research time difficulties

[maxpublic]

I've been mucking about creating a custom campaign, changing files left and right, and so far everything's worked like a charm - except for research.  For reasons beyond my ken I can't seem to slow down research at all; it trucks along whether the Empire buys the next level or not without any regard to how many research facilities have been built, or if any have been built at all.

 

For example, in my campaign it costs 20,000 credits to advance to tech level 2 and requires that you build a research facility.  So you'd think that until you, the Empire, spent those 20,000 credits you'd be stuck at level 1, right?  Not so - the game continues to advance tech even if you never buy the next level.  It happens automatically no matter what you do or don't do.  As does the advance to tech level 3, and 4, and 5.

 

I've gone through the xml files with a fine tooth comb and can't find whatever it is that's pushing tech.  I want to turn off that piece of code so that the Empire will only advance in tech when it actually buys the advance, and not automatically.  Otherwise you hit tech 3 before you've even managed to conquer a dozen planets, and tech 5 not long after that.  This isn't bloody Civ with it's superspeed tech advances, after all.

 

If any other modder out there has stumbled over the piece of code (or xml entry) that controls tech apart from the so-very-broken purchasing mechanism I'd appreciate it if you pointed where it is so that I can fix it.

 

Thanks,

Max

[Mikan Cyclone]

Whatever you did, you did it.  The tech advances in units; it shouldn't be researching everything one after another. 

 

Where did you alter the price for it? It's probably in there.  Either that or it has it's own XML, or it's in gameconstants. 

[maxpublic]

Whatever you did, you did it.  The tech advances in units; it shouldn't be researching everything one after another. 

 

Where did you alter the price for it? It's probably in there.  Either that or it has it's own XML, or it's in gameconstants. 

 

I altered the tech price in techbuilding.xml.  According to the designer commentary in the code in some of the other files (the AI build instructions, I think) tech is entirely controlled by this file.  You purchase the Death Star part and your tech automatically advances to the next level.

 

But it doesn't work.  Your tech advances whether you actually buy the upgrade or not, and the upgrade comes along free with the automatic advancement.  It's frustrating because it appears that the designer commentary is wrong, or perhaps it only works in Skirmish mode (which isn't indicated, since they talk about the AI purchasing tech increases based on how badly it wants the next base upgrade in its systems).

 

I don't see anything in gameconstants.xml (or anywhere else, for that matter) which controls tech advancements.  I want to slow it down so that roughly a fifth of the campaign game takes place in each tech 'era', so that you actually have the opportunity to use low-tech units before high-tech ones become available.  Otherwise it turns Civ-ish, where by the time you build and send out a fleet/army to fight the enemy it's already outdated.

 

Max

[maxpublic]

I just tested this out in a completely unmodified, stock 1.02 game (scenario:  The Conflict Begins).  The exact same thing happens; tech advances regardless of whether or not you build research facilities or buy the next advancement.  And in both games (modified and unmodified) the advancement to level two was preceded by this message:

 

"Technological breakthrough!

 

Your service to the Empire has been noted.  While you continue to exterminate the Rebels, I'd like you to field test this new tech.  Your tech level has been raised."

 

This has to be happening in everyone's game; the idea that the player controls tech advancement is crap.  It might work in Skirmish but it sure as sh!t doesn't work in single player galactic conquest games.  My guess is players *think* it works because the average player races up the tech tree as quickly as possible, which is bloody easy to do if you leave the costs alone (they're far too cheap).

 

Max

[Mith_rawn_undo]

Okay.

You have to make sure, that you uncheck the "random" missions box while choosing the campaign, either that or you could probably delete the corresponging trigger, which *should* be located somewhere in either the Intervention....xml files or one of the story...xml files.

Hope that helps, though switching off random events schould be the easier way

[maxpublic]

I went through both the intervention and story files.  So far as I can see, there are no tech advance rewards.

 

Max

[DragonShadow]

I'm pretty sure there's an intervention_tech_level.xml file or something like that. You'll probably want to look in there.

[maxpublic]

I'm pretty sure there's an intervention_tech_level.xml file or something like that. You'll probably want to look in there.

 

Nope, there isn't.  And as best as I can tell, none of the intervention files award tech advancements.

 

Max

[Malikovski]

Here's how you can find it. Since you know the message it gives "Technological breakthrough!" et cetera, search the text dat file for that string, and note the identifier attached to it--it will look something like TEXT_A_WING_SQUADRON, which for example identifies the text that says "A-Wing".

 

Now go to the root dir of a complete, original set of XML files and use the Windows search function to search for the identifier WITHIN the files (not in file name). This will bring up a list of every file that references that piece of text. Whatever controls that event HAS to reference the text, therefore you will find which XML file is the culprit.

[maxpublic]

Excellent idea, that.  I found the offending file:  Intervention_tech_windfall.lua in /data/scripts/ai/interventions.  Now here I was thinking it'd be in one of the xml interventions files, and that since you, the player, aren't a freakin' ai the ai rules wouldn't apply to you.  Apparently I was sorely mistaken.

 

The only problem here is that I can't seem to find a lua editor capable of opening the files.  I tried a half-dozen or so and they all returned garbage (unreadable), including those capable of editing the very latest version (5.0.2).  Are these actually lua files, or are they something else and just called lua files for bizarre, internal Petroglyph reasons?

 

Max

[Mikan Cyclone]

We don't have a working Lua editor yet, but I have managed to open one up with Luaedit, but I gota ton of Gibberish.

[Malikovski]

You can always try copying over another intervention lua file and giving it that name. It might crash, but it might work as a quick fix until a lua editor is availalbe. Difficult to test though...

[DragonShadow]

We don't have a working Lua editor yet, but I have managed to open one up with Luaedit, but I gota ton of Gibberish.

 

Luckier than me. Whenever I opened them with LUAedit, the program opened but the files never did. Worked on other LUAs, but not EaW's. Too new, I suppose...man, I hope they release a LUA editor or we're pretty much sunk on the larger mods.

[Mikan Cyclone]

Did you get Lua 5.1? That might be it...EVEN THOUGH I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO INSTALL IT!