Modder Wishlist

I too, would like the things you have mentioned. To add,

 - Documentation of how materials & surfaces are set up. What the lean map and data maps do etc. and how they're set up. Have tried making a set with same channel set up but they display completely black.

 - Mp4 or gif or bik or some such animation file type compatibility for LeaderFG and LeaderBG.

 

I would like to be able to flag some techs to be untradeable.

- map editor allowing maps to incredible size

- allow editing star systems in game (or in editor)

- all variations of stars in map editor, main sequence, giant red, giant blue, white dwarf, brown dwarf, hypergiants etc.

...my two cents for now.

Another good idea is to give us, in the ship designer, cosmetic versions of the techs we can put into the ship.

 

That way, if I make a fighter with one single laser worth of guns, I can still make it look like it has 4, for design purposes. These extra ones would serve no function whatsoever.

 

Or maybe I am making a colony ship that looks more fitting to be ferrying 3 billion people, by adding more colonization modules.

 

These, being cosmetic, dont add to our piece count, so we can make the ship look as we want, without having to waste points (And production) on aesthetic parts.

I would like some sort of GUI tool for basic creation of new race / tech tree / starting system.

A tool for making new new ship parts or planetary improvements.

The ability to add new hull sizes, it currently seems backed by a hard coded enum. 

Is there a map editor?

Do we have to pay you to have a row bolded like one of your suggestions?

This is currently already possible. I don't remember the name of the XML tag, but check the Yor tech tree for multiple untradeable techs or either the schema for the tag.

If you meant to only override a certain tech in the tech tree without replacing the whole XML... yeah... you can't do that, as duplicates for InternalName parameter are disallowed.

Here are some of my questions that I am going to ask for today's Modding specific twitch stream:

• Personality traits are embedded within an XML Schema even if there is a separate XML for defining them. This disallows creating unique AIs for some factions.
• Is there a way to have a faction leave/defy United Planets from the start of the game? I have only found parameters regarding points at which all AIs decide to defy a resolution.
• If an improvement is set as a prerequisite then it seems that any improvement within its tree counts. Even if I set an upgraded improvement as a prerequisite.
• Is it possible to have a planet change its look due to some event? In my case, I want to change it when an specific improvement has been built.
• Regarding Bink 2. Could you have a video converter that encodes certain video formats to Bink 2 that would be GC3 specific? Have you asked RAD Tools if they would approve such a thing?

 

They have provided the Schema's for all the XML that's actually an unusually high level of documentation though I guess a lot of people might not know how to read an xsd.

• For myself I want the to add <NotForAttribute> and <ForAttribute> tags to the colonization events most of all, this could be used to solve the issue of all those food and organic related dilemmas coming up for  Synthetics and give modders a very powerful tool.

 

• I'd also like to see you able to use static images for scientific advisers as you can for leaders  and support for a movie format we can encode ourselve

 

 

Added most suggestions to the list!
They mentioned a map editor is in the works, so I didn't add that one.

I also didn't add ideas that are game features rather than modability features.

The following wishes I had got answered in the last Twitch stream with Derek:

Currently not possible, but Derek liked the idea.

Currently not possible, but Derek said that Paul(The lead designer) wanted such a feature for the campaign. In practically the same use case, a shield around the planet.

i accidently posted this in its on forum...

reauests...wishlist

 

techs

cybernetics and or bionics

psionics

 

temporal technologies

spaital techs...like doctor who's tardis

 

 

Add rechargeable defences ie so sheilds can replenish.

option to allow weapons to target Multiple ships simultaneously in combat. I'm thinking something like anti fighter barrage.

 

What I want is for us to be able to change how custom factions interact with extreme planets using the append method. Right now, the way production and planet stats are handled is hard coded to each of the planets themselves. See, while the colonization of tier one planets is handled using a stat, the production effectiveness of all extreme planets, as well as the colonization ability of tier two planets, is handled by looking to see if a faction has researched a specific tech. This would be extremely limiting if, say, you were trying to make a faction that, say, starts the game being able to fully use all extreme planets except for Radioactive, unless you wanted to immediately give them the Iconians' Ultimate Adaptability tech, which is insanely overpowered since it grants all extreme worlds a +25% production bonus.

