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| ==Step 6: Research Costs== | | ==Step 6: Research Costs== |
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| ==Finish and Save== | | ==Finish and Save== |
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| {{SPG}} | | {{SPG}} |
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Revision as of 05:47, 24 June 2009
More Stars! Dialogs
More about designing races
- View Race Help
- The View Race dialog is a read-only version of the Custom Race wizard. Both dialogs contain the same information and thus display the same help.
Here are the steps in creating your own player race. If you haven't defined a race before, finish reading this topic before you start clicking.
The 6-step Custom Race wizard allows you to tailor the race you play in Stars!. Here, you define a race's strengths and weaknesses. The trick lies in balancing advantages with disadvantages in order to achieve a mix that makes the best use of the stuff of creation -- units of primordial ooze called advantage points.
In each step, the box in the upper right corner of the dialog shows the current number of unused advantage points.
With each advantage selected, the number decreases. Advantage points go down a little for slight advantages, and a lot for juicy ones. Before you finish, the number of advantage points must be greater than or equal to zero. When the number becomes negative and turns red, your race has missed the boat to Creationville. To get back in the black, select a few disadvantages (one of the catches of playing God).
Use the Back and Next buttons to move between steps while trying to compensate for your greedy ambitions.
- Note: Choose your race attributes wisely. Once you begin the game, the race is yours for the duration. You can view your characteristics, but you won't be able to change them.
Step 1: Basic Definition
Specify/view your race type, name and use of leftover advantage points:
<tooltip text="Race Name and Password">Race Name and Password
Name your race and if you wish, choose a password. The password chosen when a race is created is attached to the race file. While you may change the password during the game, that change applies only to the current game. Opening that race file for use in another game will require proper entry of the original password. Also in order to open or view the race file, you need the password. You may specify a race name only here in step 1.</tooltip>
<tooltip text="Predefined Races">Predefined Races
Selecting a predefined race automatically presets all of the options in steps 2 through 6. Choosing a predefined races doesn't prevent you from changing any option -- they are only provided as a time saver. Each predefined race has specific strengths and weaknesses you can use in determining your playing style and strategies.
Use the Custom Race wizard to learn about the pre-selected attributes for each predefined race and use a race as a starting point for one of your own:
1. Select a predefined race.
2. Use the Back and Next buttons to step through the wizard, noting the settings.
3. Go back to step 1 and select the predefined race that looked the best for your purposes.
4. Fine tune that race using as much of the wizard as necessary.</tooltip>
<tooltip text="Leftover Advantage Points -- Surface Minerals">Leftover Advantage Points -- Surface Minerals
You will get 10kT of surface minerals for each leftover advantage point. For example, if there are 20 unused points, you would receive a total of 200kT of minerals. Stars! weights the distribution in favor of the rarest minerals. These will be available immediately.</tooltip>
<tooltip text="Leftover Advantage Points -- Mines">Leftover Advantage Points -- Mines
You will get one additional mine for every two leftover advantage points. These will be available immediately.</tooltip>
<tooltip text="Leftover Advantage Points -- Factories">Leftover Advantage Points -- Factories
You will get one additional factory for every 5 leftover advantage points. These will be available immediately.</tooltip>
<tooltip text="Leftover Advantage Points -- Defenses">Leftover Advantage Points -- Defenses
You will get one additional defense installation for every 10 leftover advantage points. These will be available immediately.</tooltip>
<tooltip text="Leftover Advantage Points -- Mineral Concentration">Leftover Advantage Points – Mineral Concentration
The concentration of the mineral on your home world that would have been poorest is improved by 1% for every 3 leftover advantage points. Increasing the concentration increases the rate at which the mineral is mined (mining, of course, reducing the concentration over time).</tooltip>
<tooltip text="Race Emblem">
Race Emblem Select a race emblem from the collection. This emblem identifies your fleets when they are displayed in the Selection Summary pane. In a multi-player game you may not get the emblem you select if another player chooses the same emblem.</tooltip>
Step 2: Primary Traits
Choose the primary characteristics for your race. Each type gives you a specific and powerful set of strengths.
