (whether mods or ideas).
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