Version 4 with many new features!
Random branching sets added for random stubs for entire system from Eridani to Dantalion for 3rd and 4th gate links. These will now produce dead end branches from the main trunk of varying structure. The random branches use the Frontier and Hostile system versions.
Unique systems expanded for more gates, now up to 5 in a system.
Many new segments added to round out the basic structures up to Dantalion, such as loops and simple double loops.
A great deal of playtesting and quality control has gone into this version, several bugs and broken links have been found and fixed.
Why is it 0.4 instead of 4? I will be switching to version 1 as a mod for 0.99 once it is released.
Topology Snippets- the entire topology has been broken down into text files piece by piece so you can see how everything is put together, or construct your own topo systems from the prebuilt chunks! yay!
Version 3- This version employs new system definitions for the random branch stubs. The two new types of systems are Hostile and Frontier. Hostile systems replace the usual spread of Friendly to Enemy stations with all enemy stations, using the random system filtering in place. Frontier systems strongly reduce the number of stations in the system to simulate the undeveloped nature of the edge of empire.
Main trunk linear systems now access random branch stubs all the way through to Dantalion.
You all remember the story of how to make stone soup, yes?
I designed this topology to allow expansion in segments, as well as to provide other means of adding in sections.
This mod replaces the Transcendence.xml of the main file set, as with most of my mods.
Essentially this is a version of many topologies combined and worked out to break along certain segments- like SK, a natural spot to make a breaking point in. By dividing the topology into sections, I was able to make various paths to travel the map possible and have them randomly chose the links.
SE => C1 -> CP => SK => C5 -> C8 => C9 => A1 -> A3B => PJ => A5 -> A6 => A7 => G1 -> G2
is a sort of map of the segments, but not strictly. => indicates a major break- where many segments meet and link.
Any node on the linear portion is suitable to merge a network segment back into. A SE to EC network uses a table entry from SE to a NetC1 which eventually dumps you back into the linear segment at node EC, rather than at a major break point such as Jiang's (C9). Why? I wanted it that way. And to test linking back into the linear path from a big network, of course.
You won't know in game what type of segment you are on, or where the branches might lead from game to game- Eridani selects one of seven possible C1 systems that each have a unique set of paths. Expanding this could create dozens of possible paths to start the game, offering a huge variety of maps from game to game.
The smaller divisions can be expanded on without limits, and can be ignored to add in larger networks. By following the guidelines of the design, any number of varying topology mods can be woven into what is possible, like the ingredients of a lovely stone soup: a little from each of us added into the mix.
The prototype file set includes the systems and the extra bits needed to make a more complex topology, and various examples of what can be arranged.
There are linear and looping paths, and the linear path nodes are set up to have more than 2 gates- each step along the path can have 2 to 5 gates- the extra gates lead to dead ends for the time being- they can be expanded into random branches or even given special systems for adventures- it is very easy to tie into any segment of the linear path with additional systems or diversions.
The random 'stubs' that are usually dead ends haven't been given names yet- they are called 'R3, R4, R5' depending on what gate they are using. Being as this is a prototype I have left them nameless in order to easily be able to identify the branch stub. Each node of the linear path has 3 nodes that are identified in this manner at the end of the topology tag. These nodes are going to be shared by the various main path nodes of the topology, so they will be treated as their own set- the random path set. Expanding each of these nodes into a set of random branch structures is one of goals for this topology mod in the near future.
You can add segments of random structures easily following the guidelines I have set up in the topology section of the xml.
Most of the rules I used are embedded as comments there, the main map divisions are well marked out too. You can study the node structure and tables of links to divine the rest. If you are adding to the topology, we can simply pass around the node code and update the main version once in a while- if the system is standardized, adding new nodes should be fairly simple and won't require the entire mod for every little addition of node structures.
Future versions will include larger networks- entire node structures that redefine sections from Eridani all the way to Dantalion- spider webbed structures and massive networks are all possible- so the selection of what is possible from Eridani can become huge!
If you already have some topology maps made and want to add them in but don't feel like doing the work, send them my way and I'll graft them in somehow.
The more the merrier!Adding Segments to the Topology:
It is best to look into the topology a little before attempting to create an intricate network. What I generally do before coding is make some plans and draw some little maps of how the links are going to be. Bubbles around node names (SE, C1, C3) and lines to indicate the gate paths works just fine for this- and I leave room to denote the gate being used on each side to help plan out more complex maps. Some time spent planning out the topology saves headaches when it's time to arrange all the gates to point ot the right nodes.
As far as naming nodes goes, I used the same node names (SE, C1, C3...) as existed and added bits to the front and back to place them in their segments: All the Main path nodes carry the original node name within them.
First the linear path got 'line' added to its node name- lineC1, then when I randomized the gates for the nodes in the linear system I added "A" through "D" to indicate the number of gates- AlineC1 has 2 gates as per the normal game- BlineC1 is the same system with 3 gates, ClineC1 is the same system with four gates, DlineC1 is the same system with 5 gates- the two linear and additional gates to random nodes (indicated by an R as in RC1A1- the node that the third gate of BlineC1 points to.)
Basically: [A-D]+[type of path]+[node name]
Other names for main path nodes would be 'loop' for a simple loop- as in loopC1, '1Dloop' for a double loop, 2Dloop, and so on.
There are a few critical things to remember about naming nodes- you want them to be original and they should be similar for a segment- if we keep the names of the nodes to those guidelines, then anything works. You could have glueC1, you could have D9xpC1aaa9 or anything. I used simple names like 'line' and 'loop' to help me know what form the node structure was taking.
The original node name hierarchy provides a way to obscure the map- you won't know which 'Groombridge' you are actually in- so any C1 level node can make use of the name set for that node. I have added around 150 more star names to the mix in nodes that expanded a segment past the original number of nodes, so their are lots more node names to work with- look into the larger 2Dloop segments for extended names to use, for instance.
It's a good trick to keep the star names between related segments or nodes, keeps the confusion level without making the game a total maze to navigate.
The Sections:
SE = Starton Eridani, this is a crucial node to be aware of and to tap into to alter the topology for the early game- or to add massive networks. From SE a decision can be made to choose any of the major types of topo segments:
SE linear to SK - a basic line, but with many chances to have random dead end branches attached.
SE looping to SK - a static looping type main structure with optional random branch nodes
SE networks - Various networks to other levels of the topology.
SK = Saint Katherine's, this is a major node in the game, and it has many variants- any linear or looping path from SE can end up at one of the 6 current SK network variations, and this number will be growing with some larger branching networks.
SK also plays a major role in other networks where it has a static position in a more spider webbed network. (currently there is one network from SE to EC that does this)
The main divisions for the line and loop type paths is:
[SE to CP/SK entry node] - [SK networks] - [C5 to C9 entry] - [Jiang's Networks] - [A1 to PJ entry] - [PJ networks] - [PJ to Dantalion/Heretic]
Outside of the main sections are stand alone networks- these can involve any number of nodes, and can return to the path (usually to the linear path as it is easiest to intersect from the exit of a network)
The original had MD be St. K to be really the middle of the game 