<tooltip text="Hyper Expansion">Hyper Expansion Starting Advantages
Growth rate is twice the value shown on step 4 of the Custom Race wizard.
One armed scout
Three mini-colony ships Exclusive Hulls
Mini-Colonizer hull
Meta Morph hull (completely flexible) Exclusive Engines
Settler's Delight engine--Warp 6 for free, but only for Mini-Colonizer hull Exclusive Components
Flux Capacitor increases the damage done by all beam weapons on Hyper-Expansion ships by 20% Limitations
Cannot build stargates
Maximum population limitation is ½ what the planet would normally support for a race with your environment requirements</tooltip>
<tooltip text="Super Stealth">Super Stealth Starting Advantages
Tech level 5 in Electronics
One scout
One colony ship Exclusive Hulls
Rogue hull
Stealth Bomber hull Exclusive Components
Pick Pocket scanner that sees enemy fleet cargo in same location, allowing you to steal that cargo using the cargo gauge (and transfer dialog)
Chameleon scanner with a scanning range of 160|45 plus a 20% cloak
Robber Baron scanner that sees enemy fleet cargo and enemy planet surface minerals
Shadow Shield with a strength of 75 plus a 35% cloak
Depleted Neutronium with an armor strength of 200 plus a 25% cloak
75% Transport Cloak
85% Ultra-Stealth Cloak
All ships and starbases built by Super-Stealth races have an inherent 75% cloak Exclusive Abilities
Travel through opponent's mine fields at one warp speed faster than the limit stated in the Technology Browser
Gain research by spying and combining it with your own research. Gain resources in each field equal to ½ the average spent in that field by all races (including yourself) while at least one other race exists </tooltip>
<tooltip text="War Monger">War Monger Starting Advantages
Tech level 5 in Weapons
Tech Level 1 in Propulsion and Energy
One armed scout
One colony ship Exclusive Hulls
Battle Cruiser hull
Dreadnought hull Exclusive Weapons
Gattling Neutrino Cannon
Blunderbuss Exclusive Abilities
½ square movement bonus in battle
Colonists attack better
All weapons cost 25% less to build
Learns the exact design of enemy ships as soon as they are scanned Limitations
Cannot build mine layers or lay minefields
Limited to building SDI or Missile Battery defenses</tooltip>
<tooltip text="Claim Adjuster">Claim Adjuster Starting Advantages
Technology level 1 in Energy, Weapons and Propulsion, level 6 in Biotech
Ship capable of terraforming other players' planets from orbit Exclusive Components
Retro Bomb de-terraforms planets
Orbital Adjuster modifies planet environmental conditions from orbit Exclusive Weapons
Bombs that de-terraform worlds Exclusive Abilities
Terraforming is free (and temporary). Each year all planets owned by you are terraformed to the limit of your terraforming technology. The planet reverts to its original condition if it is abandoned or captured by another player.</tooltip>
<tooltip text="Inner Strength">Inner Strength Starting Advantages
One scout
One colony ship Exclusive Hulls
Super Freighter hull
Fuel Transport hull Exclusive Components
Croby Sharmor shield strength 60 plus 65 dp as armor
Fielded Kelarium armor strength 175 plus 50 dp as shield
Speed Trap 20 mines--stops fleets cold
Jammer 10 and Jammer 50 deflects torpedoes Exclusive Weapons
Mini Gun power 13 range 1 sweeps mines at 208/year Exclusive Components
Tachyon Detector, reduces the effectiveness of other players cloaks by 5% Exclusive Abilities
Colonists defend better.
Ships heal faster
Planetary defenses cost 40% less
Your colonists on freighters reproduce at ½ of their maximum rate, beaming down excess babies when orbiting a planet you own Limitations
Weapons cost 25% more than they do for other races
No Smart, Neutron, Enriched Neutron, Peerless or Annihilator bombs </tooltip>
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<tooltip text="Space Demolition">Space Demolition Starting Advantages
Tech level 2 in propulsion and biotech.