While, yes, you could effectively make this faction using the Total Conversion method, that limits the compatibility of the mod.

You could make a separate Tech Tree with techs created specifically for your new race, Vidszhite. Might be a bit harder than we'd like it to be, but it's doable without needing to give an OP tech.

Lol My mod wish list is about a month to work on it, no work, no kids, Being that won't happen I'll just keep enjoying the game as it is

I feel for you with work a small child and another on the way I doubt I'll finish any of my mod ideas for a long time. Even getting time to play is trick.

Oh, I did. I had reasons to do that anyway. The problem is, the game handles extreme worlds in a very strange way that makes it impossible to do what I'm trying to do without over-writing the entire planet traits file.

1) To colonize tier 1 worlds, each t1 extreme planet looks to see if you have at least one of the "CanColonizeExtremeWorlds" stat. This means if you can colonize one, you can colonize them all, and once you can, getting more than one of this stat does nothing.

2) To colonize Tier 2 worlds, the Toxic and Radioactive worlds both look to see if you have unlocked the Atmospheric Cleansing tech. This means you can't naturally unlock the ability to colonize just one of these two worlds, it's either both or neither.

3) Every extreme planet operates at -50% production by default. To normalize production, each individual planet's trait definition checks to see if you have unlocked its associated Mastery tech, and then they check to see if you've unlocked the Ultimate Adaptability tech. Mastery techs are Specializations, so you can't unlock more than one per tier on your own, and you can't write one tech that unlocks multiple other techs. If you have Ultimate Adaptability, it gives you all the bonuses you'd get from having each planet's Mastery, plus a 25% bonus to Production. Unfortunately, since all the planets look for Ultimate Adaptability, unlocking it for one unlocks it for all.

To do what I want to do, which is give my race a tech that grants them Mastery of all tier 1 worlds, but only allowing them to colonize Toxic worlds and not Radioactive, I have to modify each default extreme world so that it looks for my race's unique technology, which is easy, but forces me to use a mod that over-writes the entire PlanetTraitDefs.xml. AKA the Total Conversion method. I COULD give them mastery of all tier 1s and Toxic by giving my race all the Tier 1/Toxic Mastery specializations at the start of each game, which is also easy, but I still can't give them the ability to colonize Toxic worlds unless I also give them the ability to colonize Radioactive worlds.

This ALSO means you can't mod in new kinds of extreme worlds unless you want them to be Tier 1, and once you unlock the ability to colonize them, they can't be -50% production, because no race would be able to unlock the tech that grants you Mastery of that world unless you want to also modify all of the default tech trees. Still, I guess you could make "Tier 0.5" extreme worlds with the current system, but the other problems are still present.

Sadly, this problem is going to be here a while -- if each extreme world had its own stat, I could do what I'm trying to do with the Append method, but you can't add new Stats to the game, since you can't add Schema or Enums via modding. Each stat is required to be enumerated, or the game will crash, and all enumerations are hard-coded. Can't add Enums via modding. I've tried, and when I asked for help, Kryo told me it's not possible.

Extra art for our own improvements fully conforming to how the graphics work in the GC III game.

Some extra animated leaderheads, especially humans, both male and female.  An extra male Altarian would be nice - remember the blond haired warrior in GCII, "Netro Mancer"?

I suck at animated graphics, so I'm hoping some material is released

Another idea: make it possible to create a custom race whose home world is an extreme world and thereby gain full access to that type - perhaps balanced by not being able/avoiding an opposing extreme world type, or having to research a tech to fully utilize normal worlds.  Example: an aquatic species having full access to water worlds, and no access to frozen worlds.  Something along those lines.