One scout
One colony ship
Two mine layers (one standard, one speed trap) Exclusive Weapons
Mine Dispenser 40, 80, 130 -- standard mines
Heavy Dispenser 50, 110, 200 – more serious fire power
Speed Trap 20, 30, 50 mines -- stops fleets cold Exclusive Hulls
Mini Mine Layer hull
Super Mine Layer hull Exclusive Components
Energy Dampener slows all ships in combat by 1 Exclusive Abilities
Mine fields act as non-penetrating scanners. Cloaks work as an absolute percentage against mine scans.
Can travel through opponent's mine fields at two warp speeds faster than the limit stated in the Technology Browser
Can remotely detonate standard minefields
Mine fields decay at a rate of 1% a year per planet enclosed in the field. All other player's fields decay at 4% a year per planet enclosed.
Learn the exact design of any enemy ship that detonates one of your mines</tooltip>
<tooltip text="Packet Physics">Packet Physics Starting Advantages
Tech 4 in Energy
Two shielded scouts
One colony ship
Two starting planets in non-tiny universes Exclusive Components
Mass Driver 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13
Mineral packets with built-in penetrating scanners, with a range equal the square of their warp speed Exclusive Abilities
Mineral packets are smaller and cheaper to build
Sense all players' mineral packets in flight, regardless of location
Learn the exact design of any enemy starbase that uses a mass accelerator to receive a packet you fling
Planets receiving mass packets have a 50% chance of a 1% improvement (terraforming) in an environmental attribute. For every 100kT of a mineral not caught, there is also a 0.1% chance of the overall planet value improving by 1%. </tooltip>
<tooltip text="Interstellar Traveller">Interstellar Traveller Starting Advantages
2 planets with 100/250 stargates (in non-tiny universes only)
Tech 5 in propulsion and construction.
One scout
One colony ship
One destroyer
One privateer Exclusive Hulls
Stargates with unlimited range and capacity Exclusive Components
Anti-matter Generator acts as a 200mg anti-matter fuel tank and generates 50mg of fuel every year Exclusive Abilities
Can transport minerals and colonists in fleets through stargates. The cargo weight is not taken into account when determining the fleet weight versus the gate's limits.
Exceeding the safety limits of stargates is less likely to kill your ships
Stargates cost 25% less
Stargates reveal planetary statistics on all other planets with stargates in range Limitations
Mass drivers are only half as effective at catching minerals as their rating, are less efficient at flinging minerals, and all mineral packets that are flung will decay, regardless of speed. </tooltip>
<tooltip text="Alternate Reality">Alternate Reality Exclusive Hulls
The Death Star is the largest starbase hull ever known Exclusive Components
Orbital Construction Module that contains viral weapons capable of killing 2000 enemy colonists per year and that colonizes worlds by transforming into an Orbital Fort Exclusive Abilities
Lives on starbases only, not planets
Starbases are 20% cheaper to build (non-cumulative with Improved Starbases)
Population acts as natural miners and scanners
Remote mine own planets (since they live in orbit).
Maximum population is determined by the size of the starbase, not the planet
Planetary resources grow as Energy Tech Level increases Limitations
Cannot build planetary installations
Interstellar travel kills 3% of any colonists in the fleet per year</tooltip>
<tooltip text="Jack Of All Trades">Jack Of All Trades Starting Advantages
Tech 3 in all fields
Two scouts
One colony ship
One medium freighter
One mini miner
One destroyer Exclusive Components
Scout, Frigate and Destroyer hulls get a built-in scanner with a range equal to 2N / N light years, where N = 10 x Electronics Tech level Exclusive Abilities
Improves all Costs 75% Extra fields to tech level 4 if the box in step 6 is checked </tooltip>
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Step 3: Secondary Traits
Specify/view the lesser traits for your race. You'll probably find several traits that won't affect your playing strategy. Each time you choose a trait that prevents you from developing something, you'll gain advantage points you'll be able to use elsewhere or, if you're in the hole, bring the balance closer to being above zero (you have to be above or at zero before you can click on Finish).
Select secondary traits that compliment the profile you chose in step 2:
<tooltip text="Improved Fuel Efficiency (IFE)">Improved Fuel Efficiency (IFE)
Ships burn 15% less fuel
Fuel Mizer and Galaxy Scoop available
Increases starting Prop tech 1 level </tooltip>
<tooltip text="Total Terraforming (TT)">Total Terraforming (TT)
Begin game able to adjust planetary hab values +/- 3%
Up to +/- 30% terraforming available in game
Terraforming costs 30% less </tooltip>
<tooltip text="Advanced Remote Mining (ARM)">Advanced Remote Mining (ARM)
3 additional mining hulls, 2 additional robots available
Start with 2 Midget Miners </tooltip>
<tooltip text="Improved Starbases (ISB)">Improved Starbases (ISB)
2 new designs -- Space Dock, capable of building small to medium ships, and Ultra Station, a larger weapons platform
Starbases cloaked by 20%
Starbases cost 20% less </tooltip>
<tooltip text="Generalized Research (GR)">Generalized Research (GR)
Half of total resources devoted to research applied to current field, 15% applied to each other field (totaling 125%) </tooltip>
<tooltip text="Ultimate Recycling (UR)">Ultimate Recycling (UR)
Scrapping fleets at starbases gives 90% of minerals, 70% of resources
Scrapping at planets gives 45% of minerals, 35% of resources :Not strictly additive </tooltip>
<tooltip text="Mineral Alchemy (MA)">Mineral Alchemy (MA)
Mineral alchemy costs 25 resources, produced 1 kT of each mineral </tooltip>
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<tooltip text="No Ramscoop Engines (NRSE)">No Ramscoop Engines (NRSE)
Engines which travel faster than Warp 4 for free unavailable
Interspace-10 available, capable of Warp 10 without damage </tooltip>
<tooltip text="Cheap Engines (CE)">Cheap Engines (CE)
Engines cost 50% less
At speeds over Warp 6, there is a 10% chance engines won't engage
Starting Prop tech increased by 1 </tooltip>
<tooltip text="Only Basic Remote Mining (OBRM)">Only Basic Remote Mining (OBRM)
Only Mini-Miner hull and Robo-Mini-Miner available
Maximum planetary population increased 10%
Over-rides ARM</tooltip>
<tooltip text="No Advanced Scanners (NAS)">No Advanced Scanners (NAS)
Penetrating scanners unavailable
All conventional scanners have double range </tooltip>
<tooltip text="Low Starting Population LSP)">Low Starting Population (LSP)
Starting population is 30% lower (17,500) </tooltip>
<tooltip text="Bleeding Edge Technology (BET)">Bleeding Edge Technology (BET)
New tech initially costs twice as much
Cost normal when all tech exceeded by 1 level
Miniaturization is 5% per level, up to 80% instead of 4% up to 64%</tooltip>
<tooltip text="Regenerating Shields (RS)">Regenerating Shields (RS)
All shields 40% stronger than listed
Shields regenerate 10% after each round of battle
Armor at 50% of listed strength</tooltip>
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Step 4: Population Growth Factors
Specify/view your race's habitable range and its growth rate under optimum conditions, using the following topics as guidelines:
Growth Conditions
Maximum Population Growth
Step 5: Population Efficiency
Specify/view the efficiency of your colonists, mines and factories for all the planets you inhabit.
Step 5: Population Efficiency (Player Race)
Step 6: Research Costs
Specify/view how efficiently your scientists use planetary resources in their research. Changes are reflected in the advantage points box in the upper-right corner of the dialog.
Selecting Costs 75% extra increases the available advantage points.
Selecting Costs 50% less decreases the available advantage points.
If you check All 'Costs 75% extra' research fields start at Tech 3, then it is to your advantage to have as many research fields 'Costs 75% extra' as makes sense, as this option costs a flat fee.
- If you have chosen the Jack-of-All-Trades primary trait, this is '...start at Tech 4'
Finish and Save
When you click on Finish, Stars! verifies that you have created a valid race, asks you to reenter your password (if you have specified one), and then opens the Save As dialog.
1. Type a file name (for example, gump).
2. Click OK.
The file name under which the race is stored can be different from the name you've given the race. However, you may wish to make some reference to the race name in the race filename to help you keep track of numerous saved races.